The Guardian

Chapters

1. Arrival
2. Neverfree
3. Keep calm and flutter on - Day One
4. Keep calm and flutter on - Day Two
5. Awakening
6. In-security
7. Royally locked
8. Important lessons
9. Guinea pig
10. Applied sleepwalking
11. Ponyville
12. Sequence of tensions - part 1
13. Sequence of tensions - part 2
14. The Gala
15. Firestarter
16. The Fall
17. Feathery trouble
18. Ascension
19. Far-fetched plans
20. Nightmare Knight
21. There are no other ponies' foals
22. Truths and Dares
23. On rail
24. Crystal Empire

1. Arrival

A fierce lightning bolt ripped the dense clouds and speared into the ruined castle tower so violently, debris and dust exploded into the still damp air. The rain became so hard for a moment, falling in torrents, it settled the dusty mess and revealed the result of that heavy electric discharge – the deep gauge carved in the stone floor of the almost destroyed upper room of the tower. The roof was long gone. Now, as the rain poured inside freely, it made the strange curled figure in the middle of the lightning carved pit feel quite uncomfortable. Thus seconds later a young man gasped and cringed in pain from the feeling of a bunch of burning snakes slithering through his entire body.

“Oh, my…” He wheezed faintly. “What did just happen, in the name of the creator?”

Slowly and painfully he picked himself up to a kneel. Perhaps it was not the best idea, as nausea struck him mercilessly, so he almost crashed back on the floor. But lying on the stone in a pool of frigid rain water hardly was any better. He realized that he started to freeze in the cold wind, blowing through glassless windows of what he recognized to be some sort of ruin. That wasn’t nearly nice. His skin burned and reddened, as if he had walked through the flames, not critically, but enough to add to his suffering. His clothes now looked like a few shreds of the shirt hanging from the collar and cuffs, some remnants of the jeans wrapping around his legs and annoyingly getting in the way, the rest was completely ruined, burned as well. The charred edges and familiar smell spoke for themselves. At least he had his boxers and boots intact: the former simply missed their chance to burn, being under the rest of the clothes, and the latter were finely made of thick leather for man’s sheer luck.

“Great,” He muttered to himself, shivering as another thunder strike rolled in the sky. “At least I don’t need to go barefoot…”

‘Go where?’ A sudden uneasy thought came to his mind. ‘And where from exactly should I go?’

Still feeling dizzy, he got on his feet and tried to look around. With the bright lightning flash, he got an image of a medium-size round room full of stone and wooden debris. It could be anything before, totally unrecognizable now as it was hardly the first thunderstorm hitting the neglected building. The roof fell in long ago, showing a few broken beams, which couldn’t stop the wind and rains from doing their destructive job. What could be some furniture, books, anything else now lay in decay. A time-worn chandelier, lying on the floor underneath the large cracked boulder, appeared to be the most durable thing there.

The only attention-worthy thing in that room was a square opening in the floor near the wall. Surely it looked like an entryway to a bottomless pit in the darkness, but it couldn’t be really that bad. For all, he knew about castles…

“Castle!” He caught himself screaming that in full voice. “What the flying hell is going on?”

‘I can’t remember any castles nearby,’ He said to himself, calming down a bit. ‘Damn, not nearby, not in the whole region, hundreds of miles round neither. What has happened to me?’

“Well,” He grinned painfully. “One step at a time, Alex, one step at a time…”

At least he remembered his name. Seemed not that bad, right? If only it could be worse actually. So… for all he knew about castles: they were made of stone and with the priority of safety and stability in mind. So, hardly the owners, builders, whoever stupidly jumped in the pit, there must be stairs under that opening. Hopefully stone ones, which haven’t been destroyed by the time, unlike wooden hatch on the opening – a few planks still hung on the ancient door hinges.

With another lightning flash, Alex indeed saw dark, narrow stone stairs made slippery from the rain. He thought it was time to leave the open room – bombs never hit the same pit twice, but it was a lightning storm and… the day was “strange”. So he decided to err on the side of caution.

He ripped the rags – which were once his shirt and pants – off his hands, neck and legs.

‘Off you go,’ Alex threw them in a pile on the floor. ‘No warmth from you anyway, yet another chance to stumble or catch something and fall all the way nobody-knows-how-far down.’

He stepped on the spiral staircase, sticking to the outer wall and touching it with his left hand. He didn’t smoke and had no lighter or matches to light up his path… And even if he did, that wouldn’t have helped him as all he had vanished with his jacket. As he remembered, the stairs were not wider than the hatch. God only knew if there were beams, landings or even anything in the middle. He caught himself on the feeling that the wind became chilling in the tube of the tower as he descended… or was that staircase itself to blame. Alex was afraid of heights.

‘I’m not taking any chances,’ smirked Alex to himself sticking closer to the wall.

The car ate mile by mile of the empty Sunday road. Oncoming traffic was minimal, so Alex could focus on his plans and expectations while driving. Not every 25-years-old man could think of a better career – an IT specialist in a profit-making company capable of having personal transport, simple but comfortable apartment and no Damocles sword of debts hanging over the head. Those were benefits of the well planned and qualitative education, personal determination and, let’s be honest pure luck, but what job didn’t require at least some luck.

Well, he really deserved it. Starting from the “ground level”, working with hardware, through endless night shifts, he finally noticed that it naturally started paying back. He could manage everything he came across his daily routines, but sometimes the feeling of completion was slightly tinted with regret. He could have spent more time with his parents, with his almost-a-girlfriend. They were neither officially engaged nor limited themselves by any obligations… yet. But Elen was just-the-right-person for Alex. They understood each other wordlessly, they always found time to help each other, they could trust themselves being a stronghold one for another. Above all, they both could easily make each other laugh happily or feel safe and serene when it was necessary. No wonder Alex wanted to give Elen more attention.

But living forced him to prioritize. And it was a rare chance to get to the next level of personal freedom and gain. He was offered a job in another company. Same IT field, almost the same duties, but de facto it was a direct promotion from the level he currently had. They have practically been ready to give him a whole subdivision to lead, that meant better income and further career opportunities. In common terms, it meant a private house after a short while and an ability to move in with his special somebody, whom he already asked about and got cheerful consent. Truth be told, Elen would have been happy to join him in the old place without any special conditions long ago, but he didn’t ask and she didn’t find it acceptable to suggest herself.

Of course, it also meant moving to another city, but wasn’t it better done, while his parents were not too old and he could freely build his life? Besides, it was a neighbouring city, only a few hours ride, not another country or planet.

Considering all that, Alex took a couple of days off to visit the new place and make the final decision. The new company was ready to give him from a couple of weeks to a month to make all arrangements at his old job and quit with as much dignity as it was possible. So he planned his days off to be Monday and Tuesday, thus having all weekend plus two days for a safe trip and acquaintance.

A few raindrops fell, leaving curvy tracks on the windshield. Alex frowned and raised the side window – the wind became stronger and blew some dust inside. He heard the muffled sound of distant thunder, then a bright flash sparkled in the sky. Soon the whole road ahead was barely visible through the heavy rain. Alex slowed down his car and turned on the lights. Thunderstorms were never a rarity in May, but as long as Alex remembered, there wasn’t any in the day’s prognosis. They promised a warm sunny day without any precipitation, hotter than usual for the time of the year. The whole cataclysm started all of a sudden. A few seconds ago it was warm and clear and in a moment the storm began… and the car didn’t even cover a mile during that change.

Flashes of lightning followed now one by one in a matter of a few seconds; Alex slowed down even more when one of them lit a road sign at the shoulder – sharp turn. It was even darker here: the whole road was covered by the shadow of an enormous tree on the nearby hill. Alex could swear, he had never seen any of that size in his life. It was shimmering with millions of silvery green leaves on stout branches, swaying in the wind. Alex thought it was very strange that no lightning yet struck that giant tree, despite it was standing as the only lightning-conductor in a few miles radius. He also thought if that tree was guilty of quite a few road accidents every month, as the whole view was simply marvellous and there hardly was a driver who didn’t lavish it with an extra amazed look.

Next thing he saw were headlights of an oncoming car, which was moving considerably faster than reasonable on such a turn in this kind of weather. The driver managed to swerve past him. Alex took a glance in the mirror and saw the car started sliding uncontrollably on the road, then it hit a smaller tree behind the road shoulder and stopped. Alex pressed the brakes all the way down, risking repeating that driver’s “trick”. He stopped at the wayside and turned off the engine.

‘Merlin’s pants, I hope the poor bastards are alright,’ he thought, rushing to the crash site. ‘What did they think about, when they were driving that fast… or were they just looking at that damned tree mammoth only?’

There was a woman behind the wheel in that car; she managed to get out herself. More shocked than hurt. She was still shaking off that dizziness when Alex took off his jacket and pushed in her hands.

“The inner pocket,” he looked in her eyes to ensure that she understood him. “Take the phone and call the emergency.”

He already saw that there was one more person in the car, who definitely needed more help – the girl on the back seat, clutching something yellow and pink and evidently terrified and shocked. Alex tried to open her door, then the door on the other side to find both were jammed, while the girl’s mother was making a call.

Gasoline trailed up his nose and Alex realized, it was the matter of moments. He climbed into the car through the driver’s door and took out the keys. Still could swear, he heard the dreading sound of the sparkles somewhere under the hood. He then turned to the girl and forced himself to smile in the most calming way possible in that situation.

“Hey, hold on, we’re going to get you and your… pony friend out,” he noticed the toy in her hands. “Just a moment longer.”

He then climbed over the front seat and unlocked the belt. The poor little one clutched to him hardly less than to her pony. She didn’t cry, only whimpered like a deadly scared kitten. Alex found that it was nearly impossible to get the shocked child out of the car the same way he got in. She was near the panic attack already.

“It’s raining, your pony needs some cover,” he whispered in her ear while cradling girl’s head to his chest and covering her from any damage. He then twisted and hit the rear window with all the strength he could afford. After the second blow the glass gave up and out.

Alex grabbed the girl and pushed her out of the car through the opening.

“Here, take her and get away from the car!” he breathed out.

“Thank you, thank you…” Tears mixed with the rain on the mother’s face when she got her treasure.

She then backed off the vehicle with the daughter in her hands; suddenly, Alex saw, how her eyes widely opened in terror.

“Please, hurry, get out now!” She shrieked on the top of her lungs.

Next thing he heard was a zapping sound and the car got lit from the bottom by inflamed gasoline.

And then the world around him dissolved in an unendurable white flash and the sound of thunder.

So the last thing he remembered, when the world around was normal, if being fried and electrocuted in a crashed car could be considered nearly normal, was a bright blinding light. That was the first thing he experienced here. But wasn’t the rest around him real too? Alex stopped. Wondering how silly that idea looked, he took a small portion of the skin on his arm and pinched it as hard as possible for the resulting feeling to be enough to tell if he was dreaming.

“DAAAAAAMN IT!” The roar rolled down the tower, causing the rumbling echo in the corridors below.

‘Merlin’s pants, that was convincing!’ Alex cringed.

He was into RPG and fantasy, so it sometimes came afloat with strong feelings. Unsure if Merlin had indeed something to do about all that, Alex noted that the feeling of burning snakes inside him didn’t go away. It simply faded, muffled by more actual problems. Besides, he realized he was freezing cold already and started to shake. Like if that wasn’t enough, his legs started feeling numb, as the whole way down the stairs wasn’t easy, despite being only a few minutes long. He saw absolutely nothing and was to proceed slowly, keeping to the wall with his fingers and stairs with his feet. The tower had no windows and, while it could be lit by some torches (somehow Alex felt that there were exactly the torches or candles, never the electric light), when in its full glory, now it was pitch black without a way to relieve it.

‘I must be thankful for being claustrophobic not,’ grinned Alex. ‘Otherwise, I would probably be stuck in the upper room forever.’

‘So, what do I have now?’ he tried to summarize his score. ‘I was on the ride to a work appointment when it started raining cats’n’dogs all of a sudden. I couldn’t see the road well enough, so I slowed down.’

‘And there was that sharp turn. And that tree nearby!’ The memory came so vividly, almost highlighted by a thunderbolt. ‘Yeah, there was the thunderbolt, the flash which made the whole surroundings visible, despite the clouds and rain.’

‘That tree was enormous; I wondered if it was more than a thousand years old. There were quite a few such trees in the whole country, and that was probably the biggest one,’ Alex also thought that he had wondered exactly, if many drivers got into accidents, being distracted by the mere look of that silver-green giant. ‘Then another car appeared. It was moving too fast for those road conditions, no wonder they noticed me too late.’

As he remembered, that car lost control, as its driver tried to avoid the collision on the wet road. It slid by and crashed into one of the smaller trees at the road shoulder. The woman, who drove it, got out by herself, but the rear doors jammed after the impact. And there was a girl, about eight years old, on the back seat of that car.

Alex remembered that he had stopped at the shoulder, and rushed to the damaged car, risking to fall on the slippery ground. He had taken off his jacket and threw it to the woman, who seemed to be a complete wreck. There was a cell phone in the inner pocket. Alex told her to call the emergency and climbed inside her car. Taking the keys out didn’t ease the situation – he could feel the smell of gas quickly forming a pool under the car… and there were those damned sparkling sounds somewhere.

Alex tried to calm himself. Panic was nowhere near useful for solving problems. And he was afraid that he could scare the girl even more. She sat there, curling almost in a small ball; she wasn’t crying or panicking, just quietly whimpering. There was hope in her wide-opened eyes…

He tried to open the rear doors only to find they both were jammed, then he told her to duck, and hit the back window with his foot. It got covered in the web of cracks, but stayed, damn those tinting films. He hit once more and thankfully the whole glass flew out.

Alex shouted to the woman and clicked the kid’s seat belt open. He took the girl and carefully pushed her from the rear window into her mother’s hands. The little one gripped tightly to her plush toy – a pony it was… He remembered it so clearly, perhaps for the rest of his life – the yellow pony with soft long pinkish mane and tail. The woman shouted something while she was backing from the car with her daughter.

‘Well, at least they are on a safe distance,’ he thought. ‘Time to get out of here before all hell breaks loose…’

‘And then the nightmare started!’ Alex closed his eyes, cringing at the memories.

With another sparkling sound, the whole pool of gas under the car turned into the bright oven of doom. But before Alex could think, it was the end and an ugly one – he started feeling heat almost immediately – he heard the ear-splitting sound of thunder and a bright blinding flash filled his consciousness.

Alex shivered. Was he brought here by lightning? By fire? For common sense’s sake, that was breaking the whole world order he knew and loved. That was simply impossible. Yet it happened. The whole world around him was real. The feeling when he pinched himself was real. And the damnation, he screamed in pain, caused one damn real echo.

His foot stepped on a very real small mean stone… And Alex lost his real balance rolling down the real stairs.

“FUUUUUCK the castles!” He wasn’t sure if he shouted all that in his mind or the entire castle was blessed loudly. Most likely mentally, as he was lucky to roll only a few steps. “FUUUUCK the stairs, cars and storms!!!”

“… And fuck the ponies!” assumed Alex, when his head heartily greeted the floor with a thud. On that reassuring thought he fainted.

Darkness fell upon Canterlot, muffling all the activity on the streets. Cicadas, occasional dog barking or hurried hoofsteps of rare citizens on their late way home were the only sounds breaking the serenity of the night. Everypony slept in their comfortable beds, resting from daily routines and even leaves on the trees didn’t dare to break the silence in the complete calm. Nopony noticed the distant and violent storm, which poured tons of water and ripped the dark sky with thunderbolts above the old ruins in the middle of Everfree forest. Even the hardest blast, which could easily compete with the light of the full moon rising, was most likely unnoticed by anypony. Anypony but one.

“Ahem…”

Luna turned one ear to the approaching, delicate steps of her regal sister, but apparently her attention was otherwise completely occupied by something else, as she stayed, where she was, observing distance through a telescope.

“Luna,” princess Celestia, the Ruler of the Day and Sun, called a bit louder, while she entered the observation balcony on the top of the highest tower of Canterlot castle. She waved her wings in unconscious contraction with a sudden windflaw. “Dear, are you here or several dozens of miles away?”

She then approached her younger sister, Princess Luna, the Ruler of the Night and Moon, Master of Dreams. Something was apparently bothering her that much that she decided to abandon her usual patience and extended her foreleg to touch sister’s shoulder.

“Oh, Tia! Mine apologies,” Luna turned her head from the telescope. “Well, of course, I’ve heard thee. I’ve been examining our… strange issue in the Everfree and slightly captured by mine thoughts about it. So what didst thou want?”

“So, you’ve already noticed,” Celestia nodded. “That overly strange, moreover, impossible thunderstorm above the woods.”

“Above the old castle ruins to be exact,” Luna rectified with her eyes, returning to the swirl of clouds in the distance, which meanwhile started to fade.

“And what do you think about all that?”

“It started moments anon I raised the Moon, escalated quite fast and now, after half an hour, is fading as suddenly as it started,” Luna touched her chin with the hoof, summarizing. “With clouds so thick and swirling in a compact circle, thunderbolts of that strength and the whole amount of water, which managed to come down in a short time, one might bethink, it needed an army of pegasi to stage such a performance.”

“Exactly!” replied Celestia with a tiny smile. “But…”

“But thither were no pegasi assigned to that wide-scale duty the present day at all,” continued Luna. “I have checked the prognosis twice and thither was nothing alike planned for tonight. Besides, what was the point of pouring tons of water in the middle of nowhere practically?”

Her strengthened Old language revealed Luna’s excitement by the events, as normally she tried her best to accommodate to the modern style of talking. Being properly understood by your subjects was sometimes vital and the Royal Canterlot Voice wasn’t an ultimate tool to reach that goal. There was no point of being loud, while others were trying hard to grasp the mere sense.

“The storm started completely by itself,” Celestia emphasized with concern. “And that’s not something we have been getting here for hundreds of years. Not here, in the middle of Equestria. I admit that Everfree lives by its own laws quite often, but still…”

“Thou art concerned about some imminent danger,” Luna nodded in understanding. “Or rather somepony. As we hardly got something unruly without somepony’s assistance the last few times.”

“Even if they were not ponies,” she smiled mirthlessly.

“But I have sensed nothing. Nothing and nopony, possessing any magic at the least, be it malevolent or contrary to that,” Luna’s ears sadly flattened. “I don’t understand, Tia, what are we dealing with?”

“Neither do I,” confessed her older sister. “As you said, “sensed nothing and nopony”.”

“But we shan’t let it out of our attention. I wonder, if I should send some guards there right now,” Celestia threw a quick look over the distant ruins, but there was silence and peace over them at that moment, as the storm ended.

“I sincerely suppose that we should just wait for a while,” Luna returned to watching the sleeping domain below. “Guards will hardly find any…pony in the middle of the night, despite mine Moon. If thither is anything to look for, I’m unsure.”

“I trust your judgment of that, dear,” with a heartily smile Celestia nuzzled sister’s shoulder.

“Well, I’m not insisting… but I doubt, we are capable of taking any effective steps right now.” Luna leaned back to Celestia. “Have some sleep now, Tia. It’s going to be a long day ahead. And I shall return to mine nightly duty.”

“Have it lightly. Good night, sister.”

Luna waved her hoof in the air, showing that she returned the wish, while her attention returned to the old ruins deep amidst Everfree.

“AAARGHH!!!” Absolute darkness of unconsciousness turned into the slightly thinner darkness of the old castle. ‘It becomes routinely to fall and get hit. Up to no good you are, man.’

Alex sat on the floor and waited, till the walls stopped spinning around him. As he gained normal sight, he noticed that it became less dark around. There was a hallway up ahead and the moonlight patches on the floor noted the existence of windows for once.

He got up to be greeted by his grumbling stomach. What a nice change: just when he realized the flaming snakes feeling was still with him, he was almost naked, cold and bruised, his stomach decided to remind that it existed and needed attention. The mere fact that the last decent meal Alex had was past noon didn’t encourage as well. Alex proceeded to the hallway, trying not to think that he should rather be concerned about not being eaten in that godforsaken place, than having something to eat. The castle seemed to be abandoned for a few hundred years and could be anywhere deep in the wild with all kinds of predators lurking around.

The storm was over during his “blackout” and the full moon looked through the numerous bowed windows of the long corridor with dark regular winged statues standing in the arcs. The night seemed to be young still and Alex noticed that he shivered less here than in the tower. Strangely the storm ended without any sign of it taking place, except pools of water; the air outside remained warm and brought the faint scent of unknown flowers. Alex looked out of the nearest window.

‘Bad, bad idea!’ He managed to notice the green sea of trees, apparently surrounding the castle and shimmering silver in the moonlight and breeze… just before the whole picture doubled or even tripled in his eyesight and his guts tried to make a backflip.

‘I’m too high above the ground,’ he said to himself, accurately stepping back from the dreading opening. ‘Great, I’m in the middle of nowhere and still need to find a suitable way out of that castle.’

He was a bit ashamed to confess, he wouldn’t use the faster exit, even if it was twice lower or there was water below. Back home, he was never able to enter a balcony higher than the first floor. Here it seemed that he was on the fourth or something alike. And the ceilings were high, given that it was the castle.

The sudden memory about home was painful. Alex had no faintest idea, how he was supposed to get home without practically anything: the documents, money, his car. The thought that it would be great at the very least to define, where he was and where his home was, didn’t provide much optimism either. Without the phone, map or any clues about the area it wasn’t going to be a game. Alex released a deep sigh. It seemed, he was to stay inside till morning – he couldn’t notice anything outside, which could serve as a landmark, except the very castle, but it wasn’t enough to proceed. He was still uncomfortable about walking around in the wild in underwear only and hoped that perhaps he could find something for the covers. Finally, it was simply stupid to walk through some unknown forest in the middle of the night.

‘So let’s check the other rooms,’ he said to himself while stepping further into the hallway. ‘If only that annoying pain inside faded, I’d be completely happy.’

The closer look at one of the statues quickly brought the now-almost-native feeling of unease back. There was something familiar in the statue, something that Alex still couldn’t remember, yet making his skin crawl. No, they were not some gargoyles or any sort of other ugly stone abominations so usual for the ancient castles. What stood in front of him was a sculpture of a… unicorn. There was something strange about it: it wasn’t of the size of a common horse, but smaller, almost like a big pony. However, it was more slender than a pony any of us could portray, more graceful. In addition to that, the statue was “wearing” the armour. A quick examination made clear that the armour was more like a soldier’s than a battle animal. Besides, there was no saddle, no harness – in other words, nothing that usually was used to ride a pony. Alex also noticed that not all the statues were the same, as it seemed to him from the first look. Half of them were unicorns; another half had wings, thus being technically pegasi. He giggled nervously.

‘Yet this feeling that I have seen those somewhere…’

“Well, dude,” Alex slapped the closest statue lightly on the muzzle with a cackle. “It seems, there going to be more ponies in my life from now on.”

According to his “internal clock”, Alex was wandering around the castle for about an hour already. He tried to keep the general direction of getting down to the ground floor, thus walking down every staircase he could find not ruined. Yet he felt that he was covering much more distance horizontally than actually descending, not mentioning that he was to backtrack twice because of corridors blocked by collapsed walls.

Alex completely forgot about his hunger. Now he was concerned about warming himself and getting some safe place to sleep without any risk to freeze completely till morning. He wasn’t sure if it was going to get any colder before the sunrise, considering he had no idea, where exactly the castle was situated. What he saw through the windows clearly showed that it wasn’t some polar region. For which Alex was immensely thankful. But every compartment without windows was noticeably colder; the stone walls didn’t keep warmth like probably they did when the castle was full of life.

He didn’t know if it was bad or good that he apparently was all alone there. Remembering now the yell he gave when rolling down that stairwell in the tower, he came to the conclusion that wasn’t the best thing to do. But the sound startled nobody and nobody came to check the trespasser. So he guessed that tiptoeing wasn’t absolutely necessary, opening the few remaining doors, despite them screeching mercilessly, was safe as well.

The next doors Alex faced were large, heavy, built of thick noble wood. The amazing ancient carving, highlighted by the moonlight, coming through the high window behind his back, covered the door leaves. When he pushed them lightly, he was amazed by how easily and quietly they opened. It seemed that particular room was of great importance to the castle inhabitants, so they treated all the stuff inside with great care. The furniture stood intact in the dark room, most likely being of the finest quality, so it survived whatever disaster happened.

“Gasp!” Alex stumbled in the doorway, as he noticed something deep in the room. A human figure in another passage at the far wall.

At first, he was worried a bit, but only for a second or two…

“Hello!” Alex rushed inside the room. “I’m lost and…”

He found himself staring at… Alex, same tired and bruised Alex in his dusty boxers and boots; Alex with quite a stupid look on the face, which already managed to grow some stubble. He extended his hand to touch a giant dimmed mirror about 10 feet tall. Alex gave out a deep sigh of relief and… despair.

“Nasty mirror,” he muttered. “I almost thought that I found some help.”

He took another look across the room, which, as he noticed, was a bedroom of some regal person most likely. Closer examination of the king-size bed revealed it being of no use, as there was nor sheets neither mattress left (they were probably that pile of dust beneath the bed). The wooden frame survived, but not the delicate cloth. Alex thought he was going to have no sleep tonight, as other furniture in the room, at least the chairs and banquettes, were somehow not comfortable for him to relax properly. He remembered that every unbroken seat, he found previously, was as well… perhaps too low for his comfort. Other furniture like tables, cabinets seemed to be alright though.

Alex proceeded through more and more rooms: spacious halls and small cabinets. He checked more bedrooms and bathrooms with the stone basins built into the floor – all with mostly time worn and broken furniture. He passed an enormous library, thinking that he probably was to wander around that castle till morning looking for the exit. Alex peeked through a couple of books (more automatically than hoping to find something helpful) one of which crumbled to dust in his hands. Nothing that could help, some historical stuff that could be interesting, if he wasn’t almost falling asleep on the spot.

Well, if he wasn’t, he might have noticed that, despite understanding what the books were telling, there was no single word written in plain English in them. But his tired mind noted the content and completely missed, paid no attention to form – the nature of the symbols in those books.

Finally, after one more staircase, he found himself on seemingly the first floor of the castle, in the long high hall of some regal value. High windows on both opposite narrow ends of the hall let enough light inside for him to see columns, chandeliers at the walls and ends of ceiling arcs, more sets of horse… pony armour, standing on their eternal duty along the walls, another single staircase at his end of the hall going down and most likely to the castle front doors at some point. With the idea that going outside was definitely some daytime business, Alex headed to the opposite end of the hall, where he noticed a stepped podium with two thrones.

After approaching that three steps elevation with two large thrones, Alex noticed they were still in fine condition, not only the stone frames but also the soft seats and backrests. Another sign of those being made for the top-class noble asses, as Alex giggled inwardly. One throne was covered with a large ancient tapestry, also quite well retained. It must have fallen from the wall behind the thrones, as a similar tapestry hung behind the second throne.

Alex rose the steps and took the tapestry by its edge to unfold it. The cloth was of amazing quality and lightness, unbelievable for its age, nowhere heavy and rough to touch, unlike almost every common tapestry. This one was made in black, all sorts of blue and silver colours with white outlining. Presumably night sky with stars and bright moon above and a dark blue slender winged horse figurine below facing… flying down. Another tapestry on the wall was generally in blue, white and gold, depicting the sky, with a sun disc high above and a white slender winged horse figurine flying upward.

Alex closed his eyes. The same feeling of unease flooded him again. Both images were painfully familiar: he knew he had seen them somewhere already. But they were parts of a single image in his memory.

That was one of those family days when Alex and his parents were visiting relatives from another city. The latter lived in suburbs, without plenty means of entertaining people, especially younger ones. This and them having two daughters, 12 and 8 years old, practically meant that while the older members of the family were discussing all usually discussed on family meetings, girls were totally Alex’s business. Besides cousins were under the impression of the 19 years old sibling, that sort of impression, which usually leads to looking up to with eyes wide opened, giggles, unintentional innocent flirting and tons of teasing. All harmless, at least until it starts coming at you like a storm… That day wasn’t going to be an easy one, as Alex told himself earlier in the morning.

The relatives lived in a cottage with a large garden. So hide and seek, play catch, some more random running around, while both girls contrived to almost run him over a few times, made Alex finally unsure if he had two cousins only or maybe four… or even six already.

“Hey, girls,” called he, getting up from the grass. “What about getting inside and having a bit quieter entertainment… before it becomes traumatic?”

“Boo, spoilsport!” Older cousin bumped into him and grabbed in a bear hug. “Right when we started having fun.”

“Two of you are too much for the “old Alex”,” he stuck out his tongue, teasing her.

“You’re not old,” she wrinkled her nose, making her freckles jump. “Just a bit grumpy and into your computer stuff too much. Tell me the point of going to the gym when you can just have fun outside for free with the same result.”

“Yes, yes,” Eagerly jumped the younger, while Alex thought about a dignified answer to the previous question. “We can view some cartoons. Just got a new show on DVD.”

She took Alex’s and her sister’s hands and rushed into the house, sweeping away all possible objections.

“OK, what will it be?” asked Alex when they sat in the living room. ‘Girly stuff,’ he shrugged mentally, while younger cousin turned the TV on and set the disc into the player already.

It was the new show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Like he suspected – typical girly stuff. Yet despite pinkish gamma and girly hyper voices, what he watched was fun. It was the first episode, where a few pony girls were searching for some relics to prevent an evil alter ego of one of the two rulers of the land from returning from her 1000 years banishment. The land was called Equestria. ‘So original’, smirked Alex to himself. It was ruled once by two sisters: one reigned over the day and Sun, another – over the Night and Moon. The younger sister – Luna got jealous of Celestia, the older sister, thinking she was getting more attention and love, naturally being the princess of the day. Luna went completely mental, being spoiled by the shadow and turned into Nightmare Moon, who tried to take over the whole land and establish the eternal night by refusing to get the Moon down and let Celestia rise the Sun.

It was impossible how Alex could still remember all those names and facts from the show.

Celestia then entrapped her younger sister into the Moon, using those relics and started ruling the country on her own, day and night, Sun and Moon, while mourning of her once beloved sister. But after 1000 years certain conditions were met for Nightmare Moon to return and attempt revenge…

With the help of the relics, the pony girls (main characters of the show) managed to cast out Nightmare Moon and return princess Luna as former kind and sane self. But those were details…

There was the old castle of Two Sisters in that show. And there. Was. That. Sign! Of two regal sisters, rulers of the Moon and Sun.

Alex dropped the tapestry and covered his face with the hands. It wasn’t obvious if he was going to shriek, cry or curl on the stone platform in disbelief and despair.

‘That simply can’t be true!’ cried his mind. ‘Come on, it was just a blasted movie, a cartoon for kids!’

Well, last time he tried to check, if he was sleeping or delusional, was painful and real. From all forms of insanity, this could be the least possible, Alex could imagine for himself if thinking about insanity was his common practice.

After a few minutes, he managed to bring together what remained of his trembling, tired and frustrated self.

‘I am regally screwed!’ he gritted his teeth heavily. ‘But, damn it, I’ll deal with this tomorrow!’

‘I’m too tired for logical conclusions. No ponies or nightmares or else will take away my sleep. And I’ve finally found some “clothes”,’ Alex let out a sad grin.

He grabbed Luna’s tapestry…

‘Oh, dear Lord, please, let me be mistaken!’

… and made some kind of toga, wrapping it around his tired body and finding it surprisingly pleasant and warm.

He then climbed with his legs on that throne in front of him and curled, trying to find the possibly comfortable pose. Minutes later overloaded by today’s events, Alex passed out.

2. Neverfree

An early ray of sunlight sneaked through the arched window into the hall. It jumped from one floor plate to another and soon reached the stepped platform. Soon it climbed the steps, the throne and finally Alex’s nose. When the ray peeked into his eye, Alex tried to move away frowning through sleep and woke up. At first, he yawned quite peacefully, perhaps he thought that all the events prior to this morning were a dream… or better say a nightmare. Not the worst one in his life, but definitely a shiver-worthy. Then Alex rubbed his eyes, shooing the rest of sleep, and… his eyes met the hall, the floor plates, the high windows with sunlight coming through, the… pony armour sets in the arcs and his own self, curling on the throne and wrapping himself in an ancient night-coloured tapestry.

“GASP!!!”

He was still in that nightmare… or the daymare… or whatever mare it was.

‘Oh, no, Alex, you should really hold back from all those horse jokes,’ he said to himself. ‘Right before more of them become real.’

Yes, regardless of his denial or whole impossibility of the surrounding, Alex couldn’t probably imagine any acceptable explanation of the recent events being a joke, prank, any other less mind-wrecking kind of mishap. There could hardly be such a rich and demented fan of the show or even group of them, who could build the castle of Regal Sisters in the middle of nowhere with such care and attention to the tiniest detail. Build and then make it degrade, like if a few hundred years have passed. And the signs of decay were nothing close to artificial, as Alex could remember from the previous night.

So, if it walked like a duck, swam like a duck and quacked like a duck, then it most likely WAS a duck. The only adequate explanation of the events, he faced, was that Alex had somehow got to…

‘How was it called?’ Alex wrinkled his forehead, trying to remember. ‘Equestria. God damn right, Equestria. You are in Equestria, man! Congratulations! TADA!!!’

He then thought, if there were IT specialists needed there, or if the person he was negotiating about his new job looked like a horse… a pony better say.

‘C’mon, Alex, stop it already,’ he laughed aloud. The latter made him cringe again: the feeling of a tight clew of flaming snakes perhaps faded a bit, but it never went away. Then he heard the plaintive singing of his empty stomach.

Alex stood up from the throne and stretched. Surely his sleeping place wasn’t the most comfortable, but he thought he shouldn’t complain, as he got no real choice anyway. Still, it was better than sleeping on the stone floor.

‘Now it’s time to get outside and think, what I have to face and how I can get through all this,’ he jogged to the stairway at the other end of the hall. Despite the slight pain inside, he simply needed to make the blood run faster. Besides, Alex secretly hoped for the outside forest not to become his second-night standing place. All those expectations called for faster moving.

As he thought last night, this wide staircase led him to the hallway on the ground floor of the castle. And the big doors on the other side of the hallway were the entrance. Or in his lucky case – the exit. Alex almost flew there; his feet hardly touched the floor. Fortunately, one leaf was completely missing, while another hung askew on one hinge. If the doors were intact or even locked, he doubted he could open them with bare hands. In that case, jumping out of the window would be the only way out. Despite being on the ground floor, the windows were high enough, which already made any thought of jumping through uneasy for Alex.

He exited the castle and ran down a few more stairs to the ground. Ground, finally, Alex was so happy to see it right under his feet, well, boots thankfully he still had them, that he could probably fall down to his knees and kiss the dust.

The thick wall of the forest closely surrounded the castle. Alex noticed, there were all sorts of trees at once: pines, oaks, willows, elms – the mix we couldn’t normally see in one climatic area, not even in one forest next to each other. While he was able to identify the majority of the trees (some were still new to him, and if he was a botanist he could easily say that there had been none of some on Earth), the whole variety of smaller plants, bushes and flowers were completely new to him. Alex wisely decided to stay away from completely unknown flora unless absolutely necessary. He wasn’t allergic back at home, but… he wasn’t at home anymore. God only knew, where he actually was, and if indeed it was Equestria (some part of Alex’s mind still tried to struggle with that idea), there could be surprises as he remembered.

Indeed, Alex was surprised finding out that he remembered enough details from that long-gone day when he got acquainted with Equestria and its realities! So, now they turned out actually real, and it was good that he could remember at least something.

The first thing he needed was the proper direction. Having the castle strictly behind the back he looked to the sky. The position of morning sun told him he was facing north. As far as he remembered, the nearest town, he knew anything about, was also to the north (and slightly west) from here. So, if he proceeded the way he was facing, he should finally get out of the forest and be able to have a better view of the surroundings. Thus he could correct his path to the town later outside of the woods… unless he could find a high ground to rise above this sea of trees and see another landmark. He preferred to think not, what it could mean to find a HIGH ground. With this in mind, Alex deepened into the forest.

Apparently, it was late spring here too. Lots of flowers filled the air with various unknown delicate scents. Insects were flying everywhere on their daily business, pollinating the flowers. Alex noticed bees, dragonflies, colourful butterflies of unknown species. The trees around him were full of birds’ “chatter” and singing. If he was less focused on his path, he could probably notice some birds practically following him, while chirping in quite noticeable communicating manner. Yet he noticed that the whole life here was innocent, untouched and unharmed by the human. Birds, getting closer to him than anywhere else he was before, were not only more curious up to denying self-preservation, but obviously not familiar with a human, thus harder to startle. Thankfully he had not yet met any of the bigger beasts, which seemed to be common to this forest, judging by how big and wild it was.

Alex was more concerned about his further route through the forest than any sightseeing. He tried hard to remember, which obstacles the main characters of the show met, so he could be at least partially prepared for what he was going to come across. It seemed that his mind finally became capable to operate the events around Alex as parts of reality rather than some bad joke. So he took as the fact that he was in Equestria and needed to follow the path, pony girls from the movie went, to get to the civilized area.

‘If someone told me that I should seriously remember the details of the show as ones of vital importance,’ he thought. ‘I would have told them, they were totally nuts.’

‘So what they were, the obstacles,’ he wrinkled his forehead. ‘As far as I know, there must be a bridge right after the castle, then some shallow river, then some sort of area with dead and spooky trees, then some rocks’, he sighed and shook his head. ‘Always something pleasant, now climbing those rocks. Or were they river, bridge, rocks, then trees? It could be each-way equally possible,” he muttered to himself in a deadpan manner. “Although, I suppose the bridge was right before the castle.”

‘SHIIIIIIIT!!!’ Alex gulped nervously. How could he forget? ‘That bridge is a deadly creepy suspension bridge over a narrow, but somewhat deep canyon. And it must be time-worn… unless some…pony is regularly maintaining it.’

Alex felt that cold sweat started running down his neck and back. There was no possible case, which could force him to consciously cross that bridge. Even a mental image of thin wooden planks, swinging on the ropes above the sharp rocks far-far below in the mist, gave his stomach almost palpable punch, making Alex cringe in a qualm.

‘Damn that, but who could imagine that I ever get in such a situation?!’

He kept walking over fallen trees and bypassing particularly thorny bushes while trying to keep the general direction, his mind spasmodically searched for a less phobia involving solution. The canyon was about 20 feet wide, not a long bridge to cross… for one who wasn’t scared to live higher than on the second floor. And there was no chance one could get over the canyon without the bridge. Of course, Alex’s mind obligingly offered him an image of a fallen tree “bridge”, which he was so “thankful” for. Like if it could be any worse already.

Soon Alex noticed that the forest was slightly thinner here, forming a narrow, but noticeable, long ago abandoned path. Doubtfully there was any other road to the ruined castle, so it was safe to assume that he wouldn’t get lost at least. Reassured by that thought Alex sped up as much as rugged terrain allowed.

Alex covered a few hundred yards when he noticed the unnatural silence around. And he could swear that before he stepped into the thinner vegetation, the forest around was full of sounds: birds singing, insects humming. Now though it seemed that even wind muted itself, hiding in anticipation of something. Whatever it was, Alex didn’t like it at all. He stopped and crouched, making himself less visible from the distance and trying to remember fast, what kind of predators could one naturally expect to meet here. The thought of a dragon (and there were dragons as he could remember, big adult dragons with tons of nasty habits, not only small and adorable ones like Spike… or how this little pony companion name was…) sent a shiver down his spine, but he dropped it as hardly possible. If it was a grown-up dragon, he would have been toasted already from above most likely.

What else?.. Wolves? Wolves were common here, though they were not like our usual wolves. Alex couldn’t remember, what exactly was special about them and scolded himself for that. And there was, of course, that beast, ponies met in the movie – the Manticore. Right when Alex was wishing heartily, it wasn’t a Manticore, moreover a hungry and grumpy one, he heard a distant roar. Not a very loud and angry, but it sounded like one belonging to an animal larger than a simple wolf. It wasn’t distant enough either for the situation to be calming.

‘Predators rely on hearing and smelling more than eyesight!’ Alex tried to breathe less and make his heart beat slower, but obviously failed at that.

The roar sounded once again, closer to where he was. It was still not agitated, but yet very determined. And the strength of the sound, reminding a heavy load truck diesel, was self-explanatory. The beast, whatever it was, most likely smelled Alex’s trail and the mere fact, he wasn’t chasing yet, said only about him being unfamiliar with everything human-related, including smell. Later Alex thought, he was indeed lucky being not seen by the beast, so the latter was unsure till the very last moment if he should deal with the one who left the trail.

‘Merlin’s pants, damn it entirely and every part in particular, I’m out.’ Alex jumped on his feet and stormed along the path as fast as he could, while still avoiding slipping or smashing himself against some tree.

Manticore, and now Alex was absolutely sure it was him, heard the sound of something getting away, roared triumphantly and rushed after.

Fortunately, they were still in the woods and the vegetation, growing and fallen, didn’t allow the clawed menace to gain full speed. Alex thought that in the field he would have had no chances. Surely he was in decent form, but so was Manticore, despite the unhealthy diet. And having four legs, instead of two, was, of course, the unsportsmanlike advantage. The heavy crunch of the large beast wading through the foliage behind his back made Alex pay no attention to the branches lashing him. He tried his best to stay at his feet, hearing that the beast was slowly, but constantly, shortening the distance.

‘Oh, finally, this is it,’ Alex heard some noise ahead. ‘If it is a river then I’m lucky double time. If only I could cross it and hide on the other side. Cats don’t like water, besides it must get the bastard off my trails, if I swim a little down the stream.’

‘Fat chance, but… nope!’ his hope faded when he ran out of the forest into the open area at the edge of the… canyon.

The gap was indeed narrow enough, with its far edge slightly higher. Rocks and old roots were sticking out of the stone wall. The noise Alex heard, was probably wind, whistling in the canyon, or there was some stream at the bottom… That was of no importance now. Alex managed to grasp all that in one wild glance; he still couldn’t force himself to get close to the edge.

The open space was wide, wide and deadly, as Manticore could reach him here in a few good jumps. Alex spotted the bridge to the left from where he exited the forest and stormed towards it at the supersonic speed. Later he thought that he could probably make a Sonic Rainboom if he tried a bit better.

‘This is it,’ he almost slid to the full stop before the bridge. His stomach happily reminded of itself and his heart started beating somewhere in his throat. ‘Final stop. Depot. What are you going to do next?’

He threw a wild look back. The bushes at the end of the forest path let away a creature, which mostly reminded a lion with small rudimental wings (which could look even funny, in slightly different circumstances) and a thick scorpion tail, which was now evilly raised and demonstrating the sting. This “lion” was about the size of a young elephant though, very angry and disappointed by the fact he still wasn’t able to catch his prey. When Manticore saw his aim being much smaller and apparently easy to claw, he let out a loud howl and leapt towards Alex.

‘Run, you idiot!!!’ Alex turned to the bridge. ‘Beefsteaks aren’t acrophobic for sure, but you’d rather not become one!’

God only knew how much did it cost, but Alex managed to cover half of the bridge in some miraculous leap of faith, as he later called it. Then the whole world started spinning around him and he grasped the ropes on the sides, as his legs suddenly turned into jelly. He couldn’t make himself to move any further, even if someone poked him with a candent metal stick in the butt.

Alex closed his eyes and prepared for the worst when he heard a loud crash behind and receding angry roar, which soon mixed with the noise from the bottom of the canyon.

“Squee!” The sound, which came out of his mouth, wasn’t near anything a grown man could make, it resembled one of a rubber toy with squeaker. He cleaned his lungs. “Cough, cough!”

Truth be told that wasn’t because of Manticore, Alex couldn’t give less buck about the beast at that moment. Alex prayed for the only thing – the bridge to stop shaking and not falling apart entirely. Though he wasn’t sure which was the worst: to fall and become a pancake or be stuck at that bridge unable to move.

Risking to get another panic attack, Alex tried to look back carefully. Manticore was too eager to get his annoyingly fast and not giving up prey that he made one big mistake – leapt in the air too early. He landed on the bridge a couple of feet behind Alex and old wooden planks couldn’t hold his weight. There was a several foot gap with the cracked wooden sticks hanging on the suspension. And there was no way back now, not for Alex at least.

He wasn’t sure if there was any way ahead for him either. Perhaps the perspective of meeting the night on that bridge didn’t seem bright enough, or something else… But Alex managed to get control over his quaking legs after a minute. Clenching to the ropes like a paralytic, slowly moving his feet forward, one after another, trying to focus on the aim, but not the bridge doubling itself in his eyes, Alex crossed to the other side.

When he reached the solid ground, Alex collapsed to his knees. A fit of nausea was so strong that he couldn’t avoid vomiting. His stomach was empty for more than 24 hours already and that made the feeling even more tormenting. Flaming snakes inside him, almost forgotten due to the fast pace of later events, awoke and added to his suffering.

“You could have become more civilized after Fluttershy relieved you of the thorn in your damned paw!” Alex gave the finger towards the bridge when he stopped shivering.

He got on his feet and headed to the forest on that side of the canyon. The terrain was gently rising here and the path was more pronounced.

‘Good. That will help me recover after the long run and… stuff,’ Alex twitched, the image of the canyon was still fresh. ‘At least the road is less overgrown with foliage here.’

‘And there must be a river up ahead,’ he remembered, he had no water to drink for ages either. ‘I can take a breath there.’

The returned sound of birds chirping in the trees was the best music to his ears. That meant, there were no threats nearby. Alex thought that perhaps it would be smarter to get something as a weapon, to pick a branch or stone, but soon he dropped that idea. The additional weight could slow him and he didn’t know exactly, how far he was to go to get to the town. Those ponies spent almost a day to cover the whole distance, but again, they travelled on four legs and were most likely familiar with the path in general. Besides he didn’t feel like ready to wave a thick branch. He could easily startle a single wolf away without, but a branch could hardly help against a pack of them or something like Manticore. Alex tried to avoid thinking about facing a dragon, a grown-up one. Speed and reaction were his best weapons at the moment. And the hope of not coming across any more canyons or cliffs.

After an hour of walking, when Alex became slightly worried if he had taken the wrong way, despite apparently there was only one old path here, he started hearing the sound of running water. The air became slightly cooler and tangibly damper. Alex sped up towards the gap between the trees.

The river was not very wide and supposedly not very deep, rocks were sticking here and there from the running water. It was flowing down the hill towards the canyon behind and no doubt fell into it somewhere, forming a waterfall. Despite the hill wasn’t very steep, the flow was fast enough and formed visible swirls in deeper places.

‘Well, at least the water must be clean enough,’ thought Alex. He couldn’t think about anything else now, when he suddenly realized, how thirsty he was.

He made one more pleasant discovery when he reached the bank. A few bushes of hazel (well, they looked like that) with plenty of nuts, evidently suitable enough for a starving adventurer.

‘Now you are an adventurer,’ he smirked to himself. ‘Lara bucking Croft.’

He remembered the castle and the bridge. ‘What will your adventures end with?..’

Alex kneeled at the river bank, the water was indeed crystal clear and he scooped a handful and tasted it. He thought he never tried anything more delicious. Maybe it was thirst or maybe the water was indeed so clear and fine. Anyway, Alex drank enough to flush the sour taste in his mouth and to keep himself going further.

‘Don’t know, when I can find any water, and I don’t have anything to take some with me.’

Alex tried a few nuts to make sure, they were indeed what they looked like, then ate as many, as he thought was possible without making himself uncomfortable with unfamiliar food. He decided to stay for a while and have a rest, but before that, he got to the water once again and washed his face nicely then dipped the whole head into the stream.

‘I can’t afford any sleep now,’ he smoothed wet hair, pressing the water away.

The entire morning passed in various cares in and around her cottage. Fluttershy fed and took daily care of her animals, the number of which would probably make any other pony desperately give up. Anypony, but Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness embodied. Besides, while treating her little and not so friends she always showed inscrutable agility and cheer. Everything flew, rolled and sang in her hooves in those moments.

Nevertheless, there was much work to do and time fled insensibly… till it was noon already. And that was considering her having a habit to wake up with the sun.

Fluttershy just finished with the daily medical care of a few sick pets, realizing that she couldn’t delay refilling her potion and herbs reserve anymore. That meant, she needed to visit Zecora and collect some species herself in the Everfree.

Zecora – a strange zebra, tribal traditions keeper and a strong herbalist and magician (practising mostly natural, if not saying elemental magic), lived deep enough in the Everfree forest. She was a rare guest in Ponyville and not everypony knew her well yet or trusted much… for their own loss to be frank. She was actually kind and caring and could help and teach a lot that one, who wasn’t deterred by her strange speech (she rhymed) or rituals. Of course, that one should consider a fine long walk through Everfree to her hut to get the benefits of communicating with Zecora. It happened that Twilight was the first, who doubted reasons for zebra alienation in Ponyville and eventually made good friends with her. And Fluttershy could make friends with practically anypony (or anyzebra in that case) she met. Taking care of animals and thus having a constant need for natural ingredients helped those two get along well.

So Fluttershy was to hurry if she hoped to visit her zebra friend, let alone collect anything herself in the woods. Everfree wasn’t anything to take thoughtlessly; the closer to dusk, the less. She quickly packed a few necessary things, including a couple of carrots for her favourite pet-bunny.

“Angel, Angel, dear, are you going,” Fluttershy slightly raised her voice, as the bunny again was lingering somewhere. She was already going to check upstairs when the white rabbit jumped in front of her and impatiently drummed his hind paw. “Ah, here you are little tod.”

“We need to hurry, Angel,” said Fluttershy with a gentle smile. “So we don’t need to deal with wild and ill-mannered forest inhabitants when the sun sets… I… hope you understand. Ready?”

Instead of any answer, Angel hopped on her back and made himself comfortable, showing with all his posture that he agreed with the plan as long as he didn’t need to walk all the way himself. Somepony knocked at the front door at that moment. Fluttershy blew a thread of pink hair off her face and trotted to answer.

The opened door revealed Twilight, standing on the doormat with an apologetic expression on her face.

“Oh… Hi,” Fluttershy hesitated for a second. “Come on in, Twilight. I-I was going to visit Zecora. I’m out of healing potions and a few rare herbs… if you don’t mind…” She then noticed the concern on Twilight’s face. “But if there is some emergency… I-I’m sure, it can wait. I can go later… So w-what do you need?”

“Hi. What?... Oh, no, no, there is no emergency at all,” Twilight stepped in. “I’m sorry if I mess with your plans. That’s a matter of a few minutes.”

“Look, I’m terribly sorry if I’m asking it back too soon,” she explained. “Remember that book on rare magical plants and their effects I gave you last week. I found out, I need it for my study still. If you could return it just for a couple of days… I then could finish and it would be all yours as long as you need,” finished Twilight, blushing and flattening her ears. Confessing that one of her studies went less than perfectly was always a delicate topic for her.

“Oh, and that’s all,” laughed Fluttershy with relief. “Sure, dear, no worries here. And thank you very much by the way. I’ve found out quite an effective recipe thanks to your book. One of my beavers had his tail constantly scraped and suffered hard to heal cuts, but it’s not a problem anymore with that composition, I managed to find in your book.”

“It means that I’ve done with it and I must say it was an amazing reading. I was going to return it anyway. Here, you can take it,” she pointed her hoof at the small table near the door. “Thank you again.”

“Umm… You’re saving my life, dear,” Twilight levitated the book and put it into her saddle bag. She smiled heartily. “As usual.”

“Being a princess doesn’t mean that I have nothing to learn anymore,” she giggled, wiggling her wings.

“Wait, you weren’t saying that you’re going to Everfree,” Twilight frowned with realization. “Not after the dark. Please tell, you won’t.”

“Well, of course, I won’t… stay there longer than necessary,” replied Fluttershy. “It’s only noon yet. I just get some potions, I’ve run short of, from Zecora and go back home via the different path to collect a few plants on my own… if that’s… okay with you.” She finished with a sheepish smile. “It’s not that I’m going to do something overly daring…”

“Oh, come on, Flutters,” objected Twilight. “They say timberwolves started coming closer to the edge of the Everfree lately… And what if you come across a… c-cockatrice,” she exhaled under her breath.

“I mean just ensure you have enough time to return before dark,” she added quickly heavily blushing. “Not that I don’t realize, who am I talking with about cockatrices, or think you can’t cope with them.”

Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to flush. Twilight remembered that time when she was turned to stone by a cockatrice in an overly stupid incident. She owed her life entirely to Fluttershy, who managed to Stare damned cockatrice to shaking knees state, thus making him revert the curse.

“I-I… umm… errr… okay…” muttered Fluttershy in flaming embarrassment. “Just… L-let’s go… if… you don’t mind.”

“Besides, I’m going to take Harry with me,” she closed the door, when they both exited, Angel bunny still sat on Fluttershy’s back. “He may be not the… fastest bear around… but I doubt, we will have any troubles.”

“Well, that certainly changes things,” said Twilight. “Just be careful anyway. Won’t mind, if I send Spike later tonight… just… to know you’re fine?”

“I won’t, dear,” Fluttershy waved her fore leg when they parted ways and Twilight trotted towards Ponyville. “You are more concerned about my walk in the forest than I should be.”

She then crossed the wooden bridge over a stream and headed to the Everfree.

Rare white feathery clouds passed by in the turquoise sky, the sun was almost at the zenith without being overly hot. Laying under the tree on the riverbank Alex almost came to what could be considered peace in his thoughts, despite all the events, all of the uneasy questions… He was that kind of man, who solved the problems in the order they appear, and now the key aim was getting to the town. What he had seen before brought him to the strong conclusion that at least geographically the region was exactly as it was shown in the show, regardless of how crazy it might appear. So at least he knew, where and how he must go to reach the town of Ponyville. Alex remembered that name as well, just like he was now sure the capital of the land was called Canterlot.

Well, it could be better of course – he could never get into such trouble. It could be better, so he never was to desperately look for a way to get back home… and it wasn’t something, what could be done in the middle of the forest for sure. But at least he was alive, still in one piece and kicking. Considering how he got here, it was unimaginable luck to achieve.

‘Don’t worry, Alex,’ he encouraged himself. ‘Let’s get to some civilization first, and there, I hope, are some means to revert you woeful condition. Perhaps princesses have something, as I can safely assume they have magic.’

‘Yeah,’ he muttered sadly. ‘The only thing I can rely now on is magic. And I’d be completely happy if I can get rid of that weird feeling inside, I hope, the lightning didn’t cause some internal injuries. Although, I couldn’t probably make it that far if it did.’

Feeling recharged Alex got up and looked for an easier way to cross the river. The elevated rocks were few, separated and slippery wet. There was no way of getting across without taking a bath. Alex took a look over himself.

‘Not taking off the boots for sure, who knows what the river bottom is like. I need my feet in good shape – there is a long road ahead.’ He then looked on his regal tapestry toga by some mysterious chance he managed yet to tear not. ‘But this will become too heavy getting wet. Besides, it will suck out warmth at light speed, when I cross the river and it starts drying.’

He took it off and folded as compactly as he could. He tore off a long branch and cleaned it of smaller twigs and leaves. Holding the stick in the left hand and folded cloth on his head with the right hand Alex stepped into the water, where it seemed most shallow.

The water was cold enough, not chilling, yet not very pleasant, which might be explained by the relatively strong current, and the riverbed was rocky. Alex was glad, he didn’t take off the boots, he was trying hard to keep balance. If he entered the water barefoot, he would have fallen over already. Probing the riverbed with his stick Alex slowly advanced.

He was almost on the other side when the strong current knocked him off feet. He couldn’t predict everything – it was slightly deeper here and the strong current rolled over a big rock. The stick dropped into a pit and Alex lost his balance. He tried to keep the face above the water and was forced to drop the branch to have at least one free hand. Water formed a small swirl here and it rolled Alex, so he was to keep the direction as well. Right at that moment, a perfidious underwater rock turned up. The current threw Alex on that rock hard enough for him to let out almost all air from his lungs. Sparkles sprinkled from his eyes because of the sudden hit and the swirl was about to give him a good dive when the same current threw his beaten body onto the river bank. Or was it something else?.. For a moment Alex could swear, there was something more solid than water under him, which pushed him towards the ground.

On his three, still holding the folded cloth almost dry, Alex crawled out of the water. He stopped, only when he made it about a dozen feet away. There he sat and regained his breath.

After a few minutes (when he dried a bit) Alex got up and wrapped himself in the tapestry toga again. The sudden memory made him leave the riverside fast enough. There was some kind of water snake or dragon in that river in the show. It wasn’t hostile, according to the show, and evidently, it wasn’t hostile in reality, but…

“Thanks!” Alex said aloud, facing the river. “But I won’t push my luck,” he added under his breath while heading back to the path.

After a couple of hours of walking, the environment changed completely and the changes were of no good. Apparently, Alex stepped onto some sort of equestrian badland. Trees in that area were darker and uglier, with crooked trunks and angular branches, moss hanging from them as a dirty veil, waving at the slightest wind. Many trees had hollows and with those and branches reminding crooked arms with thin clawed palms could surely scare a random traveller shitless during the nights. If someone was mental enough to wander into that part of the forest when Luna’s Moon was high.

When his thoughts touched Luna’s night, Alex looked over himself examining his improvised toga.

‘I hope nobody will object that I’ve borrowed that old forgotten and otherwise unused piece of art,’ He checked if every part of it was still in place. ‘At least I was good up to that moment in keeping it fine.’

Now Alex tried to step carefully, as there was more deadfall here than in the forest before, and the ground was springy under his boots, giving away the proximity of some swamp. Greenish fog covered the ground and raised in the air, becoming thinner at about the waist-high. Dark green bushes grew in thick heaps and made it even harder to see, what was nearby.

The silence around was deafening. Not birds chatter, not small forest critter fuss, nothing broke it. Naturally, Alex thought that no animal in its sane mind would like to make its home here, but yet he learned well, what that silence could mean sometimes. One more thing bothered Alex, it was noticeably darker here.

Of course, it could be dark in thick woods with high and wide-branched trees with tons of leaves even during the daytime, and Alex could say, it was about a couple of hours past noon. But those trees didn’t look exactly like those capable to provide excessive shadow. Neither thick nor healthy and overgrown. Yet there was something like half-light constantly under them. If it was some sort of anomaly or… magic, Alex couldn’t probably tell.

“Now great,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s about time to face another fugly monstrosity of that place! Just when I thought, it was going to be a walk in the park at last.”

As a confirmation of his concerns, Alex heard a muffled rustle in the bushes to his right. He stopped immediately and stared there, ready to flee or kick some ass, depending on who or what was going to appear.

That new whoever-that-could-be didn’t hurry to present itself though, as the rustle moved from one bunch of the bushes to another. When Alex decided that he could have startled a porcupine or some possum or a raccoon, if such animals were common for this place, he noticed that he could hear quiet spiteful croaking coming from the same spots with the rustle. That didn’t make much sense, frankly speaking.

Despite Alex decision to wonder any strangeness not, considering the place he had arrived, a peacock’s head popping out of the thick bush caught him by surprise. Alex froze on the spot, thinking of what a domestic bird forgot in that godforsaken swamp, miles from the nearest dwelling. He also thought that a peacock was the least animal, he expected to see here, when the bird let out another grumpy croak and decided to climb out of the vegetation in entirety.

The point was, it wasn’t a bird. A peacock’s head, a few inches of the feathery body with wings and a couple of otherwise normal bird’s paws were firmly planted on the end of a long slithery snake body. It was unknown if the beast could fly or run on its paws, at the moment it squeezed out of the foliage and slid toward Alex.

‘What the flying buck is that crap?’ thought Alex while regretting his former decision of carrying no stick with him. ‘I surely lack a pair of thick pants or jeans or something alike, as my legs are exposed from knees to ankles.’

Meanwhile, the snake-chimaera approached him, yet stayed at a few foot distance. It wasn’t particularly large or threatening, just utterly strange and, despite the whole situation being least amusing, ridiculous. Apparently, the bird part of the monster was fairly heavy for the snake tail, so it could raise it about Alex’s waist level, while still keeping the balance. There were no poisonous fangs in its beak to Alex’s relief. The beast simply stopped, small evil eyes stared at Alex’s face trying to catch his sight. Alex looked right into the pinprick pupils…

A couple of minutes passed that way. Alex sighed heavily and scratched the back of his head.

“Hey, listen,” he loudly addressed the monster, which was evidently waiting for something and now utterly surprised by not getting that. “If you’re going to play gaze, then it’s not the best time, I have better plans for today. The sun isn’t going to stay up forever, you know…”

Alex took a few steps aside, planning to avoid that serpentine hen-head and continue his hike, but it appeared, the latter had other plans. While looking very puzzled now, the monster slid aside nevertheless, blocking Alex’s path again. It looked quite stupid though, as evidently, something wasn’t working right as it expected, yet it didn’t nest in its tiny bird’s brain and the monster was unable to break its own pattern.

“You!..” Alex grinned unkindly and clenched his fists, popping knuckles.

He aimed carefully, made a couple of quick steps forward. And the monster didn’t have time to react when Alex’s well-placed kick got its beak acquainted with Alex’s heavy boot. The cock-snake let out a muffled croak, when its body flew through the air, while helplessly flapping wings and paws. It then landed right in the middle of the hollow tree and fell through the trunk with unexpected sound of a cue ball falling down the gutter.

That was too much for Alex, even after all those mishaps he had already. The whole situation was so hilarious that he bent in half in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. He simply couldn’t stop himself, remembering the idiotic expression of the monster, if anything could be read on peacock’s “face”, right before the launch.

A few minutes later Alex managed to calm himself just enough to proceed walking. The badland now seemed not so spooky.

The spiteful and now vexed croaking followed Alex for a while, making him giggle like a school girl, but the monster didn’t find guts to make another attempt. Alex marched forward triumphantly and cared now about stumbling not only.

Celestia’s sun started setting already, slowly approaching the west edge of the sky. Shadows became longer and the air – colder, it was only Spring as Alex assumed, so the day didn’t reach its’ maximum length yet. It wasn’t in his plans to stay in the woods that far from any civilization, when the darkness fell, as he knew, there must be wolves or some other similar sort of carnivore, which scoured in the forest at night. And smaller carnivores always came in packs.

The badland ended about half an hour ago and that fact made Alex extremely happy. Surely the cock-snake incident ended hilariously and brightened Alex’s mood for a while, but the whole gloom of that place slowly started getting under his skin. So, he was glad to see normal forest finally, with flowers, birds still singing (though there were less of them now as some started to prepare for the night already) and squirrels jumping in the tree crowns.

‘I need to hurry up,’ he reminded himself. ‘If I’m not mistaken there are some rocks or hills up ahead. So it definitely is going to take more time to pass than the plain ground. At least because I don’t know exactly, what to expect there. I hope nothing has changed, since Twilight’s team (he remembered one more name) passed them last time and there is no avalanche danger there now.’

‘When do you manage to finally overcome your phobia?’ he asked himself almost aloud. ‘You’re now in the place, where acrophobia can be deadly for you. Even not involving manticores.’ He tried to suppress the shiver after fresh memories of the suspension bridge.

Remembering more names and facts from the show… Show? Ha! Here it was history, as real as his own legs carrying him through the forest. Anyway, remembering more brought him to a certain dilemma.

‘If I meet natives… When I meet natives,’ Alex corrected himself as the previous variant sounded bad. ‘Would it be smart to show that I am familiar with parts of their REAL past and present? I mean, if I’m to imagine that some talking pony is found in my backyard and knows me and my family, neighbours, the name of our president, etc, wouldn’t it be utterly strange, if not alarming, for me to communicate with an alien creature, who still knows that much about us?’

‘They will lock me in some stone sack or some mental hospital if they have any of sort… Hey, I wonder what a mad pony looks like,’ Alex smirked, but he was seriously sure that humans were not common to Equestria. ‘They can suspect that I am some spy, evil monstrosity, an alien, I mean extra…equestrian one… or just a bucking rare animal.’ He facepalmed at the realization of the delicacy of the situation, he was going to get into.

‘At least I hope I will have enough time to spend with common natives to prove I’m sentient before officials have a chance to grab me. For what I know, Celestia seems to be not the softest person and I don’t want a vacation on the Moon,’ Alex checked the sun position when he reached another open place. ‘Wonder, if we can understand each other. Evidently, I could read the books from the library, but those were obviously ages old. Who knows, if the language evolved too much.’

Again, he didn’t pay much attention to the fact that he was able to read the books, while naturally he shouldn’t have been by any logical approach. But his mind was distracted by a view of the mountain behind the line of trees. The mountain wasn’t too high or steep, but Alex still cringed.

‘There is no other way,’ he regained his posture. ‘If I try to walk around, I’ll lose too much time. Celestia won’t hold the sun just for me longer than usual. Let’s simply hope there are no vertical cliffs.’ He gulped nervously and decided to run.

Alex passed the last few lines of trees in a few seconds and faced a long yet not very steep dirt slide, which rose to a considerable height and turned into a plain rock “shelf” running around the rest of the mountain. At least one could walk, not climb that slide. Alex was fine with that variant and kept running up, trying to not look behind just in case. The ascent took him about ten minutes of fast running as he didn’t travel the straight line, because of bigger rocks protruding from the slide, and sometimes was to use all four limbs to proceed. He soon reached the top and climbed on the shelf, immediately getting closer to the mountain side and away from the edge. While catching his breath, he could observe the whole sea of trees far below, painted in red and gold by setting sun.

‘I’m out of time,’ Alex continued running along the stone shelf. ‘But no flying way I’m going to repeat that trick in the nearest future. I’ve coped because of one reason most likely if I stopped or failed otherwise, I would have never undertaken a second attempt.’

He proceeded as fast as he could, still being on guard, as he heard wind high up in the rocks and rare stone crackling. Making less noise was the hardest task, as any loud bump could possibly cause a rockfall.

‘Come on, you’re almost there,’ he encouraged himself. ‘There is a descent on the other side of the mountain… Damn! Okay, Alex, calm bucking down. There. Is. A. Descent. And you’re gonna make it. Then a couple of miles more of the same forest. Then you’ll be able to see the town across the hills. Perhaps you can even meet someone at the outskirts of Ponyville. Someone who can help you.’

‘If you want to get home faster, your best chance here is Twilight. She knows magic, and stuff and magic seem to be the force running this world, regardless of how weird it sounds for you.’

‘But Twilight is a direct thread to Celestia,’ Alex frowned. ‘I won’t be surprised if she sends her a letter right after you appear in her sight. Which leaves the question open – is it for good or… not that much.’

‘Remember, you’re still a spy or alien or rare animal, undecided,’ he smiled unhappily while running and trying to keep his breath even.

Seemingly he started to find a strange pleasure in his travel around the mountain. Seeing all the woods below as far as he could observe, setting sun… and having a few foot distance between him and the edge of his improvised road.

Soon his marathon came to an end. Alex stopped and threw a look from under his hand at the wide, but not endless stripe of trees, the green hills behind them and a darker spot with sparkles of glare in the light of setting sun – windows, roofs, whatever there was – there lied the town, his final goal.

The descent here wasn’t a complete nightmare – it was formed by an endless number of platforms chaotically protruding from the side of the mountain, so they practically formed a set of wide but not very high steps. The lower they got the more and bigger plants were growing on them. Few lowest rocks have small trees and thick bushes covering them.

‘Get moving,’ Alex ordered himself. ‘Just a few… Okay, okay, many big steps, thankfully connected by only a few foot high drops, slides, whatever your acrophobic ass is going to deal with. You can easily cope.’

‘I hope…’ added he and started carefully getting down. But before that, he took one more look at the town far ahead to remember the direction. ‘When I’m down, I won’t see any landmark, except probably that mountain. Not even it, when I’m deeper in the forest.’

Surprisingly, descending wasn’t as awful, as Alex was afraid, it was going to be. He just focused not further than next rock platform or even mountain side in front of his nose – he decided to climb down facing the mountain side, not the ground below, that was ten times easier. At least it allowed him to divert his mind from the actual height.

Tired, shaking from the stress, sweaty, but still going down at good pace he was above the last platform when he heard a distant scream from the forest below. Alex strained, the scream was girly, high pitched and undoubtedly one of terror.

Alex quickly jumped to the last platform and crouched behind the bushes. He then crawled flat between the trees to the edge of his watching spot and stopped behind the small log. The cover wasn’t good – the log was probably as thick as his leg and only three-four feet long, but he had no other choice. Right away he heard the rustling below. Carefully he raised his head and waited.

A small yellow pony pegasus jumped out of the bushes to the left of Alex’s hiding spot and stopped almost beneath him. She – and Alex was sure that was a she – turned then, facing the direction, she came from, and stood still, slightly shivering. Fast breath carried whining notes of despair, big turquoise beautiful eyes were wide open, pink mane and tail of impossible length and density now drooped in hopelessness. Alex noticed two saddle bags, a small white rabbit clenching to her back and now trying to hide inside her incredible mane and same marks on both her flanks. Three butterflies!

“I'll be damned!” whispered Alex under his breath. “Fluttershy…” Surely he was ready for something like that, yet when it happened that suddenly and evidently, he was stunned.

‘Why didn’t she fly away?’ he asked himself noticing her wings tightly folded and pressed to her body. ‘Perhaps she feared the rabbit might fall…’

Thankfully the wind was blowing from the forest towards him. The bushes on the edge of the opening parted, letting out three wolves. Very nasty, hungry, determined and… made of wooden debris apparently – branches, smaller twigs, leaves, even a few rocks. Alex’s eyes widened even more. Meanwhile… timberwolves… started slowly cutting the distance between them and their supposed prey. Alex didn’t have time to do anything when he felt that something changed below.

The yellow pegasus straightened and stared right into timberwolves’ eyes. Whining ceased to exist as if it never was there in the first place. Alex was surprised by soft and melodic, yet strong and confident voice.

“So if you are a few big bad wolves, you afford thinking that you can offend somepony smaller and weaker than you!” scolded she and her next phrase rang like a bell. “HOW DARE YOU CHASE ME AND ANGEL?!!”

Alex didn’t listen further, he was simply shocked by that impossible situation. Fluttershy was about his waist-high, her eyes not reaching his chest level. Surely if she stood on her hind legs, she could put her fore legs on his shoulders and look into his face. But timberwolves were giants compared to her, they were at least twice bigger than a grown-up human and could look Alex right in the eyes while standing on all fours.

But… whatever she was doing to them was working. Three wolves crouched with the most guilty look on their muzzles if the timber muzzles could carry such an expression, their ears flat and their broom-like tails between their hind legs. It took them a couple of moments more to lose their determination completely and flee under the trees. It seemed, they had no plans to return at all.

However, Alex noticed one more thing, which avoided the attention of the yellow pegasus. One more timberwolf evidently managed to sneak around the opening and to the right behind the foliage and was now right out of her field of view, getting ready to jump on her back.

‘Even if I shout, she has no time to turn and distract him or do whatever she was doing to the others,’ Alex’s hands found their grip on the log in front of him, as his blood boiled from the anger towards that sneaky beast. ‘I may regret that next moment, but…’

“No! You fucking DON’T…” he landed between Fluttershy, who turned 180 degrees in one jump with a loud frightened squeak, and the remaining timberwolf. Alex raised the log like a baseball bat. Even if the wolf was caught by surprise by that sudden change of the scene, it didn’t show much hesitation and attacked. Alex was ready for that lunge and leaned back letting timberwolf’s head past him and simultaneously getting a wider swing.

He put all his momentum into this one well-aimed hit. With an earsplitting crackling the wooden head left the neck and flew far into the bushes, where it met the tree trunk and crumbled into the small pieces of wooden junk. Timberwolf’s body rolled over with remaining speed and its left paw found Alex’s side in last vile strike.

The beheaded timberwolf dropped to the ground and its entire body turned into the separate branches and pieces of wood.

THUD!

Alex dropped the log and fell on the ground next to his enemy.

All that time Fluttershy stood on the spot as if she was hit by the lightning. The rabbit timorously looked out of her mane and patted her neck with a paw. She woke from her shock and approached the human figure on the ground.

Alex felt heat filling his right side and the nasty trembling in his hands. The fiery snakes inside woke up and jerked, making him let out an unwanted weak moan.

He saw yellow pegasus girl’s face in the reddish veil tinting his eyesight. The pink soft mane covered half of it and left open one lovely turquoise eye, now filled with concern and compassion. Alex reached her mane with his left hand and touched her cheek, feeling the amazing velvet of soft warm coat. To his fading surprise, the feeling was nothing near of a common pony, people are used to – usually more furry and rough; a weak smile touched his lips. Fluttershy’s face then turned into Elen’s in his blurring sight.

A bear muzzle appeared behind. Alex took that with the serenity of the doomed.

“Harry,” exclaimed “Elen” in dismay. “We should take him to my cottage… A-as soon as we can… ummm… please, if that’s OK with you…”

The bear muzzle nodded.

Alex closed his eyes and fell through the darkness…

3. Keep calm and flutter on - Day One

Apparently, he wasn’t dead… yet. Alex’s consciousness floated somewhere at the thin border between this world and the land of Eternal Hunt, with him being able to hear scraps of reality from time to time, but not yet see or move. After a while, he decided to fight for his chance and started floating through the nowhere towards the voices he heard. Slowly…

Bang!

The door slammed against the wall when Fluttershy pushed it and burst in.

“Oh goodness, oh goodness!” muttered she, making a wide circle around the room. Curtains on the windows stirred up, caught by her wings’ turbulence. “I have only one bed. I can hardly put him anywhere else… Squee!”

“Come on, Harry,” she landed at the bottom of the stairs and ran up. “Bring him upstairs… umm… please.”

When in her bedroom she swept everything unnecessary from the bed in one swing, a book she read last night and teddy bear went into the armchair in the corner. She dragged the covers to the footrest of her bed. Loud footsteps entered the living room and now headed to the upper floor.

Harry breathed heavily, surely the creature weighed not too much for a bear to carry, but the walk was long. Besides, he managed to hold the edges of the wound to avoid bleeding out and was to be constantly careful. Still, blood was everywhere.

Fluttershy turned to the bedroom door, as Harry got up and was now standing in the doorframe with the “creature” in his fore paws. He pointed with his eyes to the wound and blood drops, forming a trail on the floor.

“Oh, dear,” jumped Fluttershy on the spot. “Just bring him in and on the bed, I’ll clean everything up later. On the right side… please… if it’s OK with you.”

“Wait a minute, we need to take those things off him,” she reconsidered. “Please hold him a little longer.”

After a few minutes of futile attempts, they understood that they needed help, as Harry was to hold both the body and the wound and Fluttershy couldn’t get a good grip to remove strange dark-blue clothes.

“Angel, dear!”

White bunny, which ran somewhere, when they entered the cottage, appeared after a few more calls. The reason for his lingering became obvious when a large heap of bandages hopped in the bedroom. It seemed that he had raided the whole first-aid locker downstairs.

“O-oh, dear, you’re so thoughtful,” Fluttershy flew up crossing the room and planted a small kiss on bunny’s nose, making Angel blush. “I’m so sorry, b-but I have one more task for you… if… you don’t mind… Please, go get Twilight here as soon as she can attend!”

“Just be careful out there!” shouted she after him, when he saluted with the fore paw and burst jumped through the door.

Harry sat on the floor, still holding the wounded creature. Fluttershy trotted downstairs to get her saddlebag with the potions, she hoped could help.

The first one foamed, being poured on the terrible wound, cleaning it, pushing out dust and small pieces of wood and flushing them away. The second composition, applied by her caring hooves, was supposed to help stop the bleeding and boost the regeneration of the tissues. It was also to be applied with the bandage, but for the moment Fluttershy could only make a temporary one. She tried to apply it and fix as tightly, as she could to make the wound edges close.

The creature didn’t react anyhow on her manipulations and Fluttershy trembled. Her touches, despite being careful and wary, should have certainly hurt. But he definitely breathed and the pulse was palpable when she checked. That made her calm down a bit.

There was one more potion at her service, this one was to replenish the blood loss by stimulating the body to produce more and generally strengthen the patient. But it needed to be applied orally and no sane pony would pour something into the throat of the unconscious unless wanting to kill them.

“Oh, dear…” tears started filling Fluttershy’s eyes.

Her sad thoughts were interrupted by a loud snap almost making her dive under the bed. When the bright flash faded out, Fluttershy and Harry saw Twilight Sparkle, who transferred herself right into Fluttershy’s bedroom. Angel bunny jumped off her back. Fluttershy took a deep breath with her ears still flat and one of the fore legs raised.

“Hi, Flutters,” Twilight waved one hoof in a greeting gesture. “Hi, Harry.”

“What’s up with you guys? Angel jumped around me like mad, until I took him and got here fast. I was afraid something bad happened…” she stumbled as her eyes reached the body Harry held in his paws.

“This… is not…” Twilight’s pupils almost filled the eyes. “F-Fluttershy, don’t tell you’ve found a human! How… ummm…” her wings wiggled unconsciously.

“I-if you say so,” Fluttershy was a bit bemused by that reaction. “I-I don’t get it. I mean, s-surely that’s something rare, b-but… I wanted you here to help… i-if you don’t mind…”

“I, of course, don’t, but it’s not just “rare”,” huffed Twilight. “It’s mythic. I’ve read something about them, but the information was scarce. Lyra should know more, you know. She is mad about those things… creatures, always talking about how marvellous it would be to have hands and so on. That’s while she is a unicorn,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Can you imagine? She is the one who told me about them initially, now I remember. Then I looked for some information myself and couldn’t find much… I wonder… where did she...” Twilight stopped to take a deep breath and think.

“M-m-mythic?” re-asked Fluttershy quietly.

“Yeah, must be it,” she approached. “Two hands with palms and fingers… just like minotaurs have. But the legs must be similar, I mean, no hooves… They have fingers there as well, just different ones, as they walk on those two legs only. Otherwise, they seem to be a lot like us.”

“With one exception though,” Twilight’s tone became very serious. “There are none normally in Equestria. They are from another world, as far as I know. I know your love for the animals and… But how did you manage to get it, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy’s eyes dilated, she looked like she was going to fall. But she managed to take herself in the hooves after a second.

“He saved me from a timberwolf in the Everfree forest,” she whispered. Then her voice became stronger. “And please, Twilight, don’t call him “it”, he was talking, he is definitely sentient… and… he saved my life.”

Twilight looked sceptical. But she was ready to help her friend, as she knew, Fluttershy wouldn’t call her that late without serious reasons.

“Okay, Flutters, I know you long and well enough not to argue. What do I need to do?”

“Thank you, Twilight,” Fluttershy gave her a little smile. “He is bleeding out. I’ve cleaned the wound and used one of Zecora’s potions to slow the bleeding and make it heal.”

“But he lost too much, he was muttering something we couldn’t get,” she added in despair. “Now he is quiet for a while and I fear that my treatment isn’t enough. I can’t use the Refilling potion, as he is unconscious, I don’t want to drown him. Besides, we need to get his clothes off and we couldn’t cope with that in his condition. We need your magic, Twilight, please…”

“Okay, Okay,” Twilight remembered how enthusiastic Fluttershy could be when saving some “poor thing”. “Just let’s take it step by step.”

They managed to take human’s “toga” off together, while Harry held the body. When they took off the boots, Twilight frowned. These were surely comfortable enough for human feet to take long walks, but they could also let more air in during those walks.

“We should wash him somehow,” Fluttershy nodded noticing Twilight’s pout. “Nopony knows how far and long for he was walking.”

“Then you should take off those as well,” Twilight smirked pointing her hoof to the underwear and Fluttershy blushed heavily. “Come on, do you still need him clean and recovering?” She gave her friend a sly grin.

“Could you… maybe… help?” Fluttershy sighed. “I know you’re a princess now and so on…”

“And besides it’s… okay, okay,” Twilight amended seeing her friend frowned, but her grin became wider. “He is your new… attainment.”

Eventually, Fluttershy coped with her task, she was to use her teeth to help her hooves do it. Yes, that was evidently a “he” and the yellow pegasus’ face turned almost carrot red.

“You both didn’t see anything,” she pointed her hoof towards Twilight and Harry when they put the human on the bed finally. “Especially you, Twi!”

Twilight raised her fore leg in juratory gesture, Harry was whistling, while looking at the ceiling.

“Oh, dear,” Fluttershy remembered what time it already was. “Harry… I can’t express, how thankful I am! Sorry for keeping you busy for that long. You can go… if you need to. I can’t probably ask for more.”

The bear nodded with a smile on his muzzle. He then headed out shrugging, like saying ‘Have fun, girls!’

“Good night, Harry!” Twilight waved a hoof, Harry grunted something in a farewell manner.

“If we need to wash him,” she turned to Fluttershy. “Why not doing that now, before I take a look on his wound.”

Next fifteen minutes they spent washing the dust from the human – Fluttershy brought a washbowl with warm water and sponge. They tried to do with most possible care as when they attempted to turn the body more blood stained the bandages.

When everything was finally done, Twilight asked Fluttershy to remove the patch accurately. The wound was indeed bad and even worse than she imagined. Despite all potions applied there was still enough work to do.

Twilight’s horn produced the bright lilac glow, she decided to try the most simple healing spell, every unicorn filly should know to make wounds close up. She then touched the edges with her magic. She felt a small push and, to her surprise, no signs of her spell working. The wound stayed the same and as she was further trying to heal it, she started feeling slight dizziness.

This very moment the flaming snakes feeling inside Alex finally settled, unnoticed by him, of course.

Twilight interrupted her spell and staggered a little. Her yellow friend slid to her to catch her up.

“No, no, it’s fine,” said Twilight, when Fluttershy looked at her with anxiety and surprise. “It’s just strange…”

“I felt like my spell was draining and sucking magical force from me, but nothing happened. It didn’t help to close up the wound,” she explained to Fluttershy her condition. “Mind if I try something else?”

“S-sure. But… P-please be careful…”

“Of course, as much as I usually am,” smiled Twilight, readying another supposedly more powerful and effective spell.

Same result. Nothing. This time the feeling of exhaustion was stronger and more noticeable, making Twilight sigh tiredly and back down. She sat on the spot with a very puzzled look on her face.

“It’s the first time I could do literally nothing, Flutters,” she looked at her friend, who now checked the human’s condition more thoroughly – fortunately he didn’t get any worse.

Twilight looked across the room to the table under the window, then levitated a cup from it towards herself.

“No, my magic is fine,” she assumed, while Fluttershy was watching her. “And I didn’t feel any drain while doing this. It must be something about him that makes him… magic resistant.”

“But that’s nonsense,” she added in disbelief. “Nothing is unaffected by magic one way or another in Equestria. Well… I must ask Lyra if she knows anything about humans being magic resistant. As far as I could remember, they aren’t…”

Then she turned to Fluttershy, who was fluttering around the human on her bed, covering him up, making him comfortable, murmuring something melodic… In other words behaving, like it was her Angel bunny with a bad cold. Twilight was even unsure, she noticed how the patch was replaced and tightened with more bandages.

“What?” Fluttershy paused and noticed that her friend was watching her with one brow lifted. “Oh, I-I… I’m sorry, Twilight, what did you say?”

“I say,” Twilight still watched them fixedly. “I want you to tell me exactly how it was. How did you meet that… guy.”

“Ummm…” Fluttershy tried to remember the vital details. “Remember you warned me about the timberwolves. I was so stupid not listening to you enough, sorry.”

Twilight nodded in accommodating spirit.

“It wasn’t even late, but they appeared and chased me and Angel,” Fluttershy continued her story. “I was so scared. Sweet Celestia, at least Angel was on my back at the moment it happened. I ran towards the rocks. Twi, it happened right near the mountain, you know, where the old road to Sister’s Castle is…”

“Wait a moment,” Twilight nodded and headed to the nightstand, where the human’s improvised clothes lied. “I knew I saw something strange about this.”

She then unfolded it and stared at the long wide piece of fabric… of the ancient tapestry. Night coloured with the Moon and… princess Luna stylized image.

“I’ll be damned,” whispered Twilight and covered her mouth with the hoof right away, as if being afraid that Celestia might have heard her swearing. “This is princess Luna regal tapestry from the Old Castle. I need to write a letter to Princess Celestia as soon as I get home. Now even more than before…”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” she turned to her friend, who also came closer and now examined the tapestry over Twilight’s shoulder. “Can you please continue?”

“Right… I-I was chased to the mountain side and when I stopped in the opening, I saw there was no way out except… except c-climbing the rocks. You know, I-I always had problems with that, back then… and during that incident with a d-dragon…” Fluttershy smiled sheepishly with her cheeks starting to blush.

‘Except you can fly,’ thought Twilight, but she said only. “So?”

“So I turned and… w-well, it always happens automatically.” Fluttershy’s voice got more confident. “I’ve just stared the timberwolves… With the Stare I mean.”

“They left, well, I thought so, but there were more than three of them,” Fluttershy’s eyes dilated when she remembered the danger she was in. “But I realized that later. I suddenly heard that somepony jumped behind me to the ground. He shouted, well actually those were only comprehensible words I heard from him, addressed to the wolf I suppose. He said, “No, you bucking don’t!” When I turned around, he was standing there with… a log or something. Timberwolf attacked, but the human dodged and then hit the wolf on the neck with that log. He sent wolf’s head flying far into the shrubs, it hit the tree and crashed. The wolf rolled over, but… I think it managed to hit the human with its’ paw somehow before dropping dead. Then the human fell down and soon fainted.”

Fluttershy took the breath and looked at Twilight, who sat on the floor with eyes wide open. She then realized that the last few seconds she was jumping around her friend, waving her fore legs like a mad baseball stallion-fan.

“Squee…” Fluttershy lowered to the floor with ears flattened and colour hitting her cheeks. “Sorry.”

“Ahem,” Twilight cleared her throat. “Never mind… And what happened next.”

“Pretty much what you already know,” answered Fluttershy with a tiny smile. “Harry came to assist… but he could never get there in time… So if that human wasn’t there, I would have been already… dead.” She couldn’t help but shiver at the thought. “We took him here and he was bleeding all the way, despite Harry managed somehow to close his wound for a while. Then I send Angel after you…”

“Fluttershy, tell me one thing,” Twilight scratched her head with the hoof. “What makes you so sure that the human wasn’t just eliminating the rival? And had no plans to continue, what wolves started, if not being hit by the last of them? I’m just asking…”

“I. Just. Know!” said Fluttershy quietly, but confidently.

“I see,” said Twilight after looking her fixedly in the eyes for a few seconds. “Well, that still doesn’t change that I should write to Celestia about all that, considering Old Castle involved and the human appearing magic resistant.”

“Just don’t make it look darker than it is,” pleaded Fluttershy.

“You know me, dear,” Twilight tried to hold back a tired yawn, it was after midnight already. “I’ll write only facts and it’s up to princess to decide, what they mean and what to do with all that.”

“Oh, okay…”

“Now, if you excuse me…” Twilight got up. “Unless you still need my help… If I can be of any, as I can’t manipulate him with magic.”

“Oh, no, I’ll cope with it, thanks!” Fluttershy smiled and returned to the bed to check how her patient was doing.

“Then I’ll go back home. I need to think, write a letter and a reminder to myself to bring you more bandages tomorrow… Do you have enough?”

“Don’t worry, Twi,” Fluttershy was an epitome of serenity and confidence when she got somepony to take care of. “Angel brought here all we had… and if necessary… I-I will rip one of my sheets. One more thing though...”

“Yes?”

“I’m not sure if you know how…” muttered Fluttershy. “I was unable to give him a refilling potion to compensate for the blood loss. Simply was afraid of drowning him. Could you do anything about that?”

“This is a matter of minutes,” Twilight cocked her head proudly. “If you have a rubber tube…”

“Twilight?!”

“What? I’ve read about the whole procedure in a book, I have no reasons to distrust!”

This day had all the chances to end fine, but suddenly it all went down the gutter. And the four autopsies in the row were not the reason. Normally four was not even close to the workday record. It was the latest analysis results, which made him hate that day and his job – the rare case, as those who do, rarely become or stay pathologists. But the whole absurdity of the situation made him cringe. Miles hated when something couldn’t be explained logically and scientifically. This time he had to deal with the purely fantastic incident. As the case materials told there was a human, white, male, about 25-30 years old in the car, which remnants analysis results were laying on his table right at that moment. In the car, which got on fire because of gasoline leakage and was simultaneously hit by a lightning discharge. But… there wasn’t.

Miles took off the glasses and rubbed the nose bridge. It could hardly be any worse. There were no trails of the human body (intact, decayed, burned or affected any other way) in the samples of seat and salon covers and the ash, into which the largest part of former car interior turned. But they must be there. There were two witnesses that the case subject got in the car before the incident and didn’t get out before or after car ignition. But some trails should have remained even in the centre of an atomic explosion. There was nothing though. The analysis returned only presence of some cloth, which wasn’t the salon cover, probably clothes, but completely nothing organic from the back seat area.

“Fuck it in general and in particular,” Miles send the silent damnation to the burned car, the police who requested the analysis and the laboratory, which left him dealing with the blank result. “At least the report will be quite laconic.”

“No trails of human (generally organic) tissues found in the presented samples” – just the same as the result which the damned lab delivered.”

“I have a gut feeling, this will bring troubles in the longer perspective, despite there is nothing else we could do obviously,” Miles gritted his teeth, filling the forms with a frustrated sigh.

Someone knocked on the door of the cabinet.

“Come in,” called Miles not raising his head from the documents he worked with.

“Evening, Sam,” the newcomer sat on the visitor chair opposite to the workplace. That was the police detective, working on this case, and at the same time a pal of Sam Miles, police pathologist.

“Evening, Mathew,” replied Sam quite grumpily. Though his feeling was dictated purely by the results, not by his guest. “Can’t say though a good one!”

“So?” Mathew was an epitome of briefness.

“Nothing,” the pathologist grimaced in frustration. “No trails of the human body or anything at least resembling it in that car.”

“But…” Mathew stumbled. “Well… Sam, I need anything you can comment about that case. Unofficially, of course… not for the report.”

Sam put the glasses back on and examined his friend, like if he was seeing him for the first time. After a short pause, he said.

“But I have nothing to comment on, frankly. I can comment, basing on the facts or test results. And the result is clearly saying – no body present. So, if you want, there was nobody on the back seat of that car in the exact moment, when it turned into ash and debris. I can make theories about the rest… but, I’m sorry, I somehow don’t want to.”

“Look, there were two witnesses,” Mathew leaned forward and talked passionately. “Moreover, those witnesses were my own sister and her daughter. That is why I want to sort this case out, even if unofficially. I want to simply understand, what happened there.”

“Umm…”

“My sister is a sane and prudent woman and would never make up such a story, besides… what for?” continued the detective. “And the girl never told a word of a lie in her whole life. I know it sounds strange, but she simply can’t, she is like that.”

“And they both saw that guy in their car just before it became an oven… with electric grille,” Mathew shivered at the thought of what they evaded. “He saved my niece, taking her out of the car just moments before it ignited. We found his car down the road, his personal belongings, documents. My sister was holding his jacket and cell phone, he gave her to call the emergency, right before he got into her car. We found his parents and his girlfriend.”

“So he was a real person,” Mathew took a breath. “He was there in the car… and now you’re telling that he wasn’t…”

“Exactly, despite how much I dislike coming to that conclusion myself,” shrugged Miles. “Look, I don’t know yet, what to do of that report… and you want me to click my fingers and make that guy… or his corpse, materialize here, don’t you? Well, with all respect… I simply can’t.”

The daylight lamp on the ceiling buzzed unusually loud in the silence that followed.

First rays of sun and birds chatter, which sounded from outside through the open window, woke her early in the morning. Fluttershy found herself on the edge of her bed near the human, the place she exactly collapsed at about two hours ago (as the wall clock told her) after changing the bandages once again. It was 7 am and promised another busy day ahead, especially with new chores to attend to. She yawned and stretched, then remembered something and flew up to check her patient. Everything seemed normal. When she peeked under the patch, the wound didn’t look that awful as before. His breath was superficial, but even, the pulse – calm and palpable.

“Hmm… Those humans must have fast regeneration,” she said to herself. “Or did Twilight’s spell finally work?”

Still, it would be better to hold the edges tighter somehow without making it excessively painful for the subject. Thinking of how hard it would be to achieve, Fluttershy trotted to the bathroom to wash off the sleep and fatigue. She left the door open and listened to the sounds from the room while showering and brushing her teeth. Silence. She dried herself and entered the bedroom. Angel bunny jumped on the bed near the human and waved his paw to her, showing that he would stay and watch. He squeaked enthusiastically.

“Thank you, Angel,” smiled Fluttershy. “What would I do without you? Could you watch him till I finish feeding others?”

Angel nodded, letting Fluttershy stick to her regular morning business.

“I need to hurry,” she thought. “First breakfast to all, then daily care for those who need, then check his bandages and apply potions.”

“Sweet Celestia,” Fluttershy shivered remembering. “I hope Twilight comes before noon. There is no way I’m trying her trick with the tube alone, but he needs that.”

It was already half past ten when Fluttershy was about to finish her morning routines. She examined a sick squirrel and decided to try a new Zecora’s composition on when she saw somepony heading up to her cottage from Ponyville. This newcomer jumped the road in a manner, he or she could compete Pinkie Pie, and appeared to be a minty-green unicorn mare with white-blue mane, when she came closer.

“Oh, no,” Fluttershy rounded up her observation and hurried to the front door. “I’ve totally forgotten that Twilight wanted to send Lyra Heartstrings here to see the human and share her knowledge. Why do I suspect troubles to come?..”

She greeted the minty coloured mare, while Lyra almost jumped around Fluttershy in circles.

“Morning, Flutters!” she greeted cheerfully. “Twilight said you could use my help with your new pet. She said it was a human. Did you really catch one? Squee!” She was behaving like a school filly on her favourite DJ concert.

“Well, most likely he is. But he’s not a pet,” frowned Fluttershy.

“Oh, come on, Flutters!” grinned Lyra widely. “Why so serious?”

“Because he is a human, right… Well, most likely as you didn’t see him yet to confirm,” replied Fluttershy irritably. “And because he saved my life in Everfree and now is severely wounded. I need help to make him recover. That is why I’m… deadly serious.” She took a deep breath heading to her cottage. “Are you coming?”

“You brought him from Everfree?” Lyra blinked several times. “And he did what?”

Fluttershy noticed to her satisfaction that Lyra stopped calling the human “it”.

“Umm… Not me technically, but that doesn’t matter…”

“Now if you please,” she stopped at the door, welcoming Lyra inside.

Lyra shook her head then trotted after Fluttershy, not as jumpily, but still with an enthusiastic look on her face.

“It’s me, Angel,” Fluttershy opened the door to her bedroom. “You must know Lyra. She came to see our guest.”

Angel hopped from the bed to the armchair and pushed the teddy bear aside. He wasn’t very friendly with other ponies, except her close friends – Twilight and other few. Fluttershy was very surprised to see him helping with the human that willingly and even staying with him to keep an eye. Perhaps Angel felt grateful for not becoming a burger for the wolves.

Fluttershy pushed Lyra into the room lightly, as the latter froze in the doorframe with eyes wide open. Minty unicorn made a few steps in and stopped again.

“So? What do you say… i-if you don’t mind?” asked Fluttershy quietly.

That seemed to break Lyra’s stupor, as she jumped high and yelped.

“YESSSSSS!!! It is a human! One head, no hair on the body… almost… Two legs, two arms. With palms and fingers!!!”

Lyra’s eyes dilated and the whole her look said, she was going either faint or grab the human as some sort of rare treasure. She rushed towards the bed and Fluttershy needed to react quickly to get herself between her patient and Lyra.

“Lyra,” called Fluttershy, holding her with her fore legs. “Calm down! And please be quiet… if you don’t mind.”

“Please, be adequate,” she added quieter when Lyra seemed to catch her breath and calm a bit. “That is why I needed you here. I know next to nothing about humans, except them being sentient and able to talk.”

Lyra allowed to get her seated, took a deep breath and flooded Fluttershy with information. Next half an hour she talked almost without any pauses. Fluttershy sat next to her, listened and nodded, sometimes re-asking. It seemed like Lyra prepared for a lecture… or simply learned everything she could about humans. Evidently, they were her favourite subject. Fluttershy got to know that.

Humans were from an entirely different world. That was expected by Fluttershy, yet getting it confirmed carried a tint of shock to it.

“So h-he is technically… an alien,” she interrupted Lyra’s talk. “An extra-… equestrian creature.”

“Yeah, they don’t commonly inhabit Everfree, you know!” smirked Lyra. “Where did that one come from exactly?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Fluttershy smiled embarrassedly. “He might come from the Old Castle, at least I came across him, where the road to Sisters’ Castle starts…”

Lyra’s eyes, which travelled across the room, stopped at the folded cloth on the table and widened.

“… and he was dressed in that tapestry wrapped around him like a toga, underwear and boots,” ended Fluttershy, when she saw that Lyra trembled slightly. “What? What’s wrong with you?”

“You don’t say… that’s an ancient tapestry of Princess Luna,” Lyra recognized the colours. Apparently, she was good at history as well as at human matters. “From the Sisters’ Castle Ruins?”

“Perhaps. Twilight says it is. I-I was too scared… last time I w-was in the Ruins to pay attention to t-tapestry stuff. Does that really matter?”

“And he came dressed in that, wrapped his body in?” continued Lyra. Her eyes moved from the human on the bed to Fluttershy, like if she wasn’t sure who now shocked her more. “I reconsider, I’d be careful with that creature…”

“Oh, stop that Lyra,” Fluttershy laughed heartily, when she got, what Lyra was talking about. “There is no Nightmare Moon anymore. And princess Luna is back. She’s kinda nice…”

“You know the legend though,” whispered Lyra.

“…I’ve met her in person and saw that my fears were groundless. Come on, you’ve met princess on last Nightmare Night celebration. She’s okay, strange spoken, but who wouldn’t be, spending a thousand of years on the Moon.”

“Exactly,” interrupted Lyra.

“And I’m telling you, that legend is just… a legend. I can personally assure you there are no… “remnants” in the Old Castle!” Fluttershy calmed her down. “Besides Twilight founds that interesting, but nothing more. I trust Twilight when it comes to magic.”

“Oh… Well… Perhaps it’s safe then… Perhaps,” Lyra seemed to relax a bit. Mentioning Twilight – the most promising student of princess Celestia – was the right idea.

“So,” Fluttershy tried to return Lyra’s focus to the main subject. “What did you say about humans?”

Humans usually lived in groups, be it families, tribes or other formations – this one could be lost and accidentally transferred to Equestria. How – that was an open question still. Humans were omnivores – that could bring some problems in future, but considering them sentient, Fluttershy hoped that could be settled easily. Humans were good warriors – that was apparently correct.

“Yeah, that’s typical for them,” nodded Lyra when Fluttershy told her what happened at the mountain side. “When they defend beloved, family or their principles, they can take out an enemy way stronger than themselves, with the help of a good weapon even more. But why did he do that? He was putting himself in great danger confronting a timberwolf, moreover a timberwolf ready to pounce on its’ prey…”

“That’s one thing among others, which makes me completely sure, he is sentient and carries no malicious intent,” said Fluttershy quietly.

“Still doesn’t explain – why? You say he was wounded… Can I have a look?”

“I was going to change bandages and apply the regular treatment,” Fluttershy trotted to the table to take necessary potions. “It is time to already, so I suppose it’s OK.”

“So here is where…” sighed Lyra when a long wide wound opened to her eyes. “A bad one, but he seems to hold. And you treated it really well.”

“Thanks,” Fluttershy gave her a smile. “I tried my best. That was the least I could do for him.”

“…but you could do better,” continued Lyra, while her eyes examined the human’s upper body. “Humans treat bad wounds with stitches. They hold edges together and allow tissues close up faster.”

“You mean sewing their skin?” asked Fluttershy with dilated eyes.

“Yes, if you have durable threads and some pain-killing potion, I could help with that. You see, they possess no magic, so are to rely on simple things like that and medicine.”

When everything was ready, they’ve spent twenty minutes sewing the wound up. Fluttershy held the edges together while Lyra operated a needle and thread with her magic. Potions worked nicely and there wasn’t much blood. The human seemed to not notice being operated.

“Now apply the potions outside only,” explained Lyra when they finished. “Don’t try to get anything inside, thus the wound will close up faster. When it does, somepony needs to remove the stitches.”

“I suppose that should hurt… a bit,” she added. “But nothing compared to what he has come across already.”

“You said, they don’t possess any magic,” Fluttershy returned to what bothered her while placing the patch back on human’s side.

“Absolutely.”

“And what about being resistant to magic?”

“Fluttershy, there were quite a few cases of human getting to Equestria, all of them resulting in different troubles with them, most ending tragically,” Lyra put on mentor tone. “But none of them were resistant to magic. In fact, I suppose this to be one of the reasons most cases ended tragically. Humans are easily affected by magic, thus easily affected by not only healing potions, which operate the body but by others like love potions, which operate the mind. They can be marionettes at horn, too.”

“Hmm… Maybe this one is the first then?” asked Fluttershy. “Because he IS resistant to magic. And Twilight made sure of this with me witnessing.”

“You must be kidding,” Lyra came closer to the bed still eyeing the human. Suddenly she grasped the covers with magic and tried to pull it off.

“What are you doing?” exclaimed Fluttershy. “Stop!”

“Ehh… I just wanted to check…” Lyra said innocently, but something in her eyes made Fluttershy frown.

“What did you want to check?” she interrogated Lyra. “What did you expect to see? Two legs… as you said…” she stopped. “We, me and Twilight, were to undress him to wash the dust off and…”

“And?..” Lyra giggled.

“There was no “and”,” Fluttershy cheeks started to glow red, while her sight rushed to the floor. “We just c-cleaned him. You know… h-healing wounds need simple hygiene.”

“I suppose,” Lyra was unbearable at that moment. She added with a sly smile. “By the way, did you know that a human male can last in bed at least 15 times longer than a typical stallion? Scientific fact!”

Fluttershy facehoofed.

“Theoretically…” Lyra’s face became carrot red under Fluttershy’s wild glare, but she still giggled.

Suddenly minty glow enveloped human’s right hand. It got brighter then dimmer then again in a cycle, then a thin thread of the same glow connected it with Lyra’s glowing horn. Lyra staggered.

“Lyra, stop!” shouted Fluttershy, running to the unicorn and pushing her with her body. She managed to break the glowing connection and Lyra leaned on Fluttershy, then tried to stop her eyes rolling.

Fluttershy provided a supporting shoulder and led Lyra downstairs carefully.

“How could you be that stupid,” asked Fluttershy when they got into the kitchen and she was making Lyra some coffee.

“Sorry, I didn’t believe you,” Lyra’s apology seemed to be sincere. “I’ve tried to lift his hand with magic to check if he was resistant indeed.”

“But instead of lifting,” she looked seriously bemused. “Instead of that, I felt magic drain. A strong one, like if something pumped the force from me. Sweet Celestia, even if he is not connected to Nightmare Moon, he can be dangerous.”

“So can be a fork, if you stick it into your muzzle,” objected Fluttershy. “I’m very sorry, I haven’t mentioned the effects, but you should have listened when I said that he was magic resistant.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” sighed Lyra, she seemed to patch herself up already. “And that makes him useless for me.”

Fluttershy raised a brow.

“I always dreamed to find out what it is to be a human,” confessed Lyra. “And hoped magic could help me getting closer if I come across a real one. I knew them being mythic creatures. What chances I had. And now – the irony – the only human I could probably meet in my life is magic resistant… unlike all the rest.” Lyra seemed to be completely upset.

“You wanted to be a human?” Fluttershy didn’t believe her ears. “What for? And… excuse me… there are polymorph spells and so on… if you… want that so much.”

“Polymorph spells are a totally different grade of magic,” elaborated Lyra, while sipping her coffee. “Maybe Twilight could perform that, but I was always quite realistic about my magic skills. Besides, they took much energy and were temporary. I always wanted something more… steady.”

“As for why,” she continued her story. “It’s simple. Humans have hands.”

“But you have magic,” retorted Fluttershy.

“Magic is not always that convenient, everypony thinks it is,” sighed Lyra. “For example, you can scratch behind your ears. Nicely or not, but you can. What about your back then? What about writing and not being forced to hold the pencil in your mouth… if you’re not a unicorn? And that’s just a small part. You can do so many things with fingers!” she concluded pointedly.

Fluttershy watched Lyra daydreaming with half-lidded eyes and decided not to argue.

“Hey, good day,” Twilight almost bumped in Lyra at the porch of the cottage. “You’re fast on decisions.”

“Good day, princess,” Lyra followed the etiquette, but Twilight frowned. She wasn’t fond of friends and generally Ponyville citizens calling her “princess”, as she didn’t consider her own deserts comparable with other princesses. “Twilight” sounded just right.

“When I hear “human”, I’m faster than light,” confessed Lyra meanwhile with a strange smile. “Especially when one needs to hurry before all good are taken.”

Twilight raised a brow not sure, if she understood, what Lyra was implying.

“I’ve told Fluttershy all that I knew, in brief of course. I’m sure I haven’t missed anything important,” Lyra scratched her nose and sighed. “Pity though this one is useless for me… at least in his current unconscious state.”

“I mean, I can certainly learn more from him,” she elaborated. “When he wakes up… if you both don’t mind.” She added with a smile. “I would like to talk to him when it is possible. But he is resistant to magic…” Lyra shrugged. Then she wished the girls a good day and headed back to Ponyville.

“I’m not sure, I understood her right…” Twilight turned to Fluttershy with question drawn on her face.

“In which parts exactly?”

“First, what’s about magic resistance being some kind of a problem for her?.. How’s she into his magic resistance at all.”

“I’m afraid that’s m-my fault, Twilight,” Fluttershy’s ears flattened apologetically. “I told her, she shouldn’t use magic on him, but I didn’t tell, what might happen.”

“Did she try?” breathed out Twilight. “She seemed fine to me…”

“Yes, when I was distracted. And it was worse, than with you. She just tried to lift his arm and was backfired heavier. But it seemed to wear out when I pushed her and broke the connection.”

“We must remember to warn everyone, who comes, about that reaction. It may be dangerous, especially if it is going to amplify with time. I wrote a letter to Princess Celestia, but she is busy with diplomatic stuff and I’m not sure, how soon she can attend. She promised to address this as fast, as she could though.” Twilight told very seriously. Then she remembered something. “And what was the phrase about… “all good are taken”.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy blushed. “Lyra tried to get under covers… She said, she wanted to examine him better, but I guess, it was m-more in that curiosity… considering that h-human was obviously a male. I’ve stopped her and s-said, we were to undress him and wash… for purely hygienic reasons… you know. B-but she started giggling and joking about… then said…”

“That a typical human lasts 15 times longer than a typical stallion?”

“Yes… Squee!”

“Scientific fact. But you’re right it’s strange how it is emphasized in every source I could find, same for Lyra it seems,” Twilight blushed as well, but suddenly smiled. “We’re lucky, she didn’t know who and how took off his underwear,” she whispered in Fluttershy’s ear.

“We’re lucky Rarity doesn’t know that,” Fluttershy clung to the ground with her pupils narrowed from imagining the possible outcome.

“I swear I won’t tell anyone,” Twilight dropped smirking. “But I won’t be so sure… knowing Rarity. Just give it time.”

Fluttershy looked like if she was going to hide under something.

“Oh, Flutters, I’m kidding,” Twilight hugged her friend. “I hope…” added she under her breath.

“Come on, I’ve brought more bandages,” Twilight waved her head at her saddle bag. “And our rubber tube business is waiting.”

Fluttershy couldn’t help shuddering.

It was about 5 pm when Fluttershy could finally take a breath. When they finished patching up their human patient and Twilight left, Fluttershy was to continue her daily routines with other animals, specifically ill ones. Fortunately, Twilight brought some convenience food, so the walk to Ponyville market could be delayed. Fluttershy made herself a cup of tea and was going to change Angel who watched the human upstairs when someone knocked on the front door.

“That human definitely made your days more events and guests filled,” Fluttershy smiled inwardly, getting up to answer it.

“… and I was coming by and thought about visiting a good ol’ friend,” said a strange creature behind the door. It looked like a mix of a dragon, pony, gryphon and even deer, with the long tail, unequal paws, horns and eyes of the different colour. “Why not, I said to myself.”

“Discord!” Fluttershy smiled widely, yet she seemed surprised by something. “Come in. I wonder though since when you started knocking. You usually just pop out of nowhere.”

“Since two minutes ago,” smirked Discord, showing single fang. “I’m just an old friend and when I sensed you’re not alone here… finally… I decided to knock. Just in case.”

“Oh, that’s not that…” Fluttershy seemed confused. “Tea?”

“Yup, with pleasure,” dragonequs snapped his long fingers and took an empty teacup out of thin air. “You shouldn’t be so categorical though. I’ve said long ago that friends are good, but you needed someone… you know…” he winked. “The one I sensed here, was different from those I know in Equestria. Well almost. So I thought it finally might be the case.”

“That’s a way premature assumption,” smiled Fluttershy, but her cheeks gave out colour which didn’t come unnoticed by her company. “He is a human. Do you know about humans? I’ve met him in Everfree… W-well, “met” is a bit strong word…” she paused searching for words and pouring tea into the cup Discord held. “Umm… He saved my life… a-and got wounded. So I’m now taking care of him naturally,” she ended simply.

“A human,” Discord turned to the stairs with interest, moving his cup aside. “So that is why it seemed familiar, I’ve met them a couple of times… long ago. But I’m absolutely positive – this one is different.”

The tea continued to flow from the teapot in the air and… ended entering the cup nevertheless. Fluttershy didn’t bat an eyelash, she got used to those tricks of him. She continued pouring the tea until the cup was full then simply said.

“You’re right, he is different.”

“Hmm… Mind if I look?” Discord chuckled meaningfully at the word “he”.

“Why not,” nodded Fluttershy, then stopped him. “But I must warn you, he is magic resistant.”

“Now that’s interesting,” jumped Discord. “So you’re going to say, I will carry experiments on him? So much for a few years of friendship…” He pretended to be pouting.

“Oh, come on,” Fluttershy frowned. “I know you well and I know you won’t do anything awful, but one of your jokes, if played, may backfire. Now, if you let me explain, you’ll find out that he is not only magically resistant but also drains magic applied directly to him. Yet he ignores magic that isn’t directed at him. And that reaction progresses. Two of my friends experienced that on themselves and it wasn’t exactly pleasant.”

“Now I definitely must have a look,” Discord put his teacup on the table and got up. “One of those friends must be Twilight, right?”

“Yes, but…”

“I simply can’t imagine one of you six finding something unusual… and Twilight avoiding being in the centre of it,” he explained getting up the stairs.

“What can I say,” Discord arched his body above the bed examining the human. “It’s definitely a human!” He sent Fluttershy a wild look.

“Oh, come on,” Fluttershy poked him with a hoof. “Stop goofing around for once. Like if it was all you can say…”

“Ouch,” Discord pretended the hit was very sensitive. “I will tell nothing if you keep beating me!”

“Okay, Okay,” he returned to seriousness in a second, perhaps even too much seriousness. “I’d say whatever you do, DON’T apply magic to him. Not that you are going to do this in particular, but DON’T EVER apply destructive magic to him.”

“I mean “any magical interaction, which can be interpreted as harmful to him”,” explained Discord seeing Fluttershy uncomprehending expression.

“Interpreted by whom?” asked Fluttershy.

“I could say by him, but won’t lie to you – I don’t know,” Discord twisted his moustache. “Yeah, yeah, don’t look at me that way, Flutters. Here is something concerning magic I’m unsure about.”

“He possesses no magic on his own,” continued he, when they headed back into the kitchen. “And is resistant to any magic applied to him, this I can trust your experiments in. But according to my observation, while any neutral or positive influence is ignored and… “drained” as you call it, any negative impact can be reflected. Of course, this is theory as we don’t carry any experiments of that kind…”

“… because I don’t want your cottage lay in ruins,” he ended with emphasis.

“Is it that bad?” Fluttershy became worried a little.

“I know chaos magic,” said Discord. “I’ve been on both bad and good sides, you know. As for the moment I don’t see anything evil in him. But at the end of the day, a simple fork may be harmful if you stick it into your muzzle…”

“I’d say he is not dangerous,” he took his cup and made a sip. “Just do what you’re best at, Fluttershy – see no evil in him, and it won’t appear.”

“I’d like to give you one more advice, if you don’t mind,” after a few minutes of thinking said Discord. “It’s all up to you, of course… But if you do feel like that or come to that eventually… stick up to him. I sense that it may appear worthy,” he winked.

“I’ve never yet really thanked you for giving me a second chance once,” he raised the cup, then pointed his long finger towards the bedroom. “This may be it, I mean – what I said. Oh, and the tea is splendid… as usual!”

They kept silence for a few minutes thinking about what was said.

“One more thing,” Discord said without his usual mocking attitude. “Tell Celestia specifically about the magic impact being unwelcome!”

Then a tall hat appeared on Discord’s head, he took it off and pulled a cuckoo-clock out.

“Well, I’m a busy dragonequs,” exclaimed Discord, making a surprised face. “And need to attend to my tasks. Good-bye, Fluttershy!”

With a loud snap, he disappeared with hat, clock and the cup.

“Bring thyself in, Tia!” Luna leaned on the pillows, but she couldn’t get asleep. The latest news, she got tonight from the Crystal Empire, were not very calming, the Dark Mist was noticed far to the North again recollecting itself. It looked like King Sombra was slowly gathering power to attempt one more break-in. “I am not resting.”

The door to Luna’s bedroom opened, revealing princess Celestia, who trotted towards her younger sister with a concerned look on her face. She levitated an unrolled scroll.

“Morning, Luna!” Celestia greeted. “How did the night passed?”

“Peacefully, more or less… Hast thou got the report from the Crystal Empire yet? Is t what brings a troubled look on thy visage?” Luna seemed to be in her thoughts still thus slightly distracted. “Or some misfortune regarding today’s morning audience?”

“I did get the report indeed,” Celestia nodded, her neck curving in a swan-like manner. “The news is important, but hardly yet menacing or demanding our immediate attention. We simply must be ready to provide Cadence and Shining all necessary assistance if they ask. Perhaps send a couple of strong mages to help them dissolve the concentrating Mist before it grows.”

“And this morning’s appointment is just a nuisance,” continued she, trotting impatiently back and forth, while Luna watched her with growing interest – something bothered her sister more than Crystal Empire news. “Can you imagine, a few nobleponies from Fillydelphia combined their investments and asked for permission to upbuild a new factory. Obviously, they have no idea, how the factory runs and the mere fact of pollution becoming excessive for existing refineries somehow,” she huffed. “…slipped by their minds. I guess somepony like Flim and Flam brothers is standing behind their puffed confidence and money. Naturally, I planned to run over their hopes for the sake of all Fillydelphia. Well, until they come with a realistic and environment-friendly plan at least.”

“But that’s not what bothering thee at that very moment,” concluded Luna, while Celestia was taking her breath.

“Yes. I got a letter from Twilight yesterday, but wasn’t able to address the problem personally due to certain preplanned appointments,” Celestia seemed to have a rare case of self-disappointment mood. “But each time I reread it my concerns double. So today I can attend to the matter myself.”

“I just want you to know the details, especially because you were interested in that event two nights ago – the strange storm.”

If there were any signs of sleep or distraction, now they vanished completely. Luna listened to her sister with full attention.

“Twilight wrote that Fluttershy came across a human in the Everfree, which saved her from a timberwolf…”

“Human, timberwolf, that is expensive,” said Luna in half-voice. “For what I recall about humans those gents never were durable enough to face a timberwolf, let alone defeat t, despite rare books on the subject say otherwise. Humans prefer fighting in masses.”

Her accent though revealed her concern about the subject, being contrary to what she displayed.

“… and got wounded,” resumed Celestia. “She took him home and is taking care of now.”

“But the main thing,” she said a moment later. “This human is magic resistant. Moreover, he is somehow capable to drain magic applied to him, despite being unable to cast anything on his will.”

“While the human, being unable to cast magic, is believable,” Luna even raised a bit from her pillows. “I couldn’t imagine one resistant to magic, let alone draining it!”

“Neither do I,” simply replied Celestia. “That is exactly why I need to see everything with my own eyes… and estimate, if he provides any threat to the stability of Equestria… moreover the Harmony.”

“Nopony knew, how he got here, but Fluttershy supposed, he came from the Old Castle direction, as she picked him at the end of the road there,” added princess of the Sun. “He has suffered some accident according to certain evidence, lost almost all his clothes, except his footwear and underwear… and was dressed in your old Royal Tapestry instead.”

“Oh,” Luna shrugged. “The Old Castle is in ruins; I suppose anypony can easily rip off or pick some fusty cloth thither.” But her voice seemed to soften somehow.

“I want to transfer him here in Canterlot, keep secure and inspect… before making any final decisions. Perhaps they are mistaking some… thing for a human,” she explained. “There is one problem though, this appointment. It’s neither serious, nor important, yet I can’t leave it unnoticed. Luna, could you, please, see them for me?”

“Besides, I thought that might entertain you a bit,” Celestia added quickly before Luna even opened her mouth. “I know that is not a common practice, but… You look bored and those snobbish stubborn stallions need a good kick. You could even give your Royal Canterlot Voice an exercise.”

Luna smirked. She loved “playing Nightmare Moon” during Nightmare Night holidays, but those happened only once a year. She could never imagine harming foals anyway. This time was different, perhaps Celestia was right and she could have fun, making those upper-class jerks weak in their legs, no casualties though.

In addition to that, an excellent idea came to her mind, considering the human was sentient, Luna could try and reach his dreams when he slept. That could be definitely interesting: to know something new and to tease the guy a little if he was in good enough shape to come through that. Despite Celestia saying he was magic resistant, Luna decided to try. Dreams were totally different kind of magic, a careful approach might play out fine. She was always a bit of curious troublemaker anyway.

“Fine, sister,” Luna stretched and wiggled her wings. “I suppose I can hold myself awake for a couple hours more.”

“Thanks, Luna. I’ll head to Ponyville immediately then,” Celestia turned around and trotted out of the room.

“Just telleth me later, how it went,” exclaimed Luna after her.

4. Keep calm and flutter on - Day Two

Second time in the row Fluttershy found herself in her own bed in the morning. With one exception, the night before she simply collapsed due to fatigue. This time she got on the free half of the bed willingly. There was enough space, nothing could happen and she was to look for him anyway. Besides, the bed was way more comfortable than a couch downstairs.

Fluttershy climbed in the bed and lied on the coverlet. She checked human’s pulse, it was even, then touched his hand. His skin was soft and smooth without any coat, quite an unusual feeling for a pony.

“When he recovers, I need to free another room and get a bed,” she noticed that this thought surprised her only a little.

Taking care of somepony, who can stand for himself otherwise, was different from what Fluttershy experienced before helping her animal friends. They mostly couldn’t do themselves, what she did for them. But taking care of someone, who saved her life, gave her unusual satisfaction, feeling of doing right, more confidence and… sympathy.

With these warming thoughts, she fell asleep under his quiet breathing.

Now Celestia’s sun tickled her nose with its rays. Back in her daily business. She scratched Angel behind the ear, he sneaked on the pillow after her and was sleeping now.

Standing under the water streams Fluttershy turned one ear, a quiet moan reached her hearing from the room. She wrapped up in a towel and stormed to the room, leaving wet prints on the floor. She threw back her wet mane and inspected the bedroom. Everything was in its place, but the human seemingly changed his pose a bit. Fluttershy rushed to check the bandages and to her relief the wound was fine, no blood, no progressing swelling. Angel woke up and stared at her in surprise.

“Perhaps Lyra was right and stitches worked better indeed,” thought Fluttershy returning to the bathroom. “And the rest must mean that he is recovering and may wake soon.”

“Good morning, darling!” Rarity stopped by the fence and leaned on it watching Fluttershy feeding her animal crowd. “Do you have a few minutes for me?”

“Hey, hey,” waved Fluttershy blowing a few hair strands off her face. She wiped her hooves and approached the fence from her side. “Of course I do. Just let me check if I have everyone filled.”

She smiled and pretended that she had no idea about the possible reasons for that visit. But she was sure she guessed right. Fluttershy decided to let Rarity solve the task of explaining her reasons herself.

“Let’s get in the house,” she said instead and led the way.

“Want some coffee?” Fluttershy asked over her shoulder, trotting to the kitchen.

“…What? Oh, no, thanks, dear,” Rarity took a few moments to stop examining her reflection in the mirror next to the door. “Thank you, I’ve already had it. Too much does no good for my face colour. I start blushing spontaneously when I drink too much coffee at once.” She whispered confidingly.

“So what can I help you with, Rarity,” Fluttershy smiled and offered a seat.

“Fluttershy, dear, I’m so sorry for bothering you that early,” Rarity chose the armchair, straightened the pillow with her magic and sat in the most elegant pose, she could manage. “But Sweetie Belle got a nasty cut on her leg… and I’ve heard from Twilight you’ve got a new recovering salve from Zecora… Could you give me some, ple-e-ease?”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, her ears stood up.

“Oh, come on, darling, don’t look at me like that,” Rarity’s tone became plaintive. “I always hide the sharp stuff. But I can’t work with all the scissors being locked in the closets… and she always finds them and tries to help me, or mimic me sometimes. And sometimes she is… half-horned. She’s only a filly, dear.”

“Okay, okay,” Fluttershy smiled accommodatingly. “Relax Rarity, I’m not saying you’re a bad sister…”

“You’ve almost got me believing,” Rarity showed a sheepish smile.

“Well, I do have the mentioned salve indeed. And I’ll gladly share,” Fluttershy trotted to the stairs to the upper floor, when she noticed Rarity followed her.

“By the way, Lyra visited me yesterday, we took measurements, as she was going to order a new dress,” Rarity chattered happily. “And she mentioned, you had some new “guest”, she said it was a “human”. I’ve always thought, they were mythic rubbish from the books, she spent too much time with…”

‘Aha, now straight to the point,’ Fluttershy tensed inwardly.

“Did you really get one? Can I have a look?” continued Rarity.

“Get” is a bit exaggerated term,” answered Fluttershy with a sigh. “I’ve… met a human in the Everfree.” She told her the story short, while they were heading upstairs, feeling that soon she learns it by rote.

“Now promise me that you’ll play by certain rules I’m going to state,” Fluttershy stopped at the bedroom door and looked seriously into Rarity’s eyes. “This is important. For you especially, since you’re a unicorn.”

“Oh, darling, you know, I trust you overly, when it comes to pets,” Rarity rolled her eyes at excessive precautions Fluttershy taking. “We started understanding each other better with Opal after your help and advice. I’ll play nice.”

“Rarity! He. Is. Not. A pet,” facehoofed Fluttershy. “And please listen. He is a human, he is sentient, he is strong enough to take down a timberwolf, but now isn’t in the best shape. Wounded and unconscious. And the main thing: he is magic resistant, moreover he can drain your magic if applied to him… even in that condition,” she took a deep breath. “And this reaction is progressing, Twilight felt slight dizziness, Lyra got almost knocked down… Please, DON’T try your magic on him, okay?”

“Okay, okay,” Rarity looked overly interested, her eyes opened wide.

“Let’s enter then.”

“I’ve thought they look like apes. Never saw any pictures, Lyra told me about and Twilight mentioned once if I remember right,” Rarity looked impressed. “I could never understand, why Lyra wanted to become one or at least have… hands.”

“Now I see,” Rarity stepped closer with Fluttershy following. “While he can, of course, resemble an ape, he is nothing like it at the same time. He is… handsome I suppose… for a human, of course. Just needs to shave badly,” she giggled.

“Do you say, he walks on two legs?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Must be a tall guy then, and quite toned,” Rarity stared at the body on the bed. “Without any fur… well, except the head. Is he a lot like us internally?”

“Lyra says he is,” Fluttershy checked the bandages and touched his forehead by her lips.

“I’m checking his temperature,” she explained, seeing Rarity watched her with wide-opened eyes.

“Oh…” breathed out Rarity. She came closer. “The skin must be smooth and different from ours.”

“Rarity!” exclaimed Fluttershy, seeing how her friend was nuzzling human’s arm, then shoulder, then… “D-don’t poke him in the eye. I mean, w-what are you even doing?..”

“Sorry,” Rarity blushed heavily, understanding that she wasn’t behaving as a lady should do. “I’m… umm…”

“So does he react on all the magic being cast around or only this applied to him directly?” she preferred to change the topic.

“Only applied to him,” confirmed Fluttershy, but she was ready things could go that way. “Don’t even try to.”

“Try what?” Rarity’s sly smile and half-lidded eyes told Fluttershy that she guessed right.

“You know,” said Fluttershy pointedly. “Pull off the cover, that’s what!”

Rarity sighed with disappointment.

“We were to remove old clothes… completely,” explained Fluttershy, feeling that her cheeks started burning unwillingly. “And wash him to prevent the wound from becoming contaminated,” she pointed to the long and wide patch on human’s side.

“Fifteen times longer…” muttered Rarity under her breath. But Fluttershy heard and became red as a carrot.

“What, excuse me?” she asked again, the strong feeling of déjà vu visited her.

“I mean, why I’m always out of most interesting events till the last moment,” answered Rarity looking away to hide colour red on her cheeks. “You’re my friend, but you’ve asked Twilight to help. I could help too, with magic if necessary.”

“What exactly with?” Fluttershy felt she started boiling internally. “Sewing his wound shut, giving him medicine through a rubber tube put in the throat, wiping all the blood… you’re afraid of blood, as far as I know. Or stripping him naked and washing him?!”

Rarity froze on spot shocked a bit by her friend’s outburst and even more by the mental image of the rubber tube related procedure. Then her ears flattened and she started examining the floor with great attention.

“I guess all of that…” she said quietly.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry, Rarity,” Fluttershy realized that she sounded a bit harsh. “I-I just couldn’t help noticing that… you moved from thinking he is a pet, an ape, to becoming a little too much fixated… even excited… i-if you don’t mind me… putting it that way.”

“I’m sorry too,” Rarity’s ears raised again and Fluttershy noticed that her eyes returned to the bed. “I mean… if you need any help…”

“Oh, dear,” she jumped on the place, some idea came to her mind. “I could make new clothes for him. He will need them, right? I heard, humans wore clothes all the time, as they had no coat naturally. This, of course, will need measurements, I want to make it perfect,” Rarity cocked her head.

‘Measurements, of course,’ Fluttershy sighed internally. ‘And Lyra is concerned about getting hands, but mentions “fifteen times” thing too often if you ask me.’

“That sounds reasonable,” she said though.

The familiar sound of clarion and some noise from outside made them both check the window.

“That’s princess Celestia,” breathed out Fluttershy. “Twilight sent her a letter about all that.”

“Are you coming? Although… wait… Stay here, Rarity, but please don’t do anything. Especially anything magical. We couldn’t come in time to catch you if you pass out. Besides, I’ll give you a good Stare, if you dare to…”

Rarity nodded and this time Fluttershy noticed, she was serious. With relief, yellow pegasus rushed downstairs.

“Your Royal Highness,” Fluttershy opened the door and stepped back bowing. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Fluttershy, my dear!” Celestia rewarded her with a warm smile. “How are you? Twilight wrote that you had an awful experience in the Everfree.”

Two guards followed the princess inside and stood by the door. Celestia proceeded to the living room, followed by Fluttershy, and took a seat.

“Thank you, Princess,” Fluttershy still felt slightly abashed every time in presence of Celestia, even Luna made her tremble less. “I’m fine now. Thankfully I haven’t managed to get really scared. Things happened very quickly, and then I was too busy to care about my feelings… much.”

Celestia batted her long eyelashes, she seemed to make a mental note of that amendment.

“And owing to my “guest” I’m here and alive now,” Fluttershy concluded simply.

“May I offer you some tea, princess? That’s fresh Zecora’s herbal tea, very good for toning up.”

“Oh, no, no, thank you kindly, my dear,” the princess replied. “I’m afraid, I have no time for that, sorry.”

“Twilight wrote that you have pacified three timberwolves at once by the Stare,” she continued. “You’re making amazing progress, Fluttershy, as the Element of Kindness and personally.”

“You’re too kind, your Highness!” Fluttershy blushed. “At the end of the day that wouldn’t make much difference… if not for my guest… the human, I’d still be dead.”

“So, you are positive, it is exactly a human?”

“Umm… Twilight said so… and… I-I trust those who read some information on the s-subject… including Lyra… i-if you are OK with that…”

“Lyra Heartstrings?” a tiny shadow of disappointment ran over Celestia’s face. But this was Ponyville – one could hardly imagine some information to be completely hidden here.

“Humans have evolved from the apes as far as I know,” Celestia preferred to ignore that uneasy fact at the moment. “One must be really brutal to take down a timberwolf like that, with one hit…”

“Oh, no, he doesn’t look like an ape by far, neither behaved like this,” Fluttershy started ardently. “I’m sure he had no malicious intent and was genuine in his actions.”

Celestia’s smile grew wider when she watched her subject talking about the human.

“Well, I want to see him myself…”

“Of course, Princess. He’s upstairs, in my room. We were to get him a better placement than a couch.”

“I hope your own sleep didn’t suffer then,” Celestia continued, watching her fixedly.

“I’m fine, thanks, Princess,” muttered Fluttershy sheepishly.

When they stopped at the door, Fluttershy coughed loudly and opened it. She saw Rarity sitting in the armchair with innocent look… but the shape of bed cover told Fluttershy that she just fled from the same place, where Fluttershy spent the last two nights. Celestia apparently didn’t notice anything, yet she was surprised to see Rarity here as well.

“Your Highness, Princess Celestia,” Rarity got up and bowed deeply.

“Good morning, Rarity!” even if Celestia wasn’t fond of the fact that more and more ponies appeared to be involved in the incident, she didn’t show that.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy started explaining quietly but confidently.

“Princess, excuse me, but I need to warn you – all Twilight wrote was true. The human is indeed magic resistant; moreover, he somehow is capable to absorb magic directed at him. The reaction becomes stronger over time… or maybe, as I’ve just thought, with each attempt. The caster feels magical force drain. Discord… Squee!”

“Discord!!!” exclaimed Celestia, maybe even louder than it was necessary, making both Fluttershy and Rarity crouch a little. “What in Equestria, Discord did here?”

She then realized, how it sounded, and hurried to moderate the impression.

“It’s OK, girls, I guess it was inevitable,” she said accommodatingly.

“Excuse me, p-princess,” Fluttershy was upset. “Was it bad for… anything?”

“No, not bad,” Celestia calmed her with a small smile. “That’s just saying, I needed to address that problem a day before. Totally my fault. So what did Discord do?”

“W-well, he stopped by and got interested,” Fluttershy wasn’t sure if touching that topic was a good idea. “He sensed the human… or maybe that human,” she added after a short delay. “… from outside. He took a look and said that this one was different from those he had seen before. He said he sensed no evil in the human.”

“What else?”

“Umm… he confirmed our suspicions about magical resistance… and said that he wouldn’t try any d-destructive magic on the human… as he wasn’t sure about my cottage… g-going to survive possible reaction.”

“He asked me to tell you specifically, princess, not to try any magic on that human, especially one which might be interpreted as destructive,” added Fluttershy in half-voice. “I suppose, he was going to say that any negative impact would backfire rather than be absorbed.”

“That’s interesting,” Celestia touched her chin with the hoof. “And it renders my plans to take the human to Canterlot useless.”

“I can’t transfer him magically, and he can’t survive the long flight at the moment most likely,” she explained her point.

“I’m sure that’s true,” the tint of relief in Fluttershy’s voice was thick enough to be noticeable.

“I guess I should rely on you and Twilight to look after the human till his recovery,” smiled the princess.

“And anypony else you choose to help you,” she looked at Rarity pointedly, who kept herself surprisingly silent till that moment. “Naturally, you six would exchange your information anyway,” chuckled Celestia.

Then she turned to the table, where the folded cloth lied.

“And that must be the tapestry, he came dressed in…”

The unfolded by magic cloth lied on the floor and Celestia started examining it. Fluttershy internally cringed, she became overcautious regarding magic usage even near the human after what happened lately.

Time seemed to touch the ancient masterpiece very insignificantly. Silver and gold needlework dimmed slightly of course due to almost a thousand years uncared for, but it still had its’ intended noble look to it.

“Royal Tapestry from the Old Castle!” Rarity jumped on the spot. She just noticed it; obviously, all her attention was conquered by the human earlier.

“I’m sorry, princess,” she elaborated in a calmer voice. “I’ve always dreamed to try to restore some ancient piece of art. Just like this. Could you probably allow me to try? Please!”

Rarity’s eyes shined with such enthusiasm that princess Celestia laughed heartily.

“Of course, dear, you may try. But I should ask my sister anyway, as it is her regal attribute and she will decide finally what to do with it.”

“Besides your favourite work may distract your attention from other… things,” she thought. Princess couldn’t help noticing Rarity’s excessive interest in their “guest”.

“So,” Rarity asked Fluttershy when they followed princess to her carriage and watched her leaving to Canterlot. “Do you need any help… about the house?” She raised an eyebrow.

“What am I hearing?” laughed Fluttershy. “My dear friend Rarity is voluntarily interested in boring and not glamorous household chores.”

“I thought Sweetie Belle needed your help,” she looked appraisingly on her unicorn mate.

“Oh, of course,” Rarity wasn’t embarrassed a bit. “I’m going home to help my sis, then come back… if you need me here.” Her face was almost pleading.

“Look, Rarity, if I need your help, I will ask you, no doubt,” Fluttershy assured her in the most peacemaking voice. “I promise!”

“Pinky Promise?!” Rarity raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, okay,” sighed Fluttershy. “I cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

She followed each description with the corresponding gesture.

‘And Pinky Promise that I’ll keep an eye on you if you’re helping me with the human,’ she added inwardly.

“One more thing, sweetheart,” Fluttershy caught her friend on the tail. “You may surely discuss our guest with the girls, I mean Rainbow, Applejack and Pinky. But that is all, don’t tell others… well, Lyra knows already, but I doubt she will talk about that. She is obsessed with humans and doesn’t want too much competition. Aaaand… tell Pinky twice… scratch that, thrice – it’s not the information for the whole Ponyville.”

“My mouth is shut and I forgot where I dropped the key,” Rarity proudly straightened. “Who do you think you are talking to?”

Fluttershy giggled.

It seemed that Rarity was satisfied with the promise given, as she snorted approvingly and headed home, wishing Fluttershy a good day.

BUMP!!! “Squee!”

Twilight transferred herself right into Fluttershy’s living room making the hostess jump on the spot. Fluttershy still couldn’t get used to her friend’s favourite teleporting spells, especially when they were being used unexpectedly.

“Woo,” Twilight breathed with relief putting her saddle bag down. “I’ve decided to go on foot not. Someone could notice and become unnecessarily interested, why I visited you several times a day.”

“I’ve packed more bandages, a couple of apple juice bottles and a few books,” she explained, when Fluttershy looked at her saddle bag with the question in her eyes. “Now I’m ready to stay for as long as you need to do your business in Ponyville.”

“We’ve already organized all the books and I let Spike have free time… I feel sorry for the little guy with all that work I put on him with the latest studies,” Twilight sighed with regret.

“Well, I’m now free for the rest of the day, so take your time…” she added in a more joyful voice. “And about that juice… When you get back, we’ll try to make him consume some with the potion. I’m afraid he will starve otherwise. But I couldn’t imagine something else we could drive through the tube…”

The doorbell rang when Fluttershy entered Sugarcube Corner – bakery and confectionery run by the Cake family. She was greeted with a wide smile of a young pink coated mare at the counter. The mane and tail of the latter were also pink and puffy as cotton candy.

“Hey, Flutters!” she waved to Fluttershy wildly. “How’s it boiling? When do we throw it?”

“Howdy, Pinkie,” Fluttershy waved back, then perked up her ears. “Throw what?”

She wasn’t sure, she understood what way the talk directed to. But it was Pinkie Pie, who she was talking to. And Pinkie was known for her… expressiveness and volatility. Which thoughts drift Pinkie’s mind at the moment would be probably a mystery even for Starswirl the Bearded himself.

Pinkie waited till the unicorn mare with her foal finished choosing candies, paid and left the shop wishing them a good day before she could answer.

“Welcome To Ponyville Human” party, of course,” her enthusiasm could probably compete with the sunshine. “I’m not going to miss that chance.”

She jumped over the counter and towered above Fluttershy, who even crouched a little suppressed by her friend’s energy. Pinkie took her by the chin with the hoof and looked directly in the eyes.

“Mind that I’ve never seen a human before, so that’s gonna be twice awesome!”

She jumped around Fluttershy with cheerful yelps, while the latter tried to find an appropriate answer.

“Pinkie,” said Fluttershy in a soft calming voice. “Don’t you think the party is a bit premature? He is still lying unconscious…”

“But I don’t say we should have it right away, surely when he recovers, otherwise he could miss his special Welcome To Ponyville Human party!”

Pinkie stopped and frowned upon her friend as if Fluttershy suddenly said a very stupid thing.

“Nopony comes on their welcoming party unconscious, one can’t probably walk being unconscious, or I’m not Pinkamena Diane Pie anymore!”

“Oh, Pinkie,” Fluttershy could have probably laughed at that… under some different conditions.

“Besides don’t you want to thank one, saving your life?” Pinkie’s flow of ideas was endless.

She made a couple more circles, then suddenly stopped right to face Fluttershy. Her voice became unusually serious and concerned.

“Flutters, I know that he is not quite well now, and I’m not going to make any boom right away. But considering what I’ve heard he came from another world or something alike. You know what that means?”

“First,” Pinkie sat on her dock and raised one fore hoof. “Who said he can return to his home world?”

“And second,” she raised another. “And the main thing – he found himself in the middle of nopony-knows-where, all alone, without his family, his marefriend, his friends. Imagine how he must miss his mother, father, brother, sister, grandma, grandpa, auntie, uncle, few cousins… his cat and his dog Barney…”

“Easy, easy, I got it,” protested Fluttershy. “Hey, why Barney?” But she looked on her friend Pinkie Pie with totally different eyes now, like noticing something, she rarely spotted before or never paid much attention to, behind usual Pinkie’s light-minded chatter.

“I don’t know,” Pinkie took a deep breath. “Just a figure of speech.”

“And you don’t look like his mother,” she scratched her nose.

“And Applejack doesn’t look like his sister, and Dash doesn’t look like his… cat,” she pointed at the door.

The bell ring noted about more customers coming and Pinkie hopped back behind the counter but continued explaining.

“And while I’m not looking like his auntie Pinkie…” she waved to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who just entered the Sugarcube Corner. “I mean I’m looking like your auntie Pinkie, but not his.”

Rainbow Dash fluttered around Applejack so intensively that her rainbow mane and tail almost made Applejack’s stetson fly away. She was probably bragging about some new trick, she mastered to impress Wonderbolts, or retelling her friend the latest Daring Do book.

“Pinkie! I got your idea…” Fluttershy tried to stop that chatter. “Besides, “auntie Pinkie”, I’m one year older than you!”

“Whatever,” Pinkie wasn’t that interested in little details. “I mean he must feel really lost and miserable when he wakes. We could at least try to show him the brighter side of things, surely this won’t bring him back home, but perhaps it tells him, he is not that alone here. Isn’t it what friends do?”

“OK, maybe you have point,” muttered Fluttershy. “But still this sounds a bit farfetched…”

“Hey, pals,” Rainbow Dash landed between Fluttershy and Pinkie. “How’s tricks? What are you two whispering here about?”

“You know there is new Daring Do book out?” continued she excitedly without any pause. “And it is awesome! Like super awesome! In fact, it is about twenty per cent more awesome than the last one,” she said with a happy grin. “Just as I wanted it to be!”

Applejack simply nodded. It seemed that Dash managed to “spoil” the book to her in brief but completely. But she didn’t mind, working on the farm didn’t leave too much time for reading and stuff. This way Applejack at least kept up with the plot. Though she wasn’t nearly that much of a fan as Rainbow.

“We were discussing our possible Welcome To Ponyville Human party,” simply explained Pinkie with a smile. “Kind of VIP party, as the whole thing is a secret to Ponyville folks. Celestia’s order. But our team is game obviously,” she gave them a wink.

“W-wait, Pinkie,” pleaded Fluttershy. “You’re speaking like it’s already d-decided to throw it… when we don’t yet know when… and whether he is OK with that idea… if you don’t mind…”

“Well, it comes to that eventually, it’s better to be prepared,” replied Pinky with a sly smile. “When it comes to parties trust Auntie Pinkie’s experience.”

“What’s in Tartarus a human, if Ah may ask,” Applejack raised a hoof.

“Must be some new pet-friend, Flutters got lately,” laughed Rainbow Dash.

“Tell us is Angel jealous already?” she nudged Fluttershy lightly.

“The human is a human,” frowned Fluttershy, this “pet” stuff seemed not entirely appropriate to her. “He’s definitely not a pet. Though a friend part may be real… he saved my life in Everfree.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, she then looked on Applejack, who apparently forgot to close her mouth.

“Isn’t it some sort of mythic creature Lyra is obsessed with?” Applejack woke up in a second. “Excuse me, Ah’m usually not in that kind of business…”

“Apparently it’s not that mythic,” intervened Pinkie. “Fluttershy managed to catch one… OK, I kid, I kid,” she added quickly, seeing Fluttershy stared at her.

“Look, girls,” Fluttershy sighed and made a decision. “I guess this was inevitable anyway, we can simply go and I’ll show you everything… after we buy what we came for.”

“And, pleeeease, keep this in secret as much as possible,” she whispered quickly, while more customers entered the bakery. “I don’t want Princess Celestia to become mad with me and Twilight if somepony spills the beans.”

“I can’t go, girls,” there was a bit of disappointment in Pinkie’s voice. “Need to run the business today. But I’ll catch up with you later, Flutters, OK?” she winked. “We could discuss the party stuff then.”

Fluttershy facehoofed internally, but that was Pinkie. When she was focused on a party only… another party could distract her… for a while.

Cold rain lashed the rare trees, the grass, the rows of monuments and gathered in a freshly dug grave, mixing with clay in an unpleasant yellowish mud. It looked like if the weather itself here forgot that it was actually spring everywhere else and took the form more suitable for expression of woe and loss. The rain bathed mercilessly the new coffin and four men, who were ready to lower it into the grave. The priest, struggling the wind attacks under his umbrella, looked even more mournfully than the moment demanded. He was about to finish his farewell speech.

Three more people – two women and a man clung to each other under a bigger umbrella. Actually, those were the only ones who came to the funeral. The older pair was the parents and the girl supporting the women – supposedly the fiancée or girlfriend. That didn’t matter now, did it?

She came here because she couldn’t ignore the last chance to say “thank you” to one who saved her daughter. She didn’t approach others though, as she wasn’t sure in the reaction of this guy’s mother, the latter looked completely ruined and out of her mind. If not the girl supporting her, she would probably fall into the grave, as her legs struggled hard to keep her body shaking from sobbing stand straight. But her motherly loss could turn her in the raging lioness at the slightest reason, even an inadequate one.

So the woman stood on a distance trying to remain unnoticed and keeping the flowers under the protection of her umbrella. She decided to bid her farewell when others leave.

The priest finished and the four men started lowering the coffin, then they took their spades to build a roof over poor man’s last abode.

The older woman was crumpled, she fell on her knees right into the wet mud and tears ran from her eyes.

“Alex!” she cried on top of her lungs.

The younger woman took her from the ground and hugged trying to calm down and recompose. Both with the man they managed to keep her contained till the gravediggers finished putting the flowers over the fresh mound. After a few minutes, they three left to the car, waiting on the road down the hill.

She could now approach. The woman put her flowers on top of the others and stood there for a while, trying to keep her tears inside.

“Thank you… Alex!” she said barely audible. “Wherever you are…”

“Mom, is that you?..”

She entered her house, closing the door and shaking the water off the umbrella to put it in the stand. She took off her shoes stained with clay and felt, she had no force to wash them right now. She decided to take care of that later, when her daughter entered the hallway, holding her toy pony.

“You were there, at the funeral, weren’t you?”

“Yes, dear, I was to…”

“Come on, mom, I told you that funeral was useless… They don’t bury… angels!” said her daughter with the very determined look on her cute face. “And you know that I’m right… even if you don’t admit it.”

“Well, well, what are you talking about again?” her mother started becoming anxious about her fixation on that “angel” fantasy.

“He was there when our car crashed. He took me out second before it burned down. And then… he returned to his duties,” the girl explained her point.

“I suppose angels can ride the lightning…” she added after a pause.

Her mother stood there, having no words to say.

“Sorry, mom,” the girl hugged her mother with a little smile. “But I’ve heard accidentally, what uncle Mathew told you that day. He said that no body was found in what remained of the car.”

“He works in the police,” she looked into mother’s eyes. “He must be sure about what he is saying. They buried an empty coffin… because… they don’t bury angels!”

The woman kneeled to her daughter’s eye level and hugged her, tears flowed down her cheeks and she didn’t hold them anymore…

“Mooom!..” Human’s loud moan made Twilight jump in her armchair. She dropped the book, she was reading and turned the lamp brighter. Angel bunny ran into the room and hopped on the bed to see what was wrong.

Twilight noticed that human’s hand moved slightly, it weakly and randomly scratched the covers then calmed. The human obviously was still unconscious, but he definitely was feeling something or perhaps his blackout started turning into a simple dream. Not a very pleasant one, as his tone was anxious and the human was calling to his mother.

Twilight checked his pulse and touched his forehead – everything was normal, he didn’t feel worse… maybe his pulse became a bit faster. His eyes trembled slightly under closed eyelids. She decided that was a good sign, a sign of him possibly waking up soon enough.

“It’s all right, Angel,” she smiled, when picking up her book.

The sound of the opening front door made Angel rush through the door and downstairs. Twilight put the book on the table and stood in the doorframe listening.

“Hey-y-y, Angel, did you miss me?” she heard Fluttershy’s sweet voice. “Sorry, little guy, I was to buy some food for us. Look I bought you fresh carrots and salad and…”

“Hey, little squirt,” Rainbow’s loud cheerful voice. “Do you get along with the new pe… Okay, Flutters, with the new friend?”

Perhaps Angel stuck out his tongue to Rainbow because she then said.

“Pfft, what did I say?”

“Ah think, it would be smarter to see apples are ripe, before making some juice,” Applejack calmly tried to reason her. “You’re fast judging, Rainbow, too fast, if you ask meh.”

“Girls, come upstairs,” called Twilight. “Fluttershy, I need to tell you something.”

“Oh, Twilight is babysitting today,” Rainbow Dash broke into a wide smile. “To make sure big bad human didn’t eat Angel. Ouch! AJ, what in…”

Applejack said something Twilight couldn’t hear, and Rainbow replied.

“Well, didn’t he take down a timberwolf? Last time we… you dealt with timberwolves, the sheer luck and Spike’s well-aimed throw saved our coats.”

“Come on, girls, stop behaving like school fillies,” Fluttershy nudged them to hurry up the stairs.

“Howdy, Twilight,” both Rainbow and Applejack gave her a hug.

“Yeah, tell us, what did Flutters do to make you sit with an alien creature?” smirked Rainbow, flying up to the ceiling to have a better look at the human in the bed.

“Well, I don’t see how my help may hurt me,” Twilight answered simply. “Besides it is interesting. He is the first human I met and I don’t know that much about them, unlike Lyra.”

“Hmmm, don’t see anything special or awesome enough for that hype,” concluded Rainbow making a wide circle above the bed and examining the human under different angles. “In fact, he looks like a hairless… well almost… ape to me. Surely he is better looking than an average ape, I admit. But that’s about all…”

“Are you sure, he didn’t want to eat you and the wolf was just an obstacle?” she turned to Fluttershy.

“I am,” nodded Fluttershy. “Remember I told you, he said “No you bucking don’t!..” before he send that dreading wolf’s head flying. I’ll stick to what I was saying earlier – he didn’t want to let the wolf hurt me and Angel.”

All three came closer, while Rainbow was still floating above the bed. Applejack didn’t hurry with any judgments, but she looked at the human with wide-open eyes.

“OK, even if you’re right and he wasn’t going to eat you himself, thus saving from a wolf,” Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to give up her positions that easily. “You said you met him on the old road to the Sister’s Castle ruins. How do you know he is not some evil abomination or spy… or… Well, there are strange things happening in the Old Castle still!”

“Ah thought, that we agreed that that ol’ story ‘bout the Shadow Pony was nonsense,” Applejack said with a smile. “If you remember, sugar cube, we were scaring ourselves running around the castle and making much ado over nothing… Well, except Twilight, Ah mean,” she nodded towards her alicorn friend.

“Oh, and you, of course, little guy,” she amended seeing Angel looking up at her and drumming his hind paw impatiently.

Applejack was talking about that day when they all managed to come to the Old Castle ruins for their own different reasons. Twilight and Spike looked for some books, well, Twilight did and Spike followed, despite being not quite fond of the idea. Rarity wanted to find some ancient tapestry samples and Fluttershy came with her, but when Angel ran away, she got her reason to search the ruins as well. And they with Rainbow looked for a way to find out, who of them deserved the Most Daring Pony title. And Pinkie simply got bored and followed them, then played the old organ and scared everypony shitless. Besides, there were different secret passages and traps, which made them go on tips of their hooves even more.

Rainbow looked confused, she remembered that she was flying in circles, yelling like a foal just like others during their last visit to the Old Castle. But her confusion didn’t last long, she soon got back to her “Huh, try me” usual look.

“And the one, who played the scary organ was Pinkie,” Applejack continued meanwhile. “So no Shadow Pony there at all.”

“I still think there is too much of Nightmare Moon in those ruins to be that careless,” objected Rainbow Dash.

“Besides, look at him,” she continued her accusatory speech. “He looks like nothing and nopony in Equestria.”

“Well, he is not a pony,” laughed Twilight.

“Oh, Twi, you know I don’t mean that exactly. I mean he can pretty much be a spy, some evil creature right from the Tartarus or whatever else. We don’t know anything about him in certain.”

“Come one, Rainbow, how can you say so,” Fluttershy was disappointed by her friend position. “Twilight knows enough to think humans aren’t a threat and Lyra can be considered an expert. Besides humans are indeed from another world.”

“Then the fewer reasons to trust them,” sometimes Rainbow was really stubborn if she believed in something. “And you claim he is magic resistant, moreover can… “suck” magic force out of unicorns. Isn’t that a threat on its own? Are you sure he is indeed what you call a human? I mean are all humans magic resistant in your books?”

Rainbow took a deep breath and Applejack said thoughtfully.

“Ah think perhaps Rainbow’s got a point here.”

“Thanks, pal,” when Rainbow was on a roll nothing could stop her, besides she felt that AJ shares her doubts. “You, girls, may wait till he wakes up… and makes trouble… or not, but I’m not going to trust him. Not before I myself am convinced, he could be trusted. Until then don’t even expect me to think he is our friend.”

“You’ve said the same about Discord,” said Fluttershy quietly and Twilight nodded confessing she is right. “And it appeared to be wrong at the end of the day.”

“Well, OK, I was mistaking about Discord,” forcedly agreed Rainbow. “But we at least were able to understand his motives. This one is another story, this one is a… blank flank for us.”

“Besides,” she dashed towards the bed and, before anypony could say anything, she pulled human’s cheek aside with the tip of her wing. “Just look at his carnivore teeth, Fluttershy. What do you say about them?”

“I-I say those are omnivore teeth,” protested Fluttershy; in questions of zoology, she was the top authority among them six. “And c-considering that he is evidently sentient, I don’t see a p-problem here… if that is OK with you. I mean h-he can surely eat meat… b-but I suppose he can consciously refuse of that… and s-suffer not… perhaps. I-I mean, there are plenty of other things to eat in our possession,” she finished under her voice.

“And what do you think, Applejack,” asked Twilight.

“Ah think that one must eat darn much of fruit ‘n vegetables to fill a big guy like ‘im,” grinned Applejack.

“Ah mean, Ah hope he won’t be as destructive as a flock of fruit-vampire bats,” she added jokingly, but everypony got the idea that she was deadly serious, concerning about her garden safety.

“Whatever rock your boats, pals,” concluded Rainbow Dash landing near her friends. “Sorry, girls, don’t mean to offend anypony, but I’m not going to like him outright just because he exists. He seems suspicious to me and makes my mane stand when I think of being near to him. Please don’t expect me sitting with him.”

“OK, Rainbow, we got your point,” Twilight said accommodatingly and Fluttershy nodded with a faint shadow of sorrow. “It’s your choice and we respect it.”

“Sorry, girls,” Rainbow’s tone wasn’t overly apologetic though. “I… just… can’t.”

“It’s OK,” Fluttershy waved her hoof. She was expecting that everything couldn’t go all smooth and dandy and just accepted the things with minimum stress for herself.

“So, let’s do our usual tube stuff,” Twilight turned to Fluttershy when the front door closed behind Rainbow and Applejack. “And… do you need me to stay?”

“Oh, no, no, you’ve already done more than I could ask for,” refused Fluttershy kindly. “I can cope with the night watch.”

“Okay, then,” Twilight went to the kitchen to take apple juice bottles out of her saddle bag.

“By the way, I want to tell you something,” she said returning and levitating the bottles and the rubber tube, the look of which each time made Fluttershy cringe a little. “Seeing Rainbow’s reaction to him I didn’t tell earlier. Didn’t want to make the girls worry more.”

“Something happened?”

“Yes and no,” answered Twilight. “Nothing bad happened if you’re talking about that. He was all the time stable and still. But I think, he may wake up soon. He started exiting his blackout and is perhaps even simply sleeping right now.”

“He moved his hand a little and he moaned before you came,” Twilight explained, while Fluttershy was listening to her with a surprised look on her face. “I think he called to his mother or something along the lines of that.”

“Oh, poor thing,” breathed out Fluttershy. “Are you sure he wasn’t in pain at the moment, Twilight?”

“I’m sure he wasn’t,” Twilight hugged Fluttershy shoulders in a soothing manner. “I suppose he just dreamed of something unpleasant. But he was definitely stable. And even Rainbow’s tricks didn’t bother him. But I’m sure, he is now much closer to reality than two days ago.”

“That’s amazing,” whispered Fluttershy.

“Oh, can I ask you about one thing, Twi?” she remembered something which apparently bothered her for some time. “Can you convince Celestia somehow that she shouldn’t just grab him for her investigations as soon as he wakes up? I mean, can we simply give him a few days to brace himself? I-I feel sorry for what happened with the guy… I-I mean, he’s here because I was so carefree.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Fluttershy,” Twilight was confident in her opinion. “He seemed to make his perceived choice then. And I’d say he must be a really nice guy, I think Rainbow is mistaking about him.”

“I’ll try to reason with Celestia,” she added reassuringly. “That got easier now, here is the good side of becoming a princess,” smirked Twilight.

“Thank you, Twi,” Fluttershy hugged her friend heartily.

The Moon was up obedient to her will and the land of Equestria entered the serene sleep, making Luna look for some occupation for herself not to become bored for the rest of the night. She had her fun this morning, providing Celestia with the helping hoof for the appointment and letting her sister address the human incident. Luna smirked widely at the memory of scolded upper-crust stallions, which were brought to reality by her. Their plans to raise another factory without any real refinery projects were purely greed and stupidity driven. She did right by blowing their cardboard castle away before they could really harm Fillydelphia. But that was in the morning, thus it was history. And now Luna had a whole night ahead to do almost whatever she wanted. But unfortunately, she can’t think about anything, she really wanted now. Except…

Speaking of human incident… Celestia told her, what she saw at Fluttershy cottage and what Fluttershy warned her about. Magic resistance and backfiring even while the human being unconscious. So even Celestia, who was first determined to take the human to the castle, finally left that idea… till things become clearer. That was very interesting on its own.

Luna decided for herself this morning already. She could try reaching the human in his dreams if he was having any already.

She entered her room, leaving the balcony behind and lied on the bed, making herself comfortable on the pillows. Then she closed her eyes and tried to imagine Ponyville, its’ outskirts, Fluttershy’s cottage and the upper room, as her mind travelled through the thin, but so tangible matter of dreams. Luna could find the human with ease – his aura somehow yet weak, was different from those of her pony subjects.

She tried to reach his dreams and fears and concerns and found to her surprise that she couldn’t interact with them. She was able to watch like a silent and ghostly observer, which was very unusual and different from her usual dream travels. Normally Luna was able to affect, alter and direct her subject dreams. She could communicate with those who deserved or desperately needed her help, advice, reassurance and she could intimidate and rule those who deserved punishment or correction. She was able to reach them even physically through their dreams.

But… apparently, she couldn’t do all that with the human. Perhaps because of him still being unconscious and thus his dreams were really limited and restricted… or perhaps of him resisting even this form of influence.

Luna felt she becomes more and more interested in this human. And she felt strange respect. She promised herself to tread lightly, for now at least… All she could do was watch, so she started watching.

The first thing she saw, was the human driving some strange metallic carriage, which moved with impossible speed for something having no visible power or propulsion source. Luna found herself as if she was sitting next to him and listened to the strange music, a small device in the carriage produced. The human was seemingly enjoying the ride and the carriage was obedient to his commands, he provided via a wheel he turned and some pedals he pressed with his legs eventually.

Then the weather around changed suddenly and Luna saw the sharp turn of the road and a giant tree on the roadside. She noticed another carriage running at them directly, but before Luna even got scared, it flew past them wobbling and hit something.

Next thing she saw, was the crashed carriage under a smaller tree and the human saying something to another – a female human. That one, as Luna guessed, drove that crashed carriage and now was in total distress. There was another person inside the carriage – a human foal, small girl. “Luna’s” human tried to open the doors of the carriage to take the girl out, but they were stuck.

Like bewitched Luna watched the human got into the carriage through the front door and tried to talk the girl out of her seat. The latter was apparently in shock, clinging to something in her hands. Luna noticed a toy. It was a… pony. A yellow pegasus with pink mane and tail. Luna’s eyes opened wider – Fluttershy, but how?

Meanwhile, the human got on the back seat, grabbed the girl and smashed the back glass with his feet. He called the female human and gave her the girl through that opening. Luna swallowed the lump which suddenly formed in her throat. She watched how the female retreated with the girl, crying to the human to get out of the… “car” for god’s sake.

A sparkle set the car on fire. Luna’s eyes dilated in terror, when she saw how fast the car turned into the inferno with “her” human still inside. And then thunderbolt speared right into the car, blinding everyone in one unbearable flash.

Luna was still shaking as if she was freezing cold when the scene changed. She was now in the wide field with rare trees here and there under the pouring rain. Though she wasn’t there physically, she could feel the cold water falling from the gloomy sky. Stone plates filled the field in rows. There was an empty space near to her without a plate, but with a deep pit instead. Four humans were slowly lowering a finely made wooden long box into that pit. One strangely clothed human stood in the head of the pit.

There were 3 more humans on the opposite side of the pit: two females – one young and one older and one male. The older female was crumpled, she fell on her knees right into the wet mud and tears ran from her eyes.

“Alex!” she cried on top of her lungs.

The younger female raised her from the ground and hugged, trying to calm down and recompose, while Luna felt another lump inevitably appearing in her throat… She realized what type of ceremony that was… and with whom those humans were making farewells.

The vision ended suddenly. Luna was in Fluttershy’s bedroom looking down on the bed with the human on one side of it.

“Alex…” repeated Luna under her breath.

Next to the human, next to Alex lied Fluttershy. Her fore hoof was resting on Alex’s shoulder, while she was gently nuzzling his neck.

A sympathetic but sad smile appeared on Luna’s face when she watched Fluttershy moved closer to the human in her sleep. That little girl didn’t waste time. She saw something about that human, something that Luna just managed to notice, and apparently, she was first.

But she, Luna, The Princess of the Moon, wanted this human to herself. She felt that her boredom can be cured. That was worth competition.

‘Fine,’ Luna told herself with a small but meaningful smile. ‘I waited for a thousand years to be saved from Nightmare Moon, what I forsooth have learned is waiting. I can wait again, but I won't wait passively. And time will show...’

5. Awakening

Author's Note

FYI: everyone reading the book. That especially concerns those tracking it.
Please consider putting a thumb up for this story - this will surely help me promote it (naturally, like any work). I sincerely hope it won't fail your expectations in the end!
I mean, if you're tracking it, that means you're enjoying it so far. Right? Right?! :twilightblush:

5. Awakening

“…sorry, girls, don’t mean to offend anypony, but I’m not going to like him outright, just because he exists. He seems suspicious to me and makes my mane stand when I think of being near to him. Please don’t expect me sitting with him.”

“OK, Rainbow, we got your point. It’s your choice and we respect it.”

The voices reached Alex’s mind muffled as if he was floating up from the sea bottom and heard them through the water. A few girls talking, as he could recognize. A few… pony girls! Well, at least that came naturally out of their words. And one called another “Rainbow”. That gave Alex a nudge towards remembering the recent events.

“Sorry, girls,” said Rainbow. “I… just… can’t.”

“It’s OK.”

Then steps got away.

The whole night turned up nightmarish for Alex. He remembered everything which led him to the point where he was step by step. Perhaps some steps exchanged their places in the whole timeline. The old castle he found out himself, the walk through the forest with all the dangers, the brief but brutal fight with timberwolf, when he tried to save the pony pegasus. Why tried? He saved. He definitely remembered that; the rest was total blackout. The last he remembered absolutely clear was the accident, where he took a girl out of the crashed car and… got hit by… the lightning?!

Then he saw his parents and Elen on… his own funeral! That wasn’t a memory obviously, it seemed that Alex’s mind just imagined, what the closest people might feel after his strange vanishing. Thankfully, when this dream ended, a strange feeling of tranquillity visited him and Alex slept without any more of nightmares till morning.

The breeze from the opened window carried the smells of spring, fresh leaves, flowers, ground after the rain. Alex opened his eyes. In the dim light of early morning, he could see the ceiling above him. It was nothing like his apartment ceiling or a hospital ward one. White with dark wooden beams crossing and supporting it. It resembled a countryside house mostly. With almost all memories recollected Alex thought that it should mean that he reached some civilization after his forest travels.

“Finally.”

Then Alex made mental note of something resting on his shoulder, long hair tickled his bare chest and… he felt light breathing on his neck. Alex cautiously turned his head a little to see. He saw the yellow pony pegasus girl – the one he got into the fight because of – sleeping next to him. Big turquoise eyes were now closed, shadows cast by long eyelashes dropped on her cheeks. The ticklish sense he felt was given by her lush pink mane. Her wings were tightly folded and small accurate hoof was resting on his shoulder. The subtle scent of field flowers and perhaps honey was coming from her and her breath.

Alex was ready to see something like this, thus he managed to jump on the place not, but yet he shivered a little and cringed from dull pain across his ribs under his right arm. It seemed that he got wounded really serious and this… girl, he can’t now think about natives as about some sort of animals, took care of him, and fell asleep. She was keeping touch now to ensure he was all right. Fluttershy – Alex remembered her name…

She was sleeping above the covers, most likely got tired of daily labour with him being an extra. Alex checked himself to find he was completely naked under the covers. He felt how blood rushed in his face. Obviously, she was to do this to treat his wounds, but he still felt confused.

Alex lifted his head a little and looked around the room with his eyes moving only. He couldn’t see his clothes, what remained of them, or any clothes at all. In fact, he couldn’t see anything which can serve as clothes. Even the tapestry, he wrapped himself into while in the old castle, was now gone.

“Damn!” Alex’s mind quickly looked for a solution.

One door was opened and he could see a corridor behind it. He then spotted another door in the room. That might be a wall closet or a bathroom.

Very slowly and carefully, not to wake Fluttershy up, Alex slid from under the covers and opened that door.

“Thank you, universe!” He faced a small bathroom and accurately closed the door behind himself. “I so needed this.”

He examined his wounded side in the bathroom mirror above the sink and small closet with supposedly bath accessories. The patch was big enough to provide disappointing thoughts, but when he carefully lifted one edge, he saw that the wound had almost closed up completely. Someone made decent stitches across it and despite them looking like an ugly tank track, they did the job nicely. Nevertheless…

“How long am I here for?” thought Alex. “My wound looks like it is recovering for a few weeks.”

“Surely they must have some sorts of healing magic here, I won’t be surprised considering what I’ve seen before, still it would be amazingly fast,” Alex yet was puzzled. “But I can swear that I don’t feel like it’s been several weeks. My inner clock keeps saying a few days maximum.”

Upon looking at his own face in the mirror Alex noted that it was tired and grey, with the shadows under his eyes, but it hardly was looking like he lied unconscious for a few weeks. That was utterly strange. Yet not the most strange thing in the line of recent events. Alex decided to return to that later.

“Still I’ve managed to grow quite some stubble, not a full beard though, and that says days again, not weeks, but…” Alex rubbed his chin. “I wonder if male ponies shave. Don’t want to go around like that…”

He smirked sadly. Then remembered one more name from the bucking show – Starswirl the Bearded – there was a powerful wizard or something here long ago. Alex thought that “the Bearded” part wasn’t given for nothing. And as he saw the male ponies without any beards or moustaches that meant they should have something to shave them. One more question to ask later. Alex giggled at the thought that pony girls hardly shaved their legs, besides digging into someone’s bathroom closet would be impolite. So later it was.

The bath was a bit smaller than he got used to and the shower head hung lower than it was enough to comfortably straighten under it. Alex was to kneel in the bath to use it. He made sure that he had placed the patch back and firmly fixed it, then turned the water on and adjusted the temperature to barely warm.

The first thing he did was drinking right from the shower streams which brought peace to his sore and dry throat. Alex could drink a couple of gallons perhaps if he didn’t know that won’t be nice for his health.

It was the absolute delight to find a shampoo and finally wash his head twice, removing all the dust. The pegasus girl, Fluttershy, evidently took care of his hygiene, Alex felt he was blushing again, yet he reached the soap. When the main part was done, he sat under the streams and tried to concentrate on what he was going to face. His knowledge of this place was fragmentary and inconsistent. Besides, they themselves could be a threat to him.

“So, sooner or later I must meet the officials,” thoughts flew in Alex’s head like the water on his skin. “Maybe not princess herself, but someone whose duty is to deal with…”

“With what, Alex? Alien contacts, extra… equestrian beings, sudden breakouts? Maybe they have Human Interactions Department of Equestria,” Alex sighed, the joke didn’t look funny to him at all.

“I suppose the authorities will be high enough in this case… and suspicious. What would they think, if I show that I know something, anything about their world?”

“I wonder if it would be safer not to,” muttered Alex. “On the other hand, how could I lie to that girl for example…”

“Damn,” he gritted his teeth. “This is hard and complicated. I’m seriously not ready for all this… diplomacy. All I need is to get home fast. And I would like to think that my hopes match those of princesses or anyone who runs the whole place – to get rid of the disturbance aka me… preferably by sending me back, not some other way,” he didn’t want to imagine all the possibilities, yet they were real.

“I must think of some strategy,” Alex decided while turning the water down. “Certainly that means I must tell Fluttershy the truth or at least all necessary parts of the truth.”

He dried himself with the largest towel he could find, then wrapped it around his hips. That was the most embarrassing part of the situation, but he could hardly do more than that. Loud rumbling told him that his stomach was awake before him perhaps and now reminded about itself. The water wasn’t enough for sure.

He opened the bathroom door slightly and checked through the gap – Fluttershy was still sleeping with pose unchanged. Alex tiptoed out of the room and went exploring the house.

There were closed doors on this floor, but Alex headed downstairs. Then he suddenly remembered about the bear which must have brought him here.

“I seriously hope he is not a constant resident of the house,” said Alex to himself looking back over his shoulder. “Though he was definitely sentient enough to communicate with Fluttershy and listen to her requests. But somehow I don’t want to check if his trust includes me.”

The kitchen was his aim at the moment. They were to interact somehow and it would be better if they start from positive impressions. Besides Alex felt overly grateful for her not leaving him in the forest, despite she had the full moral right to be scared, suspicious, whatever else and thus refused to deal with him. According to what he remembered about the incident, he had hardly shown many differences from the wolf he killed. Fluttershy could think anything about Alex, yet she treated him the kindest way possible. Alex decided that making breakfast would be at least something to show his gratitude in this situation. That would be a nice gesture anyway.

The furniture in the kitchen was a bit little to his standards as well. But at least he could reach all the shelves and cupboards without any trouble.

“She can fly up to get anything with ease too, as she is a pegasus,” he smiled inwardly.

Alex managed to find eggs, flour and sugar, the water was in the kitchen tap. He found a frying pan, a bowl and even a whisk. In fact, the kitchen was kept in exemplary order.

“I just need to get used to it,” thought Alex naturally then stumbled upon this thought.

“Hmpf!” he smirked to himself.

“Milk, where is milk?” said Alex loud. “I will need some if I want to make decent pancakes.”

Lighting the stove gave him a bit of trouble, but all other accessories were just the same as in the human world. He smiled at the thought that those ponies must have really flexible and mobile joints to operate all the stuff. Apparently, they had no problems with average frying pans, cans or dishes. Perhaps he had more and produced more noise than planned, as when he was looking for milk once again a white bunny ran through the kitchen door and hopped on the table.

Alex turned to him. The bunny looked at him with interest and a bit of surprise, but without any sign of fear or suspect.

“Hey, little guy, umm, Angel… right?” Alex tried to sound calm and friendly, despite the wild fact that technically he was talking to an animal. “Do you know where is milk in that house? Your pony…”

“For all that I know the word “master” is the least suitable,” thought Alex.

“…friend got tired and is still sleeping. So I decided to take care of the breakfast,” he finished with a smile.

Angel stared at him making some decision, then he squeaked something, jumped to the floor and opened a cooler cupboard under the window. Alex slapped his forehead, he missed its’ doors twice thinking they were part of the wall. He kneeled and took out a big clay jar the bunny pointed at.

“Thanks, pal,” Alex remembered the ponies’ gesture from the show. He stretched out the fist and, to his immense surprise, the bunny bumped it with his small fluffy fist.

“The best pancake is yours by right,” smirked Alex.

His bachelorhood paid for itself, now when all the ingredients were ready, Alex quickly whipped the dough for the pancakes and had a few fried already when he heard a loud scream from the upper floor and a series of hurried steps on the stairs. Fluttershy burst into the kitchen and froze in the doorway breathing deeply from emotions.

She saw the human near her stove with a frying pan in one hand and a spatula in another. A few pancakes were already lying on the plate in the middle of the table. Angel bunny sat near and munched on another one. Fluttershy could perhaps laugh out loud if she wasn’t that surprised, agitated, and… she didn’t know what else…

“Morning!” the human waved her with the spatula while turning a pancake on the pan. Then he realized he had only a towel on and embarrassed smile crawled onto his face. “Ahem…”

“M-m-morning,” Fluttershy voice was almost faint.

“Well… errr… despite how utterly stupid and hilarious it may sound,” he seemed to hardly find words, just like her. “My name is Alex.”

“And you are…” the pony girl took a few steps in and leaned on the table like she was looking for support.

“And I’m a human from another world,” guessed Alex the route of her thoughts.

“At least I was one naturally before I was hit by the lightning and carried no one knows how to the old castle in the woods,” he added with a slightly sad smile. “And you?”

“I-I’m F-Fluttershy,” she almost whispered after a pause. Obviously, it turned out that it was much harder for her to talk to her guest than to take care of him while he was blacked out.

“I-I’m glad you’re f-finally OK,” she found the strength to clear her throat and say louder, then blushed for an unknown reason.

“And I’m glad you’re not mad with me taking the liberty to boss in your kitchen and making the breakfast.”

“Oh, this… was j-just unexpected… if you don’t mind me… p-putting it that way…” Fluttershy let herself giving out a little smile.

“I thought that was the least I could do to…” Alex put the last pancake into the pile and extinguished the stove. He then sat at the table and stared in the window.

“Thank you, Fluttershy!” he said simply but heartily after a long pause. “I can’t put it a better way and I don’t know if I need to. Thank you for saving my life.”

“Squee!” Fluttershy slid on another chair across the table. She looked even more embarrassed now. “I-if anypony needs to say thanks here… it’s m-me. If not you, I would be dead, there was no chance of Harry getting there in t-time…”

“Harry?” asked Alex. Then he remembered. “Oh, yeah, the bear…”

“Is it a common practice for you here to communicate with animals? I would really like to… W-well, I wanted when I was a kid.”

“You mean, you humans can’t,” Fluttershy looked at him. “Well, most ponies don’t do that or can’t. That’s my special talent – I can understand animals and be good friends with them.”

“Most of them…” she added meaningfully.

“We can’t, people – we call ourselves people when talking about many – can’t understand or talk to animals,” said Alex.

“Though this little guy seems to understand me pretty well,” he added nodding towards the bunny, who sat at the table looking from Alex to Fluttershy and back.

“Oh, where are my manners,” Fluttershy touched her mouth with a hoof. “This is Angel… A-and if you give me a moment… I’ll make us tea… i-if you’re OK with that,” she blushed again.

“Nice to meet you, Angel,” Alex winked.

Alex felt that he started liking this pony girl more with each moment. It seemed he could be outspoken with her, he just needed to be careful and patient, as she was evidently of the gentle and modest kind, just as her name suggested. She must be really worried about his well being that she decided to share the bed with him – a total stranger for her at the moment, despite the one who saved her life.

Alex watched how she fluttered across the kitchen quickly and accurately doing things. The sudden warm thought visited him. He was really lucky that Fluttershy was the first pony… person he met in Equestria. Yet that was something to make his further way harder.

“So how do you get here, in Equestria,” Fluttershy lighted the stove again and put the teapot on. She seemed to get easier around him already. “I mean what happened before you found yourself here.”

Alex found himself easily telling her all his story in brief. He told her a little about his life on the Earth, about studies and work, about parents. She was amazed by some things which were common for him, but he guessed, he was to come across something in her world to amaze him speechless as well.

“Thinking machines!” exclaimed Fluttershy sitting across the table with her cup of tea which she seemed to forget about. She looked him directly into the eyes and he caught himself on returning the gaze with the light heart. “Really thinking like anypony else?”

“Well, they are not thinking by human… or pony standards,” Alex gave out a laughter. “It’s hard to explain shortly. We program… teach them to “think”, to solve different tasks. The point is they can perform many simple operations, but very fast, much faster than we do, so they help us solve digital tasks… yes.”

“But they can’t act on a random or abstract pattern,” he continued explaining when he saw she was still utterly amazed. “Still can’t at least.”

“Oh, sweet Celestia, it’s like magic anyway!” Fluttershy produced a little girly squeak.

“That isn’t though,” smiled Alex watching her. “We don’t have any magic in our world. Not that I knew about any at least… At least till recently.”

He then told her about his accident leaving out a part with the car crash and mentioning the most important things. Literally how he was hit by a bolt of lightning in the car. Fluttershy stopped him and asked to explain what was a “car” telling him that they had balloons and trains, but nothing like cars. Alex thought that technically they were at the beginning of Earth’s 20 century. Not bad for the land of talking ponies. And magic made them even more advanced in general. He told that after a bright flash and pain he found himself on top of the tower, in the old castle in the middle of the forest… and heavy rain was showering the scene.

“So you found yourself in the Sisters’ Castle ruins,” Alex noticed how Fluttershy shivered a little, evidently the castle wasn’t among desired places of interest here. “I can imagine it wasn’t the best arrival, Alex.”

He couldn’t help noticing that he liked, how she called him by his name, for the first time as he could remember. Now they were approaching the hardest part of the talk, yet Alex decided firmly at that point – he was going to be transparent with this girl.

“Before I continue, can I ask you one question, Fluttershy?”

“Mmm…” she muttered in agreeing manner busy with her pancake.

“What do you believe in here… in Equestria?”

“Hmm,” Fluttershy was a bit puzzled by such a twist but decided to let the human explain for himself. “Strange question… We believe in magic of course, how could we not, in Harmony… I’ll explain later,” she noticed that Alex stumbled upon this term. “In love. Then princesses, Celestia and Luna, they rule the Sun and the Moon respectively…”

Alex was already prepared for that, but still, his heart skipped a bit. That definitely could be his chance and his ticket to home… or towards his doom.

“Why do you asking?”

“Well, personally I believe wholeheartedly in one thing,” answered Alex. “Not the one and only actually, but that one for sure. The noosphere.”

“You know, everything you think, write, sing about, everything you create, makes an informational track,” he explained. “And the whole mass of ideas, of information, produced one way or another, forms an informational space, field, ocean… call it whatever you like and can understand better.”

“It seems I can understand what you are talking about,” Fluttershy nodded. “It’s like a library. An enormous library which contains all the knowledge of everypony who lives or lived.”

“Though libraries are Twilight’s turf,” she smiled.

“Right, you may put it that way of course.” Alex returned the smile. “And I now start to believe that this “library” has not only the ideas of humanity but much much more. In other words, if something simply exists somewhere, the idea or knowledge of that may appear on the other edge of reality.”

“… even in another reality I suppose,” he added after a moment of silence.

“So?”

“Do you have cinema?”

“Of course we have,” Fluttershy became even more puzzled. “Theatre as well. But I don’t quite understand where you…”

Alex sighed. He couldn’t lie right into those turquoise eyes. He would stop respecting himself forever then.

“I knew about Equestria,” he said quietly. “I mean I knew about it even before I got transferred here… unwillingly. Though I swear to gods I never could imagine it to be real.”

The silence in the kitchen seemed palpable. Even Angel looked stunned by the last words hitting the air. Fluttershy sat on her chair both hooves holding her face and staring at Alex with widely opened eyes.

“We have a movie… a cartoon series, telling about Equestria,” Alex closed his face with hands thinking how completely mental he could look and sound for her. “Many things match, including names. I… know that you have a few friends… Twilight Sparkle, you’ve mentioned her already. Then Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack.”

“Squee!” Fluttershy sat still, like it was her, hit by the lightning.

“You may say I could hear the names, while I was unconscious and managed to grasp them somehow. But I know a few things more. My knowledge of your world is limited, but it exists.”

“There are also princesses Celestia and Luna, the rules of your country,” continued Alex with the serenity of the doomed. “Luna was banished to the moon by her sister for a thousand years… Merlin’s pants, I can’t imagine I’m speaking of that calmly… when she became Nightmare Moon. But you six returned her normal self by defeating Nightmare Moon with the help of Harmony Elements… I don’t know what those are,” he bowed a little towards Fluttershy. “I know that you are an Element of Kindness embodied though.”

“S-so, you’re saying, that humans… p-people know all about Equestria,” Fluttershy’s eyes dilated in terror. “F-from a movie?!”

“Not all, not everything, and… my life for it, I doubt anyone believes it’s real, no one plans a vacation in Equestria, as far as I know,” said Alex in the most soothing voice he could produce. “I am to believe… I am here.”

“I can’t… I h-have no words,” Fluttershy woke up from the stupor. But Alex noticed that she at least wasn’t mad with him or afraid of him personally. It was the mere idea of your whole reality being more or less someone’s show for entertainment which brought her to that state of shock.

“Believe me I was shocked even more, when I realized where I have gotten to in that Old Castle,” Alex moved closer to her and reached her hoof taking it in his hands. “I almost went mad, when I saw those tapestries in the main hall.”

“But I was to tell you all the truth, especially after what you’ve done for me,” he added barely audibly.

“Ohhhh,” Fluttershy let out a deep sigh, then looked down. To Alex’s surprise, she didn’t withdraw her hoof. “Now I can imagine what you have come through.”

“Look,” she gave him a quick gaze then. “You don’t say you can watch everything?..”

“No, of course, no. It’s like a tale about some events which took place once,” Alex tried to find better words. “Like you know about Starswirl the Bearded and some of his deeds, despite never seeing him in person.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, and there is also Spike, Twilight’s aide,” Alex nailed with a deadpan. “I’m sure none of you mentioned him to me.”

Fluttershy put another hoof on his hands and stroked them a bit. Then she giggled, then she burst out laughing holding both hooves at her mouth.

“What?”

“Oh, Alex, I’m so sorry,” Fluttershy sobbed and tried to hold hiccups. “I just imagined your face when you realized, where you got to… and my face moments ago, when you told me I could be a cartoon character for somepony. I understand how you think the… noosphere is connected with that… but it doesn’t sound less mad or somehow funny, sorry…”

Alex could perhaps get angry with her laughing at his trouble. But she was laughing at them both and their reaction to the circumstances, which brought them together. He looked at Fluttershy and felt his lips spread out in a smile too. A moment later he was almost dying from uncontrollable laughter as well.

Angel bunny jumped from the table and got onto the chair aside looking at them as at complete idiots. And they kept laughing and laughing, looked at each other and continued.

“Merlin’s pants!” moaned Alex wiping tears which started to drop already. “It looks like a tragedy, but when you put it like that…”

“Can you imagine,” he added. “I remembered how you with your friends went to the Old Castle when trying to defeat Nightmare Moon. I mean, remembered step by step on purpose, then chose the direction and repeated your journey backwards to get to Ponyville.”

“So, I’ve reached you in time simply because I’ve seen the bucking show and have a good memory,” he looked into her eyes from a few inches distance.

"I wonder if someone somewhere already makes a movie or writes a book about my troubles," with a nervous laughter Alex voiced the idea which came to his mind suddenly.

“Yeah, but I can see Celestia not liking all that completely,” Fluttershy became serious when they both calmed down a bit.

“And that won’t help me solve my problem of getting home,” added Alex feeling fun deflated in him like a popped balloon.

“I’m sure we can think something out,” Fluttershy looked at him with sympathy. “I’ve asked Twilight and she promised to try and talk to Celestia to buy us some time till you fully recover.”

“You don’t need to…”

“I do. And you know it. And I feel that I do,” Fluttershy put a hoof on his mouth making him stop. Then she suddenly drew it back quickly and blushed heavily.

“Umm… I-I mean… I want to help you,” she whispered with a sheepish smile. “I-if you are OK with that… that is what f-friends are for…”

Alex nodded quickly. He suddenly felt he couldn’t force any words out, not before he could swallow the lump in his throat.

“Thanks,” he squeezed finally, then cleared his throat. “Albeit I’m not quite in shape to meet a princess anyway.”

He looked down on his towel and adjusted it. Then looked back on her to be granted with the look of red as a carrot Fluttershy. It was amazing how she blushed through her yellow coat.

“Sorry,” she said in half voice. “We were to take them off to clean and to wash you. The wound could get contaminated…”

“I understand.”

“B-but I have only boots and underwear,” he couldn’t say anything before she blazed out of the kitchen and returned with his scarce clothing.

“Rarity took the royal tapestry you came wrapped in,” Fluttershy’s sight was glued to the floor. “She wanted to try restoring it…”

“… and I have nothing except towels, sheets and… dresses,” she muttered.

“I guess with all I’ve come through, I would hardly look more hilarious in a dress, but I probably pass,” Alex took her face in his hands and removed a few strands falling on her eyes. “Besides you don’t have my size anyway.”

She smiled. Alex thought that one could easily drown in those eyes. Then he remembered Elen’s face and his mood faded. He had no idea, when and if he could get back.

Fluttershy jumped on the spot with a squeak. Fortunately, she seemed to notice the shadow on his face not.

“I’m a fool,” she looked at him guiltily. “Rarity offered help, specifically with the clothes. She runs a boutique in Ponyville.”

“You know about that perhaps,” she smirked and gazed on him playfully. “So she knows everything one possibly can about clothes. She must think something out, I’m sure.”

“But I must warn you,” she moved closer, so, her mouth was right next to his ear. “She became… I can’t put it otherwise… excited when she saw you. So be careful around her, I don’t know what she can perform, but she was in a really flirtatious mood.”

Alex facepalmed inwardly, there was a pony excited about him already. Where did things go? Fluttershy turned away for him not to see her face when she remembered the “fifteen times longer” remark.

“OK,” said Alex. “I guess that’s inevitable. I can’t go around like that forever.”

Fluttershy thought that she wouldn’t mind really, then scolded herself for that naughty idea.

“I’ll call her then as soon as possible,” she said instead.

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” he definitely liked as it sounded either. “Can I use your bathroom… again?”

He left his boots at the front door when heading to the stairs. No need for them at home.

‘At home?!’ his mind made an intensive leap. ‘In the house, Alex. That’s “in the house”, right?’

“Sweetie Belle! Sweetie Belle,” Rarity looked up calling her sister loudly. “Sweetie Belle, could you come down.”

“What’s up, sis?” small white unicorn filly with pink and lilac mane and tail poked her head through the door into her sister’s working cabinet. “I had the floor in my room shaking when you called,” she giggled.

“Hmpf,” Rarity cocked her head in a disapproving manner. “I wasn’t THAT loud if you’re talking about it…”

“Oh, maybe just a little,” smirked Sweetie Belle.

“Have you done your homework, dear?” Rarity asked insinuatingly.

Her younger sister rolled her eyes like saying. “Oh, come on, not again!..”

“It’s May already, Rarity,” she said instead. “Ms Cheerilee gives us almost nothing before holidays…”

“And obviously I have it prepared already,” she added to avoid further interrogation. “Did you need me for something?”

“On the contrary, darling,” Rarity smiled to some of her thoughts and it was obvious that she was pleased by something.

“Tell Fluttershy I’ll pack what’s necessary and move on,” she said to Angel bunny, who then saluted with his paw and leapt outside worming between Sweetie Belle’s legs before she could step aside from the doorway. The letter in Rarity’s magic grasp must have been the one he delivered.

“I was about to suggest,” Rarity continued explaining to her sister. “That you may go to Applejack’s garden and visit your friends, and have your club meeting or whatever you do usually with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.”

“I simply doubt you want to sit all alone till late afternoon. I need to see Fluttershy, darling,” Rarity was packing meters, rulers, pencils, sheets of paper in her saddlebag. The letter flew there the last.

“Is everything all right?” Sweetie Belle was genuinely interested.

“Yeah… Well, yeah,” answered Rarity absently looking over her workplace with half-lidded eyes. “Fluttershy just needed a new dress… and she told me that she had some free time… so I decided to go make all the necessary measurements, while I have a chance.”

Her sister became alert at once. Belle’s Cutie Mark Crusader senses told her there was something not quite as simple, as her older sister wanted it to look. Like every little filly, she adored secrets and mysteries and innocently poking her nose into those. Like Cutie Mark Crusader she felt it was her duty to investigate everything which seemed nearly secret.

She watched how Rarity spun in front of a mirror checking her coat, checking her mane and tail and brushing it, puffing her lips and examining them with great care. Then Rarity glued a pair of fake eyelashes, extending twice her already long natural ones.

‘Don’t stab anypony with them, sis,’ giggled Sweetie Belle mentally.

“Oh, I just had an idea about our CMC investigations,” she jumped with a sly smile. “You’re right, Rarity, I need to visit my friends.”

If Rarity listened to her younger sister a bit more attentively, the word “investigations” could have warned her about them planning something… again. Or even better say about Sweetie Belle who just started planning something and was going to involve her overly curious friends. But Rarity was still smiling, truth to be told with a very dreamy look, to some of her thoughts and simply followed her sister outside taking her saddle bag and closing the door of Carousel Boutique behind them.

Sweetie Belle watched, how her older sister headed towards Fluttershy’s cottage indeed, then she turned and trotted to the Apple Farm thinking about what she managed to notice.

‘Strange that Rarity packed the letter with her,’ thought Sweetie Belle while her legs carried her automatically on the well-known route. ‘She didn’t throw it on her work table as usual. There is already the complete mess of sketches, pencils, spools of threads there… one small note would hardly add more.’

She reached the Garden fence already.

‘Besides Fluttershy is not a fashionista type pony, as far as I know. She doesn’t buy dresses once a week to brighten her mood. The yearly Galloping Gala is not coming soon yet and the dress Rarity makes specifically for Fluttershy is in the boutique still. I must say Rarity surpassed herself with it… No more than yesterday evening she fixed and improved something… and prevented me from sleeping with her dancing around the dress almost till midnight.’

‘Well, sis, you’re definitely hiding something,’ she thought, approaching a nice tree house – Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse exactly. ‘You and Fluttershy. Two best friends forever,’ she giggled.

‘The existing dress hardly needs any measurements at all,’ concluded Sweetie Belle, she already heard that her filly friends were talking about something in the tree house. ‘And you looked happier than Opal filled with sour cream. Something tells me that’s not about the dress…’

She got up on the wooden slope and bumped the door open with her fore hooves.

“Hey, girls!” she trotted inside and hugged Apple Bloom – the yellow freckled filly with red mane and tail, and Scootaloo – the orange one with the pink and purple mane and tail. “How’s life? Any daring plans for today?”

“Nothing too fancy,” yawned Scootaloo. “We thought we could try ourselves in diving in the nearby pond. Well, better try this chance as well. Apple Bloom said…”

“Big Mac had mask, tube and flippers somewhere,” nodded Apple Bloom. “But I’m afraid they are a bit big for us.”

“Forget about ponds and flippers,” whispered Sweetie Belle in a conspiratorial tone. “We have some secrets to unearth.”

“Didn’t it brought us troubles only the last time we tried?” Apple Bloom was unsure, if that was a good idea, remembering the last time they all three worked for a school newspaper under Chatterbox pen name gathering salt and pepper about Ponyville private life. “I mean the last time was miserable enough.”

“Oh, come one, little Apple,” jumped Scootaloo, who was in for every action except hunger-strike. “It’s not like we’re going to write about that or share it with anypony else. Right, Sweetie Belle?”

“So what’s your plan?” Scootaloo pricked her ears… and Apple Bloom joined in a minute. Curiosity was born before her, apparently.

“Rarity just got a notice from Fluttershy, then packed meters, paper and stuff and fled,” Sweetie Belle told them in brief. “She told me to go for “fresh air” and almost danced away.”

“Umm,” Scootaloo gave her a sly smile. “They say your sister and Fluttershy… are a thing.”

“Ewww,” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Where did you dig that from, Scoots?”

“Well, some ponies gossip…”

“They say Rainbow and Fluttershy are a thing as well,” retorted Sweetie Belle. “They are just good friends with Rarity. My sister is not into that…”

“Fluttershy is a very popular girl, despite if she wants that or not,” giggled Apple Bloom.

“Don’t tell Rarity,” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “They are best friends, yet she barely came through Fluttershy’s popularity… you know, when she was modelling for Photo Finish.”

Girls laughed, then Apple Bloom added.

“And I think that Fluttershy was on a roll as a model. She is so beautiful and manages to keep the look easily…”

“Back to our business, girls!” Scootaloo jumped impatiently. “So what do you think?”

“Well, I doubt it’s about any dresses for Fluttershy, but all the tools make me puzzled still,” Sweetie Belle put her hoof at the chin. “It must be connected with clothes, but it’s something weirder than Fluttershy suddenly becoming a fashionista like Rarity.”

“Hey, maybe they were going to dress Harry as a clown,” suggested Apple Bloom and the girls burst out laughing.

“That didn’t explain why she spun in front of the mirror for quite a while making “everything look just purrrfect, dear”,” Sweetie Belle imitated her sister very closely and girls snorted again.

“So are we going to find out… or not?” Scootaloo stopped giggling and gazed at her friends.

“Sure thing!”

“Let’s do it!”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders – Private Investigators!!!” yelled the fillies and shared a hoof bump.

Fluttershy went outside to perform her daily duties for the animals and Alex decided to wash the dishes and bring the kitchen to the usual order. Or better say he convinced her to leave him that part of work as he wasn’t supposed to get outside not to be spotted by anypony. He could at least help about the house, so Fluttershy would entirely focus on her animal friends.

Obviously, Alex got to the bathroom first and dressed – if putting on boxers only could be called that pretentiously, he left the towel on as well, this gave him at least some confidence that he didn’t look like some stripper on performance. In fact, what Fluttershy told him about Rarity’s hopes made him consider putting even a dress on… a serious chance to look utterly hilarious was the only thing stopping him. Besides he wasn’t entirely sure if that wouldn’t give an opposite effect, who could know those ponies for sure…

Angel followed Fluttershy and Alex was all alone in the kitchen having an ability to think about the whole situation he got in. He was sure that he wasn’t mistaking in Fluttershy, she sympathized him and would tell princess nothing or nothing unnecessary unless he did it himself. She didn’t see any danger in his limited knowledge of the equestrian way of life, she even found the whole situation amusing. Alex wasn’t so sure that his condition amuses him, but he couldn’t take offence either – that was nopony’s fault. Alex made a mental note of himself accommodating to local speech and sighed.

‘I hope that won’t become my new mother language.’

So what did he have at the moment? He was to recover completely, find out as much as possible about Celestia and her methods of solving problems. And of course, he was to gather all his confidence and eloquence to convince the princess to send him home. If she could, of course…

What could happen, if she didn’t, was exactly the thought Alex tried to avoid.

Some sound from outside got his attention, Alex heard Fluttershy talking to someone approaching the front door. He wiped the last plate and put it into the dryer, then turned off the water. It was time to grasp himself and face any lusty demon his fate prepared for him.

“Well, Rarity,” Fluttershy was saying something to Rarity when she entered the kitchen and stepped aside letting her friend come in. “Let me introduce you Alex, finally up to the mark… if you’re okay with me… putting it like that.”

“Alex, that’s my friend Rarity,” she then added simply. “She kindly agreed to help with your small clothing problem.”

At first, Alex wondered, why Fluttershy stuck to such a diplomatic tone, but then he saw she tried her best not to smile.

Rarity floated in the room with her head raised high, she could make swans jealous and ashamed compared to her grace. She evidently spent her time in front of the mirror with good use.

“Thanks, dear,” murmured Rarity examining Alex through half-lidded eyes with such eyelashes that Alex feared of being impaled by them. “We’ve got acquainted already… well, in some sense we did… unilaterally,” she giggled. “But it’s nice to see you getting well, Alex the human.”

Alex made big eyes towards Fluttershy and she rolled her eyes behind Rarity’s back, like if she was saying. “Remember what I have told you.”

“So, Rarity, what do you need to make your measurements?” Fluttershy stepped from hoof to hoof. “I haven’t finished yet with my little friends out there, so if you excuse me…”

“Don’t worry, dear,” Rarity kept eyeing Alex. “But the kitchen is not quite good for our task. It’s too tight here,” breathed she out.

‘Too tight for what?’ shuddered Alex inwardly. He imagined the bedroom… and thought that he, on the contrary, wouldn’t object staying right here.

“Fine, you can go upstairs,” agreed Fluttershy before he could say anything.

“I’ll check you later, guys,” she added with emphasis.

Rarity wrinkled her nose funnily, but she could do nothing about that.

“Ok, that’s better,” she headed upstairs first.

Alex watched Fluttershy trotting outside and followed Rarity with the fatalism of the condemned written on his face. At least she promised to check them eventually. He was to admit, the last thing he was ready for, was the pony girl physiologically interested in him. Though he also was to admit that the waving of cutie marks in his sight was quite hypnotizing.

‘Come on, man,’ he shook his head. ‘She is a pony… girl.’

“Hey, here you are, Flutters!” the call from above made Fluttershy jump.

Rainbow Dash landed next to her not bothering much about being gracious.

“How’s tricks?”

“Hi, Rainbow,” Fluttershy continued filling the feeders for her chickens who crowded around chirping impatiently. “It depends on what you are asking about.”

“Alex woke up this morning,” she said dusting off her hooves. “And fortunately he is getting better.”

“Oh,” Rainbow spoke stretching the words. “He is “Alex” already.”

“Oh, come on, Rainbow,” laughed Fluttershy. “It’s not his fault that it’s his name. You’re disliking him even before he could do something wrong.”

“Should I wait for him to do it exactly?” huffed Rainbow, she was very stubborn when determined about anything. “I stick to my words – I don’t trust him.”

“Rarity is making measurements now to help him with clothes.”

“And you let her stay with him one-on-one,” Rainbow made round eyes. “Aren’t you worried about her?”

“I’d rather be worried about him,” muttered Fluttershy. Then exclaimed jokingly. “So you don’t worry about me staying with him one-on-one, but Rarity.”

“You,” Rainbow seemed to be surprised by the question. “You’re a totally different story, Flutters. Everypony knows you can Stare even a dragon.”

“It seems Rarity is going to give him quite a Stare as well,” Fluttershy was noticeably embarrassed by Rainbow’s words.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

Fluttershy acted as if she was trying to passionately kiss an invisible partner explaining her point. Rainbow produced a vomiting sound, then laughed.

“Oh,” she remembered something. “Have you seen Scootaloo or her friends lately?”

“No. Why are you asking?” wondered Fluttershy.

“I could swear, I saw three little squirts sneaking around your garden when I flew by,” explained Rainbow. “That would mean nothing… if I knew them worse.”

“Not that I gave a flying feather for that… human,” Rainbow scratched her head. “But if we screw at hiding him from other ponies that will make Celestia mad about us all and mostly you, pal. I don’t like that idea.” She smiled widely.

“Thanks, Rainbow,” Fluttershy replied heartily. “I’ll keep an eye.”

“That’s way better,” Rarity let out a satisfied sigh which made Alex even more worried.

She smacked her saddlebag on the table and opened it with magic. Meters, pencils, sheets of paper started flowing out driven by the blue glow.

“So… how’s the royal tapestry restoration going?” Alex tried to fill the pause.

“Oh, you know already, darling,” Rarity looked at him over her shoulder with a bright smile. “I won’t say it’s an easy task, I must be really careful not to spoil anything. Ultimately it’s an ancient masterpiece of endless value.”

“But I must admit, it kept most of its durability over the ages,” she placed her tools on the table into working order. “And served you well during your journey, Ahlex!”

Alex can’t help gulping at his name voiced like that – it sounded palpably sultry.

‘If only I could keep playing on the vanity string long enough,’ he thought, remembering Rarity’s weak spot.

“… but I try my best and eventually will prove that I capable of restoring it,” she continued meanwhile. “I asked the princess for that honour myself, so simply can’t fail now.” She cocked her head proudly.

“So, dear…” she turned to Alex who stood without any idea what he was to do. “Why don’t you take that thing off.”

“What, sorry?” Alex felt slightly stunned.

“Your towel, silly,” Rarity batted her eyelashes and giggled like a school filly. She thought that she’d rather say “everything”, but decided to take smaller steps. “I need to measure your parameters and supposedly you’ll need pants, so the towel will prevent me from doing it right. Unless you need a skirt instead…”

“Did Fluttershy return you your underwear?” she smirked while coming closer.

Alex felt his cheeks started burning. Buck it! Why should he blush?

Rarity measured him carefully trying to not touch him with magic at all cost. But Alex thought that she was avoiding magic for other reasons as well. And soon he noticed that he was right.

She was going from the bottom and up, measuring his legs, then hips, then waist… while Alex was constantly on his toes. He saw now that Fluttershy was totally serious warning him about Rarity being… excited.

Rarity raised on her hind legs to measure his chest. She preferred to use no magic and was almost to hug him to position the measuring tape. Alex noticed that she stepped closer as if she was struggling with the meter… and then she snuggled up to him.

Alex was impressed, how soft her coat felt against his skin. She looked up into his eyes and almost purred from pleasure as well. Rarity so looked like a big kitten at that moment that Alex relaxed a bit – later he thought it was an unforgivable mistake – and put his hands on her mane. He stroked it gently and Rarity dropped the measuring tape on the floor, enclosing him in a full-time embrace. He rubbed behind her ears and she literally purred, with her chin resting on his chest and her eyes half-lidded.

He scratched her shoulders and reached her back… Perhaps that was what having hands with flexible fingers was about. Alex felt how she shook of pleasure the next moment, closing her eyes and pressing herself harder into him. Her body started to heat up quite noticeably. Girl’s breath became deeper and heavier.

Alex removed his hands off Rarity’s coat. To his terror, he felt that his manly reflexes started reminding of themselves. A few more moments of squeezing him like that and she would certainly notice. Alex didn’t want to think about what could follow…

He took a step back unconsciously, but Rarity clenched to him and followed. She opened her eyes and Alex found himself facing two black holes ready to swallow him. Her pupils dilated that much, it was arousing and scary at the same time. Alex started panicking internally intercepting Rarity’s glance towards the bed…

“Ahem,” Alex saw Fluttershy in the doorway. The saviour! At last. Alex was ready to throw himself to her hooves.

“I thought you might need something, guys,” she wasn’t very surprised by what she saw.

‘Save me!’ Alex semaphored her with his eyes only and thankfully Fluttershy seemed to get it right.

“Is everything OK, Rarity?” she asked. “Rarity!”

“It’s nothing…” raucously answered Rarity, then she managed to focus her eyesight and clear her mind a bit.

“It’s fine,” she corrected herself and let Alex go, then levitated the measuring tape. “I’ve just dropped the meter, darling, while measuring his chest. He is really big.”

Alex felt he was blushing again, he threw a quick look down and thought that Fluttershy appeared just in time… before things started looking really naughty.

“Oh, I’ll stay then… just in c-case… some help is n-needed,” humbly stated Fluttershy. “I’ve finished with my pets anyway.”

Rarity frowned a little. She quickly finished measuring now avoiding Alex’s eyes for some reason. But Alex decided that it was better to be on full alert, no way she could give up that easily all of a sudden.

“I plan to make some sketches,” she then levitated a pencil and a clip of paper, naughty expression was returning to her face. “If you don’t mind…”

“Can I ask you to strike a pose, darling,” she addressed Alex undressing him with her eyes. “For a start just stand there in relaxing pose, put one foot forward a little, opposite hand on your waist. Thanks. Just what I need!”

They were interrupted by some rustling noise outside. Alex took a few quick steps to hide in the shadows in the corner of the room. Fluttershy flew up to the window.

At first, she saw nothing, nothing unusual. Grass and flowers right under the window, a few shrubs and an old tree which spread its’ branches over the roof of her cottage. A few of them were on the same level as the window though. Fluttershy spotted a small curled pony figure which tried to hide behind the leaves but evidently failed at this task.

“Scootaloo! What are you doing here?” Fluttershy exclaimed in surprise. “I thought ponies don’t climb trees normally.”

“We… I…” Scootaloo tried to look aside. “I was practising… some of my special tricks… when I tripped over a root… and fell… and my helmet flew off to the tree…”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow looking at orange filly pointedly.

“And I was to follow and look for it here… I found it!” quickly added Scootaloo. “I’m OK, seriously.”

“And where are two other fidgets?” Fluttershy scanned the view again when two heads with leaves and small twigs in their manes emerged from the bushes. The look on their faces was a bit guilty.

“Oh, here you are girls… Don’t you think that tricks which make helmets fly are a bit… dangerous?!”

“By the way, Rainbow Dash looked for you… well… at least it seemed so…”

“That was the point,” Scootaloo answered in a loud whisper, trying to get down from the tree. “Rainbow wasn’t supposed to see those tricks before it’s time to.”

She slowly backed to the tree trunk, then stopped, deciding, if the better way of climbing down was her nose or her tail first. It was seemingly a very hard choice because finally she just jumped off and glided to the grass with the help of her small wings.

“Well, we’d better go find some smoother ground to train. Squee!”

“Good-bye, Fluttershy,” squeaked Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and all three girls whisked under the trees and out of Fluttershy’s garden.

Fluttershy shrugged and turned back to the room.

“There were just Cutie Mark Crusaders,” she explained to Alex and Rarity, who froze listening when they all heard the noise. “I wonder if they were indeed just playing there or tried to sneak and sniff something out,” Fluttershy smiled kindly.

Alex relaxed a bit and Rarity returned to her sketches drawing something with sudden inspiration.

“While you are a… secret, avoid getting yourself spotted by them,” Fluttershy explained to Alex. “They always plan for good… but… sometimes things go not quite as planned. Just like when they tried to make ms. Cheerilee and Big Mac be each others’ special somepony on Hearts and Hooves day… with the help of the Love Potion.”

“But they are only little fillies,” she added apologizing them.

Alex gulped loudly… He made big eyes and pointed to Rarity with a silent nod. Fluttershy followed his gaze and put her fore hoof above her mouth cautiously. Fortunately, Rarity was too concentrated on her drawing and didn’t hear a bit about Love Potion. Alex and Fluttershy both took a deep breath of relief.

“Well,” woke up Rarity, she looked rather proud of herself. “I have a couple of ideas.”

“Let’s say I’ll return to you tomorrow… Supposedly I can make some simple clothes for the start and more underwear. Then I’ll try to squeeze some time among other orders to make something fabulous.”

“Until tomorrow, I’m afraid, Ahlex will be forced to stick to his… beach fashion,” Rarity sent Alex another sultry gaze batting her eyelashes.

“And… errmmm…” she lowered the pride in her tone a bit. “Don’t be mad with me, if something works not perfectly right away… It’ll be the first time ever I’m stitching for a human.”

“I can’t thank you enough anyway,” answered Alex sincerely. “You’re literally saving me. No way I was going to face princess looking like that.”

‘Hmm… Personally, I wouldn’t mind!’ thought Rarity with a sly smile, but she said aloud. “Oh, no worries, darling. You’re always welcome.”

“And you’re always welcome in my Carousel Boutique,” she added with emphasis.

‘Only if I can make at least both Fluttershy and Twilight come with me,’ thought Alex quickly.

“So, have you seen anything?!” both fillies shook Scootaloo when they got themselves on an inaudible distance from Fluttershy’s cottage. “What was going there?”

“Well… I haven’t managed to see something interesting,” Scootaloo lowered her head in regret. “The curtains were half drawn… and when I tried to sneak closer… Fluttershy looked out and spotted me at once.”

“She was nice and didn’t ask anything… ticklish, but she looked at me very fixedly – you know how she does – I’ve almost fallen down,” Scootaloo shuddered. “I can’t stay calm when she looks like this.”

“Yeah, she is super cool,” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. “But I always get goosebumps, when she stares at me… even if it’s not yet the Stare.”

“So we got nothing,” concluded Apple Bloom. “For now…”

“Unfortunately… Squee!!!”

“Hey, girls,” Pinkie Pie seemed to pop from under the ground, so all three fillies jumped on the spot. “How’s life? Still looking for your special talent by trying each and everything?”

“Yeah, kinda…” squeaked all three with sheepish smiles.

“Don’t worry, it will reveal itself eventually,” Pinkie smiled cheerfully. “Sometimes it comes when you least expect.”

“Have you seen Fluttershy, girls? Is she at home?”

“She is… and Rarity is also there,” said Sweetie Belle, then decided to play for broke. “Do you guys plan some secret party?”

“I’ve no idea!” Pinkie seemed to be happy no matter what. “But I can bet, if I put my hoof in, there will be some. Look, if there is, I’ll tell you, I promise.”

“Pinkie Promise?” asked Scootaloo with a sly smile.

Pinky pretended to pout.

“But of course.”

“Bye, girls,” and she jumped towards the cottage like a pink fluffy ball.

“Another one,” sighed Apple Bloom. “There is definitely going something interesting… and we are not informed!” she almost yelled, then remembered Pinkie could hear them and went silent with a guilty look.

“Ok, girls,” Sweetie Belle stopped and shook her mane. “I’ll try to dig something out from my sister. Preferably without her even noticing,” she giggled while blushing. “Wish me luck!”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders – Sneaking Ninjas!” yelled three girls and shared a hoof bump.

Fluttershy and Alex saw Rarity off to the door when a pink hurricane blasted it open and burst in. Alex could hardly suppress his impulse to jump on the nearest table with feet when he found himself enclosed in a bear hug by a pink mare with pink-red, puffy as cotton-candy mane and tail.

“Weehee!” yelped she, squeezing him so strong that he felt his wound a bit. “I’m the last to meet you, human. But here I am.”

“So, what about “Welcome to Equestria Human” party?” she looked at her friends, who still were in some sort of a shocked stupor from her flurry.

“Ahem… Pinky this is Alex. Alex, the mare squeezing you is my friend Pinkie Pie,” smirked Fluttershy.

“Alex. Hmmm… Me likes,” Pinkies smile became even wider. “Welcome to Equestria, Alex! I mean, I’m welcoming you… but as a party title that sounds great either.”

“What?” she asked hearing both her friends huffing without conspiring.

Alex made a mental note that she was still holding him, but before he could fear that it would be “Rarity, take 2” she elaborated.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but if there is somepony here, who needs friends and friends’ attention, it is Alex. Getting somewhere nopony… oh… I mean nohuman knows where without any… human you can trust or rely isn’t the best experience.”

Alex could have gone angry with her for this public preparation of his trouble… again. But she looked up into his eyes and he suddenly realized that her intentions were genuine. And her prolonged hug wasn’t something naughty as well. That was just how she was: always cheerful, impulsive, light-hearted, yet thoughtful and caring in her own way. Soul of the company – Pinkie Pie. He hugged her heartily in return and slightly stroked her mane.

“Hmmm… Now I start to understand Lyra with her fixation on getting hands,” Pinkie raised an eyebrow.

Rarity snorted and sent Pinkie a spear gaze, which Pinkie happily ignored. She said instead of that.

“Actually I came for a minute, Fluttershy. I had a break of running the bakery and thought that a short run forth and back won’t hurt, so I could meet you, guys.”

“Oh, Pinkie, so you’re left without a lunch… because of us,” Fluttershy was visibly sorry. “Umm… Be my g-guest… We have some pancakes left… if you’re OK with that. You too, Rarity.”

“Pancakes!” Jumped Pinkie, while Rarity thanked and refused, explaining that it would be too heavy for her. “Sounds just right.”

She strolled to the kitchen and took one from the pile of remaining pancakes. Then she munched on it and her eyes dilated.

“Fluttershy, you’ve managed to impress me in cooking.”

“Actually, that’s not me…” humbly confessed Fluttershy, nodding towards Alex.

A wide grin flashed on Pinkies face again, she gulped a couple of pancakes more and turned to Alex.

“Isn’t cooking your special talent?”

“People don’t have special talents as ponies do,” said Alex with a small smile. “Of course people learn something specific to master it and work with it mostly, and some have talents for some things. But it’s not like a destiny, one can learn many things if one really wants.”

“People?”

“That’s how humans call themselves when there are many,” explained Fluttershy. “And Alex’s special talent could have been working with hardware and… how did you call it Alex?.. yeah, software. It’s hard to explain Pinkie… it’s like magic in their world making the… “thinking machines” run.”

“Thinking machines?” re-asked Pinkie. “Why would one need a machine thinking for them?”

“They not actually or only think,” laughed Alex. “But they can operate mechanisms and solve different tasks. Look… Just imagine a machine selling stuff and working with customers instead of you. You could have made twice more candies and pies then, with all the consequences for your income.”

“That could be hoofy,” agreed Pinkie.

“Look, can you maybe find something I can do?” asked Alex when they remained one-on-one. “While I can’t go outside, I could do something inside the house. I mean, you are already busy with all the animals and now my problems… I want to help where I can.”

“Well, if you want to… you really don’t need to…” evidently Fluttershy was uncomfortable at the idea of loading him with some work.

“I just don’t want to be a… parasprite,” grinned Alex.

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Fluttershy shuddered, then gentle smile lighted her face. “I’ll trust Pinkie’s expertise. You can make dinner if you don’t mind.”

She then showed him where different ingredients were. Alex noted that a somewhat vegetarian diet was inevitable… Well, he could think about that later, it wasn’t overly pleasant, yet not fatal.

“I suppose as omnivores you have meat from time to time,” said Fluttershy with regret. “But I’m afraid it will be a problem here, Alex.”

“Don’t you worry!” Alex shook his head. “Milk, eggs and mushrooms can provide proteins. Besides you have fish on the market I suppose.”

Fluttershy nodded, then added.

“I suppose you can cooperate with Harry when it is possible to get out.”

“I doubt he sticks to a vegetarian diet all the time,” she elaborated. “He goes hunting from time to time.”

“Do you have snakes in the forest?” Alex got an idea. “You know, a properly prepared snake could be delicious…”

“Don’t even want to imagine,” Fluttershy shivered. “Ugh! And don’t tell Twilight, she is afraid of snakes deadly… Or maybe she would like that rather because she is afraid of them, I don’t know.”

“And yes, there are many,” she answered his question. “Too many, if you ask me. Frankly speaking, I treat all the living with respect, but… snakes… I don’t feel confident, they can return that gesture.”

Alex estimated her level of diplomacy with a smile.

“I’ve only seen one on my route from the Old Castle ruins,” he said. “Funny freak with a chicken body and a snake tail. I don’t know if this was actually a sna…”

“You did what?” Fluttershy’s jaw dropped and her eyes seemed to get the size of dinner plates. “That was a cockatrice!!! How are you standing here then?”

“What’s special about this clown?” Alex genuinely couldn’t understand her shock. “It blocked my road and stared at me… for a while, I tried to walk around it and it kept repeating its “performance”.”

“Squee!”

“I found it rather stupid,” Alex continued. “Well… I kicked it in the beak and sent flying into a tree hole. That’s all. Fluttershy? Fluttershy!”

“Sweet Celestia!” Fluttershy managed to close her mouth and bring her face to the usual look. “Cockatrice is one of the most dangerous monsters out there, Alex. It can turn you into stone with its stare…”

“Well, that one was broken perhaps,” smirked Alex.

“Or they can’t affect you just like the magic,” Fluttershy was on the contrary very serious. “You’re lucky you are like that, Alex, believe me. Twilight is afraid of snakes and especially cockatrices that much because she had personal experience.”

“They say fools are lucky,” Alex didn’t find any reasons to be sad. “Wait… and how she survived then?”

“You look least like a fool, simply be careful next time… please. And that incident…” Fluttershy seemed to be embarrassed by her role in it. “I’ll tell you some other day. Well, in brief, I… convinced it to revert the effect. But… it was dangerous… and I’d prefer to avoid repeating that.”

“You’ve stared it like those bucking wolves?!” Alex seemed to cheer rather than ask.

“Yesss,” muttered she in half voice. “And before you send me… into eternal blushing I attend to my daily duties,” she let a tiny smile nevertheless. “And you can save us from starving... if you don’t mind… please.”

“Yes, sir, ma’am, sir!” Alex saluted with a wide grin. Then he frowned slightly, raising his right arm was still a bit painful.

Fluttershy trotted outside with a snort, Alex imagined how he looked and laughed as well taking the dishes out of the closet.

He just finished mixing the salad wondering where those ponies got fresh vegetables in Spring. Not even in the middle of Summer, but supposedly in May already.

“Well, I guess that’s one of the benefits of being capable of doing magic,” he said to himself.

“Cough…”

Alex turned around and found a lilac unicorn pony standing at the kitchen door. A very surprised unicorn pony because she blinked fast and didn’t yet drop any word.

“Hi, Twilight!” he waved the spoon in the air, that calculation was easy: the colour, the horn, the whole stance and face – he could hardly be mistaking. “If you look for Fluttershy, she is outside with her little friends… or not so little, if Harry is there as well,” he added with a friendly smile.

Apparently Twilight was still slightly shocked, as she turned a bit automatically following Alex’s nod direction. Then it was his turn to wonder.

“Wait! Since when you are an… alicorn?!” the proper word floated in his memory just in time and Alex put the salad bowl on the table, not to drop it to the floor.

“I must be seriously missing something here,” he muttered to himself staring on Twilight’s wings. Twilight looked at him with a mix of surprise and unease. Besides she noticed finally his… “beach style” as Rarity called it, and was a bit confused.

“Mmmm…” they heard from the front door. “I can smell it from here. What do we have? I’m starving.”

Fluttershy flit in the kitchen guided by the vegetable smell.

“Oh, hi, Twilight!”

…

“Alex, Twilight?!” Fluttershy alternated between them puzzledly. “What’s up with you, guys? Maybe you stop playing gaze already…”

“Fluttershy, why is Twilight an alicorn?”

“Fluttershy, how come the first question, he asked, was “Since when you’re an alicorn”?”

Alex and Twilight both exclaimed simultaneously, then fell silent and stared at each other once again.

“Oh,” Fluttershy apparently caught, what was happening. “It’s a long story, Twilight. Alex, yes, Twilight is a princess for about a year already… Sorry… for not telling you, I forgot you know only a small part of the… story.”

“I’m sure we can talk this through,” she giggled, amused by their look. “If you be so kind as to set the table, while I get to the bathroom, sorry… But you do tell,” she pointed at Alex.

“I’m sorry, princess,” Alex remembered about etiquette and bowed, trying not to think how exactly he looked like. “It’s nice to meet your Highness.”

“Simply “Twilight”, please,” she replied automatically. “And I’m glad you’re getting well… Alex.”

Alex noted that she cared about her friends more than about her royal duties if any and the mere title itself.

“Alex …?” she asked while opening the cupboard with her magic and levitating plates and cutlery out and onto the table.

“For you all… helping me to survive… the reality, it’s simply Alex,” he smiled in return and placed sandwiches and fruits in another bowl to accompany the huge bowl of salad. Alex tried to make enough for them with Fluttershy to compensate for protein absence. It was reasonable even more now when there were three of them.

“Excuse me as well,” Twilight poured fresh juice in three glasses, then mounted a free chair at the table. “I never saw a real human otherwise than a picture in an old book…”

“Just like me – a unicorn, let alone an alicorn till recently,” smirked Alex taking another chair.

“Yeah, I guess. And besides, I wasn’t ready to see you… making dinner,” Twilight made a pause then added. “You’re doing very nicely for someone, who…”

“Was put in another world or dimension or whatever, got cut badly and found himself among talking sentient ponies,” Alex continued her idea. “Yes, for that one I’m perfectly fine.”

“Do you imply, that in your world ponies are not sentient?” Twilight was shocked a bit.

“Not exactly. We have ponies there, but they don’t look and behave and think so… human-like,” Alex put some salad on her plate, then on his own. “And, of course, they are not so…”

“Hey, do you feel more comfortable together now?” Fluttershy flit into the kitchen.

She just left the shower, as she was fluffy and pinkish, smelling of flower shampoo. Besides, she wrapped a towel around her head to dry her wet mane. With an open mouth, Alex followed her flying in and landing on the free chair between him and Twilight. She reminded him about Elen so much at that moment, his heart ached.

“… cute!”

“Who?” Fluttershy sipped her juice, then paid the salad deserved attention.

“Never mind,” Twilight cleared her throat. She was watching Alex all the time with a strange smile.

Alex looked at his plate and pretended that there was nothing more interesting than the salad at that moment.

“So have you told your story already?” Fluttershy looked at Alex. “Come on, Twi is sitting.”

The whole story took him about twenty minutes to tell in brief. Alex mentioned his arrival, the shock he experienced upon realization, his idea about how it was possible for him to know anything about Equestria prior to him being transferred. He ended with the short summary of what he saw in the show.

Twilight overcame her shock a bit faster than Fluttershy, perhaps she read something about people specifically or the whole concept of the noosphere and its’ effects was closer to her as a magician. But she said exactly as Fluttershy before.

“Princess Celestia may like all that not.”

“You see, Alex,” she elaborated. “We know you personally, you saved Fluttershy, everything speaks for you being generally nice… but Celestia is a ruler of our country, she needs to care for her subjects, to protect them, thus to think deeper and… you are still an… alien.”

“Besides, she has all her experience at her service,” added Twilight. “She may know something books don’t tell about humans. Even if that doesn’t apply to you specifically. So she will be extremely cautious and investigate your case before making any decisions.”

“So you’re saying that there were some cases of human getting here already?” Alex felt hope.

“There were a few according to the books I’ve read. Not recently though…”

“But isn’t it easier for everyone to send me home if possible? To tell the truth, it’s my biggest desire… as I’m indeed an alien here.”

Alex was looking at Twilight, otherwise he might have spotted how Fluttershy stopped munching on her salad and stiffened. Twilight, on the contrary, threw a quick look at her friend.

“I’m afraid, it’s not that simple,” she continued explaining while subtly watching Fluttershy. “No one of those cases returned home, again according to the books. But there were no details. Perhaps it was impossible, perhaps it still is… And princess Celestia may have her reasons.”

Fluttershy let out a deep sigh.

“You know, this is not directed against you, Alex,” Twilight sent him a sympathetic look. “I’m sure, whatever she does, she does to protect Equestria first.”

“I understand,” Alex felt all the weight of her arguments. “But that doesn’t make it easier.”

“That is why I asked Twilight to try and by us… you some time,” Fluttershy added to the conversation. “So you at least could think it through, before you face the princess and her… investigation.”

“I tried my best,” Twilight nodded. “And you have about a week since you wake, so effectively since today.”

“Which reminded me of my own questions,” said Alex remembering something very important. “So, I told you my story, now please tell me yours…”

“How long am I here?” he asked what bothered him the most.

“Didn’t you tell?” Twilight turned to Fluttershy with surprise.

“Well,” Fluttershy was a bit embarrassed. “We didn’t have time actually… Alex just w-woke up this morning, then he made breakfast…”

Twilight raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“… then we talked and he told me his story,” continued Fluttershy. “Then Rarity came to help him with clothing problem and it took quite a while. Twi, she is so fixated on him… Sorry, Alex, but she behaved like a sexual p-predator… sorry… Squee!”

Twilight’s jaw dropped. When she was goofing about “fifteen times longer”, despite that was a scientific fact, she could never imagine that things would escalate that fast with somepony.

“So… Then…” Fluttershy seemed to lose the thread of her story for a while. “Then Pinkie paid us a visit and talked about “Welcome” party, can you imagine? And when we watched everypony to the door, it was time to feed the animals… so I got to it and Alex prepared the dinner.”

“Oh and there was Apple Bloom with her friends sneaking in the garden, but they haven’t seen anything. I didn’t know if they suspected something or were simply playing around.”

“It looks like you are having a busy day,” Twilight amusement was drawn across her face. “But you seem to be going together well.”

“He made delicious pancakes. If Pinkie didn’t grab the last few, you could taste them yourself, Twi…”

Fluttershy tried to hide her confusion in her glass of juice. Alex who watched the whole scene between girls with wide-opened eyes repeated his question.

“How long am I…”

“About three days,” Twilight turned to him and Fluttershy nodded. “You’ve been brought here at sunset and now it’s afternoon, so, yes, three days it is.”

“I knew something was strange,” exclaimed Alex. “I couldn’t be here for weeks as I would have grown a beard already instead of that stubble,” he rubbed his cheeks and frowned.

“What’s going on with my wound then?” he asked.

“Well, we treated it with best Zecora’s compositions, both outside and inside,” Twilight explained and Alex decided to ask who “Zecora” was sometime next time. “Lyra made stitches, as she said, humans… people treated open wounds that way. So I guess we did our best and the result is… well, speaking for itself.”

“I’m surely happy with the result,” said Alex. “But look,” he lifted his arm. “It about time to remove stitches already and you say it’s been three days. I don’t know what is written in your books, Twilight, but people don’t have regeneration that fast…”

“That brings us to the next point directly,” Twilight apparently was ready for that statement. “Alex, you are A – magic resistant and B – you can drain magic from those, who apply it to you exactly. That’s a fact, proved by me and Lyra.”

“And that effect seems to become if not stronger than at least more pronounced with time or each attempt.”

“But I don’t feel anything special, except I started regenerating like a lizard,” muttered Alex. Then he remembered that feeling of flaming snakes inside him upon arrival and noted that he didn’t feel it since waking up here. So… that was… since he was exposed to magic at least twice.

“So what am I going to do about all that,” he asked.

“Unfortunately I don’t know anything more… yet,” Twilight sighed sadly. “I don’t know what it gives finally, I don’t know if it progresses…”

“But I surely know,” she added. “That it will get Celestia’s attention and perhaps won’t settle well with her.”

Alex hid his face in his hands. Fluttershy put her hoof on his shoulder and stroked it gently. Her towel unfolded and fell from her head to the floor, but she ignored it and just blew a few damp strands off her nose.

“P-please… We’ll come up with something…”

After a few minutes Alex opened his face, he then put his hand on Fluttershy’s hoof.

“I know… Thanks! I’m… just trying not to… panic.”

Twilight looked from one to another with growing interest.

Alex felt that he was not ready to ask more questions yet. He was tired and crashed, perhaps the body regeneration rate exceeded mental one significantly now.

“Sorry, girls,” he raised from his chair and leaned on the table. “It was a bit much on my plate today. I don’t feel my mind being capable to settle with all this quickly. If you excuse me, I’d like to have some rest.”

“Of course,” Fluttershy offered him support, but Alex calmed her.

“I’m just a bit tired. It’s fine otherwise. I’m sorry for not helping you with the dishes…”

Both Fluttershy and Twilight waved at him, telling him to worry not and have a rest.

“Oh, one more thing,” he turned in the doorway. “Twilight, could you do me a favour and bring a razor next time? This stubble starts getting on my nerves.”

Alex returned to the bedroom and almost collapsed in the armchair near the window. He didn’t bother to undo the bed. It was too much for him for today to deal with and he suddenly felt exhausted. It was his first day up after his blackout, and despite the latter being fairly short, it evidently affected Alex full time. He found himself just sitting there staring at one point, almost without any useful thoughts. Being magic resistant, moreover some sort of magic black hole… fast regenerating…

Angel, who slept on the bed covers and was awaken by Alex’s heavy drop in the armchair, opened his eyes, looked at Alex and stretched his paws. Then he hopped down and headed to the corridor where voices of the girls were coming from. Perhaps the bunny remembered about the dinner and the smell of salad was calling for him.

“Universe, are you bucking kidding me,” Alex thought. “What else do you have for me in the nearest future? If it comes at that pace I’ll be afraid to wake up in the morning soon…”

He blinked…

…Angel, who slept on the bed covers and was awaken by Alex’s heavy drop in the armchair, opened his eyes, looked at Alex and stretched his paws. Then he hopped down and headed to the corridor.

“What the?..”

Alex noticed that no sound came from the corridor this time. With the strange feeling of something changed he raised from the armchair and went to the door.

There was no corridor behind the doorway! Alex saw a wide balcony surrounded by the openwork railing about his waist-high. Then he saw distant hills and the forest… far away… and below! Apparently, the balcony was at a considerable height. Alex decided to approach the railing not. Internally trembling he looked around – the balcony attached to a white stone wall. Large stained-glass windows lead from the balcony to the room behind Alex’s back. He could hear nothing but the wind and smell nothing but the fresh wind as well. And the proximity of light thin clouds told him that the building he got into was built on some mountain. Most likely another castle… Wasn’t it enough with castles?..

Alex turned around and froze on spot, he now apparently faced not Fluttershy’s bedroom (obviously it couldn’t be attached to a castle balcony anyway), but a totally different and visibly larger room. Noble furniture, high ceiling, long heavy curtains – he saw these things already, though saw them time worn – in the Old Castle ruins. This room was on the contrary tidy, clean and well contained, with everything fresh and brightly coloured.

A winged unicorn pony rested on the pillows of a big bed. The alicorn was noticeably larger than other ponies he saw before, larger than Twilight, despite she was an alicorn now as well. This one could probably look into his eyes easily while standing on all four. Her coat colours varied from light blue to dark and almost black, her mane and tail were flowing sheets of the starry night, her face looked more edgy and mature than those of pony girls he knew, but extremely beautiful with large eyes closed and eyelashes dropping long shadows on her cheeks. She was sleeping, breathing calmly and quietly.

Alex braced himself and took a few cautious steps closer to the sleeping miracle. Now he could see a crescent cutie mark on her flank. Apparently, that was princess Luna, Celestia’s younger sister, the ruler of the Moon and Night. And his miserable troublemaking (mostly for him) self somehow appeared in her bedroom in… how it was called – Alex frowned… the Castle of Canterlot.

“Look, man, this is stupid,” Alex scolded himself. “Stupid and… dangerous. You can wake her… and the castle must be crawling with guards literally. If you are caught… sneaking into this lady’s bedroom, you’re more than screwed. There will be no way home for you then. No other way than on the scaffold. Or, considering I hardly remember of ponies death sentencing anyone, you will be exiled to the extreme buttocks of this world for sneaking into princess’ bedroom like that.”

“Like that – how?” the unwilling thought popped. “Really, how could you get here, when you just blinked sitting in the armchair in Fluttershy’s cottage?”

He wanted only one thing – to get back home. And he meant his yellow pegasus friend’s house under “home” at that moment.

But despite his mind had enough of adventures, his heart craved for more. He found himself approaching the sleeping alicorn and kneeling to her eye level. He just sat there watching her sleep and lavishing attention to her beauty.

Faint lavender scent reached his nostrils when Alex felt her breath on his face. He then heard footsteps or rather hoofsteps behind the high doors of the bedroom and stiffened. Steps passed the door and dissolved in the distance.

Alex couldn’t hold himself from touching her adorable mane, stroking it lightly in one gentle motion. He removed a strand from her face and placed it behind her ear. Perhaps he scratched her behind the ear unwillingly. The dark blue ear perked up.

Praying for not letting out a sound Alex got up as quickly as he could without falling on the floor. He looked around the room in one long crazy gaze for the exit. The door was no doubt guarded on outside, all the windows and the door to the balcony were of no help either, as he could fly only down from that balcony and become an unpleasant pancake. Hiding here wasn’t an option – nowhere and no point in. He looked at his own reflection in a big mirror. Tired, beaten up, almost naked, unshaven… he stood in the princess’ bedroom and she was about to wake.

He heard a deeper sigh and Luna muttered something in her sleep.

Alex panicked and leaned on the mirror with his hand, touching the cold surface with his heating up forehead. He then felt as he permeated the “elastic veil”… to find himself in the armchair in Fluttershy’s bedroom. His eyes dilated and he jumped on his feet shaking off the remnants of sleep.

“Sleep! I was sleeping,” the relief was almost palpable.

Alex stood in the doorway for a moment listening as Fluttershy was washing the dishes downstairs and talking to Angel apparently, as Twilight must have left already. Then he reached the bed and fell flat.

“Merlin’s pants! I could swear it was real… It felt so real. But thankfully it was only a dream, I must have got really tired.”

He turned to his back and put his hand on his face… discovering a faint lavender scent on his fingers.

Her last dream wasn’t very pleasant, but it still had something that made it different from all the bad dreams of that kind. Luna opened her eyes gaining focus and remembering, what she saw before she woke up.

That was one of her rare, but painfully repeating dreams about her life before Nightmare Moon appearance and long-time banishment. Before she was saved from that Shadow by the Elements of Harmony embodied.

She was only a filly back then. Yet they already were arguing and quarrelling with her sister. Luna felt underestimated constantly being in the shadow of her older sister Celestia. Tartarus! She was deadly jealous already. All the love and respect, as she thought, of their pony subjects were given to the princess of the Day and Sun, while Luna’s care about the folk passed unnoticed in the darkness of the night. Boredom, regret and disappointment were killing every good impulse of hers being especially painful for a young and optimistic filly.

That day they were having one of those nasty quarrels with Celestia. The latter was also too young at that moment to understand the whole impact, her dominance made. As usual being the younger sister Luna ended in her room, lonely, lost and crying in helpless sorrow. She curled her small lithe body in the pillows, folded her wings to make herself comfortable, as she was trembling despite the bright fire, burning in the hearth and warming the room. And she cried, cried, and bitter tears formed a cold pool under her face.

Suddenly she noticed that the shadows in the corner of her room became thicker. Later Nightmare Moon would have started appearing that way. But this time a dark figure – straight and high – emerged from the darkness. It stood on two legs, had two arms and… wings, but it wasn’t a unicorn or an alicorn for that matter. It was, Luna could swear she had read about those in some old book, a human.

Luna didn’t feel any fear, on the contrary, a strange feeling that her “guest” wasn’t there to hurt her filled the young princess. She couldn’t see his face, but somehow she decided that was a “he”. She couldn’t see any distinctive traits either, just a shadow. Palpable shadow with large soft wings touching the ceiling of her room while their ends reached the floor.

The shadowy man kneeled at her bed and Luna felt, as he was looking on her with sympathy and… understanding. A big hand stroked her mane and wiped her tears. Luna sighed or maybe still whimpered putting her head on her guest knees and slowly calming down from her grief. She fell asleep…

…to wake up in the present day as grown-up Luna.

The strange feeling didn’t leave her when she got up and shook off the rest of her sleep. Luna got to the mirror and looked at her own reflection. She wasn’t afraid to find Nightmare Moon in there anymore, since the girls saved her and made the Shadow gone forever. Luna thought that actually more sleep would be helpful, if she wanted to make her night duties effective, when…

“GASP!”

Luna’s jaw dropped as she watched a print of human palm fading on the mirror surface!

The print wasn’t a part of her dream, it was real which meant that anyone, who left it, was just as real. Obviously, Luna knew only one human being in Equestria at that moment. The one whose dreams she visited last night. But how could a human – a creature, who as she knew was incapable of any magic – do practically the same. She was sure that her usual bad dream about quarrelling with her sister always ended with her crying then falling asleep eventually. The part with the shadowy figure was totally new to her and could only be brought from outside.

Moreover, the mere fact of someone except her being able to not only enter one’s dream but also manipulate the reality through that, was… No, not terrifying. To her honour, Luna didn’t feel any terror realizing, what had happened. She felt interested, once for a change something was genuinely worth of her time and thought and might drive the boredom away.

The event wasn’t alarming or harmful to any extent, so Luna decided to keep her discovery for herself for now. As she thought that telling Celestia about it right away would most likely make her reconsider giving… Alex, Luna was sure that the name she heard last night was of this human, time to recover and find some ground under his feet. Giving that out would most likely mean immediate extraction and perhaps even locking up for the time necessary to investigate his issue thoroughly. Luna knew all the benefits of being “locked” by herself and never would make somepony come through that without serious reasons. And she didn’t consider what had happened to be one of those.

“Farewell boredom!” she smiled at her reflection. “May thou rest in the oblivion.”

Alex wasn’t sure, what he could do with that. On the one hand, it was a dream, everything spoke about that, including weird transitions and his “travel through the mirror”. Even if this world and magic were going by hand, one thing Alex was sure about himself – he couldn’t walk through mirrors. To tell the truth, he couldn’t regenerate and heal a several inches wound in a couple of days either… till last week.

On the other hand, the lavender scent his fingers kept for a while told him otherwise. He didn’t smell lavender since morning and didn’t touch anything which can leave such aroma. The only place where he felt it, was princess’ Luna room, moreover, the princess herself possessed that scent. All these facts effectively meant that he was there and touched Luna’s mane in reality. Thinking of the summary of those two statements drove Alex mad – strange things kept happening ever since he discovered himself in Equestria. That meant even more strange than coming to Equestria and making friends with sentient ponies.

He didn’t have a chance to check by himself the abilities Twilight told him he possessed and, frankly speaking, didn’t want to try carrying such experiments. Somehow he believed Twilight and Fluttershy and if they said applying magic to him could be dangerous, that meant it really could. The sudden realization struck him like a hammer, that reaction to magic was already detrimental for his possible returning home. Being resistant provided major trouble as rulers of that land, just as many of their subjects, relied on magic mostly, moreover princess Celestia could easily see a threat in his ability.

No wonder Alex decided to keep this little “sleep-walking” episode for himself for now. As far as he could remember, he didn’t leave any evidence of his visit and nopony saw him. Fortunately, he managed to departure moments before princess Luna woke. Mentioning this to Celestia, directly or via her subjects, before knowing, what she thought about other things regarding him, would be an instant killer. What he could remember for sure, Celestia’s life was full of regret and anguish during the time her sister possessed by the Shadow was banished to the Moon. And now, when Luna was free from her curse, any threat to her even the faintest could make Celestia buck the living hell out of him. That definitely wasn’t a part of his plan.

Thinking of that Alex fell asleep. Again. This time without any dreams thankfully.

“Next time please, Angel, if you catch any burdock burrs, tell me sooner,” Fluttershy sat in the armchair brushing her bunny tail and removing the annoying hooks. “It’s very hard to remove when it rolls deeper.”

Angel frowned, as she pulled by his tail inevitably while cleaning it, but carrying elf-locks was less pleasant anyway, so he put up with the execution.

Alex drank his tea and absently scratched a squirrel behind her ear. It seemed some of Fluttershy animal friends got used to his presence, a few even started to try getting some benefits from that. Like that particular squirrel which climbed the table and now sat there enjoying the massage. She even managed to sip from his cup a couple of times, when he put it on the table and wasn’t looking.

For the last couple of hours, Fluttershy was telling him shortly, what had happened here since the defeat of Nightmare Moon. She mentioned different adventures she and her friends came through during the few years, dangers and discoveries, even new friends, including reformed Discord. The latter gained Alex’s attention. Alex thought that one living that long and being experienced in different kinds of really weird magic could perhaps help him solving his task. And regardless to Discord’s history in Celestia’s eyes, he was definitely the one to be addressed for help during the upcoming investigation, that considering he saw Alex already and even made up some conclusions regarding him. Not applying destructive magic to Alex at any cost was his idea in particular. For which Alex was thankful by default.

Alex had a feeling that Fluttershy was excessively modest describing her role in a few episodes of their life, for example in the dragon incident or her so-called “modelling career”. She was one of the first ponies to accept princess Luna and find out she wasn’t longer a monstrosity Nightmare Moon was. At first, of course, Fluttershy was deadly frightened to deal with “Dark” Princess, but eventually, she even managed to help Luna gain people’s… pardon, ponies’ trust. Alex wondered if he could and should tell Fluttershy about his recent sleepwalking occasion when she told him that princess Luna was capable to visit others’ dreams and affect them.

The story about Fluttershy learning to be more assertive – she told it very briefly and with extremely pink cheeks and ears – made him genuinely laugh, he tried to make this not offensive for his friend though. This “friend” definition didn’t make him stumble mentally. This pony girl became more and more attractive as a person with new facts he found out about her. The more difficult it would be to leave when the time comes… if that time comes.

He learned new things about her friends, mostly confirming his first impression of them. Twilight being sceptical, and only abstract things she believed were friendship and love, others were under doubt, if not described in books. She totally relied on knowledge, magic and wise support and approval of her mentor – Princess Celestia herself. But she believed in friends no matter what and that made her a strong company if she played on his side.

Rarity being generous and helpful, especially if that involved fashion. She suffered from the misunderstanding between her and her younger sister Sweetie Belle but hardly could ever confess that she suffered it. Sweetie Belle was too little to be involved in sister’s business but craved the attention of ever-busy Rarity much. When they managed to find some balance, they were amazing and loving sisters nevertheless. Rarity was a determined fashionista with the only thing able to distract her from her aims being the beau monde and its affairs.

“Or a human she wanted to have right there and then,” smirked Alex inwardly.

Applejack was a typical farm girl, with the meaningful exception that she actually ran the farm mostly by herself though. Her practical mind and wit helped her to keep up with changing market and make the farm profitable, despite all the adversities. She could always rely on her family supporting hooves, on her sister Apple Bloom, despite her impulsiveness, on her brother Big Mac and his short-spoken strength and her Granny Smith’s wisdom and experience. And with the help of her friends, she could easily confront even soulless and unprincipled business sharks, like Flim and Flam brothers, for example, with their annoying travelling salesman’s tactics.

A noisy troublemaker (though to be fair very often a trouble solver also), ever resilient, active and chatty tomboy – that one could say about Rainbow Dash. She was kind deep inside but thought that showing that could buy her an image of a “softie”, thus only her deeds could tell. Rainbow enjoyed a good joke, but sometimes she didn’t notice that her enthusiasm could be hurtful. She treated little Scootaloo like a sister, but that didn’t involve “calf tenderness”, more likely “Hey, little squirt, let’s do something outrageous together!” She was a faithful and loyal friend… to those, she knew, but her suspect towards strangers could make her look bitchy sometimes. She was very close with Fluttershy and that made Alex cringe a bit, as Fluttershy told him what reaction Rainbow showed seeing him the first time.

“Oh, don’t worry, Alex, she will see you mean no evil soon and stop being so paranoid,” Fluttershy told him lightheartedly. But Alex had a strong feeling that it would take more time and effort to gain Rainbow’s trust than he could probably afford, especially considering his plans to return home as soon as it was possible.

The one who managed to surprise him most was Pinkie Pie. He knew that she was ever cheerful, tons more than Rainbow, lighthearted and often lightheaded borderline to overly impulsive, ball of living energy. She even jumped mostly when other ponies trotted or walked. She was obsessed with making parties and friends… sometimes even despite anypony in question wasn’t particularly happy about becoming somepony’s friend at that moment. But she had strong intuition which helped her friends countless times… and sometimes helped her… to avoid saying stuff better not to be said. The most surprising thing about Pinkie Alex found out was that this fluid and, from the first sight shallow, pony girl actually had a big heart and could easily understand friends’ afflictions and sympathize. Unfortunately, she was often too straightforward and open showing or telling that, so might even look tactless. Just like with him, being genuinely thoughtful when guessing the source of his sorrows right away, but hurting him by plainly voicing them.

Alex found out that quite some time passed since the moment of local history he knew something about and the day he got to Equestria in person. That made him wonder, how long would it take to bring him back, if it was even possible, and how much time would pass on Earth, as he was unsure if the transfer was completely linear. The whole image provided unhappy thoughts. At the very least he would be absent just enough to be considered unaccounted-for… Then he remembered that at least two people saw him in the burning car being hit by a thunderbolt. That could mean that “he” was already buried or something alike. He felt a strong wish to howl desperately.

BUMP!!!

“Squee!” Fluttershy jumped in her armchair holding Angel tight. “Sweet Celestia, Twilight! I will never get used to your teleportation spells.”

“Merlin’s pa…” That was the first time Alex witnessed Twilight’s teleportation, moreover any teleportation. “The buck is that!..”

The squirrel startled by the warp and sudden appearance of a new pony quickly climbed onto Alex’s head and crouched there looking through his hair (which was about to stand as Alex admitted) with scared eyes.

“Oh, sorry, girls…” Alex apologized for his verbal reaction, but he was still sure Twilight could save them several nerve cells if she teleported behind the door and only then entered.

Twilight watched them both on the edges of their seats, Fluttershy with her Angel bunny in hooves and Alex with a squirrel peeking frightenedly through his hair, and a wide grin formed on her face.

“Are you both sure, nopony ever tell you that you look amazingly alike sometimes?” she asked jokingly.

“Oh, come on, Twilight,” sighed Alex feeling as adrenaline was leaving his blood. “If you appear this way every time, no wonder that everypony looks equally startled.”

He wondered how easily he used that new term – “everypony”, especially considering that he was talking about himself as well.

“Don’t be a bore, Alex,” Twilight seemed to be in a high mood and nothing could break it. “Be happy instead – I managed to get a razor blade. We’re stopping being a porcupine, eh?” she giggled handing him a small parcel.

“First I wanted to ask Applejack if Big Mac had a spare one,” she continued telling her story. “But then reconsidered – sure thing Big Mac won’t ask any questions, but there is Apple Bloom… and as long as your existence, Alex, is a secret by the order of princess Celestia, we must keep fillies away. So I was to check the store… and the vendor looked at me so strangely… I don’t want to imagine, what he might think. Still, here it is.”

“The girls already tried to sneak and sniff around,” Fluttershy put Angel down and looked at Twilight very seriously. “I’m afraid that constant visits get too much attention and they may think, we are planning something great without telling them. But what we can do about that?”

“Nothing,” nodded Twilight. “That is why I teleport inside the cottage instead of going to you on hooves.”

“Twilight, that’s nearly the best news through the day,” Alex granted her with a wide smile. “I owe you. That stubble started prickling myself already…”

“You’re welcome,” she waved a hoof. Then she turned to Fluttershy.

“More good news, princess Celestia is busy with reports from Crystal Empire… Do you know anything about the Crystal Empire, Alex?,” Twilight looked over her shoulder.

“Yup. Fluttershy mentioned briefly, I know it’s far to the north and ruled by yet another princess Me Amore Cadenza… who is married to your brother, right?”

“Right, though she prefers to be called just Cadence, and she is married to Shining Armour, and the main thing they are having some strange events, so Celestia will be busy for a few days. But she told me that I shouldn’t worry, as Shining and Cadence kept the situation in hooves,” Twilight looked like she was undecided to worry or not, yet it couldn’t spoil her mood either.

“Thus,” she explained her point. “You have a few days for Alex to recover, grasp his thoughts and plan some strategy with which he is going to approach Celestia to convince her he is not a threat, moreover to convince her to send him home if possible.”

The last two words caused a pause longer than it needed to pass unnoticed. Twilight then tried to remedy the awkwardness by asking Fluttershy about totally different things.

“Have you already checked the wound? I thought you two might be planning to remove the… stitches before they started being more trouble than remedy.”

“Yeah, that was the idea,” Fluttershy glanced at the wall clock. “It’s a bit late already. But we were waiting for you as we need your help.”

Twilight used her magic on small scissors to cut the thread strands one by one, so Alex could take them out by catching them with fingertips, almost with nails. Fluttershy couldn’t find a pincette so it took a few attempts eventually to catch the thread and wasn’t entirely pleasant in general. But as it was said there was no use in the stitches already, as the wound closed up.

“And all this after three days,” kept wondering Alex. “Perhaps there won’t remain any considerable scar.”

When they finished with threads, Fluttershy applied more of the healing salve onto his wound. Alex sat on the bed with his right hand raised and put on his head, while Fluttershy settled behind him and gently spread the composition by her hoof rubbing it in with circular motions. Twilight relaxed in the armchair, using magic near Alex demanded much concentration, and watched them with a meaningful smile. A weird thought visited her head, even if there was no chance to return the human home… and Twilight kept all variants in mind being a realist… he had a chance to get into caring hooves of her friend.

“Cadence would love the look of this!” thought Twilight.

When Twilight left, as usual by teleporting herself, it was already half past nine. Alex felt that he was still tired despite having a nap in the afternoon. Perhaps faster regeneration took something in return or more likely he wasn’t ready for any prolonged adventured yet. And he saw that Fluttershy was also close to falling asleep. There was though one open question still.

“Well,” Alex turned to Fluttershy looking for better words. “I really don’t want to be a trouble…”

“You aren’t any,” Fluttershy was surprised by that start. “What are you talking about, Alex?”

“I mean, it’s late and both of us need to have a rest. So… I could take a couch downstairs…” Alex stumbled.

“Oh,” Fluttershy got what he was talking about and blushed. Yet she was rock solid about the rest. “No, no, you shouldn’t do that. You’re too big for the couch and it is too tough, you won’t get any good sleep on it and get up aching…”

“And I won’t let a house owner, let alone such a lovely lady, be banished from her own bed to some cold couch no matter what,” Alex was firm in his politesse. “Do you have at least a mattress or something, I could really settle on the floor…”

“Unfortunately, no and I was too busy to think about asking the girls if they had something of that kind. You know,” she seemed to be overly surprised by her own bravery at the moment. “We could… leave everything… as it was. I-I was already sharing… the bed with you… for three nights… it’s not that… something… you know… Squee!”

“Won’t you really mind?” Alex wasn’t happy about sleeping on the floor perspective, yet he saw how much did that cost to Fluttershy.

“I-I don’t know… I mean I won’t mind… i-if you are OK with that…” she whispered, then suddenly repeated in a stronger voice. “I won’t mind if you don’t mind!” She allowed herself a small smile.

Alex thought that sharing a bed with pony girl, at least doing it consciously, would be a weird experience for him, besides he wasn’t into ponies, besides he had a girlfriend… it seemed like ages ago. But refusing it suddenly at that moment would be extremely rude and, as he saw, would really hurt Fluttershy. If she decided to go with it, despite all her modesty and shyness… Besides she wasn’t overexcited Rarity, so… practically what could go wrong?

“I won’t mind, Shy,” Alex said making a serious decision.

“Oh, fine…” Fluttershy became red as a carrot again, no, even orange considering her usual colour. “How did you call me? Nobody calls me “Shy”. It sounds a bit unusual…”

“Sorry,” Alex worried that he could allow himself a bit too much. “I didn’t mean…”

“No, it’s OK,” Fluttershy smiled. “It sounded so… tender…”

Now it was Alex’s turn to blush. He didn’t plan to make a compliment… Or did he?

Alex brushed his teeth and shaved… finally!.. using the sink in the kitchen, as the bathroom was occupied by Fluttershy. He rinsed and rinsed giving her time to get to the bed undisturbed.

“I sincerely hope,” he thought, turning the water off. “That Rarity won’t linger with the clothes much and will bring at least something tomorrow. Otherwise, I will have no change and be forced to sleep naked next night.” Somehow he didn’t pay attention that three previous nights went exactly that way.

When he entered the bedroom, the light was out already and Fluttershy curled under covers looking into the window at the rising moon.

Alex lifted the covers a little, just enough to slip under, and tried to find comfort without being of much annoyance.

“Thank you, Shy!” he reached her shoulder and barely noticeably stroked her soft coat with his fingers.

Suddenly she moved closer to him and snuggled up to him like a small spoon to a bigger one. In a moment Alex found himself in the cloud of her hair and the sweet scent of flowers and honey reached his nostrils. He put his left hand under the head and hugged her little body with the right hand. Fluttershy squeaked quietly feeling a strong but gentle embrace and comforted herself a little more.

“Merlin’s pants, she is a pony, Alex, a pony!” Alex told himself feeling her soft coat heating his bare chest.

“Tell me something,” muttered Fluttershy in a sleepy voice. “About your world.”

Alex inhaled the aroma of her hair and smiled to the darkness.

“Have you been at the ocean coast, Shy?”

Deep juicy blue sky, of colour which one could see in the summer evenings only, was almost clear and the faint haze made the sun and rare clouds look slightly blurred, like on an aquarelle painting. The cliffs prepared for their night rest being rocked by surf’s lullaby and even omnipresent seagulls hid somewhere and didn’t disturb a casual observer with their piercing shrieks. “Fluffy” sun was setting into the ocean and painted the water green instead of the usual blue. Later it would turn gold and even red at the horizon. The air was warm and the sweet smell of flowers from the fields above the rocky highland mixed with the salty breeze from the ocean.

It seemed Alex and Elen planned to get to the coast for ages and only that day they could both find time to go. They needed to drive a long way, so despite their early start, it was already way past noon when they arrived.

Alex stopped the car at the edge of the field above the coast and the silence swallowed them. A few seconds they just sat listening to the only sounds remained – the quiet crackling of the hot engine cooling itself. Alex got around the car and opened the door for his girlfriend. She held out a hand to him putting a large straw hat on, so he could see only her smile from above.

They ran and horsed around the field like two careless foals, played catch and knocked each other into the grass a few times. She was like a cloud of butterflies in her light knee-length dress and Alex couldn’t look away from her. They gathered a large bunch of flowers and she took it to the car.

When she returned Alex tried to catch her in his embrace, but she slid by with a giggle and took his hand. She pulled him to the coast dancing and jumping, but they were to find a more sloping descent as Alex’s height intolerance could spoil the day easily. Surely Alex was ready to hold himself in hands as much as he could knowing where they planned to go and realizing there are high places on the coast usually. But the sudden approach to the cliff edge could make him freeze on spot in panic.

She took off her shoes, when they reached the sandy stripe of the beach at the rocks’ foot, and left them at the end of the trail to free both hands and hug Alex snuggling into him for the moment. But before he could return the hug, she giggled again and took his hand sliding out of his embrace. She teased Alex and pulled further along the shoreline. Alex followed with a smile, her figure in counter light of setting sun looked like a statue of some Greek goddess… in a semitransparent dress and a large straw hat.

When she reached the place, where the view was the best according to her taste, she stopped letting Alex hug her from behind wrapping his hands around her shoulders. She buried her bare feet in the warm sand and leaned on Alex watching the sunset. They both stood there listening, as the ocean muttered with the mouthful of rocks. The sun passed the forested coast on their left which protruded into the sea as the long arch almost reaching the horizon. It was setting and the whole ocean surface got some gold and reddish tint.

In the ringing silence, faint breeze curled the hemline of her dress around Alex’s legs. She reached his hair with her hand and leaned on him looking up at his face. The hat fell on the sand revealing long pink hair which fluttered around them both. Alex looked into Fluttershy’s wide-opened turquoise eyes, feeling like diving into bottomless lakes framed by long eyelashes. The overwhelming feeling of serenity and happiness filled him.

When their lips met, Alex felt some alien look on himself. He preferred to ignore that feeling though, trying to taste each second of their unity. But when she turned to him and snuggled closing her eyes and resting her head on his chest, he managed to take a look over the coast. At first, he spotted nothing, but when he raised the eyes to the highland edge above the coast, Alex saw a woman’s figure at some distance from them.

She was too far to see the face or recognize her otherwise, but the setting sun lighted the noble elegant stance, dark blue flowing dress, head raised high and long dark hair. Or were they dark blue as well? Alex realized that she was looking right at them.

6. In-security

“Well, those are of course not the best clothes I’ve ever made,” Rarity examined Alex with an unusually modest expression on her face. “But at least they are decent… I even dare to assume decent enough to face a princess.”

“Though, if I were Celestia, I wouldn’t mind the alternate variant either,” she added in half-tone, yet audible enough for him.

“You’re joking,” Alex pretended, he didn’t hear the last remark. “If this is “decent enough”, then I wonder how excellent looks in your books.”

He checked himself in the mirror, Rarity held with her magic. Her vision of his clothes was simple and classy, perhaps she didn’t have enough time to let her imagination fly, but that was exactly fine for him. He sported now straight cut pants of the dark-green colour, Alex noticed that black was generally not very popular for clothes in Equestria, and a pristine white relaxed-fit shirt with long sleeves. Surely for a picky eye, he might look like a hero of an 80-s blockbuster in those, but considering circumstances given, it was almost a marvel that she could grasp the general concept of human clothing that fast. He couldn’t draw well to give her any examples and obviously had nothing left to show as such.

The underwear problem was solved by simply copying what he had for now. All newly-made boxers fitted perfectly, as Alex made sure by trying them in the bathroom. He carefully closed the door noticing Rarity following him with a rueful look.

“You’re a true genius, Rarity,” Alex kneeled to her eye level. “All those for less than a day. I have no words… really… I hope you have slept at least.”

“You’re too kind, darling,” she looked down demonstrating her eyelashes. “Those are simple enough, so I could easily make them, as long as I got the idea of what you needed. A few… how do you call them… boxers, a couple of shirts more, like that one, those pants and one more pair of a tougher fabric, in case you need something to work in. I didn’t have time to make any of those beautiful, sorry…”

“Look,” Alex smirked. “Excuse me, if I shock your aesthetic principles right now, but I’m not into those shiny trinkets anyway. In my world men prefer clothes being practical and fitting… mostly, so do I. I will be immensely grateful, if they stay that way, simple and comfortable.”

“Somehow I suspected you would say so,” Rarity wasn’t offended by his words and looked up to him appraisingly.

“I, for example, have no idea what to do with this,” Alex handed her a silk band with a shiny sapphire. “I suppose that’s a tie of some sort… but, kill me, if I know how to tie it properly.”

“Never was a fan of ties, to be frank,” he said in a half voice.

“Oh, that’s easy, darling,” Rarity laughed heartily. “Let me…”

She used her magic with extreme care, not to touch Alex with it, to make the tie slither under his shirt collar and form a proper knot. Then adjusted it a little.

“Not too tight I hope?”

“It’s perfect, thanks. But I won’t be able to repeat your magic in the morning or each time, when I will need to untie it then put on again,” confessed Alex. “And I doubt Fluttershy can either.”

With a faint frown Rarity looked into his eyes.

‘I will gladly do that for you anytime necessary when you move with me,’ she couldn’t hold that thought and blushed a little. Then she said instead.

“Actually I have bigger plans. I suppose you’ll need something sleeveless as well, and perhaps some fine clothes. And, of course, something warmer, as you don’t have natural coat… in case of cold weather,” Rarity seemed to mount her hobby-horse. “Besides we can try those… shorts that you mentioned. A-a-and… the socks shouldn’t be too different from those which fit ponies’ legs.”

“I don’t know what to do with your shoes though,” she suddenly dropped her enthusiasm. “We have boots here for some special conditions, like boots Applejack uses on her farm when there is more dirt than solid ground. But those differ from yours I suppose, and you can hardly find something fitting in the general stores.”

‘I sincerely hope that I’ll get home before I really need warm clothes or boots here,’ thought Alex meanwhile, but he didn’t say anything.

“I doubt I have enough experience to help you here,” Rarity continued to elaborate. “Maybe when you get to Canterlot and meet princess Celestia… then you can try contacting the maker of royal hoofwear. You know, the one who manufactures ceremonial hoofwear for princesses, he is surely more competent and may come up with some solution for you… especially if the princess supports your request.”

“Oh, I suppose my own boots won’t stop serving me for a while yet,” said Alex.

“And to tell the truth I have no faintest idea of how I can repay you for all those,” Alex ran his fingers through Rarity’s mane, so she started purring again. “I mean you’ve spent so much time and effort doing this for me… and plan to do more… and I have nothing to give you instead… for now at least. That doesn’t fit well with my principles.”

“Huh, I’m doing that of pure generosity, don’t you worry, darling,” huffed Rarity, while snuggling her head and neck into his hand.

“But if you insist, we can think of something later,” she shot him with a spear gaze from half-lidded eyes, so Alex stiffened inwardly getting ready for… just anything.

Fortunately, the door opened and Fluttershy flitted in.

“How’s fitting going, pals?” she then noticed Alex’s new look and landed right next to him. “Oh, Alex, you look totally different now, I like that… n-not that I didn’t l-like how you looked before… I mean… if you’re OK with… oh, squee!” she seemed to lose the idea, suddenly turning embarrassed.

“S-so, do you… people, always go around l-like this?” she tried to defuse the situation, while Rarity chuckled quietly. “Because we… mostly use dresses for special occasions only.”

“More or less so,” answered Alex simply, putting a stray strand of pink hair off Fluttershy’s face and behind her ear. He then bowed towards Rarity. “Though I must admit I have never dressed with such a class lately.”

It was so amusing to watch, how her cheeks reddened through the perfectly white coat.

“And I’m happy you like it,” he added with his lips only, looking into Fluttershy’s eyes. Her ears perked joyfully.

The question of returning the favours somehow was still inevitable. And Alex was returning to it willy-nilly all the time after dinner. This time they were making it together, totally denying the proverb about two hostesses being unable to share one kitchen. Fluttershy could cook in addition to her other advantages and Alex was to admit that the soup was indeed delicious. He remembered that Elen was a completely non-cooking type of person, she couldn’t grasp the simplest things, despite all his attempts to teach her. They always laughed at that, but she realized, she was a total disaster at the kitchen.

“Damn,” Alex stumbled upon that thought. “Why this even came to your mind. Are you already comparing?”

He returned to the uneasy thought about repayment, while washing the dishes. He could keep his “guest” status for a week or two without that becoming plain impolite. Maybe longer, if the princesses demanded an investigation of his arrival to Equestria. But at the end of the day nopony owed him anything and leaving the things, as they were, would be abusing their hospitality. Alex was a realist and, despite he hoped for the best – fast solution of his problem, he also foresaw the less promising variants. From his departure being under long delay to… completely impossible. This one was a fair chance also.

As he said already, being a parasprite wasn’t in his plans. So what could he do to earn money in this world? Or repay in any other way for all those services and goods others generously offered.

Alex was good in managing informational systems, programming, even hardware engineering, but those would stay mostly unapplied here, as according to his knowledge, Equestria didn’t reach the stage of wide usage of personal or industrial electronics. The devices, he saw and heard about yet, were simple, nothing more complex than radio, and he still wasn’t sure about the amount of magic rather than technology put into the latter. The hardware part of his knowledge could be adapted though if he could simplify and widen it. Alex thought that he was lucky being a technical specialist, if he was a politician or economist, surviving here would be a greater challenge while being completely unclaimed.

Then a bright idea came to his mind. Alex remembered that he didn’t see any electrical appliances since he came to Equestria. Of course, there must be some, for example, the mentioned radio, but they were not widely used. He could assume that the whole process of producing electricity could be a problem here, perhaps involving too many resources or magic to succeed. He noticed that, despite being close to nature, ponies didn’t realize that useful energy could be produced using the simplest environmental effects like wind or water current. Moreover, this could be done harmlessly to nature.

“Of course, they got used to that style of living,” said Alex to himself. “And it would be hard enough to prove anypony that for example food can be cooked using electricity, or at least the fuel in the oven can be ignited with it instead of matches when they use fire all the time and cope perfectly. Nopony would see any advantage of an electric doorbell over an actual copper bell, and so on.”

“But there are things which could obviously benefit from this type of energy source,” he pondered. “Rarity’s sewing machine could be propelled by electricity, not her magic, thus she could concentrate the magic on something else and as the result could produce more complicated, thus outstanding dresses.”

“And there is of course lighting,” he couldn’t remember anypony mentioning lighting their houses any other way than with oil lamps, candles, torched, other things of that kind. “Ponyville would only benefit from that kind of “industrial breakthrough”.”

“If only I could make a simplest electric generator, attach it to the windmill preferably… though a water wheel could also fit, where applicable and the current allows. And then make some sort of electric bulb and hope for it to be stable enough. Propelling a sewing machine will be even easier.”

“But this calls for blacksmith work, woodworks and the hardest part – wiring,” he slowed down his enthusiastic planning a bit. “I will need to ask the princess for help… if she is ready to help anyway. I’m sure some facility will be able to produce wire of necessary diameter… still, I will need to think of insulation myself most likely.”

“Yet that can be an excellent start for actually being of some help and use here,” Alex felt as wide smile forms on his face.

“Hey, didn’t you plan to return home as fast as possible?” said a small voice inside. “And now you’re almost planning your future business in Equestria. Not to mention that it is nearly impossible without the good will of the princess and with your current… “top secret” status. You are not supposed to contact the locals freely… well, the majority of them.”

“Are you all right, Alex?” Fluttershy stopped brushing her long hair and watched him for a while already. “You’re wiping the same plate for a few minutes already. Is everything OK?”

“Oh,” Alex put the plate and the towel on the table. “I was just thinking about earning some money or compensating all that you girls have done for me otherwise somehow. Sorry, if I made you worried.”

“But why would you?..” Fluttershy seemed to genuinely wonder. “I mean we can afford, what we need… and both Twilight and Rarity are my… our friends, they said already, they were doing it disinterestedly.”

“Yes, your friends are great, Shy,” Alex tried to elaborate. “But that’s more about my feelings. I simply can’t allow myself to accept all this help, again and again, not returning anything instead. I don’t think that it is socially normal in Equestria when a… stallion lives at some mare’s expense. Back home we called such a person a gigolo.”

“Besides I really need to do something, to mean something… I don’t know how long I’ll stay here for, or even if I’m able to return home at all, yet I need to mean something, not be a decoration or a… pet.”

“Did I actually sound, like I was treating you as a pet?” Fluttershy let out a small sad smile. “I never tried to put it that way. Really… Sorry.”

“Look, I didn’t say you were treating me as a pet, Shy,” Alex felt regret for his outburst already. “There were just my expectations, you could take into account not. Not because you intended to…” he sighed.

“Yeah, I must have sounded terrible,” Fluttershy was noticeably upset and her eyes filled with tears. “I-I’m so sorry, Alex… I thought about it being so great now… when I’m with you… rather than your feelings about being locked and in suspense.”

Alex approached her chair, sat right on the floor and hugged her knees. Fluttershy looked at him surprisingly.

“Please, Shy, forgive me for sounding that harsh,” he said. “I didn’t mean to offend you. You the very least… You’re a real miracle, Shy, and I mean it. You were the best of what could happen to me when I got to Equestria, and I’m truly thankful for that. I just wanted to be on equal terms with you all… and… I guess I suck at expressing myself sometimes.”

“The inevitable result of spending more time with machines, than with… somepony like you,” Alex looked up into her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Fluttershy sniffed, wiped her eyes and then hugged Alex nuzzling his head. He felt so emotionally close to that girl. The more it scabbed in his heart at the thought that he was so eager to leave Equestria if it was possible.

“I understand,” she cooed. “I never thought about you as a pet, but I really should take your point of view into account. I know that doing nothing will be unbearable for you.”

“Somehow I knew that since the moment we met,” she whispered barely audible.

“So what did you come up with?” She asked lightly after a moment of silence. Alex stood up and grabbed another chair.

“Well… I thought about a couple of things. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I haven’t noticed that electricity is widely used in Ponyville for example…”

“Yes, we don’t have any means to collect it,” Fluttershy was evidently interested. “In Cloudsdale pegasi collect atmospheric electricity for their weather making purposes somehow and in Canterlot they use magic to produce it. I’m not familiar with the process though…”

“Collect?” now it was Alex’s turn to wonder. “So they namely gather electricity from the atmosphere, when there is enough, right?”

“And in Canterlot they need constant magic propulsion to generate any?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Fluttershy nodded.

“I was actually going to suggest making it out of nothing,” Alex smirked. “I mean using the power of wind or water current to generate electricity. Nopony would need to look for lightning or constantly apply magic this way.”

“And this could be easily used to light the houses, or run the sewing machine, or mix and churn… just anything at Pinkie’s bakery,” he continued describing all the benefits. “So I could finally show my gratitude to those, who helped me… and earn some money, in case I’m staying here for an undefined period.”

“So you could stop paying for me,” he added with a smile. “But I could buy you a present instead!”

Fluttershy produced a small surprised squeak and looked slightly embarrassed, but Alex didn’t notice and continued less cheerfully.

“But this all needs lots of hard work, and while it’s neither a problem nor a let down for me, it still calls for princess help… as I won’t be able to find necessary materials without that. Besides I can do nothing, while I need to keep my presence here in secret.”

“And that applies to everything, I could think of as something to start with,” he added while absently watching Angel entering the room and jumping onto Fluttershy’s knees, the little tod expected some stroking. “Just every simple work. Applejack needs help with her farm, the local blacksmith can probably provide some job as well… but everything needs me to go out and communicate. Except maybe rewriting stuff for Twilight…”

“But she rarely needs that, besides this would make me run on the walls from boredom soon anyway,” Alex chuckled sadly.

“I hope everything becomes easier after you meet princess Celestia,” there was more confidence in Fluttershy’s words than in her tone. “Yet, I’m afraid, it won’t be the simplest task to gain her trust. But she needs to think about her subjects first, of course…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” smirked Alex. “And I’m an alien.”

TINK! Something hit her window lightly. TINK! TINK!

Apple Bloom put away her toys and cautiously approached the windowsill.

TINK! A small stone hit the glass again, somepony was trying to gain her attention from below. Apple Bloom opened the window and looked out. She saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo standing in the yard and looking up to her.

“Psst!” Sweetie Belle waved her hoof. “Are you coming, little Apple? I’ve found something,” she added in a loud whisper.

Scootaloo impatiently jumped on the place. Whatever it was, it seemed that Sweetie Belle was going to share only with both friends at once, and Scootaloo was dying from curiosity.

“I’m coming,” Apple Bloom closed the window. She trotted downstairs, peeked into the kitchen and told Granny Smith, they would be gathering in their club tree house.

“Would you like to take your lunch with you?” Granny Smith called after her.

“Oh, no, no, thanks, granny,” little filly answered over her shoulder, heading to the door. “I’ll come back later for lunch.”

When she got outside, she quickly ran to her friends on the other side of the house.

“What? What did you find?” asked she Sweetie Belle while regaining her breath.

“Not here! Let’s go to the clubhouse,” Sweetie Belle cocked her head with such a familiar motion, just like her sister. She was obviously proud that her personal investigation didn’t come fruitlessly.

“Sweetie Belle managed to dig out something really interesting,” Scootaloo almost jumped over her head, when they headed into the depth of the apple garden.

When the girls reached the tree house and got up the ramp, Sweetie Belle closed the door and drew the curtains, putting the house into mysterious twilight.

“Well, girls, that’s a bomb!” she whispered loudly with her eyes sparkling. “Rarity hid everything too well and I didn’t have much time to look,” she was visibly embarrassed by the fact she was to dig her older sister belongings, but the temptation to unearth the secret was too high. “But she forgot those two under her pillow. I wonder why…”

Sweetie Belle opened her saddle bag and pulled a couple of paper sheets out. She smoothed them out on the table and girls bent over them.

“Well… That’s definitely…” breathed out Apple Bloom. “I mean we can now say for sure Rarity and Fluttershy are not a thing. Rarity is rather into…”

“… apes!” exclaimed Scootaloo.

“What?” she shrugged under the grumpy gaze of Sweetie Belle. “That looks like monkey… But a smooth and furless one. Although, the face is nothing like a monkey, to be honest… It’s kinda handsome I must admit.”

“Look at those muscles,” squeaked Sweetie Belle. “It must be really big compared to the armchair it sits on. Oh, dear, I now understand, why she was stitching those strange large shirts…”

“I’d rather say it’s “he”,” concluded Scootaloo funnily wrinkling her nose.

The drawing on the table portrayed a human figure, sitting in the armchair facing the observer. It was completely naked, except a small towel draping the private area, but with such minimalism that it seemed to reveal more than it covered. The careful sculpting of the muscles on the figure and overall attention to anatomy detail revealed the loving hoof, which made the drawing. In reality, Alex could reach that effect only flexing on purpose and not while sitting most likely, but some loving eye caught and emphasized each advantageous detail of the figure while retouching small flaws.

Three fillies felt, as their necks and cheeks started getting hot.

Sweetie Belle woke up and put the sketch aside, opening another to their eyes.

“Look here!”

This one made them blush instantly. The same creature was drawn here laying on a couch, draped the same minimalistic way, but this time there was a unicorn laying next to him and leaning over almost touching his lips with her own. A few precisely depicted facial features and curly mane clearly said it was Rarity leaning over that creature, touching his shoulder with her hoof. His fingers ran through her mane while another hand rested on her flank.

“Wow!” Scootaloo could only say with a sly smile. “So they are hiding this there!”

“Errmmm…” started Apple Bloom.

“Hey, girls, you’re here. Ah was looking for ya, Apple Bloom. Ah needed help in the barn and granny said that you were having your usual meeting.”

Three fillies jumped on the spot looking at Applejack, who just entered their tree house. They tried to hide the drawings on the table behind their backs, but Applejack spotted something right from the door.

“What do you have there?” her senses didn’t fail her and she approached the table.

Applejack stood there like hit by the thunderbolt. She felt as her cheeks became red.

“Tarnation!” she muttered, then gritted her teeth. “Twilight told meh, but Rarity couldn’t be more light-headed…”

“Look, girls,” she grabbed both sheets and rolled them into a tube, then turned to face the silenced fillies. “Ah feel that we all have something to explain each other. But naturally, you should start…”

“Sorry, sis,” squeaked Apple Bloom with a guilty look on her face. “We meant no harm. We just thought that you, big girls, were hiding something from us and… We thought it was kinda unfair.”

“When Ah was of yar age,” frowned Applejack. “Adults hiding something from the kids meant one thing only – that the kids were not supposed to see that! Ah seriously can’t understand, how did you…”

“It’s all my fault, Applejack,” Sweetie Belle stepped forward. “I’ve sneaked upon my sister and took those drawings from her room. I’m really, really sorry…”

“Where exactly did you find those?” Applejack interrupted her.

“I took them from under her pillow,” the filly replied sheepishly. “I supposed that I could find something important there if my sister was passionate about some subject and she was evidently under strong inspiration.”

“Will you tell Rarity everything?” she hanged her head low. “I know you are to do that. She will be mad at me,” she sighed heavily and sniffed.

Applejack looked down on the girls. Surely they bucked up, but she knew, how this could be turned into an advantage. She was thinking hard, how the essential truth could be told without revealing the detrimental details.

“OK, girls, you all understand that Ah will tell others that you’ve found out, what you were not supposed to. And Ah am to tell Rarity, where it roots. But…” she made an emphasizing pause. “But we can tell that you came across those sketches accidentally. Like if they were on the floor or peeking from under the pillow.”

“But this is as much as Ah can do for you. Ah will need to make a big deal with myself about that already and convince that half-truth is not a lie,” added Applejack.

“Ah will cover up yar little tails, girls. For the last time!” she said meaningfully. “But on one condition only – you keep yar mouths shut about all this.”

“And Ah mean that!” she made the scary eyes. “Nopony, except us six… and now you, should know anything about the human.”

“About what?”

“Look, girls, it’s hard to explain shortly, but Ah’ll try,” Applejack rubbed her forehead shifting her stetson back. “Fluttershy met that creature, that human in the Everfree a few days ago. He saved her life actually, but got wounded and she took him with her and treated his wounds.”

“He is not an animal, he is sentient, can talk and… well, he is generally like us all,” she explained to the girls listening to her with their mouths open. “He is from another world sorta… Ah don’t know exactly how he is able to understand or speak our language, but… take it as given. He wants to get back home, as Twilight told me.”

“But why the secrecy?” squeaked Scootaloo.

“Hey, hey, hold yar mules,” smirked Applejack. “Ah didn’t finish yet.”

“Two main things you three should know and remember,” she continued. “First, this is a mythic… well not so as of now… creature from another world. Get it? Another. World! He is resistant to all kinds of magic, as Twilight says, moreover he absorbs magic applied to him.”

“He can drain yar energy in a wink, if you try to fiddle yar magic with him,” Applejack turned to Sweetie Belle. “And Ah’m not trying to scare you, that’s just a warning.”

“And the second thing,” she said in complete silence. “It’s princess Celestia privilege – to decide what to do with him. She wants to investigate his case thoroughly, to find out, if he is a danger to Equestria and if he can be returned to his home world. So naturally, until she states that ponies should know about his existence, nopony should know about him, except those who do already.”

“You were not supposed to find out,” Applejack added after a pause. “Just imagine how the princesses could be disappointed with you.”

Three fillies stood in front of her with their eyes lowered and ears flattened.

“Of course, Ah will need to inform my friends about you finding out that secret. But Ah won’t tell how exactly you did,” Applejack told them with a reassuring smile. The girls looked up to her with sudden hope shining in their eyes. “Ah will need you girls to help me. Sweetie Belle, tell Rarity we need to meet at Twilight’s at eight. Scootaloo, please, find Dash and tell her the same. And it’ll be great if after helping me here you can ask Fluttershy to come, Apple Bloom,” she turned to her sister.

“But,” Applejack made the most strict face she could manage. “If you fail that and tell anypony… or moreover, spring another surprise like that… and Ah make sure Rarity invents a fitting punishment and even give her some advice about it. Ah hope you understood me right, Sweetie Belle.”

“Yes, Applejack,” squeaked Sweetie Belle guiltily. “Thank you… for covering our debacle… again…”

“Just don’t make another one,” warned Applejack, then muttered aside under her breath. “And Ah would rather give Rarity a good slap. But who might think…”

“Oh, one more thing,” she remembered. “Sweetie Belle, return please those exactly where you took them from. No need to pay them more attention though!”

She handed the papers to Rarity’s younger sister and raised an eyebrow in a hinting manner. Then trotted outside.

“Ah still need your help, Apple Bloom,” the girls heard her call.

“I better go,” fussed the younger sister.

“So that was why Rarity was almost dancing the last two days, everything was flying in her hooves and she seemed to get special inspiration. She fell in love with… extraequestrian creature!” giggled Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah, your sister seems to completely lose her head,” Scootaloo remembered the drawings and snorted, feeling how colour hit her cheeks again. “Don’t give that out to her though, otherwise I don’t envy you.”

That evening the Oak Library looked rather crowded. Applejack asked all the girls to come for a serious talk and Twilight, who was generally informed about the subject, was still puzzled about the urgency and details. Rainbow Dash, who came the first, right after Applejack, seemingly had no idea about there being any problem, as she got to the bookshelf with Daring Do series, chose a book and conveniently placed herself right on the floor nearby. She already managed to fall out from reality, as Spike was to ask her thrice if she would like some tea. She muttered something ambivalent and Spike waved his hand, fairly supposing that she would join others and choose, what she wanted… if she wanted.

Fluttershy came next and was constantly lamenting that she left Alex busy with all household without help (even if it meant merely cleaning up after dinner). Besides last time she left him with Angel alone at home, Angel dug out an old darts game somewhere and they made quite a few pinholes on the front door surface. Alex swore that he would patch them up, as soon as he was able to get to the town. Fluttershy still worried that those two might invent some other crazy entertainment.

Then Pinky joined the meeting and Applejack had a hard time, trying to hold her impatient and curious friend from jumping around the room and asking questions, Applejack wasn’t going to answer before everypony, including the “hero of the incident”, came. Then Pinkie turned her attention to Fluttershy asking her something about the human and Applejack could take a breath.

Rarity came the last and, perhaps, she felt that it smelled of roast, as she was unusually quiet and laconic.

“OK, girls,” started Twilight when she saw that even Rainbow Dash put away the book unwillingly and listened. “Applejack asked everypony to come, as she has a serious question to discuss. All I know is that it is human-related. So, dear, if you please…”

“Yeah… Thanks, Twi,” Applejack raised her stetson a bit and rubbed her forehead. “It’s a bit complicated, girls… You all know about the human, and that his existence is still a secret for the majority… for different reasons. Not my idea and not Fluttershy’s… But Ah guess princess has a point preferring to keep it that way.”

Rainbow yawned stealthily.

“Is it about “Welcome to Equestria, Alex” party?” Pinkie jumped on her place eagerly.

“Oh, dear, not again…” whispered Fluttershy while her pupils became pinprick.

Rainbow huffed disapprovingly, but only Twilight seemed to notice. She watched Rainbow Dash reaction with investigator’s interest though.

“No, Pinkie, not yet. It’s not the best time for,” smirked Applejack. “But if the things keep going this way, we may simply face that “party” just happening sooner or later.”

“As you know,” she continued looking at the puzzled faces of her friends. “Only us six were supposed to know about the human… at least until princess Celestia makes any other decision.”

“But a few, or should Ah say, three exact ponies found out our secret.”

In the sudden silence the teaspoon, Spike dropped in the cup, sounded like a thunder strike.

“But… How?” he scratched the back of his head with the claw, then turned to Twilight. “You said he was not leaving the house and…”

“Oh, no…” Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth. “But I’m sure nopony saw him except you girls and Lyra… At least I-I did my best… to keep everything in secret… Squee!”

“I was expecting something alike,” muttered Twilight pessimistically. “It’s Ponyville…”

Rainbow Dash soared with the “I told you there will be problems with that human” look on her face.

Pinkie murmured something under her nose and seemed to be completely uninterested, but those who knew her well could tell that she heard everything perfectly, just didn’t find it necessary to react at that moment.

Rarity wasn’t calm, but she hardly worried more than any other girl, and Applejack concluded that Sweetie Belle managed to return the sketches in time without any problems.

“Ah mean it’s easy to guess, who exactly,” continued Applejack, when everypony looked at her again expectantly. “We already have met the consequences of their… investigations.”

Twilight closed her eyes with a deep sigh, as it appeared that her suspicion was coming true.

“As we all know, Rarity was helping… Alex with his clothing problem,” Applejack turned to Rarity, noticing that the latter blinked and stiffened. Dash huffed once again at the mentioning of the human’s name. “And she made some measurements and… sketches to stitch him something fitting.”

Rarity’s eyes gazed at the floor at the word “sketches”, Applejack sent Twilight a meaningful look. Spike looked from one to another and the third and back again, not noticing that he was pouring the tea on the table instead of the cup. Then he woke up, noticed his mistake and blushed, wiping the small pool quickly.

“So today Sweetie Belle came across one of those sketches by pure accident,” Applejack continued while Rarity’s cheeks were almost on fire. “And she found it very interesting, noticing somepony completely different than usual on the stitching sketch,” she emphasized the word “stitching” and noticed, how it made Rarity relax a bit.

“Naturally she shared her observations with her club mates… And they were guessing what that could be when I caught them upon that in their club house…”

“Of course,” Fluttershy slapped her forehead and a guilty look appeared on her face, despite being uncalled for. “They sneaked in the garden when you came for the first time,” she turned to Rarity. “But I’m sure they haven’t seen anything at that time. Maybe… just got extremely suspicious about us… behaving s-strange…”

“Tricky little squirts!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash flying up to the ceiling, her expression was rather approving than condemnatory. Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Well…” Applejack stumbled trying to avoid the delicate details and keep that unnoticed simultaneously. “Ah simply was to explain them everything in brief and make them swear they keep it shut…”

“Did they do the Pinkie Promise?”

“Pinkie!..” Twilight frowned. “That’s a bit more serious than you treat it.”

“What? At least they wouldn’t dare to break…”

“… Ah decided, it would be better, than if they started to ask or poke their noses, where they were not supposed to,” Applejack seemed to ignore Pinkie’s suggestion. “So now they know that we have extraequestrial sentient creature, which is magic resistant and practically dangerous if you apply magic to him.”

“They want more information for themselves, but Ah made it clear that we share what possible, only if nopony spills the beans.”

“Meanwhile we must think, what we can do to avoid further… revelations,” Twilight looked around at everypony. Applejack nodded.

“And what’s there to think about?” Rainbow Dash seemed to decide everything already and just waited to suggest. “I’m one hundred per cent positive that we should just lock him till the princess decides what to do with this… human.”

Fluttershy gasped. Rarity evidently wasn’t sure, if that was a good idea. And Twilight seemed to share their pessimism.

Pinkie was totally occupied by tea and cakes, but Spike, who was listening all the time very carefully, asked.

“But isn’t it practically what you are doing to him already? I mean, he has been stuck in the house anyway.”

“Ah guess,” sighed Applejack. “And if we agree with Dash, that will mean no getting out of the house during the day time, when somepony may notice him while passing Fluttershy’s cottage simply, no peeking out of the windows to wave goodbye as well, and he must stay hidden if anypony except us comes to visit Fluttershy…”

“But that’s awful!” Fluttershy’s eyes filled with tears. “Alex is not a monster or a threat of any sort.”

“Huh?” Rainbow landed next to her and patted Fluttershy’s back. “Flutters, pal, if you can deal with Manticore, that doesn’t mean everypony else can… and last time I heard you exactly saying those words while treating a Manticore like a kitten.”

“That won’t be necessary for long,” said Applejack, seeing that Fluttershy became completely upset by the seemingly unfair measures. “Celestia is going to address him soon as Ah understand.”

“I suggest,” Rainbow elaborated her idea meanwhile. “That only Fluttershy and Twilight deal with the human for the time being. Until Celestia finds out what to do with him. I for sure won’t object!” she smirked.

“I’m still to finish some clothes for him,” Rarity frowned, the idea to stay without her “inspiration source” didn’t rub her feelings well. “So count me in visiting him from time to time anyway.”

“Why are you so unfair to him, Dash?” asked Fluttershy barely audible.

“Who says I’m unfair,” huffed Rainbow. “I’m just being careful… He is an alien if you haven’t yet noticed.”

“And under “alien” I’ve meant somepony who thinks different, feels different and can spring some surprise anytime. Until proved otherwise, I will stick to my words – I don’t trust him… and I advise you against doing that blindly.”

“I feel otherwise,” whispered Fluttershy that nopony except Dash heard her.

“Ha-ha, Flutters,” Rainbow hugged her friend, she surely meant well… but the method was what Fluttershy didn’t like. “You know, sometimes good judgment is all that we need to save us from our “feelings”!”

“So,” Twilight stood up. “I don’t like this as much as you do Fluttershy, but… let’s round it up. Who’s for the lockout?”

Rainbow raised her hoof immediately, Applejack didn’t hesitate for long as well. Pinkie yawned and said something that made everypony look down in embarrassment.

“I’ll pass. We seem to forget to invite Alex to our meeting… and now deciding, what to do with him… without him. Yeah, I’ll pass.”

“I sincerely think that it’s better to keep everything the way it is now,” said Fluttershy quietly. “No need to emphasize any restrictions just to make him feel more uncomfortable than he does. I guess that’s a “No”.”

“I’m with Fluttershy,” Rarity cocked her head after a minute of thinking. Fluttershy gave out a small smile. “Not because I want to see Alex. Not only because,” she whispered in Fluttershy’s ear.

“Well, if my vote counts…” Spike coughed quietly clearing his throat. “I’ll pass as well. Don’t know him well enough, but for what I know, he seems a nice guy. Locking him out would be unfair…”

Twilight let out a deep tired sigh. Why it was always her to make the decision? Especially when the decision looked outright unpopular.

“Sorry, Fluttershy,” she raised her hoof as well. “I believe it would be better if only we two… OK, three, including Rarity, contact Alex, before princess Celestia takes the case in her hooves. And safer for… everypony.”

Fluttershy soon left the meeting with the feeling that things could hardly go worse. One thing was to take simple natural precautions, but locking anypony out is a totally another story. Rarity wanted to support her and walk home, but Applejack asked Rarity for a private word, so Fluttershy headed home alone. She didn’t mind though, it was the moment when she wanted to stay with her thoughts on her own.

“Look, my friend,” Applejack made sure that other girls were minding their own business or enjoying the baking, before addressing Rarity. “Ah can understand yar interest in… Alex as… extraequestrian creature, though it suits Twilight more. Ah can even understand yar… errmmm… personal interest in him. We’re all ponies at the end of the day and for each their own.”

Rarity blushed and Applejack almost noticed, how she was guessing which details about her crush were known.

“But at least make sure that your sister doesn’t come across something, fillies don’t need to see,” Applejack continued in half-tone.

“What’s wrong with stitching sketches?” hissed Rarity, she tried to keep a good face in a bad game.

Now it was Applejack’s turn to show embarrassment. She almost broke up but managed to find the way out.

“Ah know yar easily enthralled nature, Rarity. Ah am sure there are more of ‘em!” Applejack raised one eyebrow.

“Yeah, he-he… You got me here, AJ,” Rarity sported a sheepish smile. “I’ll try to keep Sweetie Belle out of all that, sorry.”

“Not only her, but you can also easily make Flutters and Twi responsible for a fail, they aren’t guilty of.”

Rarity nodded with a sigh.

“Damn it!”

The sneaky wick didn’t want to get under the roller no matter what, and the lack of simple instruments was a total disaster. But Alex was ready for that, it would be excessively optimistic to think that Fluttershy had screwdrivers, tweezers and so on in her house. He was limited to a thin knife in his repairs.

The mere idea of doing nothing was killing him. Alex got used to working during the daytime… or entertain himself on weekends. Here though all his duties were very limited and he managed to complete the job fast enough to suffer from boredom. When Fluttershy was at home they could talk, but when she wasn’t time crawled slowly and aimlessly. Alex tried to read, but he caught himself on becoming nervous no matter what. And when he took a book on gardening, he noticed that he was going through one place, again and again, trying to find known terms.

The thoughts about his possible return relying mostly on the image, he was going to create, and Celestia’s good will, didn’t leave his mind. For all he knew about Celestia, she was a nice… pony generally but… that was her attitude towards her kin. Besides he knew that she preferred to award only well deserved, in other words, one should at least start solving their problems to be granted some regal help. And Alex had no idea where to start in his case.

Thus when he came across a broken oil lamp, he grabbed it as a treasure. At least something could distract him from nervous leisure. But this damned wick…

The knife was obviously too big to reach something that prevented it from scrolling. Alex searched the kitchen lockers one more time and finally found an awl.

“Aha!” He attacked the mechanism opening for the wick with the newly obtained weapon.

Some hard slag showered from the slit, that was obviously what prevented the whole thing from working properly. When Alex was blowing it out and looking through the cleaned hole to the light, he heard the front door opened and somepony slowly came through.

“That’s me, Alex,” something in Fluttershy’s voice made Alex put all the stuff aside.

He watched, how she entered the kitchen, deep into her thoughts, which weren’t bright, as her head was down and her mane and tail seemed tarnished. Fluttershy placed herself on the chair and leaned on the table, putting her chin on both hooves and looking sadly afar.

Alex came closer and put his hand on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong, Shy?” he asked simply, trying to sound most sympathetic. “I thought you were going to meet the girls. Did something happen?”

Fluttershy sighed and looked up to his eyes. Then she suddenly snuggled into him and Alex was to stand closer. He stroked her mane waiting for the answer.

“Yes… and no. I-I don’t know how to put it right…” sniffed Fluttershy ruefully. She kept silence for a while.

Alex reached another chair and grabbed it, dragging it closer. He then sat next to Fluttershy, still hugging her.

“Come on, girl, tell me. Somepony offended you?”

Fluttershy nuzzled his shoulder gently.

“Not me, you…” she tried to find words to explain. “Some fillies, Rarity’s and Applejack’s younger sisters and their friend, found out there is a human in Equestria, that means you.”

“Fillies,” Alex smiled inwardly. “Kids are always kids, and everywhere.”

“What could possibly be wrong with that?” he asked. “Unless they start telling everypony… but I doubt there is another Lyra Heartstrings in Ponyville, or a few…”

“That’s the point. And if you listen to the whole story, before asking…” Fluttershy frowned slightly.

“OK, OK, I shut up. Do tell.”

“Rarity’s sister, Sweetie Belle, came across some of Rarity’s sketches. Supposedly stitching sketches for your clothes… B-but I know Rarity, if she is… “inspired”…”

Alex sighed, understanding what she was talking about.

“Then she shared her discovery with her friends, Apple Bloom, Applejack’s sister and Scootaloo. They are classmates and run the club – Cutie Mark Crusaders… But… that’s another story…”

“Well, they didn’t know, my existence was a secret,” Alex apologized for the girls.

“Yeah… That wouldn’t make explaining it to Celestia easier… Anyway, Applejack “caught” them on discussing the sketches, thankfully between them three only yet. She made them swear, they wouldn’t tell anypony else yet… and promised to share information about you with them, when possible,” Fluttershy facehoofed, understanding how it sounded. “I’m sorry, Alex, if that makes you feel like a showpiece. Really sorry!”

“Well,” Alex smirked. “That’s not my worst experience here. I’m sure, I can cope with it. But I still fail to see, what I should be offended by.”

“Alex!..” Fluttershy cocked her head, as he was interrupting her still. Then she turned embarrassed again. “I-I need to apologize for the girls. D-don’t think of them worse… than they really deserve…”

“It was Celestia’s order to keep your presence in secret and thus we were to conform,” she rushed to explain. “And while today we stopped them in time, nopony could guarantee that nopony else would notice you accidentally. This was where the worst part started,” she sighed sadly and Alex stroked her head again. “Rainbow suggested that nopony except me and Twilight should see you. Moreover, she suggested that you shouldn’t leave the house before the princess decided what to do with you. I know that it is what you’re practically doing now anyway, but… one thing is when you realize the need, and another – when you’re forced to stick to some rule. Rainbow first would be mad about the latter applied to her.”

“Well, I can’t say, I’m very much surprised,” Alex gritted his teeth. But Fluttershy looked so miserable, he didn’t want to upset her even more. Besides, it wasn’t her fault. Alex squeezed out a smile. “I’m an alien… and need to be treated with extreme caution. Not every pony is such a daring soul like you, Shy!”

Fluttershy smiled, her nose became pinkish.

“We voted, can you imagine,” she looked down to the table with her ears flattening. “I was against that of course… So was Rarity.”

Alex huffed, but the next phrase caught him by surprise

“Pinkie said she would pass, as we decided what to do with you without you actually. Spike also passed, saying the whole thing looked wrong to him.”

“So, it was Rainbow’s idea and she voted for,” Fluttershy said quietly after a moment of silence. “Applejack joined her, but I suppose… she just didn’t want to deal with another incident like with girls. And Twilight…”

“Don’t apologize, Shy,” Alex stopped her. “I understand Twilight, among you all she is second after you, who takes most pressure and stress. She is a princess, so technically shares the responsibility of Celestia… besides, she is Celestia’s best student. It’s not her fault that things are turning that way… But why Rainbow hates me?”

“Alex,” Fluttershy looked up at Alex’s gloomy face. “P-please, don’t say so… She is not… hating you, she is just a bit…”

“…xenophobic?” Alex smirked grimly.

“Ye-eah… That’s the word…”

They listened, as a night butterfly bumped against the window.

“OK,” Alex broke the silence first. “I got it. I’ll be a good human and won’t poke my nose outside… yet. And try my best that nopony else notice or hear me.”

“Alex!”

“I’m fine. More or less…” her expression was so gentle and caring that Alex couldn’t hold a smile. “Look what I have found.”

He turned and moved the lamp parts closer. Now the wick entered its place under roller freely and Alex accurately, not to spill the remaining oil, reassembled the whole lamp. He then rotated the handle, readjusting the wick, waited a couple of minutes, letting the oil come up and lighted the wick.

“Thank you!” Fluttershy watched the small flame, while Alex put the glass back on the lamp, then raised her eyes on him. “I was going to take it to the workshop.”

“Are you sure, you’re fine?” she asked once more, still seeing a shadow on his face.

“Ugh!” Alex shook his head. Then he turned to face her and said. “Let’s just forget about that for now, OK? It was a long day and now it’s late. We both need some sleep.”

Fluttershy leaned to him and rested her head on his chest. Alex nuzzled her hair, inhaling the flowery aroma.

The bright moon peeked through parting clouds and poured liquid silver onto the forest. The warm breeze touched the trees making their leaves whisper hastily. Alex had no idea how he got here. He looked around, when his eyes accommodated to the twilight, the moonlight can’t come through the crones entirely. Apparently, he was in the Everfree, but he can’t recognize the place even approximately. And the darkness didn’t help it either.

“Great,” thought Alex. “If I learned something during my staying in Equestria, then it is for sure – Do. Not. Be. Surprised. Ever!”

“Either this is another utterly strange thing happening, not the first and I suppose not the last, or I’m dreaming again. Last time I found myself in princess’ Luna bedroom, now what?”

The dream was the easiest explanation, but Alex couldn’t help noticing that all the feelings were too vivid for a sleeping person. Alex listened to the cicadas concert with some night bird soloing in the distance. The grass rustled softly under his feet. The wind, which he felt on his face, brought some tart and exhilarating scent, Alex thought it was somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t recognize it still.

He decided to go towards the source of that familiar smell. Besides, the ground lowered noticeably in that direction. Alex walked through the forest, stepping over the fallen trees and noticing that he produced way less noise than he normally did in the same conditions. But when he tried to touch himself, he felt it perfectly. He even pinched himself slightly to find that it hurts as always, but apparently, that didn’t make him wake up. So if it was his dream, it was a very strange yet realistic one.

The forest thinned meanwhile and the ground inclined more and more in the direction he was heading. Just when Alex wondered, if the realistic dream included realistic wolves or… it was a very unwelcome idea… manticores, the trees parted and he stepped into the wide opening brightly lit by the moon.

A deep cleft opened right at the edge of the forest and went further and deeper guarded by the trees on both sides. At least there was some path unlike in the forest which seemed all the same here; so Alex went down that slope.

Soon the cleft became more like a canyon and Alex noticed that he got about sixty feet lower than the rest of the forest. Strangely he didn’t feel any unease about that or the whole situation. Maybe the faint glow, coming from behind the turn of that cleft, calmed him and attracted at the same time.

When he reached the dead end, Alex found himself in a large natural chamber. Irregular in shape it was framed with the tree crones far above and lit by the moon. But that wasn’t what made Alex’s heart skip a beat.

There was a giant tree in the far end of that “chamber”, it was the biggest Alex saw in his life. Or at least one of the two, as Alex immediately remembered the tree near that damned road turn, where he was taken to Equestria from. This one thought was even larger, more than sixty feet high, its crone must be on the same level the crones of common trees above were.

Alex was absolutely sure, this one wasn’t nearly common. In addition to its size it looked simply… Alex thought that he couldn’t find a better fitting term, even if he tried – magical. The whole crone was rather silvery than green, almost glowing, the enormous trunk and branches were of the same colour, silvery roots covered the ground. The glow seemed slowly pulsating as if the tree had a heart. Or perhaps it was the heart itself, of the Everfree for example, or…

He found himself standing there with an involuntary happy smile, looking up to that miracle of nature. The sudden feeling of serenity, of peace and… harmony filled him.

“Merlin’s pants!” Alex was struck by that lightning-like guess. “It can’t be… the Tree of Harmony! If it is, then it’s the heart of not only Everfree but rather the whole land… or even the planet.”

Alex approached the trunk which looked like a silver column twelve feet in diameter. Back at home, he was never able to stand near a really high tree and look up to the top as he immediately imagined the whole height of it… and heights and Alex didn’t come together well. Here though he caught himself on looking up to that forest monarch without any phobia clawing his soul. It seemed that the tree would chime if someone touched it.

Unable to hold that impulse Alex stretched out his hand and touched the glowing bark. It felt surprisingly warm, not as some usual hard wrinkly bark of a common tree did.

“Greetings, Guardian!”

Alex heard the soft melodic voice deep in his head.

“WHAT?!” Despite the evident oddity of the whole situation, he always treated the bodiless voices in one’s head as something to be worried about. Alex twitched and stepped back, removing his hand from the trunk. He breathed heavily but heard the light steps behind nevertheless.

Alex turned around quickly, readying himself to any surprise this strange place might provide. But all he saw was a human figure stepping out of the shadows cast by the cleft wall. When it came closer, Alex saw that it was a woman. Moreover, the very familiar woman or better say the girl as Alex noticed that she looked young and graceful. Exactly the girl Alex already saw in the dream about himself and Elen visiting the ocean coast. The dream where he came to the coast with Elen, but then found himself holding Fluttershy in his hands.

She approached letting him notice the dark-blue long noble dress, the long hair of seemingly all colours of the night sky, the blue shades on upper eyelids and the whole beautiful face with clearly delineated features. Yet when she smiled, her cheeks rounded almost childishly.

Alex stepped forward unconsciously, he was amazed to see another human here, especially such a pretty girl. His eyesight blurred a bit and when he regained focus… he saw a night coloured alicorn in front of himself. She had the same blue shades on her eyelids, same starry night mane and tail, same noble beauteous look. Alex saw the sly sparkles in her large dark eyes when she spread her wings and granted him a smile, making her cheeks round the familiar way.

“Merlin’s pants! That’s princess Luna, the one exactly whose bedroom I’ve “broke into” in my strange dream. Or was it…” Alex blinked.

Alex opened his eyes. When his eyesight accommodated to the darkness, he could discern the ceiling slightly highlighted by the moon, the bed he lied on, the pillows and covers. Fluttershy turned in the bed to face him, then she moved closer and snuggled hugging him with her fore legs.

“Mmmm… Alex,” she muttered while practically still sleeping. “What’s wrong? Your heart… It’s beating… very fast. Mhm…”

“It’s OK,” Alex gently kissed her in the top of her head. “I just had a weird dream… one of… Never mind, Shy, sleep.”

She happily sighed, when he hugged her and held in his arms stroking her mane, and soon he fell asleep under her even breathing.

Princess Celestia came to Crystal Empire not to pay a courtesy visit or not because princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armour couldn’t rule their domain on their own. The news, they sent her regularly, became more and more strange and alarming each day and finally reached the stage, when Celestia decided to attend personally and check the source of all the troubles on her own. That was why she left Canterlot, leaving Luna deal with local cases, and flew to Crystal Empire with a small squad of pegasi guards.

The problem, which got her attention, could look like King Sombra revenge attempt from the first sight. If she didn’t know that Sombra was defeated finally and completely last time, not without the help of her bright student Twilight and… despite how wild it could sound, her aide Spike. If also she didn’t know that King Sombra, in his best days, preferred to gather forces and strike in one well-aimed blast, not wandering around outskirts of the Empire in a seemingly aimless manner.

The Dark Mist surely shouted “Sombra” and was indeed his calling card, but… If it was him, the Dark Mist would be certainly concentrating around Crystal Empire, complicating the travels and transportations, making the residents feel hopelessness and despair, oppressing them, yet gathering and trying to materialize and strike in some single weak spot. King Sombra, peace be upon him, was a bit too straightforward and self-confident, but at least that gave his opponent a chance to get ready.

Here it looked entirely different: the Dark Mist, and Celestia couldn’t literally find the better name for the phenomenon, wasn’t concentrating in some predictable pattern. Instead of that small sources of it appeared here and there, mostly in the coldest and distant areas of the Empire surroundings, on far north, making an impression that somepony was just trying the turf and simultaneously looking for something, not readying an imminent attack. In other words, it was cautious reconnaissance, not a crusade attempt.

And that didn’t look like Sombra tactics at all. But who’s then?..

That is why Celestia sent her guards to keep hooves on the pulse of local frontier defence duties and report any new incident immediately.

“… and while I devote all my time, making crystal ponies feel our Empire carries solemnity of law and order no matter what, Shining spends his days and nights, watching guards training, analyzing the reports and making the distant scouting most effective,” Princess Cadence shook her mane while levitating a cup of coffee towards her, making the faint scent of roses fill the air. “He practically returned to guard captain duty, like in Canterlot… with the exception that the stress doubled or even tripled. I can’t remember when he slept normally last time,” she finished with a sad smile.

“That doesn’t sound right. Completely!” Celestia nodded. “I’ll try to find the way out of your situation in the closest perspective. But I naturally need another incident to base my outlook on.”

“Your majesty!” the guard which stormed in the room, breaking all the possible etiquette, was breathing heavily and looked extremely anxious. “Your majesty, my deepest apologies! The problem needs your immediate attention!”

As the protocol demanded, he was to address the ruler of the region, thus Princess Cadence, first, but the guard was from Celestia’s personal security, yet addressing the guest first ignoring the host would be direct etiquette breach, so he reported to both princesses at the same time technically. His eyes were moving from one princess to another and back in the cycle.

“Yes,” Cadence showed that he got her full attention. “What’s the problem, officer?”

“Your majesty. Princess Cadence, Princess Celestia, we have another incident,” the guard took a breath before continuing. “We are having another incident right now. The Mist has materialized this time… and it’s something we didn’t face yet.”

“The substance formed an… entity and it is already giving our mages troubles,” explained he the urge while Celestia and Cadence listened with full attention. “That’s why we need your immediate assistance, princess,” he bowed to Celestia.

“Cadence, dear, my apologies,” Celestia raised on her hooves. “I’ll keep you informed when I check it on my own.”

“Guard, gather three more and give me the coordinates,” she trotted through the doors with the guard following close. “Five minutes. We’ll teleport there immediately.”

The warp took them exactly to the place provided by the guard. When the glow faded, they found themselves in the middle of a snowy field. Apparently, winter felt at home here, just like at the whole northern border of the Crystal Empire, where it attempted its regular raids to the south from. The snow was compacted by the frost and its own weight, and therefore easy to walk on. Big rocks in snowy hats – trails of the long-gone glacier – protruded through the thick white blanket here and there. The dark band of the forest edge lied to their left and the whole terrain raised forming a big sloping hill.

Gray low clouds passed by and the sun was barely visible through that gloomy veil, bathing the landscape in the soft dimmed light. Rare snowflakes slowly floated in the cold air. And there was… silence. The only sound they could hear, except their own breath, was the distant wind whistling in the treetops of the nearby forest.

“Your majesty,” the guard explained noticing Celestia’s silent asking gaze. “We need to go up that hill. Getting right on the scene would be shortsighted due to certain conditions, you will see shortly.”

“Fine, officer,” Celestia nodded. “Let’s have a look at that… incident.”

They trotted up the hill bypassing the snowy rocks. The guard continued explaining the situation meanwhile.

“The Dark Mist materialized as a… creature, we haven’t seen before. We spotted it accidentally and its utter weirdness captured our attention. It’s unknown yet if it is sentient in usual sense… or just a magical entity controlled by somepony,” the guard took a breath. “A few our mages keeping it distracted and thus locking it in a limited space. When we spotted it, it was moving on a widening spiral, seemingly searching for something, stopping for a while, then proceeding again.”

“A few mages?” Celestia looked surprised. “Is this… entity that strong and dangerous, that one capable unicorn can’t hold it.”

“It wouldn’t be a problem, princess,” retorted the guard. “If we dealt with any known enemy. But this one possessed abilities, which made it quite… tough for capturing.”

“Like which?” Celestia raised a brow.

“First of all, the creature seemed to be blind, at least we didn’t found any evidence that it could rely on vision. But it “felt” living creatures, moreover, it felt magic and was able to resist it,” explained the guard. “And the way this entity affected ponies made it extremely dangerous to operate with alone.”

“It simply makes anypony feel despair and panic,” the guard shuddered, perhaps he experienced the effect himself already. “Apparently it is able to drain positive emotions and energy from living creatures, leaving only fear, hatred and so on. When our mages tried to dissolve it with a spell, it quickly chose one of them and rushed towards, making him almost drop in a panic attack. For now, they use all their force to contain it. It seems that if we want to take it down, the attack must be really fast and effective, giving it no time to react and aim the caster.”

“Hmm… It sounds so nasty, I wonder…” Celestia stumbled, they reached the border of the impact zone.

She suddenly got the feeling that somepony evil, gloomy and unkind crawled out from under the ground behind their backs and stared on them fixedly. Suppressing the urge to look over her shoulder, Celestia noticed that guards visibly struggled with different symptoms of unease and stress as well while proceeding.

Celestia started remembering her quarrels with Luna, when they were fillies, all the harsh words they used to say each other because of unequal, as Luna thought, admiration and recognition of their subjects, the image of Luna crying and slamming the door of her bedroom in Celestia’s face…

“O-o-ok!” Celestia gritted her teeth. “Just wait, I’ll get you!”

She trotted up faster with the guards forcedly following.

The other side of the hill was steep, opening the “battle” scene below. At first, it could look, as if there was a small local blizzard surrounding a few sporadically standing stones and low flat shrubs surviving the wind and frost. The wind howled, forming a real tornado below and the snow mercilessly lashed everything in the circle of couple hundred feet radius. Certainly, one couldn’t see or feel anything in the middle of that cold and snowy hell. But higher above the ground the blizzard thinned and from their hill Celestia and guard could see perfectly the dark figure which wandered irregularly, changing direction and stumbling.

Six unicorns surrounded the blizzard on a considerable distance and obviously, they exactly formed and controlled it with their magic. From time to time one or another gave the creature inside the snowy swirl a magical nudge, making it immediately turn towards the “offender”, aim very precisely and rush to him. Then another mage “kicked” the creature making it stumble and lose track. It was obvious that the creature below wasn’t very intelligent, which brought instant thoughts about somepony’s magical puppet. But what was the purpose of that puppet, nopony could yet tell. One thing certain, it looked nothing like King Sombra’s shenanigans.

“What, in the name of Starswirl the Bearded, is that?” muttered Celestia, her eyes dilated.

The dark entity looked most likely a headless centaur without any arms. The whole figure was made seemingly of the dense Dark Mist, with bands of thinner substance flowing around its legs and torso, forming its “tail” and generally curling around the creature, while it tossed about in the snow storm. The torso was wide and could be called muscular if anypony knew for sure this creature had muscles… or any complex internal structure at all.

The only distinctive trait was a dark red opening right in the middle of the upper torso. Was it an eye, though the creature seemed to be blind, or perhaps a mouth, nopony could tell. Eventually, when it lost the track of another mage, the creature leaned towards the ground like trying to find something or sniffing the trail with its red orifice.

“Ughhh!” shivered one of the guards. “What an abomination!”

“It was doing exactly that when we noticed it in the field,” he turned to Celestia and she noticed sweat drops on his forehead, despite it was cold and the wind was stronger on the top of the hill.

When the creature turned facing their side, the disgusting feeling strengthened every time. Celestia felt sorry for the mages on the front line, imagining what they were going through if she herself desperately wanted to be hugged by somepony and kept away and safe from that ugly spawn down below.

“Enough!” decided Celestia. “It’s time to stop that… seeker.”

She jumped in the cold air and opened her white wings, rising higher in the sky right above the raging blizzard. For a moment her pink-turquoise-green mane and tail seemed to cover half of the sky. The guards watched their princess, like enthralled, when she speared to the sun, spreading her wings.

Celestia’s horn glowed bright and a golden beam of pure blinding solar light aimed at the “seeker”, piercing its black body.

The muffled howl rolled over the field below. The dark “one-eyed” centaur figure glowed from inside for a one short moment and… exploded, bursting in clouts of Dark Mist, which were immediately devoured and dissolved by the blizzard as the magical force keeping the creature together ceased to exist. The overwhelming feeling of despair and torment vanished at once, like never existed and the world around suddenly seemed so bright and happy, that guards even couldn’t hold uncertain smiles, taking their breath.

The mages in the field seemed totally exhausted though, as they lowered right on the snow, stopping their spells and letting the blizzard weather out at once. Celestia headed right towards them flying down. The pegasi guards followed her.

“Inscrutably magnificent. As usual!” exclaimed one of them, when they all landed.

Celestia let herself a small smile.

“Thank you. But I’m afraid I’ve overdone,” Celestia was in a self-critical mood. “The spell was too powerful for a simple magical puppet, even such an unusual, this… seeker was.”

“But I remembered your words about the fast and well-aimed strike,” she added. “And decided to err on the side of caution.”

“Excuse us, your Majesty!” one of the unicorns they approached was still heavily breathing, yet he bowed low. “We need a couple more minutes to recompose, so we can follow you, princess.”

“There is no need,” answered Celestia softly. “I’ll transfer us all to Empire City. Thank you all for your loyalty!”

The guards and mages saluted.

The more she thought about all the details of the “seeker incident”, the less she liked the conclusions and the more unwilling similarities became obvious to her. And the latter was alarming as well. She could mistake of course, but the occasions it actually happened were scarce. Celestia watched, how Cadence and Shining Armour listened to her, telling them about what Dark Mist activity fruited into, and her decision to investigate the human issue grew rock solid. She told them in brief about latest Fluttershy “discovery”, but it seemed that Cadence and Shining were more surprised by the mere fact there existed a human in Equestria, than consider obvious differences in mythology and actual human capabilities discovered. For them, he was still a mythic creature, while Celestia was bothered by his complicated relations with magic. They resembled the “seeker” abilities too much, to be easily treated as a coincidence. Though she was to admit that human’s impact wasn’t nearly as detrimental. Neither it was used as an active attack method ever, as Twilight confirmed.

Celestia had no reasons to distrust Twilight or her judgment of others, one of the abilities Twilight mastered, was her intuition for the personal qualities of those she tried to befriend. But still, the security of Equestria was at stake and the princess couldn’t ignore any detail, even if it was going to turn out a coincidence. Thus she decided to extract the human and investigate his arrival and nature thoroughly as soon as she was able to return to Canterlot. And the possible means to return him to his mother land… but the Equestrian interests went first.

“… so I’ll stay for a while more, at least until it is confirmed that the Dark Mist activity ceased and was generally connected to that materialization we dealt today,” Celestia stepped from hoof to hoof. “I suppose it’ll take a couple of days, hardly more. Then I’m returning to Canterlot.”

“Well, if that hurry is absolutely necessary…” Shining Armour wasn’t still sure that he understood, why the human needed to be addressed that urgently. “But we are always happy to see you here, Princess!”

“So,” Rainbow Dash put a thick branch into the campfire and moved the firewood a little to make it burn evenly. “He naturally thought that it would be a good idea to scare somepony shitless with that trick and waited patiently for his chance.”

Her move made the burning logs crackle and let out a bunch of hot sparks. Rarity wrinkled her nose and moved back slightly. She sported her comfy dressing gown already and didn’t want it to be ruined by the ashes or unwelcome sparkle. Sweetie Belle snuggled up to her older sister for warmth, the nights were still quite fresh. She yawned when Rarity hugged her and kissed in the top of the head.

The fire burned brighter after Rainbow gave it a nudge and the circle of light widened, revealing, in addition to the logs they all sat around it on, the tents, the small glade and the first line of dark sleeping trees, surrounding their camping place. The smell of fresh leaves mixed with the smoke, which raised apeak in the still air, repelling the few mosquitoes. Some night bird whistled sadly and pleadingly in the distance.

“He made a time-worn looking coat to mimic the Black Thirsty Pony,” Rainbow continued her story. “And next time camping, when night fell, he wandered around the camping ground. He knocked the random tents, put his fore leg inside and wheezed in the scariest voice, he could produce “Waaaater! Please, give me some water!!!” Somepony laughed, but those were rare, the majority were scared, some scolded him when the trick opened up. But generally, he noticed that the idea was successful…”

Applejack huffed disapprovingly, whatever you say, it wasn’t her kind of entertainment – scaring innocent ponies. She looked down on Apple Bloom, who nested on the log and put her head on sister’s lap, and smiled with a wink, like saying ‘We know, no such idiots are hiking with us, fortunately!’

“… but then he spotted another small old tent on the edge of the camping ground, closer to the dense forest. The tent was time-worn, dirty and had no light burning in. But that colt was too proud of his joke and wanted to scare the owner as well,” Dash lowered her tone, looking at all the present with a sly expression. “So he came closer and pulled his trick again. Silence. He thought that maybe the tent was empty or its owner was sleeping too tight and wanted to look inside…”

“When suddenly a black hoof protruded from the tent and grasped the colt’s throat! “WHAT DO YOU NEED MY WATER FOR?!!”

The fillies squealed more from her sudden exclamation than from real terror, the last phrase caught them off guard.

“And nopony saw him ever since. Either he was taken by the Black Pony… or became one…”

Rarity rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Where do you get all this rubbish from?”

“Oh, come on,” Rainbow stuck out her tongue. “Don’t be a party-pooper, pal. Girls like these stories. Right?!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo jumped cheerfully around Dash. “They are awesome. I want more, please, Rainbow.”

Rainbow chuckled, not long ago Scootaloo was scared of the campfire stories and was too embarrassed to confess that. But since she overcame her fear of Headless Horse during one of their collective hikes, she started enjoying the storytelling talent of her older friend.

“You enjoyed a bit of careless fun as well perhaps when you were a filly, Rarity.”

“Ah somehow suspected, it turns out that way,” huffed Applejack, scratching the back of her head. “The guy was calling it upon his arse if you ask meh.”

“Can you tell us something else?” Scootaloo stopped for a moment and looked up to Rainbow Dash with puppy eyes.

“I have a better idea, girls,” Apple Bloom sat on the log and stretched. “Sis, why don’t you tell us something about the human at last. There is nopony else here, except us, so it’s right about time, you, big girls, spill something as promised.”

In the silence that followed the bonfire crackled especially loud. The almost full moon raised above the forest and bathed the trees, the glade with tents and resting ponies in silvery light.

“Well,” sighed Applejack. “Ah guess it is inevitable. What do you want to know? Mind that we don’t know everything, so can tell you what we know for sure only.”

“At first how did Fluttershy get him?” Apple Bloom raised her ears. Sweetie Belle stopped yawning and seemingly woke up completely, and even Scootaloo stopped horsing around and perked up her ears.

“Get him” is a bit strong to say,” Applejack smirked. “Fluttershy had a timberwolves-related problem in the Everfree and he saved her.”

“You don’t say,” Apple Bloom re-asked, making surprised eyes. “There is something in the Everfree Fluttershy can’t deal with.”

“Apparently there were too many of them, Little Apple,” Applejack patted her sisters head. “Don’t worry, she managed to stare most of them, but the help was just in right time and place.”

She told fillies the whole story of human arrival as heard from Fluttershy. They listened with their mouths open.

“But how come he is magic resistant?” asked Sweetie Belle. She turned to Rarity. “Last time I remember you said humans can neither use nor resist magic…”

“Who can heal a wound half a foot long in three days?” gasped Apple Bloom. “I certainly don’t know a way without magic, as Twilight does.”

“People”,” automatically corrected Rarity. “They call themselves “people”. Well, that was at least what Twilight and Lyra said – normally they can’t. But apparently, something about this one is different.”

Rainbow huffed, listening to her friend speaking about the human as something special. She nudged Scootaloo and rolled her eyes, like saying ‘Just listen to her!’

“Ah don’t know,” added Applejack. “As Rarity said, he is different. Look, we don’t know many things about him, for example how he got to Equestria actually.”

“This is what I keep telling them,” muttered Rainbow. “We don’t really know him.”

“But where did he come from?” Scootaloo sat closer to Rainbow and Dash put her rainbow tail above the girl’s head, so its end hung above her face closing the eyes. Both giggled, while Scootaloo was blowing the tail off her eyes.

“Long story short, Fluttershy said he came from the Sisters’ Castle ruins,” Applejack added a few sticks to the fire. “Later she confirmed her conclusion… when he told her his story. But Ah don’t know the details yet.”

“He talks just like everypony else,” jumped Scootaloo. “So she can understand him, doesn’t she?”

“Ah told ya, he is sentient, he talks, reads… Though Ah have no faintest idea, how comes he knows our language. But apparently, he does…”

“Alex is like everypony else, just looks different,” Rarity checked her mane and took a random leaf out, she then threw it in the fire.

Rainbow snorted at her friend mentioning human’s name and admitting his similarities with ponies.

“What?” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like he has a name. But he does, why should I treat him differently from anypony?”

“Oh,” Rainbow raised her fore legs in a theatrical gesture. “As you wish, Rarity! I’m not trying to offend your special somehuman.”

“Hmpf!” Rarity cocked her head, while the fillies giggled quietly.

“Alex lost his clothes and he came the whole way from the ruins wrapped in the royal tapestry,” she then continued.

“Princess Luna tapestry!” added Rainbow meaningfully, she huffed. “What a perfect couple: the weird princess and the weird and perhaps dangerous alien!”

“Hey, princess Luna is not that weird as you tell,” laughed Applejack. “Even Fluttershy got along with her eventually… and Flutters is not the most daring pony, you know.”

“Just because you have personal… experience doesn’t mean that Luna is bad or strange.”

“Who said she was bad?” Rainbow Dash blushed a bit. Apparently, the talk changed direction Rainbow wanted to avoid. She still pouted on princess Luna for feeding herself Rainbow’s own recipe on the last Nightmare Night celebration.

That time Rainbow entertained herself, scaring ponies with thunder and lightning from a small cloud, she dragged with her everywhere. It was awfully funny when others jumped on spot… and she accidentally startled a bunch of kids, exactly when Luna tried to show her better side. But it was totally… not awesome, when Luna played the same trick on Rainbow, literally sending a small lightning bolt in her plot. Fortunately, there was only one extra witness of that – Twilight and she didn’t tell the details to anypony… but something still leaked apparently.

“Who said she was bad?” repeated Dash. “Bad and weird are different things if you ask me. But she still gives me the creeps.”

“She helped me overcome my fears,” Scootaloo suddenly confessed. “I think that princess Luna is nice.”

Rainbow gazed at the filly, like finding out something totally new about her younger friend, then she shrugged.

“I’ll show you the Royal Tapestry, girls,” Rarity decided to change the topic. “But obviously only after I bring it to the best condition I can.”

“Really? You haven’t told me about yourself working on it…” Sweetie Belle started to yawn wildly again.

“Come on, Rainbow, Applejack, it’s too late, girls need to be sleeping already!” Rarity stated flatly, watching her sister rubbing her eyes. “We can delay all discussions until tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Applejack couldn’t hold a yawn as well. “Ah will get up early anyway. Ah can’t do anything about that, so Ah need to be sleeping already as well. Good night, girls. Let’s go, Apple Bloom.”

“Good night!” Rainbow Dash directed Scootaloo, who was still sleepless, towards their tent. “Race ya to sleep, squirt!”

Scootaloo hopped inside, she knew that it was for her own benefit – to get asleep first, as Rainbow snored quite audibly.

When they closed the tent, Rainbow leaned towards Scootaloo.

“Listen, Scoots,” she said in half-tone. “I want to tell you one thing… and I want it to remain in between us two, OK?”

Scootaloo nodded. Obviously, she was always ready at least to listen to her idol and role model. How could she miss an advice from a pegasus, she wanted to become alike most of all in her life?

“It’s up to you, of course, to decide,” Rainbow shrugged. “Just listen to what I say. Others can have their mindless fun, but I know for sure – I don’t trust the human. I can’t convince my friends if they don’t want to know anything – they are adults and capable to take care of themselves anyway. But you fillies are a different story.”

She then spread the sleeping bag in complete silence, seemingly thinking of better words to express her idea.

“Are you sure, Rainbow?” whispered Scootaloo, pulling her wing to show that she was still listening. “He doesn’t seem dangerous and… girls seem to not share your suspicion.”

“Well, I can’t be sure entirely,” unwillingly confessed Rainbow Dash. “But look what we have. As far as I know, Applejack is not ready to embrace… Alex wholeheartedly. Then Rarity… well, she evidently has a crush on him… despite how mad that sounds.”

Scootaloo put both hooves at her mouth at that claim, her cheeks become pink, but the sly sparkles in her eyes told clearly that it would be the topic to discuss with the girls.

“Fluttershy can deal with any wild beast, as long as there is not an army of them, so she obviously doesn’t take my concerns seriously… unfortunately.”

“Twilight. Huh, that’s the same Twilight we’re talking about, right? As long as she can study something, be it an alien or a crocodile, she feels awesome,” Rainbow smirked. “And Pinkie… is simply too kind and open towards anypony. She thinks nicely about others regardless of their image and ready to make friends with everypony.”

“And you, girls, put curiosity before common sense, no offence,” Rainbow turned towards Scootaloo. “Which effectively leaves only two of us with an adequate and careful approach.”

“So, as I said, it’s up to you. But I would be happy if you be careful yourself around that human… and hold your friends from the thoughtless deeds if necessary.”

“Yeah, this is me talking,” Rainbow granted surprised filly a smile. “Sometimes the risk must be weighted twice… otherwise you won’t be able to admire the result.”

7. Royally locked

Author's Note

Well, it's about time to add some action and weirdness :trollestia:

7. Royally locked

Only three days passed, but Alex was about to run the walls. That newly enforced secrecy was severely getting onto his nerves. He fixed what could be fixed around the house already, except those pinholes in the front door. Without some filler and paint that couldn’t be done properly, and Fluttershy had yet no time to visit the store. Obviously, Alex couldn’t help that, so each time he passed the door, its image made him sorry for that debacle, they made with Angel. Otherwise, Alex grabbed for every job, which could make the time fly faster and his uneasy thoughts release him for a while… or at least be muffled by the task, he was to accomplish.

He thought about his oncoming appointment with princess Celestia countless times, but the more he thought it through, the more he was convinced that there were too many unknowns in that equation yet. For all he knew, he decided to tell the truth where possible and… improvise according to the circumstances.

“Not the best plan of all I ever had, eh?” Alex told himself. “But screw it, I don’t have many variants to choose from.”

Now he was watching how Harry helped Fluttershy fix the fence around her chicken coop. Alex could laugh at the absurdity of the situation… if it wasn’t happening to him. Indeed, a bear was doing something in the middle of the day openly for everypony around and he was to hide as if he was some dangerous monstrosity. For all what he knew, Alex could think that a freely communicating, helping and generally socialized bear was something way weirder, than a human. Alex was ready to bang his head against the wall in despair. Nevertheless, he patiently waited, until Fluttershy finished her repairs.

The opened bedroom window let fresh air and all kinds of spring scents inside, yet Alex was to place the armchair, he was sitting in with the book, the way, so nopony could notice him from outside. Fluttershy trotted through the room and planted a quick kiss on his cheek while heading to the bathroom. She closed the door already, so couldn’t hear the deep sigh Alex produced.

He sat and listened to the pouring water, catching himself on reading the same sentence again and again, as if being unable to concentrate and grasp the sense. Finally, she came out wrapped in a towel. Alex smiled inwardly, normally ponies did without clothes, so this girly gesture of recognition of his presence was so funny yet unspeakably cute. Then he remembered, what he was going to talk about, and his smile faded.

“Listen, Shy, we need to talk,” Alex closed and put away the book.

Fluttershy took a hairbrush and sat on the bed, bringing her mane to order. After a minute of silence, during which she looked at the floor thinking about something, she finally raised her eyes at him.

“I guess I know… w-what you are going to talk about, Alex,” she almost whispered, apparently this topic was sensitive for her as well. “About recent… annoying secrecy… enforcement, right?”

“Yeah,” Alex’s eyes went downcast.

‘I know there is no her fault here,’ he thought. ‘And it’s so damn easy to offend her by making it sound as if she is the one locking me out… But it can’t last this way any longer.’

“Look, Fluttershy,” Alex saw that she apparently noticed that he called her full name instead of becoming usual “Shy”. “There is an open window here, but I still feel, like I’m not able to breathe normally. I’m surely happy that I’m not claustrophobic as well.”

He noticed, her eyes filled with regret and sympathy, her ears sadly flattened, and mentally scolded himself for being the reason for that.

“I made all the way from the Old Castle through the forest on foot and nopony managed to notice me, yet now I can’t even walk to the edge of that forest, in the field, breathe, sit on the grass, do nothing useful, yet know that I can do anything,” said Alex with a sigh. “But that’s only half of a problem. Then I see you do something outside and obviously need help and I’m forced to sit here with a book. That makes me feel like shit, Shy…”

“But…”

“I know that’s not your idea, and you’re not happy about it either,” Alex leaned forward running both hands through his hair and resting his elbows on the knees. Then he straightened fast. “And I know that is done to prevent certain problems with town folk and… with Celestia. Yet one thing is when you have nowhere to go, but to be unable to go anywhere is a totally different story. When you’re not at home, I have nopony to talk to. But I obviously can’t demand all of your time. I have nothing to do mostly, I can’t work, I can’t entertain myself, because I’m nervously itching in the perspective of the royal audience.”

“Merlin’s pants, I can’t even fix those damned holes on the door. Look, Shy, I really sorry, we behaved like a couple of asses… But trying to do this will mean loading you with another task of going to the town and getting necessary stuff because I again can’t do that myself.”

“But you are already doing much,” Fluttershy was surprised by him not taking into account, what she considered obvious. “My house was never in such an order, you fixed everything that needed fixing…”

“Yup,” Alex smirked sadly. “That’s the problem – everything. Now to occupy myself I need to… break something first.”

“… and you freed me practically from all the work about the house.”

“But I’m using all of that. I’m living on your expense, Shy, don’t deny that. So that doesn’t count, I simply must do something for you,” said Alex. “But the problem is, it seems I can feel the walls surrounding me. And I don’t even know what Celestia has for me in the nearest future.”

“But what can we do?” Fluttershy rubbed her forehead. “Surely my cottage is not the most popular showplace in Ponyville, but there are accidental ponies around every day. And pegasi can notice you from a greater distance.”

“I’ve thought about that already,” Alex left his armchair and kneeled on the floor next to Fluttershy. “I could go outside and around the house at least after sunset. As you say, ponies don’t normally leave the town when darkness falls. Please, Shy, I really need this… I have a feeling I won’t get even that in a few days.”

He hugged her knees and put his chin on them.

“Oh, Alex…” Fluttershy stared into his eyes feeling that she couldn’t deny him that request. She stroked his hair when Alex put his head on her knees. “I think it won’t do any harm if you do that. But, please, please-please, make sure that nopony sees you.”

Alex barely waited till evening, it was his only chance to get outside, before… Well, he could only imagine what Celestia could do, he was still an alien, and the reasons and details of his arrival to Equestria were known to nopony. The worst thing was that he didn’t know the reasons himself yet.

Fluttershy got too tired from the daily duties to make him a company. She curled on the bed, dragged the covers onto her and reminded him in a sleepy voice to stay unnoticed.

Alex almost flew downstairs and slid through the front door trying to make no noise. He didn’t even put on his boots. Blessed was the land of Equestria, where you can stomp only on an accidental stone or a thorn, when going out barefoot, not on some bucking glass, a piece of plastic or a nail.

He left the lights in the living room not to bump on things on return and was to stand outside for a while, letting his eyes accommodate. The night was taking its rights, but it wasn’t pitch black, yet the moon was only rising above the forest behind the meadow.

Alex walked a couple of circles around the house, simply trying to have as much as he could of the feeling of grass on his feet. He held himself hard from jumping and goofing around like a foal. Instead of that he sat under the big tree and leaned on its trunk. The bedroom window above was now dark, as Fluttershy fell asleep almost immediately after getting to the bed.

Alex stroked the grass near him and listened to the nightingale singing in the crown of that tree or maybe the nearest one. With a smile, he thought that sometimes it was unimaginably easy to make someone happy. When the moon raised and added some light to the scene, Alex closed his eyes and enjoyed the air filled with the scent of fresh leaves and grass and…

Lavender…

At first, Alex didn’t pay that much attention, as the meadow behind the fence could easily have any type of flowers growing, but then a feeling of some presence made him unconsciously strain. Alex slowly opened his eyes to see the full moon above the landscape in front of him. On the edge of his sight, he noticed something dark and flowing, something with sparkles.

He was going to turn and look over his shoulder when his heart skipped a beat. Alex felt some faint lavender breeze on his neck and soft silky lips quietly approached his ear. Then…

“Boo!..”

His body certainly was going to get up in one wild flurry, when this was breathed out into his ear, but… his feet decided otherwise and after slipping on the grass Alex fell flat on his back, instead of standing up ready to face the possible threat. When he hit the ground, the air left his lungs with a whimper, Alex could never produce willingly.

When the world around stopped spinning and he regained clear vision, Alex found himself lying flat at the hooves of a night-coloured alicorn, looking at her upside down. The beauty blinked, batting her long eyelashes, and the smile made her cheeks funnily round. Evidently, that was the same pony… person he already saw in his dreams, visions, or whatever they were.

“We thought, thou wast braver, Alex,” she teased with a tiny giggle. Then she leaned lower, almost touching his forehead with her nose and trying to make her big eyes look scary. Her mane, which looked like a long sheet of the starry sky, got into his open mouth and she removed it graciously. “Our apologies!”

“If this is your usual greeting gesture,” Alex gulped. “Then you shouldn’t be surprised, seeing others in a similar pose as me, perhaps. Merlin’s pants, my heart almost jumped out of my chest,” he took a breath.

“Who’s that… Merlin?” she seemed to be genuinely puzzled. “And what his pants are supposed to do with everything? Thou call for those frequently.”

“Just a figure of speech,” Alex made notice of her old-fashioned talk, wondering if he would be always able to comprehend what she said. “It is a legend in my world… That there was… supposedly… a powerful mage. Errmmm… like your Starswirl. But I guess it’s just a legend, people don’t have magic… unfortunately.”

“As for his pants, well, as I said – a figure of speech. They aren’t worse than any other part of him, so…” he stumbled seeing her laughing quietly. Alex gritted his teeth. “Look, you’ve caught me off guard indeed. Do you always sneak on pe… ponies like that?”

“Thou art not a pony!” duly noticed the night-coloured joker. Then she added with a sly smile. “Besides, we bethink it’s an act of fair revenge for thy sneaking in our room and making us equally startled, correct?”

“So it was real?” Alex realized that he was still laying on his back looking up at her. Not the best way to talk to the lady. He then turned and raised on his feet, shaking the blades of grass off his clothes.

“Apparently ‘t was as real as affecting reality through somepony’s dreams can be!” alicorn nodded, wiggling her wings slightly. She was tall, much taller than common ponies and even perhaps a couple of inches taller than him, as Alex noticed now when he saw her close.

“I couldn’t remember that I was capable of that, just as well as of magic for example,” retorted Alex.

“Wast ‘t ere thou became magic resistant, fast regenerating and so on, or henceforth?” she looked him directly in the eyes.

Alex shrugged silently.

“We guess it’s possible because we visited thee in thy dreams, thus making thee able to… reply,” she granted him with a clement smile. Then she remembered something and blushed a little. “Oh, whither are our manners? We are princess Luna, the ruler of the Night and Moon, one of the rulers of Equestria.”

“Your Royal Highness!” Alex replied with a bow. He wasn’t sure if it was yet prudent to reveal his knowledge of equestrian history. So he decided to tread lightly. “So Celestia is your sister…”

“Simply “Luna”,” the princess frowned slightly. “Thither is no need in those, especially after we… I shared dreams with thee. And, yes, Tia… Princess Celestia is mine older sister forsooth.”

Alex suddenly felt that sitting wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“Excuse me, your… OK… princess… Luna,” he lowered to the grass and leaned on the tree again. “I just feel a little weak in the legs after… well…”

“Thou didn’t seem weak in the legs at which hour thou dashed saving that little girl from the burning… how doth thou call… car, correct?” Luna raised one eyebrow.

“What? How did you…” Alex even rose a bit, then he realized. “Oh, yes… The dreams… That was a silly question.”

“Methinks I can forgive that,” she cocked her head, but her eyes were smiling. “Now… if thou puttest thyself slightly further…”

And to Alex’s utter surprise Luna sat on the grass next to him, spread her wings and… The next moment he found himself “grabbed” by her wing and snuggled to her, so he felt her soft silky coat on his cheek, her warm feathery wing covering him and her heartbeat, as he inevitably was to rest his head on her shoulder.

“Hey, I don’t bite,” she said noticing him being slightly confused by his position. “Mostly…”

“So,” she gazed down at him. “Back to mine question. Wherefore didst thou risked, while thou even wast not the reason of their calamity?”

Alex took a moment to think. Lavender filled his being, gifting him with serenity. He answered honestly.

“I don’t know. I simply was to. I just felt that I could help; she wouldn’t make it on her own.”

“Thou knowest, thou art impulsive, and act unpredictably weird oft,” Luna chuckled and Alex looked up to her to see her smiling. “But thou don’t bethink of thyself, at which hour others need thee. I guess I was not mistaken in thee, Alex.”

She moved him closer with her wings, so he was now sitting between her fore legs, leaning on her instead of the tree trunk. Luna sighed and put her chin on top of his head. In any other circumstances Alex would consider such gesture as overly patronizing to condescending, but something told him that wasn’t her case.

They sat silently for a few minutes, watching the moon and listening to the whisper of the leaves. The nightingale, first startled by the talk, started singing again. Alex thought that a few minutes more and he would fall asleep in the warm silky feathery cocoon. He raised his hand and gently touched Luna’s mane, finding it almost water-like, elusively flowing through fingers.

“Mhmmm…” Luna cooed when he ran his fingers behind her ear and down her cheek. “I can recall ‘tis touch. Although, the first time ‘t made me almost jump, at which hour I woke up.”

“Thou knowest,” she added after a while. “Thou somehow managed to change one of mine worst nightmares, at which hour thou wast… “sleepwalking”.”

Alex listened to Luna telling him about her dream, in which she always quarrelled with her sister and ended up crying in her room, and felt that his plan of discrete storytelling gave the first crack. He simply knew that despite that alicorn was Celestia’s sister, he could be sincere with Luna, just as he was with Fluttershy. Thus he finally told her about his knowledge of the world of Equestria.

To his surprise, Luna treated his theory about noosphere with even more tranquillity than Twilight.

“That’s not less possible than mine ability to affect the dreams of mine subjects, even their reality,” she nuzzled his ear. “Even thou, despite thy magic resistance, wast open for that.”

“I doubt ‘tis is harmful to any extent,” she said a moment later. “Actually I’m more interested in thee personally…”

“Me?!” Alex couldn’t hold a surprised exclamation. “You are able to get into my head, what’s interesting about me?”

“…and the reasons of thy arrival. As thou hath said, thou wast not connected with magic at any level ere, so something or somepony must hast hath felt that thou art needed hither.”

“Oh, I don’t know even a half of what I wanted to about thee yet,” Luna added in half-tone.

“But what should I tell Celestia,” Alex twitched a bit, as it was ticklish, and Luna giggled. “Everypony said and I believed it was so, that Celestia wouldn’t like perhaps that I… know too much.”

Luna took deep thought.

“Thou hast nothing to worry about, thou art not some monster. Tia tends to take some things too gravely, concerning about our subjects, but my sister won’t crucify thee for simply being an outlander. Then, of course, she will want to know everything possible about thee and thy new, as thou sayest, capabilities. So ‘t may take time forsooth.”

“Besides, thy magic resistance makes the task of returning thee home a bit complicated, if not to say next to impossible,” Luna returned her head on top of his. “As ‘tis forsooth what thou dearly wantest.”

Alex noticed a faint tint of sorrow in her voice.

“Speaking of which,” Luna remembered something. “I suppose she wanteth to take thee for… questioning tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow?!” Alex almost jumped on the spot, but he was “packed” by the princess too tightly.

“Well… Tia arrived late this evening, and I hath heard, she gave some orders regarding thee, so I believe – ay.”

“So I guess thou needest to catch some sleep and give thy mind some rest ere thou art to answer questions,” Luna released him suddenly and the night air seemed chilling to Alex after her embrace. They both raised and Alex turned to the princess.

“Don’t wake thy friend,” with a strange smile Luna waved her hoof pointing at the bedroom window above. “If ’t be true I am right, ‘t will be a sad morning for the girl.”

“Can I ask you?” Alex was seemingly bothered by some question. “Are you in my dream… or this is real?”

“We both were in each other’s dreams already,” Luna snickered. “And ‘t turned out to be real enough.”

“But thou can try to find out arrant,” she advised him… or teased again. “Close thy eyes, then wake up!”

Alex looked fixedly at her still smiling, then cautiously closed his eyes. He suspected some trick from that unpredictable alicorn.

Next thing he felt, were soft lavender flavoured lips on his cheek… and then the touch vanished. As well as the princess herself.

“It must be a dream,” stated Alex opening his eyes, yet lavender said otherwise.

He ran his palm through the hair. Something was there, something which wasn’t him. With a puzzled look on his face, Alex took out and examined a large dark-blue feather.

He extinguished the lights in the living room, waited till the eyes accommodated to darkness and quietly got upstairs. The bedroom was lit by moonlight, so Alex could move freely without any fear to kick something down.

Alex took off his clothes and slightly lifted the covers on the bed, sliding under them. The warm bed seemed almost blessing after the cool air outside, it was very late already. He was trying to nest himself comfortably when Fluttershy sighed and turned to him. She then slid closer, reaching him with her fore legs, and wrapped them tightly around Alex, snuggling her entire warm body into him.

“Mmmm, you smell of lavender, Alex,” she cooed almost through sleep, nuzzling his cheek. “I don’t remember… lavender growing… my house.”

And before Alex could say or do anything, he felt her tender slightly opened lips over his own. With a light heart and full passion, he answered her kiss and Fluttershy let out a quiet moan, when he squeezed her gently but strongly, running his fingers through her marvellous hair.

“What are you doing, Alex?” he thought, feeling as lavender-field flowers-honey mix enveloped them both, while they shared their unity for several minutes. “If you need to leave forever… That will… And Luna…”

His thoughts dissolved, as they made their breaths single, emerging for air then diving back to the sweet pleasure of kissing. Those were not mad tongue dances, French kissing or something alike, yet the soft silky touch, Fluttershy put all her feelings and hopes of last days in, made Alex’s head spin. He couldn’t resist the impulse and sincerely returned the treatment, despite the faint painful thought of possible disaster, if he was to leave her someday.

After a while Fluttershy calmed down, her heart wasn’t now jumping out of her chest, as he could feel, but she tightened her grip nevertheless. Alex held her breathing evenly and snuggling into his chest, and slowly floated to the land of dreams.

In the morning Fluttershy kissed him lightly, as usual before heading to the bathroom he just left. She didn’t remember the midnight kiss or, perhaps, thought that it was a part of her dreams. Thus she didn’t blush more than usual when he returned the gesture, kissing her on the nose.

The knock at the front door sounded like a strike of fate. Leaving her breakfast Fluttershy headed to answer. Alex was able to see only her from his place, but not those behind the door. Yet by the look of Fluttershy’s ears flattening and her telling something barely audibly to somepony outside, he realized, that Luna was right and problems were only starting.

Then Fluttershy stepped aside and Alex saw Twilight entering the house. He was about to relax, but the next phrase confirmed his worst suspicions.

“Morning, Alex!” Twilight nodded slightly. Alex noticed that she wasn’t happy about the ongoing situation. “I’m afraid, it’s time to go… Princess Celestia wants to see you and she sent guards and the transport.”

“I-I know… about the secrecy… and…” Fluttershy said quietly with tears gathering in her eyes. “B-but… I-I thought… can I?..”

“Sorry, dear,” Twilight turned to her friend. “I asked the princess, but she was firm about that – the audience will be confidential. Only I can attend…”

“B-but am I not the closest witness?” Fluttershy asked a bit louder and a lot more confident, making both Alex and Twilight share a surprised look.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy, I’m very sorry,” repeated Twilight. “I’ll try to talk you through later, but now we really need to go.”

“Transport?” Alex remembered her words meanwhile. “What transport?”

“Balloon,” simply dropped Twilight over the shoulder, while hugging Fluttershy, who was sobbing on her chest.

Alex’s eyes dilated with terror.

“No bucking way you mean, we will be flying… to Canterlot!” Alex wished that he passed the breakfast today. “No. Bucking. Way! I probably mentioned that I’m acrophobic. Nothing to be proud about, but c’est la vie… And that means I’m bucking afraid of heights, Twilight! Flights hardly excluded.”

“Alex!” Twilight released Fluttershy and tried to reason. “We have no other way. Magic can’t be cast on you, especially teleportation spells, who knows what this may result in. And the train is not an option.”

“What, in the name of Equestria?” she turned to the door, attracted by some noise from outside.

Alex stepped closer and saw two guards, preventing Rarity from coming inside.

“Hi, Alex! Hi, girls,” she waved her hoof. “Those brutes tried to hold me. Hooves back! I’m not breaking through!”

“Twilight, darling, could you please tell those… diamond dogs to keep their paws away?” Rarity pleaded while both guards snorted angrily. “I came to bring Alex more clothes, as I just finished with them. And they were not letting me in.”

One of the guards grabbed her saddle bag and quickly searched through it. Another muttered:

“No worries, he will be given all he needs.”

“Your Highness!” reported the Pegasus, which checked the bag. “Nothing dangerous, only those rags!”

“RAGS!!!” Rarity seemed to become even taller. Alex thought that she would kick the guard’s ass in a totally non-lady-like manner in a moment, but Twilight quickly approached her and whispered something in her ear.

Rarity huffed but calmed down a bit. Alex turned to Fluttershy in such a way he shielded her from others’ eyes with his back. He kneeled then to her eye level and stroked her mane. She looked into his eyes and tears, filling her turquoise lakes, made his heart drop like a rock. Alex leaned to her and kissed her shortly, but exactly the same way as last night.

“I’ll return. I’ll return, even if Celestia has a way to send me back. I won’t leave like that…” promised he, not giving her time to wonder about his kiss.

Fluttershy sniffed and Alex spotted two tears falling on the floor. He hugged her, then quickly got up, took Rarity’s saddle bag with clothes and nodded to Twilight, showing he is ready. Almost…

Rarity raised on her hind legs and squeezed Alex with her fore legs, giving him that funny and cute puppy look again. Alex stroked her mane and kissed on her nose.

“Thanks for all, Rarity! I still hope, I can repay you somehow…”

Walking on the grass Alex looked back to see Rarity comforting Fluttershy, who was crying in the doorway of her cottage. The guards headed to lilac and pink striped menace and Alex felt as his confidence, if there was any in the first place, melted with each step closer to the balloon. When he approached and put his hand on the edge of the gondola, his entire self was literally shaking and his pupils narrowed to pinprick size. Alex could hear the noise of blood in his ears, he was almost fainting. As embarrassing as it was, but he could do nothing about that.

“I just can’t…” he whispered in Twilight’s ear. “Call me a bucking coward, but I’m always dying… a little inside when I face heights.”

“Close your eyes, Alex,” Twilight’s voice was sympathetic yet firm. “Now breathe… Do you still have the bag with your clothes?”

“What? Here it is,” Alex held up the bag, with his eyes still closed, releasing the edge of the gondola.

With a gentle nudge Twilight quickly pushed him inside, she and both guards followed. She closed the door, while Alex simply curled in the corner, sitting on the floor and holding his knees. He opened his eyes and looked up to Twilight. Perhaps he wanted to perform a flaming gaze of righteous wrath, but in the given circumstances he could only give out a rabbit facing a constrictor look.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” Twilight leaned to him and patted his shoulder; Alex twitched like from electric shock. “At least you’re in. Don’t stand up and look outside and you’ll be OK.”

The dreading balloon raised in the air meanwhile. Alex was unsure if it was the gondola waving naturally or the whole world around him dancing some mad dance and noticeably darkening, as his fear attack wasn’t going to release him.

“Look,” Twilight smiled. “Even if anything happens, we three can catch you easily.”

She couldn’t say though, if Alex understood her properly, or if that made his condition a tiny bit better. All the sounds reached Alex’s hearing muffled, like through the water. He almost turned to stone in his corner. Though when Twilight leaned over the edge to check where they were, he barely held himself from shrieking madly and grabbing her leg to drag her back to the bottom of the gondola.

“Did you always suffer from that?” Twilight asked and after a whole minute, Alex nodded, almost convulsively.

“We could try to do something with your phobia later, Alex,” she was thinking aloud. “When you are done with that investigation. I could try to help you with some psychology techniques I’ve read about.”

According to Alex’s expression, he was hardly sharing her enthusiasm, evidently, everything he could think about at that moment was the plain ground only. Twilight sighed and looked into the sky when she heard some noise from him. She turned to Alex and finally heard that he whispered, almost breathed out like an old scratched vinyl.

“I… I sincerely hope this is my first and last flight ever. Cough…”

Twilight gave Alex a few minutes to recompose when they landed directly near the Castle entrance and Alex crawled out of the gondola. He realized how pathetic he looked at the moment, but was incapable to overpower himself about that. Both guards snickered quietly behind their backs. Naturally, pegasi couldn’t imagine, how somepony could be afraid of height and flights, when one didn’t need to fly on his own even, being carried by some transport. But they shut up and straightened when Twilight gazed at them angrily over her shoulder.

Leaning on her Alex walked a few yards before his body realized, he wasn’t in the air, and started acting normally again. Fortunately, the appointment was planned on the first floor and Alex felt better after getting up the stairs with Twilight.

They walked through a long corridor with guards, standing in pairs in each arc, and approached the large double doors leading to the hall. Alex thought that if Celestia wanted to intimidate him, then the flight itself was more than enough, but evidently, that was just a part of the protocol, which she chose to stick to in letter in his case. Wondering what this could speak about, Alex waited behind the doors, while Twilight entered the hall.

After a few minutes, the guards opened the doors for him and Alex stepped into the new room on the red carpet, running from the doors to the other side of the hall with a familiar elevation. The two thrones were occupied by Celestia and Luna, Twilight sat slightly aside to the left of them.

“You may approach, Alex the human!” Celestia’s voice rolled across the hall and Alex wondered, how it could be that soft and loud at once.

He had no idea how to greet the princesses, as naturally Alex never met one before officially. He contacted Twilight and Luna on friendly terms only. So he decided to follow the examples, he saw in historical movies, just in case. When Alex approached the elevation, he noticed that Twilight was looking at him slightly nervous, like a teacher could look at her student facing the final exam. Luna was calm and distant, yet he noticed her eyes smiling. She winked barely noticeably and Alex felt that it wasn’t going to be that bad perhaps. He didn’t look at Celestia yet but decided to lower to one knee and bow, looking down instead.

“Luna, haven’t you met the human already?” snorted Celestia in half voice. “I see he prefers to stick to the old-fashioned style.”

“No, wherefore should I?” Luna was an epitome of tranquillity. “Besides, Tia, I’m not making our subjects fall flat and speaking in Royal Canterlot voice to those folk for quite a while, thou knowest.”

“Excellent! You may rise, Alex,” Celestia aimed her attention on his humble person.

Alex got up, noticing that the princess stood on her hooves as well. She went down the elevation and closer to him, making Alex realize how large Celestia was. Undoubtedly she was stunningly beautiful with her slender white-coated body, elegant posture, lush flowing pink-turquoise-green mane and tail, big bright eyes with long eyelashes. But she was noticeably bigger than her sister, let alone Twilight or any other ponies he knew. Perhaps bigger than common adult horses back on Earth. Her wings were tightly folded, but Alex imagined that while spread they appeared quite a look. And her horn was a serious weapon on its own, even not mentioning the magic.

The princess trotted around him, slowly examining from all the sides, like trying to feel, if there was something wrong or dangerous about him. Then she towered over him again. Celestia leaned closer, making her eyes look directly into Alex’s. Her older sister status was obvious, despite her beauty and grace. No subtle wrinkles in the corners of the eyes, no other stupid… “earth” stuff, she was fresh and divine, but her glance, full of experience and wisdom, and the whole expression, told Alex at once that even if she ended being on his side, she wouldn’t become a factor to easily ignore ever.

‘I have nothing to hide,’ said Alex to himself and returned the look openly and calmly, despite her eyes seemed to look through his entire soul to the bottom. ‘Well, nothing dangerous to them.’

“Hmph!” Celestia nodded to some of her thoughts with a tiny smile, which made her face brighten suddenly, and returned to her throne, where she placed herself with comfort. Alex took a breath inwardly, it seemed he made a nice impression at least visually.

“So, Alex the human,” Celestia glanced at him from above. “I want you to tell us the whole story of your arrival to Equestria. Tell, as you can remember it, but mention every detail you remember, regardless if you find it non-important.”

“If only I knew where to start…” muttered Alex to himself. He decided to tell about his work-related trip first, then going into necessary details of the sudden storm and the car crash. When he reached the thunderstorm part, princess Luna suddenly stopped him and asked.

“Art thou sure, Alex, that the storm was neither in prognosis nor had natural predictors? To put it simply, was ‘t arrant random?”

“It was random to me, Your Highness,” confirmed Alex. “There were no visible symptoms of it to start, right till it started actually.”

He noticed, how Luna shared a meaningful glance with her sister, and Celestia nodded barely visible. Puzzled, why the storm was so important to them, Alex continued his story. It took about half an hour in entirety, as he shortly mentioned all the aspects: his wandering around the old castle, his “race” with a manticore, a cockatrice incident and the rest of the trip to the point he was hit by a timberwolf at the attempt to defend Fluttershy.

When he mentioned manticore Twilight gasped and put the hoof over her mouth, he didn’t tell her about dangerous encounters on his road to Ponyville, as he considered them to be of low importance at that moment. At the mentioning of the cockatrice, Twilight became very pale and Alex remembered, how Fluttershy told him that her friend had a special fear for them and all the snakes in general. Both other princesses were surprised a bit by that part of the story, but apparently, the mere fact of his magic resistance explained it. Luna was visibly smiling at the whole image of cockatrice defeat, Celestia though became concerned.

“… and since that point, I can hardly remember, what happened to me, till the moment I woke up in the morning in Fluttershy’s cottage… five days ago,” Alex finished with the moment when he lost his consciousness after being wounded.

“Fine!” Celestia’s eyes still examined him. “Since then we were fully informed about everything…”

Alex felt that it was where the uneasy part started. And indeed…

“… but I have a few questions. And I expect you to answer them with maximum sincerity, Alex.”

“Yes, your highness.”

“First of all, what was your vocation, work… special talent in your home world?” Celestia watched him very carefully, perhaps waiting for any signs of hesitation or evasion.

“Work, Princess, people don’t have special talents as ponies do. We learn something, but we always can learn something else,” elaborated Alex. “Certainly, some are more capable of some certain things, but in general we are not destined for some exact mastery.”

“Answering your question, Princess, my work was related to technology. The part of it I haven’t seen in your domain developed much. As I’ve already told Twilight… Excuse me… Princess Twilight Sparkle, my work was in building “thinking machines” and groups of them for solving various tasks, which demanded for vast amounts of calculations in very short periods of time.”

Alex noticed that Luna was all ears, listening maybe even more carefully than Celestia… but for different reasons, as he supposed.

“So you’re sure that there was absolutely no connection with magic, any form of it, in your everyday life, right?”

“Absolutely, Princess!” Alex allowed himself a tiny smile. “As far as I know, we, I mean people in general, don’t have any magic at all. And I mean entirely, in the whole world around us… otherwise, someone would have spotted, I suppose. So I’m for sure totally… magic free.”

“So who is that “Merlin” then, you mention that often, his pants included?” Celestia leaned forward.

“Oh,” Alex could probably laugh if the situation wasn’t apparently more than serious. “That’s purely a figure of speech. You see, your highness, people have legends and myths… as well as your subjects, I suppose. So Merlin is a legendary wizard, who supposedly lived long ago. That’s all…”

“Our legends described, what had its place in reality…” Luna was likely thinking aloud, but she actually said that. Celestia nodded and turned to Alex, as if she was asking him an unvoiced, but not less delicate because of that, question.

“Our though are the different story,” Alex sighed. “I never came across any evidence that something described in them ever took place actually. Unfortunately…”

“Why so?” Celestia raised her eyebrow.

“Your Highness, I personally would never object, if our world contained a tiny bit of magic,” elaborated Alex. “Perhaps life would have been less… boring.”

He noticed, how warm became Luna’s glance at that moment, and felt slightly more confident.

“You think so?” Celestia seemed to tick some checkbox in her inner plan of Alex’s personality. “Well, “Merlin” part is a pure coincidence then…”

“Yes, princess… Unlike Starswirl…”

Alex realized that it was mentioned too roughly. He was going to touch that subject (of him knowing more about Equestria, than one can learn in a few days, sitting in one house) anyway. Moreover, he was to do that. But this phrase seemed to give an effect of a bomb triggered.

Of course, Celestia didn’t show the whole tension which built up inside her, but Alex saw how her eyes narrowed and fixated on him in a fraction of a second. Luna was simply shocked, sitting with a slightly open mouth, apparently she considered that as another of his impulsive deeds. Alex couldn’t help noticing that she was very pretty anyway. He could almost feel also, how Twilight stiffened in her armchair. That was the point of his story, they both, him and Twilight, were worried about most of all.

“I need to explain one thing, your highness,” Alex tried to speak in a calm voice, suppressing all the symptoms of stress, he could. “And that was a great shock for me as well, perhaps even more of a shock for me than it is for you…”

In the next few minutes, Alex described the definition of the noosphere and his self-elaborated concept of its impact on knowledge, events and even worlds.

“This is the only possible and adequate reason of events, which happened to me, and my knowledge therefore, I can find,” concluded Alex.

He was unsure if Celestia accepted the concept as at least possible, but definitely, if she was suspicious of him, that only added some oil to the fire.

“And how much dost thou know?” asked Luna, and Alex thought that she was trying to help him get out of the trap, he put himself in.

“Not very much, your highness,” Alex turned slightly, showing he was addressing the one, who asked him that question.

‘Actually, Fluttershy has told me much more interesting things to think about,’ he said to himself, but obviously didn’t voice it.

“I know about Nightmare moon, about her attempt to return, about the girls… defeating her and returning your Highness,” he bowed to Luna, noticing that her face turned sad at the mentioning of Nightmare Moon. “I know about Elements of Harmony existence, but don’t know, what they are exactly, I know some names, including mentioned Starswirl and Spike, whom I haven’t yet seen personally. So only what I… well… saw in the movie,” shrugged Alex.

“Oh, and I simply remembered the path girls followed to the Old Castle, this helped me get directly to Ponyville fast enough,” he turned to Celestia.

“Fine!” said Celestia, more to herself than to anypony else, after a few moments of deep thinking. “We’ll see then…” She raised her eyes on Alex.

“At which moment did you realize exactly, where you got?”

“Umm… In the throne room on the ground floor, I guess,” remembered Alex. “I saw pony armour and statues before but didn’t make a direct connection at that moment. But when I saw your regal symbol, Your Highness… yours and Princess’ Luna, I thought, I was about to get insane for a short moment. That moment exactly I realized, I was transferred to Equestria.”

“Speaking of symbols,” Luna entered the discussion again. “Thou came to Ponyville wrapped in mine regal tapestry. What can thou tell us about that?”

“Your Highness,” Alex became confused. “I was almost naked…”

Both princesses downcasted, the pink tint was more visible on Celestia’s white coat than on Luna’s cheeks with her night colours.

“…when I found myself in the castle tower, so I started freezing eventually. Your tapestry was torn from the wall in the throne room and it was the only intact piece of warm and comfortable cloth, I could find throughout the castle. So I wrapped myself in and fell asleep. If I may add, I tried to keep the banner as safe as I could during my trip to Ponyville.”

With great relief, Alex saw Luna smiling. Celestia still had her questions.

“Did you spend the whole night in the Old Castle, Alex?”

“Yes, princess. After I solved my freezing problem, I felt sleepy, besides the realization was too striking and deprived me of remaining strength, so I… got onto a throne… and passed out almost immediately till the morning, when sunlight woke me up.”

“Wh…”

“Your sister’s throne, Your Highness, considering the placement of the tapestries,” Alex predicted the next question and Celestia’s eyes dilated in surprise, while Twilight shrunk in her seat from the inconceivable image – a commoner sleeping on the princess’ throne.

Alex threw a quick glance at Luna to see her eyes warmed and a strange expression appeared on her face. Celestia huffed disapprovingly but commented nothing. Instead of that, she continued after a second.

“Have you noticed something unusual about yourself, since you got to Equestria? Were you always that fast regenerating? As far as I know, your wound was serious enough, yet it took you three-four days to recover. Show your wound… please.”

With a frown and a sigh Alex took off the shirt and turned his right side to the observers, raising his arm. There was a visible scar yet, but considering that only a week passed since there was an open wound, the result was impressive indeed. Alex slid the shirt back, noticing that at least one of the princesses examined him too fixedly.

“I noticed and I’ve been told,” he forcedly confessed. “No, people never regenerate that fast normally, neither they are magic resistant or… other stuff I was said I was capable of. I never experienced that, when I was at home, I mean faster regeneration, as we don’t have magic. So I can only suppose that has something to do with my transfer itself…”

“Your Highness, Princess Celestia,” Twilight finally said something. She thought that it was time to slightly shift the direction of the conversation and lessen the stress, though she wasn’t sure that she was going to suggest the proper specialist for that.

“Yes, Twilight?” Celestia looked at her bright student.

“I thought that we could use an opinion extra about Alex’s magic resistance,” quietly suggested Twilight. “I mean…”

Celestia rolled her eyes. She knew that it was almost inevitable, yet wanted to believe they could manage without…

“Discord…” called Twilight.

With a loud click, dragonequus appeared in the hall. He sported glasses, an apron, a cooking spatula and held a cookbook in one of his different-calibre paws.

“Twilight,” grumpily started Discord. “How offhandedly of you to drag me here like that. I was just making myself breakfast. I guess that last pancake goes to Tartarus…” he pouted.

“Oh, Celly, Luna, you’re here as well,” he added in a second, pretending that he just noticed the princesses and was overly surprised by that. “And our young guest, he-he,” he looked at Alex over the shoulder.

“Why don’t you ever stop your clownery, Discord?” Celestia was obviously not happy about being called “Celly” as well as to see Discord generally. “Can you be serious just as an exclusion?”

“I’m always serious, Celly,” Discord ignored her frown completely. “That’s just another degree of “serious” than others accept.”

Luna quietly snorted. Alex looked at that newcomer with wide-open eyes. He didn’t see Discord in person, yet heard about him. Of course, that mix of different species’ traits in one creature could appear shocking, but Alex remembered that he decided to not get surprised somewhere in the Old Castle already.

“Hmpf…” Celestia wasn’t the one to be easily distracted. “Twilight thinks that you can add something valuable to our understanding of the human’s magic resistance problem.”

“Problem?” muttered Discord barely audibly. “For whom is it a problem?”

“Yeah,” he cocked his head, but the sly sparkles danced in his eyes. “I had a chance to see our guest… Alex… right?.. a bit earlier.”

Alex thought that Discord had a special entertainment of teasing Celestia whenever possible. He wasn’t sure if this type of “advocate” could make his case easier.

Meanwhile, the dragonequus continued.

“Well, I doubt you want to listen to the whole boring chain of my assumptions, Celly. So I limit my testing of your patience to the conclusions only.”

“So… Alex is indeed magic resistant, thus any magic applied to him directly does nothing to him… Oh, I’m sorry, better say it does nothing planned to him, as I’m sure there is some magical impact anyway, but the caster doesn’t decide,” he got silent, giving others time to catch the idea.

“Doth thou mean, that something… still decides?” Luna broke the silence.

“In a way,” nodded Discord. “You see, if you apply a spell, for example, a healing one, on Alex, you won’t get his wounds immediately healing as you want, but instead of that the magic is used somehow to change him, giving him unpredictable abilities.”

“Are you going to say,” gasped Twilight. “That my healing spell attempt caused his regeneration boost practically?”

“Perhaps,” Discord scratched the back of his head. “But your spell was hardly the first magic impact he experienced. I doubt he travelled to Equestria on foot. Anyway, that drags us away from the main direction…”

“In addition to that,” Discord corrected his glasses, folded his fore paws and took the mentor’s tone, completely forgetting that the apron and the spatula brought an extremely comic look to that. “The human is able to drain the magic force from the active caster until the connection is broken somehow.”

“Which instantly makes him dangerous,” Celestia wasn’t going to give up her positions easily.

“Not more than a fork, unless you stick it into your muzzle,” retorted Discord, looking fixedly at the princess of the Sun.

“Besides, he is completely unable to cast magic himself, thus corresponding to common human abilities, but…”

“But?” Celestia raised her eyebrow.

“This is purely my assumption,” Discord waved his fore paw. “But I think that every purely negative… It is when you want to harm Alex,” he winked. “Every purely negative spell is reflected and turned to the caster, but in the most unpredictable way, so I doubt he is doing it consciously as well.”

And before anypony could say a word, Discord suggested enthusiastically.

“If you don’t mind, I could conduct an experiment… to show you clearly, so to speak.”

“Discord!” Celestia raised her voice. “No jokes, do you understand?”

“Oh, drop it, Celly. If anypony is risking here, it’s me,” falsely pouted Discord.

“So…” he then turned to Alex, scratching his chin.

Alex was going to say that he was exactly the one, whom they forgot to ask, and that he wasn’t ready for the… experiments, when Discord clicked his long fingers.

To Alex’s relief nothing happened to him in the next moment, but… a giant frying pan appeared out of the thin air and smacked the place, exactly where Discord… was a fraction of second before. He teleported right in time to avoid the hit and now appeared a few feet aside. Obviously, he was ready to some reaction alike, otherwise, he could hardly avoid the “attack”, so quick it was.

“You see,” Discord produced a happy smile showing his single fang. “All I was going to do, was to give Alex deer horns… temporarily of course. But… as you could see, it was interpreted as an attack and… I was lucky to avoid the repay.”

“Obviously, the reaction was completely random,” he turned to princesses, who sat like frozen, unsure if what they saw was utterly strange, mental or funny. “Well, unless it was somehow connected to my breakfast plans… but that’s too weird to assume even for me.”

“I’m not sure, what I just saw,” started Luna…

“Yet he is unable to cast magic consciously,” interrupted her Discord. He quickly reached the small table with a jar of water and glasses near Twilight, filled one glass and returned to Alex. Then he simply poured the water on Alex, making sure, what he was going to do to be obvious. “You see now? He surely could have shielded with magic, if he was able to,” concluded Discord with a sly smile.

Alex simply had no words, he gritted his teeth and popped the knuckles… But then he realized that the whole situation was utterly hilarious. Besides, it was a tie, to be frank.

“Sorry, pal, that was necessary,” said Discord and patted Alex’s back. Then he added barely audibly, so only Alex could hear. “For your own sake. Because I know Celestia…”

Alex then noticed that Luna looked at him with pure sympathy and he thought that, damn it, he could bear a couple of glasses more if necessary.

“Let me sum it up,” suddenly Discord’s tone became very serious. “I believe that there is now more in Alex than in a common human somehow. You most likely can’t do anything with him with magic, besides risking a certain reaction, if you try. You can, of course, harm him physically, despite his faster regeneration. But,” he made a meaningful pause. “Even if you destroy him physically, I believe you won’t be able to destroy everything, what… he now “contains”. And I’m not going to predict, how what remains will develop and which consequences it will bring… without its human part,” Discord narrowed his eyes, looking at Celestia specifically.

Silence crawled in the hall, while everypony digested the latest words.

“I have nothing to add, ladies and gentlecolts,” Discord theatrically spread his fore paws. “With that, if you don’t mind, I’m leaving…”

“Hey,” exclaimed Celestia. “Before you go, care to take that with you,” she pointed at the giant pan on the floor.

“Can’t help here, Celly. That’s his frying pan…” Discord pointed at Alex and vanished with a click of his fingers.

“What a…” Celestia gritted her teeth, while Luna giggled quietly. “So, can you get rid of that… Alex?”

“I admire your sense of humour, your Highness,” said Alex quite grumpily. “But as it was stated, I can’t do magic… on purpose at least. So I can’t remove it. And I want to be frank with you, I felt nothing at the moment of that… show. So I’m not entirely sure if that’s not Discord’s frying pan actually.”

Alex realized that he didn’t make it easier for himself with that confession, but he decided to play fair till the end. The idea that he somehow materialized a… well… whatever to react on somepony’s “attack” seemed completely impossible for him.

Celestia apparently wasn’t sure as well. She remembered about the “seeker” and told herself that they didn’t approach the question of Alex’s connection to them or its absence in the slightest yet. She was going to ask two last questions which were important to her.

“Were you alone while transferred to Equestria, Alex? Moreover, were you alone when you found yourself in the Old Castle? At least how did you feel?”

Alex was utterly surprised by that, how he saw it, strange question, but he answered sincerely.

“Yes, your highness. I was completely alone. I gave the girl to her mother before the car was hit by the lightning, and I found myself all alone in the tower. Neither I saw anyone… or anypony while looking for the castle exit.”

“And the last question…”

Alex felt as his heart shrank in his chest in concern that he could do better than he did already when Celestia looked him directly into the eyes and asked softly.

“What did you want most of all, the moment you realized, where you got? What do you want most of all now?”

“I wanted to get home, that is Earth, my mother world,” Alex thought that it was the easiest question for today, moreover for his entire life maybe. “Nothing changed, I still want the same!”

Celestia seemed to be satisfied at least with this answer, somehow understanding that it was completely sincere. Yet Alex spotted a faint shadow which ran over Luna’s face with his last words.

A few minutes of silence passed, Alex stood still, hoping with all his heart, he still had the chance to return. Celestia looked seemingly in the distant space, as she was making some decision.

“Alex the human,” she said finally and Alex involuntarily twitched, like electrocuted. “Here is what I decided regarding you. I suppose you understand that according to conditions given, I can’t send you to your home world right away.”

Alex considered that variant, yet having it pronounced he felt like if he was hit by that giant frying pan, which still was laying on the floor.

“I need to investigate the possible means to send you back,” continued Celestia meanwhile. “IF there are any. Besides I need to investigate your arrival more thoroughly. For the time being, you will remain in Canterlot.”

“Moreover, we need to study your nature and abilities better, to make sure neither your stay in Equestria, nor departure could harm us all,” she nailed the coffin. “So we need to take some analysis and carry a few experiments, not of the random nature Discord did. Don’t worry, Alex, nothing detrimental to your health.”

A nasty feeling of the ground parting under his feet and throwing him into abyss visited Alex. Not only he was stuck here for an undefined period, but he was going to enter another, tighter, lockout, than his previous one. And in addition to the joy, he was going to become a subject of some bucking experiments.

‘Why don’t you just kick me out of your world back? You, who are capable to move a star!’ thought Alex angrily. ‘Not making me a guinea pig for some pony science!’

‘Kick me out, of course!’ the idea came suddenly and looked so simple and elegant to Alex. ‘Unpredictability is a key to success, that’s what someone like Discord could say,’ Alex smirked maniacally.

Before anypony could say or do something, he quickly got onto the elevation with the thrones and approached Celestia, who was sitting, apparently caught off guard by his impulsive act.

Alex then leaned to the princess of the Sun, put both hands on her silky cheeks and… placed a delicate, but firm, very affectionate kiss on her soft lips. He watched how Celestia first squeezed her eyes shut in shock, then her eyes opened wide and the sparkles of wrath lighted inside, as he kept tasting her lips. Obviously, that took only a moment, so she didn’t have time to react.

Alex released the embarrassed and angry alicorn with pink spots on her cheeks and took a step back.

“Just not to the moon, please…” he muttered quite audibly. Luna, whose eyes were competing in size with sister’s, gasped or snorted, he couldn’t tell for sure. Alex knew that it was a pure gesture of despair, a lame, perhaps, attempt to go for broke.

Celestia put her hoof on his chest, it wasn’t a strike, yet the hit was quite palpable, so Alex stepped back a couple of steps, feeling a dull pain in his ribs. She was probably going to incinerate him with her wrath, not thinking about his new abilities at all, but after a moment her muscles relaxed, and the princess gave him an unexpectedly bright smile.

“Roughly working you are, Alex!” Celestia was obviously having fun of that crude manipulation attempt.

Alex sighed inwardly, but couldn’t hold his tongue this time. Celestia always played her subjects like chessmen, even including the girls sometimes. Mostly to their benefit finally, but she could definitely think about the feelings more. Alex was sure that even if somepony could reproach him for manipulating, that wasn’t her.

“Well, as I’m not going to the moon, apparently, then I could only hope that I can learn something watching your royal highness around. I’m not that confident to imagine that you could want such a student for more sophisticated mentoring.”

The larger strike was shielded down, but it seemed that this wasp sting found its aim. Alex noticed how Celestia’s lips twitched slightly, while she was keeping the face. That was a tiny bit harder though this time, and he saw that, giving out a little fake kind smile.

A gaze to the left confirmed his suspicion about the sounds, he was hearing – Luna tried her best not to burst out laughing and subtly put her hoof over her mouth, her shoulders shook quite visibly though.

The whole thing was apparently enough for Celestia.

“You know, Alex, you’re extremely lucky, there are no accidental witnesses of your… impudent act,” her eyes were glowing. “And take it as an early gift, I’m not kicking your butt. Otherwise, it stays as I stated. The guards will escort you to your… room.”

Alex bowed theatrically, backing off the elevation. A quick glance at two other princesses told him that Luna wasn’t sure to laugh at the situation or to scold him for being an unjustifiably risky hay head. Twilight seemed to be still frozen from the shock and Alex winked at her, noticing how she twitched, but at least unfroze.

Two pegasi guards escorted Alex to his new place, he preferred to refer to it like that, despite he realized that it would be rather a cell, ward or anything else of that kind. To be frank, he wasn’t restrained, tied, etc, and that gave tiny hope that he wasn’t still a prisoner, at least formally. But the circumstances said otherwise. By fact, he was a prisoner, first of all, the prisoner of his alien status here, in the land of sentient ponies.

They got to the ground floor, exited the castle and crossed the wide space between it and a white inconspicuous building within the castle complex boundaries. It wasn’t obvious if it was a prison or some scientific facility, but to Alex’s relief, it reminded him of the hospital most of all when they entered. But he told himself that it was very shortsighted to relax yet, while the guards handed… or better say hoofed him over to a unicorn stallion in a lab coat. At first, that could look like a gesture of trust, but Alex noticed that the facility was unobtrusively guarded inside, and he was sure that somepony constantly kept their eyes on it outside as well.

Another guard carefully examined his clothes and bag and concluded that there was nothing, the human could take with him not. Then his new guide brought him to a room with a single bed, chair, table, window and locker. The window was fairly small and blocked by metal bars, so it was technically a cell. Alex sighed, but at least they didn’t deprive him of fresh air and the daylight.

The small door led to the bathroom. Alex smirked, now he was given a personal comfortable prison cell, what a treat. He remembered the proverb that everything was best known in comparison and inwardly scolded himself of being unsatisfied with at least partial lockout at Fluttershy’s house. Now he was completely, royally locked.

The “medic”, as Alex called for himself the stallion who didn’t tell his name, simply stated that Alex could keep his clothes for the most of time, but when he was to be taken for “tests”, he should change to the lab clothes, he could find in the locker. Alex sadly nodded. The unicorn then left, activating some magical barrier, which blocked the room entrance, still allowing to see what happened inside.

“Great!” thought Alex, getting a dry shirt from the bag and changing. “That’s bucking great! Now I’m like a butterfly on a pin.”

He then dried his hair after Discord’s “experiment” with the towel, he could find in the small bathroom and left the wet shirt there. Completely out of ideas, Alex sat on the bed and stared at the opposite wall.

“So, what do you think about that, Luna?” asked Celestia, when after a short casual conversation Twilight left.

“About what exactly, Tia?” Luna seemed to emerge from the deep dive of thinking.

“About the whole story, from the very start.”

“Well, if thou wanteth mine insight, I must say first that it seems nearly impossible to me that Alex was connected to the… “seekers” or some other evil, at least deliberate one,” supposed Luna. “Given the circumstances in his home world, he got transferred within.”

“That’s if we take them as granted,” noted Celestia. “As we have yet nothing, except his own words.”

Luna bit her tongue, she wasn’t going to tell about the connection between their dreams yet.

“Perhaps,” she said instead. “But I thought thou hast noticed that he was sincere most likely, as thou can feel that oft.”

“That’s right,” Celestia admitted unwillingly. “My experience said he wasn’t lying in key aspects, but not all the parts of the image combine yet.”

“Didst thou think not, that might be because that gent didn’t know everything about himself yet? I doubt that travelling between realms was his common leisure.”

“Speaking of which, have you noticed the similarities between the storm he got into and the one we watched the night he arrived?” Celestia preferred to change the subject.

“I did, Tia. Methinks the lightning was just a… following effect of a magical portal. According to mine knowledge of the matter, that could happen, if thither was no exact aim of the portal at which hour it was created. So thither was no actual warp.”

“Like if somepony wasn’t sure what or whom they were going to transfer, or if they transfer those at all, until the last moment they targeted Alex,” Celestia caught what her sister was going to say. “And all this with most likely some ancient elemental magic. Considering… Earth has no magic, as he claims at least.”

“More or less so, Tia,” Luna nodded.

“Well, that tells us only one thing definitely then,” Celestia raised one hoof to her chin. “That his arrival was least accidental.”

“Somepony planned his arrival and had a certain goal to reach with the human presence,” she elaborated.

“Did you notice, how fixated was Discord of us not doing any harm to the human?” Celestia suddenly asked.

Luna shrugged.

“Perhaps, thou art overreacting, Tia. Discord might genuinely believe in what he said, that Alex was needed…”

“Which makes me ponder if Discord is exactly the one, who brought him here for some sort of his weird plan,” muttered Celestia. “I know he was reformed, but… Discord is Discord. What he sees as a joke, may appear a disaster for others.”

“Besides, I couldn’t ignore certain similarities in the human behaviour,” huffed she. “In particular his impudence and impulsiveness.”

Luna gave out a small smile.

“I haven’t seen that thou wast very much angry with Alex pulling his trick. Was it that bad?”

“Oh, come on, sister,” Celestia rolled her eyes. “I mean it wasn’t that bad, but the whole situation… Oh!..”

She blushed and looked aside, while Luna quietly snickered.

8. Important lessons

Twilight preferred to teleport to the path near Fluttershy’s cottage, instead of using the balloon or flying on her own to Ponyville. Lately, becoming an alicorn, teleportation spells became easier for her and she preferred to practice them at every occasion possible. Besides she wasn’t still an experienced flyer, like for example Rainbow Dash. And using a balloon would take too much time to get back, Twilight wasn’t going to waste any.

She then trotted to the front door and knocked. Normally she would simply transfer herself into Flutters’ living room, but today Twilight thought that a more careful approach was more than necessary.

The door opened and Twilight saw that it was Rarity, who answered. Twilight trotted inside with a thankful nod and looked for Fluttershy. Both girls were sitting in the kitchen. Rarity preferred to stay to support her best friend when Alex and Twilight left to Canterlot. When Twilight returned, they were talking. Well, Rarity was trying to talk Fluttershy out of the depressive mood, the latter entered after the human departure, while Fluttershy was simply sitting at the table, laying her head on her fore hooves.

Rarity put a kettle on the stove already and, when Twilight arrived, she was exactly going to make Fluttershy a good cup of hot, sweet, strong tea. Which she did exactly, putting the cup in front of her sad friend, who looked seemingly aeons away.

Twilight trotted past Fluttershy and quietly addressed Rarity.

“Is she like that since morning?” she asked barely audible and pointed with her eyes only to their friend.

“Yes, more or less, darling,” nodded Rarity taking the kettle with her magic again. “Tea or coffee, Twi?”

“I won’t refuse a cup of the strongest tea you can manage, Rarity,” Twilight tiredly lowered herself on the chair next to Fluttershy. Then she leaned to her and stroked her fore leg slightly.

“I tried to talk her out of that,” whispered Rarity in Twilights ear while pouring her a cup. “But to no avail. She keeps thinking that she could do better and avoid this morning stuff happening,” Rarity rolled her eyes meaningfully.

“Oh…” Twilight took thought, how to put it better. Then she turned to Fluttershy and stroked her a bit again.

“Fluttershy, dear, we couldn’t do anything else. You couldn’t do otherwise.”

“I still doubt…” said Fluttershy quietly, but she at least focused on Twilight. “I keep thinking that all should have been done differently, sorry.”

“What exactly could be done differently?” Twilight’s voice was soft, yet determined. “We followed Celestia’s orders.”

“Exactly,” muttered Fluttershy. “Perhaps we shouldn’t inform the princess about Alex in the first place…”

“I mean, what did we risk then?” added she, while Rarity simply dropped her jaw and even Twilight couldn’t suppress the surprised look, watching her usually timid friend saying that. “Everypony saw he wasn’t dangerous. No way I would believe he could do any harm to anypony. It’s like avoiding apple trees for life because you shook one once and an apple hit your head. With the exception, in that case, it didn’t do even that.”

“We-e-e-ell…” Twilight cleared her throat when she coped with the first shock. “Even if we imagine that I could give you a hoof, and you needed my help with Alex, you can’t deny…”

Fluttershy nodded. She just noticed the cup of tea in front of her and took a small sip.

“Thank you, Rarity.”

“…even if we imagine that,” continued Twilight. “And that thereafter I covered an alien, who got to Equestria nopony knew how and for which reasons, living in your house… It’s a hard task to imagine that to tell the truth. So even IF… What would you do then, Fluttershy?”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy glanced at her.

“Would you leave him here, in your house? You surely wouldn’t be able to lock him due to all the reasons, including your kindness and him being a rightful sentient being. So somepony would notice anyway sooner or later. Naturally freaked out and reported him to the authorities, which finally means Celestia. But did that in a panic instead,” Twilight took a breath. “Or even worse, after some accident with the human involving magic. Would he be treated better than now in that case?”

“Or you would heal his wounds and release him into the wild, Fluttershy,” added Twilight after a moment of silence. “But he was not an animal. Where would he go then? He had nowhere to go here in Equestria… and nopony to trust, except us… and the princesses, even if you think otherwise. I doubt it would be a way out, Fluttershy. I’m sorry, but I need to say that.”

“Twilight is right, darling,” Rarity approached Fluttershy from the other side and hugged her, quietly telling her that. “Princess Celestia tries to solve his problem at least, while we all have no means of doing that.”

“Yeah, you’re right, you both are right, girls,” sighed Fluttershy after a minute of thinking. “I’m just convinced that the things are going not… quite as they should. He didn’t deserve all that if you ask me… I mean it’s not him who sneaked to Equestria on purpose, right?”

“Besides, I… don’t want him to leave,” she whispered barely audible, but Twilight still heard her.

“That’s another story, pal,” Twilight leaned to Fluttershy and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Believe me I understand you, both you and Rarity,” she whispered in her ear. “Despite Rarity’s reaction was and still is a bit striking to me.”

“I still think that his departure was way too rushed and… well, it was harsh, Twi,” noted Rarity, making Twilight wonder, if she heard something still. “I know, you could do nothing… but, darling, it looked like you packed him and dragged away like some criminal.”

“Yeah, I know,” Twilight downcasted her eyes. “But the audience was set…”

“Look, girls,” she exclaimed. “I have other, let me say, more important concerns.”

She was granted with the attentive glance of two pairs of eyes of her friends. Fluttershy seemingly was ready for anything, supposing that the worst was already done – namely taking “her human” from her. Rarity lowered herself on the free chair, not trying to conceal her worries anymore and readying herself to another portion of bad news, and said.

“Don’t tell, he is a prisoner now literally.”

Twilight wrinkled her nose at the thought how randomly, yet correctly Rarity got the actual impact of princess’ orders on Alex’s feelings.

“Let me tell you, what I saw and heard, and then…” Twilight decided to allow herself to disagree with her mentor in regards to informing her friends. She was sure that at least Fluttershy should know. And apparently… telling Rarity would not harm either. To her honour Rarity didn’t spill a word to a random pony from her numerous customers, ever since she became involved in their human-related secrets. “… and then tell me, if my concerns are justified.”

She told the girls about the audience briefly but mentioning all the necessary details.

“Huh, Discord in his usual repertoire,” both her friends couldn’t hold a smile when Twilight mentioned the episode with the frying pan.

“But at the very least it was graphical enough, darling, wasn’t it?” Rarity still chuckled.

“And then Discord took a glass of water,” continued Twilight. “And poured it on Alex, saying that if Alex could do magic, he would certainly avoid the… shower.”

“Ugh, there is still enough of his ill manners in him,” Rarity frowned instantly, while Fluttershy said that it was a weird, but simple way to demonstrate his correctness.

To Rarity’s surprise, Twilight sided with Flutters.

“It could look like revenge indeed,” she said. “But he did it on purpose, making sure Alex knew what was going to follow. I think, he really wanted to make Celestia took Alex less seriously than she could, thus cutting him some slack.”

“I could suspect Discord doing that in hope of the opposite reaction,” Twilight added thoughtfully. “But… he looked and sounded sincerely concerned about his words getting through. Finally, he literally warned Celestia against making rushed decisions, let alone actions regarding the human.”

“I wonder,” she muttered. “If that didn’t make the princess consider exactly opposite though.”

Twilight knew about Celestia’s attitude towards Discord and her inability to change it in the nearest observable future.

“Frankly speaking,” Twilight smirked. “We three were… kinda stunned during that… experiment. And I couldn’t watch everypony, but… I noticed that princess Luna was about to smack Discord with that mammoth frying pan when he poured water on Alex, and something told me, she wouldn’t have missed, if she decided to.”

She noticed the spear gaze Fluttershy threw at her before “examining” her teacup very fixedly again.

“Ughhhh! It’s too complicated,” Twilight rubbed her temples. “As usual with Discord.”

“OK!” she shook her mane. “Let’s not twitch about things, which are out of our power to change anyway. Here we come to my main concern.”

Twilight made a pause, sipped her tea, like choosing better words, then said.

“Of course Celestia will look for a possible way to return Alex to his home world, but she is concerned about something about him. She doesn’t tell, but I see her thinking that the puzzle is not complete. She will think about Equestria and us all first.”

“They will need to make analysis and carry out some experiments,” finally Twilight reached the main point with an embarrassed look on her face. “Medical – to determine his condition and particular qualities and… I’m afraid magical – to determine the reaction and danger level of various magical impacts,” she said, like trying to justify and apologize Celestia’s decision. “That’s inevitable if she wants to send him back.”

“I can imagine…” huffed both Fluttershy and Rarity in one voice.

“Exactly,” Twilight’s ears flattened. “This won’t rub Alex well.”

“Especially the experiments involving actual unicorns,” she added. “Yet I know that there will be some. And according to what I know about him by simply watching him, listening to you, Fluttershy, and… well… I’m genuinely afraid of him caving in at some point. He is too independent, besides if somepony else suffers… just for the sake of proving something... I truly don’t want this to end with the psychotic human.”

“Oh, dear!” Rarity put a hoof over her mouth and her pupils became pinprick.

“What have we done?” Fluttershy hid her face.

After a short while Twilight told that she had things to attend to and headed home. The girls followed her to the front door.

“Rarity, won’t you m-mind to stay for a while longer,” asked Fluttershy. “I-if that’s not very harmful… for your work. I-I mean… please. I’m not feeling that I can take it alone…”

“Well, of course, darling,” Rarity hugged her. “I think my customers can wait a day when my best friend needs support. Or two days… if necessary.”

“Do you think, Applejack can take Sweetie Belle for a day, Twilight?” she asked. “I suppose she won’t find us an entertaining company if I call her here; besides, Flutters needs a calm evening, which is hardly achievable with my sister.”

“Don’t worry, Rarity,” Twilight smiled kindly. “I’ll gladly spend an evening with her myself. Besides, it would be too much of Cutie Mark Crusaders for Applejack if we bring the girls together for a whole day.”

Rarity nodded gratefully and Twilight turned to the door.

“Oh, Celestia, what is that?” Twilight stumbled, looking at the large dark blue feather on the small table near the door.

“I have no idea, Twi,” Fluttershy tiredly waved her hoof. “I found that today in our… in the bedroom. That must be Alex bringing it. I put it here not to forget to ask you if he needed it. Did he?”

“He didn’t ask…” muttered Twilight still looking on the table with dilated eyes. She knew exactly whom the feather of that size and colour might belong. “Now that’s even more interesting,” she said to herself.

The cautious knock on the door of Celestia’s study informed her about the lead scientist to come for final instructions.

“Come on in!” the princess put some papers aside.

“Your Highness!” the same stallion in a lab coat, who was guiding Alex to his “room”, entered the study and stopped on the carpet at an appropriate distance. “We have everything set up.”

“Excellent!” Celestia’s eyes shone. “What are your plans exactly?”

“I suppose we’ll start tomorrow,” the stallion put his hoof to the chin. “It will be reasonable to give him some time to accommodate to the new environment, besides if he manages to sleep well that night, the rest will dissolve the negative impression of finding out, that he will be subjected to the experiments.”

“Reasonable indeed,” nodded Celestia.

“Do you want us to add a small dose of sleeping potion to his supper, your highness?” inquired the scientist, then he explained. “We plan purely medical tests tomorrow, that dose will wind out fast, besides we know what to exclude in results. It won’t harm the tests, but may help the subject relax.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Celestia had her reasons. “We don’t know if he is able to distinguish anything of such nature. If he is not, this won’t make any vital difference, if he sleeps better. But if he is, that would be detrimental to the whole further work. I don’t want him to trust us even less than he does.”

“Hmmm… Fairly said, princess,” the scientist agreed.

“So,” he explained further. “As I said, tomorrow we’ll try to take as many analysis as possible. Purely medical ones. One-two more days, if necessary. We need to know what his body is capable of and how different it is from ours, especially considering what you’ve informed me of. If we want to transfer him or defend from him in case of an unlucky variant, we must know everything.”

“Then I plan to progress with magic tests gradually. Let’s say, we start with the simplest magical artefacts, first passive ones, and see, what reaction it causes. Then active impact and later live interaction of a different kind.”

Celestia nodded. Then she remembered what bothered her:

“How did he react to you and the whole situation in general? At least, what did he show?”

“He is obviously unhappy about his current position, your Highness,” the stallion allowed himself a small understanding smile. “But that was natural. Otherwise, he is fairly calm for a situation like that. As for me personally, I’d say he was indifferent, but I tried to show low interest as well yet.”

“And I plan to limit his contacts with personnel as much as possible,” he added. “This will leave us certain freedom of action if necessary. Naturally, each experiment will be strictly supervised, but the human doesn’t need to see or know anypony, except me and a couple of nurses yet. This, of course, is not related to another party test subjects, I mean those unicorns, who will interact with the human in the later tests.”

Celestia raised on her hooves and got to the window, she looked down to the castle grounds for a while, when her collocutor took the liberty to gain her attention again.

“Your Highness, how would you prefer me to report about the results?” the stallion asked. “Should I report shortly about each day round, or make an extensive report once in a while?”

“I need the results as soon as possible to use them in my own research,” Celestia closed her eyes, thinking. “Send me a written report about each day. If I am unable to attend any or have any questions, I’ll inform you that I need to talk.”

“Aye, your Highness! Anything else?”

“No, I guess, no. You may start preparing for tomorrow tests.”

But before the stallion bowed and left, Celestia stopped him, raising her hoof.

“One more thing. I’ve seen his room and… Order, please, to put the simple door from inside, before the magic field. Let’s not tempt the luck,” she said with a tiny smile.

“Big bro, Ah think that we made the last two furrows too deep,” Applejack stopped and looked back, putting her hoof to her forehead for extra sun shield. “The carrots will have some hard time growing through… if we see ‘em at all in the nearest future. Let’s take it less deep this time.”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac was an epitome of pithiness as usual. He turned his plough, adjusting it to make the next pass even.

They prepared the carrot field for seeding and were going to continue their hard work, when the ear-splitting whistle echoed in the hot still air, making both Applejack and Big Mac pull up heads. In a second Rainbow Dash, and it was exactly her whistling, landed near them.

“Hi, pal,” she patted Applejack on her shoulder. “Hi, Big Mac. Almost ready for the next season, eh?”

“Eeyup!” confirmed Big Mac and waved his hoof.

“So how do you like the weather today?” Rainbow proudly pouted. “Good enough for ploughing, no rain, no wind. I tried my best to make it awesome.”

“Thanks, Rainbow,” Applejack nodded with a smile. “Don’t forget to herd some clouds ‘ere, when we’re done seedin’.”

“No probs, mate… By the way, have you seen Twilight today?” Rainbow impatiently jumped on the spot.

“No, but mah guess would be one should start lookin’ at the library, if needs ‘er,” smirked Applejack.

“I was there already,” huffed Rainbow. “And Spike told me, she was going to take the human to Canterlot. A couple of guards arrived this morning and they all headed to Flutters’ cottage. I guess that means one problem less!” she grinned widely.

“But she hasn’t returned still and Spike has no idea, where she may be. I wanted to ask about the audience, what exactly Celestia decided. Hey, if we’re lucky, he even may already be halfway home…” Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“Have you checked at Flutters’?” Applejack scratched her head, while Big Mac started his furrow, not waiting for the girls to end talking.

“I’m right from her,” Rainbow’s face performed a strange mix of sceptic, disgusted and worried expressions. “I found Rarity there. It seemed she was going to stay with Flutters for a while, as she told me that she asked Twilight to take Sweetie Belle from school and watch after her till tomorrow. It was quite a look, them both with Fluttershy hugging each other as if they lost something precious! Bleeeh!” she made a barfing sound, then laughed. “Though I’m not surprised. They are best friends, now they are sharing one weird crush… That’s totally not awesome!”

“Look, Dash,” Applejack said seriously. “Ah start thinkin’ that you overreacting a bit. There were no reasons for that kind of personal crusade, that’s mah point. He may be strange, even dangerous, which is to be proved yet to be frank but has done nothing bad to you, neither anypony yet…”

“Oh, well!” Rainbow shrugged. “You’ll all see. Somepony says “human”, I hear “troubles”. Just give it time.”

“OK, as you haven’t seen Twi… I’ll visit her later at home, in case we are indeed lucky. See ya!” Rainbow winked and flitted up in the air.

Applejack watched her friend fixedly, she thought that in her personal dislike of the human Rainbow Dash was hardly looking less obsessed than Rarity in her desire.

“I wonder what experiments exactly they plan,” Alex cringed inwardly, sitting at the table in his room. His put the elbows on the wooden surface and rested his head in his hands, but his mind was full of unrest.

“That’s not a room, that’s a vault,” he took a look around, then returned to watching the opposite wall with the barred window. “And you are a rare alien species. First of all, they will need to take some simple analysis… just like they would do back on Earth in every hospital if suspecting you to be contaminated.”

“Are you ready, Alex, for needles and tubes to be put into you in various ways?” he asked himself.

Twilight told him, how they with Fluttershy were to feed him and give him potions, while he was unconscious, but that was another story. The girls wanted the best for him and did everything possible, that deserved only gratitude and Alex felt, he could hardly ever repay, what they’ve done for him.

Here though he was going to be “dissected” with pure scientific interest. Of course, partially that was necessary to understand his organism better, not to harm or kill him while trying to send back home…

“If they are going to send you back,” maliciously hissed his inner voice. Alex shooed this uncalled thought to the deep backside of his consciousness.

Another reason for those tests was having an ability to affect Alex, if something goes wrong or, Alex didn’t have any illusions regarding princess suspicions about him if he goes totally unruly. Thus they wanted to be certain that they can stop him if he appears to be a real threat. Alex sighed deeply, he had a feeling that sudden Discord’s rooting for his safety, could still have the opposite effect.

“…and if I can understand the necessity and process of those… medical tests,” Alex continued his thought. “I still have no idea about their magical experiments. Didn’t Discord tell Celestia those could be dangerous? Wasn’t it demonstrated?”

“Oh, come on,” he scolded himself immediately. “Even I felt nothing and sincerely suspected some trick, what could be said then about Celestia… with her obvious dislike for Discord.”

“But there was Twilight’s insight as well. She experienced the effect on herself. Well, the girls didn’t try harmful spells, but the overall result could be predicted, basing on what they got.”

“Ha-ha, THAT is exactly the reason, why they preparing those experiments, instead of Celestia trying to send you back with her magic right away!” That was at least rational.

“Still I don’t like, how it sounds,” Alex frowned inwardly. “Do they really plan to make… somepony apply magic to me and then look what it leads to? What about… “negative impact” then? Is there anypony ready to put themselves as a target for a nopony-knows-which-and-how-strong reaction? I always wondered where do people… or ponies find volunteers for this weird shit…”

His uneasy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the magic field being disabled. When Alex looked back over his shoulder, a young unicorn mare in the nurse uniform entered his room, carrying a tray with supposedly his meal. Alex thought that he could never understand the reasoning behind those ponies using clothes on some occasions and completely ignoring them on others, which seemingly would have called for clothes more… if it was on Earth.

Meanwhile, the nurse put the tray on the table and turned to Alex. She was miniature and pretty with her beige coat and chocolate mane and tail, and carried that homelike warm feel with her, making Alex involuntarily think that if she had younger siblings, they were extremely lucky. The red cross cutie mark on her flank unambiguously told that care and empathy were her special talent put to the best use.

“Your dinner, sir,” she said with a warm-hearted smile. “And if you need something else, you can simply call,” she pointed on a small bell, standing on the tray. “Nurse room is a few yards down the corridor, so I or my substitute will be able to address your request right away. Or at least relay it to the higher authorities, if it appears to be out of our competence.”

“Thank you kindly, nurse,” Alex nodded. He wanted to stand, but reconsidered and kept sitting not to tower above that cute girl and suppress her. “Nurse ...?”

The pause supposed some answer, but the unicorn girl just shook her head. Alex noticed that a faint shadow of sadness tainted her smile when she finally said.

“We’re not supposed to answer some questions. Personal for example. I’m really sorry. I don’t justify everything going here, but this is part of my work.”

“I see,” Alex nodded with a smile. “So how long do you work helping… ponies and taking care of the patients… if that’s not an overly personal question?”

“Oh, that’s not a secret, since graduation… And anticipating your most possible next question – there are two of us who you can address, that’s except the… doctor.”

“It seems, empathy is indeed your special talent,” Alex wanted to understand whom he was to be dealing with the next few… days? Weeks?..

“Sir, we are supposed to limit personal contacts as possible indeed,” her eyes were full of regret, yet she was firm in her determination. “I’m really sorry!”

“OK,” Alex gave up… for now. “I have a small request then. I realize that you personally can’t decide in that case, so please relay that to the… “doctor”. I would like to have some books, books on the history of Equestria if that’s possible.”

Alex remembered, how Twilight told him that he wasn’t the first human getting to Equestria ever. And despite the obvious differences in his case, he hoped to find some answers to his questions, or at least to find out for sure, what those cases ended with and how the previous travellers returned.

“I’ll tell him,” the nurse nodded. “Anything else, sir?”

“No. Thank you,” Alex sighed then looked at her fixedly. “I’ll try to bring you less trouble possible.”

Alex watched the mare leaving and closing the barrier behind her.

“Merlin’s pants! If they use somepony like her in their magical experiments, that definitely won’t make it easier. Why can’t I simply get home without hurting any…pony?”

The barely audible humming of the magical barrier was his only answer.

“Good evening, prin… OK, OK, Twilight,” Lyra corrected herself, seeing as Twilight frowned at her official tone after opening the door of Golden Oak Library. “May I?..”

“Well, of course, Lyra, come in,” Twilight moved aside, letting Lyra Heartstrings enter. “I’m surprised you haven’t appeared earlier. Take a seat and… don’t mind the mess please”

“I was busy with personal stuff, Twilight, besides I knew that princess would take the human to Canterlot sooner or later. But now when it actually happened… I heard you’ve been there, so… What’s the deal? Will we see… Alex, if I’m not mistaking, Applejack mentioned that name… so will we see Alex again?” Lyra took a look around the hall and her eyes dilated when she saw piles of books lying on the floor here and there. “Twilight, did you plan… re-cataloguing? I can come later if necessary, or help you if you need.”

“This? Oh, no… That’s not a problem. Re-cataloguing neither,” Twilight smirked. “I’m just sitting with Sweetie Belle. You know Rarity’s younger sister, right?”

Lyra nodded, yet her brows were still high when she tried to imagine how one filly could wreak such havoc to Twilight’s kingdom of order.

“You know, she still hasn’t got her special talent and mark,” continued Twilight, putting the books back on shelves with magic. “So she is in constant search of her vocation.”

“Sweetie Belle tried to read a few books at once,” she added after a pause when she managed to put a large heavy tome on the upper shelf. “Normally she is a lot calmer, at least at home, but I suppose, when she saw so many sources of knowledge and possibilities, she got a bit… overexcited.”

“Nopony can read a few books simultaneously,” huffed Lyra. “Except you. At least I don’t know any others.”

“Umm… I managed to lure her into the kitchen,” blushed Twilight. “And it seemed that Spike succeeded, gaining Sweetie Belle’s attention to the pizza-making process. At least I don’t think they have too much trouble.”

A loud bang from the direction of the kitchen notified that those two at least were busy. But before Twilight and Lyra rushed to the sound, the door opened and a stack of few pizzas floated from the kitchen, spreading the smell of decently, if not to say finely cooked food. It was followed closely by happy as a clam Sweetie Belle, whose joy wasn’t overshadowed by the obvious absence of the cutie mark. Then Spike showed, his eyes were a bit mad at that moment, showing that cooking process in Rarity sister’s execution was intense.

He glanced at Twilight and nodded towards the kitchen.

“Stay out of there for now,” he whispered with his lips only, his eyes were slowly returning to their usual size. “I’ll clean the mess later.”

“Hi, Lyra!” Sweetie Belle placed her pizzas on a couple of tables and turned to Twilight with bright eyes. “I… we’ve done it and done it right! Errmmm… the mark didn’t appear yet, unfortunately,” she bit her lower lip, but didn’t lament for long and said happily. “We should definitely have a munch on them, right? I mean, while Rarity is not watching…”

Both Twilight and Lyra laughed with Sweetie Belle joining them giggling, while Spike was evidently calculating in mind, how much time would it take him to remove the pizza-making consequences.

“So, how many have you made?” asked Lyra.

“Should we count those on the ceiling?” Spike woke from his thoughts and Sweetie Belle blushed. “Then six, but you can taste only four, obviously.”

“Come on, Twilight, spill the beans. I guess we all here may know,” asked Lyra again, when they tried the pizza, finding it not only smelling well but being quite tasty. She was helping Twilight put the books back on proper places, while Spike returned to fix the kitchen and Sweetie Belle, tired and filled, was nodding off in an armchair. “What’s up with Alex?”

“Celestia practically locked him,” cringed Twilight. “And ordered to take some analysis and magical experiments. On the one hand, she truly wants to return him to his home world, thus deeper understanding of the situation is necessary. On the other,..”

“But isn’t messing with him magically dangerous?” Lyra exclaimed, dropping a book and catching it almost near the floor. “Unfortunately, as I can’t try some of my own ideas on him. Totally safe,” she added, noticing how Twilight glanced on her disapprovingly. “Still I want to talk to him, well, when it is possible… if it is possible now.”

“Yeah. This is what Discord said as well,” muttered Twilight and Lyra made big eyes, she wasn’t expecting Discord involved in all that as well. “But I guess, princess Celestia has her own reasons. She wants to find out all the details, before trying to send Alex back… If she is able to do that because the direct interaction is especially unwelcome.”

“So, it’s undecided, if he is going home or staying here forever,” the hope in Lyra’s voice was quite audible. “Oh, by the way, I forgot to ask. Why are you sitting with Sweetie Belle, is Rarity having a big batch of clothes ordered again?”

“Ummm… Lyra, Twilight, did you call me?” They heard a sleepy voice from the armchair. “I… I’ll help… I’m…”

“No, no, Sweetie Belle,” stopped her Twilight. “Just a few books and I’ll walk you to the bed. It’s too late and you’re almost sleeping already.”

“Rarity is with Fluttershy in her cottage,” she turned to Lyra, continuing in half voice. “They both are not in the best mood at the moment, but Flutters is totally down… so Rarity stayed to help her recompose.”

“I see,” said Lyra with a sly smile. “Two best friends worry about their favourite human being taken from them.”

“Look, Fluttershy thinks we haven’t done it right and she is particularly worried that some experiments can make Alex unhappy,” Twilight evidently found no reasons for joking. “And I tend to agree with her regarding that. And Rarity… Well…”

Lyra giggled and while looking at her Twilight remembered that “fifteen times longer” remark again and blushed.

“Tarnation, as Applejack would say,” she thought. “Why does this emerge each time the most unwelcome way?” she looked away.

They arranged the books in the usual order and Lyra left wishing the girls good night.

“Good night, Spike!” she yelled to the kitchen door and heard how he grunted something in return.

Twilight walked Sweetie Belle to the bed and the girl almost crawled under the blanket. She passed out before her babysitter could wish her sweet dreams. Twilight watched her for a while with a smile, then headed downstairs. It was indeed too late, but she didn’t want to sleep at all, concerned by a few thoughts.

“Whew!” there was so much relief in Spike’s voice when he appeared from the now cleaned kitchen. “Is she sleeping?”

Twilight nodded.

“The girl is a hurricane! I wonder how Rarity copes with her sister…” at the word “Rarity” Twilight almost noticed a couple of pink hearts emerging in place of Spike’s pupils.

She trotted to her desk and took something out of her bag, she didn’t unpack yet. Then Twilight returned to Spike.

“What would you say about that, Spike?” she demonstrated him a large dark blue feather.

Her dragon aide scratched the nape with his claw.

“Well…” he muttered thoughtfully. “By the look of it, I would say it belonged to princess Luna most likely. Where did you get it, Twilight?”

“Fluttershy gave me that in her cottage. She was overly puzzled finding it,” obviously Twilight was puzzled as well. “And most likely Alex brought it, as nopony could leave it there… and only princess Celestia visited Fluttershy lately.”

“Aaa… Errmmm…” Spike wasn’t an epitome of eloquence at the moment. After a minute he realized, his mouth was still open, and closed it with a clap.

“Yeah, something like that,” chuckled Twilight. “I know one thing for sure – this is not going to be boring. But I’d like to get my answers anyway…”

“And this is between us two,” she glanced at Spike meaningfully.

“You know me,” Spike proudly pouted. “As long as you keep my feelings to Rarity in secret, this is buried deep. I swear by the Dragon Codex.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. Spike was probably the only one in whole Ponyville, who still thought his crush for Rarity was a mystery.

This evening Alex got to bed early. He had nothing to do in his small comfy… cell anyway, besides the damned tests were planned for the next day and it was better to face the trouble with “battery charged” than feeling like a zombie. Naturally, Alex made himself to fall asleep, it wasn’t an easy task because of all the thoughts filling his mind. But he had one more aim – he was going to try and reach princess Luna in his sleep. First time consciously, as she explained to him, that was possible. She was his only reliable source of information.

He realized that it would be too self-confident to expect full picture and conclusions from the sister of one, who put him here exactly. But Luna at least seemed to be on his side… if anypony, except Fluttershy and a couple of girls, was on his side here; and having a peek behind the curtains could give him a hint, what to expect next.

Alex lied on his back and watched last rays of setting sun dying out in the small barred window. He closed his eyes and tried to free his mind of all irrelevant thoughts, trying to concentrate on one, most important. Building the realistic mental image of princess’ room, as he remembered it since the last time he was “sleepwalking”, took him quite some time and effort, but when the result satisfied him, he wasn’t entirely in his room already, assumingly he was sleeping.

Cool evening breeze faintly moved the curtains on high windows of Luna’s bedroom and brought the sounds of last daytime birds, going to sleep, through the open balcony door. The princess woke not long ago and already brought herself to order, getting ready for her nightly court. Luna raised the curtains completely, watching the narrowing scarlet stripe of the western edge of the sky, as the Sun went below the horizon, obedient to her sister’s will. The approaching night was Luna’s time and kingdom.

Luna stepped to the balcony, breathing in the fresh air from the snowy mountains, which guarded the rearward of Canterlot, and letting the wind play with her starry mane and tail. The darkness fell quickly, flooding the land below, making everypony look for the deserved rest after daily solicitudes. The veil of silver stars lit itself in the deep blue sky, roughly mirrored on the ground by distant lights of cities, small towns and settlements. Somewhere to the south, in front of the pitch-black ocean of Everfree forest, lied and slept Ponyville, now shielded by the pouring rain – Rainbow Dash followed Applejacks request and gathered clouds, which were now watering the freshly seeded fields.

Luna spread her wings, like the Night itself covered the stars from the accidental observer, if one happened to be in the room, and lightly soared in the sky. Her horn glowed with bright light-blue aura and the Moon appeared from behind the mountains and raised high, following the order of Princess of the Night. For the short moment, the glorious figure of alicorn princess appeared against the background of the waning Moon, just like on some of her regal tapestries, then Luna gracefully lowered back to the balcony.

“I’m truly amazed, your highness, amazed and speechless,” the voice coming from the shadows of her room made Luna float in the air, then she landed carefully. “The poor movie didn’t nearly give you deserved credit.”

“Speechless, thou sayest,” Luna finally found the words, entering her bedroom and lighting a few candles with her magic. “Thou art quite eloquent for a speechless… alien,” she chuckled. Then she gasped in realization. “But how?! I’m not sleeping at the moment. Tis what I’m sure about.”

“But I am,” replied Alex exiting the shadows and bowing to Luna with a wide smile. “I’ve watched you for a while before you woke… And believe me, your Highness, I’m much more surprised than you are, that I’m still here, while you’re awake.”

“We already agreed on that, Alex, simply – Luna,” she said automatically. “Yet still, how?”

“I wanted to see you, Luna,” confessed Alex. “But I supposed, you would be sleeping… Now I see it was one more stupid assumption, considering you are the Princess of the Night.”

“So I remembered how it was the first time and how you told me about… controlling the reality through dreams,” he continued. “I fell asleep while consciously concentrated on my wish to see you and talk to you… So here I am. The rest, I guess, could be explained by the short distance, which was parting us, otherwise, I couldn’t manage that, when you woke.”

“I never tried that before,” he added with a puzzled smile. “So I can hardly explain it better.”

“Thou art learning, Alex the human,” Luna looked at him with a new proud expression. “Methinks tis not thy limit by far.”

“I’m trying,” Alex corrected her modestly. “But isn’t this all an illusion? I mean that only you can see me and… I can’t do magic anyway. I’m not sure this is real, what’s happening. How can I find out?”

“At least nopony can suspect me of a breakout attempt,” he chuckled. “If they check my “room”, they’ll still see me in my bed, sleeping like an angel.”

“Tsk-tsk, with that belief in thyself thou won’t go far, mine lief,” Luna shook her head. “As for the realism… we can easily find out.”

She approached Alex and he felt that familiar lavender aroma immediately. The wind from the balcony door threw her mane forward when Luna sat on the floor in front of Alex, and a few strands touched his cheek. Alex inhaled deeply and stepped towards her, feeling his heart beating somewhere under his throat until the big dark eyes of the incredible alicorn princess appeared inches from his own.

Luna chuckled, looking into his dilated eyes, and raised her fore leg, hugging his shoulders, making Alex take a couple of steps more.

“Isn’t t real enough for thee, Alex?” she asked, when he nuzzled her neck, enjoying the softness of her dark blue coat.

“I know, tis real enough for me,” Luna cooed when Alex raised his hand and ran his fingers through her luxurious hair, involuntarily scratching behind her ear, making her almost murmur in pleasure. “Oh, I can definitely feel that touch of thine, t woke me up realistically enough the last time thou used t.”

Alex stepped back in embarrassment, but didn’t break the touch, he just wanted to see her face, when talking to Luna.

“So this is all real…” he muttered, looking on his own hand, then touched Luna’s hoof on his shoulder and stroked it slightly. “But I can’t even imagine…”

“Tis all depends on how much thou believest, Alex,” Luna giggled like a filly. “And how much thou makest others believe…”

“And how much thou makest the reality around thee believe that thou art in power!” she added seriously.

Alex hugged her with both hands and Luna enveloped him in her wings for a while.

“But it takes some strength to keep me here,” said he in her ear. “I don’t know how much time I have until my control ceases and I wake up in my room.”

“Thou hast questions, Alex, am I correct?” Luna released him welcoming to take a seat.

“Yes, Luna,” Alex sat cross-legged right on the floor in front of her. “If only I knew how to begin…”

“Well, tryest something, for a start,” sly sparkles danced in Luna’s eyes, but Alex saw, she looked overly sympathetic at him.

“What do you think about the audience results?”

“Hmm… Tis a very broad question, Alex,” smirked Luna. “Besides it’s much more important, what Tia thinks about the audience in that case.”

“Tia is very concerned about thy arrival to our domain,” she showed mercy finally. “Thither are too many blank spots in thy story and some parts don’t combine in a readable image. One thing she is sure about and I share that feeling, that thy arrival is least accidental. Thither are certain, unknown for the time being reasons for it. Moreover thither is somepony… or something interested in thee, in thy presence in Equestria.”

“So, you’re saying that I was practically dragged to Equestria by some sentient powers, not by a pure mishap,” exclaimed Alex, then he put his hand over the mouth, worrying that it sounded too loud. He saw a faint shadow of sadness on Luna’s face and muttered confusedly. “I… mean… Sorry…”

“I for one don’t call tis a mishap,” Luna shook her head. “Otherwise thou art correct more or less. And the existence of some sentient… chess master adds to Tia’s concerns. We are to care for our subjects and their safety naturally, Alex.”

“I’m sorry, Luna,” repeated Alex. “I didn’t mean to… Well, damn, I wasn’t ready to find myself in a totally different world like that. I’m still not ready… despite now I have… friends.”

Luna’s face brightened a little when she continued.

“And the mere fact of Discord being concerned about thy safety didn’t make the circumstances more relaxed. Tia is not ready to believe Discord, I won’t make a crime against the truth if ‘t be true I say that thither is hardly anypony, who can truly believe Discord, except thy friend Fluttershy.”

“Merlin’s…” Alex hid his face in his hands. “I really hope she is OK, she definitely wasn’t today when I left.”

Luna watched him fixedly with a strange mix of empathy and sadness in her eyes.

“Thither are some benefits though,” she said after a moment. “My sister seemed to be convinced about applying magic or destructive force to thee was not a good idea.”

“So, why are they going to do exactly that?” Alex looked up to her eyes. “If I’m not mistaking they plan experiments with magic.”

“Tia believes in an accurate approach,” Luna huffed, batting her lush eyelashes, but then justified her sister’s actions. “Yet she needs to know what to expect, if ’t be true she is going to send thee back home.”

“So she is going to do that somehow… someday,” Alex tried his best to withhold enthusiasm in his voice.

“The word of the Rulers of Equestria has its value!” Luna cocked her head, then she added in a calmer voice. “She promised to look for a way if thither existed any. And tis what she is doing in addition to her usual royal duties. She needs more information though, so I’m afraid thou shalt overcome the experiments. If ’t be true she can send thee back home, she will try t.”

“Unfortunately,” she said aside barely audible, for Alex not to hear.

“Was she mad with the trick I pulled on the audience?” Alex approached the most delicate question. “There was a moment, I thought, she was going to incinerate me, despite the warning against…” he added with a tiny smile.

“To tell the truth, I was afraid of the same… And not because thither was a fair chance to blow half of Equestria, at least if ’t be true we trust Discord on that matter,” Luna rubbed her cheek against his, making Alex instantly blush.

“But apparently she wasn’t displeased by your act more than by Discord’s frying pan trick, and tis talks for itself,” Luna smirked, then winked. “I’d say more, technically she didn’t dislike it. Thou seest, thou wast mayhap the first… errmmm… stallion for a thousand years, who did ‘t that simply, seeing her for the first time. I can’t be completely sure, but I can assume.”

“Oh…” Alex couldn’t find proper words, while Luna was evidently having fun.

“She was abashed by thy kiss but needed to keep face. She was definitely… impressed,” Luna openly giggled. “Thou can exclude that from thy worries safely, I presume.”

A sly smile wormed on Alex’s face.

“Then… Know what… don’t let her forget about that!” he chuckled.

“Thou can count on me,” nodded Luna with a wide grin.

She then raised, making Alex get up instantly, and gracefully stretched.

“Thou seemest to undervalue thyself, Alex,” she said, approaching the balcony again and looking out. “Thou still have the force to stay hither through thy… how doth thou callest… sleepwalking. I guess thou hast more strength than thou estimate.”

“Maybe the short distance played its role,” supposed Alex. “I wasn’t to travel far away in this case.”

“Why don’t thou cometh hither?” Luna asked, heading to the balcony. “It’s so beautiful, simply takest a look.”

Alex instantly twitched.

“Luna, please,” he squeezed huskily. “I can’t go. I’m acrophobic. I’m bucking afraid of heights,” he became red as a carrot. “My heart is jumping wildly each time I see you rising in the air…”

“Oh…” Luna soared in the air and was hovering a few feet above the balcony floor. Then she said with a wily smile. “But thou said, this wasn’t real. So what can really befall, at which hour thy body is safely resting in thy room.”

“Besides, thou hast power to control the reality around thee now,” suddenly she became completely serious. “Remember what I told thee. Thou needest to believe only.”

“But how?” Alex still hesitated. “How am I supposed to?”

“Forget that thou can’t do something,” reassured Luna. “And simply do it, because at this moment thou can.”

“Or think that tis thy dream, if ’t be true thou can believeth easier that way. And anything is possible in thy dreams,” she added with a wink.

“My dream…” muttered Alex. He suddenly realized that it would be much easier to overcome his fear, when he was actually sleeping in a bed, firmly staying on the solid floor. Why not try then? “Believe, you say…”

Slowly, step by step, Alex approached the balcony door. And despite his heart was ready to jump out of his chest, he managed to exit to the balcony and take a couple of steps further. There he stopped, deciding that it’s already too good for the first time.

“Merlin’s pants!” he breathed out, Luna was watching him from above, smiling. “Your Highness, you won’t believe,” Alex completely forgot about his promise under the emotional stress. “And I’m lucky, you have no idea, how much it costs me to do that willingly, otherwise you would probably despise me…”

“Alex,” Luna raised a bit higher and further, just like teasing him, welcoming to take another step. “I would never loathe anypony, simply because they have a long vista open at their feet.”

“But I’m not a pony, remember?” Alex tried to tease her in his turn, taking a breath and trying not to turn back to the safety of the room. “And I will hardly do that while awake ever, Your Highness.”

Luna frowned a little but said nothing about him using the title for the second time.

“Thou art right, Alex. And thou hast nothing to do with magic, other worlds and similar things ere, but I can see thy heart is open to changes, despite thou may bethink otherwise still.”

Alex took a look around, the view was undoubtedly splendid with all the stars in the sky, the Moon bathing the land in the silver light, and the rare lights on the ground far below. The balcony itself was lit by a few torches, attached to the outer wall.

“Control the reality? Luna, you sound like persuading me to learn to ride a bicycle,” he smirked while trying to think, what he could do in his dream, while unable to do that in reality. Fortunately, the answer lay on the surface.

But his first attempt couldn’t be called successful. When his feet parted with the solid surface, hovering a few inches above the floor, Alex’s eyes dilated with the mix of terror and realization, he lost his balance at once and helplessly shook his limbs in the air, like a puppy learning to swim. Naturally, he landed that very moment right on his ass on the stone floor.

“Ouch!” he squinted, but he didn’t feel even a part of the pain, supposed in such a situation. “Well, at least it doesn’t hurt much, contrary to my expectations. But I hardly did anything, Luna. I could simply jump in the air with a better result, to be frank.”

To her honour, the princess didn’t say a word about the fail, despite her eyes were laughing. Alex couldn’t blame her, as he realized how he looked; he snickered, then laughed at the mental image.

“Art thou going to stop hither, Alex?” Luna asked when he stopped giggling. “Methinks thou shall try again.”

“Merlin’s pants! You almost demanding the impossible,” he breathed out. “But… oh, well, I’ll try.”

‘I won’t forgive myself, if I fail in front of you, Luna!’ he added inwardly.

He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate really hard this time. When Alex opened them again and found himself hovering a couple of feet above the floor, he almost fell flat again but summoned all his willpower in time. A fair portion of respect added to Luna’s expression at that moment.

“What?!” he breathed out, trying his best not to collapse on the floor from the shock of sudden realization. “It really works!”

“Thou art believing now, Alex,” simply explained the princess.

“Yeah, the only tiny thing that left now is to make me believe that I’m not acrophobic when I’m awake,” smirked Alex. “Something tells me, it would be a way harder task.”

He looked for something else to try and held out his hand towards the torch on the wall. Alex commanded (he watched the result like bewitched) a small part of the flame to jump into his palm and curl in a ball. He held it between his hands in front of himself.

“How is this even possible?” he glanced at Luna. “I mean the fire should hurt, shouldn’t it?”

“Tis easier, at which hour thou knowest how,” approved Luna. “I suppose the fire “knoweth”, who is in power henceforth. Thou art, Alex. And thou can decide, if ’t be true it hurteth or not.”

Alex weighted this new revelation, making the small fireball pulse in sync with his heartbeat. Then, like if Discord nudged him, a stupid trick idea came to his mind. Later Alex scolded himself for that impulse numerous times. Alex parted the fireball in two and spread his hands with them. He made the fire form a line of lights across his arms from one hand to another. Luna watched him now with a tint of surprise, she was to admit, he grasped the basics really fast. Alex looked up at Luna… and suddenly made the flames cover his whole figure and shoot up in two fiery “wings”. His eyes flashed.

“Beware! For I am the Night!!!” he roared in the deepest voice he could manage.

Luna’s eyes dilated and she even retreated a little in the air. Alex spotted a shadow of long-buried terror in her eyes as if some unwelcome memories became too vivid for a short moment. The feeling of remorse for his random act flooded him instantly, despite he meant no harm actually, as he did this as a test for himself and an… innocent (at least it supposed to be) prank. But the actual effect made him reconsider and extinguish the flames at once.

He dropped to the floor and buried his face in hands.

“I’m sorry, Luna!” he exclaimed with genuine regret. “Please… I didn’t mean to offend you. Don’t know, why I… That’s just the stupid phrase from a bucking earth movie. Forgive me.”

Luna landed in a second and looked fixedly at Alex, who still stood covering his face. Then he rubbed his temples, looking at the princess with shame and guilt in his eyes.

“I’m an idiot,” he finally said lamentably. “I reminded you about… the certain “nightmare”… didn’t I? Please, princess, forgive your stupid human.”

“A bit,” confessed Luna still flabbergasted. “But on the second thought, I can appreciate a strong joke. Thou almost got me believing, for a whole short moment I saw thee turning to evil. It was like a certain Nightmare forsooth. Don’t do that again though, please.”

She then chuckled and Alex saw that painful memories vanished from her eyes. She put a hoof on his chest.

“Thou knowest, Alex, thou art a big… bucking impulsive weirdo,” Luna approached Alex, so he could see his reflection in the deep lakes of her eyes. “But…”

He couldn’t say a word before he felt soft tender lips on his own. Luna grabbed him with her wings, putting in the silky embrace, and after a moment Alex wrapped his hands around her swan-like neck, running his fingers through her mane and making her tremble.

“Why shall I get less than Tia?!” breathed Luna out, when she emerged for air to continue their mutual enjoyment after a second. She snuggled into him and Alex suddenly realized that she in her turn didn’t have that pleasure for perhaps the same period as her sister. That didn’t affect her skill evidently and the next twenty minutes or so flew like one second. Alex’s head was spinning and his only conscious thought was not to lose the concentration and find himself back in the guarded cell. He kept his eyes open though and noticed that Luna was also enjoying the view, unlike the majority of women in a similar situation. This made them clench each other even tighter.

Suddenly Luna’s ears perked…

“Somepony is coming,” she said anxiously. “That must be Tia. I wonder, if ’t be true she heard thy last roar,” Luna looked at Alex a bit reproachfully, making him downcast.

“Thou needst to flee!” with the audible regret she planted a quick kiss on his cheek and released him. “Good night, Alex.”

“Good night… my princess!” Alex stepped back and his figure started dissolving in the thin air.

Luna watched him vanishing from sight, then entered her bedroom and closed the balcony door. She was drawing the curtains exactly the moment when the doors opened and princess Celestia entered.

“Are you alright, Luna?” there was a fair dose of concern in Celestia’s voice. “I was going from my study, there was too much work to do and I was late to sleep, then I thought, I heard voices from your room, dear. Two of them to be exact. So I wanted to check if you were okay.”

“I’m fine, Tia,” nothing could be read in the calm smile of the Princess of the Night. “The wind made the curtain flap loudly, so I was closing the windows. Mayhap thou took the flapping for the voice…”

“It could be…” Celestia bowed her head in agreement.

“Speaking of work…” Luna preferred to change the subject. “Didst thou receive any progress in thy research of human’s problem?”

“Not yet, Luna,” Celestia half closed her eyes. “If we take his magic resistance for granted, I yet couldn’t find a way to “wrap” him somehow or shield the caster in the way necessary to send him through the warp successfully.”

“Not to mention that he would drain the warp itself, as it affects him directly,” she added in a tired voice. “I need more information, so the next few days will show if we can do something to return him to his home world.”

“I wish I could help thee, Tia,” Luna said heartily. “But thou knowest, I’m not a master of warps…”

“Oh, that’s okay, Lulu, I’ll cope with it… if it is possible at all,” Celestia yawned, delicately putting her hoof over the mouth. “I need some sleep. Good night, dear. Have your nightly duty lightly.”

“Good night, Sunny,” Luna followed her to the door.

“Lulu,” Celestia turned in the doorway. “Send a worker to check the chimney in your room tomorrow. It smells of smoke here slightly.”

Alex opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, apparently, he was back in his room. Safe and… locked. But he knew, where he just was, and irrational joy filled his whole self, despite the position he was in. He sat on his bed and smiled in the darkness.

The dim light came from the corridor, perhaps from the nurse’s room or somewhere alike. The approaching hoofsteps got to the doorway with the magical barrier. Alex rubbed his face and glanced at the guard.

“Hey, are you alright?” asked the armoured unicorn stallion.

“Yeah,” Alex waved indefinitely. “I’ve had a weird dream…” he smiled aside, so the guard couldn’t see his wide grin.

The stallion huffed something and continued patrolling. Alex waited till the steps got silent somewhere far in the corridor and got up. He walked back and forth in his room unable to get asleep again at once. The scent of lavender on his skin and hair made him remember every single second of holding Luna in his hands. The kisses still burned on his lips, making his heart flutter, pumping blood in fast excited thrusts. To his bewilderment, Alex couldn’t tell, if he felt something alike when he kissed Elen for the first time. The still small voice pricked him right in the heart, making sit back on the bed and dive into deep thoughts.

“What’s going on with you, Alex?”

Then Fluttershy’s amazing turquoise eyes filled with tears emerged in front of his inner sight, her sincere warm embrace, her obvious affection made him let out a muffled painful moan.

“What are you doing, Alex?”

He couldn’t help himself feeling for both those… ponies, that incredible kind and loving girl and… the princess. Speaking of Fluttershy, Alex wanted to protect and keep her safe, her smile was perhaps the best reward, while her tears ripped his heart to shreds. With Luna… with Luna Alex felt irresistible wish to belong to her, to dissolve in those dark eyes, to share each breath. He felt so emotionally close to her, she was the one and only, who seemed to understand him fully… and that was simply amazing, considering their obvious differences.

Alex grabbed his head, running his fingers through the hair, he felt completely confused by the events of the last two days. Finding a perfect friend (even if overprotective sometimes), almost an ideal… woman, as Alex confessed to himself, he could easily stay with, in case if he was unable to leave Equestria; and at the same time finding a soul mate… and burning desire simultaneously were not going to make his future either easy or bright. Alex already feared the moment, he was to leave this world. His biggest wish became his biggest torment. The future on Earth, if he ever was able to return, wasn’t now clear. The more he spent in Equestria, the less promising his return looked, as he realized that he would become a ghost of Alex everyone knew there previously. And in addition to all the pain returning home now would double the loss.

Yet he didn’t feel himself belonging to this world… yet. Alex twitched as electrocuted at this amendment, his inner voice made. If he was to count the ponies, who were not indifferent about him, one hand’s fingers would be really enough. Not mentioning Discord, who finally seemed to want him good. Alex suddenly realized that he could hardly name more people on Earth, genuinely concerning about him. So in pure numbers, it was perhaps a tie.

“Why aren’t you like one of your computers, Alex?” he smashed his fist into the bed mattress, making it creak slightly. “You can think fast and outside the box sometimes… but when it comes to a really important matter, concerning your own life, you’re full of shit. Know what, you won’t be able to make this decision till the end, and will follow the circumstances… then regret it for the rest of your life most likely.”

“Buck it!” Alex shook his head. “Just get to sleep. You’ll have an important day full of tubes and needles tomorrow. It seems this is the only thing you’re really good for.”

He turned from side to side for quite a while then, completely displeased by himself and the situation he got into, before finally drifted to the sleep – plain and simple one this time, without any reality manipulations. He saw the ocean coast again and himself sitting on the sand, embracing Fluttershy, who sat on his lap, and… holding hands with Luna. If somepony tried to draw this image to him, when Alex was awake, he would have most likely facepalmed or even “facetabled” really hard.

“See you at the SPA.”

This note, put between the front door and its frame, greeted Twilight when she walked Sweetie Belle to school in the morning (miss Cheerilee was a bit surprised, but didn’t ask any questions) and got to Fluttershy’s cottage to check the girls. She recognized Rarity’s accurate elegant writing at once, Fluttershy’s penmareship was more compact, still well readable. Twilight herself couldn’t boast that, as her writing was fast, but more resembling of a medic, i.e. hardly well readable for anypony than herself… and perhaps Celestia, yet the latter preferred Spikes calligraphy to be frank.

“It seems Rarity took the situation in her hooves entirely and now resolves it by her own methods,” smirked Twilight. “And Fluttershy is too dumbfounded to resist. OK, SPA it is then,” she incinerated the note with a spell.

The hot tub with bubbles was always the best place for Rarity to think about her problems in the most relaxed manner, thus the decisions became more fleshed out, less rushed and chaotic. And it was indispensable to recover from stress, even if a certain decision wasn’t possible or needed. But her friend was hardly able to move over her uneasy thoughts at that moment. With a sympathetic and sad look, Rarity watched Fluttershy doing everything almost automatically, without passion or interest. She was feeling visibly better than yesterday, but not nearly normal yet.

“She can’t be left alone like that,” thought Rarity, leaning on the tub edge and watching how Fluttershy quietly and monotonously smacks the bubbles in front of her. “Either she shakes that off, or somepony needs to be near for a while.”

“But I can’t afford another few days of leisure,” she adjusted the towel on her head, holding her mane and keeping it dry. “Besides I can’t ask Twilight to sit with Sweetie Belle each day. If I could take Flutters with me to the boutique, but… she won’t leave her animal friends… Oh, woe is me!” she rolled her eyes in despair.

Fluttershy in her turn seemingly didn’t notice Rarity’s troubles. She was quieter than always if that was even possible. Sitting in the tub was simply necessary, as her friend insisted, but she hardly felt any satisfaction from the process this time. She tried to cover her hair with the towel as well, but due to extreme lushness the towel didn’t hold in place and finally she dropped that idea, simply asking Rarity to braid her mane.

The sound of hoofsteps made them both turn to the door to see Twilight entering the room accompanied by Rainbow Dash and Aloe – one of the SPA owning sisters. There was a faint tint of concern on Twilight’s face, while Rainbow was cheerful as usual.

“Hi, girls!” Twilight tried the water, taking her bathrobe off. She wasn’t sure if Rainbow’s insight on the problem was exactly what Fluttershy needed at the moment, but, on the other hand, Rainbow’s snarky remarks addressed to Alex might drag Flutters out of that pool of indifference. Besides Twilight could hardly join the girls without Rainbow Dash now, as the latter obviously wanted her portion of the news and looked for Twilight for that reason exactly. The foam parted under her hooves when Twilight placed herself in the tub between Rarity and Fluttershy.

“So, how she is?” she quietly asked Rarity, nodding towards their pegasus friend.

Rarity raised her eyebrows with “And it is like that since morning” look, welcoming Twilight to see for herself. She already decided to wait, till the situation was resolved; Rarity needed the human, but interfering with princess’ interests wasn’t her game.

“Do you still think, we could do otherwise?” Twilight put her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder lightly.

Fluttershy shrugged indefinitely, staring at the bubbles in front of her. “See, this is what I told you about,” was written in Rarity’s glance.

“So, girls, how’s it boiling today?” meanwhile Rainbow Dash dropped herself on the couch, and then addressed Aloe, continuing the interrupted conversation. “… no, no. The tub will make me soft an sleepy, I don’t need that in the morning.”

“And I like my hooves the way they are, thanks,” she dragged her legs towards her, backing up from the file in Aloe’s hooves. “But a good warming massage would be an awesome treat for the muscles,” she added with a smile.

“As you can see, it’s hardly even boiling,” sadly smirked Rarity, while Aloe put away the file with a shrug and started to massage Rainbow’s shoulders when Dash turned on her stomach and spread her wings.

Rainbow threw a quick glance over her shoulder at Fluttershy and huffed. ‘No human, no problem!’ could be read in her tone.

Twilight noticed, how Fluttershy raised her head and blinked, and thought that she wasn’t wrong bringing Rainbow Dash with her. Shock therapy was still therapy, and if it helped Flutters quit her stupor…

“Well, it’s not very bad yet, girls,” Twilight tried to tread lightly, at least Fluttershy started listening and a tint of interest appeared in her look. “As I said, they’re going to perform some analysis today, something like anypony would come through in the hospital during a regular examination. You know, to find out if he is healthy enough and ready for possible transfer.”

Fluttershy shivered slightly and Rarity noticed with a chuckle.

“Well, darling, last time I was to come through analysis in the hospital, it wasn’t a big pleasure, if you ask me.”

“I’m afraid nothing can be done without them,” sighed Twilight, making a mental notice about Rainbow keeping one ear constantly turned towards them, despite she almost murmured under Aloe hooves, as her shoulders, back and base of her wings got proper treatment. “They need to know how close his organism is to ours and how it can possibly react to the transfer attempt.”

“… as well as his physical abilities and how they can contain him in case of some… outburst,” she cringed inwardly but kept that part to herself.

“Hmmm, and I thought that he is halfway home already,” huffed Rainbow.

“Thought?” Fluttershy raised her head and the girls heard the sudden strength in her voice. “You wanted to say “hoped”, perhaps.”

“… or to the Moon,” chuckled Rainbow, who didn’t see Fluttershy’s eyes, which resembled ones of a cockatrice at that moment. “What?” she looked over her shoulder when the silence became obvious. Even Aloe stumbled and stopped massaging for a second. “The place is now vacant and…”

‘I wonder if Rainbow is unwillingly getting straight to the point,’ thought Twilight. ‘Perhaps Celestia is concerned about this exactly – that suddenly appearing human doesn’t turn… Nightmare Alex?! I can’t help noticing that he came together with princess Luna amazingly fast if I read the signs properly. Interesting… what does Celestia’s logical chain look like…’

“I genuinely wonder,” said Fluttershy. “Why do you hate him so much, Dash? I mean you can hardly bring any reasons, except your suspicions, which may have some ground or no ground at all.”

She then turned to Twilight and said quietly, that even Rarity could hardly hear.

“I want to see Alex. Can you please do something about that, Twi?”

“I’m afraid, it’s too early, dear,” Twilight downcasted, while Rarity was all ears. Rainbow got distracted by the massage and paid less attention to the human-related problem, as she knew now that her wish didn’t come true yet. On the one hand, Twilight was happy that Fluttershy evidently dropped her sorrowful mood, but on the other hand, her new active attitude was about to bring new problems, so it was a double-natured feel. “They even limited his contacts with personnel, let alone anypony, who is not involved.”

“But I am involved!” stated Fluttershy bluntly. Rarity raised an eyebrow, so fast was that mood change.

“Maybe later, when they get more results and… ensure that there is no harm in visits,” Twilight said in an accommodating spirit. “I promised to talk you through and I’ll try my best to do that.”

“Unless I’m forced to sneak you through…” she thought, shivering inwardly. Still Twilight wasn’t feeling naughty enough yet for that act. “I sincerely hope Rarity doesn’t have the same plans.”

The sudden silence in the room was now interrupted only by the foam “whisper” and Rainbow Dash cooing something, as Aloe got to her wings.

She noticed a new scroll on the table right upon entering her study. Princess Celestia was returning from her mages council and the disappointed look on her face told about lack of conclusive results better than any words. Everypony considered a magical transfer of a magically resistant entity a very dangerous and generally futile venture, being especially cautious without any experimental basis on the human real capabilities regarding magic.

Frankly speaking, she didn’t expect much at the first day, still, there was a faint hope that somepony might have some fresh idea, which could be turned into a feasible method with the help of research and meticulous work. But nothing yet.

“They say, one head is good, a few are… Cerberus…” chuckled Celestia. “Today it was indeed – much ado, no result.”

The new scroll unrolling in front of her eyes, enveloped in the golden aura, must be the long-awaited first report of the “Alex research team”. Celestia dwelled in reading, running her eyes along the written lines.

“Your Highness, Princess Celestia!

With the following letter let me present you the summary report of the day one of human research procedure. I’m going to be straight to the point and avoid loading you with unnecessary details, thus forwarding right to the results crucial for the goal, you’ve stated: returning the human to his home world or the possibility of him staying in Equestria if alternative fails.

The extensive functional analysis along with analysis of human tissues and bodily fluids showed the major similarity between our species. Generally, differences are based on walking method; extremities structure – namely the existence of fingers on both arms and legs; ration – the subject is an obvious omnivore, but according to his own observation has no issues with accommodating to local ration generally; and the practical absence of fur coating on the 90% of his body surface. The latter forces the subject to wear clothes most of the time and makes him subject to temperatures much higher and lower than his normal body temperature, which is 36.6 degrees, thus differs from pony nominal of 38 degrees. N.B.: Should be considered in case of diagnosing and treating all sorts of diseases.

Speaking of the latter, the human seems to be susceptible to the same diseases as ponies, with the natural exception of species highly specific threats as e.g. Cutie Pox. The subject is non-allergic and non-allergenic in his turn.

The functional analysis partially showed that the subject is physically stronger than the majority of ponies, with the exception of alicorns, which can be explained by size, mass and overall physical development of the subject. The differences in long-term agility and endurance are still open questions and we hope to get certain results tomorrow, on day two of medical research.

Streamline psychological testing didn’t uncover any pathology. The mentality of the human, estimated by test results and communication, seems to be generally comparable to the average of the adult pony subjects of your Highness.

Naturally, we had no time to analyze the reproductive functions and the ability of cross-breeding, besides it wasn’t our stated priority. But if your orders follow…”

“Those scientists are incorrigible,” with a sigh Celestia closed her eyes for a second, then continued reading.

“But if your orders follow, we cover this part of research accordingly. This perhaps could be necessary in case the subject is forced to stay in Equestria.

Considering all the circumstances given the overall result is as follows: The subject is both physically and psychologically healthy and has no medical contraindications for being transferred in the usual manner. The magical aspects of the same are the subject of further experiments.

However…”

“Hmm, now to the most interesting part…” Celestia’s attention sharpened.

“However, today’s analysis uncovered a few indirect features.

First and foremost, the regeneration level of subject’s body is extremely, up to being off the scale, high. To our surprise, it was even detrimental to some of our analysis. For example, we were unable to take blood samples the usual way, the puncture heals itself visibly before any probe can be taken, so we were to use a syringe instead. Simple cuts of skin and underlying tissues cover at visible speed as well.

The examination of the mentioned wound on the subject’s right side showed a barely visible long scar. The prognosis is good and the scar will completely vanish in the nearest perspective, despite the crude enough healing methods. The subject himself mentioned using “stitches”, namely sewing together the edges of the wound. This long-gone practice was common, if I remember my student days right, among Earth ponies in the Three Tribes era, lately replaced by advanced magical treatment. But the latter is not possible, considering subject’s supposed features (further testing necessary).

The overall image provides the regeneration level much higher than one of an adult alicorn. Considering your special inquiry regarding possible confrontation of the subject: physical influence is highly unwelcome, the only reliable method of stopping the subject is the termination of the majority of the processes at once, i.e. killing the subject instantly. The regeneration level makes conditions like shock or coma practically inapplicable to the subject.”

“This is what I was concerned about most when heard Fluttershy’s story,” thought Celestia. “So, if something goes wrong, we’ll have a very durable… problem. Oh, well, let’s not concentrate on the unfortunate part of it yet…”

“The above leaves the question of subject’s lifespan prognosis open as well. We have no opportunity to measure it even approximately at the moment.”

“Better and better!” huffed Celestia, unrolling the scroll further.

“The next indirect result, I want to mention, is of the more optimistic nature though.

The subject is evidently informed about his possible reaction to negative impact. And despite only magical impact was considered, the subject willingly stayed on the side of caution during the tissue analysis and regeneration tests, involving physical damage of tissues, showing the high level of empathy. Personally, if I’m allowed to add my own insight to the report, I must say a much higher level than I could expect from anypony in similar circumstances.

Thus during regeneration test, which supposed performing a cut on the skin and underlying tissues, the subject demanded the nurse to stay on a possible safe distance and give him the scalpel instead, which was allowed after discussing and involving a guard. The test didn’t show any noticeable reaction on the damage in addition to fast recovery, thus indirectly confirming the supposed “backlash” being magical only.

The mentioned behaviour though may speak about either subject preferring to not harm anypony, or good acting, equally possible. Supposedly further experiments will show the real state of affairs.

Expect the next report tomorrow in the similar time.

With endless respect and admiration,

always your loyal servant

…, MD”

“Well, we’ll see then,” muttered Celestia, putting the scroll in the drawer. Then she realized, that all the time was standing while reading this, and sat behind her desk.

“Yet it is very interesting and thought-provoking for the first day of research,” she clopped her fore hooves together. “And confirms my few assumptions… but as he said there is still a possibility of acting, unfortunately.”

The night after the first day of the tests wasn’t memorable. Alex was completely exhausted after all that medical crap, he was subjected to that day. He probably didn’t come through that number of analysis for his entire previous life, so that day was a nightmare both physically and psychologically. Being examined by all imaginable ways is not the most pleasant thing in general, and cutting himself in a series of tests was especially awful. But he went for that consciously, Alex wasn’t sure that he knew all of his abilities, so he wasn’t ready to watch calmly how any physical impact might severely backlash somepony, who performed the test according to their duty, not their will.

When he saw the same miniature unicorn nurse, which was now assigned to perform various manipulations during regeneration tests, he naturally protested, backing up from her. Alex demanded that he was given the instruments and the nurse kept possible safe distance. He didn’t allow anypony to come close, till they decided to satisfy his request after a short discussion. Actually, Alex didn’t see anypony in charge, but he suspected their invisible supervision, as nopony tried to force the predefined route of the experiment, fortunately, and, after a short hitch, he was allowed to do it his own way in the additional presence of the guard. Finally, it didn’t look, as if they were extremely cautious with his suggestion.

Alex was truly amazed by the visible effect of physical damage being healed on sight, minor wounds closed almost in a wink. He noticed that already, when they attempted to take blood samples, but didn’t pay much attention at that time. But when a fresh cut heals itself in less than a minute with minimal blood loss…

That didn’t make the exact process of performing any damage less painful though, so Alex was inwardly happy they didn’t plan any experiments on his skeletal structure regeneration.

No wonder that at the end of the day he almost crawled on the bed and passed out as soon as his head reached the pillow. Only a dead man could “sleep” deeper than him that night perhaps. Alex had no dreams, normal or “sleepwalking” ones, and had no idea if anypony visited his room during that night. The only thing his exhausted mind was able to notice automatically when he barged into his room, was the newly put simple wooden door, which now separated the room from the magical barrier. A small opening was left in the door to observe the room without opening it entirely. Perhaps, the room resembled more of a prison cell now, but Alex couldn’t give less buck at the moment. He never approached the barrier, to be frank, remembering about his specific qualities, neither he was going to bang into the door without any vital urge. He just fell flat as a log on his bed and, perhaps, fell asleep even before his body reached the bed.

The second day was different and, without any doubt, less exhausting, despite that time his strength, agility, durability, etc of the kind were put to the test. Practically they wanted to determine his physical capabilities and calculate the limits, thus putting him under all sorts of load, including running track durability and speed testing and even measuring his lungs effective volume. Alex got used to that on Earth and hardly found much difference from his usual day at the gym, perhaps the intensity was higher than normal. This wasn’t nearly as bad as the first day though and Alex felt rather energetic than tired that evening. No need of harming himself and no fear of accidentally harming somepony else were reassuring also.

So Alex forced himself to go to bed when the last rays of the sun vanished from the window and silence swallowed the building. But he wasn’t going to lie and waste the time. He had certain plans instead, plans which could be realized only when he technically slept.

Alex noticed that moderate “sleepwalking” didn’t affect his condition much; last two times he got up in the morning fresh and kicking, despite he was active in a way at night. So he decided to use his otherwise free time to do something valuable. Training something that Luna showed him wasn’t a bad idea. This was at least what he could afford anytime and anywhere.

This time it was even easier. Such small distance didn’t demand any living “anchor” at all and when the hoofsteps of the guard ceased in the corridor, another Alex materialized in the room in addition to the one laying on the bed sleeping.

Alex stood for a while, watching himself – that was a truly outstanding and even insane feeling. With a chuckle phantom Alex…

“Hey, why phantom?” Alex thought. “That’s still me, myself and I. Besides I proved to be real enough at least for Luna,” with that memory his feelings warmed up considerably. “Let’s call it… errmmm… “proxy”,” he giggled.

So, with a chuckle the proxy Alex pondered, if it was a good idea to boop the source Alex on the nose, then swept away that thought, rightfully supposing that it would wake him up most likely and break the experiment. He opened and closed the bathroom door instead, without touching it obviously. That was much easier than any illusions or reality manipulations (to be sincere Alex wasn’t still one hundred per cent sure, which one it was… well, maybe ninety-eight per cent at that point) with fire. Then he moved the chair, put it on the table, turning upside down. All the time he listened carefully if nopony was approaching the door from the corridor, ready to hide in the blind spot and thinking that somepony made him a nice present, putting that door, which limited the view and made the space near it non-visible through the opening.

He was sitting on the floor cross-legged and making the parts of the chair, which he disassembled, spin in the air on the complex trajectory in front of him when he heard a surprised sigh and a quiet satisfied chuckle behind his back.

Alex looked over his shoulder, inhaling full chest of lavender aroma and feeling the wide smile lightening his face. The night-coloured alicorn princess watched his trick with pride and approval of a teacher.

“Congratulations, Alex!” said Luna when he turned and got up to greet her with a slight bow, making the chair parts reassemble with a click and accurately putting the chair down. “I see thou art putting the new knowledge to good use, mine lief!”

“Yes, princess… sorry… Luna,” Alex corrected himself. “I thought, why not try, as long as I have the whole night at my service anyway.”

“Wait a minute…” he wondered. “If I’m “sleepwalking”… does that mean that you actually came here?”

“As thou properly noticed, thou art sleeping at the moment and… as thou putteth it… “sleepwalking” at the same time, and thou doth not seeing me sleeping, then I am naturally real,” smirked Luna. “But variants are possible still…”

“I wonder if you stop teasing me someday, Luna,” Alex wasn’t going to take offence though. “But how could you appear here in the locked room? I mean I heard nothing, even if you teleported…”

“Hmpf!” huffed Luna, funnily wrinkling her pretty nose. “Teleportation is not at each moment done with a bang, Alex. The more thou master ‘t, the more fluid and simple ‘t gets. Thou must judge by Twilight, I guess, she doth ‘t loudly forsooth, but recall, she is still learning.”

“I see…” nodded Alex. “Well, if you are really here… let me…”

With those words the proxy Alex vanished in the air, while real Alex sat on the bed, rubbing his face with his hands. He saw that obviously his beautiful guest is neither going to disappear nor leave him at that moment. That caused another smile on Alex’s face, real this time.

It took a couple of steps from each and Alex felt the silk of Luna’s mane on his face.

“Greetings, my princess,” he whispered in her fluffy ear, which excitedly perked, when he was nuzzling her soft cheek and his hands were travelling on her shoulders, feeling how Luna’s muscles contracted under the coat, responding to his gentle touch. “Now my day is truly not spent for nothing!”

Luna sat on the floor, wrapping her fore legs around Alex and pulling him even closer into her warm embrace.

“Thou wast closed for me ere, yesterday,” her soft voice made Alex’s heart flutter. “So I decided to give thee some time for thyself, as t seemed thou wast too not restful. But I wanted to see thee, so hither I am… Real enough as thou can… feel.”

And before Alex could reply anything, he felt his lips rather occupied by a more pleasant activity than some talking. He closed his eyes this time, tasting Luna’s lavender breath, and tried his best to enjoy each tiny fraction of their unity, while her hooves were involuntarily and faintly stroking his back in pace with her lips and tongue movement.

After a few minutes of mutual pleasure, Alex felt that Luna stiffened slightly and listened to something carefully, turning one ear towards the door.

“The guards are patrolling once in an hour,” his eyes were smiling, while he was stroking the deliciously soft coat on her swan-like neck with both hands, as Alex supposed, he got her concern right. “And I can always hear their hoofsteps, when they enter the corridor behind the door.”

“Oh…” Luna raised one eyebrow, looking into his eyes, and Alex put his nose to hers and nuzzled tenderly and slowly with a fitful sigh. She put one hoof on the left side of his chest and giggled like a filly, feeling his heart’s heavy beat.

“Speaking of which,” Alex took his breath and pointed to the newly installed door. “I have now a convenient novelty.”

Luna was to look over her shoulder, turning to the entrance and Alex immediately used that opportunity to kiss her behind her soft ear and on the neck, causing a quiet surprised moan.

“Somepony finally thought that leaving me an opportunity to contact with the magical barrier, accidentally or not, wasn’t the smartest thing,” continued Alex with a chuckle, before Luna’s lips passionately forced him to fall silent again for a while and snuggle tighter to her warm chest, running his fingers through her incredible mane. The light blue shadows on her closed almond-shaped eyes made them incredibly stunning and it took Alex a few moments to remember what he was going to say when she let him breathe freely again. “B-but… I f-found good use for that. They can’t see the whole room through that window, Luna. So when a guard passes, you’ll simply need to stand near the wall with the door… and I’ll pretend that I’m sleeping. Well… just in case.”

“Too much talk, mine leaf,” cooed Luna squeezing him again. “We don’t have the whole night forsooth.”

“It seems that you are slightly abusing the mere fact that you are a bit bigger than me,” noticed Alex, resting his head on her warm shoulder. “And have an extra pair of extremities ready to grasp me.”

He stroked the margins of her wings, holding him in a warm lavender-flavoured cocoon, and made Luna instantly shiver and quietly coo something sweet.

“Are they so sensitive?” he stopped and kissed her under her chin.

“Considerably more than thou thinkest,” sighed out Luna. “And despite ‘t feels wonderful, thou better dost not continue that hither, if ’t be true thou dost not want me to become a jelly.”

“Sorry,” Alex hugged her again and ran his fingers over her back instead.

“No need to be sorry,” smirked Luna and added meaningfully. “Simply don’t touch the wings unless thou art absolutely ready for… continuation. I’m not exactly controlling myself in that case, so…” she blushed a little.

“I’ll keep that in mind, my princess.”

“Oh, I forgot one important thing…” speaking about “control” Luna seemed to remember something. “Forsooth thither is some magical guarding device in thy room, t must be… tuned to react breakout attempts. Not that thou wast going to do something that no more brain than a stone can do, but I felt, I needed to warn thee. Simply be careful, at which hour thou art… experimenting, please!”

“Thank you for telling me, I’ll be careful,” Alex reached her muzzle to share their breath again.

Almost three hours flew with the speed of the light, considering they heard guard’s steps thrice already and were to take “strategic positions”, letting them pass without troubles. After the second “take” Luna giggled like a school filly, watching how Alex gets up from the bed, where he pretended to be sleeping like a log a few seconds before, as the guard decided to take a look through the opening in the door. She obviously had much fun out of their small night adventure, contrary to her daily routines. Boredom was exactly the thing, Luna complained to Alex about, and her worst enemy, despite she learned to fight it successfully enough through the years. Perhaps being Nightmare Moon and realizing that it didn’t solve the problems the desired way, gave her necessary wisdom to stand rock-solid in that fight. Being the Master of her subjects’ dreams provided some vent, but…

Even having a princess, able to affect their dreams, even the reality through those dreams, ponies in general didn’t treat that seriously enough. They rather duly noted the positive changes in their life after her intervention, than actually recognized her contribution, most often. Perhaps that was normal due to the mere nature of dreams, which were known to dissolve strong impressions and round the sharp edges. Sometimes it was salvation, but in some other cases, it rendered Luna’s help ghostly, as if her subjects found the solution by themselves entirely.

The latest outstandingly different case was, perhaps, Scootaloo, who genuinely felt grateful for all the help Luna offered and instantly recognized princess’ role in her fear related problem-solving. She now tended to stand for princess Luna, if somepony tried to downplay her importance in her subjects’ life.

“I guess this is where ponies are just the same as people,” sighed Alex. “Believe me, I have come across numerous cases when people recognized material forms of assistance, but totally forgot about good advice, thinking that they managed to cope with their problems on their own after a while… just because they couldn’t… touch what helped them.”

Knowing that didn’t make the problem itself more pleasant, as Luna sincerely told him.

“Promise me,” she asked when they sat the familiar way – with Alex between her fore legs, enveloped in her wings, her head resting on top of his. “Promise me, that we get outside together at least one night, at which hour Tia allows thee out and afore… thou…” she stumbled and Alex realized, what she was going to say.

“I promise,” this went out lightly and wholeheartedly. “And I will delay my departure, if necessary to keep that promise.”

“And if my fate happens to be that I never get home,” added Alex after a moment. “I won’t forget about you as long as I’m… alive enough.”

He felt a hot drop on his neck and his heart skipped a beat. Alex reached Luna’s cheek carefully and wiped another tear.

“Luna, please…” he muttered awkwardly, turning and kneeling to her, hugging her and stroking her head. “I… can’t…” Words got stuck somewhere halfway.

In a minute she shook her head lightly and allowed herself a small smile, looking him into the eyes.

“It’s… I’m fine… forsooth,” she kissed him gently, then asked. “Cometh back… I… like to hold thee that way very much, while I can…”

In his turn, Alex told her about his previous life, about work routines being his most common company during days, about him being unable to bring more diversity in his life, despite he wanted to. Of course, the work and that style of life paid for themselves, but sometimes Alex wanted more craziness to spice it up.

“So, tis whither thy impulsiveness roots in,” whispered Luna in his ear.

“Perhaps,” Alex rubbed his cheek against the soft coat of her neck. “I can’t allow that in my work, and my work takes… took the majority of my time. So in rare cases, when I’m free, it… takes over.”

Luna chuckled quietly.

“Doth not allow t take over entirely, Alex. Simply takest ‘t as advice of an old mare with certain experience.”

“Don’t. Ever. Say. That. Again!” Alex said firmly. “You are not old, not in the sense you obviously implied now. And you are… one of the most beautiful miracles I saw in my life.”

“Buck it! I suck at complimenting a… mare,” he muttered.

“Thanks!” simply said Luna, but Alex heard that she really meant that. Then she added teasingly. “One of?.. And who else has the honour to be in that company?”

“Oh… Thou can tell not,” she added after a few seconds of awkward silence. “I’m quite happy I am on that list.”

‘Forsooth I know who thou could name,’ she thought, gently rubbing her chin against his hair.

As they talked, Luna found out that Alex was a “late bird”, an “owl”, he felt that work and thought were easier during the night hours and came out better finally. Obviously, he wasn’t able to completely shift his schedule, as it would be difficult to coordinate with others, who preferred daytime as their work hours. But when he had some tasks, which demanded his own attention, deep thinking or could be solved by himself solely, Alex tried to address those after the sunset. He felt that he could concentrate better in the serenity of the night and the result spoke about his decision being correct.

“I never had any problems sleeping four or five hours a day, thus having at least half of the night for myself,” confessed Alex. “Perhaps, this is why I got some results in this… sleepwalking that easily – night and related things are my turfs. I even tried to train something instead of simply sleeping tonight… before you came, of course.”

“Oh, why tis modesty, Alex,” Luna shook her head, making Alex hair slightly messy. “Thou dost right and receivest excellent results. I can bet, that chair still suits for sitting, despite thou took t apart ere. Thou art on the right path, except certain jokes.”

“Luna!” pleaded Alex. “I’m sorry. And I truly mean it. Will you keep reminding me about my fail forever?”

“For a while, yes,” teased Luna with a sly smile. “Thou hath asked me to remind Tia about the certain thing, so, wherefore can’t I remind thee something? Mayhap thou were not completely wrong, saying “I’m the night”, considering what thou art telling.”

“Yeah!” huffed Alex. “Know what, I have this preference since early school and you better not know, how I was scolded by my parents whenever they woke in the middle of the night and found me doing things, I should have done during the day, according to their opinion. Less, when I grew up, still…”

Luna quietly laughed.

“At which time I was a filly and stayed awake too late, then fell asleep on spot, Tia used to carry me to the bed on her back. She put me in my bed and covered with the blanket, and I didn’t even wake,” Luna’s eyes seemed to focus on the doings of long-gone days when the shadow of Nightmare Moon wasn’t even possible to appear. Then she noticed that Alex was too quiet.

“Anything wrong, mine lief?”

“I miss them,” after a short while whispered Alex. “We lived separately with my parents lately, but it’s one thing and being unable to see them completely, to call, to ask for advice, when you need it is totally different. It’s like we’re dead for each other now, except I know they must be alright… and they don’t have even that,” he let out a sigh of the weight of a boulder.

“I can relate, Alex. I know what thou feelest,” Luna slightly nuzzled the back of his head. “Especially about mine father… I was so close to him, at which time I was a tiny foal… ere…”

“Don’t tell, Luna, don’t tell, if that hurts,” Alex leaned on her shoulder and wrapped one hand around her neck. “My curiosity isn’t worth your pain.”

“It’s not a big secret,” Luna allowed herself a small smile, but her eyes explicitly glistened. “They both with mom were keen mages and they experimented a gross amount, one day something went wrong… or simply differently than planned. Tia just reached adulthood and I was a filly… Methinks Starswirl disappeared anon in some way alike.”

“We didn’t wend nearly far in magic with Tia thenceforth,” she sighed.

“And that’s good,” Alex tried to shift her attention. “Equestria needs its princesses, doesn’t it? Definitely, I’m in a better position, I know where my parents are… I didn’t want to unearth that, Luna. Sorry, if I… touched it too deeply.”

“Wait!” a sudden idea came to his mind. “Isn’t it dangerous then, to attempt to send me home? I mean dangerous to the mage, who tries that.”

“Oh, no, not at all, with regular conditions at least,” Luna seemed to let her memories go for now. “The danger roots in thy ability to drain magic, Alex, not in the mere spell anypony tries on thee to transfer. Tis all well-known magic, the problem is in… shielding the mage from thy reaction, as I understand Tia’s investigations. I’m not a specialist in warps, Alex, pr mine ignorance.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” chuckled Alex.

“Thou… Thou art...” Luna bowed to reach him and Alex, getting her motion right, leaned back slightly. He didn’t have a chance to find out, what exactly “he was”, as they dissolved in their unity for a while again.

9. Guinea pig

The living room was much darker this evening, the sky behind the windows was covered by thick heavy clouds and the streams of water, produced by their stout bellies, went down the glass, dropping fanciful and sometimes extremely weird shadows on the walls and furniture with each flash of lightning. Alex caught himself on the notice that he didn’t hear the thunder: normally the sound was muffled with all windows closed, but this time there were flashes, yet absolutely no sound audible.

The main lights were out as if someone didn’t want to interfere with the play of this shadow theatre around the room. The only light sources were the hearth with half-burned logs, crackling lazily and sleepily, and an old torchiere, standing behind the armchair and providing a sharply defined circle of light (Alex wondered about soft shadows absence), bright enough to give the mid-aged woman ability to read, sitting in that armchair.

Alex breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of gummy firewood, fine thick furniture casing and something else resembling the mint drops, and made another step forward, stopping at another armchair and putting his hand on the backrest. The woman put down the book, she read, on her knees and took off the glasses; a kind welcoming smile brightened her face when she raised her eyes on Alex.

“Alex, dear!” she pointed to the armchair, he was leaning on. “It took you two weeks to remember that you still have parents.”

Pause.

He put both hands on the backrest of the armchair, but still kept standing. Apparently, he was saying something in return, as his mom was following the lines and nodded, but Alex couldn’t hear his voice. He didn’t have much time to wonder.

“Oh, dear, that was only a joke,” she chuckled, yet rather sadly than amusedly. “I know that you are pretty busy in the last few months and have too much on your plate. I’d simply like to see you more often. I guess I’m officially getting older,” another small smile.

Another pause. Or his silent reply…

“That wasn’t a complaint, God forbid!” his mother shook her head. “Neither a distress call. Merely stating the fact – I feel it…” Suddenly her eyes narrowed a bit, as she observed her son more fixedly. “Alex, is something bothering you? You look strained and… nervous. Look, son, sit down finally and tell me what’s the matter.”

Moment of silence.

“That’s a serious question,” she closed her eyes, her expression becoming serious instantly. “The biggest problem of choices is that they are inevitable. You can’t stop and turn back, avoid your choice, despite sometimes it seems you can walk around the problem. It will pounce you from every corner. And serious choices are entirely yours if they emerge in front of you. Nobody can help you decide, as it will be their choice immediately, not yours.”

Pause. Alex took a look around the room, it became noticeably darker. However, the torchiere and fireplace didn’t emit less light.

“I see where you’re going…” mom leaned to him, putting her hand on Alex’s arm. “But, fortunately, some choices can give you concealed freedom, my boy. Those are not that easy or difficult, as choosing one of the two options. Sometimes you can choose both or a mix of them, sometimes you even invent your own option or rule and force your unyielding choice “comply”.”

Alex looked into her eyes, as the room around started to fade, drowning in the twilight, which turned into full darkness. He saw nothing at that moment, he felt nothing already: no mom’s hand, no armchair beneath himself. Alex wasn’t even sure at that moment if he was standing, sitting, laying down or floating in complete darkness.

He blinked.

The darkness became different; he felt something… someone large, bulky and extremely unkind at a short distance. Alex tried his best to see what he was going to face, but the only thing he could comprehend was a lump of darkness even more black than surrounding space. Then six dim red lights appeared in three pairs… Or were them the eyes?

“… I could imagine, there is nothing to ponder about here,” a low voice, no it sounded more like a set of voices, as they mixed and reverberated, continued the conversation out of the blue. “You won’t be able to destroy me ever, human. Whatever you became now.”

“I admit,” insinuatingly continued his opponent after a pause. “There is a fair chance that I couldn’t destroy you either, in a desired reasonable period of time at least. The alternative is least entertaining, don’t you think?”

Silence. Dead silence.

“I will take what I need of Equestria anyway,” bluntly stated the set of rolling voices. “Yet I’m ready to negotiate. Think about it. Thousands of years Equestria was under the reign of the princesses… and turned into the still swamp. Sweet, harmonic, friendly… friendly sucking you to the very bottom, if there is any. And boring as nothing else can be.”

‘That depends on what you consider to be entertaining!’ flew in Alex’s head.

“You’re another story,” continued the “provocateur”. “You are human. Even more than a human now, but still enough human inside,” Alex almost felt, how the mysterious beast nastily smirked. “The humans are born to conquer, to fight and gain, but mostly to conquer, as far as I know your kin. And believe me, I know you well. Take out the princesses! It won’t matter for you if your swarms have “feelings”,” the voices sounded mockingly at the last word. “They will have aims and will follow you, setting those aims. I will show you, how to open portals to other worlds. Just imagine…”

‘Who the bucking hay are you?’ wanted to ask Alex when he heard another voice. His own voice, but coming outwardly.

“Tis could be reasonable, if ’t be true I were thee!” the voice, the mocking tone was undoubtedly his own, but…

‘What? Why am I talking as princess Luna!’ Alex was totally distracted. “He” meanwhile continued.

“Let me withhold mine enthusiasm regarding thy suggestion though. Mine level of trust is way afar from that.”

Alex facepalmed inwardly. He spent enough time with Luna, but the assumption that he could absorb her manner of speech that much seemed unlikely to him.

“Look at… thyself!” drolled his opponent. “You take too much of them inside already, while you could really make Equestria different. But, well, it was your choice…”

Alex twitched and… woke up in his room.

Celestia tiredly closed her eyes. She almost beat Twilight record in the reading marathon during the few latest days, while she searched the Canterlot Library for a feasible method to magically transfer a magic resistant entity. The lack of realistic methods in this case was appalling, as the only visible result she managed to get daily, were the bloodshot eyes, well, not of their usual pink colour of the iris, but redder. Totally not suitable for the princess.

No wonder that the sun almost smacked down behind the horizon this evening, making everypony surprised by such sudden dusk and fast-falling twilight. That was the reflection of Celestia’s own tired condition and the liberty she couldn’t allow herself, unfortunately – to hit the pillows as fast as she lowered the sun. She needed that letter, as the direction of her further research was supposed to base on what she could read there, thus princess stood at the window and random observer could think that Celestia is enjoying the view of the night, coming over her domain. But her eyes were closed, the princess gave them long deserved rest, while she was thinking if she missed something in today’s studying.

The sound of the materialized scroll, which fell on her table, rustling the papers, was like music for her perked ears. Celestia opened her eyes, heading to her desk, and sat there with comfort: she felt exhausted today. However, the golden aura enveloped the scroll unrolling it; skipping usual formal greetings, Celestia started reading, what was important to her.

“…

The following is a brief report of the second stage of human studying. During this stage, we plan to perform various tests of magical impact (and the corresponding reaction of the subject – human) of inanimate magical objects also known as artefacts.

The whole set of experiments is planned to be carried under constant observation and control of the mages of your royal council. We, in our turn, provide generic medical supervision and supplementary services, collecting data and building theories with the help of respected mages accordingly. The same refers to further experiments, involving living interaction (subject to further reports, when done).

The named artefacts are presented by simple metallic tokens, typically worn on the neck of the subject, or suitable to be placed on the subject any other preferred by the nature of the experiment way. They are made of simple bronze and crystals, and powered by the named mages with basic spells of different nature, range and target.”

“Why the hay, pray tell, can’t they write in simple Equestrian?” muttered Celestia. “The mere fact that it is comprehensible doesn’t make it comfortable to read yet.”

“Naturally, we can divide the artefacts on passive and active, with passive affecting some characteristics of the subject or third party, or environmental parameters, e.g. lighting level. Further on the impact of both passive and active artefacts can be directed to the subject himself or anything/anypony in a certain range. In addition to that, the impact can be positive and negative, regardless of the target of it.

We could test only the limited number of simple interactions for the first day of the second stage. Due to the named reason, we decided to cover the whole range of types of interaction, to have the most complete possible image. Basing on the results of today’s tests we plan to cover the entire variety of spells, your council mages find appropriate and necessary for our goal. The results of extensive tests will follow; while here is the summary of subject’s interaction with inanimate magical objects.

According to the conventional plan of tests, we started with passive artefacts.

Thus the simplest possible environmental interaction was chosen – the first test token was powered with lighting spell. The token was placed on the neck of the subject as a part of a necklace. N.B.: Here and further on the subject shows the high concern and cooperation level, placing, activating (when necessary) and operating the artefacts himself. The staff member leaves the prepared token on the test table, then, when the test room is clear, the subject puts the token on.”

“Hmmm…” Celestia raised one eyebrow. “This level of concern is too high if you ask me…”

“Oh, come on,” she reconsidered in a second. “He may be impulsive,” she remembered that kiss and blushed slightly, inwardly scolding herself for that memory, “but not completely mental. He must realize that harming my subjects won’t make his life easier.”

She continued reading.

“The first test didn’t bring any unexpected results. Thus when the lights were turned off in the test room, the token started to emit light, according to the applied spell. The decided period of each test is set at twenty minutes if no interaction takes place, or as long as is enough to register the results without detrimental effects to the subject or/and third party. During the whole test period, no extra effects were registered: the light emission stayed at the cast level without any changes, the subject didn’t report any physical or emotional change, the token preserved its initial condition (both physically and magically, as it was confirmed later when it was examined by the mages). The test was stopped and the subject had a short rest.

The second test included a passive artefact, affecting the third-party test subject – volunteer. This token was imbued with the spell, increasing the physical strength of the third-party subject on a short-range (the room perimeter), the primary subject – the human – was informed about the nature of the spell, the weights were placed in the test room. The primary subject put the artefact on, no changes of the state were registered on both the token and the primary subject. The third-party test subject entered the room. The volunteer immediately reported about the expected impact of the artefact, as test lifting showed that she was able to lift twice than her normal limit. No extra effects were registered, likewise the first test. The test was stopped, when the volunteer tried the number of weights and determined her new limit (under the spell effect), without any changes to the primary subject or the artefact.

The third test supposed passive impact on the human himself and the token was accordingly powered with the same strength increasing spell, but this time directed on the test subject respectively. The token was made specifically to be activated by pressing the crystal, to avoid unnecessary disturbances and “borderline effects” in the process of putting it on the subject. The lifting capability limit of the subject, determined by the medical tests, was approximately eighty per cent of his own weight, thus under normal conditions of the spell application, the subject was supposed to lift approximately twice of his own weight. However, when the subject put the token on and properly activated it, no visible changes were registered. The lifting limit remained the same as before the test, but the extra effect was registered instead. The visible bond formed between the token and subjects body. Thus when the subject lifted the token, a thin, bright aura thread could be seen, connecting the token and test subject. The subject reported token temperature increase and, in a matter of minutes, the token disintegrated, corroding (visually the process reminded the corrosion mostly, despite bronze is not supposed to corrode naturally) and crumbling to dust. N.B.: The test subject was visibly shocked by the effect, we suppose that the emotions were not simulated.

It is necessary to note that those tokens were specifically made as weak enough artefacts, without any extra protection of their own structure, to register the results of the tests in the quickest and most graphical way. Supposedly, any real artefact (possessing protection and a higher level of magical power) will resist the effect considerably longer (depending on the power and protection levels, yet it’s vital to notice that more powerful artefacts create more powerful interaction, thus the reflected effect is stronger as well), but still ceases to exist finally, when its magical (and presumably connected physical) potential wears out.”

Celestia closed her eyes for a moment, thinking.

‘Bad, this is very, very bad. We, perhaps, could shield the human from the direct impact with some passive artefact, as the experiments allow. But the transfer supposes direct impact on the transferred object. And in that case, he starts draining the transferring magic again… or even worse, some unforeseen effect could be formed by the addition of the shielding artefact.’

‘Mom, where are you, when I need your experience in magic so much?’ a single tear stained the papers in front of Celestia.

After a minute the princess took herself in hooves and returned to the report.

“The next series of tests included the active impact in the same pattern: environment, third party subject, primary subject. As the results appeared to be similar, I took the liberty to compact the description as much as it was possible.

The first test supposed active interception of the environmental projectiles aimed at the test subject. We used buckball balls as the projectiles, launching them at the test subject at different speeds. The token was powered by a “sentinel” spell, which knocked down the projectiles with shock impulses and could be activated by the subject himself. During the test all the balls were taken down by the token, no extra effects on the token itself or the test subject were registered.

The second test in this series used a healing artefact, tuned to affect third-party test subjects. As the latter, a guard was used. After the primary test subject put on the token and activated, the third-party test subject made a cut on his fore leg. N.B.: The facial expression of the primary subject showed his negative attitude towards the method. The cut was healed by the artefact in a predefined manner and time. No extra effects were registered on the token and the primary subject.

The third test included the same healing artefact, tuned to affect the primary test subject. To trigger the effect the subject was supposed to make a small wound on himself. Considering the off-limits level of regeneration your mages made a few changes to the healing spell, namely prevented it from stopping when the wound healed. The proof run was performed without the token to determine the time of complete healing of the cut. During the actual run of the test same nature cut was made and no changes in healing time were registered, allowing to assume that the artefact didn’t affect the self-healing process. The rest reminded the passive counterpart of this experiment, namely – the bond was formed between the token and the subject’s body and the artefact was destroyed within minutes.

We considered it important to perform two extra tests with a purely negative impact on both the third party and the primary subject. The mentioned “sentinel” spell was used as the basis for these tests. In the first test, the token was tuned to bombard approaching third party subject with shock impulses and a guard in shock shielding armour was used as the third-party test subject. No other effects than pre-planned were registered.

The second test involved the “sentinel” token placed in the test room and tuned to attack any approaching living creature. The test subject – human – was supposed to enter the room and approach the token, causing the reaction. We did two runs: with the shielding armour and without. In the first run, the impulses were reflected by the armour and no extra effects were registered. In the second run, the human was attacked by the artefact when he approached at the defined range, but the impulse didn’t cause any shock effect on the human. Instead of that it visibly “dissolved” in human’s body and the artefact itself blasted in a flash, resembling electric discharge. No remnants of the token were found later.”

Celestia frowned, it seemed that Discord was right, not acting in his outrageous demonstration, despite how clownish it looked.

“Considering all of the above and to summarize the results, I can safely state the following. It doesn’t matter what kind of spell is used by the test artefact, passive or active, positive or negative, what actually matters, is the direction of the spell. Anything applied directly to the subject causes a magical bond forming and the draining effect, with the only exception that the negative impact causes the immediate and strong “backlash”. Otherwise, the subject is inert to surrounding magic as long as it doesn’t affect himself.

The disintegration of the magical artefacts can be explained by a complete magic drain performed by the subject, which causes deeper structural changes we have no ability to investigate for now.

We are going to test all the variety of the spells applied with artefacts, suggested by the council in the matter of the following week. But my personal suspicion is that the results will be nearly the same, regardless of the spell.

We plan to proceed with the interaction with third-party test subjects instead of inanimate artefacts when the current series of tests is over.

With endless respect and admiration,

always your loyal servant

…, MD

P.S.: Your Highness, princess Celestia, if I’m allowed, I’d like to take a liberty and advise against purely negative impact testing within living third-party test subjects series of experiments. It’s my official position.”

“Agreed,” nodded Celestia without hesitation. “Something tells me that being smacked by a frying pan is not the worst variant an offender could get.”

“And something also tells me that prolonged exposure to that “magical drain” effect can make a living mage share the unenviable fate of those artefacts,” she added, locking the scroll in the same drawer with similar others.

Alex put down the book and listened carefully. He spent the last two hours exactly that way – reading the book on Equestrian history, which was finally decided to be given to him, and paying attention to every sound, which reached his ears from the corridor. The pattern was almost the same as every evening: the guards passed his room approximately once in an hour, the wide confident hoofsteps of the second nurse passed once, and somepony galloped wildly in the middle of the first hour. Alex chuckled, he knew who that most likely was.

The second nurse, or as Alex, not knowing names, called her for himself – “Ginger”, whose duty was tonight, got late. “As usual”, as another nurse – that kind, petite “brunette” unicorn – mentioned, while bringing him his supper. She was a bit nervous, because that could interfere with her personal plans, but not overly nervous, which told Alex that it was the common practice for “Ginger” to do that. Shortly after he finished his meal, those galloping steps passed his door.

Contrary to the miniature unicorn, “Ginger” was a fairly tall, leggy earth pony. She was vivid and chatty, even too vivid in Alex’s books and she was indeed ginger. Despite her chatty nature, she bona fide avoided giving out personal information or generally anything about the experiments or personnel, so all her chatting was limited by weather, casual stuff, flowers growing in the Royal Garden or cinema (in those moments Alex got stiff, as he had no idea if he was able to get to the cinema alone or with… anypony in the nearest future), but that was an avalanche nevertheless. So, each time, when she left waving her sunny tail, Alex felt that serenity was almost palpable in those moments.

Due to the same reason Alex didn’t ask about things that bothered him, as with “Ginger” his questions would become known by guards, maids, nopony knows whoever else… and finally by Celestia, not by malevolence, but just because of “Ginger’s” curiosity and loquacity. The faster method to bring them to Celestia was, perhaps, going and whispering them himself, right into the princess’ soft ear.

Alex waited for “Ginger” to come as usual to check him before the sleep and ask if he needed something. There were certain positive aspects though: Alex knew for sure that after that visit, she would stay in the nurse’s room for the whole night, unless he called specifically, and would be most likely chatting with the guards when they stopped by during their patrolling. The guards became more relaxed and distracted that way, so his plan could play out nicely; it would be very helpful if they didn’t listen for every tiny sound in the building.

He decided to go further with his “personal experiments”. Nothing too outstanding, nothing harmful, but if he was caught, that wouldn’t be beneficial for his general image, especially in the eyes of Celestia. Alex thought that if he was locked physically, nothing still prevented proxy Alex to have at least some freedom and get for a walk. One thing was to see the small square of the night sky through the barred window and totally another – to be able to stand under it in its entire glory. Alex planned to exit his “cell” tonight by “sleepwalking”, get to the roof and stay there as long as he could afford, not being caught by the guards. He chuckled, anticipating his small adventure, which called to dilute his routine.

Getting out of the cell was an easy task: Alex could place “himself” everywhere on the fairly short distance, while on the long distances he needed the anchor, the one and only princess Luna – Alex didn’t try to reach somepony else’s dreams and he rightfully assumed that he couldn’t. Speaking of which, there was a certain possibility of Luna visiting him, but he was sure that the princess could find him easily and wouldn’t get him into any trouble.

Getting to the actual roof of the building offered a bit of an issue though. Of course, Alex could try to appear right there (being unable to actually transfer himself, the only method of “teleporting” he knew, was getting into his real body in a fraction of second, when he voluntarily or forcedly gave out his proxy control), but there were some problems with that. First of all, Alex couldn’t properly visualize his destination and risked to appear somewhere in the building still, moreover right before the eyes of somepony, that definitely wouldn’t be the desired result. And second, let’s be frank, Alex wanted to have a certain element of risk, making his way up, avoiding unwelcome eyes and ears; princess Luna gave him very accurate characteristic.

Thus after the nurse left, wishing him a good night, Alex waited for a befitting period of time, letting her return to her usual activity: reading or talking to the guard, who already passed his door once again, and finally decided that it was time. He lay on his bed and prepared to his gamble, freeing his mind of irrelevant thoughts and travelling to the Luna’s kingdom.

After about ten minutes, Alex appeared in the dimly lit corridor, behind the door of his room. He couldn’t throw a look through the small opening on the door, as it was blocked (just as the whole doorway) with the magical barrier from that side, contacting with which could bring unforeseen consequences, Alex preferred to avoid. But he knew for sure that anypony, who wanted to check their “guinea pig” for magic, would see him sleeping peacefully… and he doubted that anypony would look at him long enough to suspect that not moving human looked strange. For that moment everything was more than fine, even the supposed magical guarding device, Luna told him about, didn’t react to his trick. Perhaps, it was tuned to address the break out attempts of physical Alex only.

‘Surely it could be a bit darker here, that would provide more freedom of movement,’ regretted Alex, getting closer to the wall and listening to the possible sounds from behind the numerous doors.

He could try and extinguish a few light sources, as the corridor was lit by common candles in the chandeliers. With a sly smile, Alex thought that his idea to try making environment-friendly electricity generators for his living had good potential. But extinguished candles could startle the ponies, besides, somepony could decide to go and fix the issue, so Alex left them alone.

One door was slightly opened and threw a bright stripe of light on the floor. The muffled talk from behind witnessed about the nurse being on her duty and, as supposed, distracting the guard from his duty. Alex smirked.

‘Thanks, Ginger, that you are making them less edgy and suspicious… Though you could certainly do it not right on my way to the stairs,’ he thought, remembering the approximate building layout.

Alex was taken for the experiments to the underground levels of the facility, as he could assume, getting a few floors down via the same staircase. If his memory served him well, this was the first floor, the building had a couple of floors more above that one and, supposedly, if there was an exit to the roof, it should be at the end of the staircase.

Fortunately, he was barefoot and didn’t make much noise: proxy Alex always appeared, looking the same as real Alex. This time it was apropos. Perhaps, he was able to change something in his appearance during sleepwalking, Alex never tried.

Slowly and carefully he approached that opened door, listening to the talk, flowing from inside the room. Alex thought that it would be nice to have some plan, in case the tone of that talk changed and the guard appeared in the corridor the next moment. He stopped halfway through the corridor and quietly tried the nearest door. It was locked. Remembering how to deal with material objects Alex accurately mentally nudged a few more doors and one of them opened slightly, but with an audible screeching.

‘Merlin’s pants!’ breathed Alex inwardly, when the voices became quieter and the talk stumbled. He slid to that opened door in a wink, ready to burst in, if anypony showed in the hallway. The door led to the toilet and Alex scolded himself: if he was to hide, there wasn’t much space in, besides, the light, if turned on, would make the whole idea useless. Unfortunately, he didn’t have invisibility in the list of his abilities and hadn’t asked Luna, if that was even possible for one to perform during sleepwalking. But to his relief, nopony appeared in the corridor and the paused talk was resumed soon, most likely they didn’t hear the screech well enough and left it all to their imagination. Or that particular guard was interested in “Ginger” more, than in his duty; anyway, she distracted him well enough for Alex to proceed.

When he approached the nurse’s room door though, Alex spotted the top of the shadow, dropped by the guard in the lit doorway.

‘He must be standing right behind the opening, leaning on the doorframe, chattering with the mare, yet at the same time listening and watching the corridor through the gap,’ assumed Alex, facepalming inwardly. ‘There is no way I can pass right now, as he will notice the movement most likely. And despite he won’t catch me anyway, he will see enough for me to explain too much later.’

‘And I can’t stay here, as, sooner or later, the guard will continue his walk through the building and again see me… or even worse, another one will come from behind,’ Alex took a quick look around. There was literally nothing in the corridor to use for cover and enough light to render almost every attempt futile.

Nevertheless, there was another door opposite the nurse’s room; the plate said “Storage” and the lock looked rather simple. Alex slid to that door and leaned to it, trying the handle – locked. He then put his palm over the keyhole and concentrated on the lock mechanism.

It took him a good couple of minutes to imagine the deadbolt and how it backed away from the hole in the door frame. Alex moved his hand away from the door edge and heard the quiet sound of the metal bar sliding back into the lock.

‘By the name of Celestia!’ Alex automatically wiped his forehead, like if proxy Alex could sweat… or perhaps he really could. ‘Just don’t bucking screech that time.’

He slowly opened the door and entered, stopping in the doorframe and waiting, till his eyes accommodate to the darkness. “Storage” meant lots of stuff and Alex didn’t want to knock something down and startle the whole building. When he saw that he could step aside behind the door, not dropping anything, he closed the door behind himself, not letting it lock again. Alex became all ears. He needed that guard to leave the room and the floor in general, and also a few minutes before the next guard enters the corridor from another side, being able to spot Alex.

Several minutes seemed an eternity before the chatter and laughter stopped and Alex heard the sound of the opening door and hoofsteps receding to the left.

‘Yay, I’m lucky tonight!’ Alex looked out of his hiding place, smelling of detergent and something else chemical, and found that at least the door to the nurse’s room wasn’t left wide open. He quickly passed the stripe of light, falling from the gap.

Alex covered the rest of the floor in a few jumps, as he still remembered that somepony could appear at the opposite end of the hallway at any moment. He leaned on the door to the staircase, feeling the cold surface with his ear and listening – silence.

‘Well, I hope, he won’t suddenly decide to go back,’ Alex opened the door.

Good thing – the staircase was empty, bad thing – the staircase was well lit and… empty! No nook or cranny to hide, if somepony suddenly opened the door on any of nearest landings and observed the narrow stairs, instantly spotting him. So, Alex made up his mind: he concentrated and extinguished all the candles in the stairwell from his floor to the top.

‘At least this will give me a few seconds, if anypony opens the door from the lit corridor to the dark stairs, to spot them and flee,’ smirked Alex in the pitch-black stairwell, slowly starting to recognize the contours of stairs, railings, walls and doors. ‘And they won’t see me right away, even if the darkness makes them suspicious.’

If he stopped for a moment and thought better, he would probably realize that he wasn’t naturally supposed to see that well without any light. But instead of wasting time on useless analysis of himself, he spent a second to open the door to the floor corridor slightly.

‘Let’s say it’s the draught, which took the lights out. Besides, I can hear better if somepony approaches the stairs…’ Alex walked up, performing the same trick with the doors on the remaining landings, but came across a surprise at the end of his ascent.

The stairs ended, there was a landing, an obvious door to the last floor – Alex saw the corridor behind it, but no ladder or hatch to the roof, nothing, just solid walls and a ceiling.

‘Buck my life!’ Alex gritted his teeth. ‘I spent the whole evening, waiting for the small opportunity to get under the open sky and it all stumbles upon the stupid hatch absence.’

‘I always thought that if one has a roof, one must have a way to reach it,’ he scratched the back of his head. ‘If I’m not mistaking, the roof here is flat, so… They must at least remove the snow in winter somehow!’

Then he remembered about pegasi and that didn’t add any optimism. Alex thought that technically he could try the same: namely, fly to the roof. But there was a big difference, to raise a few feet above the solid floor of Luna’s room balcony, or to open a window if it could be opened, in some room, high above the ground and… actually fly to the roof. There was one hell of a difference for an acrophobic human, who just started to fight his phobia… in the sleepwalking state only yet.

‘Okay, that’s “plan B”,’ decided Alex. ‘If I find guts for the “plan B”. They simply must have some way,’ he tried to convince himself, exiting the dark staircase and squinting in the light of the upper floor hallway.

‘Taking out the lights here would be extremely stupid,” thought Alex, trying the doors one by one methodically. ‘Too obviously suspicious for anypony, who enters the hallway.’

He crossed the whole floor to the opposite end: locked cabinets, open toilets – two of them, one on each end of the hallway, and the unlocked door to another staircase. Alex checked its landing as well – nothing again. Execrating the architect he returned to the main corridor, Alex left the door to those stairs slightly open as well to hear, if anypony approaches from that end. He started checking the doors once again, more desperately, than really expecting the result, as if there was an exit to the roof, it should naturally be obvious and unlocked. Alex realized that he was thinking, using human logic, but he assumed that fire safety was generic enough to be the same anywhere.

Right at the moment he almost reached the middle of the hallway, Alex stopped and listened carefully. He was sure that he heard something, most likely from the second stairwell. A coughing sound came from there followed by steps, Alex quietly swore and his gaze rushed frantically around – he had no time to reach any of the opened toilets unheard. Then his eyes stumbled at the inconspicuous narrow door, which he took for a wall closet for the first time and barely nudged.

This was the only chance and Alex turned the knob and forcefully pulled the door. Fortunately, it gave up and Alex saw another short set of narrow stairs and one more door at the upper end of them, barely visible in the darkness. There wasn’t much time to hesitate, as the hoofsteps were almost behind the door to the hallway. At the very least that was a better hiding place than the unlocked, well lit and fairly small toilet.

Wasting no more time Alex stormed in and tried to close the narrow door fast, but without any bang. Just in time: the unicorn guard appeared in the far end of the corridor the same second Alex closed the door behind himself. He was slightly puzzled by the stairs door, which was opened to leave a noticeable gap, and inwardly scolded his colleague, who supposedly left it open previously. Meanwhile, Alex flew to the top of the stairs at his tiptoes, almost bumping in the upper door, as his eyes didn’t yet accommodate to the pitch-black room. He froze there, leaning on the door leaf and listening, feeling his heart under the throat and adrenaline pumping through his veins. Amazingly the proxy kept all the feelings of the real Alex, at least those, which he subconsciously allowed to reveal themselves.

The steps approached the narrow door below, Alex stiffened, and passed it, though slower, than the guards usually patrolled: Alex heard them so many times through the last several days, so he could tell the difference. At that moment Alex prayed that this door was unlocked as well, as he had no time to look where the lock was at least approximately, so he would be to find it at first, before even trying to fiddle with. The door looked all smooth for him, even without a visible handle.

He leaned on it and pushed and with a noticeable resistance the door opened finally – Alex fell out on the roof, almost falling on all four. Raised gaze found the dark-blue sky and the glowing stars, Alex took his breath and closed the door, which was on the highest wall of the small superstructure, lit by the moon. He sat on the roof in the shadow of that exit, leaning his back on the door and relaxing. Alex glanced at the diamonds scattered on the dark velvet of sky and suddenly burst out laughing. For no particular reason, just at the childish feel of well-made shenanigan, he laughed and laughed, feeling how adrenaline left his blood and gave place to unbelievable serenity and some happiness. He was happy to simply sit there under the sky, watch the stars and feel the fresh wind on his face. That was worth returning to his comfortable “cell” after a while and being a guinea pig for yet another day tomorrow. Besides, he finally put his new abilities to the test and some actual usage, not giving up to circumstances, but staying above them, albeit in such an unusual way.

‘And despite my body is still there in the locked room,’ he thought, still smiling widely. ‘That’s me, who feels the wind, the smell of flowers, looks for familiar constellations… That’s a victory, even if small, still a victory!’

The complete darkness in this stairwell, at least on the upper floors, as he saw the light coming from the lower levels, was a surprise, moreover, an unpleasant and strange one. The guard lit the candles back with his magic and quietly started descending. He disturbed nopony on his way down though, noticing and closing the slightly open doors at two more, previously dark, landings. The last landing without the light was the one on the floor with the human test subject, so the guard started to show anxiety when he entered the hallway. Everything looked normal though, at least at the first sight.

The guard quickly, but as quietly as he could on his hooves, approached the lit nurse’s room – it was fine here as well: the nurse sat at the table, reading something and raised her eyes on him with a smile when he entered. She didn’t look, like if she heard or saw something unruly.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” she asked amazedly, obviously noticing him being stiff. “You look a fair bit jumpy. Is everything okay?”

He watched her fixedly for a few seconds, instead of the answer, considering if she was not enthralled, and visibly relaxed, when decided, she was consciously unconcerned.

“This is what I want to ask you exactly,” he said quietly. “Is everything okay?”

“In the name of Celestia, just tell what…”

“Shhh…” hissed the guard, gesturing the ginger nurse to shut up. “Be quiet and tell me: have you checked the human recently?”

“I did before he went to sleep,” she raised one eyebrow. “But the door was locked and the barrier… I heard nothing since then, he didn’t call… Besides, your partner… passed about twenty minutes ago.”

The guard smirked, he thought that “passed” was a humble term for sticking here for half an hour and chattering, instead of patrolling the floors, and certain pink spots on nurse’s muzzle told him he made a right guess.

“Well, let’s go and check,” he concluded. “If everything is indeed calm and quiet, as you claim.”

The nurse huffed and took the keys, and they both quietly exited to the hallway.

“I don’t see anything wrong,” whispered the nurse, when they approached the door to the human’s room. “It’s closed and the barrier is on.”

They came closer and the guard threw a look through the peephole: in the faint light of the moon, coming through the barred window, he saw that the human was on the bed, laying on his back, obviously sleeping and the even breathing raised and lowered his chest rhythmically. Nurse’s muzzle peeked through the opening, appearing right next to guard’s and making him slightly confused by that sudden proximity.

“See,” she hissed touchily. “He’s sleeping, okay? Was there any need to scare me?”

The guard huffed, he wasn’t so easily convinced. He produced a short quiet whistle, causing the glare of the nurse, but the human stayed the same, not twitching a zilch, breathing quietly. There was no doubt, he was sleeping and couldn’t exit his room, making strange things happen. To be sure the guard nudged the door slightly and found out that it was locked.

He shrugged and waved his head towards nurse’s room, heading there first with the nurse following.

“Okay,” he said when they returned to the brightly lit room. “Let’s say, I believe. And he didn’t leave his bed for the whole evening. And the lights in the left stairwell went out because of the wind, as somepony, some idiotic pony, left all the doors open from this floor and above. Although it’s strange…”

The mare listened to him with wide-open eyes.

“But do me a favour,” he continued. “Raise your pretty plot and check the human at least once in half an hour, please.”

Alex caught himself on the strange observation: he could recognize some of the constellations easily, yet some of them were totally unknown to him. He found Orion, both Ursa major and minor, some others, but again the position of them wasn’t entirely familiar to him.

“On the one hand, the well-known constellations can mean that I’m at least in the same sector of the galaxy, where the Earth is,” pondered Alex, enjoying the night sky view at the same time. “But, on the other hand, there are too many, I have no faintest idea about and can’t recognize. I admit that I’m a crappy astronomer, if any at all, still… That doesn’t entirely compute.”

“Or I am on the Earth, but in some other parallel dimension and reality,” he twitched upon a wild idea. “That would be quite an irony, the universe likes so much!”

“Hardly though,” he was to confess the brilliant guess to be an absurdity. “Unknown constellations and the maps from the book speak against that. I couldn’t recognize any single continent or territory. The geography is completely different, that couldn’t be Earth in the wildest approach.”

“That means I’m still in the middle of nopony-knows-where,” sighed Alex, not even noticing that “nopony” didn’t make him cringe inwardly now.

A lone cloud ran over the moon, which moved across the sky and now glowed slightly to his left, making the lit part of the sky almost turquoise with a bit of pink tint. The amazing eyes of Fluttershy, sad, filled with tears, just like they were on the day of his departure to Canterlot, appeared before Alex’s inner sight. He placed his hand on his chest involuntarily – his heart faintly ached, a cold needle of regret stabbed it.

What was she doing there, far away, in Ponyville? What was she feeling? Alex could safely assume that he knew her well enough after those few days, they spent together. Shy was an open book – she never concealed her thoughts and feelings. She couldn’t lie, even if it was a lie for salvation – anypony close to her, could tell that something was bothering her, some second level of the feelings, she was trying hard to suppress, but inevitably giving out by her look, posture and behaviour. So, Alex could tell that she was genuinely upset, if not to say ruined, by his forced leave. He knew that she must still be, thinking again and again about something she could do, but did not to change the situation. She took him to her home, didn’t let him die, not thinking about image or reputation, forgetting about all her fears and weaknesses (even if they were imaginary). That’s where they were close indeed: she always tried her best to do things, which depended on her, the most proper way, becoming desperate, if she failed, especially if the fail rooted not in some force major, but rather in her incapability to handle the situation. Alex thought that it was the reason for half of her insecurities – she wasn’t afraid to do, she feared to fail. Sometimes an emergency was needed to make her act, like an imminent danger to her friends. But when she made a decision, especially in the named urgent cases, she was rock solid. That was what he loved about that girl.

‘Loved about that girl… Loved… that girl?!’

Alex definitely felt special about Fluttershy. He wouldn’t make a crime against the truth, supposing that he found actual friends during just a few days in that world, and it was a miracle by itself. But Fluttershy was more than a friend. The question was: how much more than a friend? Like Elen, whom he perhaps didn’t think about the last few days. Or even more… Alex bit his finger, eyeing the turquoise sky around cloud-veiled moon.

‘Luna…’

She was another part of that complex puzzle. Alex knew that he was free in his decisions, yet he would give his life for this incredible princess without the second thought. She found potential in him, taught him much already, assumingly was completely sincere with him (Alex remembered their last talk when Luna told him about her parents: that wasn’t artificial in the slightest). What was more important – she trusted him. Not mentioning the obvious affection, mutual, as he admitted. All that could hardly be done just to confront or surpass her sister. Besides, what Alex saw spoke for the sisters not having any stupid competitions long ago, evidently “growing” above those things; they were heartily concerned about each other instead. So, was the bottom line of all that… him and Luna being more than just friends as well?

Less than a month in Equestria and things were becoming more and more complicated. But Fluttershy… Alex felt extremely uneasy about how things went with her, for the start they shouldn’t part like that. He couldn’t find a proper name for that feeling yet, assuming that love was perhaps a bit overboard and premature for such a short relationship. But at the end of the day who could know? That wasn’t because he undoubtedly owed his life to her or even because she accepted him so easily. There was something about Fluttershy herself, which made him want to keep her safe, protected.

‘Isn’t it exactly love, Alex?’ he squinted at this inner voice suggestion.

Luna, on the contrary, was totally confident, amazingly treating him like an equal since the first day. Alex had no illusions about actually becoming equal someday, but that was evidently the advantage of the alicorn princess: she could choose one, put at her side and try guiding that one to at least some level of equality. On the other hand, another advantage of being a princess was an ability to abandon the chosen one as easy as to choose, not feeling obliged to explain her choices or reconsideration of them. Although, Alex couldn’t find any visible symptoms of their relationship being something lightweight and shallow.

While he could tell fortunes about Luna’s motives, one he knew for sure: he wanted to know how Fluttershy was doing, to tell her that he was alright in his turn, nothing awful was happening there… yet. Alex suddenly understood that she was crying not only and mostly because things went wrong, but most likely because she thought that he might end being transferred home without any chance for them to meet before that or ever again. Despite that he said, he would return for a while no matter what. Tormenting her like that was the last thing Alex wanted to do. And as soon as he couldn’t contact anypony, except a few permitted persons, while being thoroughly examined, he could at least try and relay a message. The most uneasy thing about that: the only person he could trust, doing that, was the one, who could be personally interested in NOT relaying anything to Fluttershy perhaps. Alex could imagine, how it would look like.

‘Luna, dear, before you kissed me breathless, please remember to tell Fluttershy somehow that I’m okay and she shouldn’t worry!’

Alex rolled his eyes, cringing at the mental image of the scene. Yet he would despise himself for not telling Shy anything, while still having a chance to lessen her anxiety.

‘This will call for grade A diplomacy not to suck drastically… or at least grade B+,’ smirked Alex, following the shooting star, which crossed the star embroidered sky, and wishing wholeheartedly to finally come to be at home. ‘I’m more than sure that Luna is capable to unearth the double bottom anyway, but it’s better to be not that obvious.’

The moon moved further on its nightly route, lighting more space behind that roof superstructure, in the shadow of which Alex hid. He was going to move a little, as the light border was about to cross his bare feet, making them shine in the moonlight and revealing his hiding spot right away if there was an eye, ready to notice. Lingering as long as he could Alex simply enjoyed sitting there, leaning on the still-warm wall, stargazing and breathing in the aroma, he couldn’t estimate fully in his personal cell: roses, surprisingly, here in Equestria they had some species which produced strong sweet aroma, so unlikely for roses; acacia as well…

‘Merlin’s pants!’ realized Alex. ‘It’s June already… if their acacia isn’t much different from our… and I’m still sitting on the spot, almost literally.’

Lavender…

“Ahem,” Alex raised one eyebrow, not yet turning his head, but already smiling when he heard a soft, intermittent, surprised sigh. “Howdy, Luna. What an excellent night, isn’t it? Have you decided to join me and enjoy that amazing view of the starry sky? Do you usually sneak onto… anypony like that?”

“Dost thou always get out, the time thou art not supposed to… and sit like that, simply asking to spot thee?” Luna huffed in return, approaching from behind and sitting next to him.

“Among all the lunatic, forgive my pun, things thou didst, tis easily holdeth the first prize for that hour,” there was a slight concern in her voice, although, not some disappointment when she nuzzled his shoulder lightly. “Art thou going for a record, Alex?”

“By the way, how could thou…” she was genuinely interested and Alex hurried to satisfy her curiosity.

“Oh, that’s easy,” he turned his face to touch her muzzle and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. “You may get used to it, but I know it’s you as long as I can feel my lavender fragrant… goddess.”

A small gasp told him that, despite Luna might find the praising of her pony subjects natural, she was pleased by that spontaneous and cordial compliment, coming from the human.

“And answering your previous question… No, I haven’t gone mad… yet. Was approaching that though, almost running the walls in my room lately,” continued Alex. “If not the book, free time would be awful. Now I can read, I do push-ups, squats, everything space of my room allows, including even handstands, but I can’t effectively turn off my thoughts.”

“Besides,” he added after a while, interrupted by a loud scream of some night bird in the garden, Luna perked her ears as well, before it got silent again. “Besides, I wanted to find out, if my new abilities have more practical usage…”

“And how effective they are…” nodded Luna, looking at him, her eyes were smiling. “Just like me, learning my first spells when I was a filly. Thou needest to be cautious still…”

“And that’s you, who telling me that,” chuckled Alex. He turned a bit to look into her eyes and moved closer. “Oh, you remind me of one thing: can one become invisible during that “sleepwalking”?”

“Somepony just almost got caught once… or twice… or a few times,” articulated Luna with feigned strictness, tilting her head. Alex shrugged.

“Well,” she had mercy finally. “One can hideth their presence really well, as for complete invisibility, I don’t know. I’ve never tried myself, wasn’t necessary, as I said, concealing thy presence is enough oft. Methinks tis a level of magic, when thou shalt control the process entirely, for invisibility to not become non-existence.”

Alex spotted a faint shadow, running across Luna’s face.

“Sitting hither in the open wasn’t the smartest thing,” she said, while Alex ran his fingers on her cheek, behind her soft ear and brushed through Luna’s hair. “Ahhhh! Don’t try to distract me, Alex! The night watch reporteth to me, that’s granted… but still, something can reach Tia’s ears, especially in thy case. Shan’t be helpful at all.”

“At least that can be fixed with ease now,” Luna’s voice trembled, surprising Alex a bit when she spread her wings in a welcoming gesture. “Comest closer, mine lief!”

She “grabbed” him the same familiar way, covering entirely with her wings and making him snuggle into her. A small satisfied sigh left her chest when Luna rested her head on top of Alex’s again; he snorted.

“What?” she muttered, squinting and shivering when he stroked her neck. “I really like to hold thee like that.”

Alex leaned on her forelegs. Everything was amazing, yet he thought hard, how to proceed with what he planned regarding Fluttershy and her fears. A few minutes passed in complete silence, if not mentioning that night bird, which started crying plaintively again somewhere in the darkness of the castle grounds. Alex listened to Luna’s heartbeat and she rubbed her chin and neck on his head slightly, which, to be honest, made her breath noticeably deeper and her pulse a fair bit faster. Alex struggled with the wish to reach her lips and forget about everything for a while, feeling as his own heart started to accelerate.

Like in confirmation of her earlier words a dark shadow crossed the roof. Alex threw a short glance at the sky to spot a pegasus… with bat wings. A… bat pony! Alex reminded himself that he came to self-agreement to wonder about nothing. Still, as Luna said, it was obviously one of the Night Watch on their duty, so, Alex understood that princess’ appearance was right in time. He was perfectly hidden in her feathery grasp and… the princess had full right to enjoy her night walk anywhere; even if she preferred some stargazing on the roof of medical, or whichever else, facility, nopony would object.

Finally, Alex decided to proceed very carefully, starting as far from the main concern, as it was possible, still keeping the logical flow.

“Have you heard anything new from your sister, Luna?” each touch on her silky coat was one step towards losing his control and clenching to her, caressing and kissing; Alex tried to stroke Luna’s neck gently, in a relaxed way, to calm her heart race, while he tried to cool down in his turn. “Anything that could speak about even tiny progress regarding my problem…”

“Tia didn’t tell anything fancy ere,” Luna shook her head, ruffling Alex’s hair lightly. “I am not involved in that work of hers directly… but I can see that she returneth from the library or the council sad, concerned and even a bit grumpy. Tis speaketh for itself, doesn’t it, Alex? Methinks thither is hardly any progress yet.”

“Frankly speaking, I don’t understand the necessity of all those experiments,” Alex sighed. “It’s like we are going in circles without any real reason. I could suspect her playing for time, but I see no reason for that either. For what I know about your sister, the last thing I can imagine is her doing anything irrational or aimless. What then? I mean, it’s clearly known now that I’m resistant to any magic directed at me. Why try each tiny variation, when the result is generally predictable?”

“I thought, that was understandable,” chuckled Luna. “Tia tryeth to find some way around that limitation of thy newly received trait, paying attention to each possibility. Besides, I’m sure she believeth that careful approach will be only beneficial for everypony, including thee. Knowing thee, I can safely assume that thou shall jump into the portal, hoping for the best outcome, while not being sure, ‘t is at least safe.”

Alex shrugged, then remembering that Luna couldn’t see that move, said.

“Perhaps. The more time passes, the less sure I am that I could enter the portal, without the second thought.”

“What dost thou mean, Alex?” the surprise in her voice was genuine. “Dost thou wish to return not already?”

“I still do. But the time is working against me inevitably,” explained Alex. “I mean the more time passes, the harder it will be for me to return… and for the others to accept that. First, there are two witnesses of my so-called death, I suppose… Everyone should already have visited my funeral back on Earth. I can imagine the effect my supposed return provides.”

“And the second thing: I can hardly tell or explain what happened with me, avoiding the nuthouse,” he added with a tiny smile. “The later I return… if I return… the more of an alien I will be for everyone there. Perhaps at some point even more than I’m an alien for you all.”

“Less than thou art thinking, in earnest,” peremptorily stated Luna and Alex felt her warm lips on his neck. Trying his best not to melt Alex gathered all his audacity; it was just a matter of time before Luna could become less interested in the talk, preferring more pleasant ways of communication.

“Know what, don’t ever turn to the modern manner of speech, Luna,” he tried not to lose the thread of their talk, while electric discharges wandered his neck and shoulder from her kisses. “That makes you even sexier… if you can be more. For me at least,” he blushed heavily, feeling the places she kissed became flaming hot. “I know, I’m an egotist.”

“Not more than me, Alex, not more than me,” chuckled Luna, rubbing her cheek against his. “Can I ask thee likewise?”

“Of course, my princess!”

“Dost not ev’r become… “normal”, Alex. Overly rational, prudent and… boring. In other words, dost not become non-thyself, I shall hardly bear that.”

“Tis thou can rely on me in rigidly,” teased Alex.

Luna squeezed him tighter, finally finding his lips and effectively shutting him for a good few minutes, while she yearningly caught up to her desired level of interaction.

“As few real friends as I have,” finally released Alex grasped all the willpower not to turn to her and wrap into the proper embrace, with all the consequences for the coherent talk following. He still needed to reach his goal. “But I doubt they can understand what I may tell in all honesty, let alone any of my new features if I keep them. Just imagine their shock.”

“Dost thou think that they would be less shocked than me upon thy “I’m the night!” gimmick?” the quiet laughter rolled through Luna’s swanlike neck, vibrating and making the hair on the back of his head stand. “Or less though.”

“Oh… You are going to keep reminding me about that shameful event forever, aren’t you? I mean as long as I’m here…” Alex felt how blood rushed in his face.

“Mhm… Mayhap for a while…” huffed Luna, returning her head on top of his. “Speaking of thy friends possible reaction, isn’t it a good test for thy friendship then?”

“Should friendship be even tested?” asked Alex instead of answering her question. “Besides, it will be an endurance test for me anyway, as keeping the old friends naturally means for me abandoning new ones. I believe I made quite a few, despite the brevity of my stay here. You, for example, or the girls I met first, when… well… when I regained my consciousness.”

“I extend mine hope for I’m a tiny bit more than a friend,” Luna pouted jokingly. “But I understand what thou art talking about. Tis a choice I can hardly help thee with. Entirely thy burden, apologies.”

“I know,” with a sigh, Alex carefully probed the turf. “And I don’t want to make it harder for everypony if I add more moral troubles to the parting.”

“I’m concerned about Fluttershy’s reaction,” elaborated Alex after a moment of silence, feeling how Luna barely perceptibly strained, listening to him. “She was totally upset by how the things went. I mean, my departure and almost imprisoning… I admit it’s not,” he added. “and I have nowhere to go anyway, but it looked like one.”

“I would like to tell her that I’m generally okay… yet,” Alex noticed that Luna listened to him attentively. Even if that didn’t rub her well, she wasn’t going to deny him help. “Despite that, if the experiments go in the direction, I suspect them to, that can become a painful experience. Errmmm… this better not be told though... I’d like to tell her that she and Twilight couldn’t probably do better, which I’m endlessly thankful for, and remind her that I’m still going to tell her this in person, regardless to the result of those experiments.”

“I’ll tell Twilight to deliver that to thy addressee,” nodded Luna, thinking for a minute. “And I’ll try to negotiate Twilight’s ability to see thee as well.”

“By the way, thou forgot about Rarity…”

“Oh, please…” begged Alex. “Let me deal with her when I’m able to do that myself. I still think it is a good idea to let her thoughts about me cool down a bit – no need to remind her. I’m not sure, if it works anyway, as her affection was quite stormy. Physical affection, mind that,” Alex shuddered.

“Art thou against physical affection of a pony?” teasingly interrogated Luna.

“No… I mean… Oh, you…” Alex felt his cheeks getting hotter. “It’s kinda hard to decide when one is ready to pounce you on the first sight,” he concluded firmly.

“I know,” Luna kept having fun. “I saw a few of Rarity’s dreams recently, just of pure interest… Thou wouldn’t believe…”

“Please, Luna, have mercy, don’t tell,” gasped Alex. “I can imagine… not sure if I’m happy that I can though.”

Luna giggled like a school filly, thinking that she wouldn’t mind trying something of Rarity’s ideas in practice. But she decided that it was a bit early to mention that. Even so, a certain red flashed through the blue coat on her silky cheeks quite noticeably.

“Wait,” Alex watched her carefully; the realization made him red as a carrot. “Does that mean that you have seen me… in that… delicate aspect as well?” he facepalmed.

“A little,” confessed Luna, downcasting, now even her nose was pinkish. She quickly added. “Please dost mind, that was only Rarity’s imagination…”

But something in her voice told Alex that she didn’t mind finding out. Of pure interest, of course… Yeah!

After a few minutes of meaningful silence, Alex cleared his throat.

“So… It’s still undecided if I can return to my home world. Is there at least any hope?” he noticed how that made Luna instantly serious.

“I have nothing to add, unfortunately… Tia tryeth her best, besides she can’t break her own promise without reason. Believe me, unfortunately, she is very uneasy about thy arrival and presence. She hath some concerns about thou, something more serious than about a stranger appearing out of nowhere, she is not telling yet.”

“It sounds like if Celestia is deliberately keeping you away from that work. At least I feel that way,” Alex said guardedly. “I’m sorry if I…”

“She forsooth is, Alex,” he clearly heard Luna’s sad smile in her reply. After a short pause, she elaborated. “Ever since mine return she tryeth to keep me protected from any mishaps, she feareth may befall. Tis like coming back to the times, when our parents were with us or shortly after… when Tia filled for both mom and dad for me,” Luna’s voice warmed. “I was a little filly then and Tia took care of me. The only difference we are not fillies at the moment, but still she tryeth her best… Methinks she feeleth guilty for what she hath done… or hasn’t done, partially causing Nightmare Moon to upraise.”

“Sometimes I envy you a little,” Alex reached her neck, wrapping his hand around and running his fingers through Luna’s mane, making lavender aroma even stronger. He scratched behind her ear, feeling, how it moved, pressing tighter against his fingers, and how Luna leaned to his hand. “I am a single child of my parents. I have only cousins, I rarely see… saw… Damn it!”

“What?” murmured Luna, when she stopped literally purring under his touch. “Mine deepest apologies, I became distracted a trifle.”

“I said, I was a single child, no brothers or sisters,” chuckled Alex. “Unlike you, my princess.”

“I don’t mind sharing,” Luna’s sly smile, her teeth flashed in the moonlight. “But forsooth thou art receiving enough attention from Tia already.”

“Oh, I can’t probably express my endless gratitude sincerely enough!” with a laughter Alex turned to face Luna and theatrically bowed with almost palpable irony. “I can imagine… Although, Tia… ahem, princess Celestia can’t ever surpass the amount of teasing you provide; as a big sister or not, you’re beyond the competition.”

“Thou thinkest? A big sister is not the position I am craving though,” Luna’s eyes pulled him like two neutron stars. “And calling her “Tia” is alright, at which hour thou knowest her better. Just dost not call her “Celly”, she won’t smack thee on the spot, but doing this isn’t the smartest achievement,” Luna giggled.

“You certainly won’t tell me why, right?”

“Apologies, I’m not the one, who must tell thee. But thou shalt be sure, if ’t be true Tia telleth thee someday, this would mean thou gained the highest level of trust possible.”

“Not in this life, I guess!” Alex’s glance alternated from Luna’s eyes to her lips. He decided to take the initiative and put both his hands on her silky cheeks, pulling her lightly and pressing his lips against hers, while his tongue attacked for dominance. Luna’s excited squeak came out muffled; she wrapped her fore legs around him. The moonlit roof swirled around them and the time stopped.

“Wait! Something…” aeons after Alex suddenly twitched. He looked like he was listening to something or trying to feel, while Luna nuzzled his cheek lightly.

“It seems, somepony tries to wake me up!” with widening eyes he realized, what the source of his sudden anxiety was. “Merlin’s pants, whoever it is, they found the least suitable moment.”

“Thou needest to go then, mine lief,” Luna smiled and unwrapped him. “Don’t kick that ruffian too much, at which hour thou see them.”

“It will depend…” Alex didn’t finish, but stole one more passionate kiss from her lips, fading in the thin air.

“What?” muttered Alex, waking up in his room. “What’s going on?”

“Is the building on fire?” he focused his eyes on the extremely concerned muzzle of “Ginger”, who shook him mercilessly with wide-opened eyes. “Hurricane? Flood?.. Changelings?” he remembered, what Fluttershy told him.

“Oh, sweet Celestia! You’re okay,” breathed out the pony nurse, calming down a bit. “You can even ironize that…” she visibly pouted. “You haven’t changed your sleeping pose for quite a long while and…”

‘Damn!’ thought Alex. ‘You’re not only chatty but observant as well. Quite a combination…’

“… and I was unable to wake you for the good ten minutes,” words were ready to flood Alex, as “Ginger” elaborated on her concern with the machinegun speed. “Thank Celestia, you were breathing and otherwise looking fine, so I didn’t need to call medics, but I was going to call for help anyway. Listen, I was trying to wake you up for the good ten minutes and you didn’t give… a buck!” she became embarrassed and fell silent.

“Look, I’m really getting tired of all those experiments,” Alex sat on his bed and rubbed his face, thinking that it was a major flaw in his disguise – staying physically motionless while sleepwalking. One can suspect something. “Emotionally, you have no idea how much. Yeah, I sleep tight when I’m bucking tired. Sometimes I drop like a log. I’m fine, really, thanks for consideration though!”

He got up and headed to the bathroom, filling a glass with water and downing it in one gulp – all under the undiverted glance of the nurse.

“I’m indeed okay,” repeated Alex, returning to the room. “Look, everything is fine,” he raised his hands and mockingly turned around twice, showing himself from all the sides.

“Yeah…” slowly said “Ginger”, thinking about something. “And why are you fully clothed?”

“Sorry?” huffed Alex. “I said I drop like a log sometimes. And… do you say, you are coming here for a… striptease?!” he let out a chuckle, making her instantly blush heavily. In her case, it looked as if she was burning.

‘That’s good, will distract her from unnecessary suspicions at once,’ Alex tried his best to keep his inward mischief well concealed.

“Oh… I-I mean… Squee!..” the nurse lost the thought, becoming even more confused. Then she tried to keep the face. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay… I guess… Good night, then.”

When she left, shaky and strained, Alex returned to his bed and tried to nest more comfortable this time, feeling the curious glance through the peephole for a while.

‘I need to be more careful now when it’s her shift.’

‘Damn that forest, that rain… and that mission as the whole!’ inwardly spat a young unicorn, when he slipped once again on the wet leaves, covering the fallen tree trunk, and was to jump forward not to fall. The stallion wrapped himself tighter in the cloak and looked up from beneath the hood grumpily, squinting as the big drops fell on his muzzle – the rain was hard and even thick foliage couldn’t hold it entirely. ‘It’s raining cats’n’dogs since sunset, it seems – even more as we reached the forest!’ He quietly sniffed, feeling that only a miracle and a warming spell separated him from catching a nasty cold that night.

‘Whoever planned that mission must be a complete hay head,’ he scoffed, trying to see at least something in the wet rustling darkness around. ‘What was the point in hunting Celestia knows whom at night… moreover a rainy night in the thick forest, when we can’t even use the lights? Idiots!’

The situation was indeed far from routinely. They, the whole magical support group, were gathered late in the evening, off schedule, and given orders. The orders were simple and common for a young mage, who entered magical corps and learned exactly that – to find a magical creature and restrain it, or destroy if other methods fail. But it appeared to bring a bunch of problems almost immediately.

First of all, they didn’t know shit about what they were going to encounter, nor they were given any additional information. This was the worst aspect, which made him instantly hesitant – normally no mission started without an extensive briefing. That time they knew only that their aim (and enemy) is big, dark, magical and dangerous.

‘How fascinating,’ he smirked inwardly. ‘Now we will know that the thing, which kills us is big, dark and… dangerous. Like the latter was any time different.’

The only specific information was that the scouts managed to trace their enemy, they called it “seeker”…

‘What a nonsensual name,’ huffed the mage, trying his best to determine what is in front of him, a branch, his own leg or maybe a snake. ‘To the Tartarus with that darkness, the sun will rise in about half an hour, but I can easily break a couple of legs till then.’

…so, they traced the seeker to that part of the forest, which protruded from the main mass of the woods far into the fields as a giant green tongue. Traced and effectively locked there, as it wasn’t reported leaving. Then their group was assigned to brush the forest.

While it could seem relatively small… from pegasi point of view, high above the scene, it was actually quite big to cover it on hooves. Big and dark and wet and nasty, with plenty of hiding spots. They all could stamp in circles with the monster (and he didn’t ever doubt, it was yet another monster), it even being behind or between them from time to time.

The pungent odour of mycelium on the damp ground trailed up his nostrils, almost making him sneeze a few times.

‘Who could suffer, if we surrounded that part of the woods and kept it locked till sunrise at least,’ wondered the unicorn. He wrapped the cloak tighter again and pulled the hood down to avoid more water coming from above, as the wind shook the treetops. ‘We could at least see further than our noses… and perhaps that bucking rain ended. What was the need to hurry, like if it could lay an egg or multiply.’

“Horse apples!” hissed he quietly, stumbling again on some root and accidentally touching a big shrub, which granted him an ample cold shower. ‘Bless the cloak.’

They were actually to keep silence and proceed as discretely as it was possible. Nopony should rush forward or go on a random trajectory, not to be taken for the enemy and put under “crossfire”.

He approached a clearing in the forest and stopped on the edge, hiding in the shade of trees and bushes. It was a fair bit lighter on the glade, making it easier to orientate, but it made anypony coming out of the forest to the opening clearly visible as well.

Scanning the opening as through as the darkness allowed, he pondered, if it was smart to check it now or wait for at least one more member of their group to arrive. But it was quiet around and nothing moved on the glade; a huge fallen tree lay closer to the opposite edge, black crooked roots protruded in the air like tentacles of an old big octopus.

He exited the forest and quietly crossed the glade, scanning its perimeter for any movement, which might occur under the trees. Nothing. Approaching the fallen trunk the unicorn thought that even such a big tree couldn’t have such a clod of roots. Besides the dirt must have dried already and fallen down – the tree was dry and lay there for quite a while already. He came closer and closer, quietly trying to approach the black clod and check, if nopony was hiding on the other side.

CRACK!

A small branch got under his hoof and sounded like a muffled shot, broken in half under his step.

‘Damnation!’ The young stallion froze on spot, listening if anypony moved, noticing him. The next moment the “clod of roots”, well, actually what was hiding under the roots of the fallen tree, moved and started to rise, stretching and turning to the stunned unicorn. It looked like a giant pony body on long strong legs, with a strange lump instead of normal pony neck and head. A red dimly glowing orifice showed itself on the upper part of that lump.

‘What a buck?! Big, dark and… I have no doubt, extremely unkind by its look!’ the unicorn barely managed to launch a bright spark into the air – agreed signal to call for reinforcement in case somepony from their group finds the enemy; he was going to use the light spell and prepare to attack the monster. The dark misty figure finally turned around and towered above suddenly feeling himself a dwarf unicorn, the red eye, or whatever it was, “stared” at him, glowing brighter and brighter, as if that abomination finally noticed its foe.

The unicorn tried to launch a powerful blast at the seeker, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure if it was still him. His whole consciousness seemed to be squeezed and dragged through some kind of tunnel and… He felt nothing, thought nothing… He was nothing when his alive but totally indifferent body hit the ground.

The air above suddenly became filled with flashes, crossing the space from different directions and bombarding the dark seeker’s carcass, but the unicorn didn’t see that. He might look and hear, but he didn’t register anything, while the challenged by mages monster produced a low growl, visibly backing up under dozens of magical projectiles.

“How much for ten?” Twilight pointed to the fine big carrots on the grocery stall, taking a scroll out of her saddle bag and checking the list.

“Two bits, princess!” the shopkeeper turned to her quickly, finishing the deal with the previous customer; Twilight thought that he would probably turn to her even from a still acquiring one, and mentally facehoofed about the “princess” part. She already formed a habit to cross Ponyville with wings tightly folded and not flapping them without a reason, but only her close friends were fine, calling her simply “Twilight” or “Twi” without a second thought. Sometimes she thought that life would be easier if alicorns were a bit more common.

“Fine. I’ll take those,” Twilight picked those, she found suitable. “And… Oh, hi, Lyra!” she waved to a minty coloured unicorn, which tried to gain her attention.

“Good afternoon, pr… Twilight,” Lyra corrected herself under Twilight’s insisting glance. Then she leaned closer and added in half voice. “I’d like to know about… well, you know who, if I may ask of course.”

Twilight nodded and pointed aside with her eyes only, saying they needed a bit more privacy for that talk, while she paid for the carrots, and both girls moved further, whishing the shopkeeper a good day and letting others approach the stall.

“He is still in Canterlot if you’re about Alex,” said Twilight quietly, when they distanced from the busy spot. “Nopony is allowed to see him yet, but Luna told me that she would try to make me an exclusion.”

“Princess Luna!..” Lyra coughed and lowered her tone when Twilight hushed on her. “So, Princess Luna is managing this… problem,” said Lyra in a more restrained voice, looking around, but nopony noticed in the routine market humming.

“Actually, Princess Celestia does,” Twilight wry smile could encrypt any type of thoughts, so Lyra didn’t load herself much with that, focusing on the main matter instead. “But princess Luna… helps, where she can.”

“So, if I can see him, I could find everything out from the first hooves… sorry, hands,” Twilight snorted and checked carrots in her list, putting the scroll back into the bag. “Until then I can’t find out anything fancy. Anything, which may interest you.”

She chose one carrot from her bunch and cleaned it with magic, removing the thin peel with all the dust, so the carrot became almost sterile. Spending so much time reading books and some ancient faded scrolls, Twilight always took care of her eyes and managed to avoid glasses, despite all the strain on her eyesight.

“Treat yourself…” she handed the carrot to Lyra, but Lyra shook her head, thus Twilight munched on it herself.

“Thanks, Twilight,” carrots didn’t bother Lyra at all at that moment. “So, he is not going home anytime soon, I mean, out and away from Equestria.”

“Not in the nearest future, as far as I know,” nodded Twilight. “Certain difficulties are emerging, connected to some of his traits. Transferring him appears to be not an average task, even for Princess Celestia.”

“Naturally!” huffed Lyra, perhaps a bit louder than necessary, she still remembered their first encounter and her own purblindness, which could end with an accident. “Hey, Flutters and Pinkie coming!” she waved to somepony behind Twilight.

Twilight looked over her shoulder: both named girls made their way through the herd indeed. Well, actually Fluttershy made her way, while Pinkie was simply hopping around her, miraculously managing not to bump into anypony and keeping their conversation with Flutters at the same time.

The girls noticed Twilight and Lyra and changed their course. When they finally approached, Twilight and Lyra greeted them. Twilight hugged Fluttershy, keeping in mind the recent condition of her friend; catching Pinkie was a deadly trick anyway.

“Hi, girls,” Fluttershy’s voice was even quieter than always and despite she tried to put on something resembling a smile, the whole image came out fairly painful, making Twilight’s heart ache in empathy.

“Hi, Twilight! Hi, Lyra!” Pinkie made a few circles around them three, still hopping in her usual manner. Evidently, she was in a bright mood, which could be spoiled perhaps by a notice that the party, Pinkie was going to, was cancelled. Undoubtedly she sincerely tried to cheer up Fluttershy through their entire market run. To no avail, as the girls could see, but Pinkie wasn’t going to give up that easily.

“That’s great!” Lyra continued their interrupted talk. “So I can still talk to him about things, which interest me.”

Lyra apologized for being busy and trotted somewhere on her own, wishing the girls a good day.

“What is great?!” Pinkie stopped circling and hopped on the spot, tilting her head in a curious manner.

“If you, girls, keep quiet and don’t inform half of Ponyville, I’ll surely tell you,” Twilight looked on them both with a bright smile, then added. “And could you, please, stop for a while, Pinkie. I feel that my head starts hopping with you…”

“Is that bad?” Pinkie produced a wide smile, but stopped hopping, she just stepped from hoof to hoof, that was better though. “Okay, okay, now do tell.”

“First of all I’d like to tell you that Alex is fine,” Twilight noticed how Fluttershy transformed as quick as thought: her head cocked, her eyes became alive and certain sparkles returned to the depth of those turquoise lakes, even a small smile found its way on her muzzle.

‘Girl, I’d call that “love”,’ inwardly smirked Twilight and continued. “He doesn’t find his whole time in Canterlot a pleasant vacation, but he is… fine…”

“More good news – I can probably visit him soon, so ask what you need to know and I’ll tell you everything from the first hooves later.”

“He’s okay, that’s enough for me,” Fluttershy noticeably cheered up. “But… if you can, Twilight, please, ask if they are going to let him free soon.”

“I will,” Twilight nodded. “But it’s mostly up to Celestia, you know. But that’s not all, girls. One more thing: there are major problems with him and magic combined, thus with transferring him magically. So, he is not going anywhere anytime soon. That means…” Twilight smiled.

Pinkie, who kept silence unusually, ruffled her mane, raised onto her hind legs and spread her fore legs, inhaling deeply and pumping her cheeks… Fluttershy reacted in a flash, she grabbed Pinkie and promptly put the hoof over her mouth; the resulting sound came out as a muffled trumpet, instead of whatever Pinkie planned to shout.

“Let’s not start about Welcome to Ponyville Human party again!” articulated Fluttershy in a slightly hissing voice. “Well, until it is really time to… if you don’t mind…” she calmed down a bit and blushed under the surprised glance of Twilight.

“It’s never too early, sometimes it can be too late!” Pinkie pouted slightly when Fluttershy released her, but she kept jumping on one spot, obviously taking no offence.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy put her hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I asked you before and I’m asking you again. I want to see him.”

“I realize that Celestia can make an exclusion for you,” she said before Twilight could open her mouth again. “But waiting, till he is out, is too long for me. There must be some way for me to visit him, perhaps you, as a princess, could help me to get through… You know, that doesn’t need to involve princess Celestia…”

The last phrase abashed Fluttershy, as she lowered her head a bit and her ears flattened, still she looked into Twilight’s eyes rather demandingly than pleadingly. But mostly that phrase caught Twilight off guard, she saw her friend differently, not for the first time already.

“I’m in,” Pinkie raised her hoof. “I mean, you will need somepony to help anyway. I’ll be your…” she paused. “… ground support.”

Twilight ruffled her bangs and looked over two girls, pondering about the venture, they were going to attempt, and the possible consequences. Surely nopony sends a princess, even a new and inexperienced one to the unicorn kindergarten, but the wrath of princess Celestia could be considerable if they screwed on this one. Why the feeling of a swamp, sucking her in, wasn’t leaving her ever since she saw, how Fluttershy’s eyes brightened after mentioning Alex. Still, the whole situation interested her much, she was ready to admit that. And the role of princess Luna in that play. Perhaps ponies didn’t even have a proverb “Curiosity killed the cat”, otherwise Twilight should know it for sure and it could affect her decision. Perhaps.

“Okay, in an hour in the library,” with a sigh Twilight made up her mind. “Don’t tell others though.”

“Jackie and Rarity have younger sisters, who will sneak-follow them even to the Tartarus if some “performance” is granted,” she elaborated further. “And we don’t want the girls involved more than they are already. One is enough, the whole CMC is an armed fuse. And Rainbow… something tells me, Rainbow won’t participate anyway.”

“Now finish with your stuff and I’ll be waiting for you… and thinking,” added Twilight in half voice.

Alex measured his room with his steps. He couldn’t make smaller steps, as they made him nervous, and measured in wider steps the room provided completely depressive mood by its smallness. The table and chair were moved to the window, so Alex could have more light when reading and there was more space in front of the bed to exercise… or flee to the sleeping disguise, if necessary.

Reading didn’t give him much, except killing time though – they made pauses between experiment days, still, the number of spells and artefacts Alex was subjected to was enormous; with the same results each time. Alex couldn’t find enough information about human encounters in Equestria in a simple historical book, even a good and thorough one, let alone any clues of how they returned to their home world. It seemed that people were a special subject here in Equestria, not broadly covered in the common historic study, due to safety reasons most likely. Asking for a specific source was still something Alex inwardly negotiated with himself about: it could attract unnecessary attention to him. Alex decided to play by Celestia’s rules, at least to the point when she openly admitted to being able or unable to transfer him. Then he would act on his own.

Two sets of hoofsteps in the corridor dragged him out of his thoughts. First hoofsteps were slower, but it was obvious that both ponies trot together and Alex realized, that effect appeared because of the size difference. Perhaps he knew, who could be behind the door.

The quiet sizzle of the turned-off magical barrier was followed by a loud clank of the door lock and Alex prepared to meet his “guest”. Alex chuckled at that thought.

Watching as the illustrious mane of pink, green and turquoise strands (the latter reminded him of Fluttershy’s eyes in a flash) flowed inside through the opened door, followed by the tall, graceful, white frame, Alex bowed. A bit, not to strain his tired self more than necessary, yet not to appear discourteous in the eyes of princess Celestia.

“Your Highness! How did I deserve the honour of being visited by the princess of Equestria herself?”

“Good afternoon, Alex the human!” Celestia couldn’t avoid noticing the faint irony in his words, yet the calm smile curled her lips. “I was going to visit you sooner or later anyway, but I’m too busy with my daily regal duties… with the addition of your delicate problem, mind that, please. I’m not a monster.”

“Neither am I… your Highness!” bluntly stated Alex. “Yet I’m enclosed here for… about two weeks already and being subjected to numerous experiments, which, if I may judge, bring similar results, all as one.”

“From all the… subjects involved, you are supposed to be the first interested that your transfer happened without any flaws,” chuckled Celestia, but her smile became a bit artificial, strained. She trotted inside his room and Alex felt, how the free space shrunk. With Luna, there was no such effect, despite she was only a bit smaller than her older sister.

“The more time passes, your Highness, the less cautious I became,” Alex faked a bright smile. “Perhaps, at some point I will be ready to jump into the portal without any idea of the outcome, just to do something, you know.”

“Hmm… This is exactly the reason, why I should be cautious, even extra cautious, on my own and it appears that on your behalf as well,” Celestia’s smile became sincere again and Alex thought that she was an epitome of “big sister aspect” at that moment; it didn’t make his condition easier though. “I don’t know, what consequences your deed of that kind can bring to the whole Equestria. And if you don’t care about yourself… I am to care about all of my subjects.”

“Fair point,” nodded Alex, the ironic expression didn’t leave his face though. “But I’m afraid there is more to my condition here. As far as the experiments go, I can predict the next stage perhaps. And I’m taking the liberty, and full responsibility for my words, to say that I’m entirely against the idea of somepony suffering because of the features I possess now but don’t consciously control. I’ve seen what happened with some… artefacts, when we interacted for too long…” Alex stumbled.

“This is another reason, why we must investigate your abilities thoroughly,” Celestia raised one brow at his last phrase. “Somepony should guide you through the entire process of transfer, so it’s better we find out about all the possible surprises here and now, when we control the process, than meeting the problems during the transfer, when we have no time or means to deal with them,” speaking that way Celestia trotted slowly around Alex, just like at the beginning of the audience, as if she was examining him for symptoms, known by her only. Alex tried to shake off the unwelcome similarity to a big white shark circling her prey and involuntarily made a small slip.

“Tis if thou control the process…” muttered he barely audible and bit his tongue immediately, noticing how Celestia’s ears instantly perked – she was right in front of him at that moment. She turned to face him, but didn’t show any signs of anxiety; perhaps, she pretended that she heard nothing, or indeed thought, it was her imagination. Alex scolded himself mentally nevertheless.

“I have more concerns about your arrival,” said Celestia instead. “And much more serious ones.”

‘Here it is, exactly what Luna told me about,’ thought Alex, bringing all his attention at guard and showing her with a nod that he is ready to listen.

“We got precursors of some… unkind force concentrating in distant corners of Equestria for quite a while before your strange arrival. Initially, we thought that it was some emanation of King Sombra, despite he was defeated and technically destroyed.. but with magical enemies you can’t have it simple. Do you know, who King Sombra is, Alex the human?”

“Yes, Princess,” Alex tried to predict her route of thoughts, but couldn’t imagine the connection at the moment. “In brief, Fluttershy told me about him and the Crystal Empire. And, please, stop reminding me that I’m a human, princess. I know it well; besides, I am the only human in your realm for quite a while,” he threw a glance at the book on the table, Celestia’s eyes following. “It really alienates me even more, than I myself could do.”

Celestia nodded.

“Later we found out that it wasn’t Sombra: too many differences, despite visible similarities. But I told you about precursors. There were a few real encounters later. When the force concentrated and produced something, we never actually dealt with before,” she made a dramatic pause. “There is an actual victim of that encounter already, Alex.”

“Fortunately he is alive,” continued Celestia, when Alex raised his eyes on her. “But he is… “hollow”, emotionally drained. He seems to be in the terminal case of amnesia, Alex, only worse. He lives, he has all the simple needs and can suit himself, but he has… no wish to. Medics need to feed him and he swallows, what is put in his mouth, but he won’t take another spoon himself, even if the death from starvation is imminent. He doesn’t recognize anypony, he seems to lose the mere wish to live…”

“That sounds awful!” Alex dropped his hands. “But I sincerely can’t see how I…”

Instead of the answer, Celestia levitated a few sheets of paper from under her wing to his table.

“Take a look. This is what appears when the Dark Mist concentrates.”

Alex turned away from her and approached the table, slightly moving the sheets to keep them all in sight at once. There were three of them. Each one carried the image of a dark creature, formed seemingly of some flowing mist, four-legged, with a body of a horse and a torso resembling a human, with a glowing orifice (as much as pencil or charcoal drafts could convey) in the middle of the upper torso. The only difference between the images was the angle and perhaps scale.

“This is as much as we have, I saw one myself, and those images were made by the mages, who encountered these ghastly creatures on a fair distance,” Celestia approached him from behind and Alex felt her breath on his neck. “The victim of the close encounter could perhaps see more details, but apparently he is not in the right condition to tell about them. To be honest, he is not in any condition technically. It looks like he is dead mentally while being alive physically,” her voice trembled barely perceptible. “Have you ever seen something those monsters alike?”

Alex’s hand, which rested on the table, clenched into a fist. He slipped between the princess and the table and came to the window, looking outside, turning his back to Celestia, long, silently.

“We call them… started to call “seekers”,” said Celestia quietly. “As their behaviour reminds of seeking something when they materialize and gain force. Speaking of mages, we need quite a bunch to eliminate one such abomination, and they seem to grow stronger. They feel magic and chase the caster, who aims at them. They cause panic and psychosis in my subjects, Alex. Have you ever seen alike before or after coming to Equestria? Right when you came to Equestria?”

Alex spun around in a wink.

“There are creatures in human mythology,” he started muffledly. “Called centauri. They resemble those freaks drawn by your men… ponies. But centauri supposedly, supposedly because they are mythic, look like a complete human torso with the hands and head planted instead of the head and neck on the horse body. I’ve no idea if they are genuine or some sort of hybrid according to the legends, but they surely aren’t devouring any miserable souls, even if they aren’t extremely polite and hospitable.”

“And, no, I didn’t see any of those or centauri equiprobably, before or after my arrival, because A: centauri are mythic, non-existent in reality…”

“Talking ponies are non-existent in your reality as well,” confronted Celestia.

“… and B: I don’t take a company with… mind sucking monsters!” Alex took a breath, feeling how cold anger inevitably floods him. “Your Highness, I understand what you are suggesting,” he articulated quietly and ice cold. “But my life for it, I never… summoned or controlled anything like those. Even if you don’t believe me, look here,” he pointed to the barred window, then glanced around his room. “You know that I can’t cast magic consciously, I couldn’t even avoid a glass of water from this strange Discord guy.”

Celestia silently cringed a little.

“Partially you are right, Alex…” she put her hoof on the papers forcedly, making the table screech. “I can hardly see you as the driving force of that curse… But I’m more than entirely sure that your arrival somehow is connected to those encounters.”

Alex stepped to the table quickly, leaning over it and putting his hand on Celestia’s hoof. Surprisingly the princess didn’t pull her warm fore leg away at once.

“Tell me frankly, princess, do you really want to return me or just get rid of me at any cost?”

“Does it make any real difference at the moment?” Celestia closed her eyes, slowly pulling her hoof from under his palm. “You bring changes with you. For good or bad, I don’t know yet. But I can’t take any risks, as the price is too high.”

Alex didn’t find what to say on that.

“Besides I can’t predict your actions yet. I see too much of Discord in you,” the sad voice of Celestia made Alex look up to her to find the eyes showing visible regret. “With one obvious exception: I’m sure you can’t harm the innocent consciously. For now at least…”

“Well, there is something reassuring about me,” there was only sadness in Alex’s grin, not even irony at this time.

“You know, Discord wasn’t the walking menace first as well. But as I said, everypony tends to change. He had been strange and unpredictable, but nothing compared to what he was exactly before the girls showed him the difference,” there was something faintly in the princess’ expression, something Alex couldn’t yet recognize. He decided to go all-in.

“Was it the time, he started calling you Celly… your highness?”

The change was so sudden and noticeable, that Alex needed to force himself to stay visibly indifferent. Celestia brought her face close to Alex’s, really close, eyes to eyes, her horn slid on his hair.

“Don’t tempt me, Alex the human,” she said quietly, but meaningfully, through gritted teeth. “As I may reconsider and… take some risks.”

“Which for example?” Alex brought his face even closer, narrowing his eyes. He could feel her breath on his nose. “I’m short on my chances anyway.”

Perhaps the alicorn princess was fairly surprised by that reaction, as she visibly relaxed and the feeling of thunderstorm cloud vanished from the small room.

“The Moon is now vacant, as you properly noticed before,” said Celestia with a snicker.

“Oh, that’s an argument,” Alex backed up a bit, raising both hands in theatrical “peace” gesture, then launched another arrow. “Considering the given conditions, I would end there together with you most likely. That’s not what I’m wholeheartedly ready for yet.”

He could expect any reaction, but this. To Alex’s utter surprise Celestia laughed heartily.

“Although, you’d need to wait for a little while – and what are few decades for you – before I die…” added Alex, crossing his hands on the chest. “…if I don’t die right away without the atmosphere. So it won’t be such a big problem for you.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple now, Alex,” Celestia’s voice became more serious at once. “Your current regeneration level speaks for you hardly dying due to any natural reason in the nearest perspective. I can’t predict your lifespan with what I got.”

Alex gasped.

“Don’t you mean that if I’m forced to stay here for whichever reason, I am to stick here for way more than a few decades?”

“Perhaps more than you can imagine, Alex.”

He gritted his teeth to keep the mouth shut, any words he had at the moment were definitely not for the ears of the princess. Alex walked around the table, took the chair right from under Celestia’s muzzle, turned it and dropped himself on. If he leaned a bit further, he would snuggle right into Celestia’s forehead; she watched him fixedly. But he didn’t notice anything.

‘Each moment better and better…’ rolled in his mind.

Alex raised his head, looked into her eyes and slowly shook his head, downcasting again. He felt a light touch of the hoof on his shoulder and Celestia silently left.

“So, you are absolutely willing to sneak to the Canterlot castle, find where Alex is kept and see him and, if we’re lucky and uncaught at the point, have a talk with him, right?” Twilight glanced over her shoulder from the bookshelf, which she was searching through.

Pinkie and Fluttershy sat in soft comfy armchairs in the lower room of Golden Oak Library. As it was decided, they finished their market run as fast as it was possible and came to Twilight’s place, where they could discuss their plan (if they were going to have any) without outsider’s curious eyes and fluffy ears. Pinkie fidgeted in her armchair noticeably – sitting still wasn’t her game, yet she was much calmer than usual, working out something. Twilight watched her fixedly, sincerely wishing for Pinkie’s new idea not being something troublemaking. Fluttershy joined her fore hooves together, perhaps she was pondering about Twilight’s words in the sudden silence.

“Oh, here it is,” Twilight finally levitated a thick tome and trotted to the book stand, where she placed it and started leafing over. “I’m trying to find something, which may help us sneak there unnoticed if were are going to go finally. But for now, I only stumbled across simple silencing spells and alike.”

“So, Fluttershy?” she stared at her yellow friend meaningfully. “I think answering that question is important.”

“It’s not about me being willing to do that,” with a sigh Fluttershy raised her eyes at Twilight, but her voice was firm. “I’m game without the second thought and you know it. It’s about others going to help, or not. Especially you, Twi. Because I understand that your responsibility is higher anyway and if you feel that our little endeavour is not worthy of risking Celestia’s trust, that’s pretty understandable.”

“I’m in,” said Pinkie, but her thoughts were somewhere else still, she was so quiet since they came; Twilight concerned about the possible outcome more and more.

“Frankly speaking,” Twilight turned over a few more pages. “I’m still hesitating a bit. Not entirely sure that it would be right if I help you with that escapade. Especially considering that if I refuse to help, nothing would be done and nopony gets reprimanded perhaps.”

Fluttershy huffed meaningfully, like saying that it was exactly, what she meant.

“Girls, what are you up to again?” asked Spike, descending the stairs with a stack of heavy books in his paws. “I’ve just heard “Canterlot” and “uncaught”, and…”

“Twilight, don’t say that you’re going to sneak into the castle again… for whatever reason, just like last time when you wanted to delve into Starswirl section of the Royal Canterlot library!” his eyes narrowed, when he got down and placed the stack on the table. “Here, I found them on your nightstand… Wait! Do you need all those spells for THAT exactly?” Spike facepalmed with a sigh.

“Yup, Spike, exactly!” confirmed Twilight with a bright smile, she found the reaction of her aide quite amusing. If somepony could complain about their last trick of that kind, then it was not Spike definitely. He could complain only his greed and stomach, which wasn’t able to cope with that amount of ice-cream, Spike ate, hoping that it would be the problem of the “future Spike” and completely ignoring that he was to become that “future Spike” at the certain moment nevertheless. “Are you going?”

“Ummm…” Spike’s glance alternated from one girl to another. The “team” was unusual: in addition to Twilight, who could sign for any adventure out of curiosity, and Pinkie, who could sign for literally anything, if that promised fun… well, at least in Pinkie’s interpretation, there was Fluttershy, who wasn’t a typical adventurer type at all. It didn’t take him much time to combine all the initial data and Spike narrowed his eyes even more in suspicion. “What for?!”

“Fluttershy wants to sneak into the castle and find Alex,” giggled Pinkie Pie. “I think I didn’t miss anything important.”

Fluttershy nodded with a determined look.

“No way I’m joining that,” Spike shook his head fast. “And there are reasons for you all should reconsider as well.”

“Here,” he bent one finger. “The last time we sneaked in the library, not in the secured compartment. And it appeared that Twilight had full right to be there anyway, maybe not Starswirl section at that time, but still, it wasn’t nearly some crime. Besides, that was done out of pure curiosity and by mistake. Your mistake Twilight, which we laughed about later… and could laugh more perhaps if my stomach wasn’t aching,” he muttered grumpily, remembering the event.

“Then,” Spike bent another finger, not giving anypony time to say a word. “Twilight simply wanted to find a spell, she was going to use on herself to relay a message to herself as well. I know that sounds wicked,” he rolled his eyes. “But at least it wasn’t an attempt to communicate with somepony, who was not supposed to be communicated with by Celestia’s order. Twilight must know better, and while she would teleport you two,” he pointed at Pinkie and Flutters. “Before flak starts flying, she would get caught anyway and take the whole responsibility, despite being a princess.”

“And three,” he bent yet another finger. “While you three are natives, Celestia knows you well and cuts you some slack, besides, you’re Elements of Harmony, the human… Alex, right?.. The human will get to deal with all the consequences, not knowing about your plan even. I don’t want to be a part of it! The fewer of us involved, the less it looks like a full-time riot, the fewer asses of participants are kicked.”

“That’s quite a speech,” smirked Pinkie. “But we got your point, Spike. Right, girls?”

“By the way, what are you going to do?” Spike wasn’t going to give up his positions easily. “I mean, when you find him, Fluttershy. Ask him, if he is okay? But Twilight already told you, he was. Hold hooves… pardon me…” he nodded. “Hold hooves and hands through the window? You’ll have time for that when he returns. As, again, Twilight confirms, he can’t be sent home easily enough. Oh, well…” he waved his paw.

Fluttershy wasn’t going to think about things that banal and Twilight held herself not to suggest Spike to imagine Rarity on Alex’s place and himself on Fluttershy’s.

“I think we should make it simple,” Pinkie suggested her plan when Fluttershy and Twilight nodded. “We take a balloon to Canterlot castle. Yes, Twilight, it’s fast enough and silent and should hardly be sensed by princess Celestia, unlike your teleporting magic.”

Despite her staggering, Twilight was to admit Pinkie’s rightness and the latter continued explaining.

“So, we get behind the castle wall and supposedly nopony catches us, then we need to know, where he is kept. Twilight?”

“Well, I know, where he must have been escorted to,” Twilight scratched her nose, there was more confidence in her tone than in her gestures. “There is a hospital of a kind, but I know it is used for medical and applied wizardry research. Alex must be there. But we need to find the window of his room on our own and… not get caught by the guards of course.”

“Fine,” Pinkie vigorously jumped on the spot. “We need something dark and not movement restraining for clothes, especially me and Flutters, as only a blind pony can’t see us even in the darkness.”

“You must have your suit since the last time, Pinkie,” Twilight closed the book, which she looked through with one eye all that time, and took the next one. “Mine was almost ruined, but… But I’ll try to make something out.”

“Mine doesn’t cover my tail,” Pinkie frowned a little.

“Oh, come on, Pinkie,” Twilight chuckled. “Just braid it once in your life. Well, it seems, this is decided. Fluttershy?”

“Flutters can pull out her spec ops suit, made by Rarity with love and care when we sent her to you and Zecora; remember, when Trixie locked Ponyville completely,” said Pinkie with a sly smile. She turned to Fluttershy. “Do you still have it?”

“Somewhere I do,” Fluttershy nodded. “But I’m afraid, it’s not in the best shape at the moment. I could try to fix it though. I could do that myself, but I don’t have a sewing machine.”

“Don’t let Rarity suspect anything, okay?” Twilight sighed deeply, her ears flattened as if she wasn’t still sure that what she was going to do was right.

“So, have you finally decided?” Pinkie tilted her head, Fluttershy looked at Twilight fixedly as well. “We really need you, Twi. We don’t know the castle nearly as well and have no idea, where to look for Alex, and probably will get caught right after landing…”

“Okay, okay, I’m with you,” Twilight sighed once again. “Why I still have a feeling that it will bring more troubles than it solves? But I’m with you, as you will screw it on your own as Pinkie said.”

“Thank you, Twi,” Fluttershy hugged her.

“You, girls, are real maniacs,” Spike, who watched them all that time silently, shook his head. “All I can say, I wish you not to fail that… for everypony’s benefit.”

“Okay!” Pinkie clopped her fore hooves together excitedly. “When we’re going to start? I mean after we solve the clothing problem…”

“I’d say – three days on,” Twilight looked at them both. “This will give any of us time to reconsider at least.” Looking at Fluttershy she saw that it hardly was about her.

“By the way,” Pinkie approached Twilight and asked her quietly. “How did you know that Alex is okay and so on? You said you were only going to be able to visit him.”

“Princess Luna told me that, just like that she is going to talk me through all that… security,” whispered Twilight, whose expression hardly told, what she was thinking at the moment.

Pinkie raised one eyebrow.

The following scene needs to be read and imagined as a movie split-screen sequence, when two characters, their thoughts and feelings are shown simultaneously.

“Hmmph!” Up! And slowly do-o-own…

The “charcoal” image of the seeker-monster approached and receded in his view, while Alex did push-ups; he put the drafts in front of himself, so he could stare at them and think. Moving like a machine he concentrated on the images, coming to a conclusion that the more he thinks of what Celestia said, the less it appeals to him. At approximately 200 Alex kneeled on the floor and grabbed the papers.

‘Things are starting to get ugly. Apparently, the princess didn’t believe a word of mine,’ Alex kept examining the draft, inwardly disliking what he saw more and more with every second. ‘She keeps thinking that I may be connected to those bastards or even control them. What nonsense! She knows I can’t cast…’

‘But I can control things while sleepwalking, can’t I?’ Alex cringed, but his inner voice was right. If he could control fire, why shouldn’t one suspect him controlling the “seekers”.

‘I can’t deny that my arrival and appearance of those are too close in time to be ignored easily,’ Alex got up and threw the drafts on the table. ‘But if I remember Celestia’s words right, those “seekers” are what the… how did she call it?.. Dark Mist turns into when it concentrates enough. And the Dark Mist appeared way before my arrival, it just became more active lately.’

‘Aha… Lately means when I arrived,’ Alex facepalmed. ‘Surely, for an observer, it does me some justice,’ he huffed sarcastically.

A small green flash materialized as a scroll, which smacked on her table among the papers. Totally not surprised, as this happened quite often the last two weeks, Celestia took it with her magic and unrolled. It was a small report from the human research group, but what she read there made her rub her tired eyes and gained all princess’ attention at once. Omitting the preface this report was very thought-provoking, despite its brevity.

“… I consider it important to bring to your attention the following observation made by the nurse […]. Her shift was during yesterday’s night and a few strange things happened alongside this incident. Here is the full list of events, we found strange and attention-worthy at the very least:

The guards reported slightly opened doors to one staircase on the first, second and third floors. On the third floor, the doors were not closed on both ends of the hallway. Normally guards close those doors behind themselves, while patrolling. Nopony takes the responsibility for leaving them open during that night.

The lights were out on one patrolling round at the staircase, where doors were open on three floors at once: respectively on first, second and third floor’s landings, including intermediate ones. Ground floor lights were burning all the time normally. The above can be explained by the draught due to opened doors, but… the lights were normal in the third-floor hallway, which was open from both ends…”

A faint shadow of concern ran across Celestia’s muzzle.

‘So, if we take the whole chain of events from the start,’ Alex sat at the table and leaned on it, putting his chin on his knuckles. ‘First, the Dark Mist appeared, then I got here, in Equestria, somehow. For me it rather looks that not Dark Mist appears because of me, but vice versa… Mad, weird? Yes! But logically correct.’

‘And this… matter serves as some carrier for those things, according to Celestia’s words. It appears somewhere, accumulates, if nopony interferes, and then… Blam! A hideous centaur-like freak appears.’

‘A centaur-like freak which can make ponies lose their minds… At least ponies. Moreover unicorns. That means magic-capable, not entirely helpless ponies,’ Alex smashed his fist into the papers on the table. ‘Even more… This victim was part of the… interception squad, they knew the score and were trained to deal with something like that.’

He froze and sat still for a while, listening to the birds’ singing, coming through the open window. Alex didn’t even notice, how summer came, while he was sitting here. He raised and got to the window, the sun was slowly approaching the horizon.

‘I need to see that seeker victim,’ Alex drummed his fingers on the windowsill, watching the sparrows or perhaps some other small birds jumping and fluttering among the shrubs below. ‘What if I show him those drafts,’ he looked at the papers over the shoulder. ‘Maybe that makes him remember something. Interesting, did they try the same?’

‘The worst part of it is that they are close to hanging all the responsibility on me,’ smirked Alex. ‘Just because I’m an alien, who appeared in the wrong time and wrong place…’

The mere fact that “strange things” happened in the building, where the human was kept, exactly at the same night, when the seeker accident took place, could, of course, be a coincidence. Celestia realized that clearly and being the ruler of Equestria for almost an eternity she was higher than becoming all trigger happy because something seemed suspicious. But… she couldn’t ignore that entirely. Considering her other doubts, this didn’t make the whole image better.

“…The nurse reported that she was advised by the guard to check the human at least each half an hour after the above-mentioned events were registered. The human didn’t leave his room (locked) all night through. The nurse checked him every quarter of an hour instead and he remained in his bed all the time. She was alerted after the second or third check by human’s stillness: he didn’t change his position during the supposed sleep, despite she saw him breathing. The human lay on his back, straight and still. After two hours of the same behaviour, the nurse decided to check his physical condition and tried to wake the human. By her own words, she “shook him violently” for approximately ten minutes straight without any reaction from him. His breath and pulse were even, no dangerous symptoms were registered, yet she was going to call for help when the human finally woke up…”

‘Hmpf! This sounds very familiar. Very!’ princess Celestia chuckled ironically. ‘I watch the same scene from time to time when I need to wake Lulu early in the morning. If she had a busy night, I can’t make her open her eyes for quite a while… Yet the pose being unchanged…’

“The human confirmed his condition being normal and said that he was simply tired because of the experiments, adding that things like that happen with him when he “falls down like a log” because of the fatigue. The incident seemed to be over, but the nurse decided to mention it in her report according to the instructions: namely to report everything that differs from routinely events…”

Celestia galloped the rest of the letter, consisting mostly of the usual politesse and frowned. A sudden idea was worth checking. She turned the scroll and quickly wrote a few words on the opposite side. Another flash swallowed the rolled again scroll, sending it back with a query for elaboration.

‘Wrong… Was it so wrong indeed?’ Alex leaned on the windowsill, thinking fast. ‘I never believed in coincidences. And a few weeks in Equestria taught me that I was right, believing in them not. Especially in overly fantastic, like that one.’

‘There is no such thing as random “randomness”,’ he smirked. ‘The random part comes from us, not knowing every aspect of the problem. There is always a reason, even if we know about it not. Perhaps I was dragged here – and I’m sure I wouldn’t end up in another realm if hit by common lightning – because of something unruly was already happening in Equestria. What for? That’s another question to answer as soon as I’m able to.’

‘The main one remains!’ Alex shook his head. ‘Seekers or other magical crap, I need to get back home!’

Another sudden idea made him bite his finger, pondering…

The scroll returned with yet another flash and Celestia grabbed it in the air, quickly running her eyes across the few words, added to her question.

“The mentioned incident was observed by the nurse between midnight and 2 am.”

“Boss shot…” Celestia even said that aloud. ‘The seeker victim got hit approximately at half past three. Well, actually that proves nothing in favour of the human, against likewise. There are still many unknowns in that case,’ she sighed.

Her today’s study didn’t give a result, that was already habitual, yet not less disappointing because of that. Sending the human to his home world by known means still looked impossible. At least if she didn’t consider “getting rid” of him, as he mentioned earlier.

Celestia smiled sadly. Straight from the shoulder, Alex mentioned the main problem she was to solve, weighing the danger he probably yielded.

That sudden idea seemed promising to Alex.

‘According to what I heard about those seekers, they must be entirely magical creatures, independent or not, but they are built, transferred and guided with magic… if I learned to recognize it.’

‘I’m immune to magic,’ a devilish grin wormed on Alex’s face, as he walked away from the window and back to the table, studying the drafts again. ‘Besides, it seems the hostile magic backfires quite effectively without harming me.’

Deep inside he knew that he already decided everything and nopony could make him reconsider.

‘I need to have “a good talk” with one of those bastards when they appear again,’ Alex preferred to ignore the chance to end like that unicorn, mentioned by Celestia. It was already unknown, when and if he could return home. And that “unknown” seemed to approach “never” each day. ‘If my conclusions are right, that would be a perfect chance to prove that I’m not their puppet master, nor carrying any malicious intent, before Celestia becomes convinced of the opposite. Besides, slab-heads will “think” twice next time, assaulting ponies.’

His feet hit the thick, soft carpet and Alex thought that he was extremely lucky that night. First, he managed to position himself that far finally – from his room in the “hospital” into Luna’s bedroom directly, and he felt somehow that Luna wasn’t sleeping at that moment, at least the bed was empty. That meant, he managed to cover a considerable distance without a so-called “anchor”, on his own. Second, he wasn’t spotted by anypony. Actually, there was nopony in the room: the ancient hearth muttered quietly with the fire burning inside, occasionally letting out a sparkle or two with louder crackle, the noble furniture was lit by the multitude of candles in the forged chandeliers, the big empty bed was yet undone, the curtain was slightly fluttering, telling Alex that the balcony door or at least the window was open.

Alex examined himself in the so familiar large mirror on the floor stand, the one he came “through” at his first visit, chuckling at the memory. He appeared the same as he got to “sleep”, that is why he got to bed clothed, each time he prepared his sleepwalking. Keeping the shoes would be suspicious, so at the moment he could forcedly enjoy the softness of the carpet with his bare feet.

‘Where is Luna?’ he approached the curtain and moved it aside a little, taking a peek from the balcony door, which was indeed slightly opened. The uneasy feel didn’t entirely leave him, thus each time he was to deal with heights, even while sleepwalking, he felt his stomach getting tight. But it was already incomparably better than ever before, when any thought about a window higher than on the first floor, made his feelings go bonkers. There was nopony on the balcony and in the observable part of the sky. ‘I hope she hasn’t flown away on her regal business, otherwise my efforts are futile tonight.’

Alex returned to the room and stopped at the fireplace, thinking where the Princess of the Night could be at that time – late evening, not yet the night. From the balcony he could see the narrow pink stripe at the west edge of the sky, the sun was still setting… being set by Celestia actually. Hoping that Luna’s sister wouldn’t enter the bedroom to wish her a good night Alex mechanically dragged a long protuberance of fire from the hearth, making it stretch and squeeze several times like a harmonic, pulling and pushing it with his hand, then returned it to the fireplace.

Next moment he heard a quiet splash of water. Alex turned his head, trying to locate the sound when he noticed a narrow door at the opposite wall. It was decorated as the surrounding walls and hardly noticeable from the first glance. Alex guessed, there should be the bathroom. He approached the door, it was opened a little leaving a gap and making him able to hear, what was going inside.

“Ahem, Luna, I’m sorry, that’s me, Alex,” he tried to say that loud enough to be heard, yet soft and apologetically not to startle her. “Are you in?”

“Oh!” another splash of water and a quiet giggle, Alex blushed. “I’m in the tub, Alex, mine lief. At which hour hast thou come? I haven’t heard thee.”

“I’ve just… arrived. And… well, I can wait or come next time, if it’s not a suitable one,” Alex backed off the door but was stopped by Luna’s voice.

“Oh, no, no. Tis okay,” the hearty laughter made his heart flutter. “I got in just a few minutes ere. So thou art to wait for quite a while, that doesn’t feel quite right. And please don’t go.”

“I’ll breath some fresh air then,” muttered Alex, swallowing a lump in his throat at the thought, he was to spend some time on the balcony. “Just behind the curtain, in case your sister comes… for whichever reason she may.”

“Actually, I have a better idea,” said Luna cheerfully and Alex thought that he knew, what she was going to suggest. “Why don’t thou comest here. Mindst that I accept no objections.”

“That’s hardly a suggestion then,” Alex carefully entered the door, closing it behind. “To be completely honest, it’s not a common practice for me to join a lady in the bathroom.”

He was granted an amazing view of a spacious room with stone floor and walls of light colours, lit with the familiar candles and containing a large basin built in the floor in the middle of it. Well, it was a tub actually, but only a very greedy beholder could call it that way. The basin was filled with water, covered with a huge cap of aromatic foam, but the main decoration was the pretty alicorn head, looking at him above the foam. Despite being wet Luna’s mane miraculously kept its flowing look, making Alex freeze on spot, eyeing what he could.

“Alex, ho, did somepony glued thee thither?” Luna waved her fore hoof, smiling and making a few bubbles fly. “Comest closer!”

Alex gulped and made a few steps, he suddenly felt his head being empty and echoing.

“Huzzah!” Luna made a small splash, actually having fun. “He finally moved! What’s wrong with thee?”

“Nothing…” creaked Alex. Then he cleared his throat and repeated. “Nothing is wrong, Luna. Wrong is not the right word… But…”

“Oh,” her smile became even wider. “I suppose, I know. Ye, people, wear clothes all the time…”

“Well, mostly…” Alex couldn’t prevent his cheeks becoming pinkish again.

“If ’t be true thou see me without my neck plate and hoofwear,” giggled Luna playfully. “Doth that mean that I am naked according to thy rules? I mean… more naked than usual!” she nailed the coffin with the sly smile.

“Merlin’s pants!” breathed Alex, finally approaching the tub and placing himself on the floor next to it. He felt flames, which seemingly his neck and all the face were made of at that moment. It was that obvious because Luna was having fun at his embarrassment full time. “Please, don’t make that thought stick within my head, I won’t be of my normal colour ever again then.”

“Well, that’s not that awful, if ’t be true thou art able to joke about ‘t,” winked Luna, getting closer to the edge and leaning on it, laying her head on her folded fore legs. “But thou shan’t deny, that I am technically right.”

“That doesn’t make it less… Well… You know…”

“Know what?” It seemed Luna wasn’t going to let him have it easy. “I’m just reminding thee the obvious things… And thou – being… uneasy about them. How was thy day?”

With a sigh Alex lay on the stomach and leaned on his elbows, placing his head on the fists.

“Same as all the previous, I’m sticking with those experimental artefacts for a week already, it becomes kinda annoying. But keeping in mind what can be the next stage, I guess this one is not that bad.”

“Seeing you is what makes my day brighter, well, actually night,” he kissed her in the nose. “But I didn’t expect to see you…”

“Ummm…” Luna squinted and stretched, her illustrious tail emerged from the tub, decorated with ample amount of aromatic foam, and waved from side to side. “Every time I was able to cuddle with thee. I won’t mind… No, I would like to right now as well. A nice massage won’t hurt likewise.”

Alex gasped, making Luna instantly giggle again.

“Don’t thee be silly, Alex. Just get in.”

“Errmmm… I have one question, if I get into the tub in my clothes, will I wake up soaking wet in my room, when I end sleepwalking?”

“I. have. no. tiniest. idea!” articulated Luna, looking him straight into the eyes and raising one eyebrow with an unequivocal expression on her muzzle. “Fair chance – yes. Thou can only find out thyself.”

Alex let out a heavy sigh, Luna snorted at his embarrassment.

“Okay, can you still turn around? And… no funny business, okay?”

“Oh!” Luna raised her fore hooves in comic gesture, then she moved a bit and sat in the tub, stretching her shoulders and slightly wiggling her folded wings, yet looking away as promised. One ear was still turned to Alex, apparently controlling his progress. “Okay. We are not hurrying anywhere!” “reassured” she.

He managed to get rid of the clothes quickly enough, pondering if removing them by the willpower would be an easier and smarter decision in that case, while Luna listened to the rustle. Finally, Alex got into the tub behind Luna with a small splash, admitting that the hot water feels quite natural, despite him being not entirely real at that moment. He couldn’t still accommodate fully to his ability, thinking that it would need quite some time to accept it entirely.

The first touch of her silky coat on the shoulders and back caused a gentle “Ahhhh!” from the alicorn beauty and Luna slid closer to Alex, leaning forward and giving him the full field for treatment. Alex massaged her shoulders, gently, but firmly rubbing her skin, stretching strained muscles… and avoiding wings, remembering her warning.

“Tis amazing!” cooed Luna, waving her mane, when he scratched and stroked her shoulders and between the wings. “Why thou nev’r…”

“Because each time we were either snuggling,” chuckled Alex, making her almost moan. “Or you wrapped me in your wings, packed me tight and placed your head on top of mine. Not that I object, it actually feels quite nice. Just answering your question…”

“Thou can’t imagine, how nice ‘t feeleth,” Luna looked at him over her shoulder, moving a bit closer. “But I guess, I shall accept oft as well. If thou dost not mind.”

“I don’t,” Alex moved his hands a bit lower, to her back and sides, making Luna purr and stretch. “It feels great to massage you. But please sit still and don’t move, otherwise, my reflexes can take over,” he coughed.

“Somepony spoke about “funny business”?” teased him Luna leaning on him completely. “Besides, it seemeth thy reflexes already quite succeeded at taking over, Alex,” she kissed him in the flaming cheek, as he felt, what she was talking about.

“Sorry!” Alex hugged her gently, leaning on the basin edge and placing Luna on his chest. She wrapped one fore leg around his neck, kissing him in the chin, in the ear, nuzzling his cheek. He didn’t feel much extra weight, despite she was a bit bigger; the water and foam concealed that impression.

“I take ‘t as a compliment!” whispered Luna in his ear, then their lips met and the reality around vanished for a while, while they were sharing their breath.

When she calmed down a bit, satisfying her first thirst for him, and nested comfortably on his chest and shoulder, Alex felt like a boiling kettle. To relax he started stroking her splendid mane slowly, making Luna coo something tender and rub her shoulders and head against him, while he kissed her behind the ear.

“Thou makest me melt!” Luna wiggled her folded wings, involuntarily tickling Alex and making him hold himself hard not to stroke the margins. “Dost not stop, please!”

“If you don’t stop wiggling and applying extra pressure,” Alex deliberately kissed her in the edge of her wing, Luna arched and moaned. “My reflexes will go completely wild, up to uncomfortable. You see? And careful with your horn, please.”

“Thou…” hissed Luna, squinting at him, Alex closed her mouth with another kiss.

“I’m just showing you, what I feel when you snuggle into me like that,” innocently noticed he, when they parted for air. “By the way, the sun was setting when I came here. Aren’t you supposed to be raising the Moon, my princess?”

“The Moon is not always up right after the sunset,” huffed Luna, booping him in the nose. “Isn’t ‘t the same in thy world?”

“I guess it is,” chuckled Alex. “Sorry, I’m not an astronomer. Besides, you are completely in charge of the Moon indeed.”

“Exactly. And thou art a… “thinking machines” specialist. Tis kinda far from the Moon raising job,” Luna stuck out her tongue at him jokingly. “Tell me more about them someday, agreed?”

“I will, I will, my curious princess,” Alex leaned his head on hers, feeling her cool horn with his temple.

“Speaking of jobs,” he remembered after a while, listening to Luna’s quiet, relaxed breath. “Recently I thought what I can do for living in Equestria.”

“And?” Luna’s ears perked in attention.

“Well, I would hate myself being an… eternal guest. A parasprite, as you could call it,” huffed Alex. “I plan to pay my bills myself when I’m finally free enough.”

“I thought about what I could do here,” he continued as Luna didn’t interrupt him, listening with obvious empathy. “And the prognosis wasn’t very bright. Aside from simple hard jobs in the field or on the construction site, I can hardly be useful anywhere, as my profession is undemanded for in Equestria. I’m not a medic, or an artist, or a teacher…”

“But then I thought about another thing, I dare to hope I’m good at – hardware!” said Alex. “Not that type of hardware, which is native to my original work, something simpler… I pondered about simple commodities, which your subjects might lack in everyday life and it seemed, I finally found, what I can do to earn some bits.”

“Wend further, mine lief,” Luna looked at him with a smile. “I’m earnestly interested.”

“I wanted to try starting with electricity,” explained Alex, Luna raised her brows. “You know, Ponyville, for example, could only benefit from electrical lighting, it could be used to pump water in the houses easier and on Applejack’s fields in any direction, not using water wheels only. Rarity could use an electric sewing machine, freeing her magic to more outstanding stuff. Generally, every household could use an electric generator.”

“Aren’t they big and bulky and demanding for quite a few ponies to operate,” Luna was a bit sceptic.

“Well, those few you have and use in Equestria surely are,” smirked Alex, kissing her in the nose and making Luna blink from his sudden move and giggle. “I want to suggest small and environment-friendly ones. They won’t be bigger than your armchair and will be propelled by wind or water force entirely. You see, Luna, we, I mean people,” his eyes became sad for a second, but he shook that off and continued. “don’t gather lightnings or use magic to create electricity, but we use electricity instead of magic, we don’t have, quite often.”

“Tis may work…” thoughtfully muttered Luna, then she raised her eyes at him. “But thou can’t make those out of thin air, mine lief. Thou shalt need something to start forsooth.”

“Actually, yes,” sighed Alex. “While I can easily compensate for all the generosity of the girls, helping me out when I start making and installing these generators, I still need help to start.”

“Simply think about what thou needest,” Luna sat in the tub and turned to face Alex. “When thy list is ready, I’ll do what I can to give you a hoof.”

“But…” Alex felt his jaw dropped, as he sat there with a surprised and perhaps slightly stupid expression. He couldn’t imagine the princess to be that forthright and selfless. His heart fluttered, Alex couldn’t find words to express his gratitude. “I’m… I will compensate for everything as soon as I can… Thank you, Luna. You’re a life saviour!”

“Not that it was necessary,” Luna scooped a portion of foam with her hoof, putting a lump on the tip of Alex’s nose and giggling at him, huffing it off. “Methinks thy life is worth saving anyway. I want ‘t. Isn’t ‘t enough reason for a princess?” she cocked her head jokingly, glancing at him.

“Fine, I am slightly tired of thy technical talk,” Luna narrowed her eyes, while Alex looked for a suitable reply. She stretched out her fore legs towards him in unequivocal gesture, making Alex sit and move closer to cuddle him in a proper embrace. “Thy princess demandeth for a kiss, Alex!”

“Isn’t Fluttershy supposed to come already?” Twilight threw a concerned glance at the clock on the wall. She just helped Spike with her magic to bring the tea tray from the kitchen and was now sitting in her armchair, nervously fidgeting. For the last half of an hour, she checked the time perhaps ten times and each one didn’t make her less edgy. Everything was ready, they have their own suits fixed and prepared, but for some reason, Fluttershy needed more time with hers. Twilight couldn’t even read, despite usually reading helped her find mental balance and think clearly.

“Maybe at the end of the day she reconsidered,” noticed Pinkie, sipping her tea with unstirred expression. For a change she was totally calm this evening, even rock-solid; Maud could be proud with her sister today. That unusual calmness made Twilight even jumpier.

“Who? Fluttershy? Reconsidered?! Hardly so,” huffed Twilight, looking at the clock hands again. “Celestia! It’s half past seven… ARRRRRGHHHH!”

“Hey,” she turned to Spike. “Are you okay, mate? That’s not a cookie, you know…”

“Huh,” Spike, who didn’t say a word for the whole evening and was pondering about something, obviously important for him, stopped dunking a ruby into his tea. “Oh!..” he made a funny face, threw the gem into his mouth and gnawed it out with a loud crackle. “Indeed!.. I was just thinking, would Rarity shelter me, if princess Celestia catches you, Twilight, and puts you into the cell next to the human…”

“Thank you kindly!” Twilight nodded with sarcasm.

“Come on, Twi,” Pinkie put away her cup and smirked. “You look like you’re sitting on a hedgehog! Nothing happened yet…”

“I could be sitting on a porcupine, no big difference,” huffed Twilight. “As Spike properly noticed, if something fails, my ass is served on a silver plate. And the mere fact that I agreed to help you, girls, doesn’t make me like the whole idea more.”

“Fluttershy said Rarity needed more time with her suit, so they planned to do final fitting today, but it’s a bit late already,” she added. “What are they making there?”

As usual with somepony mentioning Rarity, Spike perked his ears.

“I hope Rarity finds out nothing about your crazy plan and doesn’t join you, girls,” he muttered with concern.

“I rather hope that Sweetie Belle finds out nothing,” noticed Twilight. “That would be a true disaster.”

Somepony politely knocked on the front door.

“That’s me, Fluttershy,” the voice came like out of the barrel. “Did you reconsider to go? There is a “Don’t disturb!” plate on the door…”

Twilight and Pinkie looked at each other, both raising on their legs. Spike got up as well, something was strange in that voice.

“That’s for uninvolved, Flutters,” accurately stated Pinkie. “Come in.”

The door opened and somepony slid into the lit room from the falling twilight outside.

“WOAH!!! What is that thing?!!”

Spike grunted, suddenly finding out that he was bending under the weight of a frightened lilac alicorn, who jumped into his hands.

“Ugh! Twilight,” he muttered through his teeth. “I thought, only snakes caused that reaction.”

“That’s… Errmmm…” totally stunned Pinkie raised one eyebrow. “Fluttershy?”

“What? You think it’s better without the mask, don’t you?” inquired the pony-like thing in pitch black catsuit. Slender, with the wings packed into the same fabric as well as the braided tail, which now resembled a whip. Various belts and cords crossed the suit; plenty of pockets with zippers; a knife in a sheath, strapped on the shoulder its handle downwards; equally black medkit with the small purple cross, placed on the left flank. The head part covered her whole mane and ears, which protruded, covered in black fabric with metal-like netting. Her muzzle was hidden behind some sort of a mask with the metal grid at the mouth part and valves; above all that three tubes with lenses finished the ensemble. The only light part was the Equestria blazon on the left shoulder.

“I think it is indeed,” Fluttershy took off the muzzle plate and apologetically smiled, watching her startled friends, her voice became normal. “Sometimes Rarity becomes obsessed, wanting everything to be ideal.”

“What in Equestria is that?” Twilight blushed and jumped off Spike’s hands.

“Umm… I asked Rarity to fix my suit and told her that I was going to cosplay Daring Do on the Nightmare Night,” giggled Fluttershy, spinning the mask on her hoof.

“But Daring Do looks nothing like that,” gasped Twilight.

“I know,” Fluttershy waved her fore leg. “And you know. But Rarity doesn’t, she’s not a fan of Daring Do, just like anything connected with forests, nature and bugs.”

“But I guess, I shouldn’t mention the “spec ops” part really,” continued Fluttershy with a sly smile. “Rarity took that as the basis and made a little research on “spec ops” stuff, that is why, I guess, more time was necessary – she wanted to make it… believable…”

“She seems to succeed,” breathed out Pinkie, tilting her head while examining her friend.

“She even got a magical night visor with motion detector somewhere,” added Fluttershy, nodding towards the mask. “Sometimes her generosity goes really over boards.”

“Did you get here on your own?” suddenly asked Pinkie, scratching the back of her head.

“Yeah… ummm… I sneaked carefully through Ponyville,” blushed Fluttershy, then brightened. “The suit actually works, nopony spotted me.”

“I see…” muttered Twilight, her eyes were still a bit wider than normal.

“We don’t hear bells, nor see a whole herd with pitchforks,” noticed Spike, who just regained his voice. “I guess, nopony saw you indeed.”

“Okay!” said Twilight, checking her saddle bags once more, when they both with Pinkie changed to their own suits, not that impressive though as Fluttershy’s. “I suppose, we’re ready to go.”

“It would be better if we teleported right to the balloon pad,” she added, throwing the last glance at their preparations.

“Umm… Fluttershy,” Twilight squinted on her friend, who placed the muzzle piece back on. “While I appreciate that you can see in complete darkness now, that will be handy indeed, please, do me a favour – stay so I can see you and… don’t sneak on me from behind. Okay?”

“Squee!” Fluttershy nodded, flattening her ears. It could appear comic if she looked differently at that moment. Pinkie snorted, impatiently jogging on the spot.

“Good luck, girls,” Spike sighed and shook his head. “Don’t get your crazy flanks caught!”

Twilight shuddered before the bright flash took them three on their adventure.

It was perhaps about 10 pm or even later, when they finally landed right behind the wall in the far corner of the castle garden, as far from the actual castle as it was possible. Twilight brought the balloon lower and tied it as well when they tied the basket to the large tree trunk. Of course, their transport was a bit bright for that task, but unfortunately, they didn’t have any choice. Inwardly Twilight was ready that they would need to flee using her teleporting magic very likely, if they were spotted by the guards or if somepony spotted the balloon and set the guards on alert.

“At least it won’t be noticed behind those trees right away,” she shrugged, making the final knot on the rope. “Now quiet, please.”

Pinkie immediately crouched to the ground, mimicking the pose of a cat ready to pounce. Twilight rolled her eyes, she was sure that Pinkamena even tapped her hind legs and waved her tail at that moment.

“Can you at least be serious at the moment like this?”

“I’m serious,” stated Pinkie bluntly. “I am deadly serious. Where do we go, Twi?”

Twilight froze for a while, remembering where the medical facility was relative to this part of the garden.

“There,” she finally decided, pointing in the right direction. “But I can’t see hay in that darkness. The moon hasn’t been risen still.”

“Believe me,” huffed Pinkie. “When the moon is up, it will be only worse, as nopony can see us in the darkness at least.”

“I can,” a dim glow of the lenses, showed that Fluttershy turned on her visor.

“Right,” Twilight couldn’t help shuddering at that image. “You go first then, Flutters. Down that alley then to the right. Look where you stepping on, any crackle can give away our position. The garden is not heavily guarded, yet it’s better not to risk. Remember, there is also Nightwatch, they report to princess Luna though, but… If you see anypony, Fluttershy, just let us know… and everypony hops into nearest shrubs and plays dead, agreed?”

“Agreed,” muttered Pinkie. “Maybe we go finally?” she slightly nudged Fluttershy forward, then let Twilight follow her.

“Don’t be a scaredy-pony, Twi,” she winked. “I’ll be your shadow and cover your tail.”

Twilight facehoofed. She hurried to follow Fluttershy, almost holding her by her tail as it was impossible to see her in her suit in the night garden. Only when she looked over her shoulder, to wait for them with Pinkie, three faintly glowing spots gave out her presence.

Carefully, not to startle any night bird, as they heard a few, they reached the turn and trotted right, as Twilight suggested. There was indeed a lighter spot at the end of this part of the alley, the open space and the exit from the garden. If Twilight’s calculations were right, the building, where human was kept, was not very far.

Twilight looked up at the darker mass of the castle nearby, it seemed lifeless, except the few lit windows. At least nopony suspected anything… yet.

“Shhh!” Twilight almost bumped into Fluttershy, who suddenly stopped and stared somewhere into the trees on their right, quietly hushing them with Pinkie. They both flattened on the ground.

“What?” whispered Twilight in a minute, gulping.

“It’s just a squirrel,” said Fluttershy. “I’ve heard something, but it’s just a squirrel. Come on, girls, don’t lay on the cold ground.”

Within a few minutes more they reached the garden exit. It was lighter outside, besides the moon showed in the sky, slowly raising and adding light to the scene.

“Horse apples!” Twilight glanced at the Moon and the castle, which became grey, then white as the moonlight fell on the walls. “We could benefit from more darkness here and now.”

“Okay,” she took a look around to orientate. “See that building over there?” she pointed with her fore hoof at the four-storey building not far from the outer wall, but considerably far from where they stood. “There are shrubs and trees everywhere between its backside and castle walls, except a small clearing around the building, but we have no better variant. Let’s hurry though. Fluttershy, run fast under the wall, while it is still in the shadow and stop when you’re under the trees, we will follow.”

“But not too fast, not to be heard by others,” she added when Fluttershy nodded and burst forward.

“Well,” Twilight turned to the girls when they took a breath after their blazing run along the castle wall. They were nicely hidden in the thick foliage now, and it was safe to assume, nopony could spot them as long as they didn’t rustle too much. “Here we are. Unfortunately, I have no faintest idea which room exactly is his and where is the window, we need. One of those,” she waved her hoof at the building wall.

“I pray for it to be here,” she added. “Not on the facade. As there is also the exit, it is better lit and… facing the castle.”

“A great combination to get busted!” summarized Pinkie with a wry smile.

“Yeah,” whispered Twilight, when they accurately approached the borderline between shrubs and open space belting the building. “We should sit here quiet, watch and listen for a while. I’ve heard, Alex gets to bed late, perhaps we can spot the proper window.” Her ears flattened, the idea to go round the facility and search almost right “behind Celestia’s eyes” didn’t look alluring to her. “See that stripe of the bare ground beneath the wall?” she pointed to the open space. “The guards patrol there once in a while and we better not be in the clear view, when they come.”

A few minutes passed. They seemed ages for Twilight, the uneasy feeling of doing wrong started to press her again. Unable to sit completely quiet Pinkie tilted her head from side to side while watching. Fluttershy’s eyes seemed to be glued to the building in front of them, the direction of visor lenses told about that; she looked like a stone statue, sitting on her tail and scanning the windows.

“Look!” quietly, but they thought it was too loud anyway, squeaked Pinkie. She pointed up.

“Shhhh!” both Twilight and Fluttershy hissed, but they spotted a flash in one window as well.

It took a couple of minutes more to move aside under the foliage cover to end right under the necessary window on the first floor. But now they could definitely hear quiet voices coming from inside. Two voices. The girls sat on the ground and listened carefully.

The man’s voice talked for a while, then they heard muffled laughter, in which female voice joined the man. Fluttershy stomped from one fore leg to another.

“That’s Alex’s voice, no doubt,” she whispered with the corner of her mouth.

The female voice said a few words and another giggle followed, then some rustling.

“Well, at least we can safely assume, he is fine,” stated Pinkie smirking and raising one ear.

“And another voice…” muttered Twilight, she was unsure… or maybe didn’t want to say that first. “I can’t clearly say…”

“I can,” Fluttershy’s voice dropped and she noticeably wilted. She surely could recognize that voice, eventually, she helped its owner train a more pleasant way to talk to the subjects, so she could distinguish it at any time. “That’s princess Luna…”

Twilight sighed barely audibly, while Pinkie raised a brow. Fluttershy’s tone was self-explanatory enough. Meanwhile, the talk from above continued its flow and it sounded least as an interrogation, but clearly as a friendly chatter.

“Twilight, please,” whispered Fluttershy. “Could you fly up to the window and take a look? Just stay unseen though…” she added.

With another heavy sigh, Twilight nodded.

“Just a couple of minutes,” she said, exiting the bushes and spreading her wings. “The guards can show at any moment.”

Twilight soared in the air, trying to flap not so loud while approaching the named window. Apparently, the two behind the barred opening were too busy with each other, so they suspected nothing.

“…as I expected,” said Alex’s voice with concern and regret. “The “doctor” came this afternoon and notified me that they planned a new stage of experiments for tomorrow – this time with living casters. I…”

“Dost thou expect those to be that malignant? I doubt Tia would put anypony’s life in danger,” a few hoofsteps and some rustling, followed by her satisfied sigh. Twilight stiffened.

“Mayhap, but what if things go slightly… just a tiny bit not as she expects?”

‘A kiss… Was it a kiss?’ Twilight blinked several times.

“I’ve seen what happens with artefacts after prolonged exposure to my drain effect,” continued Alex. “The last thing, I want to witness, is a real pony subjected to something alike. I was fidgeting all day long…”

“Oh, Alex, mine lief,” with more rustling cooed Luna. “If ’t be true I knew that I’d come to thee ere!”

Twilight floated in the air, wanting to find herself back on the ground, not hearing, what she heard, and not being obliged to tell Fluttershy. There was nothing wrong in the talk itself, well… almost, but she wasn’t sure, how her friend could interpret the situation as the whole. Fidgeting about that, Twilight decided to take a look anyway; she slowly approached the edge of the opening and looked above the windowsill.

‘Well, that’s definitely more than a friendly talk,’ she accurately backed down and quietly lowered herself near the girls.

“So?” Pinkie tilted her head meaningfully, while Fluttershy kept silence. Exactly that silence was what scared Twilight mostly at the moment.

“So, there is princess Luna in his room indeed,” accurately started Twilight, watching Flutters fixedly. “They are talking with Alex, about different things, nothing specific or related to his problem.”

“They talk like old friends,” feeling a certain stone over her heart finally said Twilight.

“We… I can’t show myself at the moment, right?” dropped Fluttershy; her voice wasn’t desperate and Twilight took a breath, but it was surely dull, colourless. “We don’t want to reveal ourselves anyway. Besides, it would be totally impolite to disturb the conversation that way…”

Twilight inwardly squinted, she heard that tone from Flutters sometimes, usually when somepony was to be stared in a matter of moments.

Something rustled in the bushes a few yards to their left and the girls crouched involuntarily, perking their ears, forgetting about their talk for a while.

“Shhh… Have you heard?” a distant voice asked; that could be a guard only. The restrained rustling approached slowly.

“Come on, girls,” unfroze Fluttershy, quietly nudging them both. “Follow me!”

“Do you remember the way?” squeaked Twilight, when they got up and burst away, the same way they came here.

“Of course!” dropped Fluttershy through the gritted teeth on the run. “This I can easily remember.”

“Hey! You! Stop right there!” guards voice barked from the dark shrubs behind them. “Some dark ponies fumble here!!! Let’s get them!”

“Aha, fat chance!” huffed Pinkie, jumping behind Twilight. “Come and catch first!” she made an indecent sound with her tongue and giggled.

“Here they go!” one more voice shouted from the distance. All were fortunately behind them. “They head to the garden!”

Last time Twilight ran that fast when they raced for the Crystal Heart hidden on the top of the tower. They covered the whole way back in a few minutes, not dropping a word not to lose their breath. Fluttershy indeed remembered the path perfectly, here they were, the trees, the balloon. The guards’ hoofsteps thumped somewhere behind in the alley, not too far though to linger.

Twilight raised the balloon and hopped into the basket next to Fluttershy. Pinkie was trying to untie the rope when Twilight’s glance dropped on the knife on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“Pinkie, get in the basket, hurry!” Twilight grabbed the handle with her magic. “Drop the knots, I have a better idea.”

With a few hits of the knife, she cut the thick rope when Pinkie Pie hopped inside; the balloon started to rise.

‘Too slow!’ panicked Twilight, nudging it with her magic and directing it lower, right over the castle wall and away. The guards rushed about below, a couple of flashes traced in the night sky, but they weren’t aimed, likely fired in sheer hope to hit.

“Whew! Almost got caught,” said Pinkie when they took their breath directing the balloon right down the mountain, as close to the wall as possible not to be spotted, and burst up laughing.

“Yeah, let’s pray nopony recognizes, who was there exactly,” Twilight wasn’t so optimistic, but a small smile brightened her muzzle nevertheless. ‘Didn’t get caught! Isn’t it great already?’

Fluttershy was quiet, she dragged off her mask, her ears flattened. She looked at the basket floor fixedly and seemed to not notice her friends’ enthusiasm about the fortunate outcome.

“Come on, Flutters!” Pinkie nudged her slightly when she stopped laughing. “He was there talking to princess Luna… So what? Pray tell, have you seen them hugging, kissing… something else?” she made big eyes. “No? What’s the big deal then?”

“Yeah,” sighed Fluttershy. “Perhaps…” a wry smile appeared on her muzzle. Still was better than flattened ears and fireless eyes.

Twilight thought that it wasn’t the best time to mention that she saw Alex, sitting on his bed with Luna sitting on the floor next to him, putting her head on his chest and almost purring, while he stroked her mane.

10. Applied sleepwalking

Author's Note

10. Applied sleepwalking

“… and I would like to extend my personal observation further and state that I found the subject’s psychological condition slightly strange: the human stays extremely stable under all the emotional stress of the latest series of experiments, involving living third party test subjects. Despite visible disgust and regret find their way onto his face quite often during those tests, he evidently keeps all the strain to himself, not openly protesting… at least he did not till today. Because today’s tests seemed to get to his limits and we were to stop them prematurely, cutting low on our schedule, as it looked like it was only a matter of time before the human lashed out on the personnel directing those experiments if he could find them. I assume that he has it really hard, keeping it inside and I can only imagine, what is boiling there…”

This letter caught her in the library, where Celestia brushed through Starswirl’s section; apparently, Swirl the Bearded didn’t have a universal method of transferring magically resistant humans as well.

‘Now, this is great,’ thought Celestia, lowering herself on a couch in the long room filled with bookshelves. ‘The only thing we need is emotionally unstable “test subject”.’

‘What dost thou want, Tia?’ asked Luna’s voice in her head, as Celestia remembered their recent talk. ‘He didn’t want to hurt anypony, tis was granted methinks. But he is forced to drain the energy from strangers now, which supposedly can lead to death even, if ’t be true they keep the experiment (she pronounced “experiment” with audible repulsion) running long enough. I am endlessly surprised, he hasn’t caved in ere…’

“Indeed,” muttered Celestia quietly. “What should I want? Except trying to keep Equestria safe…”

The science group subjected Alex to the tests, the main course of which was magical interaction with living ponies, unicorns for that matter, despite it was known that it can provide a certain degree of danger in both directions. Some risks were to be taken if they wanted to know everything. Thus a few tests with positive magical impact were held already. It was agreed to avoid the negative impact, as the result was totally random and unpredictable in nature and, more importantly, in force.

The first series of tests, as the report confirmed, involved short sessions of harmless spell application, usually stopped at the will of the caster. The result was predictable: the unicorns felt strong constant drain since the first fractions of second as the magical bond was established. However, no intended effect of the spell was registered on the human, be it healing spell or levitation, or any other equivalently. The third-party test subjects were instructed to stop the spells shortly after starting, specifically before they felt queasiness or any other kind of discomfort, preventing their concentration on the task. They reported that it was hard enough even within a short period, as they became stunned almost instantly by the drain effect.

‘It looks like the reaction is getting stronger with each try,’ Celestia shook her head disapprovingly, returning to the report.

The second series of tests supposed prolonged (in adequate amounts) interaction, without breaking the contact. Thus the unicorns were to apply the spell and keep feeding it up to the point when they were unable to break the bond themselves. The barrier was implemented to break the effect upon outward command. Only two tests of that kind were run yet. In the first case, when the unicorn felt dizzy and lost consciousness in a short while, the human started shouting for them to stop the test. The actual quote contained some words not to be repeated publicly and Celestia frowned, reading the report. In the second run, the unicorn test subject fell from his seat under the drain effect and the bond ceased even before the barrier fell. The human jumped on his legs though and got to the door in a matter of seconds. He kicked the door with such strength and violence, that the sound rolled through the whole hallway of the building.

When the guards arrived, the human simply said to them “Escort me to mine room. Now!”

‘Now that’s something…’ Celestia even re-asked specifically, if the quote was 100% accurate, the answer was positive.

The guards were instructed to fulfil his request, given like order, to be honest; thus that test session was finished prematurely.

The princess addressed the last part of the letter again.

“He has it really hard, keeping it inside and I can only imagine what is boiling there. I keep wondering, if the stress has some outcome, as I strongly suppose, there must be some form of compensation…”

‘This way exactly Nightmare Moon appeared,’ it would be too mild to say that Celestia became concerned. ‘Back then Luna could cry and shout at me when we had bad days… But she never told me anything about her problems, which followed, when she locked alone in her room. Maybe I was the worst sister indeed, or maybe that couldn’t be helped. Anyway, she kept the major problem to herself, all the strain, all the negativity… and I found out everything, when it was too late for any remedy only.’

Celestia wiped a tear and squinted to keep back more of them.

“I advise, if I may, to end the tests as soon as possible, considering the results keep following the predictable pattern. Meanwhile, I’ll negotiate with the council and brush through our test schedule, to limit it to the absolutely inevitable minimum of remaining experiments.

If the rest of the tests confirm that conclusion, and we officially have no reasons to think otherwise, the generic decision is the following:

The human can be freed and socialized safely, where it appears appropriate for your highness, with one vital stipulation – strict warning (with the penalty in case of some violation) about the inadmissibility of magical impact on the human. Otherwise, it’s decided that the human is not dangerous for generally adequate surrounding, and merely needs “non-invasive” supervision. Further containment is considered excessive and detrimental. The amount of collected data is sufficient for your highness and royal magical council to continue the research of human feasible transfer methods if any exist…”

“If any exist…” muttered Celestia quickly scanning the rest of the letter. That was the problem – she still had no idea, if they could send him back in the nearest future. Each suggestion turned dangerous more or less after closer examination, and the council was close to admitting the defeat. She wasn’t going to give up that fast though, especially considering that real danger of the human, or absence thereof, was still questionable.

‘Well, Ponyville it’ll be for now,’ Celestia got up, heading to the bookshelves – the rustling army was waiting for her. ‘I guess, Fluttershy can cope with almost anything… and Twilight will keep an eye on him… “non-invasively”,’ she smirked sadly.

Alex sat behind the table, leaning on it with his elbows, his head rested on the hands, but his mind was full of unrest. The last series of tests really kicked him off the rails. He knew about something like that to be done, but couldn’t imagine, it would turn out so ugly: to know is one thing, but being ready to overcome all that appeared to be another story – he was simply shocked.

‘Didn’t Twilight tell them everything clearly enough?’ he shook his head in disbelief. ‘They fear the actual transfer can go wrong, yet they are ready to run those almost doctor Moreau kinds of experiments…’

He was deep in his dark thoughts, that neither accurate hoofsteps behind, nor familiar lavender aroma didn’t make him raise his head or turn. Alex’s reaction to the delicate hoof, which touched his shoulder, was the same as of a rock – namely nothing. Nevertheless, he said muffledly, like from a well.

“Luna? I’m sorry, dear, I’m hardly a good company tonight. Still under the impression of today’s… experiments!” Alex angrily snorted. “I couldn’t imagine, it would be so… so…” he gasped.

“I’ve heard about them in brief, mine lief,” Luna sat behind him, keeping her hoof on Alex’s shoulder. “Was ‘t that horrendous forsooth?”

“Even worse…” Alex turned to face her and Luna noticed that his eyes were almost black from hidden rage. “And I thought the first day of that crap was bad. So naive! It’s getting worse each day lately, deeper and deeper into the gutter…”

Luna stroke his shoulder gently, but Alex almost shuddered.

“Can you imagine a unicorn getting knocked out, because of the magical bond and drain between me and him, all voluntarily… yet, frankly speaking, I start having doubts about that part,” Alex gritted his teeth. “And the test, the bucking test continues! They tend to keep poor ponies that way for a couple of minutes more to register their bucking results!” blasted he, making Luna even squint a little. “And I can do nothing, except shouting at them and kicking the door of the test room, because the bond exists until they lower the barrier or the unicorn gets fully unconscious. I can’t do anything about that! Merlin’s pants, I have never felt that enraged and at the same time helpless…” he hid the face in his palms.

“Just imagine,” he continued, not giving Luna time to say a word. “They tested, what happened when the caster had visual contact with me, and what – when didn’t. There are unicorns, who can imagine the target for their magic well enough, even behind an obstacle, never knew that,” Alex nervously chuckled, it looked more like a seizure. “Then what happened, when there was a transparent obstacle between us… and one hay load of other wicked things.”

“Alex, I really feel for thee,” Luna leaned forward, but Alex backed up on his chair.

“Really?” he sounded suddenly cold and distant.

“I can feel that they are rushing their experiments,” added he after a second a bit calmer this time. “For good or for bad, I don’t know. Of course, I must be glad, as it seems that I’m coming through the less ugly buck, than I could. But that’s not enough to make me happy… What if, instead of releasing me, they plan something else? Considering the dynamics, I fear, what upcoming stage can be… I almost pounced the guards today, again. They seem to understand, not giving me hard time, but perhaps I said something wrong – they were simply stunned by what I shouted… I can’t remember…”

“But they want to find a way to send thee back…” Luna felt that she hardly believed entirely in what she was saying. “I don’t know… Look, Alex… I’m sorry, I… No, thou art right! That could, that should be done differently.”

Her words, not defending them right away, made Alex calm down a bit; he loured at her when she removed her hoof from his shoulder.

“We are not monsters,” Luna looked into his eyes. “Thou hast made some friends hither, as thou said ere, recall?”

“I guess, those few aren’t enough for others not to consider me being a monster,” sadly smirked Alex, he was like a thunder cloud still. “Or not to do everything, so I look like one in their eyes.”

“Whom can I trust here? You, Fluttershy, a couple of others? Hardly enough to change anything, to make anypony change their mind,” he touched her cheek lightly. “Is it worth to put you all at the shooting range? Perhaps, I’d better be alone…”

“Dost thou love Fluttershy?” asked Luna quietly.

“I don’t know,” Alex downcasted. “I like her, if that matters, she is my friend and generally a nice girl, kind, caring, thoughtful. But sometimes she becomes overprotective, that is definitely what I could live without. But who am I to judge? It seems I am to be judged all the way rather!”

“Look, what do you want me to say?” Alex rubbed his temples. “I’m here for a month and there is a pony who wants me physically; a pony who needs me as a friend perhaps, but sometimes sees me as her own… somepony; I’m talking to you, the princess, one of the rulers of Equestria, like if we knew each other for ages… and I’m already almost in jail, at least it feels like that sometimes, by your sister’s command. And all those… tests!” his eyes darkened again. “Should I be entirely adequate?”

“And I’m getting all this when my only wish was to return home,” he added.

“Dost thou want to return home that desperately?” Luna asked sadly and Alex realized that her question meant “Do you want to leave Equestria that desperately?” at the very least… or even maybe “Do you want to leave me?”.

“I miss my family, my friends…” Alex said simply. Luna put her hoof on his knee. “I’m sure I’ll miss you all as well, when… if…” he gasped, then took a breath and… the cold breeze seemed to have begun to blow from his voice again. “But at the moment I’d better be alone; as I said, I’m not the best company right now.”

‘Why should the few ones, I admire and… love, obligatorily witness me being an emotional wreck, drained, undecided, restless?’

He turned away, leaning on the table again, his shoulders drooped; Luna didn’t know what to add.

“Look, didn’t you miss your friends, your sister, despite all the trouble, when you were banished to the Moon?” suddenly asked Alex sternly, still looking away.

“I didn’t have many friends ere…” whispered Luna. “And on the Moon… Thither was Nightmare Moon, she didn’t let those thoughts slide through, so… I don’t know…”

“But I understand thee, Alex,” she said after a moment of silence. “And I respect thy condition…”

Alex felt that the room became empty and cold, as the princess quietly left. He couldn’t help but confess himself that she sounded, moreover was offended. The more he thought about their short talk, the more he wanted to punch himself in the face. He could give anything for the ability to rewind the last few minutes and kneel next to her, hug her, ask her to forgive his totally misaddressed outburst.

How could he be such a heartless bastard?

Two days passed: nopony visited him, except the nurses, who brought the meals and regularly interested if Alex needed anything. First, he thought that Celestia “anathematized” him for the recent outbursts; he couldn’t imagine Luna putting her hoof to that, despite her being evidently offended after their last talk. But the general tone, nurses used to communicate with him, stayed the same: friendly, joking and, in case of “Ginger”, chatty as usual. So Alex realized, it must be another reason for them giving him unexpected rest: there was a positive aspect to that indeed – he wasn’t taken for any tests during those days.

Yet one thing bothered him more and more – Luna didn’t visit him as well. Alex wasn’t ready yet to try and reach her on his own, he inwardly scolded himself numerous times for being an ass and insulting her. Simply appearing out of the blue and saying “I’m sorry!” was not enough for what he did: namely reminded her about Nightmare Moon period of her life for the second time, exactly when it was extremely unwelcome.

That day Alex roamed the room like a hungry tiger its cage; since morning he tried to find some suitable way to apologize. He already decided to visit Luna, but there must be a necessary detail added – the apology itself! What could he do? He was too limited in his actions, even while he could move relatively free during sleepwalking, he was still captured by the castle grounds, unable to appear further than the certain range.

The miniature unicorn nurse involuntarily gave him an idea; more than an idea even, a plan. When she entered his room, Alex immediately spotted her happy and dreamy expression and thought that she must have heard or come through something really pleasant.

“You have some special occasion planned, don’t you?” Alex unintentionally smiled, her mood was contagious. “Congratulations!”

“Oh!” the nurse became confused a bit. “Is it written across my forehead that clearly? Not a special occasion though… Do you like flowers?”

“Moderately!” chuckled Alex. “But, please, do tell. I’d like to hear something bright for a change…”

“I simply adore flowers!” exhaled the mare, putting the tray on the table. “Especially roses. Maids told me this morning about amazing roses, which bloomed in the castle garden. They were making bouquets for princess Celestia’s bedroom and almost dropped unconscious, when the gardener brought those, then decided to use them obligatorily. I guess, the princess prefers roses as well…” she giggled.

“You should definitely see the garden, when… all this,” she looked around. “is over.”

“Mayhap…” muttered Alex in halftone, making the nurse perk an ear. “Not that I can do ‘t now by misfortune…” he remembered that he heard about somepony sneaking into the castle grounds a few days ago. Nothing happened and nopony was caught, perhaps it was even somepony’s mistake, but the guards outside the castle were on double.

“Are you okay?” the nurse looked puzzled. “Excuse me, but you’re talking strangely… strangely familiar… I…”

“Oh,” waved Alex, he realized his mistake, but tried to keep face, involuntarily remembering his dream. ‘Merlin’s pants! It is indeed happening…’ “I’m fine, was just thinking about something.”

He squeezed out a smile, trying to make it look natural. The nurse returned the smile and nodded, but Alex still saw a shadow of concern in her eyes, when she left, wishing him “bon appetite”.

Alex couldn’t make himself pay even a bit of attention to his meal, two ideas drilled his mind. First, the hay was happening? Did he involuntarily start taking Luna’s “style” into himself indeed? That would be a major give away about their relationship for anypony around and Alex promised himself to watch his tongue better.

And second, apparently, he finally had a plan: he knew now, how he could apologize. Visiting the garden wasn’t the best idea, even for him – too open, too many guards could spot him at once. But he knew, he could get what he needed in the castle, where hallways, rooms, different nooks could give him enough cover during his escapade. An enthusiastic grin appeared on Alex’s face, it would take him only to wait till tonight and not start running on the walls of his room from impatience beforehand.

His optimistic thoughts were interrupted by the hoofsteps behind the door. Alex looked over his shoulder, that couldn’t be the nurse – too early, besides, there were two sets of hoofsteps again. That was interesting.

The lock clicked, turning away from the window Alex saw the horn, stripy mane, bright, curious eyes and the rest of Twilight, standing in the doorway. He was definitely glad to see somepony, somepony not involved in those damned experiments; however, his smile was not only sincere but fairly abstracted – his mind was overly occupied by the plan already.

“I’ll be right behind the door, princess,” said the guard, locking them both in.

“That’s hardly necessary,” frowned Twilight.

“Alex, I can finally talk to you,” her tone noticeably changed, when she addressed him. Twilight approached and raised on her hind legs, giving him a hug. “The girls, well… some… were asking, if you were okay here. And princess Luna (a small muscle in the corner of Alex’s eye twitched) kept her promise, so I am allowed to visit you now.”

Alex slightly stroked her shoulders, not knowing how to deal with a princess giving him a friendly hug… because it was another princess, not the one, whom he wouldn’t release from his hands that easily.

“Take your pick,” he made a welcoming gesture, circling the room with his hand. He chuckled and added, choosing his words carefully, because Twilight, he was sure, would recognize the connection immediately. “I hardly have a seat worthy of the princess, but all of them are at your service.”

“It’s okay, I can stand,” Twilight realized in time, he was joking, so let the “princess” part slide. “I’ve spent half of the day sitting with the books anyway. But that doesn’t matter… How are you, Alex?”

“Fine, more or less, especially lately, when they don’t run their… tests,” absentmindedly stated Alex, he turned the three drafts of the seekers, which still lay on the table, upside down – he had no idea if Celestia already informed Twilight about the problems and if it fitted her plans. “I’m rarely visited now though, that’s the drawback of a quieter life,” he snorted.

Twilight opened her mouth… then closed it, not saying what was right on the tip of her tongue.

“So, we can assume that you’re fine generally,” she said instead.

“We?” Alex blinked several times. Twilight was already informed about his condition, he asked to relay that to Fluttershy. Who else?

“Well, me and Fluttershy, then Pinkie would be glad to know you’re fine,” Twilight enthusiastically trotted around Alex, who thought at that moment that sometimes she mimics her mentor involuntarily. Then he remembered himself and facepalmed inwardly. “Rarity…” Twilight smirked.

“Oh,” Alex looked like he swallowed a wasp, he muttered after a short while. “Twilight, let’s not agitate her too much, even before I’m out of here…”

“By the way,” Twilight picked the theme eagerly. “It looks like you will get out soon enough indeed. Maybe princess Celestia has no way to deliver you home yet, but she got all the necessary information to continue her investigation. Yet there is no need to keep you locked here, as far as I know. The princess is very concerned about your… problem, Alex.”

“Or, better say, about kicking me out of Equestria with fewer consequences possible,” Alex made a face.

“Oh, I’ve asked her, if expulsing me to the Moon looked a prominent variant for her,” apparently Alex was going to have some innocent fun, Twilight clearly needed more than a simple confirmation that he is fine. But what information, the curious alicorn could crave, did he have? Maybe if he lured her off her planned route, she could slip and give away, what she needed to know. Not giving her time to react he added. “It seemed that Celestia took that suggestion without much enthusiasm though.”

“You did WHAT?!” squeaked Twilight, she sat on the floor and looked at him with the dropped jaw.

“It was a simple banter,” Alex waved his hand. “No…pony suffered!”

Watching how she sat on the spot still, he got to the bathroom and filled a glass with water, then returned and placed it right in her field of view, before her eyes, which stared straight at one spot.

“Twilight?!”

Twilight hiccupped and blinked several times, focusing her eyes on him, then on the glass. Alex put it on the floor, so she could pick with her magic, not risking touching him, and Twilight downed it in a couple of gulps.

“Thanks,” she said a bit hoarsely. “Ahem! So, is princess Celestia a frequent guest here?”

“Not very,” Alex took the glass, returning it to its place. “But she doesn’t let me get bored definitely,” the irony was dripping from that phrase.

“And princess Luna?” Twilight tilted her head with a small smile. “She relayed messages from you to Fluttershy and she negotiated my visits mostly. It seems you got protection here, Alex.”

‘Careful, Alex!’ He remembered that story with trespassers and squinted at Twilight. ‘No, that can’t be. Not Twilight… What could they see, if…’

“I have no idea, Twilight.” Alex tiredly lowered himself on the chair. His thoughts returned to his plan when she reminded him about Luna. “I have seen Celestia, the “doctor”, two nurses and guards.. that’s except… “third party test subjects”,” he dropped the last words through teeth. “You are the first pony… person uninvolved in all that. I saw princess Luna at the appointment, as you know, and a couple of times later. Not enough to call that a “frequent guest” or “protection”.”

“And while I’m endlessly joyous to see thee,” he closed his eyes for a second. “Let me extend my apologies, as the recent days took the best of me forsooth.”

He leaned to her and lightly stroked her shoulder, as Twilight still was out of her element. Twilight twitched, unfreezing, and blinked.

“Wait, wait,” she raised one eyebrow and one ear, looking at him, that could look awfully comic, if… “What did you just say?”

‘FUUUU…’ Alex made an innocent face while stiffening inwardly.

“What? I said that I needed some rest, that I was glad to see you, Twi, and happy to know that others were less concerned when they were told that I was still alive and in one piece,” he shrugged. “I think I missed nothing.”

“But…”

“Twilight, I’m terribly sorry, please, if you have time, come tomorrow. I’m shattered indeed and need some sleep,” he hugged her. “I truly appreciate, but you see I’m erratic and… how Rarity calls that? Oh, yes, “half-horned” at the moment,” he chuckled, walking Twilight to the door.

When the door closed behind puzzled and stunned Twilight, Alex released air almost with the sound of a boiling pot and leaned his forehead on the cool wall. Her look, when she left, told him that Twilight was full of suspicions, as she got now even more questions than before her visit and almost no answers.

‘Her curiosity is indeed twice larger than that girl herself,’ a kind but concerned smile appeared on his face. He had nothing against Twilight, but what would she do with the answers, she wanted to get? And he was now sure, that the day guards tried to catch the intruder, somepony, or better say “somealicorn”, definitely poked her curious nose into their with Luna affairs.

‘You’re a true genius as well,’ his sarcasm was enough to pave a road when he remembered about Luna and what he said. ‘Sure thing, Twilight felt like smacked with a… pan, but when she recovers, she will be running on walls to find everything out.’

‘Well, I’ll think of that tomorrow,’ he decided to follow his plan. ‘Some rest is what I need now before I go to apologize.’

The wall clock showed 10 pm and Alex impatiently fidgeted on his bed, watching the sunset through the window. There were some flaws in his plan, but he preferred to think about them not. First of all, he was going to push his current abilities to the limits, he needed to get to the castle unnoticed, yet able to move freely. The ideal starting point was Luna’s room, as he knew it well and Luna herself was hardly there, after raising the moon – she didn’t expect him and hardly was going to come as well. That provided the difficulty though – he was to get there on his own and the distance was considerable.

Alex promptly waited till the moon took its rightful place in the sky… and about half an hour more, giving Luna time to attend to her nightly duties. ‘I hope, she has some and won’t be on her balcony, for example; I’m not ready for a plain talk, yet. Yeah, yeah, I know, offending somepony is always way easier than apologizing,’ he sighed.

The rest was almost routinely stuff: Alex placed himself comfortably enough on his bed, inwardly regretting that it was “Ginger’s” duty tonight as well; however, he couldn’t change the plans, the information provided by her predecessor was vital. Then he closed his eyes, cleared his mind from everything unnecessary and concentrated on his destination.

In a couple of minutes, he stood amidst the familiar bedroom. Alex made a note that he was able to transfer himself faster and faster each time. Unfortunately, long distances were still a major problem: Alex felt, like if he ran 110 yards in 6 seconds.

Trying to relax and catch his breath he looked around: the same scene, except the armchair was moved slightly and contained a book, laying on the seat. The backrest kept the scent of lavender, like if the princess left her comfy place just a few minutes ago; Alex leaned on it, inhaling deeply, he imagined how Luna spent the evening reading, and smiled unwillingly.

‘Merlin’s pants! Man, you’re “lucky”, you got between those two girls: Fluttershy and Luna. Try your best now to wriggle out somehow. Preferably without casualties!’

As he expected, Luna wasn’t here at the moment, Alex even cautiously checked the bathroom and took a look at the balcony. Another door, he spotted this time, lead most likely to the dressing room and was locked now. Alex thought that he should have a chance to see how pony dresses looked like some other day; listening at the door returned nothing. He had the complete freedom of action for a while. Another quick look around and Alex spotted a vase, which suited his needs.

‘Nice!’ he half-filled the vase with water in the bathroom and put it on the study, where he noticed an inkstand earlier.

The worst flaw of the plan were the guards: several aspects depended on how many of them, how attentive and where exactly were placed. Alex approached the big doors to the hallway and listened. A few minutes passed in complete silence, then he heard a quiet metal clank. The guards were present, fortunately not right behind the doors, almost leaning on them, but still too close to miss him, if he tried to sneak out of the room.

Praying for hinges to be greased Alex slowly opened one leaf, leaving a narrow gap to see the part of the corridor behind. The major part of his view was occupied by a large standing chandelier under the arched window, opposing the door and slightly to the right.

“Her Highness, princess Luna, left the balcony door open again.” Alex heard one quiet voice and his heart made a jump. He was ready to hide when the voice added. “There must be some strong wind outside to open that door.”

“Yeah. I’ll close…” he heard another voice.

‘Please, let there be only two nearby,’ Alex crossed his fingers and mentally pushed the chandelier, hearing the hoofsteps.

The chandelier swung and slammed on the stone floor with a clunk of a mallet, candles hissed, going out in the spreading puddle of wax.

‘That’s not enough to make them jumpy,’ Alex had no other way than making a small fire show. With loud crackling a small sparkle from the still-burning candle “jumped” onto the spread and quickly hardening wax spot, putting the whole surface on fire. He knew that the very moment he gave up control, the whole thing would extinguish itself, but for the guards it surely looked serious enough. The proximity of cloth banners added to the trouble.

“Hey! What the?..” the steps stopped, then he saw how both guards rushed to extinguish the fire and get the chandelier up; a few candles still burned, throwing uneven twitching shadows on the walls.

Alex pushed the door leaf more, just to have a gap wide enough to squeeze himself through, and slid into the hallway. Damn, the gallery was huge, perhaps it went across the whole castle or half of it. Not losing time Alex quietly stuck to the wall and sneaked in the shadows behind the columns, as far from the muffledly swearing guards, as he could in a couple of seconds. Right when he released his mental grip, the fire died as fast as it started, leaving the puzzled guards scratch their heads. Alex crouched behind the familiar armoured pony statue and tried to arrange his further route, pushing away the thought that he was to return the same way later. Fooling the guards for the second time wasn’t doing to be an easy task.

Another problem was the direction, Alex had no reliable information about the castle, some faint memories, accidental clues only. He needed to get to the certain room, but all he knew about that room was that it must be guarded as well, having similar large doors… and… well…

‘I guess, Luna would have had a good laugh, if she knew about my plan, totally confirming her mental image of me,’ smirked Alex, trying to remember at least anything, which might help him in his crazy endeavour.

‘The last time Tia almost caught us, she was heading to her room and passed Luna’s by. I was in the facility already and the research started. Where she could go from that late if she had a whole day of regal duties?’

Alex froze, as the patrol of two armoured unicorns passed his hiding place, but the latter appeared to be good enough, nopony noticed him behind the statue.

‘The library! She mentioned that she spent there more time than Twilight recently. So, Luna’s room is somewhere amidst the library and Celestia’s room.’

‘Now, if only I knew, in which direction the library was,’ huffed Alex sarcastically, accurately looking out into the gallery.

To the right, where he came from exactly, the gallery was relatively short: Alex could see the turn and something resembling stairs, perhaps even a tower. However, to the left, the gallery ran far away and got lost in the distant twilight, he couldn’t see where it ends. Alex was thankful that the hallway wasn’t lit better and especially that the moon wasn’t lighting the facade (at least he thought that the side of the castle behind his back was the facade) directly, it would be impossible to hide there otherwise.

‘Celestia’s bedroom is hardly in the tower or somewhere alike,’ pondered Alex, scratching his chin. ‘But the library could be there… or on another floor of the castle and there is a staircase to the right.’

‘Her room must be somewhere on that gallery, similar to Luna’s…’ Alex realized that all his assumptions are based on his subjective human logic, but he couldn’t simply stop a guard and ask, where the library was. Asking where princess Celestia’s room was would be a top wicked trick likewise, Alex quietly giggled at the mental image. ‘So, to the left we go.’

Crouching, flattening himself to the wall, freezing behind the columns or statues, when necessary, Alex slowly advanced. There was no risk for him personally, but his apology deserved to be performed faultlessly, making him dissolve in every shadow on his way not to be spotted and forced to flee. He thought that he was crawling for an hour already, but he hardly could proceed faster. Faster meant less cautiously and he was to play dead at least thrice: twice, waiting till the patrols pass (one was going from behind), fortunately, Alex noticed them in time; and once, when two patrols met almost in the middle of the gallery and… stopped, chattering about some irrelevant crap. Alex leaned his forehead on the cold column, which he hid behind.

‘Come to think about that, “Ginger” isn’t that bad!’ he thought, feeling himself starting to boil. Finally, some higher rank guard came and kicked the lazy asses back on their routes. The commander in his turn lingered on the spot for a while, thinking about some of his own pegasus business, so, when Alex could move further, he had no idea, how much time he lost because of them.

Mentally anathematizing every chatterbox Alex feared that his time was quite limited, considering all the tricks, he pulled already, and especially those, he was going to pull. And he had to return as well.

Finally, he reached the place resembling the one in front of Luna’s room. Large noble doors, same hallway layout and the guards.

‘Be blessed symmetry!’ winked Alex. He stealthily approached the doors and the guards as close as he could, staying unnoticed and unheard, and crouched behind the pegasus statue. He didn’t have much time, as some patrol might arrive and he would need to wait till they pass or change.

‘Here goes!’ Alex squinted and pushed another chandelier lightly, it responded with an audible metal clank. The guards perked their ears and stared into the hallway, Alex did his best not to snort at that image. ‘Thank you, Luna, you’re truly marvellous! This is where your lessons come to practice.’ he thought.

Then it was time for a more interesting thing: Alex started to pull a few long banners, which hung in the wall niches, making them waver.

“Did you see that?!” one of the guards lit his horn and headed to the source of disorder. Alex yanked the far banners a couple of times more and froze. The guard reached that part of the gallery exactly and was looking around with extremely puzzled expression. Another one tried to see anything from his place at the door, but there was nothing to look at obviously.

Alex sneaked closer and stopped behind the column, near which the first guard stood earlier. It was a couple of yards to the door and… maybe four to another guard, which was visibly ready to join his partner if the situation demanded, but still was unsure about leaving the post even for a short while.

‘Come on, just get a few yards away!’ Alex gritted his teeth, then turned to the hallway and pulled the banners again, making them twitch.

“Just stay where you are!” the first guard waved his hoof, while still trying to spot the reason for the banners’ strange behaviour. “There seems to be nothing here, but…”

“That’s strange!” Another guard threw a quick glance over the shoulder to the door, making sure it is closed and nopony is going to change that. “Maybe we should notify the nearest patrol? Somepony needs to check it thoroughly, while we stick to the post…”

‘Just don’t do that!’ Alex prayed for the guards to be less thoughtful at that time, otherwise, it would become impossible to get through. ‘A couple of steps into the gallery would be ideal though.’

He jerked the banners once again, not even looking at them, and when the guard checked once more, if everything was in order and turned away, pulled the door, making a gap.

“But what caused that?” he heard from the gallery. “A draught? I can’t feel any…”

The nearest guard gave up to the anxiety and, let’s be honest, curiosity and made a few steps into the gallery towards his partner. Alex threw a quick glance at them, noticed that their attention was totally fixated on the banners and surrounding part of the gallery, and rolled into the door like a hedgehog, quickly and softly closing it behind, just a second before the guards looked back and decided to return to their post.

‘Phew! They really didn’t have any strange crap happening for quite a while!’ smirked Alex, taking a look around, when he raised to his legs. ‘The last several years must have been spent without any serious conflicts. First the trespassers, then this, if I were in charge, the castle would have been crawling with guards from the dungeon to the roof, but… Either they are too relaxed, or don’t expect anypony sneaking through that way.’

‘On the other hand, they got used to dealing with magic, perhaps even trained to feel some, and what I’m doing is not magic… at least strictly speaking doesn’t look like one,’ Alex thought that he found a plausible explanation. ‘Nevertheless, unicorns must recognize the kinetic impact, they are so good at themselves. Well… I can’t say that I’m complaining, they didn’t.’

The room, he got into, was similar by size and layout to Luna’s, but decorated in lighter tones generally. Dimly lit noble furniture, fireplace, undraped windows, letting moonlight inside, a few vases with flowers and… Alex spotted, what he needed: a big vase with a sumptuous bouquet of dark purple roses, those exactly petite unicorn nurse told about. There was perhaps a hundred of them, Alex could feel the aroma from his spot.

‘Excellent!’ he thought. ‘Taking out a few won’t make much difference.’

There was a problem though, moreover, two of them. The image of illustrious pink, green, turquoise mane on the pillows of the large bed made Alex freeze, Celestia was sleeping, but…

‘Well, you didn’t expect her to be somewhere else when you planned that, did you?’ he asked himself. ‘Now it’s not the time to linger!’ He listened to the sounds, coming from behind the door, apparently, the patrol changed, but he couldn’t hear too much of concern or anxiety in the voices.

‘Fine, if there are other guards when I try to get out, it’ll be even better,’ smirked Alex.

Another problem was presented by a big fiery bird, sitting on the high perch near the footrest of Celestia’s bed. It could be sleeping, but unfortunately, right now the bird opened one eye and watched Alex fixedly.

‘Isn’t it a phoenix?!’ Alex slowly breathed out. ‘Well, it’s now or never!’ he told himself, slowly approaching the table with the roses. ‘I can always flee, simply vanishing… but it would be a iasco of my plans!’

The phoenix watched him, turning her head (Alex remembered what Fluttershy told him about that bird and inwardly grasped himself – Philomena, that was the phoenix name, had a really strange sense of humour). For now though, she looked rather interested, than startled, and kept silence at least. Alex thought that he preferred to walk under manticore’s nose once, or twice, or even thrice, to that slow stroll under the phoenix fixed glance, with Celestia sleeping in a few yards.

The princess sighed through her dream, turning to another side and making Alex’s heart skip a beat.

‘OUCH!!!’ thought Alex, approaching the vase. ‘Now I know the easiest reliable suicide method,’ flew in his head. ‘Just come close and boop her nose!’ Alex shook his head, smirking, despite his back was cold as ice.

He took out a dozen of roses, checking twice, then looked over his shoulder – Philomena still watched him with interest. Alex made the main bouquet look untouched, then took the roses and after a moment of thinking separated one. He turned back but stopped halfway.

“Thanks for not giving me out,” he whispered barely audibly with a small bow and handed the rose on the long stem to the phoenix. Alex knew that parrots at least ate flowers and even small twigs sometimes, he had no idea if phoenixes found flowers interesting, but occupying her with something else than his humble self could be useful.

With quiet sound Philomena grabbed the flower with her beak and munched on it, Alex was to admit that roses smelled delicious indeed. Letting out a smile Alex held the rest eleven roses close and headed to the door. There was silence behind, letting him think, there were only two guards again. This time it was a harder task though: he was to open the doors and leave at once, there was no chance to distract them first.

Alex looked over his shoulder, the phoenix was busy with the flower. The phoenix! Alex remembered again, what Fluttershy told him – the phoenix and her tricks!

Alex put the roses under his shirt, trying not to crumple them. The fireplace was lit and Alex dragged a strand of fire out of it; he wrapped himself in the fiery shield. It was time to recall what he learned from Luna. Alex raised the couple of feet above the floor and leaned forward, making the fire around him blaze brightly – Philomena watched him again, stretching her neck, with growing interest, making a quiet clattering. He burst through the door in one fiery flash, quickly passing stunned guards and getting lost between the columns of the gallery. Alex hid behind one and extinguished the flames at once, landing on the floor. He quietly took the breath, listening.

“Damned phoenix,” muttered the guard. “And her tricks again…”

“Hey, relax!” answered another voice. “She will get bored of that game soon.”

The silence that followed told Alex that the guards had a look into the room and… obviously, spotted the bird sitting on her perch, innocently munching on the rose. The silence became palpable, then the doors closed with a quiet “thump”.

Alex was considerably far already, barely holding himself not to burst into laughter. After that, his path back seemed to him at least twice shorter. He was lucky to pass the guards quickly, even when one of them started to sniff around loudly, saying that he could feel the strong rose smell.

To his sheer fortune, the guards at the Luna’s doors changed as well. Alex got closer and pondered: he could try to distract those too, but he would need to turn his back to them when trying to get inside. That wasn’t the best idea and Alex froze for a second, thinking, what he could use to his advantage. He tried to visualize Luna’s room with his inner sight, remembering the layout of it. There was some sort of curtain at the doors. ‘That should do the trick!’

Alex concentrated on the balcony door, opening it completely, then slowly opened one leaf of the door to the room. Attracted by a quiet sound both guards looked back and frowned.

“What’s with those doors today?” muttered one of them, entering the room. “It wasn’t any strong wind in the prognosis.”

“The previous shift reported the same,” answered another, he stayed outside though. “Maybe it’s better to close the balcony door before the draught knocked something in the princess’ room?”

‘If they both don’t enter, that won’t work!’ Alex gritted his teeth, he peeked from his hiding place.

If they were a bit more attentive, they could have noticed that the curtain was entirely blown outside, so the first guard was struggling with the cloth piece, trying to close the balcony door – thus the draught, coming from inside of the castle, couldn’t open the room door.

“Maybe you shut up and come to help me,” grumpily answered he. “Perhaps, hold this curtain!”

‘Thanks!’ Alex saw that the second guard entered the room and joined his partner. Alex slid into the room and hid behind the drapes, while both guards dragged the naughty curtain inside and closed the balcony door. They were already exiting, when one of them stopped and inhaled deeply.

“Strange… Can you smell roses?” he sniffed the air once more with a puzzled expression.

“That’s from outside,” waved another. “Princess Celestia’s favourite roses bloomed in the garden yesterday… Come on, there is nothing to do here…” They shut the doors behind them.

Alex raised one eyebrow, thinking again that the guards must have been having it easy for quite a while. They ignored distant impact amazingly easy for those, who used magic themselves. On the other hand, that wasn’t magic in the usual sense; besides, everypony knew, he couldn’t cast spells. Alex preferred to load himself not with guessing, if he was in those guards “dreams”, or vice versa, or he was “making the reality believe”, as Luna called that.

He put the eleven roses into the vase instead, rejoicing that he managed to break none of them. Alex grabbed a quill, the sheets of paper were found in the upper drawer of the study.

It took him the good five minutes to understand that using a quill and ink was above his current skill. Why couldn’t there be a pencil, let alone a ball pen? The quill squeaked, Alex tried to make less noise and cringed when it did, and left blots: he threw two pieces of paper into the bin already.

‘Damn it in entirety and each blot in particular!’ exploded Alex inwardly, realizing that after all his risky tricks, some stupid quill could render his apology futile, if Luna couldn’t read a word normally. He desperately looked around, the fire was out in the hearth, but there were a few “alive” embers inside still.

Alex smirked, in a second the fire woke up and roared in the hearth and he could drag a thin thread of the flame outside, making it curl and add up into words. A scorched note lay down under the vase.

“Please, forgive me, if you can. I could never hurt you intentionally, was just a weird buck… as usual. Didn’t want you to see the wreck of mine, I guess, but I should think better of my words, instead of worrying about the look. Mine tongue was longer than mine thoughts, mine most humble apology!”

‘Not the epitome of eloquence, mayhap… Damn! Again!’ Alex thought that he hardly could make something better, he was already exhausted by that moment. ‘I’d rather take back each word, I said that night instead… but… Oh, well, I hope she understands,’ he threw one last glance around, making sure everything else was untouched and vanishing in the air.

The next moment he found himself in his closed room, laying on the bed. Alex smiled with relief and closed his eyes, in a few seconds he fell into the real, visionless dream.

“Oh, Philomena, you chewed the flowers again…” sighed princess Celestia, throwing the stem into her paper bin. The phoenix pretended to be dozing, but when Celestia trotted by, Philomena opened one eye with a sly sparkle and watched the princess, who already raised the Sun and was ready for her daily regal duties.

But first Celestia planned to visit Luna, ask her, if the night wasn’t stressful, listen to the news – do what she usually did, being a thoughtful older sister. She crossed the long gallery, followed by guards saluting and stopped for a moment in front of Luna’s room doors: two maids were scratching and cleaning the stone floor, removing a big hardened spot of wax. Celestia raised one eyebrow, looking inquiringly at one of the guards.

“The chandelier, your royal highness,” reported the guard. “It fell over last night and the wax got on fire. Nopony suffered.”

“Hmmm, the wax getting on fire is something new to me…” the princess pulled the door with her magic, entering her sister’s bedroom. “Good morning, Lulu!”

“Morning, Tia!” Luna delicately covered her involuntary yawn with the hoof, she looked happy, despite obviously being tired and sleepy.

“How was your night?” Celestia noticed her smile and watched Luna with interest. “Did something joyful happened?”

“Methinks having ‘t easy is joyful enough,” cooed Luna and nuzzled Celestia’s shoulder. “I feel amazing today, had a nice walk ere and… the night was quiet, no desperate subjects with nightmares,” she laughed quietly as if a silver bell rang.

Celestia blinked, last time she saw Luna in such a mood was quite long ago, then something else gained her attention. She approached the study with a bouquet of eleven bloody scarlet, carefully selected, fine roses in a vase.

“I always thought that you didn’t like roses much, Lulu,” smirked the Sun Princess, inhaling the sweet aroma.

“I didn’t and I don’t still, but some of the maids didn’t learn that yet, mayhap,” Luna came closer as well, smiling like a school filly; she read and removed the note already. It didn’t look like she was much disappointed by the “not favourite” flowers being brought, as Celestia noticed. “I allowed them to stay, if ’t be true the girls put them here.”

“But thou art right, mine favourites are the Star Lilies as always,” Luna closed her eyes for a moment, remembering. “Unfortunately the last place I saw them was the pond in the Old Castle garden... ‘t seems that was aeons ere.”

“Perhaps we could send somepony to bring them…” Celestia pondered about something, inhaling the flowery aroma.

“Tis an excellent idea!” sly sparkles danced in Luna’s eyes, but she couldn’t hold back another yawn. “Apologies!”

“Oh, I’m sorry! You are tired, Luna. Have a rest then…”

And kissing her sister on the cheek absently Celestia left her bedroom.

Alex sat on his bed cross-legged with a book, for the first time in a long while he was absolutely calm, even serene, the mental image of Luna receiving the flowers and his note made him smile. However, his pleasant thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the opening door: two guards arrived and despite their look wasn’t intimidating, Alex still pricked up.

“Follow us, sir. The princess wanted to see you,” nodded one of them. “And, please, take your belongings.”

It didn’t take long to gather, what he had, and the rest of the way Alex tried to remember if putting anypony in the dungeon was a common practice here still. On the one hand, it didn’t look like Celestia was totally mad with him, besides gathering his things could mean that she was going to release him finally. On the other hand, that equally could mean moving him to a better-guarded place…

‘That will be extremely “funny”, if my nightly journey leads to that,’ he rolled his eyes, following the guards to the main castle.

Finally, the throne room. The guards escorted him in and went away, leaving Alex with the same company as on his first day here: all the three princesses. The atmosphere seemed a fair bit friendlier though, Alex approached the elevation, put his bag on the floor and bowed slightly, waiting for Celestia’s words. He glanced stealthily at Luna and Twilight to find out the general mood of the meeting, they didn’t look concerned to him, yet he told himself that it was too early to relax.

“Greetings, Alex!” Celestia remained seated and Alex made a mental note that she wasn’t adding “the human” this time as well. “I ordered to bring you here to announce my decision regarding your further stay in Equestria, as you might understand.”

Alex waited silently, that wasn’t a notice of arrest, nor of an eviction though, and “further stay” told Alex that her announcement was hardly going to meet his desired expectations as well.

“To my regret,” meanwhile continued the princess. “We were unable to find a reliable and safe method to transfer you to your home world… yet, considering your specific features. Nevertheless, we’ll continue investigating the matter, assigning the best minds of royal mages council to that task. For the time being, the science team approves your complete socialization among equestrian subjects with limited supervision. They didn’t find any reasons to keep you restrained and suggested simple precautions instead, based on your magical resistance.”

Alex allowed himself to take a breath. Of course, he was stuck here for an undefined period of time, but at least not in a personal cell, as it seemed; besides, Celestia wasn’t going to give up on his case yet apparently.

“So, in normal pony language,” Celestia let out a small smile. “You will be returned to Ponyville where you first came to and assisted in reasonable ways with settling down for the period, needed to find a way to bring you home… or longer, if circumstances demand,” added she in halftone, but Alex realized, what that meant. “The citizens will be warned to avoid applying magic to you and generally avoid using magic in your proximity, when not necessary. The named supervision is merely a formality, don’t worry, and will be performed by princess Twilight Sparkle.”

‘Sounds not bad!’ Alex tried not to fixate on the thought that his stay might become prolonged, shooing away his memory of Celestia, claiming that she had no idea about his lifespan.

“I suppose, you won’t object, Alex,” the princess added. “That means also that if you have any concerns or requests, you can address Twilight freely, or us directly in the urgent cases.”

“Thank you kindly, your highness,” Alex answered reservedly, expecting some addition from her.

A quick glance at Luna showed Alex that she was smiling and his heart happily fluttered: she got his note and evidently forgave him. That alone was worth a couple of arrests.

Twilight nodded, Alex thought, she was happy to have an ability to study humans further… and the related aspects as well. He was a bit concerned that she wasn’t going to cease her curiosity regarding his relationship with Luna.

Suddenly a small flash revealed and dropped a scroll in front of Princess Celestia. She took it with her magic, unrolled and scanned quickly, frowning more and more with each second. Then she got up and magically dragged a big mirror on a stand from somewhere. Another bolt of magic, directed to the glass, made the mirror look like a pool of quicksilver first, then, to Alex’s amazement, an image appeared instead of the mirror surface. No, a “video”! Alex’s eyes widened at this interpretation of visual communication link, which he witnessed; Luna and Twilight came closer as well.

The magical vision showed a grove, a field, seen between the trees, some buildings barely visible far away. After a second a unicorn appeared in the “mirror”.

“Your Highness,” he reported. “My apologies for distracting you from your appointment…”

“It’s fine,” mercifully nodded Celestia. “I know, you won’t contact without a reason. Please, continue!”

“As you wish, Princess,” the unicorn threw a quick concerned look over his shoulder. “We located another place of Dark Mist concentration at Birch Grove Mill,” he named a place totally unknown to Alex. “In the buildings behind me, you can probably see them from here. Unfortunately, it reached the stage, when we can’t simply dissolve it before the transformation takes place. We expect a new seeker in a few minutes.”

Alex decided on everything already. While the mage was telling Celestia other details, he approached Luna and quickly whispered something to her. Twilight perked her ears, watching how Luna leaned to the human and nodded with a strange smile.

“… could try… and taking down… resistance,” heard Twilight separate words, but the whole sense was still a mystery for her. “… too far… need an anchor. … safe… sleepwalking! I’ll try… …”

“… please… careful,” Luna nodded once again. “Thou knowest… I’m in, of course.”

‘What are those two planning?’ Twilight’s eyes dilated.

Meanwhile, princess Celestia inquired the mage commander.

“Do you consider our forces to be enough to take down the monster?” she asked bluntly. “Is my direct intervention necessary?”

“It’ll take some time, Your Highness,” said the mage. “But I’m sure, we can cope, with certain precautions, unless the seeker is much stronger, than the last one.”

“Your Highness!” interfered Alex. “Princess, let me offer my help!”

“Apologies,” dropped Celestia over her shoulder. “But this is a matter of great importance. Our subjects’ safety depends on… I…” she turned to them when the sense of his words reached her. “What did you say?..”

“I suppose I can help, Princess,” repeated Alex bluntly. “If you are ready to allow me and accept that help.”

He looked least joking and Celestia realized that; despite being still on the fence regarding his suggestion she said.

“Do speak. But as brief, as possible.”

“Princess, my magical resistance is not a secret,” said Alex. “Backfiring of any hostile magic applied to me – likewise.”

Celestia nodded.

“I would like to try dealing with those seekers, if you allow,” Alex squinted meaningfully. “To be honest, I didn’t like, what they did to your subjects. Besides, I’d like to show you, I’m not their… puppet master, as you may still suspect.”

Small pink spots on her cheeks told Alex that he was right in his assumption and he continued.

“I suppose these magical creatures won’t feel nice if I make direct contact with them. Well… Here is my suggestion in brief,” he waited for her decision, while Twilight stood, like hit by the lightning, because of what she heard, and Luna mysteriously smiled.

“But the distance to the place, they found it at, is too long…” Celestia took thought. “We can’t transfer you magically and you’ve heard him – it is a matter of minutes.”

“Your Highness, there is a reliable way to get me there,” Alex talked quickly, not giving her time to interrupt him or reconsider. “But I will need your sister’s, princess Luna, help.”

“She will be safe with the mages and I won’t let the seeker approach,” he added, seeing how Celestia’s eyes dilated.

“My life for it! No harm will be done to princess Luna!” he added quickly and fervently. “If I fail, they will transfer her here immediately!” Alex looked at Luna sternly, showing, what he meant exactly – “no useless heroism”!

“I’m going to try!” said Luna in tone, disallowing any objections.

“All right,” Celestia gave up under doubled pressure. “But the full responsibility is yours, Alex, and I mean it. And if anything happens to my sister…”

“I know,” said Alex simply. “And I’m taking the full score, if necessary, but I’m confident, it will work.”

“What’s your crazy plan exactly,” Celestia squinted.

“It’s longer to explain than to try,” smirked Alex. “The only thing I need is something to put me to sleep, but not to stun me to the condition of a log.”

“I know, what can help…” suddenly Twilight regained her voice. They turned to her, while she wasn’t entirely believing that she was suggesting it. “I used that potion when I needed some sleep after hard and extended studying, but feared to forget, what I learned.”

Saying no more Twilight teleported with a flash and… after a couple of seconds returned.

“Here,” she handed the vial to Alex. “That’s not a spell, so I guess it’s fine. One sip only; I don’t know if it settles well if you take more.”

Alex nodded, then turned to Luna.

“Let’s go. But, please, tell them as agreed – if anything goes wrong, they take you here first of all. Promise!” he demanded.

“I’ll do, I told thee,” Luna let out a tired sigh.

“I need to be sure,” said Alex. Both Twilight and Celestia watched them fixedly. “Tell them, it’s your sister’s order,” Alex gathered all his impudence, ignoring Twilight’s gasp. Celestia was apparently too concerned about what they were going to do to pay enough attention to that little liberty of him.

Luna teleported instead of an answer, Alex gritted his teeth, turning to the mirror.

They watched, how princess Luna appeared in the field and was telling something to the commander insistently. The mage nodded, then he spread the cloak on the ground and Luna lowered herself on it. A magic beam from the horn put her to sleep almost immediately.

“What, in the name of…” started Celestia, boiling internally.

“No time,” dropped Alex. “Watch after us, in case… Damn, there must be no such case!”

He threw everything useless out of his mind, concentrating on his princess, and took a gulp from the small vial. Apparently, the potion was strong enough, as he stood for a second, then collapsed right on the spot; Twilight could only catch the vial.

Both Twilight and Celestia looked fixedly at the magical vision, feeling that their eyes becoming wider and wider at the scene, unrolling in front of them.

The unicorn commander almost backed up, when he saw, how some haze appeared next to sleeping princess Luna and quickly materialized into the human figure. Alex got up and looked around, despite Luna must have told the unicorn, what to expect, the latter was visibly shocked by what he observed.

“Commander, did you get clear orders from the princess?” Alex towered above him, trying to shake him to action.

“Yes…” The drill took over fortunately and the meaningfulness returned to the glance of the mage. “Yes, sir!”

“I insist that you follow that order in letter, commander,” repeated Alex. “If the seeker is not stopped or approaches your position, you must teleport her highness to the castle immediately. Princess Celestia won’t accept our failure!”

“If we succeed, simply wake her,” added Alex, turning away and heading to the field, visible between the trees.

He started running, almost not touching the ground, trying to reach the buildings as fast as he could, because he was to leave himself as much time as possible for the actual encounter. Alex didn’t know, how long he could control his sleepwalking, especially if some hard resistance took place. Fortunately, the grove wasn’t too dense and he could easily run through the spinney, hopping over the fallen trunks and startling birds and small animals, who hastily sought to get away from the route of living projectile.

The last line of the trees was infrequent and he spotted the unicorns, who formed the outer ring of the improvised cordon. He blazed past them, so they could only follow his trail. Hoping that they have some sort of communication and he was not going to get a magic discharge in his back, Alex proceeded.

“Hey, don’t come too close, if you decide to constrict the ring!!!” he shouted on the run passing the second line of mages in the field; the grass rustled under his feet. Fortunately, he nearly didn’t feel any physical strain in that condition and decided to speed up more, as it was still about a mile to what looked like an old abandoned windmill with a few sheds nearby.

Alex already saw that it was something unruly about that mill – the whole building was wrapped in some grey veil, separate “cloths” curled around the walls, waving and “flapping”, despite the wind wasn’t very strong. It resembled fabric and simultaneously smoke or mist if one could imagine some cloth made of them; besides, it looked disgustingly alive with its movement, reminding Alex of a breathing creature. Like a giant twitching octopus, which was going to produce something even more vile and dangerous.

Alex just approached the first of a few large rocks, protruding from the grass here and there, when the veil suddenly retracted inside the building through the windows and cracks of time-worn walls. A distant muffled hum sounded above the field and the next moment… the old mill collapsed inside, crumbling into pieces and producing a high club of dust.

Alex could see the materialized Seeker inside that grey cloud, despite the fair distance. The pitch-black figure, surrounded by the strips of thinner mist, was really huge, perhaps thrice taller than an adult human, and looked exactly like on the drafts, Celestia showed him. It was a headless, armless “centaur” with powerful legs and one red eye, or mouth, or whatever it was, on its torso. The whole body looked like made of the same concentrated Dark Mist, which formed its tail and the strips curling around the body and legs.

At the same moment Alex realized that he could feel the thing: a lump of hatred, moving hunger and thirst, intention to devour everything light and kind, it could touch – he could point the direction the Seeker was in, even with closed eyes. Alex approached, but a bit slower, trying to examine the seeker better, while it was possible.

However, the beast spotted Alex as well, or better say, felt his presence, as Alex wasn’t sure if the thing had any eyesight in the common meaning. The seeker “stared” at him with his dimly red orifice, which started brightening up. Alex didn’t feel anything strange, perhaps the distance was too far… but the short holler from behind told him that the mages definitely felt some discomfort from the Seeker’s presence. He looked over the shoulder, the unicorns were slowly narrowing the inner ring, but nopony was hurt yet.

Alex went forward, the seeker most likely felt the danger, as it could do nothing with its approaching enemy. Or perhaps the thing could feel that Alex differed from those, it (or its kin) encountered before; Alex was sure that all the seekers were connected in between and to the same, unknown yet, root. So, the monster got out of the ruined building and tried to escape, it looked heavy, if something not entirely material could be deemed heavy, and moved in a tired canter, probably not gaining full potential yet, as it just materialized.

Alex burst at full speed, cutting the monster escape route; the wind whistled in his ears, as the field smudged in one mottled stripe. In a matter of seconds the seeker “realized” that it had no chance to leave the ring and outrun its pursuer; the monster quickly turned and galloped back to the ruins. It jumped over the remnants of the walls and its hind legs started working with the speed of a machine gun.

“Fuck it!” exhaled Alex, when debris, planks and fairly big stones flew his way. He needed to get into tactile contact with the seeker to try his hypothesis on practice, but now it suddenly became a very uneasy task. Alex ran to the mill in a broken line, ducking, hiding behind the rocks, where it was possible.

The bricks and wooden planks showered like the rain, the damned brute seemed tireless. Alex stumbled on something in the grass and got hit by a thick plank in his chest, thankfully the long side, not the tip, but the blow was still very hard. Cringing from the pain Alex dived and rolled under the next piece of wood, probably twice bigger, then hid behind a large rock. He could control objects, but he couldn’t concentrate on that many of them sent flying.

Things became serious: the seeker ran out of small debris and bigger parts of the building went into play, a long metal rail bumped into the rock, making it boom like a bell and Alex squint from a sudden loud sound. Alex looked out of his hiding place, swiped a thick beam aside in the air and blazed to the next rock, closer to the mill. He dived behind it, right when something very similar to millstone buzzed above and carved sparkles.

‘Of course!’ Alex looked back and saw that unicorns came even closer.

“Hey!!!” shouted he on top of his lungs, addressing them. “Set something on FIRE!!!”

“Just fucking IGNITE ANYTHING!!!” repeated he, seeing them lingering.

A single beam of magic pierced into one of the sheds and the flames towered over it, devouring the dry wood. The smell of smoke, brought by the wind, which blew the fire stronger, was like a blessing for Alex, who had some sort of weapon or armour or both at once at last.

Alex raised his hand with the thumb up and jumped out of his cover. He blazed to the seeker, perhaps, even faster than before, stretching out his hand and dragging stripes of flames from the fire. The flames obedient to his command curled around his body reflecting the smaller “projectiles”, sent by the defending beast. Another batch of flames formed a stripy sphere around the human. Alex set a couple of wooden beams on fire, launching fireballs and taking them down.

“Do you see that as well, so I’m not daydreaming?” Celestia turned back from the mirror for a tiny moment. “Exactly when we were almost sure, humans can cast no magic… Though I have doubts, it is magic in the usual sense,” the latter sounded more like thinking aloud than directed to anypony.

“Errmmm… Princess, I haven’t yet seen somepony being in that condition,” Twilight threw an unconfident glance to Alex’s body on the floor. “He is physically here, yet… I… Do you have any explanation?”

“Really? You haven’t seen anypony doing likewise,” chuckled Celestia ironically, apparently what she saw exceeded her expectations of a human. “Haven’t Luna ever entered your dreams, Twilight? For me it looks very much alike.”

He was very close already. Remembering about direct contact Alex decided that he should attack the seeker from above, where it was most vulnerable; besides, the thing hardly could launch the debris up vertically.

Alex raised in the air slightly. Just in time! A large piece of the crumpled wall approached fast and Alex jumped right on it, running to the other edge, while it was in the air, to keep momentum. The Seeker produced a low roar, which sounded angry (if the creature could have emotions) and at the same time desperate.

Alex’s eyes dilated – the windmill rotor, launched by the black abomination, came his way, spinning, delivering death to unseeing – he forcefully pushed away from the wall piece and hopped on the rotor, setting it on fire and launching himself higher in the air. The rotor fell behind, plugging into the ground and cracking in two parts, which kept burning. Now Alex was almost above the ruined mill, feeling that he had no time to waste, as he reached the limit of his abilities.

Far away in Canterlot Princess Celestia blinked several times in front of the mirror, providing her with the magical vision of the battle ground. Something jangled behind her and Celestia turned back to see Twilight with open mouth and eyes like teacups, who dropped the potion vial, which she caught from the hand of real Alex when he fell on the floor. The thin squeaking sound was going perhaps from Twilight’s throat.

Meanwhile, Alex sent a band of flames at the remnants of the wall below, setting it on fire and making the black monster recoil. He floated right above the Seeker and, like somepony turned the switch, the fiery sphere blasted with a loud boom, igniting everything below, which wasn’t yet burning. Alex dashed down, right on the Seeker’s back, piercing it through.

Ear-splitting howl rolled over the burning mill, the wriggling monster collapsed over the standing human figure, raising a cloud of sparkles and ash in the air, and started convulsing on the ground. Unknown force tore it into pieces and stripes of Dark Mist: some dissolved in the air and flames, some retracted into the centre, being absorbed by the human body. In a matter of seconds everything was over.

“Eat it, soul sucker!” Alex showed a finger to his vanished enemy, dissolving in the smoke with a tired smile.

“Arrrghhh!” Alex hardened and tried to get up from the floor, he felt like being overrun by a truck. “Someone… somepony, give me a… hoof!”

Twilight unfroze and handed him her fore leg, Alex got up with her help, rubbing his chest.

“Damnation!” he muttered. “I can still feel the plank, that bastard sent into me… Apologies, princess!”

With a bright flash princess Luna appeared in the throne hall, apparently, she felt a bit dizzy from the sleep spell: she shook her head, focusing on everypony present.

“How are you?” asked Alex, leaning on Twilight still.

“Could be better forsooth…” a weak smile curled Luna’s lips. “Being the subject of sleep spells is not mine common practice. I missed everything, right?”

Alex released Twilight’s shoulder and came closer to Luna, cringing.

“I’ll show you later,” whispered he, smirking. “Ouch! The first time wasn’t performed ideally,” he shuddered, then added even quieter. “I hope you’ll keep visiting me when I am in Ponyville, my princess… that’s, of course, if I’m not entirely doomed after that little… adventure.”

“Naturally, I shall!” answered Luna quietly.

The magical mirror showed unicorn commander again and Celestia was talking to him at the moment.

“No signs of the Seeker or Dark Mist,” reported the mage. “Your Highness, in the name of Equestria, what exactly it was?.. What did we just see?”

“Later, commander,” Celestia shook her head. “Now extinguish the flames and get back to Canterlot.”

“Already on it, princess,” reported the mage through the fading vision. The mirror dimmed, turning to its usual reflective state.

“Now!” Celestia turned to them. Alex and Luna stood, trying to keep innocent faces, despite a sudden and strange urge to laugh. “I always thought that my dearest sister, princess Luna, was the only one capable of… “dreamwalking” and affecting reality through somepony’s dreams. But it seems that I am wrong. Some explanation could be immensely useful, don’t you both think?”

“There is not much to explain,” Alex still held on his chest. “We (Celestia blinked) discovered that ability of mine accidentally. As your highness can see, it’s still not magic, as I can’t do similar things, when I’m awake. Besides, I can enter only your sister’s dreams, nopony’s else,” Alex decided not to tell yet that he could sleepwalk on short distances even without outer help.

“And how long “we” are experimenting, pray tell?” Celestia gritted her teeth, but her tone wasn’t overly threatening. “Moreover, when did “we” suppose to inform me about that “insignificant” plot of you two?”

“He is another story, I admit,” Celestia turned to her sister. “But you, Luna… I was least expecting that foalish behaviour of you, dear! What were you thinking about?”

Alex raised his hand before Luna could find some snarky reply.

“Excuse me, princess!” he moved slightly, entering Celestia’s view again and shielding Luna with himself. “That was entirely my responsibility, I was the one who was… “experimenting”; with manipulating objects as well. Besides, princess Luna can’t affect my ability to enter her dreams or block it,” he threw a quick glance over his shoulder.

Celestia squinted at him mistrustfully.

“Does that mean that Luna visited your dreams as well? Specifically knowing that magical interaction with you is dangerous?”

“The first time I noticed “strange things” happening, when I slept, was when I accidentally reached her dreams,” Alex thought that it was only partially a lie, as he was unconscious when Luna tried to enter his dreams the first time: so, technically, all he said, was true. He noticed, as Luna tried to tell something, but reconsidered when he voiced his version of the events. “I was simply shocked, perhaps, I was the most shocked one… And, yes, she did. But that was different, your Highness, there was never any drain. I can’t explain: maybe it’s some different magic, or not magic at all, as everypony understand it,” for the first time Alex thought that Luna’s ability indeed resembled pegasi ability to fly, rather than some intended magic – it was inborn, special.

“What about us all being able to see the trick, you threw? That’s not how Luna’s dreams manipulation works…” Celestia wasn’t easily convinced.

“I can’t answer your question now, princess,” Alex downcasted. “I don’t know that myself. I’m a different story; I guess, it matters… And when I enter her actual dreams, Luna…”

Celestia raised one eyebrow.

“…princess Luna sees it differently. Well… It’s too complicated for my human mind to grasp yet, let alone to explain it. I need to sort everything out myself.”

“Besides, ‘t was my idea – to try taking down the Seeker,” he repeated meaningfully.

Celestia closed her eyes, thinking. Fortunately, Alex wasn’t alone this time, confronting her suspicions, he regretted only one thing – he couldn’t lean on Luna’s warm shoulder, Alex still felt fairly exhausted after the fight. A few minutes passed, it seemed an eternity to them, when finally the princess came to a conclusion.

“Very well, Alex. While the most natural and perhaps reasonable reaction on your today’s shenanigans would be putting you to the dungeon… which we didn’t do for a very long period of time, to be honest,” Celestia spoke strictly, but her eyes were laughing. Luna came closer to Alex and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, Celestia smirked. “But the recent circumstances showed at least that you had no malicious intent and despite glaring impudence and outstanding impulsiveness of your act, I withdraw the punishment with the light heart… mostly.”

“I will stick to the Royal Word given,” she added, cocking her head and making her illustrious mane flow. “You are returning to Ponyville as suggested. Perhaps the supervision will be a bit more attentive and strict,” the princess made a mischievous face. “Twilight, my dear girl, you are unusually silent today, please, unfreeze and listen to me,” she turned to her apprentice.

“Ahh… Ummm… I’m sorry princess,” Twilight looked a bit stunned still. “What did you want me to do?”

“I’m sure Alex won’t object if you kindly observe his well-being from time to time and inform us as well.”

Using the moment that Celestia and Twilight were talking, Luna nuzzled his cheek and Alex squeezed her fore leg slightly.

“Dost thou know, roses aren’t mine favourite flowers?” Luna whispered teasingly into his ear. “But I appreciate the move nevertheless…”

“Oh, mine regret is endless, mine princess,” Alex facepalmed inwardly at his mistake, but he couldn’t predict it really; he kept the same tone like her. “Let me correct myself, at which hour thou tellest me which are…”

“That’ll be quite a task to bring them hither,” she breathed out, remembering where they actually grew. “The Star Lilies grow in the pond of the Old Castle garden,” she tried her best not to grab him and kiss, as two witnesses were nearby.

“Yeah, that would be a problem,” remembered Alex with a sigh. “Considering the rope bridge is now busted… not that I was ever happy to even see it, in the earnest.”

Celestia threw a glance at them at the moment.

“Now, Twilight, please, check, if the balloon is ready to take you two to Ponyville.”

“One moment longer, Alex,” Celestia turned to him again and waved her hoof. “For a word, please.”

Alex approached the princess and Celestia leaned to his ear, making her speech private.

“First of all, I would like to warn you, Alex the human (he cringed slightly), that while I value the safety and prosperity of my subjects most of all, there is one thing I value even more – the well-being of my sister. Seeing that she is taking part in your destiny scripting and generally finds some interest in your persona, I still hope that you avoid harmful deeds and detrimental decisions towards Luna. While you are near her, you are responsible for her safety at least from your own acts! And if you fail to comply, or, moreover, hurt her intentionally, I’ll ensure that your trip to the Moon is – she made an intended pause – lightning-like. If I am to travel there as well, I won’t deprive myself of an additional pleasure of kicking your… backside, before I return. I extend my expectations of being completely understandable to you! So, is it clear enough?”

“Celestially!” muttered Alex. The princess chuckled, then continued even quieter, almost touching his ear.

“And one more thing… I have no real evidence, we both know that… But if you sneak into my room once again… without permission… I suppose I can find a suitable dungeon for you, my dear, as long as the Moon is not an option,” Celestia sported a kind smile.

Alex kept the silent poker face.

After a moment he remembered something and raised his eyes at Celestia.

“Can I place a personal request, Your Highness?” he asked quietly. Seeing that Celestia shortly nodded, Alex continued. “About the Seeker’s victim, you’ve told me. I suppose you plan to bring him to Canterlot to be able to examine better and try to help his condition.”

“That was the plan exactly,” Celestia confirmed cautiously. “He will be transferred to the same facility, you were lately at.”

“I guess…” cringed Alex slightly. “Can I have a word… well, at least have a close look at him, when he is here? With all the necessary precautions, of course. I mean he could hardly get any worse, but I hope to find out something, which can help us against the Seekers.”

“I think, I can allow that,” answered Celestia after the second thought. “Won’t hurt I suppose. But you can hardly get something from him – he is completely inert, as I said earlier.”

“Still I would like to try. Thank you, princess,” bowed Alex. He then turned to Twilight. “Let’s go to that flying menace, your balloon… before I reconsidered and decided to go to Ponyville on foot.”

The whole trip back to Ponyville on the balloon went in complete silence. Upon boarding Alex noticed the abruptly cut rope at once, a new one was tied next to the stub, but didn’t say anything, keeping his conclusions to himself. He didn’t shake much this time, rightfully deciding to accept the inevitable, and simply sat on the bottom of the basket, trying to fixate on the flight not.

Twilight was occupied with her thoughts, occasionally throwing a glance at him with a non-confident smile, but it suited Alex’s condition – he was thinking about his further life in Ponyville. Something told him, it might drag on for quite a while. Then he remembered about Fluttershy and a smile lightened his face.

Naturally, nopony was meeting them at the balloon pad at the outskirts of the town. The absolute majority of commoners knew nothing about him and Twilight was to inform Mayor Mare that everypony should be notified about the prohibition of magical impact on the human. Nopony seemed to give much attention yet to the newcomer.

But when the balloon landed and Alex exited the basket after Twilight, a yellow and pink blaze dashed to them and jumped in his hands. Alex promptly opened them to catch the body, which made him even stagger in surprise. In a second Alex found himself tightly wrapped by all four legs of a warm pegasus girl and surrounded by the cloud of flower-honey fragrant hair. He held her tight; with a small sigh, Fluttershy’s lips found his own joining them in the mutually enthusiastic kiss.

Twilight coughed, blushing and looking away; she took the liberty of notifying her friend about their arrival, but the result exceeded her wildest expectations.

11. Ponyville

Twilight admitted that she had quite a few things to arrange and headed to Ponyville Town Hall, despite it was obvious, she had several questions and barely held herself not to start “interrogating” Alex on the spot. Evidently, her unusual silence during their balloon flight fruited ripe. Nevertheless, Twilight parted Alex and Fluttershy, saying them a good-bye, with visible regret; Alex was sure, she would shake her answers from him, like Applejack her apples from a tree, well, at least try to, at the closest occasion possible.

As there was only one road here and Twilight went in the direction they practically flew from, Alex wanted to walk in the one, Fluttershy obviously came from – opposite the town; Fluttershy blushed and released him, soaring in the air and then landing next to him. Riding home in his arms was still a little bit much for her, besides, random ponies could be met during the short walk. She trotted along, as Alex tried to conform to her speed not to make her run, and the rest of the way they simply talked about random things, weather, recent events in the town: mostly Fluttershy told him about what he missed during the month spent in the “medical” facility.

Alex tried not to show the consequences of the seeker encounter, besides, his chest almost ached no more, only some stiffness in movements remained. But Fluttershy noticed him being slightly beaten up anyway; perhaps she didn’t want to ask him here, but rather in a more private and comfortable atmosphere. Alex thought about what and how he could tell Shy, without making her excessively concerned about himself; he was absolutely sure that certain details would.

Anywhere they passed by, Alex saw and felt the signs of summer taking over: the leaves on the trees and shrubs became bigger and darker, the fields changed their colour slightly, even more of the insects appeared. The birds though became less hearable, but that was natural: now with nests being built, they needed to address their growing families more than their songs. The windflaw suddenly brought the strong scent of honey from the west and remembering Ponyville surroundings Alex realized that Applejack’s apiary must have been running nicely as well.

The stream, the bridge, Alex saw the few smaller trees hung with birdhouses already; when some fish splashed in the stream, they crossed the bridge at that moment. His stomach replied to that splash with quiet plaintive squeaking, which Alex tried to ignore and hide with a prick from his conscience: the fish in this stream, like any living creature in a certain radius (except snakes), were good friends of Fluttershy.

When they reached the fence and were ready to enter the cottage’s yard, Alex looked back and spotted somepony, some pink pony, who hopped after them through the fields like a fluffy ball.

“Shy, I think it’s Pinkie,” Alex touched Fluttershy’s shoulder lightly, attracting her attention – she was opening the gate at the moment, quietly humming something tender. “It seems the quiet time is over,” he chuckled.

Fluttershy stretched her neck and looked, where he pointed. Her expression became ambiguous: on the one hand, she was always happy to see her friends, on the other hand, she evidently knew what Pinkie wanted and wasn’t sure, if it was the right time and place.

“Yeah, it’s Pinkie,” sighed Fluttershy. “And I think, I know, what she is going to tell…”

‘Well, at least that’s not Rarity!’ thought Alex. ‘If I saw Rarity, hopping like that after me, I’d have looked for a helmet, vest and a nicely locking basement with food and water reserve,’ but he said instead. “Let’s find out, maybe it’s not that awful…”

“Oh, no, it’s not awful at all,” said Fluttershy with a strange smile. “But… W-well, you know Pinkie… You’ll see…”

“Hey-hey!” there was a good twenty yards between them, but Pinkie covered them in a few hops; Alex shuddered. “Finally! Here is our human! Hi, Flutters; hi, Alex. How was the flight?” she asked with a sly smile.

Alex raised one eyebrow at “our human”, but returned the favour answering Pinkies question.

“Hi, Pinkie. Not bad! At the very least calmer, than one of the previous on that balloon,” he looked fixedly on her.

Both! girls’ noses and cheeks became pinkish (on Pinkie it looked reddish rather) and they embarrassedly downcasted. Alex started to realize the line-up of the night visitors, who startled the castle guards about a week ago.

‘But, Fluttershy!.. I can’t believe. I wonder, what they heard and saw, or what Twi told them, as she most likely found out as much as she could. Merlin’s pants!’

“Cough… Well,” continued Pinkie after a delicate pause. “I’ve met Twilight and she told me about the reunion…”

Before returning to natural colour Fluttershy’s cheeks flamed up again. “Squee!..”

“So I asked her, if we could finally return to our plan,” Pinkie pretended that she noticed nothing. “Okay, okay, MY plan,” corrected she under the fixed glance of her friend. “Actually she agreed with quite a look and a heavy sigh, but…”

‘I’m dying to find out why…’ sarcastically thought Fluttershy.

“…but we finally can throw our long awaited “Welcome to Ponyville, Human!” party,” nailed Pinkie with a victorious look. “Although, not that grand, as I expected, and with the limited number of invited guests.”

Alex facepalmed, but quickly pretended that he thought deeply, leaning on the fence.

“Practically that means us all, except Rainbow most likely,” she added in half tone, then continued more brightly. “The fillies then, they haven’t yet met you in person, Alex.”

“Oh, I hope you don’t mind, Fluttershy,” remembered Pinkie finally. “Hope, you both don’t mind,” ended she, smiling widely again.

“I-I don’t know…” Fluttershy timidly looked back at her house. “I m-mean, of course, my little friends… can cope with that for a while. Just not too noisy, okay?” she quickly added.

“Let’s come through that now,” Alex leaned to Fluttershy and whispered in her ear. “Once… and while it’s not overboard; besides, it could be fun, if we keep it under control. If you don’t mind, of course…”

“We could gather outside, no big deal!” added Pinkie, flattening ears and making puppy eyes.

“Okay, okay,” Fluttershy finally gave up. “But no “party cannon”, Pinkie, and I mean it. I don’t need some of the animals to have a heart attack.”

“Boo!” pouted Pinkie, but it was an obvious play as her eyes shone in anticipation.

“I have no objections about no “party… cannon?!”,” Alex raised both hands. “I can surely have a look at it any time later. But isn’t it a bit early indeed? I mean, if we make much ado of it, somepony may become interested…”

“That’s exactly what Twilight is dealing with now,” waved Pinkie. “She was going to visit Mayor Mare to ensure that everypony would be notified, that using magic on you is prohibited. I suppose, everypony will know that till tomorrow’s evening anyway.”

“Well, I have lots of things to prepare,” she jumped on the spot enthusiastically. “Won’t disturb you more, pals. Have a nice evening!”

And with a wink and meaningful smile Pinkie Pie turned and hopped back to Ponyville, Alex and Fluttershy exchanged glances and shrugged.

“At least that will keep her busy for a while,” muttered Alex approaching the front door. “And we may extend our hope for not facing more of the sudden ideas. After you, dear…” he stepped aside, opening the door.

“I wouldn’t be so confident about that,” Fluttershy threw a quick glance on him from under the long eyelashes. “Thanks!” she entered the house, Alex followed.

The majority of small animals and birds whisked to their nests, startled by the newcomer; they have forgotten him most likely as he didn’t spend much time with them. Although, the familiar squirrel recognized him and hopped on his shoulder. She sniffed his ear, which made Alex giggle from ticklish feel, and then quickly examined his few pockets, climbing on him like on a tree. When she found nothing, she ran away, but returned shortly and to his surprise Alex found a chestnut on his palm, where he held her.

“Thanks, little one!” chuckled Alex, scratching the squirrel behind the ear.

Angel, who hopped from somewhere, shared the usual fist bump and quickly made an innocent look, tapping his hind paw and almost whistling, when Alex glanced on the small pinholes on the inner side of the front door.

Alex took off his boots and “flew” up the stairs to leave the bag in the bedroom; when he returned, he suddenly felt that his energy reserve for today was almost drained. Fluttershy was in the kitchen already, fluttering between the sink and the stove, humming something again; the delicious scent of fried mushrooms and something, Alex couldn’t recognize, filled the air. Despite all his protests, she made him sit and Alex leaned heavily on the table, finally feeling that the fight didn’t come unnoticed by his body – he was at the very start of the road yet.

‘Road? Which road, pray tell…’ thought Alex tiredly, feeling that his eyes were almost closing, then opening, then closing again…

He was in his room in Canterlot castle, or better say, the “medical” facility; sitting at the table with the book in his hands Alex watched the setting sun in the small barred window. He threw a quick glance at the wall clock – supper time. At least there were no damned tests that day, that only made it quite nice already.

The hoofsteps behind the door notified him of the approaching nurse. But why he was hearing them like they were close, almost next to him? Alex looked back, no, the door is still closed. The delicious smell of homemade food reached his nostrils, something resembling mushrooms with unknown sauce.

‘What? Here, in the facility? Homemade food?’ Alex cringed at the thought that those wicked experiments affected his brain the undesired way. He must be totally seeing, hearing and smelling things.

‘Congratulations, weirdo!’ smirked Alex inwardly. ‘You’re not only a sleepwalker now, but full-time hay head buck.’

Somepony put the tray in front of him, the smell made Alex’s head spin and mouth water.

“Alex, dear, what’s wrong?!” “Ginger” leaned to him looking into his eyes from a couple of inches distance…

Alex twitched and… opened his eyes, finding himself in Fluttershy’s kitchen, sitting at the table. A plate with delicious homemade food was indeed under his nose, spreading steam and aroma, which made him feel the hunger twice stronger.

“Alex, what’s up with you? You’re scaring me…” repeated Fluttershy, leaning to him and looking at his face with concern.

Alex shook his head and focused his eyesight on her incredible turquoise eyes.

“Ah’m… cough… I’m okay, Shy, don’t worry…” he touched her cheek gently and Fluttershy snuggled to his hand. “I’m just a bit tired from all.. the stuff. And… I’m… I was there again, in Canterlot castle… when I closed my eyes.”

“Sorry, if I scared you, sweetheart.”

Alex leaned forward and covered her lips with his own, feeling that Fluttershy eagerly answers, much more enthusiastically, than when they parted the month ago. They could stay that way for quite a while, but Fluttershy said that the dish was better while hot and returned to her plate with a bit pinkish nose. She was smiling though, throwing quick glances at him out of the tail of her eye.

With each piece of food Alex felt that the fatigue gives up its positions. Not entirely, just backing up, promising to return, when he lessens his defense, for example tonight, but he already felt himself a living person, not a puddle of a sleepy human.

At the table Alex told Fluttershy briefly about his mishaps in Canterlot, not darkening the colours obviously – he knew from Twilight already that Fluttershy had a general idea about the nature of the experiments, being held there, and being run on Alex specifically. There was no need in giving her even more ground for anxiety. Obviously, he didn’t mention his sleepwalking yet, just like his fight with the seeker. There were too many unknowns, even for him; too early for sharing the few thoughts with those, who were already more than concerned about his well-being. Nevertheless, he caused a few excited and a few terrified exclamations from Fluttershy and inwardly praised himself for providently not telling her more.

Alex mentioned casually the invaluable help of princess Luna and her general compassion to his problem; he managed to catch the spear glance, Fluttershy threw at him from under eyelashes. She didn’t say anything though, except vague and simultaneously meaningful “Hmmm…”

He didn’t allow her clear the table on her own though and, after they quickly washed the dishes, suggested to get outside, as the lack of the fresh air was perhaps his second main problem of the last several weeks.

“I planned to check the animals,” said Fluttershy. “So you can join me, i-if you’re not too tired for that.”

“Naturally, I will!” Alex brightened up at the opportunity to distract himself from sad memories. “I hope, I won’t startle any of them… much,” he added not entirely confidently.

“Don’t worry – you’re with me!” Fluttershy cocked her head, proudly raising her nose in a joking manner, Alex couldn’t help but smile.

He was completely astonished by the quantity and variety of the animals and birds, Fluttershy had on her back yard. Truth to be told, he had no time or chance to estimate her household before, as he managed to get out of the house once only. And even that one time he was busy enjoying the mere fact he was in the open, then, later – the company of princess Luna. The actual yard appeared to be much bigger, than Alex suspected and saw in the… show. Now Alex cringed each time, when he remembered the show, so weird it seemed: this was the reality, objective, hearable, palpable; his previous life seemed more like a “show” from time to time. Alex shook his head, trying to drive away that scary thought.

There were mostly relatively small and timid animals and birds, but Alex knew that even completely wild (in general sense) ones, like foxes and badgers, came to Fluttershy from the woods, when they needed help. The most amazing thing was: nobody touched or hunted smaller or weaker ones here, even if natural laws supposed otherwise. This could be explained only by Fluttershy being really able to communicate with each and every of her animal friends. The final confirmation was a bear, which stomped heavily, passing by, and waved to them with his fore paw. Fluttershy nodded in response and Alex realized that it was Harry.

Alex couldn’t help but instinctively watched the bear from the corner of his eye, till the latter disappeared behind the trees on the edge of Everfree. Most likely that was exactly the case, as Fluttershy once mentioned, when Harry went hunting. She only shrugged lightly, so Alex realized, that she merely accepted that, as the inevitable “evil”, as some animals couldn’t be complete vegetarians; not wanting to know the details simply and knowing for sure that Harry wouldn’t touch any of those, he knew. Alex thought that the bear went to the river for a fish or two most likely. There were also snakes, whom nopony would mourn about much; Alex knew at the very least one exact alicorn, who would be happy, if the snake population in the nearby forest became smaller. He decided firmly to join Harry someday, as he felt himself exactly that “animal”, which couldn’t be complete vegetarian all the time. That was, of course, not for the fluffy ears of the surrounding ponies… but snakes, if cooked properly, were fine enough.

It took them about an hour to attend all those, who needed that, despite Alex helped, where it was possible. He noticed that the absolute majority of animals didn’t run away from him, even if squinted first suspiciously; the mere fact that he was with their friend Fluttershy made him non-dangerous in their eyes.

‘Fortunately, they never saw an average human from my world!’ thought Alex, being inwardly ashamed for the behaviour of quite a big part of his kin.

Finally, they finished and sat under the familiar to Alex big tree, relaxing and watching the sun, which slowly drowned behind Everfree. Alex leaned on the tree trunk and Fluttershy put her head on his shoulder, snuggling to him. He hugged her, gently stroking her shoulder and burying his face in her splendid hair, inhaling the smell of the flowers and honey and listening to her quiet breath. When he started scratching behind her ear, she rubbed against his cheek like a big cat, causing him to chuckle.

“What? That feels so nice,” cooed Fluttershy, turning to face him.

“I know, that is why I’m doing it,” said Alex, feeling himself being dragged into the bottomless depth of her big eyes. He slightly booped her nose with his own, but that didn’t distract her a iota and in a second their lips melt into each other’s again, while her fore legs wrapped around his neck.

Alex had no idea, how long they spent under that tree: when they headed home, the sky got almost completely dark and the first stars appeared. Fluttershy trotted lightly, there was something dancing in her gait; Alex watched her and felt that… he was doomed – there was no chance for him to choose. He inwardly facepalmed. And if he tried to imagine both girls together, side by side, it was even harder. Then sudden realization that he was pondering, almost choosing the… marefriend! hit him as a 200 pounds mallet, making him facepalm once more.

‘I’m thinking, as if it is 100% defined that I’m staying here for good…’

The next surprise awaited him in the bathroom, when Alex got to the first floor, while Fluttershy lingered downstairs for some reason. Alex turned on and adjusted the water, got rid of his clothes, throwing them into the laundry bin, and stepped into the tub. When he took the shower head and switched the flow to it, turning to the wall to place it on the holder, he noticed another holder, attached to the wall almost twice higher than the lower one, so it fitted his height. A heartily smile curled his lips, when he put the shower head on that holder and stepped under the water streams, feeling like warm flow takes away all daily problems with dust. Of course, it was a temporary, but simply amazing feeling.

Alex just managed to wash his head and rinse the foam off, when he heard the quiet sound of the opening door; in a few seconds he felt a warm touch of the coat on his back and two gentle hooves wrapping around him slightly below the chest level. An average pony was about his chest to shoulder high, when raising on their hind legs, so, the small hot kiss was placed somewhere between his shoulder blades. Alex slowly turned in that embrace and was met by the determined look of deep turquoise eyes. He took Fluttershy in his hands, lifting her and giving her the ability to wrap all the four legs around him. Now her face was a bit higher than his own and her fore legs wrapped around his neck. Fluttershy’s cheeks were pinkish, but something told Alex, that wasn’t the colour of embarrassment that time, when she leaned to him and kissed with a thirst of a traveler, who covered a few dozens of miles in the desert without water.

Alex stepped from under the shower slightly and turned to be able to lean on the wall. Supporting her with one hand he stroked the margins of her wings very lightly. The result was instant and avalanche-like: with a loud flap the wings went fully spread, almost knocking down the shower curtain with the beam, they looked suddenly large in the small room and felt amazingly strong, when Fluttershy snuggled into him even tighter, pressing him into the bathroom wall. Alex kissed her neck and felt that the sigh went seemingly from the very deep of her self. When Fluttershy waved her head, a thick braid fell on his shoulders, telling him, what made her linger downstairs…

Next morning greeted Alex with a few early sun rays, which danced on his nose and made him shield his eyes with the hand, waking up slowly. He accurately slid from under Fluttershy’s hoof, which rested on his chest, put her head on the pillow and kissed her on the nose. Fluttershy muttered something through her sleep, when Alex untangled from the sheet, they were covered with, and got up. He watched her with a smile: she grabbed the pillow, which he was resting on, and snuggled into it, her sumptuous mane got unbraided and, along with her tail, covered nearly half of the bed.

Adjusting the curtains, so the sun didn’t hit Fluttershy in the eyes, Alex thought about the oncoming day: Mayor Mare hardly informed everypony yet, so the visit to the town and possible job search were the tasks for tomorrow likely. Then he remembered about Pinkie and her plans for the evening and inwardly braced himself.

‘Well, that’s inevitable! And knowing Pinkie, it’s better to be done that way, than involving half of Ponyville,’ Alex firmly decided that anything Pinkie could plan was better to be performed outside – the less work for Fluttershy and him bringing the house to order after. Especially if the fillies were expected; he knew already (Fluttershy told) that they were like a small, but very meticulously overwhelming hurricane sometimes, when brought together.

Alex quietly took a shower, dressed up and headed downstairs, followed by Angel bunny, who stopped pretending that he was sleeping in the living room armchair, when the signs of upcoming breakfast appeared. Deciding on milk and cereals for himself and a big carrot for Angel Alex made coffee, inwardly smiling about Fluttershy still sleeping tight, despite she was usually an early lark. This time he managed to find a pencil as well as a sheet of paper, so any fire tricks were unnecessary.

“Good morning, sleepy filly! I’m outside. I hope, the coffee is still warm, when you find it…”

The note was placed on the table next to the coffee pot, which Alex covered with a thick towel to keep hot. Alex went outside, deeply inhaling the fresh morning air and trying to remember, where Fluttershy kept all the stuff for her little friends. The bunny preferred to stay at the house, than wandering around that early, and curled in the armchair again, nesting with all the possible comfort.

It took Alex some time to find and sort things out and he was already feeding the chickens, when he heard a series of bumps and sounds of very scurrying somepony, galloping downstairs. The hoofsteps entered the kitchen and stopped, after a few moments of silence a quiet melodious giggle reached Alex’s ears through the open kitchen window, then it opened wider and Fluttershy appeared in full glory of her bed head.

“Good morning, restless… colt!” Fluttershy blushed at her spontaneous joke, while Alex praised the look, she was so homely beautiful at that moment. “I’ve almost lost you… well… you know…”

“I’ve heard, Shy!” Alex laughed, startling the chickens and making them resentfully cluck, running around his legs. “Next time, please, be careful, running downstairs, while you’re not fully awake…”

“Oh, that’s…” Fluttershy’s nose became even more pinkish. “I’m fine. I’ve just opened a few doors too harshly… Anyway, what are you doing there?”

“I decided that your little companions shouldn’t suffer from us getting up later, regardless to the reason,” Alex continued filling the bird feeders. “So am doing, what I can. But the good part of treatment is still yours, Shy, as I have no idea what to do and not every animal here trusts me enough.”

“Bear with me for a few minutes more,” Fluttershy rubbed her eyes. “I’ll join you soon. Can’t believe, I overslept.”

“Well, there was a reason,” smirked Alex and Fluttershy waved her hoof at him, feeling that her cheeks start flaming again and backing up to the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee and took something else for her simple breakfast and after a short while Alex heard her heading back upstairs. In a few minutes more Fluttershy with slightly damp mane joined him outside, explaining and showing, what she usually did for her animals.

‘Truly the Element of Kindness embodied,’ thought Alex quietly feasting his eyes on her, bustling around them. ‘Her vocation is to sympathize, help and… well, love.’

He caught a moment, when she stopped for a while, to kneel and hug her. Alex wanted to say something, but realized the words were excessive, when she snuggled to him and he looked in Fluttershy’s eyes.

“That was… quite an experience!” she whispered into his ear, kissing behind it. “I-I wouldn’t m-mind to repeat… if I’m alive enough after all the boom, Pinkie is going to arrange… if you are okay with that.”

When the regular morning inspection was over, Fluttershy decided to go to Ponyville: they were running short of some food and household stuff. Alex was going to join her, but she managed to convince him to wait for a day more at least, until Twilight could confirm that everypony is informed and no magical incident can occur. Remembering the first Lyra’s reaction Alex was to agree with Fluttershy and simply asked her to check the general store for some filler and suitable paint – looking at the pinholes at the front door every day already got him. Besides, that would be an ideal way to occupy himself before Pinkie’s party (Alex still didn’t feel much urge to celebrate, so it was more for her than for him indeed); besides, light smell of paint would convince everypony to stay outdoors and that was a nice change, as Alex had enough of four walls for the next few months perhaps.

While Fluttershy was in Ponyville, a sudden idea caught Alex and made him sit and dive into deep thoughts. When his future was undefined, that problem seemed distant and insignificant; to tell the truth, he never actually thought about that being a problem before. Now, when he more or less was defined as a Ponyville resident (regardless for how long) and considering he was firm about not being a constant “guest”, which meant getting a job first, this issue raised before him and unambiguously claimed about itself. His “citizenship” and legal status! Being the only at the moment, as far as he knew, human in Equestria, he practically had neither the former, nor the latter; both de jure and de facto. Any employer would like the workers to have both, so it was a large problem anyway.

While anypony (any actual pony) here could get some job, especially when the employer was in dire need of free hooves, even without paperwork, Alex was a totally different story. For example, seasonal work at the field or garden or heavy lifting needed the employer to know you and where to find you mostly, without excessive bureaucracy – if you were a pony! But Alex, as he forcedly admitted to himself, still was Celestia-knows-who for the absolute majority of the locals, so could hardly get any job without some sort of his legal status definition.

Despite all that, he decided firmly to try to negotiate for at least something, not later than next day, because addressing Celestia right at that moment didn’t look like a good idea to him: she had enough of him after the last two days most likely. Alex imagined how his attempts to find a job would look like, he didn’t know if to laugh at the obviously hilarious image of an “alien for hire” or grit his teeth at futility of that attempt. Perhaps Applejack could help for the start, but Alex knew that she was on the fence regarding him and listening to Rainbow, how the human couldn’t be trusted, hardly was going to be entirely welcoming.

Thus he forced himself to pretend everything was normal, when Fluttershy returned: it was entirely his problem and he was going to solve it himself, even if that demanded for disturbing Celestia again. Fluttershy brought, what he asked for, so, Alex shooed all the unhappy thoughts away for a while and focused on the front door. Angel poked his nose closer, when Alex was filling the holes, perhaps with a faint shadow of remorse on his muzzle, but when Alex opened the paint can, Angel snorted and whisked in the garden. The smell was strong indeed, they were even forced to have their lunch in the yard, where Alex tried his best to clean the lungs, leaning to Fluttershy and snuggling into her mane. Nevertheless, when he finished painting the door with the second layer a few hours after the first pass, Alex felt a bit dizzy and hoped that completely open door would dry mostly till night, so a few open windows were enough to feel that smell in the bedroom not.

The sun was slowly approaching the western edge of the sky and they started preparing for the upcoming party. Fluttershy said that it would look like a picnic with a bit of celebrating feel to it most likely. At least she hoped that Pinkie wouldn’t throw some crazy trick, besides, the “Party Canon” was banned this time. Alex was already interested, what it was, but agreed that refusing it was a nice idea, if they didn’t want to attract half of Ponyville attention. So, they took a few plaids and a gramophone outside and chose a suitable place in the garden.

Alex was totally amazed by that old piece of art the gramophone was. Of course, he expected something like that to be used as a music playing device in the world where steam engines were still dominating, but the mere fact that he saw one as a child at granny’s house made him treat that vinyl player like a rarity.

“Just wait and you’ll see a totally different side of Twilight Sparkle,” giggled Fluttershy, nodding at the gramophone. “If she likes the music and decides to dance.”

“I supposed, you all liked to dance,” smirked Alex. “Or…”

“Oh, we do,” Fluttershy still smiled mysteriously. “But believe me it’s a totally different story, when she’s at her best.”

“Dance, like nobody… umm… nopony is looking,” muttered Alex. “It’s been quite a while since I did.”

“What, honey?” asked Fluttershy, putting the picnic basket on the grass; Alex had no idea, what she cooked, but it smelled delicious.

“I said, I haven’t danced for quite a while,” Alex tried to take a peek into the basket, but was gently stopped by a small hoof.

“A-ha! Just have patience.”

“By the way, would you like to learn some human dance moves?” Alex kneeled to Fluttershy and grabbed her into a hug.

“Perhaps,” she giggled, kissing him in the nose. “Teach Twi as well, that won’t hurt.”

A bright flash and a loud clap and Twilight appeared personally, but not alone: she teleported a few baskets and a big cardboard box with her.

“Good afternoon, pals,” greeted Twilight, then took a look on the sky. “Or should I say “Good evening” already?”

“We just talked about you,” Fluttershy puffed a few strands of pink hair from her eyes, while Alex inwardly noted that she didn’t jump on the spot, when Twilight teleported this time. They were still keeping their embrace.

“Really?” smirked Twilight. “It looks like you both were more busy with each other…”

“Ahem… And what’s the stuff?” Alex nodded towards baskets, changing the topic, while Fluttershy hid her becoming pinkish nose on his chest.

“This? Oh, I’m helping Pinkie to deliver, what she can’t take on her own,” with a bright smile Twilight pointed on the cardboard box. “That’s a cake, for example, others are something special of her making as well, I suppose.”

“Looks serious,” Alex didn’t know how many of them will be on the party, but he already had certain doubts about them being able to consume all these. “Are you sure, she is not inviting more than we know?”

“Don’t worry,” waved Twilight. “That’s Pinkie, she will help us with all those. Sometimes I wonder, how she can combine all this with being fit…”

“Did you guys decide to run it outside,” Twilight looked around. “Well, there was no rain in prognosis at least.”

“It’s easier to fit everypony’s habits that way,” shrugged Fluttershy. “You know, the fillies like to run around and make a mess anyway.”

“Besides, it smells of paint a bit inside,” mentioned Alex. “We had some repairs and painting today.”

“Oh, yeah. The front door and the holes…” guessed Twilight, making Alex blush.

“Alex, I forgot the records,” remembered Fluttershy, facehoofing. “Can you, please, bring them as well? Check the second shelf of the bookcase in the living room.”

“Hmm… We have music tonight…” Twilight stomped from hoof to hoof and Alex smirked, heading to the door; the show promised by Fluttershy was granted evidently.

“So who’s coming exactly?” asked Fluttershy, when Twilight nested on the plaid, they placed on the grass. “I had no time to ask Pinkie, as she was flying like a hurricane.”

“Thankfully, not many,” waved Twilight. “I noticed that Alex was still undecided about big herds… just like you Flutters,” she stuck out her tongue jokingly. “So, except me and Pinkie, there will be Rarity and fillies, and Spike… and that’s all I guess.”

“Then why Spike is not with you?” Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “He’ll get late, if walks here on his own.”

“You know Spike,” huffed Twilight. “There is a special occasion and Rarity is coming… What do you think he is doing? He asked for a half of an hour more, as he is undecided about what to wear.”

Both girls giggled, then Twilight added.

“I will pick him up in…” she looked at the Sun. “In about twenty minutes. If he is ready… and if not, it’ll be his problem.”

“I’m glad that Lyra is not coming tonight,” added Twilight, looking at the road to Ponyville. “I have nothing against her, but in that case “Welcome to Ponyville, Alex” party would quickly turn into “Q&A with Alex” or even “Interrogate Alex” evening instead.”

“Oh, noes…” gasped Fluttershy. “That’s the last thing, we need right now, after…” she stumbled, but no explanation was necessary.

“Exactly,” continued Twilight, then she remembered something and chuckled. “And with her usual remarks about “fifteen times longer” and so on… What? Fluttershy?!”

Twilight looked fixedly at her friend, who became red as a carrot meanwhile, and…

*Giggle-snort*

“Fluttershy? So you… both… errmmm…” Twilight made big round eyes, stifling that outburst. “So is that true? I always thought, it was some weird mistake, despite it was stated as a scientific fact…” she talked quickly, as usual, when she was eager to find out something new, sometimes completely ignoring the delicate details.

“Tell anypony and I’ll Stare you, Twi,” Fluttershy glanced at her from under the long eyelashes. “Especially Rarity!” she added in a second.

“Oh… I… I guess the answers are all “yes” then,” smirked Twilight, her eyes were still a bit dilated. “Well… Congratulations! Errmmm…”

“Twilight!”

“Okay, okay! You know me, won’t tell,” Twilight still smiled slightly, then added. “Pinkie Promise.”

“Here they are. Took me a little longer, as I had no idea that the “second shelf” meant “the second from the top” actually… and why are the books upside down?” Alex returned with the records and looked at the girls in surprise, handing them to Fluttershy. She was a fair bit pink still and Twilight stared at him with a strange expression. “What? What are you girls up to…”

“That looks like one of the jokes, Discord could play,” said Fluttershy, gladly changing the topic; Alex squinted at Twilight once again, so she unfroze and looked away in embarrassment. “Sometimes that’s stronger than him, I guess – he must have turned it upside down. The bookcase is symmetric, so nopony noticed, until you started looking for the records.”

“Hmpf,” Alex shrugged, thinking that Discord was even stranger, than he considered him to be initially. That was more harmless, than being poured some water on, anyway.

“Hey, look!” he straightened, observing the road from under the hand, the Sun was low, shining into his eyes from aside. “Somepony is coming, must be the rest of the company…”

“Oh, if you excuse me…” Twilight raised on her legs. “Just a second, I’ll bring Spike… whatever stage of preparations he is at,” she added with a devilish smile.

Alex still looked at the road: he spotted two pony figures, one was hopping the familiar way and he could be sure that was Pinkie Pie, even if the Sun didn’t let him see the colours exactly. Another one, pacing proudly and graciously, must be nopony else, but Rarity; Alex inwardly grasped himself, getting ready for… for anything. And he could spot somepony, who ran in circles around the girls, making them move slower, than they could, and almost blurring in a colourful stripe… or, better say, three stripes, as Alex concluded, when looked more fixedly.

‘The fillies,’ guessed Alex. ‘Those, whom I heard about, but never saw in person yet.’

Twilight vanished in the flash of magical light and in a second or two appeared again with a… small pink dragon with green spikes, who sported an elegant black bow-tie. That was seemingly everything Spike – and it was exactly him – had time to choose, or the only thing he considered fitting the occasion (seeing Rarity obviously, not the party itself, as Alex concluded).

“Woah!” exclaimed Spike, jumping down from Twilight’s back. “He is even bigger than I thought… Errr… I mean, hi!” he waved his paw.

“Woah!” mimicked Alex. “A real dragon! A real talking dragon! Merlin’s pants… I mean, hi!” with a smile he handed Spike his palm for a handshake, but then, seeing as Spike looks puzzled, Alex remembered that Spike spent all his conscious life with ponies. So he changed the palm to a fist, that came through better and they shared a fist bump, slightly softer variant of hoofbump, ponies got used to.

“It seems I’ve heard exactly those words from somepony else once,” smirked Spike. “Was it you, Fluttershy?”

“Perhaps,” nodded Fluttershy, then she started opening the basket. “Come on, mates, give me a hoof. The girls are coming. From you, Alex, a helping hand is expected,” she nudged him lightly.

Spike looked at Twilight, she just shrugged, making a face, like saying: ‘Yeah, as you see!’

They just managed to unpack the food, Alex wondered once more about the quantity of sweet stuff Pinkie provided, when the girls and fillies approached the gate.

“Hey, fillies and gentlecolts,” Pinkie greeted them all with a wide grin. “Good evening. Here we are and we won’t let you become bored,” she glanced at three fillies meaningfully. “And here is our lucky… man!” and Alex couldn’t say a word before he became enclosed in a bear hug. “Good to see you… finally free.”

“Thanks, Pinkie!” breathed out Alex, rubbing his ribs, this pony had quite a grip. “I’m glad to see you, too.”

“Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash couldn’t come, she was training, again,” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Something to impress the Wonderbolts. But I’m sure, she joins us mentally,” she didn’t let the uneasy pause hang too obviously. “And Applejack is overly busy with some work in the garden, she told me, but I didn’t understand much from the specific terms…”

‘Or she is still undecided, if I’m an awful threat, a carnivorous alien or something of that kind…’ sadly thought Alex, but the next phrase told him that he might be dramatizing things a bit.

“But she sent a few bottles of finest apple cider, apologizing she couldn’t come and wishing you to finally settle in Ponyville and find your place,” Pinkie shook her saddle bag a tiny bit, making it produce an unambiguous sound.

Alex thought that it was a nice sign of Applejack, if being not entirely on his side, not thinking of him as a dangerous extraequestrian creature at least.

Rarity raised on her hind legs to hug him as well, but she did it lightly and extremely graciously, batting her long eyelashes and looking into his eyes. Alex couldn’t help but compare her mentally with a big kitten, involuntarily leaning closer and getting a warm kiss on the cheek. He noticed with the corner of his eye, how Spike frowned slightly at that scene.

‘Great,’ thought Alex. ‘The little guy seems to have a crush on Rarity. Perhaps, I could explain to him that I’m not going for THAT competition,’ Alex suddenly had an idea, which could help him cool down Rarity, as he hoped.

“Good evening, Ahhlex, darling!” almost purred Rarity, releasing him and ogling once again. Her tone didn’t leave room for any doubts about her future plans regarding his humble persona.

“Evening, Rarity,” Alex tried to stay cool and composed; Fluttershy smiled, that was obviously the case, when she was completely confident. Alex imagined her modeling for Rarity and his heart fluttered.

“Hi, girls!” he turned to the fillies, who, perhaps the first time for the day, sat still on the grass, completely stunned. “So, you’re obviously Sweetie Belle,” he nodded to unicorn filly. “You’re must be of Apples family, judging by your coat and freckles,” Alex winked to red-haired one. “That tells us that you are Scootaloo,” with a cheerful smile he turned to the most confident among them, pegasus filly with shortly cut, unruly mane. “Nice to meet you all in person, sorry, in pony.”

“H-hi, Alex,” said all three girls at once, with slightly unconfident smiles, he was still an unknown figure for them. Scootaloo added.

“You look bigger than on the sketches…” she gasped and her nose quickly began to get pink.

“Sketches?” Alex raised one brow, all three fillies looked at each other and Alex turned to Rarity and other girls. “What sketches?..”

“Oh, just the stitching and modeling sketches, I did for your clothes, darling,” quickly replied Rarity, but her obvious embarrassment and pinkish cheeks told Alex that there was more to those sketches, than simple stitching. “The girls haven’t seen you in… person, but on those sketches only…”

“Oh… Okay,” Alex told himself to sort out that question later, he had certain assumptions, but… they were a bit wild, so… ‘Later. Let’s not spoil the evening anyway.’

“At least they didn’t lie about me having one head, two hands and two legs,” he laughed, noticing that the fillies relaxed a bit and started instigating each other quietly.

“Errmmm… Is it true that the magic has no effect on you?” finally made up her mind and asked Apple Bloom. “And that you can take magic from a unicorn.”

Twilight quietly squeaked, she was unsure, if Alex would react normally to questions alike after all the experiments, yet feared that some questions would still raise. But Alex just smiled, a bit tiredly to be completely honest, and sat on the plaid, welcoming the fillies to come closer with a gesture.

“Well, I don’t know myself, which of that is true and which is partially true,” he said. “I won’t say that magic has completely no effect on me, just not the one the caster wants to achieve. As for the rest, yes, I’m afraid, that’s true, that is why exactly everypony was warned to avoid applying magic to me.”

“Was everypony warned by the way?” Alex turned to Twilight.

“Yeah, I guess the information settles well in the heads till tomorrow morning,” nodded she.

“Excellent,” Alex looked at the fillies again, who gathered the courage to come closer. “But I’m not some kind of a magic… vampire. I don’t control that process, nor drain some magic willingly. I’m not… Nightmare Alex,” he smiled.

“You don’t look like one indeed,” Sweetie Belle jokingly squinted at him. They with Apple Bloom came closer and Alex could stroke their manes. Sweetie Belle even snuggled into his hand, and both girls looked very much like kittens at that moment as well, Alex noticed how Rarity smiled, obviously, her sister coming along nicely with Alex fitted her expectations. Alex sighed inwardly.

Scootaloo though sat at a tiny distance and examined Alex thoroughly, as if she wasn’t entirely sure that he was a totally safe acquaintance. Instead, she asked a bit bluntly.

“And what else can you do, except reflecting magic?”

“A nice question, Scootaloo,” smirked Alex. “And very vital one. I guess I’ll find out in a few days, what I can do in your world for living.”

“Oh, Alex is being overly humble,” chuckled Twilight. “He is much more capable than he admits, as we could see…”

Alex quickly made big scary eyes towards Twilight, pressing his lips into the thin line and then articulating with them only “L-A-T-E-R!”. Fortunately, nopony seemed to notice.

“Twilight means my outstanding regeneration levels and extreme durability against applied magic,” said Alex with a wry smile. “As the latest… experiments have shown.”

He got up and took a look over their preparations, then facepalmed, as if they missed something.

“We got only teacups, Fluttershy, and we have some cider now. I’ll bring some glasses,” he said heading to the house. “Twi, would you be so kind to help me.”

“Careful, the door is still sticky,” warned Alex, hearing that Twilight trots behind him and turning to the kitchen.

“So?” Twilight got straight to the point as they entered. “What did you want to say in private, Alex?”

“Look, Twi,” Alex opened the cupboard, looking for the glasses, then leaned on the table. “I know that what you saw in that mirror in Canterlot yesterday looks a bit strange and needs some explanation…”

“At the very least,” Twilight nodded, scanning the inside of the cupboard. “We were both completely stunned… Well, I guess, Celestia a bit less than me, but still. What the hay did we saw?”

“I wish I had a passable explanation myself,” sighed Alex. “My relationship with magic is too complicated even for the whole Royal Council, not for me only. Don’t know, if the only simple theory, I have now, satisfies your interest at least partially…”

Twilight silently nodded him to continue.

“Well, I don’t know how it works exactly… I guess only strong interaction causes that, or maybe certain bonds are necessary for magic to work that way,” Alex took a few glasses himself, then turned to Twilight. “Besides, I suppose it worked only during the short period after my arrival, because lately I was subjected to the tons of different spells and neither made me a “superman” or something…”

“So what do you think about all that… “seeker hunting” and…” Twilight looked up to him with sparkles of scientific interest in her eyes.

“Well, I can only guess, but…” Alex shrugged. “When you tried to heal me, as Fluttershy told me later, you didn’t get any visible effect, but later my regeneration level became excessive, borderline excessive as they told me at the… “facility”. A bit later Luna… (Twilight blinked) princess Luna tried to reach my dreams, interested in what I was exactly. She succeeded, but I got the ability to reach her dreams as well… and even more, as you saw. Neither Lyra’s spell, nor the spell galore in Canterlot didn’t change anything, but I can guess certain magic can, or could… change me somehow. I just don’t know what conditions are necessary for it to work, nor I control the entire process. And… well… and that’s all for now…”

“I’ll tell you, if I find out something… anything,” he added after a pause. “But I would like you to keep it between us… four, including Luna and Tia (Twilight raised an eyebrow), for now. And I don’t want to make Fluttershy worried specifically,” he added meaningfully.

“What about the things we saw that day?” Twilight wasn’t going to give up before asking every question that bothered her. “Particularly you controlling objects, making things fly, making yourself fly… and all that fire show at the end. I admit, the way you took down the Seeker could be explained your magic draining ability, but the rest…”

“Luna explained to me a few things,” Alex let out a small smile. “I tried myself and learned something, I guess I’m not hopeless. But as you may notice I can’t do that all, when I’m awake or sleeping normally. And the fire… Well, that was my first experience, when I came here, so, later, I guess, fire became most responsive in my case…”

“But princess Luna affects the dreams of her subjects, not the reality itself,” Twilight looked stunned still.

“Art thou entirely sure?” Alex seemed to dive into deep thinking. “Art thou sure, thou can define whither thy dream endeth and reality reigneth, at which hour thou art sleeping?”

Twilight dropped the glass, she was holding with her magic; with a blazing dash of his hand Alex caught it in the air, like if he suddenly woke. Twilight forcedly closed her mouth.

“What do you think, you just said?” she asked quietly after a second.

“Umm… That you can’t be sure, if Luna is changing your dreams, or the reality through your dreams, or simply the reality around you, if you are supposedly dreaming at the moment. Something like that, right?” Alex shook his head.

“I mean, do you know, HOW exactly you said that?” Twilight corrected herself.

“Don’t you see, what is happening, Alex? You sometimes speak exactly like princess Luna, even like her, when she is worried much,” explained she, seeing Alex’s bewildered glance. “Her ancient language takes over specifically strong in that case.”

“I’ve noticed…” muttered Alex, then sighed. “Look, Twilight, that’s complicated. You want the answers, I don’t have yet, in the earnest.”

“But…” Twilight touched his hand.

“They say, if you communicate with an interesting person… pony in that case, too much, you start accommodating to some of their habits, and vice versa,” Alex put the glass on the table.

“Alex, for Equestria sake! You didn’t sound like you were mimicking or “accommodating to Luna’s habits”, you sounded, like it was your native manner of speech for ages!” Twilight wasn’t so easy to distract.

“I still stick to my point,” Alex provided her fitting competition. “What’s wrong in me taking something from her in. She was the only person, who talked to me normally for the whole month in Canterlot… well except one nurse, but she was to keep silence on the experiments matter.”

“Errmmm…”

“I don’t imply that any of you were indifferent about me or my fate, Twi,” amended Alex. “Especially Fluttershy. But… you were here in Ponyville and did, what you could, right? Yet she was the only one there, who treated me like an individual, not the “primary test subject”. I’m not afraid, claiming that without her I would most likely become completely mental or at least asocial.”

Twilight kept silence, somewhere deep inside she understood that Alex was right – before she was allowed to come, nopony except princess Luna could treat Alex as a person.

“And you see a particular problem in me speaking like princess Luna sometimes. Why? I have no idea, how that happens, Twilight. But, know what, I find her manner of speech cute, awesome… well, attractive, Twi. Yeah, I said that. I do forsooth!.. Oh, don’t look so shocked, please, like if you see a snake…”

“Oh, Alex,” Twilight downcasted with a sigh. “The problem is not in you talking, like anypony. The problem is in you changing, sometimes completely strange and unpredictable. Where will it lead finally, do you know? I don’t, so does not Celestia, and that bothers her. Me either…”

“Art thou capable to change anything, Twilight?” Alex spoke ardently; Twilight gasped. “Or the fate is called that, as we are unable to do anything with what is supposed to befall. The only way to stop changes, thou fearest, is to eliminate the source completely,” he squinted at her. “I’m sure Celestia hath thought ‘bout that variant, mayhap even more than once. Thou can as well, who am I to object? While it shalt surely work, dost thou see ‘t as a worthy way? Art thou ready to try?”

Twilight closed her eyes, she had no answers for those questions, inwardly facehoofing at the flood of “old speak”, poured on her.

“Hey, guys, we became afraid, you got lost in the house,” Fluttershy entered the kitchen and stopped, examining Alex and Twilight, both holding the glasses, they obviously found easily, yet both in the state of deep thinking or being puzzled by something.

“What’s up with you, Alex, Twi?” Fluttershy’s voice became worried. “You both look, like you’ve seen a ghost…”

“Twilight asked about some results, we got in Canterlot,” Alex unfroze and took a few glasses in one hand, hugging Fluttershy with the free one. “And they were indeed strange. I don’t know what to think of them myself. That’s not mentioning I’m entirely far from magic. But I guess I should accommodate to it being everywhere around,” he kissed her lightly with a smile.

“Oh… Well… L-let’s go then, if you found the glasses,” Fluttershy alternated from him to Twilight. “Don’t make everypony wait.”

Alex caught the moment, when they were exiting the cottage, to lean to Twilight and whisper in her ear.

“Please, Twi, I hope we agreed, you won’t tell about the seekers and other… things yet. I really don’t want to scare anypony…”

Twilight nodded shortly; she kept to herself, what she thought at the moment.

Finally, all the snacks were unpacked, glasses filled with cider for adults and juice for fillies and Spike: the latter was very prudent in that regards, keeping himself alcohol-free even while having a chance to get it – the dragons are naturally way more… alcohol-tolerant. Everypony chose a place of their liking, unobtrusively placing Alex closer to the center, next to Pinkie, who, being the actual guest here, was de jure the hostess of the party, as it was entirely her idea and mostly her realization. She puffed her mane and tail proudly and obviously was going to throw a speech.

“Fillies and gentlecolts… ahem,” Pinkie looked around. “Better say, gentleman and gentledragon,” she giggled and Spike nodded, raising a claw. “I was going to arrange that party long ago, but the circumstances worked against us all…”

Alex thought, he didn’t notice himself being worked against, at least regarding the party, but said nothing, just smirked, not wanting to be a spoilsport. Meanwhile, Pinkie continued.

“First Alex wasn’t in suitable enough shape, then some regal interests took over. Mates, I waited a whole darn month to say those words. Besides you, girls, held my hooves tight all the way. Even now I’m half restrained in my favourite work – party making, with no Party Cannon allowed,” Pinkie sniffed regretfully. “We gathered here in close, almost family company… To be honest I could hardly remember running a party like that…”

“But,” she added more cheerfully. “I say, let’s have fun and let’s share some fun with one, who, as I think, needs it right now. Something to brighten up his day, well, sorry… evening…” she turned to Alex. “I hope, you can find yourself here in Equestria, while you are here, or…” she sighed meaningfully. “At least you have friends here, Alex, and we’ll try to make it easier for you, and easier to make new friends as well,” she winked, raising on her hind legs. “So, Welcome to Ponyville, Alex!” half-yelled Pinkie, spreading her fore legs and kicking a small box behind her with one hind hoof – quite a trick for an Earth pony, to be honest.

Alex thought, that Pinkie could do that even louder, she simply remembered about Party Canon ban and didn’t want to be one herself, but the next moment he gasped…

The box opened and released a colourful band with letters, a bunch of balloons and tons of confetti and streamers; the latter flew out in a blast with the muffled sound of a trumpet and Alex involuntarily chuckled. Evidently Twilight put her hooves on that surprise, as the band hung itself, attaching to the tree branches, to be read with familiar “Welcome to Ponyville, Alex!”, so did the balloons.

Fluttershy, who sat next to Alex, put her head on his shoulder and the confetti rained on them, just like on everypony present. Alex looked closer and noticed that quite a portion of confetti was heart-shaped.

“Twilight?!” he squinted on alicorn girl, removing a shining heart flake from his glass.

“Don’t look at me like that,” replied Twilight with a satisfied smile, cocking her head. “We ran out of simple round confetti with Pinkie, while preparing the surprise greeting. Only those left. We couldn’t let you have a dull small amount of them,” she threw a sly glance at him.

Alex sighed, inwardly facepalming, and downed his portion of cider, catching a few surprised looks. The drink didn’t look much different from apple juice to him, but it was seemingly strong enough for ponies to be treated as proper alcohol. Others finished their glasses in smaller portions, trying the snacks.

‘Great,’ thought Alex. ‘If my life here gets on my nerves, it would take quite an effort to even get drunk the right way.’

Nevertheless, despite Alex was initially sceptical about the whole party thing, it was really going better, than he expected. Everypony just talked, laughed and enjoyed the meal and company. Alex liked that he didn’t get overly more attention than others, even if it was technically “his” party. He ate and drank less and watched and listened more, finding out new tiny, but meaningful aspects, about his new friends. The more he thought of them, the more he admitted that he liked them. The whole party wasn’t much different, than any close company, he had on Earth before.

He felt the warmth of Fluttershy at his side, hugging her with one hand, looking in her eyes and chatting with her and Twilight, who he teased every time possible, still thinking that the heart-confetti trick wasn’t accidental. Pinkie was the soul and engine of the company, stirring it, not letting them catch even a faint shadow of boredom. Spike tried his best to gain Rarity’s attention, becoming especially eloquent tonight. Rarity divided her attention, responding him, talking with others and sneakily ogling Alex, evidently regretting that he was “guarded” from both sides by Fluttershy and Pinkie. The fillies took part in the whole company, but in their own way, as they couldn’t sit quietly long enough – they started running round and about, startling squirrels and sometimes bumping into Alex, who caught them with laughter. They reminded him about his cousins more and more, with the only difference that there were three of them.

Alex felt almost like if he never got nobody-knows-where, almost like home, not twitching about that already. The ambiguous feeling visited him: the warm homely attachment to those ponies and the thin stinging pain in his heart at the realization and fear, as he was inevitably to leave them someday (alas, he still hoped to get back home). He was to admit that it would hurt him, and saw that it would obviously hurt quite a few of his new friends; that didn’t make things easier. Trying to become possibly less emotionally attached at first he drastically failed at it finally. Choices, losses, if only he could avoid at least some of them in his life…

He thought about Celestia and Luna; how many losses they managed to overcome being eternal. His problem was hardly different: the mere fact that he could feel the pain less than eternity, didn’t make it less painful for him. Alex sometimes wondered, theoretically, how could an immortal person live? Not building any attachment at all, being a coldhearted slab of a person? But, for example, Luna was nothing like that… and if to think about it, Celestia as well. So wasn’t Twilight, considering she was now an alicorn.

The last thing Alex could imagine was that Luna avoided building strong attachment, it neither felt, nor looked like that. And Fluttershy was totally giving herself to her feelings. Then Alex remembered about regeneration tests result and Celestia’s words that she wasn’t going to predict his lifespan now. He closed his eyes and gritted the teeth not to moan in despair.

Perhaps, Fluttershy felt that something was not right with Alex, because she stayed close, snuggled into him, her gentle hoof stroked his back soothingly. And Alex ran his fingers through her mane, inhaling the aroma, nuzzling her cheek (and making Twilight smirk quietly), while feeling a stone over his heart becoming a boulder, then turning into a rock slowly. But he tried to keep up with the girls and the party feel. Thus a couple of hours passed and the Sun was about to dive behind Everfree.

‘Anyway I doomed,’ admitted Alex. ‘Isn’t it better to relax and enjoy, what I have right now and right here?’

‘If only it was as easy to do as to say,’ he sadly smirked; Fluttershy looked into his eyes with worry, her latest kiss wasn’t friendly, it was rather spousal… like last night. ‘I must ask Celestia, how she keeps her composure, constantly facing that problem.’

Right at the moment Alex remembered about Celestia, Spike made the round eyes and… suddenly burped with a small flash of green fire coming out of his mouth.

“Sorry,” muttered Spike confusedly, catching the scroll, which materialized in the flash. “That’s from princess Celestia,” he handed the scroll to Twilight, who unrolled it with magic and quickly scanned the header.

“Actually, it’s addressed to you, Alex,” Twilight floated the scroll to him with a surprised look on her muzzle.

Alex held out his hand and caught the scroll, when Twilight dropped it. When he unrolled it entirely, another, smaller sheet of thick, hard paper fell out of the scrolled letter on his knees. Alex put it into his shirt pocket, starting with the letter first.

“Dear Alex…”

He widened his eyes and chuckled, imagining Celestia’s expression, when she wrote that, despite it was only a figure of speech.

“…As your departure was slightly chaotic and preceded by the certain stupefying event, detrimental for careful planning, we all forgot about the very important aspect of your residence here, in Equestria. Namely – your legal status, or unfortunately the lack thereof. (You certainly have to blame mostly yourself for that and I’m still waiting for some articulated explanation, when you manage to sort this out, but that’s the matter of future appointments).”

Alex almost saw how she smiled at that phrase.

“…Thus I’m going to correct that unforgivable mistake and define your citizenship once and for any time necessary for your residence in our domain. The applied document should be enough for you to be accepted as a sterling Equestria citizen and make any legal deals freely, if any questions arise. To keep it safe and by hand is now entirely your task.

Your (for the time being) Sun Monarch,

Princess Celestia”

‘Well, I’m legal now – that’s good,’ Alex smirked, examining another sheet of paper, he took out of his pocket again; that was technically a passport, visa, registration, all-in-one, signed by the monarch to eliminate any doubts of authenticity. ‘But at the same time I’m a full-time equestrian now, that means, if Celestia finds it necessary, my ass is served on a silver plate. I guess one can’t have one without another.’

He carefully put the document back, then folded the letter and shoved it in the pocket as well. At the same moment Spike produced another green flash and caught another smaller scroll, which he gave Twilight as well. She nosed at it slightly and handed to Alex with a raised brow.

“That seems to be for you, too.”

Alex unrolled the short notice, feeling lavender smell and guessing who else could realize; he noticed, how Fluttershy stiffened a bit. He couldn’t blame her, it was obvious enough, if Celestia wanted to add something, she would most likely add it to her first letter. He couldn’t blame Luna either, as she was unable to add to Tia’s message:

“At midnight. I extend mine hope thou hast thy list ready as well, mine lief.”

Alex tried to keep dispassionate face and thought, if that generosity of princess Celestia wasn’t a result of Luna’s work. But he was thankful for that anyway; just in time, he had no idea how to proceed with job search without that.

Right at that moment Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle jumped at Alex and all the three rolled on the grass in free-for-all romp, tickling each other and laughing; Scootaloo followed, waiting for a tactical moment to take down Alex, who, frankly speaking, missed the beginning of the “attack” and was in a less prominent position. The fillies obviously got tired of quiet sitting and that forced minute of silence, when Alex got his letters.

“Phew!” breathed out Pinkie. “Everything is okay, thanks Celestia. Because I thought, somepony put a silencing spell on you all.”

“These three are enough to break any dull spell forsooth,” Alex tried to take his breath, but he was to stop tickling and release Apple Bloom, when other two girls piled up, and finally all three victoriously sat on him. “Okay, okay, I give up! There are too many of you and when you jump around, it seems to be twice more,” added he with a laughter, putting them one by one on the ground and sitting straight.

“Don’t know about you,” stretched Twilight. “But I agree with the girls – enough sitting, time to move your flanks a bit.”

In a wink she reached the gramophone and started to brush through the records, looking obviously for something quicker and more energetic, than soothing ambient, that was on at that moment. Soon the track of choice was found and put and Alex, to his surprise, found that equestrian dance music wasn’t too different compared to familiar Earth compositions. He grabbed the cover and read the name “DJ Vinyl Scratch”.

“Hmmm…” Alex raised one eyebrow, placing himself near the gramophone and watching the girls. Well, he could easily join the lambada like chain, but some of their tricks definitely called for four legs rather than two. But the best show started, when Twilight decided to solo.

Fluttershy warned him, but still, Alex tried his best to keep face while watching. With her eyes almost closed, sometimes even sticking out her tongue a little in zeal Twilight danced and spun and jumped, on her hind legs, on one fore and one hind and sometimes even touching the ground with one leg only. She was evidently having great fun, but Alex couldn’t escape the feeling that it resembled some martial art occasionally and it wasn’t totally safe to get close, before Twilight starts hearing something except tunes. To the end of the track Alex was holding himself as much as he could to avoid neighing like a horse, despite all the pun.

“What?” Twilight stopped and looked at snorting Alex, when the music ended. “Anything wrong?”

Alex shook his head violently instead of an answer, showing her both thumbs up and wiping the tears of restrained laughter.

“Won’t you mind, if I show you all, how people dance, in return?” asked he, when he caught his breath.

“Well, of course,” Twilight broke into a smile.

“I have no objections, darling,” slowly said Rarity, causing another spear glance from Spike.

“Okay,” Alex rose and approached Twilight first. “This will need two legs on the ground, some concentration, rhythm and… Well, let’s see how it goes.”

He explained Twilight that she should stand on her hind legs and give him one fore leg, putting another on his shoulder or as near as possible, that wasn’t too hard, as they were almost of the same height, when she was on her hind legs.

“That’s called “waltz”,” Alex put his right hand on her waist, causing Twilight to blush a little. “I doubt you have music for that, so I will count and lead, explaining to you, what to do, if necessary. You should follow my moves and general direction.”

“Sounds not too difficult,” said Twilight with a smile. “I think, I understand.”

“Don’t let your tail get in your way!” smirked Alex. “A-a-and…”

They made a few circles, Alex measured the count and corrected her; he was to admit, Twilight was a diligent pupil and stepped on his feet only twice, yet lightly. After the second circle she got the rhythm completely and Alex stopped counting reserving the breath for movement, spinning Twilight, who obviously started to enjoy the dance, laughing like a filly.

“Hey, don’t use wings, Twi,” exclaimed Alex. “Don’t cheat, or we both fall!”

They stopped after a while and Alex supported Twilight for a few seconds, when she stood on her four.

“I think, my head is still dancing,” giggled Twilight. “An unusual feeling.”

“Just stand still for a while, it’ll stop happening with practice,” Alex bowed, then added with a smile. “Mine endless gratitude, princess.”

Twilight huffed, then started giggling again, as he obviously said that to tease her.

“Unfortunately, this calls for at least nearly equal height of the partners,” said Alex, looking at the fillies and pondering, how he could deliver it to them. “I could lift you, girls, but this will hardly tell you what you need to do.”

“I think, I saw and heard enough to understand the basics,” declared Spike. “So, if you girls don’t mind, we could try…”

Counting Alex was to admit that Spike was hardly less capable, than Twilight: he grasped the rhythm fast enough and was able to make the fillies join the fun easily.

So, Alex was to go a few rounds with each, so at the end he started feeling his head dancing, even when his legs didn’t, just like Twilight. Besides, he didn’t know exactly what time it was; the starry sky said about it being late enough, so the girls were to bring and light candles and a few lanterns. He trusted Luna to be prudent enough and check the ground before appearing, but still didn’t want to make her wait long enough, so became a little nervous about that.

Pinkie didn’t like waltz much, as Alex expected, it was to slow and dry for her. But nothing could spoil her mood and Alex promised to think about something more suitable for his vivid friend.

Fluttershy was a timid and… well… shy partner, so she was sometimes a tiny bit late for the movement, but in general Alex was to admit, she was the most fluent and gracious at the movements themselves.

‘More practice and, as the result, confidence,’ thought Alex. ‘And perhaps practicing tete-a-tete.’ He understood what that could end with, but it wasn’t a crime against truth to say, that would suit them both.

Rarity took the lesson with major enthusiasm, even more than necessary perhaps, but that wasn’t a surprise for Alex.

“Okay, Rarity, just give ‘t some space,” smirked Alex, when Rarity snuggled with almost her entire body to him. “That’s not tango.” His eyes glazed for a moment – last time he was dancing tango with Elen on her birthday, seemed aeons ago, in another life.

“What’s wrong, darling?” asked Rarity and her eyes started shining, like if tears were going to appear. “Am I such a bad dancer? You seem to stumble at spot…”

“No, no, it’s okay,” unfroze Alex, making himself to smile heartily. “Just a little memory… What were we at?.. Oh, you see, there must be at least a… hoof between us for it to go properly.” He noticed from the corner of his eye, how Spike watched them, resembling a snowstorm cloud.

When everypony, -body and –dragon lost their breath and decided that it was great, but it was the right time to call it a day and have some rest before the next busy weekday, Alex caught the moment and asked Spike to help him with dishes and stuff, so he could share a few words without curious fluffy ears around.

They gathered as much as they could carry without breaking anything and headed to the cottage. In the kitchen Alex put his load on the table and, ensuring that nopony except Spike was following, turned to the dragon boy.

“Listen, Spike,” he started without unnecessary preface. “I understand that you have feelings for Rarity, but…”

Only the long practice allowed Spike to put the dishes, he carried, on the table without dropping, as he stared at Alex.

“Errmmm… Is it that obvious?” Spikes eyes wandered around the kitchen. “I told…”

“Twilight didn’t tell me anything,” guessed Alex with a smile. “And none of the girls did…”

“Oh…”

“Well, I’m not blind… and you are… eloquent enough, Spike, if I can state it that way,” continued Alex. “But I wanted to tell you that you were worrying in vain, I’m not after that prize, honestly.”

Spike made round eyes and, while he was looking for words, Alex continued.

“Rarity is a good friend, that’s given. But I’m not interested in her otherwise as a friend, Spike. And her… overwhelming attention sometimes strains me. Moreover, ‘t scareth me oft.”

“You speak stra…” squinted Spike, but Alex didn’t give him time to think about that, mentally scolding himself for that mind slip.

“I mean, I won’t refuse to help her, if she asks, nor will I single her and dance with her not. But those are purely friendly gestures, I think. Same, for example, refers to you helping Fluttershy, if necessary. But I don’t expect anything more from Rarity.”

“So, if you understand me right,” continued Alex, seeing that Spike finally listened to him very attentively. “I, let’s say, will be only happy and thankful, if you take your chances, proceed and gain some more attention from Rarity, thus making her give me less of her attention. I, in my turn, will try to avoid her traps at my best, like I’m, frankly speaking, doing already for quite a while.”

“I’m completely honest with you and think it’s fair enough,” Alex held out his hand for a shake and Spike accepted after a second of thinking. “So it’s up to you now.”

“Hey, what are you guys up to now?” the girls entered the kitchen and caught the glimpse of their handshake.

“We were discussing the evening and decided that it won’t hurt to gather like that from time to time,” stretched Alex innocently, he yawned. “Sorry…”

“Yeah, right!” confirmed Spike with a wide smile, ogling Rarity.

“Just don’t tell Pinkie right away,” smirked Alex. “I’m afraid, she can decide “from time to time” means tomorrow. Methinks thither were some precedents, right, Fluttershy? Where is she, by the way?”

“She can indeed,” giggled Fluttershy. “She’s outside with the girls…” she and Rarity noticed nothing, but Twilight frowned a bit and signaled Alex with her eyes to watch the speech.

Rarity left soon, with visible regret, she was to walk Apple Bloom home, while Pinkie escorted Scootaloo. Twilight and Spike helped a bit and left as well, when they all brought everything to order.

“Alex, I’m going to fall on spot…” muttered Fluttershy, her eyes were closing and she leaned on him.

Alex looked at the wall clock – it was half before midnight – and inwardly took a breath. He then took Fluttershy in hands and headed to the stairs, she curled in his arms snuggling her warm frame to his chest and nuzzling his cheek, her forelegs wrapped around his neck.

“Mhhmmm…” Alex saw that she was half-sleeping already, when he carried her to the bedroom. He was to put her on the bed and then undo one side, then move Fluttershy to undo another side. Undressing he put his clothes on the footrest, knowing he would need them in half an hour. Fluttershy snuggled into him, when Alex got under covers and started stroking her head.

After about twenty minutes it became apparently too hot for her, as she moved aside slightly and uncovered. It was the right time and Alex kissed her lightly on the shoulder and slid out of the bed. He dressed again quickly, watching Fluttershy sleeping; her amazing hair spread on the pillows, she was slightly smiling through her sleep. Alex felt a tiny prick of conscience, being with two girls didn’t look entirely right to him… and was to admit that he hardly ever could make that choice.

Alex ran out of the cottage, almost not touching the ground, it was already five past midnight. He got around the house to the same tree, he sat under, when met Luna personally for the first time. It was darker tonight: clouds, appearing out of nowhere, overshadowed the moon. A lonely nightingale still sang optimistically, expecting the sky to clear and Luna’s Moon to bless the ground with its presence. A big moth touched Alex’s cheek with its velvet wings, when he approached the tree and leaned on the trunk, waiting for the princess. The minutes passed slowly, if only the wind could pep them up, just like it drove the clouds, making them run faster, and ruffled Alex’s hair. The same wind brought the smell of hay from the meadows, but there wasn’t any lavender tint to it yet.

After about ten minutes, which seemed an hour to him, something rustled in the shrubs behind Alex… and in the next second he found himself in the middle of a warm, silky, feathery, lavender fragrant flurry, which caught and whirled him, finding his lips and yearningly conquering them.

“It’s been more than a day,” said Luna, sitting on the ground and finally giving him some breath. Her fore legs rested on his waist, while her wings habitually wrapped Alex, holding him closer to her. “I’ve started to feel lonely, mine lief!”

“I can guess!” Alex wrapped his hands around her swan-like neck, waiting till the world around him stop spinning. That was probably a futile attempt, as Luna’s dark blue eyes, looking into his from a few inches distance, didn’t help to get a clear head. He kissed her, making Luna close her eyes and squeeze him tighter with a quiet moan. “Methinks thou art overmodest about that.”

Luna’s ears perked and she stared at him in surprise.

“Sorry, Luna. I’m not trying to mock you, not a zilch, in the earnest,” tried to explain Alex. “Oh… Don’t know how it happens, but I really find your manner of speech very attractive and… I guess there is more to it. Twilight already told me, it was a part of my changes, which bother her… and Celestia. Not the old language itself, but the whole process of me changing.”

“Mayhap Celestia worries even more than Twilight, she thinketh of them as of something dangerous,” added Alex quietly, snuggling his forehead to Luna’s nose bridge. “’t was amusing forsooth, how Twilight was shocked each time, ‘t slipped through. But I understand thither is nothing to celebrate.”

“Mayhap thou needest to control thy speech a bit more then,” chuckled Luna, nuzzling his cheek. She put her head on his shoulder and let out a satisfied sigh. “I’ll be frank with thee, ‘t was… very unusual to hear thee speaking alike, even for me. I can imagine how everypony around thee can react,” she giggled again, like a silver bell rang.

“I try my best,” Alex said, running his fingers through her mane. “But it slips out, when I least expect. It comes naturally, when I worry or…”

“I can feel thy heart racing,” with a small smile Luna put her hoof on his chest.

“You’re a tease,” smirked Alex. “First of all, I’m glad to see you. Besides, I was a bit late – waited till Fluttershy falls asleep. We had that “Welcome to Ponyville…” party, Pinkie was craving for, so Shy got a fair bit tired and almost collapsed.”

Luna raised her head and looked into his eyes again, she wasn’t anxious, her expression was unusual though… concerned and interested at the same time. Alex wondered, if she knew anything about previous evening, but apparently, she didn’t show any discontent anyway. She snuggled tightly into him again and the new kiss was long and indescribably tender, not unveiling the mystery of her thoughts at that moment.

“I’ve waited for you a bit,” Alex almost touched her lips with his own. “I know - the girls can’t come earlier,” two joyful sparkles glanced in Luna’s eyes at those words. “But I worried, you wouldn’t come; something could interrupt you.”

“Not in that case,” simply said Luna and the ambiguous feeling visited Alex again: he sharply felt that he couldn’t make this choice ever and was doomed to feel guilty for that. “So, how did the party go?”

“Way calmer, than Pinkie planned initially,” Alex kneeled in front of Luna, when she gave him the freedom of movement, folding her wings. Her fore hoof still rested on his shoulder though, as if she didn’t want to break the touch completely. “She brought tons of sweet stuff of her own making… and I think I had the weekly reserve of dessert tonight.”

“Applejack couldn’t come, but she was busy. And Rainbow… well, Rainbow Dash still had her reasons to distrust me. I have no faintest idea why though.”

“Rainbow Dash is too demanding to herself, if ’t be true thou askest me,” nodded Luna. “’t overplays oft, especially at which hour she treateth others the same. Tis will settle someday.”

“I can only hope,” sighed Alex. “Even Rarity held herself in the hooves tonight… almost,” he rolled his eyes. “We mostly talked and had fun, the fillies added to it a lot… Methinks they are much like mine cousins,” his eyes glazed for a tiny moment. He found the strength to switch the thoughts though. “Yeah, one more thing, dancing…”

“Dancing?” Luna snorted, then started giggling like a school filly. “Mine apologies, Alex,” said she after a while, taking her breath. “I simply…”

“Imagined Twilight?” Alex raised the eyebrow, that guess was easy.

“Correct,” Luna started shaking from laughter again. “No offence to her, but it’s always such a view…”

“Well, I’ve shown the girls, how people dance,” noticed Alex. “And it seems Twilight grasped it nicely. At the very least it looked classy enough for the first time.”

“Really? And what didst thou teach them? How did the others do?” Luna leaned to him again and the talk was interrupted by the more pleasant activity for them both.

“It was a bit embarrassing for Fluttershy, but she is very gracious and fluent, she’ll grasp it fast…” answered Alex, when he could.

“Rarity asked her to model with reason,” noticed Luna, nodding.

“… and it was a bit slow and boring for Pinkie, which I wasn’t surprised a bit with,” Alex ran his fingers behind her ear and down Luna’s neck, hearing how her breath deepened at once. “Methinks we should find something faster and… crazier for her,” he smirked, then a faint shadow of vexation ran over his face. “Rarity was her usual self, she was since we met...”

“Naturally,” snorted Luna again, Alex glanced at her, feeling that another commentary about Rarity’s dreams was on her tongue. “Dost thou know that I can dance the “human style” likewise.”

“How come?” Alex was totally caught by surprise.

“One human taught me long ago,” Luna glanced at Alex from under her eyelashes. “Ere to Nightmare Moon days. We were almost fillies, at least I was, at which hour Starswirl summoned a human in the Old Castle by pure accident. Something went wrong with one of his spells, so, the warp appeared and then the human fell through. Nopony knew, who was more shocked: the human or Starswirl himself.”

“I can imagine,” huffed Alex quietly. “I believe though the human was shocked more. You all here somehow got used to seeing different sentient creatures, but in my world people are the only truly sentient species known for now. So, how it was?”

“Starswirl needed some time to prepare the proper spell, ere the old chap was able to return the human…”

“So that human could get back?!!” Alex interrupted her fast, Luna noticed two hot sparkles, which burnt deep in his eyes, and downcasted.

“Alex, mine lief,” she said with a sigh. “That was a common human, not the one like thou art at that moment. He was neither magic resistant, nor reflecting the spells. The problem grounded in the proper returning, not in the human traits. It took Starswirl half a year to properly synchronize the spell and return the human to the same place, he was taken from. Not sure if ‘t be true to the same time though, I can recall Starswirl complaining about the extreme complexity of that task. Mayhap the time on… Earth flew not at the same pace, as for that human hither.”

With a heavy sigh Alex unconsciously snuggled into her tighter, putting his head on Luna’s shoulder, as in drastic need of some support. Feeling how his fingers tremble slightly Luna preferred to change the topic.

“Well, back to our matter of interest,” she said exaggeratedly cheerful. “This human taught, well, tried to, me and Tia simple dancing moves. I’ve managed to succeed at exactly what thou said – “waltz”, if ‘t be true mine memory serveth me well.”

“I’ve started with it, because it’s simple forsooth. Equally for professionals and beginners, who got used to standing on four legs, instead of two,” a weak tint of a smile touched Alex’s lips.

“I started learning a more complex one,” continued Luna with palpable relief that he distanced from the sad thoughts. “It was called “tango”… or something alike…”

“Yeah,” smirked Alex. “There is such a dance, it’s more… intimate than waltz so far.”

“So, I succeeded… more than Tia… She took all the mistakes too close to her heart, especially if ’t be true she couldn’t do something and I could cope with it,” said Luna with a tiny sad smile. “Now I see, tis was the very beginning of the unholy vista, leading us both to the Nightmare Moon problem…”

“Let us return to the more pleasant aspect of mine memories, if ’t be true thou dost object not,” Luna shook her head, shooing the mental image of them quarreling with Celestia. “I would like to refresh my “mastery”,” she chuckled. “I would like to do that with thee, Alex!”

Alex wrapped his hands around her neck and the following kiss was more than self-explanatory.

“I… guess… tis meaneth… “yes”,” muttered Luna in between the attempts to fight Alex’s tongue for domination.

Alex slightly nodded, not breaking the kiss or the embrace.

“What exactly do you want to practice?” breathed he out, when they parted for air.

“And what dost thou think, Alex?” one could drown in her eyes, hypnotized by her sly smile. “I choose tango… unless thou hast more interesting suggestions.”

“That will need you to come here, as I won’t be able to reach Canterlot, while you are awake, Luna,” Alex pondered. “Too far for my capabilities.”

“Methinks I can find time for that.”

“We will need to define your skill level and then… Do you need that for some special occasion? I mean, if there is some… deadline or…” asked Alex.

“We’ll have a ball in the castle in… three weeks or about,” Luna wrapped him in her wings again and Alex got the hint, he sat closer and leaned on her, letting her hold him and put her head on his. “’t would be amazing, if ’t be true thou could attend it somehow. Thou could have a look at our festive dresses, as thou wished, and we could bring some fresh stream to ponies’ dancing repertoire.”

“Fresh?” Alex let out a laughter. “That dance is about a century old at my world…”

“Tis fresh enough for a three thousand years old princess…”

Alex threw back his head, dragged Luna closer and covered her mouth with another kiss to stop that blasphemy.

“I have certain doubts,” chuckled he a while later. “Tia would hardly send me an official invitation. And I’d like to specifically ask you, Luna, not to put yourself as a target, trying to invite me somehow. So that’s an open question still, mayhap I could find some way. I’d happily be your partner, of course.”

If Alex could see the more than enthusiastic sparkles in Luna’s eyes, he would guess that wasn’t entirely because of the upcoming dancing lessons.

“And, please, take into account that it’ll be harder to move in your dress, if you practice first without it.”

“I can’t help that unfortunately,” Luna nuzzled his cheek. “It isn’t ready yet and now, at which hour I have some new ideas, I may ask for some changes in design… Besides, I would like ‘t to be a surprise.”

She wrapped him tighter and for quite a while they both forgot about dances, balls, dresses and problems, almost forgot about breathing, sharing one breath passionately.

“Ahhh, mine head is spinning,” weakly said Luna, she folded her wings and lay on the grass, taking Alex with her, so he was to lay next and put his head on her chest, looking into the sky. Luna’s mane covered them both, silkily touching, lulling.

“I could spend the whole night tis way,” Luna’s fore leg nested on Alex’s shoulder and Alex thought, he could easily say the same thing, listening to her heart. “But thou needed some help, if ’t be true I’m not mistaking, mine lief.”

After a short hesitation Alex took out a folded sheet of paper, Luna’s magic enveloped it, unfolding and holding in front of her eyes. The list was long enough, Alex hoped, he didn’t forget anything, he couldn’t make himself initially. Luna scanned the list for whole several minutes, while Alex patiently waited, what she could say: he was ready to hear that something is totally impossible to do here; in his thoughts he tried to compute different alternative variants for the most complex parts.

“Copper wire, magnets, dense fabric… the long list of metal parts… hmmm,” Luna turned her head to look at him. “Thou forgot about one important thing, thou won’t be able to make anything without, mine lief – the bits!”

“The money, you mean?” re-asked Alex.

“Exactly.”

“Come on, Luna, I can’t! I told Fluttershy the same and I’m telling thee. I’ll try to earn myself enough for the start at least, while…”

“Alex, don’t be foalish. How much can thou earn in, allowest me to think, a week or two?”

“A week?!” Alex’s eyes rounded. “I thought, getting all those would take much more time.”

“Not for me, mine lief!” smiled Luna. “Besides, methinks I know where to look for those. I can load Fillydelphia Steam Company with the majority of thy list, Alex. But I’d like to advise thee to go to the Ponyville blacksmith for the metal parts. The old chap is a noble soldier and true master of his work. I haven’t seen him personally, Tia told me about, but her words were more than praising. I knew his father and grandfather though, both were good blacksmiths as well – tis their family business. Mayhap old Will is coming through less than the finest times now. There are gossips about him around, but thou shan’t believe them, Alex. The old unicorn is the honesty embodied, he will tell thee his story mayhap, if ’t be true ye find some rapport. Thou can find him at the north edge of Ponyville, an old smithy, I’m afraid, even a bit ruined at the moment.”

“How could that happen to an honest person… pony… unicorn?” Alex even raised on his elbows.

“Tis a sad story, Alex,” Luna sighed. “The clients flow dried out naturally, as he grew older and big companies took a part of the market, so, he has less than half of the customers, he used to have. But the worst thing is gossips: some ponies think differently about his soldier career, some consider him to be strange, offish, even malevolent… But finally many try to avoid him. He has a fair pension as a veteran, tis enough to live fine with his niece, he took, when her parents died. But his smithy is… slowly extinguishing and he is too principled to take direct help; I know, Tia tried… to no avail.”

“Yeah, sometimes I see absolutely no differences between people and ponies,” sighed Alex.

“The tragedy is in him unable to find any apprentice or at least some helping hooves,” Luna closed her eyes. “He is desperate about forwarding his mastery to somepony, but can’t do it still, while not getting younger.”

“Mayhap ‘t is a nice idea to ask him for a job as well,” Alex voiced his thoughts. “I’m free from local prejudices and now, when my legal status is defined…”

“Speaking of which,” Alex turned to face Luna. “I probably should thank you again for making Tia define it.”

“What art thou talking about, Alex?” asked Luna, covering him with her wing and bringing closer.

“I’ve got a letter this evening and… practically a “passport”,” smirked Alex. “Wasn’t it you, who convinced Tia to do that?”

“Hmmm… she did ‘t that fast,” muttered Luna, then added. “Wrong guess this time, mine lief. I was hardly less surprised than thee, at which hour Tia talked about ‘t during the breakfast. She froze with a teacup for a good few minutes, muttering something about “unforgivable lapse” and “job getting problems” and then said with a sigh that she had to correct her own overlook regarding you, while you were forced to stay resident.”

Alex glanced at Luna in disbelief.

“What?” chuckled she. “I tell thee, Tia is not a monster. She… “bounces on corners” oft. Too much oft. But doth any of us do that nev’r?”

They talked for the whole two hours more, about various things, not paying attention to the time or fresh wind, as Luna’s wings served a good cover for both, staying close, holding hooves and warming each other with mutual affection.

“I will regret that words in about a few minutes,” said Alex finally. “But I’m afraid I need to go, Luna.”

“Unfortunately, yes,” sighed the alicorn beauty, now resting her head on his chest. “Tia will raise the Sun in an hour or so. Besides, thy little pegasus fairy may become worried,” she stroked him gently with her hoof.

“Apologies, Luna. How art thee about all that?” carefully asked Alex. “I can’t do anything… Tis hard to explain…”

Luna raised her head and looked directly into his eyes, Alex saw a smile on her face, perhaps because his anxiety was easily audible.

“I’m not going to start a… marefight over thee, Alex,” she honestly told him. “Not now at least. Why should I spoil our relationship with that? We’re both adults, so is Fluttershy, and none of us is engaged… I’m sure ‘t gets sorted out somehow, someday. Now I’m going to enjoy each day or night I can spend with thee, especially considering thou can vanish as suddenly as thou came hither!”

Her deep dark-blue eyes filled his consciousness, as her lips pressed tightly to his own, hurrying to get more, before they were to part for a long while.

It was too late in the night, or better say too early in the morning, to get asleep and hope for a nice recharging rest; one would rather get up feeling even worse, than not sleeping at all. Besides, Alex hardly had any wish to sleep: amazingly, time spent with Luna refilled his reserves better, than any sleep, he was ready to face another day. That is why he simply got into the bed and spent the rest of the night, guarding Fluttershy’s sleep. She felt his presence, right when he returned, and snuggled into him, putting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her legs around him. With a quiet sigh Fluttershy smiled through her sleep; she nuzzled his neck and inhaled deeply.

“Your Highness, princess Luna, please… don’t take Alex to Canterlot again…” muttered Fluttershy in her sleep, her expression changed to slightly anxious. Nopony knew what she dreamed of before, but right at that moment the remaining lavender scent apparently woke some of her deeper concerns. That could seem funny for a random observer, but Alex gasped: Fluttershy suspected some interest from Luna, despite she could be unsure which exactly; besides, it was only a matter of time, when she could find out that frequent presence of the lavender aroma was more than just her dreams. Alex inwardly facepalmed, he had no idea how to avoid hurting one of them deeply. Another part of him faintly smiled at the thought that Luna was with him even more, than he could expect. Fortunately, the aroma winded out quite fast, but Alex told himself to be more careful next time.

The east edge of the sky started to get golden and pink, when Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes. She focused her sight on Alex and snuggled to him tighter with a smile.

“Good morning,” she kissed him under the ear. “How long have you been awake?”

“For a while,” Alex run his fingers through her mane, kissing her in the nose. “You are my little sunflower, Shy. Well, you’ve missed the sunrise, but only once…”

Fluttershy’s cheeks got tinted pink.

“I… ummm… there was a good reason. Who can know better than you, Alex?” she slightly nudged him, then leaned over. Her amazing turquoise eyes filled his view, while she covered his lips with hers, watching his reaction and apparently enjoying each moment of it.

Needless to say, this sunrise got missed as well.

After a quick breakfast Fluttershy threw a glance at the clock and shook her head, it was 7 am already. She couldn’t remember last time, when she got up that late in summer, well, except the one, which made her blush a little still. She had the usual morning routines laying in front of her, so she couldn’t join Alex on his first Ponyville visit.

“I’d like to have a good run around the town, it seems that the last month of sitting in the closed space with limited movement wasn’t entirely beneficial for me,” explained Alex. “Don’t want to look like a badger… no offence to badgers, of course. Besides, I can run into somepony, who needs a pair of helping hands – it’s long overdue to look for a proper job for me, considering I’m going to stay for quite a while…”

“Just be careful, dear, okay!” Fluttershy sighed deeply, making Alex realize at once that she was still thinking, he was rushing things up, but she didn’t say anything about his job search “obsession” this time. “I don’t know… We can’t be completely sure Mayor Mare succeeded to notify absolutely everypony about you and magic. Promise me, you will stay out of the trouble, Alex,” she looked at him pleadingly.

“I will try my best,” Alex hugged her with a smile. “It’s just a town of friendly ponies… I hope… well mostly at least, not some rendezvous with… timberwolves,” Fluttershy shuddered, while he continued. “Even if troubles tend to find me recently, what could probably happen in Ponyville?..”

“I would like to go with you so much,” Fluttershy looked up to him. “But I have my little friends to take care of…”

“There is no need to divest them of your care and attention, because of me, dear,” Alex was at the front door, putting on his boots already. “Look at me, I suppose, I can cope with problems myself as well.”

“I know,” Fluttershy said with a sad smile, following him to the door. Alex couldn’t get rid of the feeling that there was much more subtext under those two words.

“Everything will be alright,” he kneeled to her and planted a long tender kiss. “I’ll have a walk, find at least some job and stop hanging on your neck entirely,” Alex looked into Fluttershy’s eyes tenderly. “That’s for the start… and then, we’ll see.”

‘I can’t go anywhere, guarded by one of the girls each time,’ he thought, but kept that to himself. ‘That would be ridiculous… And if I meet Rarity and she goes a little bit too enthusiastic, I’ll have the whole town to run and hide,’ Alex smirked inwardly.

He passed the yard, opened the gate and stretched hard, inhaling the delicious morning air deeply. It wasn’t yet hot, as the Sun was fairly low, but the wind changed from the nightly cool one to warm, bringing the smell of wild strawberry from the field. The wooden planks rattled, when Alex jogged across the bridge, entering the road to Ponyville. He slowed down at the crossing and threw a quick glance to the big old clock tower amidst the field to his right.

Alex was to admit that again, the show didn’t do it much justice: there it looked insignificant, hardly suiting the purpose of a clock post; nevertheless, in reality it was rather some old stronghold ruin, the remaining tower was simply huge with the two time worn wall remnants connected to it like wings. Only the lower half was somewhat restored and the clock was mounted in the middle of the tower, but it was apparently enough for it to be visible from any point of Ponyville, despite the trees surrounding the area and effectively hiding the lower buildings from the town view. The upper section was yet untouched and still wrapped in scaffolding, the whole tower most likely being locked from a random visitor to prevent accidents, as the lower clouds easily touched the upper unroofed landing.

Alex checked the time, then shuddered, when his glance brushed the upper unstable part of the tower and the “toothy” top. He preferred to turn his back to the dark structure and head straight to Ponyville, speeding up, as Alex felt, some training was necessary – the whole month spent locked in 4 walls didn’t pass unnoticed by his body, so, Alex felt some strain in muscles, when he shouldn’t normally. He chose the tempo and passed the uncultivated field, which most likely was “resting” this season. Alex enjoyed the view of distant fruit trees and the smells from the field and the garden, breathing deeply and regularly on his run.

A small disturbance appeared, right when he passed a long old abandoned, but yet solid barn, built right in the middle of the field. It was presented in the form of a fairly small, but very dense, darkening cloud, which aligned to his course and practically followed him, overshadowing. Alex remembered his self-promise to not wonder, considering where he got, but admitted that at the moment it was harder to do: the weather was perfect, the Sun was raising, so was the temperature, and the rare clouds were white, light and flying high… except for that lone one.

Meanwhile, it darkened more and more, when finally reached the colour of full-time thunderstorm one, a single short discharge wormed across its belly. Now the cloud was right above Alex and moved with his speed.

‘Shit!’ Alex sped up some more. ‘Exactly when the last thing I need is some rain…’

Like the answer to his concern, the floodgates above him went open and in a matter of seconds Alex became soaking wet from the heavy rain, which suddenly poured on him from that relatively small cloud. Thankfully it was quite warm already, and the rain couldn’t change it noticeably, still Alex looked, like he was bathing clothed in the nearby lake, and his boots started sloshing.

Alex changed his course and headed into the field, praying for the ground to be smooth enough not to stumble on something and roll on full speed. He hoped to get out from under the rain, considering the size of the trouble, but to no avail. The mean cloud followed like on a leash, despite him running on full speed almost in zigzag trajectory, showering Alex mercilessly – who may think, there would be so much water in it.

‘Merlin’s pants!’ Alex threw a quick glance over himself, thinking about keeping the breath only. ‘Now my chances to be hired become thinner, than the spring ice, at the half of the decent places, I planned to visit. All because of that fucking cloud with its rain.’

His initial plan was to visit the Town Hall and consult Mayor Mare, if there was some job available for him, be it for her or somewhere in the town. She knew about him from Twilight at least and he thought that it would be easier to start that way, especially now, when he had his citizenship legally confirmed. But now he doubted the practicability of that visit – he looked like a wet stray cat and wasn’t sure, if he could find an appropriate explanation for his condition, even in the world, where strange things, including magic, tended to happen.

The reserve of water seemed to be reached for the cloud, when Alex crossed the big bridge over the river at the actual edge of the town; the rain became thinner and slower, but that could hardly help, because at that moment Alex wasn’t sure, if he didn’t consist of 99 percent of the water, instead of normal average 70. He stopped for a moment, making his choice and a mental note that the cloud stopped as well. A quick glance to the left and Alex shook his head: of course, the Carousel Boutique was within easy reach and he was sure that Rarity would gladly accept him anyway, perhaps even more eagerly, when he looked like that, but…

He turned right and quickly passed the Town Hall, heading to the market: plans changed according to the reality, Alex decided to start from the simplest opportunities, which didn’t demand for some strict dress code. ‘Still, fuck that cloud!’

Fortunately, it was early in the morning, so the town wasn’t yet herded and nopony got a chance to enjoy a show of a soaking wet human runner, being lazily showered by almost emptied cloud, which finally became thinner and lighter again. Alex reached the market, when the rain stopped completely, but the cloud was still following him. He was about to suspect Discord, as the source of his problems; frankly speaking, it was a joke right in his spirit, besides, a perfect revenge opportunity for the “pan incident”. But Alex knew that Discord wasn’t a frequent guest in Ponyville, besides, that would be too much, considering he made him look stupid in front of the princesses already.

The market was only opening, with the stalls slowly getting prepared by their owners, those who managed to arrive already, being early larks. Alex spotted the familiar hat and the straw-blond mane underneath at one of the tents and headed towards immediately. Apparently, Applejack was one of those early larks, so she was preparing for her market shift with the help of her brother, who unloaded the crates from the cart at that moment.

“Good morning, Applejack!” Alex came closer, raising his hand in salutatory gesture.

“Morning!” she raised her eyes on him and a small smile transformed into a wide grin, when Applejack scanned him from head to feet. The sympathy for Alex’s strange and miserable look was clearly written in her big green eyes, but she couldn’t hold herself from laughing naturally. “Or was it not entirely good for somepony? Have ya jumped into the lake on yar way ‘ere, Alex?”

“Yeah, and I decided that I was to jump there with all my clothes specifically,” muttered Alex. Perhaps he had enough reasons to frown, but imagined his own look instead and involuntarily started snorting with her. “No, there was another reason for that. Can I use your tent for the cover, just in case?”

“Sure thing!” Applejack nodded, still giggling. Then she moved a bit and turned to her brother. “Hey, bro, that’s Alex, Fluttershy’s new friend, I told ya ‘bout, and, ehh, a human, as ya may notice. Alex, that’s Big Mac, my older brother, ya probably know already…”

“Morning, Big McIntosh,” Alex waved his hand. “Nice to meet you in… pony!”

“Mutually,” Big Mac waved his fore hoof, then returned to his “logistics”.

“He is always that eloquent,” smirked Applejack. “So, what brought ya ‘ere that early… And what’s yar problem?” she looked over Alex once again.

“I know,” Alex slid under the tent. “I planned to look for some actual job today, thus coming early. But it seems, I’ve got… “discorded” on my way here,” he nodded towards the cloud, which still hung nearby, waiting. Alex thought, he could hear some muffled laughter coming from there. “Never could imagine that amount of water holding in such a cloud. Was being poured on from that barn in the field… Now, I guess, I’m kinda limited in my choices, as I can’t expect being looked at seriously enough.”

“From the old long barn on the road to Flutters’?” Applejacks eyes widened. “Ah’d say that’s quite a shower…” the sympathy took over in her eyes, perhaps even more, when she realized that Alex couldn’t apply to the good half of possible places successfully now. “Ah think, that’s hardly Discord. Ya know, he’s not an entirely welcomed guest in Ponyville still. But Ah know, who that can be…”

The laughter became obvious and Alex convinced himself, he was not hearing things. Applejack raised her head and yelled.

“Dash!!! C’mon, show yarself… The joke became old, don’t ya think?”

A ruffled rainbow head showed up from behind the cloud edge and a couple of sly magenta eyes glanced at them. Evidently, Rainbow Dash had much fun, she couldn’t stop giggling and visibly forced herself not to fall back on the cloud; Applejack rolled her eyes and Alex frowned, the whole thing could be funny, if he was simply having a walk, not trying to find a job.

“Hey, what’s up?” inquired Rainbow Dash with fake interest. “Isn’t showering in the morning simply healthy, be you a pony or… a human?”

“Ah think, it is too much already,” Applejack found the prank less funny, than her friend did. “Don’t be so foalish, Dash! Besides, Alex…”

“Wait,” Alex put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. He wasn’t sure, if informing Rainbow that she managed to make him put his foot into it twice: once literally and once figuratively, wouldn’t make her fun double. “Can I take it for a moment?” he glanced at an empty bucket.

“Be mah guest,” Applejack nodded with a puzzled look on her muzzle.

Alex grabbed the bucket by the handle and headed to the fountain on the market square, where he scooped it full of water. Meanwhile, Dash still rolled from laughter.

“Come on, Jackie, don’t be a bore, that’s only some water! You’ve missed much, he was zigzagging like a rabbit on the road. The guy seriously thought, he could outrun me!” she huffed proudly, then added, seeing that Alex returned. “And I got a good exercise, bucking and dragging that cloud. That was quite a work! Alex, you could say “thanks” for all the effort to deliver that shower to you, don’t you think?”

“What? I can’t hear ya!!!” Alex got hold of the bucket better. “Mind to land here and repeat, eh?”

“I could try to throw it,” he told Applejack from the corner of his mouth. “If I was sure that it wouldn’t come back on our heads. Besides, I don’t want to break your bucket.”

“Thanks, I have washed my muzzle already,” Rainbow snorted again from above. “But I see that I need to bring more water next time, your ears definitely need more treatment, Alex!” and sticking her tongue towards him she flew away, pushing the cloud.

“Ugghhh!!!” Alex shrugged and put the bucket down. “I guess that’s one-nil in her favour… Okaaay, it’s not the end of the day.”

“Actually, she’s not that bad, Alex,” Applejack chuckled. “Yet Rainbow’s jokes can be tough indeed. But she always knows when it’s really time to stop…”

“Somewhere in between breaking my limb and killing me instantly, right?” Alex saw, how Applejack gawked at him, and added. “Tis a joke. Relax Jackie, I know that thy friend knoweth, whither to stop… Still would prefer, if she stopped a couple of tons of water before,” he sighed, while Applejack squinted at something that seemed very familiar to her.

“By the way, thank you kindly for all the cider for yesterday’s evening,” Alex bowed slightly with a smile. “I’m so sorry, you couldn’t come.”

“No probs,” Applejack seemed to make a connection not and relaxed. “Ah need to apologize, but ah was too busy, simply couldn’t cut some free time, sorry. So, what are yar plans exactly?”

“Well, at the moment I can try only a few applications,” said Alex, examining his wet self. He took off the shirt and squeezed the water out, catching a couple of quick glances from mares at nearby stalls and a raised eyebrow from Applejack. “I’m going to ask ponies at the market, if they need help with heavy lifting, namely a loader for the start and end of their marketing day… Besides, I know you have a railway station, can check there as well. And I’ll check for some more sophisticated stuff later, when… if I manage to reach Ponyville unshowered,” he smirked, then added. “I see you have that part of work covered.”

“Yeah, the jobs are pretty limited at Ponyville, mostly taken, if ya ask meh,” sighed Applejack, then added with a wide grin. “But Ah think ya will easily cope with what ya planned. Ah know only one two-legged creature bigger than ya… and he is a minotaur.”

Now it was Alex’s turn to burst into laughter.

“What?” he wiped a couple of tears, seeing how Applejack raised an eyebrow. “I need to ask Rarity for a T-shirt with writings both on the chest and back:

1.Yup, I’m a human.

2.I’m that big, no illusion.

3.I’m not a bald bear, minotaur or let alone an ape.

4.I can’t cast. Totally.

5.Don’t cast on me, will backfire.”

“And the sixth one – “See, Ah warned ya…”,”Applejack snorted, then started giggling with him.

“Well, good luck then, Alex,” breathed out she, when they calmed down a bit.

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll need plenty of. Thanks, Jackie!” Alex put the shirt back, feeling that he got a free cooling at least. “Have a productive day, too. And don’t hesitate to tell me, if you happen to have more work on your farm and not enough free… hooves to cover it,” he winked.

Alex couldn’t complain much about that morning, he managed to reach an agreement with two stall owners on the market; both were mares, both witnessed the scene between him and Rainbow Dash and had their laugh, but both had no extra hooves to help them with daily (or better say, regular morning and evening) lading, so that job was guaranteed. One more trader was unsure, but said that he will address Alex, if he had an extra load to operate. That was enough already to cover daily needs, thus Alex was glad he didn’t need to live on Shy’s expense any more.

Generally, he got equal shares of interested, friendly, neutral and disparaging looks that morning. All like in every other society, nothing to worry about. Naturally, the document, signed by Celestia herself, helped much to turn neutral attitude to more interested and friendly and even some negative – to neutral at least. But as Applejack said, jobs were very limited in Ponyville and mostly taken already, Alex should be happy he found at least a couple of employers for partial-time work that fast. That was normal for a relatively small non-industrial town with calm, hasteless life, where every business had its history and long-established traditions. For example, Alex couldn’t comprehend why quills and sofas were to be sold specifically in one place, but everypony took that as given, the shop was even named simply like that: Quills & Sofas.

The negotiation with traders on the market took his whole morning though, so when Alex finished with that, the Sun was high already, spreading hot rays of Celestia’s blessing around. There was a positive side to that: Alex finally dried out completely. But he decided to stick to the plan and check the railway station that day, and then… Then it would depend on the results and remaining time, he was still to come to the market, as he ensured both mares that he can start with his job as soon as necessary.

He ran through the northern part of Ponyville, catching more of surprised looks. Of course, everypony was informed by Twilight and Mayor Mare about the human presence, but one thing was to know and totally different – to see themselves: for the majority “a human” was an abstract enough term, so they saw one in front of them for the first time. Fortunately, nopony took him as a dangerous creature just because of his magic resistance, simply accepting the announced precaution “as is” – no magic? okay!

Alex in his turn enjoyed the view of picturesque houses and cottages with wooden and hay roofs, large and small gardens, flowers galore, accurate fences and everything, which makes small towns, where everypony knows and mostly respects each other, so special and different from “stone jungles”. Alex realized that he could hardly ever find the place in the whole Equestria, where his former speciality is demanded for, but he wasn’t going to mourn about that – having it simpler, closer to the ground was good enough for a change. ‘At least while I’m forced to stay,’he thought.

Fluently he crossed the north part of the town, making a mental note of an old smithy, which he spotted through the clearance between town houses. The place looked fairly dead, even from the considerable distance – the smithy was at the far north outskirt of Ponyville. It was natural in its best days, as it kept ponies safe from constant noise and movement at the facility… when the smithy was in best shape and running full day. Now though it only helped ponyvillers forget about the old blacksmith more and more. According to Luna’s words, he didn’t even come to Ponyville recently, his niece could be seen from time to time at the market or in some shops, when they needed supplies. Alex sighed, it seemed that this quiet place selected and made an “alien” for themselves, even more unwelcome, than him – a creature from another world – was.

Alex knew that he couldn’t cope with his planned task without a good portion of blacksmith work, he hoped that both the place and its owner are still in good enough shape to fulfil his demands. And if not… Well, he decided that it was worth trying to raise the smithy from ashes. What the princesses failed to do, because of the stubbornness and pride of the old blacksmith, unwilling to accept “charity”, Alex could do as a simple customer and… perhaps, an employee. Back in his historical reconstruction practice they were to make weapons and armour for themselves and Alex had some experience; the real smithy looked like an unreachable dream, but now he could try himself on that turf as well. Still, while he could freely try applying for a job there, placing an order or investing in the smithy some other way demanded for an important component, he didn’t have at that moment – bits, god damned money. Thus it returned him to moving and stacking the crates and other stuff, where it was possible and paid for.

Occupied by the sad thoughts about unenviable blacksmith’s fate and his own limited capabilities Alex slowed down a fair bit. He didn’t even notice how he reached another local sight on his way to the railway station – the Golden Oak Library, and at the same time the home of Twilight Sparkle. Only when he accidentally spotted a few small oak saplings in the shrubs at the edge of the street and felt the smell of oak leaves, Alex woke from his trance. He raised his head, examining the tree giant, which namely contained the whole library, with all the rooms and books, inside its trunk and lower thick branches. The oak was huge, but the mere fact that somepony could live, work and study inside, like in a proper building, put Alex’s self-promise, to wonder not, to a serious test. The forest giant apparently had no problems at all about the rooms being carved in its trunk, somepony hanging bookshelves, putting furniture in, trotting about and minding their own business in an actually living tree: this was the most amazing part for Alex. And one more thing, the Golden Oak reminded him instantly about two other trees: the huge one of unknown species near the place, his transfer occurred (back on Earth), and the Tree of Harmony, he never actually saw, except in his weird dream. Alex already started having doubts that the tree at his “point of departure” was a complete coincidence.

After having plenty of enjoying the view of the mighty forest giant, Alex noticed that a window was open on the “ground floor” (apparently having windows and balconies, built in the tree itself, didn’t hurt the oak a zilch either), left of the front door. He came closer to see a relatively small room, the walls of which were covered with bookshelves (supposedly like any of the other rooms in the library), but most important – Twilight nesting on a couch and reading a book, which she levitated in front of herself, turning the pages with her magic.

“Good afternoon, Twilight!”

“Hey, Twi!” Alex was to repeat his call twice, before Twilight raised one ear first and then her eyes with a slightly absent and puzzled expression. When the book released her and Twilight focused her glance on the source of disturbance, a smile appeared on her muzzle.

“Hi, Alex!” her expression became slightly embarrassed. “Sorry, didn’t notice you coming. I was reading about teleportation spells; it seems I know everything about them, yet checking if you can find out something new never hurts.”

“I might have gotten a bit distracted from reality,” she put the book away, marking the page with a band. “How many times did you call?”

“Twice… only!” chuckled Alex.

“You’re either very loud or lucky… or both at the same time,” laughed Twilight. “Usually it takes more, when I’m into a book. Come in by the way, the door is unlocked.”

“Thanks, Twi. I’ll come a bit later, if you don’t mind. I’m afraid, if I get inside now, I become even more distracted from reality and stay for quite a while, examining your unusual apartment and I still have things to do,” explained Alex. “Don’t think that I’m neglecting your invitation, please.”

“That’s okay,” Twilight got up and approached the window, leaning on the windowsill with her fore legs. “I understand your concern. The first reaction is always strong. I myself was stunned the first time I got inside.”

“I mean, I saw even more books gathered at one place, of course,” she elaborated. “But the whole place packed inside a giant tree made me freeze in awe. So your worries aren’t groundless,” she giggled, then suggested. “Come closer then and don’t mind the flowers under the window. They are spell protected, one can’t crumple them,” Twilight cocked her head, visibly proud of her invention.

Despite her words, Alex carefully stepped over the plants of the improvised front garden to approach the window.

“So what are your pressing problems?” asked Twilight with a smile, when he leaned on the low windowsill from the outer side. “How’s the first day in Ponyville generally, Alex?”

“Not bad. At least I’m not generally frowned upon or being chased and watched, like a rare animal…”

“You haven’t yet met Lyra, I suppose,” huffed Twilight. “She’ll give you some hard time with her human obsession, will see.”

“Just when I supposed, the calm and boring life awaited,” shrugged Alex, making them both laugh. “Actually I was looking for some job, to cover at least simple living needs. Just as planned. Fluttershy may say that I don’t need to, out of her endless kindness and sympathy, but I can’t be an eternal guest, let alone freeloader.”

Twilight nodded slightly, her expression clearly said that she expected exactly this, with a faint tint of satisfaction, because of her assumption being correct; while Alex continued.

“Naturally, I got equal loads of positive and reservedly negative reaction, both at my own self and my application attempts. But I guess that’s normal, considering who and where I am.”

“Jobs are pretty limited here,” said Twilight with visible regret. “So, somepony may think that you are going to steal some and frown upon that. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of your needs.”

“Yeah, that’s what Applejack told me this morning exactly,” Alex ruffled his hair, finding them a bit messy after the shower provided by Rainbow Dash. “I met her at the market, her and Big Mac.”

“Actually,” continued he. “I could only find a couple of places where my service of a loader was needed. Well, for now, it’s not bad anyway, at least it should pay regularly and cover the basics.”

“Something tells me that you are aimed for more,” Twilight smiled with her eyes only. “Heavy lifting is not yours, despite you can cope with it evidently,” she threw a quick glance over his frame.

“Yup. I have certain plans. But they need some solid ground at first,” sighed Alex.

“I found some help,” he added cagily. “The rest depends on me entirely. Thus I plan to visit the railway station, Twilight. I hope there could be more job, even if it is still loading for the start.”

“And I wanted to see the blacksmith,” Alex said after a pause. “Luna… princess Luna told me in brief about his harsh fate and him refusing to accept any direct help. Maybe I could change something… elusively, I will need his mastery anyway for what I plan to make.”

“Hmmm…” Twilight pondered, Alex’s amendment didn’t slip from her attention. “Did she tell you about his reputation as well?”

“She did. Just as she told me, tis a nonsense,” Alex frowned a bit. “I can’t believe in the earnest, he hath done anything, making the whole town alienate him severely, at which hour none of the princesses hath reacted to that. Celestia is not omnipresent forsooth, but I doubt, she knoweth not about any crime of her subjects at the end of the day…”

As usual Twilight visibly strained at his old language strike, perhaps a bit less this time, getting used to that manifestation of concern.

“I’m not jumping any bandwagon, Alex,” she explained fast. “Not in my habits, as you may have noticed. But the general attitude towards old Will is, let’s say, less than entirely friendly,” diplomatically rounded it Twilight. “It is based on rumours, of course, and I can hardly tell which of them have real ground and which – none at all… But be aware that you may feel it as well, working with him close; ponies will surely have concerns,” she added with a guilty look.

“I’m ready to take some risks,” chuckled Alex. “Besides, I can’t proceed without his help.”

“I’ve noticed that already,” Twilight made a face, then suddenly became serious again. “Just mind that, please. I won’t judge you, you’re an adult and Will’s past has nothing to do with any of your current plans, besides it’s a long gone history, whatever it was. I still can’t be sure about others…”

“Thanks, Twilight,” Alex took her hoof in hands for a second, leaning closer. “I truly appreciate. Promise to be careful. Usually, I can unravel a person… pony, well, you know, pretty accurate. But thank you anyway.”

“Simply be prudent, okay?” Twilight gave him a hug, stroking his back with her fore hoof. Alex inwardly smirked, Luna would never give him that advice, knowing that he hardly would be overcautious.

“Okay,” he waved her goodbye, stepping over the flowers again and going around the Oak Library. The station was already visible from here across the wide field.

Despite his initial worries, the railway station appeared to be more welcoming towards Alex, than the market. Alex was to make another mental note that in reality it looked different: maybe the station, its main building, office was relatively small, but it was accompanied by a variety of huge warehouses in the terminal area. Being practically the main and only transport artery of Ponyville the station handled loads of different stuff, coming through it daily, and stored for a while, like at the transit depot. Thus capable hooves, and in his case – hands, were always in need there.

After a few questions being asked, Alex quickly found the stationmaster and addressed him with the application. It would be a crime against truth to say that the stationmaster wasn’t surprised, even stunned a bit, by the fact that a human (a mythic extraequestrian creature according to the majority’s ideas) came to ask for a job. The unpocketed documents quickly dispelled his doubts, when he saw that the human residence in Ponyville was approved by Celestia herself. Of course, the chief knew about the human from the Mayor Mare announcement, but extra caution was never excessive, when you were managing a strategically important transport hub.

Fortunately, they indeed had a vacancy at warehouse work, practically the same loader, but with more responsibility and wider set of duties. It paid back better as well, compared to simplistic market work. Thus when all the legal questions were rounded and Alex proved that he knew, what he was going into actually, he spent the rest of the day getting acquainted with the whole facility and his personal working area.

One could easily get lost at first in the web of service lines and variety of buildings at the freight yard and Alex chuckled once again at the memory of how the station was portrayed in the show: namely a small office building and a couple of railways. That was totally different from what Alex faced in reality, but he hoped to learn the place layout in a few days, so he didn’t need a map further to do his job. For the first time observer the large hangars of warehouses looked all the same, which in company with narrow dark passages between them could give the creeps to a novice. At least they had numbers, written with bright paint in large digits; Alex assumed they were clearly visible even at the night time.

The Sun started to roll down already, when Alex finished his first “tour” around the station complex and learned what needed to know to start working, at least what he could learn right away. He was going to start right the next day and promptly negotiated the working hours, considering that he had some job at the market as well. The stationmaster was surprised by that request first, but when he found out that Alex was trying to combine three work places at once, practically being nobody in Ponyville, he seemed to understand his position and reluctantly agreed (later he was to admit, he made the right decision).

Remembering that he was to arrive at the market in time – being punctual at the very start was vital – Alex departed, keeping in mind that he planned to have a closer look at the blacksmith’s place on his way back. Thus he crossed the few railways and the field, separating the station from Ponyville, but this time headed more north, avoiding the actual streets and getting around the town through its northern outskirts. After a few minutes of walking Alex exited to an old road, it looked rarely used, all bumpy and unmaintained, totally unnoticeable from the field; he could never tell there is one, if he didn’t come to it accidentally. Alex guessed that it could lead him exactly to the smithy and this simple guess, accompanied by the condition of the road, made him produce one more heavy sigh. It seemed that blacksmith’s business was in a really deplorable state, the only source of stable income being Will’s soldier pension, as Alex was told. This road, supposedly connecting the smithy with the railway station, was now almost unused, as the stream of materials, orders and customers turned into a thin rill, and Alex thought that the road from the smithy to Ponyville was hardly in better shape likewise.

‘I wonder, if ’t be true I want to achieve the impossible,’ Alex gritted his teeth. ‘Extending mine expectations further than simply making some necessary parts for the generators with the help of the old chap. Mine order shalt hardly change much, tis needs more interference, than I thought. Methinks, I found the next step after loader work. At least I must try…’

Alex took off his shirt, exposing his back to the Sun, which wasn’t hot already, and quickly walked up the road, inhaling the mixing smells of the field flowers and dry dust.

“Uncle Will, come here,” Silver Ingot stopped setting the table and approached the open window. “Take a look, there, behind our fence.”

The breeze, playing with the curtains, prevented her from seeing the stranger well and the young unicorn mare grasped the light cloth with her magic to move it slightly aside – just enough to see a strange creature outside. She pointed at him, when the old blacksmith approached.

Willsmash Steel only huffed quietly at the look of their “guest”, nopony could tell by that sound, what he thought about at that moment.

Alex just reached the end of the abandoned road to find that it led to the smithy indeed. He stopped behind the fence and took a long look around the house, the smithy, all the yard. The wind ruffled his hair and the whole look of the attacking and being accurately, but futilely, fought desolation ruffled his thoughts. For the time being he saw no effective ways to revive the place, despite looking for them desperately. Time worn, long ago extinguished furnace, old withered awning above the anvil, trough and larger instruments, weather-beaten closed shed, which most likely contained the workbenches and whole lot of smaller instruments and looked its large blindly shut gate at the anvil – everything told Alex than the old blacksmith tried hard to keep them in order, but each day had less and less force and inducement to bring them to former exemplary state. There was something fateful in that, like if he realized the futility of this care – there were hardly any customers coming in the nearest future, but his steel-fused soul protested against complete abandoning of his beloved craft and erstwhile pride. Alex wasn’t even sure that old Will could find it reasonable to fan the furnace and clean the crucible for the single order, which would hardly change the fate of the smithy, let alone save it.

The house was kept with more meticulous touch and Alex understood that old soldiers pension was by a narrow margin enough for the household, the rest was over the limits of the two, struggling with the herd’s prejudices.

‘Tis calleth for a more careful approach, than I thought,’ sighed Alex, sweeping the windows of the house with a quick glance; the curtain moved slightly on the open one. ‘I shall be ready, at which hour I come to make ‘t pump.’

Meanwhile, Silver Ingot measured his figure with her eyes once again.

“That must be the human,” she turned to her uncle. “I’ve heard about him yesterday’s evening at the Town Hall square, when Mayor Mare and princess Twilight made their announcement.”

“Quite an unusual case, you’re right, my filly,” muttered old Will, rubbing his chin. “I’ve heard about humans enough through my long life, a magically resistant one – that’s something new to me.”

“He doesn’t look dangerous though,” the young mare let out a small smile. “He looks a bit… lost, uncle. Or at least looking desperately for something.”

At the very moment Alex leaned on the still solid fence, frankly speaking, totally bewildered by the clear evidence that it had been quite a while, since the last time the fire blessed the old forge for some work.

“He may be looking for his own self,” sadly smirked the blacksmith. “Being an alien among ones unlike you, both physically and mentally, all of a sudden… that’s definitely enough to get lost. He is lucky, if he has at least a few ones, whom he can trust. I can only imagine, how he must feel sometimes.”

“Yeah, resembles our case, uncle Will, doesn’t it?” sighed Silver Ingot, heading to the half-set table, which she was distracted from by the unusual sound of steps, coming through the window, and then by the look of the two-legged stranger. “We are simple ponies, yet sometimes, very often, to be frank, I feel like an extraequestrian creature, when I come to the market.”

“I’m so sorry that I made you come through all that, my filly,” the old unicorn tiredly placed himself on the chair, which pleadingly screeched. “You are suffering the ponies’ mistrust because of my reputation only. It’s not your fault, yet it’s your reckoning.”

“Oh, uncle, please stop saying that,” his niece left the dishes and gently touched Will’s shoulder. “I can’t complain. What about should I really? You taking me as a foal, when mom and dad were kidnapped by the changelings? Saving me?”

“Otherwise I would have hardly make it to the orphanage,” she added quietly.

“Quite a few years passed since then,” the smile lit Will’s eyes. “A small weak foal grew up into a beautiful young mare.”

Silver Ingot blushed and looked away, involuntarily glancing through the window again.

“And now my past is staining your future, spoiling your life,” the old blacksmith downcasted. “Don’t you see, a young girl shouldn’t live like that.”

“We both can hardly do anything about that. Ponies have prejudices and… tend to believe what they hear. Especially if they hear that on every corner,” his niece wasn’t going to bow to or snap under life’s injustice. “I’m fine as I am, to be honest. And I’m happy that I can help at least a bit with what I learned. Making jewellery is still better than nothing.”

“You’re too humble, my dear. You’ve made a great progress recently. It’s a calamity, you’re getting barely tithe of what your work really costs.”

“Anyway, I’m not going to stop being myself simply to look more socially acceptable for anypony,” Silver Ingot cocked her head. “Even if I could…”

She finished the preparations and welcomed her uncle to their simple supper.

“He is standing there still,” noticed Willsmash, coming to the table. “I wonder what interest may he have… Or does our smithy look that stunningly awful already?” he chuckled.

Outside Alex weighted all pros and cons once again and flexed involuntarily. He threw one more glance on the house and turned to the road to Ponyville, immersed in his thoughts, absently putting his shirt back on. The market still waited for him, so did two mares, who he was to help packing their stalls.

“As you said, he must be looking for his own self,” Silver Ingot let out a small smile. “Right now he may be looking for a job. Can’t imagine what a human could do in his home world, but being thrown here he must think about most common vital things first, I suppose.”

“Well… The helping hooves… or hands are hardly necessary, if we aren’t supposed to have any customers in the nearest future,” the blacksmith seemed to be weighing something in his mind. “But if he came here and asked for a job… and had his hands growing from the right place, I would gladly hire him. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen most likely.”

“Physically he can easily cope with that work,” Silver Ingot measured Alex’s receding back. “Still I doubt that he is very enthusiastic about getting a job at the place, which is about to fall apart.”

Several days passed in routinely manner: Alex got up early and after a light breakfast headed to the market, where his two faithful clients waited for him. He was stronger than ponies and naturally could lift and carry more, so, seeing that everything was done fast and accurately each time and both mares had no problems with their worker, other traders estimated the possibilities and started asking for Alex’s service, when they needed extra help. If time allowed, Alex never rejected such work, as he realized that his further plans needed any bit, he could earn.

After the market, when the Sun raised higher, he ran to the railway station, put on his badge and helmet (Alex managed to find the fitting size) and dived into the busy life of the transport and storage facility. It could seem boring to an inattentive distant observer, actually, the work at Ponyville railway hub could be hard, exhausting, but never dull. One must know and keep in mind too much in addition to the labyrinth of the storage hangars and the hard work of lifting and moving the heavy crates itself, so even not mentioning the different nature (and conditions of storage, for example of alchemic ingredients of increased danger level) of cargo, one didn’t have any chance to get bored at that work.

The closer to the evening, the harder it was, because despite its importance, the station and the freight yard were very limited in lighting. Some types of goods didn’t suppose any fire being used near them, so firefly-lanterns were used mostly, when the sunlight was limited inside their hangars. Alex noticed that he could see in the darkness much better than any of the ponies: where he saw decently, others saw nothing. Thus dealing with loads in limited lighting conditions soon became his special well-paid task. And he knew, which place would definitely benefit from his upcoming invention; first he planned to use the wind power here. Alex was told that there was an irrigation dam at the river nearby, so later a water turbine could be placed at the spillway to feed the station needs (that would need a totally different, higher level of engineering, thus was a more distant plan).

First Alex was afraid that having magically advanced, kinetic capable unicorns, ponies would need his service as a loader not that much. But the reality told otherwise: nopony knew exactly why, perhaps because of historical prejudices, there were almost no unicorns, doing that “unpopular” work. Alex found that funny and totally impractical as, for example, Rarity could lift and move quite a large amount of things with her magic – Applejack told him once, how they went hiking and how Rarity took “a darn huge load o’stuff, consarnit! Ah never thought of her being able to carry that much…” But he could see only a couple of unicorns working at the freight yard and nothing told about them being straining themselves too much. That was pouring water on his wheel, fortunately. Besides, Alex was always guided by physics principles, while stacking anything, so once the stationmaster put him as an example to others, saying that “a bucking earthquake must occur to shatter that stack of crates”. Thus being friendly, where possible, accurate, strong enough and capable to work in considerable darkness quickly made him a valuable part of railway station team. There was one more positive aspect of the hard work – Alex felt that almost no remnants of the month, spent sitting in four walls, left; more of the same workout and he started gaining. No gym could ever offer that boost.

‘Now I need only to learn the placement of damned hangars perfectly,’ chuckled Alex inwardly. ‘And I can safely assume I will reach the upper limit of myself at that place.’

Finishing his daily part of work Alex left the station earlier, much earlier than others, as he was to reach the market in time and do the evening loading for the traders, he worked with. That was initially agreed, but lately Alex started noticing that nopony frowned upon that anymore – he managed to do tons of work fast and accurate enough even up to that early hour, so nopony objected he left the freight earlier.

Working at the market Alex saw and was able to share a few phrases with Applejack and Big Mac daily; he started helping them, when the load of goods, brought for selling, was excessive for two earth ponies to handle fast. Alex never took any bits in return, but he didn’t refuse some fine apples, if offered – Fluttershy loved apples, so did Alex.

He noticed that he was getting along nicely with Jackie’s brother, especially when working together, despite Big Mac being extremely laconic, mostly limiting the conversation to simple “Eeyup” and “Nnope”; a special case was needed for a more complex phrase to leave the taciturn stallion’s mouth.

A few times Apple Bloom came with her older siblings to help at the market stall and they both with Alex always found time for a joke or some merry fuss. Apple Bloom’s loud laughter spread throughout the market square, when Alex picked her up and tossed high in the air, then caught and tickled.

He saw Granny Smith once as well; mostly she visited the market later, when Alex was at the railway station already. That day she needed something for her special recipe, which took quite some time to prepare, so she was to get it in the morning to cook everything till dinner. Alex was awarded by “what a fine young… stallion” words of her, which made both sisters giggle and even Big Mac snorted quite audibly.

And Alex’s nights were often blessed by visits of his incredible princess, Luna never could bear more than a couple of days without him, thus their meetings became regular. So did their dancing lessons. Alex praised the simple fact that they with Fluttershy lived at far outskirts of the town, so, nopony could spot them with Luna, dancing in the moonlight. He chuckled each time at the mental image of somepony thinking they saw a couple of ghosts in the night veiled field.

Alex could assume that almost everything settled fine during his first few conscious free-roaming days in Ponyville. Everything, except three problems of different severity and nature.

The first and the biggest was his thoughts about returning home and progressively thinning chance to do that; they usually stood back, expelled by work or engineering (he had a large stack of paper, covered in drafts, “blueprints” and calculations, and smiled mysteriously, telling that it was a surprise, when Fluttershy asked, what was in them) or his time together with Fluttershy, but always returned, when Alex had a few free moments to himself. Accompanied by the insecurity regarding the feelings, he could leave a few ponies in upon his departure, they became almost unbearable; Alex tried to leave himself less unoccupied time possible. The nightly visits of princess Luna helped immensely, he could completely dissolve in her embrace, simply listening to her heart and not letting sad thoughts come through. They didn’t talk about his possible departure, but Alex felt that Luna was concerned hardly less, than himself: she snuggled into him and kissed so hard each time before leaving, like if it was their last one.

Another problem could be considered funny, if it wasn’t merely uncomfortable: Rainbow Dash found the idea of morning showers quite beneficial for Alex, besides, she never troubled herself with checking the temperature of the water in the cloud, so it was pure lottery; Alex started wondering if she secretly had some hardening program for him. Fortunately, Rainbow adored a good nap even more than a good prank, so her shenanigans could be easily avoided by sneaking along the road to the market earlier. But not very early, not to make Fluttershy protest the morning… deprival.

The third issue was purely cosmetic, if we can call it that way – Alex noticed that his hair grew too long to become a certain trouble. Shaving the stubble wasn’t a problem, but Alex could never cut his own hair properly and decently. One day he was to let out one more deep sigh and admit that visiting Rarity (as he knew nopony else, who could help him with the haircut) was imminent, before his hair started to obscure his view, hindering the work.

Alex had a talk with both of his market clients to find the evening, when they didn’t need his help much, and when the stipulated day came, he headed to the south end of the town right after his station shift and taking a shower. Carousel Boutique was his aim and Alex was to admit that he found racing the manticore a bit less unnerving. The time was chosen not randomly at all, Alex extended his hope to see Sweetie Belle at home at this hour, thus her older sister supposedly should keep herself in hooves better… well, not pouncing him right at first sight at least.

When he reached the “chic, unique and magnifique” round building and stepped on the paved walkway across the front garden, he noticed the unusual silence, interrupted by Rarity’s sewing machine clacking only. Alex smiled – Rarity was busy with some work as usual (when not having her relaxing SPA treatment), and sighed – when Belle was at home, she produced more noise. He grasped himself and knocked at the front door. The sound of sewing machine stopped, Alex accurately knocked once more.

“Just a minute,” he heard the familiar “faceted glass”-like voice inside the house. “I’m coming.”

The door opened, revealing Rarity in all the glory of her pristine white coat and perfectly stylized violet mane and tail. She managed to take off her glasses, she used for stitching, but a meter band still hung on her neck and a pencil was casually placed behind her ear. Nevertheless, she kept the noble, almost regal look, easily; the image of her visitor made her noticeably relax, yet Alex spotted a couple of self-explanatory sparkles in her eyes.

“Oh, good evening, Ahhlex!” Rarity breathed out with a benevolent smile, batting her long eyelashes.

“Good evening, Rarity,” Alex couldn’t hold back the sincere smile, caused by her regal expression and the sewing tools combined.

“Ahem…” Rarity followed his glance and her nose become slightly pinkish, she made the pencil and meter fly back in her workroom with her magic. She didn’t hesitate much though and opened the door wider. “Come on in, darling. What is bothering you? Maybe I can offer my help…”

Alex followed Rarity in the living room and the salon at the same time, the dresses were presented along the walls and the thick curtains shielded the entrance to a couple of dressing cabins. He told himself that the curve, Rarity’s flanks followed, was hardly unintentional, and strained inwardly. Rarity welcomed him to take an armchair at the round table with a wide gesture, placing herself into the opposite one and crossing her legs in the most seducing for a pony way. A part of Alex’s mind was smiling at the obvious symptoms, another was preparing for any wild consequences.

“So?” Rarity placed her chin on her hoof, leaning on the table and staying the epitome of grace simultaneously. She tilted her head and batted her eyelashes, glancing at Alex from under them.

“Well… To cut things short, excuse my pun,” smirked Alex. “I had a long growing problem, Rarity – my hair. It’s a matter of days they start interfering with my eyesight severely, preventing me from doing my work… Not to mention that it’s getting too hot under that… mane.”

Instead of an answer Rarity got up and approached Alex, she examined his head from different angles, then raised on her hind legs behind his armchair and put her fore hooves on his shoulders. With a quiet sigh she nuzzled his hair, Alex inwardly praised the shower, he took after the whole day of hard work, then she rubbed her cheek against his head.

“Sweet Celestia!” Rarity finally voiced her thoughts. “You are blessed with such strong and good hair. It’s a crime to cut them short, if you ask me, darling.”

“I can’t walk around with a braid or… pony tail,” Alex rolled his eyes. “I’m already almost blowing the bangs like Fluttershy, when my hands are busy. But I can’t cut them myself not becoming a scarecrow instantly. From all the ponies I know, from all my friends, you are the only one, Rarity, who can do it properly, I suppose.”

“Right you are, Ahhlex!” Rarity cocked her head proudly and Alex realized that he played the right string. “But still, darling, it would be such a waste…”

After a short arguments exchange Rarity gave up, asking what Alex actually wanted to be done with his haircut.

“I suppose you are higher than simply asking for “cut-it-somehow” version, darling,” she murmured, ogling him. “You could probably draw, what you need.”

“Unfortunately, drawing is not one of my virtues,” sighed Alex. “You know, Rarity, there is a list of things, I’m a total loser and avoid scaring others by my attempts at. So, drawing is somewhere within… along with the ability to cut my own hair decently. I can only try to explain.”

He spent a few minutes more, telling and showing Rarity with his hands, how he needed his hair to be cut – very short at the back of the head and behind the ears, slightly longer at the top and front, but short enough to be able to lay without extra help.

“Well, that’s as thorough and detailed as I understand it and can explain without any experience,” Alex shrugged, then smiled. “You are certainly free to make the rest fashionable enough. But not too fashionable,” he winked. “Just remember that’s me, not princess Cadence.”

Rarity huffed, but she wasn’t offended a zilch, she nodded instead.

“Come with me, Ahlex, I have the suitable mirror and armchair in my workroom.”

But first they headed to the kitchen, where Alex made his hair damp under the tap above the deep sink. When he turned on the water, the pipes under the sink made a nasty screeching sound, Rarity frowned a little.

“They are that way for quite a while, darling,” she told him in an apologetic tone. “It’s fine when the water is running, but when you turn it on… you heard that.”

Alex weighed the idea to check the pipes for Rarity, he still was unsure, if staying with her tete-a-tete longer than necessary was safe enough.

“It’s very quiet in the house otherwise,” he mentioned instead. “I thought Sweetie Belle must have been at home that late.”

“Oh, she ran away to her club mates, they have some meeting about their cutie marks hunt,” Rarity laughed heartily.

“So we are all alone here,” she added with a sly smile, seating him in the armchair in front of a big mirror and covering from the neck down with a sheet. “Purely adult swim…”

Alex didn’t reply, he found it not prudent to interrupt somepony with scissors and cutting his hair, even if holding them with magic. Especially holding them with magic, he wanted his ears as… well, ears, not a distant memory. Besides, he noticed Rarity getting more and more heated, as she stayed around him. She approached him from one side, then another, snuggling into him, when it was possible, on the pretext of checking, how he looked in the mirror. He could feel the faster heartbeat and caught her glance almost undressing him, now it was up to him, getting out in the most diplomatic way.

Finally, Rarity was done with fine trimming and apparently satisfied with the result. She brushed the cut hair off Alex and took the sheet away, welcoming him to check the haircut in the mirror.

“I hope it’s close enough to what you wanted,” she looked at him from under her eyelashes.

“You’re joking, right?! That’s exactly what I wanted,” exclaimed Alex, examining himself from different sides. “Rarity, you’re a star, I can’t thank you enough. It’s classy… exceeds my expectations by far. I hope I didn’t interfere with your main work… too much.”

“That’s okay, darling,” Rarity stepped closer. “A nice activity change, when it was needed, and a break from my stitching work.”

“And a nice company,” added she with widening eyes, taking another step to him; Alex noticed the same sparkles in her eyes. “Just what I…”

A loud bang from the kitchen interrupted her, followed by repetitive thumping noise. Both Alex and Rarity burst there to be greeted with an image of a water pool quickly spreading from under the sink.

“The water pipe got loose,” Alex grabbed bewildered Rarity by shoulders to bring her to action. “Rarity, come on, where are the valves?!”

“The v-valves?” re-asked Rarity with widened eyes, but the image of Alex’s eyes at a couple inches distance seemed to wake her.

“Yeah, the valves, to cut the water,” Alex forcedly smiled in the most cheerful way, Rarity easily lost her head about simplest living troubles. “I need to cut the water, before your kitchen turns into a swimming pool.”

“Oh!” Rarity cleared her throat. “They are in the basement.”

She quickly trotted out of the kitchen and Alex followed her on the stairs behind the hatch. They quickly found the water mains’ entrance and the valves in the soft light of Rarity’s horn. Alex noticed that the whole place was kept in order, Rarity was faithful to her principles, but the plumbing certainly needed man’s hands; when he tried to close the valve, he was to put all his strength to turn them, as they got stuck pretty tough. The muscles on his arms popped like ropes and he noticed out of the corner of his eye, how Rarity watched him passionately. Finally, the water was cut and they got back to the accident site – the kitchen.

‘I’m getting wet again!’ thought Alex, kneeling and opening the cupboard under the sink to estimate the damage, fortunately it was clean water from the mains. ‘It’s getting routinely annoying.’

Rarity brought the lamp and Alex could measure the broken pipe – the hose from the mains to the tap got loose from its nut and the thumping noise, they heard, was the water coming out. There was quite a pool of it already, thankfully the floor was made of stone in her kitchen and to her honour Rarity didn’t drop a word about wading in the cold water.

“I hope the general store is still open,” Alex got up, noticing his pants got all wet from the knees down. “I’ll be back shortly. By the way, do you have a wrench, preferably adjustable one? I can attach the hose with bare hands tight enough, but it’ll better be screwed properly,” he added almost from the front door.

“I-I think, I saw it somewhere… I’ll t-try to find…” said Rarity, standing in the kitchen doorway, she was still in slight shock by the accident.

Chased by the setting Sun Alex thought that this race could easily beat the manticore one, when he jet-ran through Ponyville to the general store, followed by amused glances of a few fillies and stallions, and some disapproving by a few elderly mares. Fortunately, the seller understood him from the first word and after a few moments and spent bits (he bought an adjustable wrench as well, just in case) Alex “flew” back, passing the same ponyvillers once again, causing surprised glances this time.

To his surprise Rarity managed to clean up all the mess, while he was getting the necessary tools, moreover, an old wrench waited for him on the floor near the sink.

“You thought that such a girl like me must have no idea about the tools, confess, Alex?” Rarity pouted slightly, but made it so cutely that Alex laughed kindly.

“Well, maybe just a single thought. Sorry, Rarity,” he took the lamp and opened the cupboard again, pondering, how to reach the pipes in a more handy way. “Frankly speaking, I took it just in case. Besides, now I can hold the pipe in place with one and drive the nuts with another – twice effective.”

But Rarity didn’t plan to pout too long: when Alex got under the kitchen sink, laying on his back, as it was the best way to keep both hands ready for work, she placed herself at the kitchen table and put her chin on her hoof, watching him fixedly. Alex started unscrewing the old hose, throwing quick glances at Rarity and forcedly admitting that the whole scene reminded him more and more of a certain adult movie, involving a housewife and a plumber. Facepalming inwardly and shooing the idea away, Alex put more effort into the pipework and pressed the handle with a groan, so, finally the old nut gave up.

“Need some help, darling?” Alex noticed that Rarity already placed herself next to him and lit her horn. That made the scene lit twice better and Alex was to confess that it helped, but at the same time the proximity of her warm body was distracting him, nopony knew, what was up Rarity’s mind at that moment.

“Tis fine! Dost not worry,” Alex detached the hose and quickly tilted his head as a few drops of water came out of the pipe just to the spot, his face was a second ago. “Almost thither…”

Rarity let out a deep, and to be honest quite excited sigh, and apparently noticed nothing. Alex fitted the new hose and tightened both nuts to hold in place as long as possible, while Rarity watched him with deepening breath, he almost felt electricity coming from her.

“So…” started Alex making the final turn of the wrench, suddenly he felt gentle hoof traveling up his leg. Apparently, this caught him entirely off guard and with a gasp Alex raised on his elbows fast enough… for his head to meet the metal bottom of the sink with an audible boom. A flock of colourful birds fluttered in front of his eyes and Alex fell down, entering a well deserved for that reckless move black out.

When he regained his consciousness, Alex lied a few moments still, finding something wet on his forehead, something soft under his head and… something warm and alive on his chest. Alex slowly opened his eyes, focusing on Rarity’s eyes in a couple of inches.

‘Well, whom could I expect?’ blinked in his head.

Somehow she managed to drag him a little from under the sink and to the middle of the kitchen (quite an achievement for a pony unable to use magic on him), put a pillow under his head and the wet thing on his forehead was a towel, placed over his almost an egg size bump to cool it down. Rarity lay on his chest with a mixed expression of lust and fear for his condition, she watched his face for the signs of waking up all that time, but her hooves unconsciously stroked him. She threw a quick glance down, her lips were at the hair distance from his.

Not waiting for the continuation that was too obvious Alex cleared his throat.

“Ugh-oh!” His head was still spinning slightly, but he quickly examined himself mentally: fine, except the bump, and the main thing – his clothes were entirely in place, he was unconscious for a couple of minutes most likely.

“Thanks for placing me more comfortably,” muttered he, raising his hand and rubbing his face, thus naturally making Rarity back up a little to give him space.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, darling!” breathed out Rarity, still holding him in her grasp; she might move a little, but still was nesting cosily on him. “You’ve made me so scared, Ahlex…”

“That’s entirely my fault,” chuckled Alex, then squinted, the vibration made his head spin a little more. “Should be more cautious. I’ll be fine… in a while.”

“You definitely must lay still, darling! And I’ll be here in case you need something,” Rarity started advancing again as soon as he removed the hand. Alex felt, how her heated body trembled slightly, as her eyes and lips were approaching his.

The salvation came in form of the sound of the opening front door, apparently, the fillies had all their questions discussed and further adventures planned, so the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ meeting came to an end.

“I’m home, sis!” shouted Sweetie Belle from the door. “Rarity?!”

Then apparently she saw the light, coming from the kitchen, and a series of quick hoofsteps brought Rarity’s younger sister to the doorway, before anypony could move.

“Errmmm…”

“Good evening, darling!” Rarity rushed to explain, but her pinkish cheeks were quite eloquent. “We had a terrible disaster here – a water pipe got loose and a flood was inevitable,” she rolled her eyes dramatically, getting up from Alex’s chest and allowing him to sit finally, holding the wet towel on his head. “Thank Celestia, Alex came earlier for a haircut, so, he was here, when it happened. He practically saved the place and fixed the pipe, but then accidentally hit his head on the sink… I-I was checking, if he w-was getting better…”

“I see,” Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow, the memory of certain “stitching drafts” was too fresh and she was to admit that one of them reminded the scene close enough.

“Are you okay, Alex?” she came closer and looked into Alex’s eyes, her expression was sympathetic and understanding though, it seemed she understood the whole scene right.

“You must be hungry, give me a few minutes,” Rarity fussed around the kitchen, trying to change the accent.

“I’m fine,” Alex took off the towel and handed it to the filly with a smile. “Thanks to your sister, she did everything fast to remedy my mishap, and the bump is way smaller, than it could be, if not treated in time,” he felt his head with his fingers.

“Thank you,” he leaned closer and whispered in Sweetie Belle’s ear, when Rarity was busy. The filly simply nodded, understanding what Alex meant under that.

“Okay, girls, let’s try turning the water on,” Alex slowly got up, feeling that at least that wasn’t a concussion – his head stopped spinning and there were no noticeable aftereffects. He headed to the basement with Rarity following close, she generously provided the light, while Alex was turning the valve counterclockwise; this time it went much easier. Alex raised his voice to be heard out of the basement. “How’s it going, Sweetie Belle?”

“The water is going from the tap,” her head appeared in the basement hatch. “But not from anywhere else, it’s not supposed to… So, I guess, it’s fine!”

“Well… I’ll better go… home,” Alex let Rarity come first, then got out of the basement as well. “Before Fluttershy sends the rescue party after me. Oh… How much…”

“No, no, no!” Rarity quickly turned to him. “I wouldn’t take any bits from you for a simple haircut. Besides, you saved me from all… this,” she took a look at the kitchen door, rolling her eyes the most dramatic way again. “Are you sure, you can walk all the way to Flutters’?”

“I’ll do my best,” smirked Alex, kneeling to Sweetie Belle and stroking her mane, he winked at her, getting a smile in response. Then Alex got up to be enclosed in a hug by Rarity, who raised on her hind legs to give him one of her best “big kitten” looks, and kissed her on the nose lightly, making her blush and squint.

Both sisters walked him to the front door to make sure he wasn’t staggering, Sweetie Belle wanted to be sure Rarity wouldn’t throw any other trick as well. Alex managed to hear the loud huff of the filly, before the door closed, and giggled, imagining that Sweetie Belle would definitely comment the situation. The rest of his road to Fluttershy’s Cottage went without any “adventures”, despite the falling darkness.

“Oh, thank Celestia, you finally came…” Fluttershy even soared in the air from the armchair, she was apparently waiting for him quite for a while, worrying much already. “You have never come that late! Is everything okay?” she fluttered to him.

“I’m okay, Shy, calm down,” Alex caught her in his arms and she wrapped her legs and wings around him. “I visited Rarity for a long wanted haircut, a water pipe got broken in her kitchen, so I fixed it for her. Then… then she almost cornered me, well, you know… Thankfully, Sweetie Belle came home right in time and… that’s all. I was able to get home as well.”

“Well…” Fluttershy leaned back a little and examined him. “Quite a classy haircut, a bit of waste of your hair though… but I guess you aren’t going to sport a full-size mane,” she said with a chuckle. “And Rarity… is Rarity,” apparently she was quite confident, the latter wasn’t a competition for her.

“And what’s this, if I may ask?” his caring pegasus girl spotted the big bump on his head and examined it closely. “I think you’re not telling me everything,” she squinted at Alex jokingly, but her tone was serious enough.

“I accidentally hit the bottom of the sink while fixing the stuff,” Alex shrugged, rubbing the bump lightly. “And got unconscious for a couple of minutes. It’s exactly when Rarity almost cornered me, but first she managed to place me with comfort and put a cold towel on my head. Then her sister returned and prevented Rarity from anything, she was going to try.”

“Seriously, I’m fine already,” repeated he, seeing the concern in Fluttershy’s eyes. “We can hardly do anything else.”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy frowned. “I at least could provide some cold for your bump as well.”

“It’ll hardly help now,” Alex stroked her mane. “But thanks anyway.”

“Well, I know another medicine,” she giggled. “Will serve you as a painkiller,” said Fluttershy covering his lips by her own.

“By the way, you’ve got a letter,” mentioned she after a few minutes of their lips being tightly connected.

“Me?” wondered Alex, thinking that this letter wasn’t smelling of lavender most likely, as Fluttershy mentioned it quite casually.

“It must be from princess Celestia,” answered Fluttershy, nuzzling his cheek. “I’m not getting letters smelling of roses on regular basis,” she giggled.

“Okay, let us see,” Alex reached the armchair and sat down, holding Fluttershy on his lap. He unrolled the small scroll, fragrant of faint roses smell indeed.

“Dear Alex…”

Alex involuntarily chuckled again and Fluttershy joined him, when she saw the reason for his fun.

“Dear Alex

Remembering our last talk I want to inform you that aforementioned unicorn is being transferred to Canterlot and will arrive at the medical facility of the castle at Friday night or Saturday morning, in case of any complications. Thus you can visit him on Saturday, if time matters for you. Needless to say that all necessary precautions are to be taken, as we don’t know how adequate (or not) the subject is.

Your (for the time being) Sun Monarch,

Princess Celestia

P.S.: If by any chance you want to take somepony involved with you, simply ensure that you both know well, what are you stepping into. Otherwise, you are free to have a reasonable company of those, you can trust and expect help from.”

Alex marveled once more at the foresight of princess Celestia, who worded her letter neutrally enough, obviously understanding that it could reach some third-party eyes, and leaving him the freedom to interpret it the desired way to others. Besides, she kept in mind the probability of him taking somepony (read Fluttershy) as the company and freed him from the additional task of asking her for permission, while it was possible.

“What unicorn is she talking about?” asked Fluttershy, looking at Alex wonderingly. “And why do you need to see him that urgently?”

“Celestia told me about the victim of one extremely strange accident, when I was in the Canterlot castle,” Alex answered evasively, he wanted to keep Fluttershy safe and far from everything involving Seekers. “I extend mine hope to think ‘t can help me solving mine problems,” he scolded himself for another slip, but the words already left his mouth.

Fluttershy’s ears flattened and her eyes dimmed, not because of the language, but because she understood perfectly, what he meant under “problems”.

“Can I go with you, Alex?” she asked quietly. ‘As your time may be approaching…’ she thought, but didn’t say that.

“Of course, Shy!” Alex held her tight, stroking her mane; the scroll fell down on the floor from his hand. “I’ll stop by Twilight tomorrow and write an answer to the princess, notifying her about you coming with me.” He found her eyes and kissed Fluttershy gently, making her cheer up a bit and give out a small smile. “Come on, I’m not leaving to anywhere in the nearest future…”

“I hope so,” Fluttershy snuggled into him with a happy sigh. “Hey, are you hungry? I’ve made an apple pie.”

“I’m that hungry, I could eat an elephant,” huffed Alex. “Well, figuratively,” he amended under her surprised glance. “But an apple-pie will fit as well.”

Friday came subtly, or, better say, it went unnoticeably till sunrise, when after a couple of hours it became obvious, that day would easily be the hottest day of that summer. Alex managed to get to the railway station without any problems, as it wasn’t too hot early in the morning. It was bearable in the cool twilight of the storage hangars as well, even if he was to move usual heavy loads. But when Alex was to get from under the roof, the sweat started running down him in streams after a few minutes outside, so, he felt like in the hot sauna at the very least… if not causing Celestia’s wrath upon himself.

The freight yard smelled of heated metal of roofs and rivets, wooden planks gave out tar in the scorching heat and the pathways added dust to that mix. No wind touched the boiling pot, which Ponyville with its surroundings turned into. All the animals and birds found their cover and even Everfree froze still as an enormous slab of malachite, placed on Equestria land. All the ponies looked for cover at the noon, any trading attempts were futile and the market square was deserted.

Alex wondered, if the weather pegasi decided to play some nasty trick on the others (which he knew was impossible) or planned an “Italian” strike. Perhaps it was Applejack’s special request to give fructifying cucumbers on the fields some boost after a few preceding rains; still, Alex thought that they could at least keep some clouds above Ponyville and one big above the station specifically. He envied the girls a little: Alex stopped by the Oak Library in the morning to write princess Celestia an answer and tell that he was going to come with Fluttershy (he asked the princess specifically not to discuss all the details about the Seekers in Fluttershy’s presence), when Twilight told him that they planned to spend the hottest hours at the lake, under the blessing shadow of a tree or a beach tent. Alex knew that even Rarity, who didn’t like the deep water, wouldn’t refuse to take a swim that day. But he was to deal with the goods and storage as usual, if he wanted to bring to life his ambitious plans. The sudden thought that he could leave behind something valuable, instead of suspicions and troubles, upon leaving Equestria, was heartwarming and Alex let out a tired smile and kept working.

This evening came, like the long wanted deliverance; as the market wasn’t working that day, Alex stayed at the station later than usual. He managed to do more work and, to be frank, was able to hide from the raging Sun as long as it was possible. It was still high enough in the sky, when he finally finished his shift and was going home; Alex lingered in the shower longer than usual, stayed under the almost cold water, realizing that it would take quite a while, before he could cool down himself properly again.

The Sun wasn’t as merciless, when Alex finally hit the road, but he was to admit, he went twice slower than usual, feeling himself like perhaps a lemon did, after a good portion of lemonade was made out of it. When the feeling of sandpaper in his throat became unbearable, Alex decided to stop by the “Bouncing Barrels” bar on his way home: a good portion of apple cider and some cover were exactly what his tired self needed.

Frankly speaking, he didn’t visit places like that in Equestria before, so there was a lion’s share of pure naturalist’s curiosity, Twilight could understand, in his motion – it was interesting, how a bar looked in ponies’ interpretation, especially considering that strong alcohol wasn’t something favoured by the majority.

A squeaky door opened, letting him inside the dimly lit large room, which didn’t look much different from any earth counterpart according to his fluent glance. The main part of it was occupied by the tables, taken by the couples and companies at that time of the day. There was a free space between the “tables zone” and the counter with high chairs at the far wall of the room, a fairly small stage – in the far left corner, empty at the moment, but undoubtedly used for some live music, when special occasions demanded. A couple of billiard tables to the right finished the ensemble and provided the willing with an opportunity to spend their free time more actively; a few young stallions lazily sent the balls rolling, taunting each other. A quiet calm music filled the scene and Alex guessed that it was the techno-magical Radio Equestria.

Generally, the bar looked much more reserved, than any alike on Earth: the ponies enjoyed their drinks and snacks, talked in half tone and simply saved themselves from the outside heat. There were no annoying tingling slot machines, ear-splitting music or extremely loud customers, let alone some drunk troublemakers, unless the company of grumpy looking unshaven stallions at the table in the corner could potentially stir the trouble. They looked like some construction site workers, a couple of younger ones and a few mid-aged, Alex never saw any of them at the market or station, so he decided that they must have been some builders indeed.

Alex remembered that he was technically a loader himself, looking perhaps the same way after a hard day; he shrugged and stepped over the doorstep with a light smile, slightly ducking under the barrel hanging above the doorway and heading to the counter, gathering surprised, interested and disapproving glances in equal amounts, as usual. Despite he wasn’t a total stranger for the majority by that moment, it seemed that the ponies didn’t expect the human to appear here all alone, without any company. The talks muted for a moment, but Alex wasn’t going to pay much attention to the herd and the usual hum continued after a short pause.

“Evening!” Alex nodded to the approaching bartender, placing himself on the high chair at the counter.

“Hey, it’s always nice to see a new face here,” the bartender greeted him with a social smile. “Good evening! What’s your choice?” Apparently, he preferred to stick to polite and business beneficial neutrality, regardless of what he thought.

“A pint of cider, please,” Alex returned the smile then added. “It’s hot as hell… errmmm… Tartarus today!”

“It really is,” the stallion turned to take a mug and fill it with cider from one of the barrels behind the counter, he dropped over the shoulder with a smirk. “But it’s darn good for the business, right?”

Alex chuckled in agreeing manner. The bartender returned with his cider and a carton mug stand, placing them on the counter in front of Alex.

“Thanks,” Alex raised the mug, the first gulp brought serenity to his sore throat. Suddenly the bartender strained, Alex noticed over the edge of his mug, how his muzzle gloomed, while the stallion was looking at something behind Alex.

Alex lowered his mug and ever so slightly turned his head to see from the corner of his eye a couple of stallions – the supposed builders – coming from their table. One was a young colt, another was fairly older, a middle-aged pony; Alex remembered that a few of disapproving glances were coming exactly from their company.

“Hey!” the colt started deliberately loud, when both came closer; Alex enjoyed his cider, while keeping them in his field of view. “I don’t come here to be drinking with… apes! Right?” he turned to his partner.

“Yeah,” spat the older one with a wry grin. It was so obvious, what they wanted to achieve, that Alex inwardly rolled his eyes.

‘Sometimes ponies and people are all the same indeed!’

“Well,” Alex made another slow sip, then accurately placed his mug on the counter. “There is only one bar nearby. So, as I’m forced to drink with horses,” he winked to the bartender slightly. “You can stomp your pride and drink with apes likewise!”

“What did you say?” both stallions came closer. When on their hind legs, ponies were just a bit shorter than him, besides, these stallions were naturally bulky, working hard all days long. Thus, considering the hooves, those two could provide some serious problem.

“Got cement in your fluffy ears, eh?” Alex took the mug in his right hand, taking another lazy sip. “Unfortunately I can’t recommend a suitable medic…”

“You!..” the younger stallion raised on the hind legs, putting his fore legs on the counter and overhanging Alex’s shoulder.

Nopony could hear, what he was going to say. Alex’s left elbow was still resting on the counter, but the back of his fist made a ninety-degree swing and met the bully’s muzzle with a sharp, hard, shocking punch. The stallion froze in the air for a fraction of second, then collapsed to the floor in his black out.

The following events happen that fast, so nopony could clearly see them. The older stallion appeared to be a lefty, thus, despite the unhandy position, managed to perform a strike, Alex unfortunately missed. Alex felt like meeting a fast closing door, when a hard hoof smashed into his left cheekbone, throwing him to the floor from the bar chair. He rolled and jumped to his legs, shaking his head. His cheek was quickly poured with heat, and the metal taste in the mouth was self-explanatory, yet a quick examination with his tongue told Alex that all the teeth were on their native places.

When he focused on his foe, Alex realized that the bully didn’t waste time: there was a thick glass bottle in his hoof already.

“Hey! Stop that bucking…” the bartender reached under the counter, most likely for some ponderable argument, but a short whistle from behind Alex’s back made everypony freeze.

Alex threw a quick glance over his shoulder to spot the billiard cue, which one of the playing stallions tossed him. Catching it in the air Alex turned to the older bully with an unkind grin, it was time to put his historical reconstruction practice to good use.

The cue hissed like a snake, cutting the air, while being spun by Alex around himself on a wide trajectory. He threw it from one hand to another, raising above his head; when his foe tried to estimate the direction of the hit, the cue lowered, making another full circle, and its end reached the bottle in his left hoof, smashing it into a load of useless splinters.

Not giving the bully any chance to realize the situation, the cue retracted, then Alex made a quick step forward, squatted, making another full circle with the cue and catching his enemy under his knees. The builder lost his balance and crashed down flat on his back with a thud, kicking the rest of the air from his lungs. With a lightning speed Alex got close and leaned over the defeated enemy, denoting, but not applying with the cue the lethal strike into his throat. The stallion, knocked out by the fall, weakly moved on the floor, trying to focus his eyesight; nopony rushed to help him.

The first one woke up from his blackout already and attempted to get up, but the legs didn’t serve him well enough yet, he knocked a couple of chairs to the floor, while twitching. Alex approached him, putting the cue in the left hand… He handed the colt his right hand and, after a moment of hesitation, the latter accepted the help, so Alex could raise him on his legs. He held the colt by his shoulder for a moment longer, giving his legs time to stop shaking.

“Apes don’t do this!” slowly and meaningfully stated Alex, looking into his opponent’s eyes, when they regained focus.

“Hey,” a heavy hoof lay on Alex’s shoulder and Alex regretted that the cue was in his left hand, he turned a little, getting ready to duck and strike from his right, but then spotted Big Mac’s smiling muzzle behind.

“Hey!” repeated Applejack’s older brother. “Cool down, big guy…” It was quite a long tirade for him, but apparently, it wasn’t the limit.

“It’s not like the others want to join the fun, right?” Big Mac patted Alex’s back, nodding to the rest of the builders, who humbly took their beaten mates back to their table.

The silence was torn by a few whistles and cheerful whoops from behind, Alex smirked, feeling his bruise, and threw the cue back to the stallion, who lent him his game accessory.

“Mine gratitude!” Alex caught a few interested glances of present mares.

Big Mac was really bigger, than any pony around, as Alex could notice, besides, he had an evident authority in Ponyville, so the incident died down immediately. Besides, Alex didn’t break anything, except an empty bottle, so, considering the builders started the quarrel, he was on the safe side.

McIntosh nodded towards the counter, then leaned closer to Alex’s ear, saying in half tone:

“Ponyville is a small town. You see, things going not so smooth at the building site, so they come here and drown their problems… or try to compensate by looking for some fight. Newcomers are always the preferable pray. Not your case though, right?” he chuckled.

They sat at the counter, defiantly turning their backs to the public.

“Need some ice?” the smile of the bartender was now sincere, apparently those stallions managed to get on his nerves before.

“I guess, I can live with it, as it is,” Alex touched his cheek, the swelling vanished already, as his regeneration took over; the colour effects were going to be visible for a few days more likely – no regeneration can remove the blood, shot out already. “Thanks anyway.”

“Okay,” the bartender shrugged and turned to Big Mac. “As usual?”

“Eeyup,” smirked the latter, reaching for his portion of apple cider. Apparently, the long sentences were not needed anymore.

“See, Flutter-nutter-butter, here he goes,” Pinkie smiled widely, placing her hoof on Fluttershy’s, when both girls heard the sound of the front door opening. “You’ve worried for nothing.”

“He is coming late the second time in the row, Pinkie,” Fluttershy tried to hold the small crocodile and tape up his tail simultaneously. “I wonder what troubles did Alex manage to get into today? Sit still, Gummy! You like putting your tail in the doorways, then you should like it being bandaged as well.”

Alex heard two voices talking as soon as he opened the door and entered, but he couldn’t tell right away who visited them with Fluttershy and inwardly prayed for them not to be Rarity – he couldn’t bear two evenings of her shenanigans one by one. He had nothing against Ra-ra personally, but what if she started making a pass at him again. Pinkie’s lush mane of the self-titled colour, appearing in the kitchen doorway, dispelled his concerns and Alex greeted the earth pony with a wide smile, preparing for a usual bear hug. Which obviously shortly followed.

“Well… here… we… are!” heard Alex satisfied Fluttershy’s exclamation from behind Pinkie’s back, when she finally placed the last tape and fixed it on Gummy’s tail. “And don’t put your tail in the closing doors anymore, okay?”

Fluttershy entered the living room, carrying the crocodile, and handed him to Pinkie.

“Why are you so late again,” quietly complained she, raising on her hind legs and wrapping her fore legs around Alex to bring him closer and kiss. “You know I’m worried much every time. You still don’t know the place, as well as the local ponies, and…”

Fluttershy stumbled mid-phrase, she stepped back and examined Alex’s face; Pinkie noticed the new “decoration” as well.

“A-and what is th-this?” apparently she was fairly shocked by the look of a fresh hoof shaped “blueprint” on Alex’s cheekbone. “Alex! You really… got in some t-trouble… How by Celestia’s…”

“Celestia definitely has nothing to do with it,” smirked Alex, running his fingers through Fluttershy’s mane and bringing her closer again, while Pinkie Pie quietly snorted behind. “Actually, there was nothing too interesting for an extended telling.”

“But...” Fluttershy’s eyes filled with tears, when she examined his bruise, ever so gently touching it with her small hoof. “Alex, Alex! Does it still hurt?”

“Not much, dear,” Alex kissed her on the nose at the same time tenderly wiping her tears. “Well, I worked my… backside out all day long… all hot day long, I must say. So I decided to have a refreshment and hit the bar at the south end of the town. How is it called?”

““Bouncing Barrels”,” hinted Pinkie. “One block down from Sugarcube Corner.”

“Yeah, so… I just got in and ordered some cider, when those two builders approached,” Alex continued, holding Fluttershy in his embrace. “There were actually more of them, but those two exactly thought, perhaps, that their evening lacked something.”

Fluttershy shuddered and Alex stroked her head lightly, feeling her warm wings enclosing him in addition to her legs.

“One said that he didn’t want to drink with apes!” Fluttershy gasped and Pinkie huffed disapprovingly upon that part and Alex chuckled a bit guiltily. “I told them that as I was to drink with horses… Sorry girls!”

“And what’s wrong?” Pinkie was genuinely wondering. “If you called a pony… well, a pony or horse. Technically, that’s a promotion in strength and size,” Pinkie giggled and even Fluttershy gave out a tiny smile, her eyes dried. “But I believe there is a certain difference between an ape and a human. Just like between a pegasus and… a certain L-word!”

“Okay… I told them that as I was to drink with horses, they could shut and drink with apes likewise,” Alex shrugged. “This apparently rubbed them the wrong way, so, the first guy tried to intimidate me and I hit him right in the jaw, instantly knocking down. But I have nothing to brag about – totally missed the second stallion’s strike, thus here is the bruise.”

“And?” Fluttershy looked up at him with questioning expression.

“Fell down, got up,” dutifully reported Alex, keeping the poker face. “Caught the billiard cue, kindly thrown to me by a fine stallion – a few played billiard there. My “enemy” already got a bottle somewhere.”

“Ouch!” Pinkie was a bit surprised by such a manifestation of sudden hostility in their quiet town and Fluttershy snuggled tighter to Alex’s chest.

“I was to remember my historical reconstruction fighting practice and first smashed the bottle, then knocked him to the floor and… well, showed that I was to be taken seriously. And that’s practically it,” Alex automatically stroked Fluttershy’s back while talking. “Then Big Mac appeared and we had a couple of drinks together. By the way, Shy, I came earlier today, than on Tuesday.”

“Aha,” Fluttershy looked at him fixedly. “I’ve told Pinkie about Rarity’s plumbing mishap already.”

‘But not about her attempts to use it to her advantage,’ said she with her eyes only, Alex returned her a loving smile.

“But you managed to get hurt twice in a few days, not at your work, mind that,” Fluttershy wasn’t going to give her positions easily.

“Come on,” Alex huffed loudly. “I heal like an… alicorn anyway.”

Pinkie snorted, then started shaking, stifling the laughter, and in a second they three laughed like mad.

“Okay, guys,” Pinkie wiped the tears and put Gummy, who looked at them puzzledly all that time, on her back. “You need some time for yourself and Auntie Pinkie needs to go home,” she made a face. “Have fun and… avoid traumas.”

Fluttershy blushed instantly and, frankly speaking, Alex was sure, he did likewise.

“Jokes aside, I seriously think that you need to be more careful, Alex!” Fluttershy looked into his eyes, after they walked Pinkie to the door, reconsidered of the late supper, took the shower and were slowly drifting to sleep after a long and tiresome day. “What about becoming more far-sighted and calculating, dear?”

‘And stopping being myself?’ wondered Alex, nesting better and hugging Fluttershy. “Look, Shy, I don’t search for troubles, troubles tend to find me lately – just about since my arrival here,” said Alex with a sad smile. “It’s not like it was another way first, then suddenly changed.”

“Besides, I want to be extremely sincere with you, Shy,” he added jokingly. “I need you – Fluttershy – as the marefriend, not as the second mother.”

“Hmpf…” huffed Fluttershy, raising one eyebrow. In a second she attacked him, tickling mercilessly. “Stop teasing me! You magic-resistant troublemaker, you…”

“Okay, okay, I give up,” Alex got tired of laughing hard, despite deep inside he was sure that his remark was fairly serious. “Better tell me about your day.”

“I was definitely less adventure-rich than yours,” Fluttershy kissed him, then nested on his chest, closing her eyes.

Alex touched her mane lightly, inhaling the incredible flower-honey aroma and listening about the girls’ day at the lake; Rainbow’s and Pinkie’s tricks and merry fuss; Applejack’s futile attempts to get tanned properly, so her freckles become less visible; Rarity’s drama and complaints about cold and deep water; Twilight, laying in the tent shade and watching all that above the edge of unalterable book; her own relaxation, listening to the most durable birds, who still sang, despite that heat. Until Fluttershy suddenly slowly repeated the same phrase twice… and then stopped amidst the next one. Alex felt her even, quiet breath on his chest, telling him that she fell asleep. Holding her and smiling he slowly closed his eyes.

12. Sequence of tensions - part 1

Alex woke up earlier than Fluttershy on Saturday morning (the Sun just showed its edge above Everfree tops) and stayed awake in bed for good twenty minutes, thinking of what he was going to find out that day and how it might affect his future. To be honest, he had no faintest idea yet, which questions he could ask, if it was possible to ask them – if the unicorn was that bad, as Celestia said, then trying to communicate would be futile.

‘Anything I ask will depend on what I see,’ decided Alex, feeling how the unknown possibilities made his impatience itch: finally he had a chance to get closer to his arrival mystery. Alex was sure that his presence in Equestria and the Seekers were connected somehow, what was the reason and what – the consequence, was still an open question; yet finding out something about his arrival might help him to return.

‘I feel that I need to see that poor pony,’ Alex stretched under the cover and Fluttershy moved a bit. ‘Even if he is in some vegetable-like condition, maybe I can fish something from him. And if I manage to establish the contact, I may even get some answers. I can only hope…’

He was a bit worried yet that they could have certain problems with train tickets to Canterlot, buying them right before the departure. ‘What if there are no free seats? Ask Twilight for another balloon flight? Uggghhhh!!!’

Fluttershy opened her marvelous turquoise eyes and gave out a little smile, focusing on his face. She was pretty, even when sleepy and having a bed head, and Alex forgot about his concerns for a while, leaning to her, kissing and stroking behind her ear lightly. She squeakily yawned and moved closer to him, wrapping her fore legs around and snuggling into his chest.

“Good morning, dear!” Fluttershy stretched and managed to release him not at the same time: the motion of her coat against his skin made it crawl with goosebumps of sudden pleasure, and Alex squeezed her a bit tighter, making her squeak in surprise.

“Mhm…” Fluttershy looked at the clock, when their lips parted. “Don’t worry, Alex. There will be free seats on the train,” she made a perfect guess, Alex was to admit. “The Canterlot train is never overherded on an ordinary weekend. Special occasions, like the Gala, are, of course, another story.”

“You are so strained,” her gentle hooves ran across his shoulders. “Why you are so nervous about this appointment? We can’t be even sure that it helps, right?”

“Yeah… And I even don’t know where to start from,” Alex was about asking her to stop not, melting under her touch. “But I have a strong feeling, Shy, this is important, one way or another – I… we simply must see that guy!”

“We need to get up,” he sighed sadly, making Fluttershy giggle, understanding his regret. “Who’s first to the shower?”

“Why anypony should be first?” smirked Fluttershy. “Well… I know that it takes more time, if we go together, than any other way, but…”

Alex grabbed and lifted her, instead of an answer, making Fluttershy produce one more excited squeak…

As her little friends needed her attention and kindness, Fluttershy attended to the regular morning duties of feeding and taking care of the animals and Alex headed to the kitchen, estimating his chances for making a light and healthy breakfast. He reconsidered about anything involving milk this morning, his stomach already felt like a bag of fighting cats because of the nervousness, thus cereal and omelette were declined. He considered making a salad a nice alternative instead, and half an hour later they with Fluttershy did it deserved justice, appetizingly crunching on the vegetable mix.

“I hope, we can make it a one day trip,” Alex put away the fork and sipped his juice; he was jumpy enough without any coffee, but made a cup for Fluttershy. “If, as you say, we manage to get the tickets easily in the morning. I suppose, it takes a few hours to reach Canterlot on a train from here…”

“About three hours,” Fluttershy smiled above her cup. “If we get on the express, not a regular train, which can stop at a few smaller stations on its way. So, yes, about six hours to get there and return and we’ll have plenty of time for anything you plan to ask, examine or… well, do any other stuff, Twilight usually likes to do.”

“Excellent. I’m not extending my expectations that far to hope Celestia hath time or wish to set a guest room for us. And have absolutely no idea, whither to stop at Canterlot. Had no chance to find that out, at which hour I was sitting in four walls at their… “castle hospital”,” chuckled Alex, while Fluttershy perked her ear.

“Alex, you talk… strangely familiar,” she gathered the dishes, putting them into the sink and turning the water on. “Are you sure, you haven’t communicated too much with the princesses?” giggled Fluttershy.

“I don’t think, princess Celestia talks like that though…” squinted she, remembering.

Alex hid behind his glass, having no suitable reply.

“Mmmm… What would I do without you?” murmured Fluttershy, putting away the last dish, she washed, and planting a warm kiss on his cheek, when Alex approached from behind and leaned to her, hugging and stroking her shoulders.

“Oh, come on, Shy,” Alex laughed. “It’s just cut and mixed vegetables with some salt and a portion of condiments. Not that I spent half of the day, cooking something special…”

“Well…” she turned in his arms and booped his nose lightly with her hoof. “First, I would have my breakfast much later, if I was to prepare it alone… after my morning duties. And the main thing,” Fluttershy added meaningfully. “It’s totally different, when you return home and get something carefully prepared by somepony’s loving… hands.”

She threw a look around the kitchen, finding it in usual exemplary order now.

“We are filled, so are the animals, everything is done. It seems, we can go to the station, Alex. If this is our way of choice to spend this Saturday,” added Fluttershy, funnily wrinkling her nose.

“Oh, come on, Shy,” huffed Alex. “It is important. Besides,” he added with a sly smile. “I have certain plans for tomorrow, this is why it was important to make it a one day trip.”

Fluttershy looked at him with a question in her eyes.

“You see, I didn’t only hit a bar and participate in a fight,” Alex raised one eyebrow. “I passed the cinema yesterday and made a notice of what’s on this Sunday evening. I hope, you can choose the program for the rest of the day yourself.”

“Oh, is it finally a proper date?” Fluttershy nudged him lightly, blushing and habitually hiding half of her muzzle behind her sumptuous mane; Alex was to admit, she looked… divine, as he concluded without any overstatement. Another degree of divine than Luna or Celestia, but still…

“And the whole day of it,” Alex kneeled to her eye-level, he looked into her eyes, moving away the hair and touching her cheek. “I’m at work throughout all the days lately, solving my problems even at my free time, but…”

Fluttershy nuzzled his cheek, snuggling into him, and her happy sigh told Alex that he didn’t need to say anything else.

After a few minutes they hit the road to Ponyville, as they didn’t need to pack anything and Alex promptly took the drafts of the Seeker: they nested in his pocket tightly folded.

Alex watched the sky very carefully, while they passed the fields with the old white barn: he couldn’t allow another trick of Rainbow Dash, resulting in Fluttershy being showered with rain or something as improper. The morning breeze herded some light clouds, but nothing signed any problems. There was a fair chance that Rainbow reconsidered doing anything, seeing them together, but Alex would rather send Fluttershy forward, in case of any chance of being “pranked” by her determined friend, and keep the “prank” to himself – he had no umbrella to protect Fluttershy. As for Alex, he had enough reasons already and secretly promised himself to give Rainbow a good shower or something alike, if there was a chance. But it seemed, it was too early indeed for the rainbow nap lover and they managed to reach Ponyville without trouble.

Fluttershy turned left after the bridge and, despite it was indeed the shortest way to the station, Alex strained a bit: going through the south end of the town meant passing Carousel Boutique, thus passing Rarity. Lately Alex prepared himself to literally anything, being near her, and frankly speaking tried to limit that to absolutely necessary cases; the last episode in her house told that it was reasonable enough.

Despite his hopes that diligent fashionista could be still sleeping or busy with some of her dresses, they met Rarity indeed, while passing her colourful round house and salon. She held the watering can with her magic and waved her hoof to them enthusiastically, slowly moving along the front garden. Naturally, Alex and Fluttershy were to stop for a minute, as the common courtesy demanded.

“Ahlex! Flutters! Good morning,” Rarity said with a perfectly diplomatic smile. “Where are you going that early, if I may ask?”

“To the station and then to Canterlot,” Fluttershy threw a quick look at the clock tower, which was perfectly visible from any part of the town, pondering, if they had time to board the express. “Alex…”

“To Canterlot?!” Rarity dropped the watering can, fortunately, she was moving it from one rose shrub to another, so nothing suffered from the heavy drop. “You mean to the castle? Did the princess…”

“No. I’m not going anywhere… yet,” Alex stifled a laugher, properly guessing the reason for her confusion. “But there is a small chance that I get some answers. If I can ask proper questions… If I can ask any questions,” added he, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh…” Rarity picked up the can, her nose became pinkish; she understood that her reaction was too obvious and concerned. “Good luck then… I…”

“We’ll tell you, if there is anything to tell,” Fluttershy let out a small smile, then two sly sparkles appeared in her eyes. “Come to us later this evening, I suppose, we will return till then.”

“Yeah, and bring Twilight with you,” Alex quickly found, what seemed a partial way out. “I’m sure she would like to know everything straight from the horse’s mouth… Oh!..”

“Just a figure of speech,” explained Alex to both girls, who first stared at him, then started giggling. “Means “first-hand”. Don’t you have such a phrase?”

“We don’t and I hope, you don’t mean that Celestia must turn you into a horse to achieve that,” Rarity took her breath. “As you are supposed to be telling.”

Alex shuddered, imagining that.

“Okay, we really need to go, sorry,” said Fluttershy, still snorting. “Good-bye, Rarity.”

“Have a nice day!” Alex waved his hand.

“You both too, mates!” Rarity gave him a languid glance from under her long eyelashes.

Alex and Fluttershy headed through the town, which little-by-little became filled with ponies, as more of them woke up and addressed their daily routines. Fluttershy threw a quick meaningful glance at Alex, when they came up to the familiar bar; Alex shrugged and touched his cheek to check the bruise.

“Yeah, yeah,” nodded Fluttershy. “I hope you won’t scare the princesses by your looks,” she smirked.

“I doubt, there is anything I can surprise Celestia with lately, let alone scare,” Alex tried to imagine, what he could do for Celestia to consider unexpected. ‘Unless I decide to stay willingly,’ he ironized inwardly. “And Luna would rather appreciate that two bullies got a good manners lesson.”

He noticed how Fluttershy frowned a little: regarding his lightheadedness or him mentioning Luna – that was another question without an answer.

They passed candy fragrant Sugarcube Corner and a small queue of ponies, waiting for its opening and promising Pinkie Pie a busy morning; the square with fountain; the “Quills and Sofas” shop, which made Alex wonder and chuckle each time. The Library was all quiet this time, Twilight was sleeping most likely, so was Spike. Alex smiled, suspecting that their alicorn friend read too late yesterday or was busy with some experiments, giving Spike some hard time as well.

The railway station met them with almost deserted platforms, compared to daytime at weekdays. Alex remembered the schedule and thought that if the weekend one didn’t differ much from weekdays, the regular train must have departed a few minutes ago, while the express didn’t arrive yet. Thus the lack of the usual herd.

“Hey! Going anywhere… or just can’t live without the station already?!” a stallion in the porter uniform patted Alex’s back. “Morning, Fluttershy!”

“Oh, hi…” Alex smirked, sharing a hoof bump with the unicorn; Fluttershy waved her hoof. “Yeah. I decided to see it from another point of view, so to speak, using the service…”

The whistle of Canterlot Express approaching the platform drowned out the rest of his words.

“Alex, this is the one we need,” Fluttershy looked over her shoulder at the brightly coloured locomotive. “It stands for a while, but we need to hurry to the ticket office. Excuse us,” she added with an apologetic smile.

“Going to Canterlot? Serious business, I see,” nodded the unicorn. “Good luck, the King of Proper Stacking!” he pointed to the luggage cart with a narrowing pyramid of crates and bags. Each one was carefully placed according to its size and shape and the whole construction can be “disassembled” only using proper conscious handling, not an accidental bump. “Using your method and… there is something in it indeed, I don’t need to hold them with magic since then,” he waved after them.

“Already got some friends… and a nickname?” Fluttershy nudged him gently, when they were waiting at the ticket-office window for their tickets to be properly issued. “The King of Proper Stacking, eh?”

“Have no idea, who came up with that,” chuckled Alex. “I sincerely hope that’s not my limit! Just approaching my work methodically… Can I approach at least something methodically?”

“Except finding… errmmm… adventures?” Fluttershy raised on her hind legs and hugged him, looking into his eyes.

“Something like that,” laughed Alex, kissing her and making the mare at the office diplomatically cough, handing them their tickets.

They shared the four-seat compartment with two young mares, who were travelling together apparently and boarded the express earlier, maybe even in Appleloosa, having time to discuss every topic possible and waiting for new impressions. The two girls were chatting, when Alex found their with Fluttershy compartment and opened the door, and gasped surprisingly, when they saw a human: he seemed huge to them, sitting at the long soft seat, when he appeared in the doorway. Then they produced an involuntary sigh, when Fluttershy entered, surrounded by the cloud of her illustrious mane and followed by her long lush tail.

“Apologies, ladies!” Alex’s words made both mares unfreeze and nod quickly. “I hope we won’t disturb you much for the rest of the ride.”

Fluttershy sported a timid smile, sliding on the seat next to Alex and snuggling to him, the mares kept staring at them silently.

The express blew an ear-splitting whistle and jerked, gaining speed on its way to Canterlot. Little by little the initial awkwardness vanished and everypony continued minding their business, almost not paying any attention to the forcedly added neighbours. Almost, as both girls talked now in half voice, but threw quick glances at Alex and Fluttershy, whispering and giggling quietly. Alex noticed that one of them looked at him and Fluttershy more fixedly, with a faint shadow of unrealized recognition, and wondered, what that might be.

He and Fluttershy, on the contrary, didn’t watch their neighbours much. Alex sat at the window, these views of Equestria were new to him, as he didn’t find the strength to enjoy them from above, while flying on the balloon. Besides, the express moved on the different, longer path. So, Alex enjoyed the landscape, passing behind the window, and gently stroked Fluttershy’s hair. She finally relaxed and rested on the seat, putting her head on his lap and closing her eyes. She wasn’t sleeping, but rather thinking about something, looking up to him affectionately from time to time and causing more interested glances from the opposite seat.

Meanwhile, they passed a few settlements, the express didn’t stop on the smaller stations, exactly as Fluttershy said. The loco reached its cruising speed and fields, meadows and forests flew by faster, making it harder to distinguish, what was growing there. Alex asked the mares, if they were not objecting, and opened the window slightly: the wind started blowing in smells of flowers and hay; distinctive, but not too unpleasant smell of cattle farm, when they passed one; the heavy smell of damp leaves and ground, when they rode through the rainy forest. A few raindrops fell through the gap on Alex’s face, but he didn’t stop smiling to some thoughts, looking into the window.

About two hours passed according to Alex’s impression, the landscape started going uphill. When the train rumbled across the bridge over the river (the metal trusses flew by the window, making the shadows dance madly in their compartment), Fluttershy yawned squeakily and got up, sitting next to Alex and putting her head on his shoulder.

“You like trains and riding them, Alex, don’t you?” she raised her voice a tiny bit to overlap the clatter of metal.

“Yup,” Alex turned to her and removed a stray hair strand from her face. “At least I can enjoy the ride and the view, not thinking solely about my life, compared to balloons.”

“By the way,” he leaned to her and whispered in her ear. “I wonder how you and Twilight dared to sneak into the castle grounds on the balloon overnight. Or there were more of you that night…”

Fluttershy’s soft ear twitched.

“Oh, and somepony told me that I seek trouble,” chuckled Alex, needing no answer, as her nose, which he kissed, became pinkish already. Fluttershy downcasted and Alex pondered, what she saw that night or what she was told by her “companions-in-crime”.

“I was wondering all the way, why Celestia allowed you to step in,” Fluttershy preferred to change the topic. “Or this case is connected to your arrival closer, than you tell, and you and the princess are keeping something in secret.”

“I told thee everything already,” Alex sighed inwardly about her shrewdness. ‘What can I tell thee now not to make thee scared and demand that I stop diving further into this?’ he looked into her eyes. The last thing he wanted was to involve Fluttershy right into the Seekers related problems, one victim of unknown future was more than enough. Alex clasped his fingers together nervously. “This case may be connected to mine problem indirectly, or may not. I need to sort it out forsooth. And Celestia… Well, she thinketh, I can affect that poor guy positively mayhap… She sees no contraindications so far.”

“The events, preceding tis mishap, were not entirely safe, I don’t want thee to get into troubles alike,” he sincerely revealed his main concern after the second thought.

“Do you hear yourself?” Fluttershy’s eyes dilated, she straightened on the seat and listened to Alex, covering her slightly opened mouth with the hoof, definitely recognizing the similarities.

The young mares at the opposite seat, whom Alex and Fluttershy seemed to forget about already, heard “princess Celestia” and everything following that fell on the deaf ears, fortunately. They dropped their jaws almost synchronously and stared at their fellow travelers in disbelief.

“Ahem… Errmmm… Excuse me, please,” unfroze one of them. “Do you know our princess personally? I mean… mmm… you were mentioning her highness so… in such an everyday manner…” she stumbled.

“We had to communicate,” neutrally confessed Alex, inwardly preparing for more questions. They were, of course, like a tenth of “Ginger”, but as he could already notice, talkative enough and only some natural awkwardness of casual small talk prevented them from asking their neighbours about everything bothering them.

“He is being overly modest. Although, it seems, Alex is a closer friend to princess Luna, right, dear?” Fluttershy said with a smile, but Alex heard the sad sarcasm in her voice and a faint shadow of real jealousy this time. “As we might hear already…”

“The Princess of the Night!” dropped another girl quietly, her pupils unconsciously narrowed and voice trembled slightly. “Wow… I…”

Alex forcedly smiled to both mares and shrugged.

“Shy, please,” he threw a reproachful glance at Fluttershy. “She helped me, when Celestia was… less positive and I’m immensely thankful for that, hoping for her support further on, if extremely necessary. But you painted our relationship as almost kindred.”

“Is it not?” Fluttershy raised her eyebrow, while both mares gawked at Alex. He heard though that her tone changed and she was merely teasing him at that moment. “Oh, thanks Celestia!”

She leaned to him again, putting her hoof on Alex’s chest.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed into his ear, her lips slid gently on his neck, making Alex gasp. “But she is definitely concerned about you. Those letters, her visits – Twilight told that princess Luna visited you in Canterlot, despite not being involved in Celestia’s research… What should I think?”

‘You can’t say, you didn’t know that was coming,’ Alex facepalmed inwardly, admitting that if he gets out this time, it would be only a temporary solution, miraculous, but still temporary.

“That we became good friends with Luna,” he looked into Fluttershy’s amazing eyes, putting a strand of pink hair behind her ear and stroking her cheek lightly. “Very good friends… But I’m with you, Shy,” Alex added barely audible, as the girls across the compartment perked their fluffy ears again. “I’m with you and at the same time trying to keep you out of the troubles, which follow my entire path through Equestria.”

“I know,” whispered Fluttershy, nuzzling his neck and wrapping her fore legs around him. “I’m sorry, I just can’t control myself, if I suspect somepony trying to take you from me… Even if she is a royalty.”

Meanwhile, the train reached the mountains and the tracks were visibly ascending; their path ran through several tunnels in the cliffs, putting the compartment into complete darkness for a few seconds, as the lights couldn’t turn on in time in short tunnels. Alex realized that they were approaching Canterlot, as they were practically spiraling around one enormous mountain. The train entered a high openwork bridge above a deep canyon with clubs of fog circling around sharp cliffs at the far bottom.

“It’s hard to sort out all, what I suddenly got into,” Alex felt the strong urge to turn away from the window at that moment, he felt as his fingers were treacherously trembling at that moment. Thankfully the deep turquoise lakes of Fluttershy’s loving eyes were the best remedy, Alex totally gave himself to. “My whole life became… well, different ever since that rainstorm back on Earth. And the things are going stranger and stranger each day, even when it looks like the routine life already.”

He hugged Fluttershy and brought her closer, she put her head on Alex’s shoulder, covering him by the cloud of her lush hair and unconsciously stroking his chest with the hoof. One of the mares stared at them fixedly again, it looked like she was trying to catch some memory, they (or Fluttershy specifically, as Alex knew, he never saw any of those two girls before) resembled, but couldn’t at that moment.

The train dived into a long tunnel, putting the compartment into complete darkness for a few moments and causing an involuntary exclamation from one of the mares. Alex felt the sweet breath and hot silky lips on his own and eagerly responded, holding Fluttershy closer, making his fingers travel through her hair. The obvious sound of the passionate kiss was followed by muffled giggling from the opposite seat, but they both couldn’t pay less attention, snuggling tighter into each other.

When the lights turned on – this tunnel was the longest and the last before Canterlot – both mares witnessed a most interesting view of their whole ride, at least that was clearly written on their muzzles. They let out an excited and a bit confused sigh, watching as Alex and Fluttershy almost dissolved in each other embrace, uniting their lips. Alex threw a quick glance at them and took a thick strand of Fluttershy’s hair, shielding them both from the curious eyes of the young mares like with a pink silky curtain. Fluttershy stifled a laugh, she started covering his lips with short fervent kisses, while it was a chance to. Her cheeks were flaming, but she was very determined about what she was doing, she threw a sly glance through her hair at the mares opposite.

“Oh, Celestia!” suddenly squeaked one of them, the one which was trying to remember something throughout their entire ride. “Of course! I knew, I saw you before.”

Alex and Fluttershy parted their lips and stared on their neighbours, keeping the embrace and frankly speaking straining a bit, while the girl continued.

“You are Fluttershy, right?” she pointed at Alex’s confused marefriend. “You must be her! I can’t be mistaking. You’ve worked as a model for Rarity and moreover for Photo Finish… Shortly unfortunately… But your fame isn’t something to fade that easily!” she laughed nervously, reaching for her bag. “I’ve recognized the glance and angle, when you and your coltfriend… well… errmmm…” the mare blushed heavily, but she couldn’t beat Fluttershy at that, whose cheeks could compete with some poppies perhaps.

“Oh, noes!” she breathed desperately in Alex’s ear, he almost saw, how she inwardly facehoofed. “I hoped, everypony forgot already. I guess, it was our luck to run into one of my fans,” she shuddered.

“… It was a total disaster, if you ask me, that you decided to prolong the contract not. For the whole equestrian fashion!” the mare kept talking fast, while convulsively digging in her bag.

Alex thought that he knew, what was going to happen next, fortunately, he could see the Canterlot station and the whole city in the distance. Yet it seemed, the determined fan was going to achieve her goal no matter what. He stroked Fluttershy’s shoulders, while she buried her face between his cheek and shoulder completely, now even her ears were flaming, and rolled his eyes when a fashion magazine and a quill saw the light, being taken from the depth of talking mare’s bag.

“Miss Fluttershy, please!!!” the mare folded her fore hooves together in the most pleading manner. Alex thought that she was already going to kneel in front of Fluttershy, who seemed to be ready to climb on his shoulders, like a cat from some threat. “Please, please! Million times please! I’m one of your most faithful fans, I have all of your photos, magazines and interviews… But no autograph. I was desperate, when you quit and I didn’t manage to get it…” she sniffed.

“Shy, dear,” whispered Alex in her pink ear, Fluttershy was already sitting on his lap. “It’s better to put a stop to that, before it escalates, I think. I can understand… but… could you please…”

“Okay…” Fluttershy quickly nodded, looking at him, like a small animal caught into a trap, and covering her face with her hair again. “You’re right… let’s get this over with.”

Alex was to take the magazine and hold it, while Fluttershy quickly scribbled something cheerful and signed, she snuggled into him, like if the mare was going to pounce her and drag to the collection as well. When it was done and both mares repeated their words of gratitude over and over again, a lucky thought came to Alex’s mind. He leaned forward, making the most serious face, he could in that situation, while doing his best to stifle the laugh.

“I have a personal request, young ladies,” he said quietly, but meaningfully, narrowing his eyes. “I extend mine expectations that this sensational news… that Fluttershy hath come to Canterlot, shall be kept unvoiced to the… ahem… broad masses. So, I shan’t need to ask Luna to visit you and explain privacy values, tonight mayhap!”

Both girls quickly nodded, while their pupils became pinprick again. They evidently got under the impression, as they kept respectful silence for the rest few minutes till their arrival and exiting the train to the platform.

Alex watched with eyes wide open, as they quickly passed green picturesque streets of Canterlot, after getting off the express on the station. Previously he had no chance to see the city in all its glory, travelling to it on the dreading balloon; he even saw the Castle partially only, especially from outside. It was amazing how the big city architects and builders managed to stay true to the ponies’ principles and close to the nature: the houses were surrounded by flourishing gardens, trees were planted on every street and square, despite the whole city was technically built on several rock terraces; some of which, Alex was sure, were made with the help of magic. He involuntarily remembered the White City from the “Lord of the Rings” book, although, the latter wasn’t so perfectly planned and gardened. Alex was sure that, for example, Manehattan was way less pleasant to the eye and breath.

The time was approaching noon and there were quite a few ponies in the streets, curiously gazing on the pegasus beauty and some strange biped creature accompanying her. Fortunately, they were restrained and polite enough, so nopony asked questions; yet Alex was on guard, he realized that not everypony could know about the people in general and him in particular, let alone was warned about his magic resistance, with all consequences it might bring.

They walked quick enough for some extended sightseeing anyway, so Alex decided to enjoy the views some other day and be content with what he could notice at that moment. The Castle was not too far from the station, it was well visible from almost every spot, but getting to it on the ground could be a problem for a newcomer. Although, Fluttershy perfectly knew the path through the net of wide and narrow streets, thus leading them the shortest way.

The guards at the Castle gate were evidently warned about Alex and Fluttershy coming, as they let them through, nodding without any questions.

“Excuse me, officer,” Alex addressed the commander of the shift. “Could you, please, notify the princess about our arrival? Unless her highness wanted us to wait at some specific location…”

“In a moment, sir. Her Highness, princess Celestia ordered to relay that you should wait for her at the hospital entrance,” the unicorn waved his hoof, denoting the direction.

‘Yeah, right, “hospital”,’ Alex inwardly shuddered at the memory, but squeezed out a smile and said. “Thank you.”

“Well, let’s go, Shy,” his smile to Fluttershy was sincere, her presence made his new “meeting” with “the hospital” bearable. “Better we wait for Celestia, than vice versa,” added he in half voice for only her to hear.

They headed right from the gate and, after a few minutes of walking among the hedges and trees of the front garden, exited to the clear place in front of the white featureless four-storey building. Alex subconsciously frowned, when they reached the entrance with the glass doors. He preferred to turn away from the “hospital”, while they were waiting on the small bench in the shadow of the single tree, and examine the white, shining in the sun mass of the Castle. He thought he could see the exact place on the wall, where windows of the long gallery opened to; both ends of it had larger windows and huge balconies protruding from the castle wall. Alex turned to the right balcony; if his spatial thinking was serving him well, that was Luna’s room exactly – his heart made a leap.

“I couldn’t imagine, they would place him here as well,” Fluttershy leaned to him, stroking his hand gently. “So you need to return to that… building. That’s a bit…”

“Sorry?” Alex emerged from his thoughts. “Ah, yes, “the hospital”,” he huffed ironically. “Don’t worry, dear, I’ll cope with that…” he covered her small hoof with his hand.

The princess didn’t make them wait for her too long and they soon saw her white graceful frame, landing further in the alley in the company of two pegasi guards and heading to the building entrance.

“Your Highness!” both Alex and Fluttershy bowed, when Celestia approached them.

“Good afternoon!” the princess smiled graciously. “It’s a pleasure, my dear Fluttershy, to see you again! Alex, are you ready to visit the unfortunate mage?”

“Thank you, princess,” Fluttershy bowed once more. “Mutually!”

“I’m ready,” shortly stated Alex. “Is there anything else, we should know beforehand, in addition to what you already told me, your highness?”

“I’m afraid, no,” Celestia slowly shook her head. “He is still completely inert. You’ll see it, Alex, he almost needs to be treated like a doll.”

“Oh, my! What’s this, pray tell?!” she leaned closer, examining his cheekbone with almost faded bruise of very distinctive shape.

“It’s fine, your highness, thank you,” Alex felt uneasy, while Celestia looked at his face from different angles. “Yesterday I visited a bar in Ponyville, hiding from heat and looking for a refreshment. A couple of stallions tried to convince me that I was an ape.”

Celestia frowned, Alex spotted the small nodules on her cheekbones going up and down, as she squeezed her jaws automatically.

“And I convinced them, their interpretation of good manners was far from exemplary forsooth,” quickly added he. “Don’t worry, no magic was involved,” he let out a small chuckle. “But next time those two will think twice.”

He saw how the princess relaxed, stifling a smile.

“Well, if you think, that was enough…”

“More than,” Alex nodded. “I’m okay, your highness… in that aspect at least.”

“Fine then!” Celestia welcomed them inside with a nod. “Up to our appointment.”

Heading towards the doors with Celestia, Alex made it that way, so the princess was between him and Fluttershy, like a common courtesy. The guards followed at a reasonable distance.

“Please, your highness,” Alex leaned to Celestia, telling her in half voice. “If I may ask, could you avoid mentioning the details about the Seekers and… the rest… to Fluttershy as long as possible? I would like to keep her out of those problems, she knows about the accident in general only, taking it as a random event yet.”

“I see your reasons and it seems, we can allow that so far,” Celestia slowly nodded in agreement. “But you must understand, Alex, that the circumstances may change at any moment. Besides, the longer you stay, the harder will be to keep your friends uninvolved.”

“I know, princess. That’s one of the thoughts burning me mercilessly,” Alex gritted his teeth. He threw a quick glance at Fluttershy to ensure that she didn’t pay much attention to their short exchange.

“Your Highness, w-what we are g-going to see exactly, if I m-may ask?” Fluttershy’s sudden question was at the same time timid and ultimately straightforward; Alex strained.

“A victim of an overly strange magical accident, my dear,” to his relief Celestia easily avoided the sharp edges. “Which might help us understand Alex’s arrival and further events a little better. Especially if Alex knows the proper questions and how to ask them,” she chuckled lightly, trotting along the hall.

‘Here you caught me, Tia,’ sighed Alex mentally. ‘I just want to see his reaction to the Seeker’s images and if he can remember anything. He was the one, affected by the monster directly and might know… well, keep that information deep inside his memory… something about those Seekers. Maybe it helps me understand their supposed connection with my arrival. Maybe…’

The familiar nurse met them inside, Alex granted her with an involuntary wide smile, seeing his petite unicorn guardian-angel again.

“Your Highness!” the nurse bowed low, then she turned to Celestia company. “Alex! It’s nice to see you… finally as a visitor,” she couldn’t hold back the smile as well. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss Fluttershy!”

“You’re much more famous than you can confess, my dear!” sly sparkles danced in laughing Celestia’s eyes. “Oh, what’s wrong, Fluttershy?” she asked, seeing how Fluttershy suddenly became red as a carrot and subconsciously held closer to Alex.

“We met one of Fluttershy’s fans at the express, princess,” elaborated Alex, hugging Fluttershy protectively. “You know… We could barely get rid of them finally.”

“Oh, right, the model career…” Celestia let out a small smile, then addressed Fluttershy. “You shouldn’t sweep under the mat, what you naturally mastered with perfection, my dear. That was your star moment. And, frankly speaking, I have one of your best photos as well,” she added quietly.

‘Just don’t ask her to sign it, okay,’ inwardly prayed Alex. ‘Or Shy will drop unconscious.’

Nevertheless, Celestia’s words seemed to patch up Fluttershy’s condition, as she regained her normal colours, quietly telling the princess something in response.

“So, how was it going, while I was away?” Alex jokingly asked the unicorn nurse. “Is “Ginger” still getting late every time?”

“Ginger?” she stumbled for a second, then giggled like a school filly. “Oh… And, yes, she is incorrigible in that. Do you have a nickname for me as well, by the way?” she squinted at Alex.

“No.” sincerely confessed Alex. “Speaking of which… As I’m not the “test subject” now and the policy of controlled reticence spreads on me not anymore, can I at least know your name?”

“Scarlet Rose” she downcasted modestly. “My parents are florists and they hoped for me to follow the family trend. I think, it was a surprise – my cutie mark and my work. But they still guessed right, I mean my love for roses,” she looked up at him with a smile.

“It’s a pleasure,” nodded Alex. “And thank you for your love for roses specifically,” added he in half voicee, meeting her surprised glance, but explaining no more.

They got to the first floor of the building and entered the long hall, coming through the whole storey.

‘Now, if they put him into the same room, that would be something,’ Alex rolled his eyes, when they stopped at the door with a peep hatch, but without a magical barrier this time. He couldn’t tell if that was the same though.

“Now please stop for a minute and listen to me,” the nurse stopped and turned to them all. “The patient is… resting at the moment and the doctor asked to relay that he would come shortly. You can ask your questions, well, try to. I will stick to my duties, if you don’t mind my presence during your appointment.”

“Not at all,” Celestia nodded shortly. “Besides, it will hardly take too much time.”

Scarlet Rose opened the door and they entered. As Alex could see, the room was indeed very familiar, almost the doppelganger of the one, he spent over a month in. The only difference was the bed and one totally unknown to him unicorn, occupying it at the moment. He wasn’t restrained, but Alex spotted immediately that it was hardly necessary – the unicorn’s eyes stared at the ceiling, like button eyes of a teddy bear. Their complete emptiness and lifelessness made Alex stumble a little, while the nurse approached the “patient” and helped him get up.

Meanwhile, one of the guards followed Celestia inside, another stayed behind the closed door.

“Please, your highness, stay at the entrance,” asked Alex quietly, watching as Scarlet almost made the unicorn get up and walked him slowly to get seated at the table in the middle of the room. Alex witnessed that the doll comparison wasn’t some exaggeration, as the Seeker’s victim hardly bent his joints, moving only when somepony made him to. “Fluttershy, please stay with the princess, just in case. I don’t want him to be distracted by many of us… if he can be distracted,” added Alex forcedly.

“Reasonable amendment,” Celestia leaned to Alex’s ear. “I wasn’t joking, saying he was treated like a doll, as you can now see, Alex. If he falls from that chair, he will need somepony’s help to be seated back, despite how awful it could look and sound.”

“I’m still going to try…” Alex turned his head slightly, looking into her eyes. The nurse left the unicorn sitting and got aside, moving something on a smaller table at the wall, probably preparing to the doctor’s visit.

Alex slowly approached the table from another side. He didn’t take the chair and remained standing, reaching into his pocket and taking the folded drafts out.

“Good afternoon, sir!” said Alex in calm relaxed voice, despite his body froze from inside. The unicorn kept sitting, looking straight in front of him without any expression in the eyes, resembling unpowered light bulbs. “I’m going to ask thee a few questions. First of all, dost thou hear me? Can thou understand mine words? If ‘t be true thou can, but can’t tell, blink thy eyes twice, please.”

Celestia’s eyes dilated, but she slowly shook her head, confirming the futility of Alex’s attempts. Alex unfolded the sheets of paper and straightened them out on the table; neither the pose, nor the direction of unicorn’s sight changed.

“Okay,” sighed out Alex. “Let’s try more straightforwardly…”

He took one of the drafts, leaning closer, and placed it right in front of the unicorn’s eyes at the half-yard distance.

“Dost thou recall…”

The unicorn suddenly blinked, Alex saw, how his eyes started darkening, filled by the rage, flooding the poor stallion from inside.

The following happened like in slow-motion. The unicorn popped up, like stung by a wasp, and slammed both his hooves at the table crumpling the rest of the drafts. Alex leaned back, the stallion’s fore legs got under the table, lifting it and throwing aside. At the last moment Alex saw nurse’s eyes, widened from the terror; she turned to the noise and realized, where the whole wooden mass would land the next second. With a blasting kick of his foot Alex intercepted the table mid-air and sent it to the back wall, making it smash at the protruding windowsill and lose a leg with dry crackling. He jumped to the nurse and shielded the petite unicorn mare by himself. But before he turned to shout Fluttershy and Celestia to leave the room, what he least expected happened.

A yellow and pink flash dashed past him and Fluttershy stood right in the way of enraged “patient”.

“NO, YOU WON’T DO THAT, MISTER!” Fluttershy’s voice, becoming suddenly strong and loud, filled the room and Alex almost saw this time, how the waves of energy spread from her widely open eyes, which stared… no… Stared at the unicorn. For the short moment the time itself seemed to stop. The unicorn staggered, like hitting the concrete wall in the middle of his mad rush. He slowly dropped on the floor and blinked several times. His eyes started moving, like ones of a living creature, not a mannequin, and tears flowed out of them.

“W-what’s happening?” his voice came like from the bottom of the well. “Where am I?” and then quieter and more desperately, grabbing his head. “Who… am I?!”

Alex loudly breathed out, releasing the nurse, whom he was blocking by his back before. He was surprised by her self-control and endurance, she hurried to the unicorn, like nothing happened, calming him and trying to get to the bed again. He was trembling, cried like a foal still, asked several times, what was happening, and once for help. There were no symptoms of any rage attack anymore, yet the guard immediately got at the other side of the patient, ready to restrain him at any moment, another guard entered the room as well.

Alex considered some strong reaction possible, but he wasn’t ready for this, as he admitted to himself. This looked like somepony turned a switch… and, to tell the truth, was really scary. He approached Fluttershy, who stood at the same spot still, and kneeled next to her, wrapping his hands around her graceful frame. She shuddered, unfreezing and almost falling in his arms with a fitful sigh. Alex gently stroked her mane, cooing into her soft ear that everything was alright and she was incredible and other things. He felt a light touch on his shoulder.

“Quite impressive reflexes, Alex,” Celestia’s soft voice sounded right above his ear.

“Thank you, princess. I’ve already missed one hit,” Alex looked up at her, he touched his left cheek, hugging Fluttershy with another hand. “Not going to repeat the same mistake anymore.”

Celestia nodded, then addressed Fluttershy.

“How are you, my dear? That was unexpected, yet I must admit very effective, as we all witnessed.”

“Better now, your highness,” quietly said Fluttershy, holding on Alex. “I don’t know how, but it happened spontaneously, as usual… I’ll be fine in a moment.”

“I suppose, we all understand how important, what we saw here, could be,” Celestia cocked her head. “Guard. Escort my guests to my study, please,” she threw a strange glance at Alex, then addressed them both again. “You should wait there for a while, I’ll attend to you shortly, as soon as I can sort this out,” she nodded towards the still shaking mage.

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy looked at Alex with a weak smile. “I can walk fine on my own,” she turned to the guard.

“Alex, stay for a word, please!” Celestia’s tone was unobjectionable.

“Tis fine,” whispered Alex in Fluttershy’s ear. “I shall catch thee up in a minute.” She nodded and Alex noticed that she didn’t twitch at his old speak this time. Perhaps she was still in a slight shock, as she didn’t react at Celestia’s wish to speak to him privately, moreover, without Fluttershy, as there were still other ponies in the room.

When the guard left the room, followed by Fluttershy, Celestia turned to Alex.

“First of all, I’d like to say that the situation changed, Alex,” she said sternly. “You saw the effect the Stare made on the Seeker’s victim. I’m going to admit, that could be a coincidence, of course, but chances are high, she is the only remedy in that case. Do you understand, what it means?”

Alex got up and nodded shortly, it seemed that his plans to avoid involving Fluttershy in more troubles were busted. Meanwhile, the princess continued.

“If we get more victims, we will need to try everything to return them to the normal condition…”

“Apologies, but tis looketh normal condition alike not,” huffed Alex.

“He reacts, talks, feels… for a change,” Celestia frowned. “That is why I need specialists’ conclusion, thus making you wait for me for a while.”

“Returning to our main question,” she raised one eyebrow. “I can grant you my trust to decide, when and how to explain her everything, the most important parts at least, but it will depend mostly on the conclusion, the medics give on his case,” she nodded towards the unicorn. “Don’t linger too long anyway, Alex! We may need her anytime soon and she’ll better be informed about everything.”

“I see your point, princess,” Alex downcasted. “Just give me some time…”

“And one more thing, what’s going on with you using the old language sometimes?” inquired Celestia, yet in more relaxed tone. “Luna speaks that way, as you might have noticed, but you didn’t, when you first arrived.”

“I don’t know why it’s happening,” Alex looked in Celestia’s eyes openly. “I’m trying to control myself lately, but it always comes out naturally, when I’m worried or angry… generally in the moments of strong feelings.”

“So does Luna; in the moments “of strong feelings”, as you say, it becomes more pronounced,” Celestia closed her eyes, thinking.

“I guess, the sleepwalking didn’t come alone,” Alex sighed.

‘You were quite alike even before that, I don’t know why and where it leads, but that bothers me,’ Celestia watched him for a minute, then waved her hoof, letting him go.

Alex caught up with Fluttershy outside, the guard led them through the front garden to the Castle entrance; this place was familiar to Alex, but not the rest of the way. They took the central stairs, passing the familiar throne hall and getting to the third floor, but considering the height of the ceilings here, it equalled to regular tenth probably. Alex instinctively tried to keep further from windows, scolding himself inwardly for this weakness he only started to overcome. When they entered the long hall, the guard turned to the right, trotting along the huge gallery with columns and statues.

“Keep up with me please, one can easily get lost here for the first time,” dropped he over the shoulder.

Alex coughed, stifling a laugh – he couldn’t get lost here for sure, as he recognized the gallery and most likely knew, where they headed. Naturally, he wasn’t going to tell that he knew, which rooms were located at this gallery and where, but he smirked, when they passed the high ornate double doors to Celestia’s bedroom and entered the next one.

“Take a seat and wait for her highness, I’ll be behind the doors; notify me, if you need something,” the guard left them alone.

The large room under the high ceiling was decorated in light colours, just as Celestia’s bedroom. The walls were almost entirely covered by the bookcases and Alex thought with a wry smile that Celestia chose herself a perfectly fitting apprentice. The high window let the sunlight flood the room and make the noble furniture and some books’ spines shine, reflecting in thousands of pendants of the large single chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling. The heavy table could easily compete with the billiard one and the high armchair behind it completed Celestia’s workplace. Alex took a look around, avoiding the window, and chose the small couch, fairly supposing that a double seat was exactly what they needed.

Fluttershy trotted next, following him on the thick carpet, which muffled the hoofsteps almost completely, and sat next to him. Alex hugged her, comforting the girl, letting her overcome the stress under his psychological protection. She snuggled to him tightly and hid her muzzle on his shoulder, while Alex stroked her mane.

“Sweet Celestia, what was that?!” whispered she barely audibly after a while.

“Some severe magical accident, I suppose,” Alex closed his eyes, what he did, wasn’t pleasant to do at all. He decided to tell at least a part of the truth. “Something caused this guy to totally lose his identity… well, till you… did something to him. Now it seems better… errmmm… better than it was for sure. Let’s wait for what the princess tells.”

Fluttershy shuddered convulsively, like from a cold draught. There were none though and Alex held her closer.

“It’s okay, Shy. I’m here… I… shouldn’t let you come with me and see all that.”

“Don’t say that,” Fluttershy looked into his eyes. “I’ve chosen to go with you myself, besides that made this poor unicorn wake from his… stupor in the end of the day. I’m not regretting anything, neither should you, dear.”

They waited for about half an hour, when they heard the hurried hoofsteps behind the door, and in a minute Celestia quickly trotted in.

“Apologies for the waiting!” her tone was fairly cheerful though, Alex thought that the good news was exactly what they needed. “He was shortly examined by the medics and…”

“And?..”

“I had my pleasure already to find out that patience was not your strongest virtue, Alex,” chuckled Celestia, placing herself behind her desk and moving some papers aside. “Sometimes it’s a blessing, of course, but sometimes…” she made a meaningful pause.

“The good news is – our patient exited his totally unknown and unmanageable condition and, as medics claim, is now in some sort of severe amnesia, so, it is at the very least curable within our capabilities,” continued she, when Alex’s face showed at least some signs of remorse. “The bad news – this will take time, long time to fully recover him and restore his memories. But still, it’s better than to deal with a… “hollow” pony.”

“I want to thank you again specifically, dear Fluttershy, for what you’ve done,” added the princess with a bright smile. “Even if it was a spontaneous act… It seems to be a feasible method to help similar cases. I hope you won’t mind, if we ask for your help in future, if necessary.”

“And I’d like to thank you, Alex, as well. Without your actions we wouldn’t have found out, what we know now… and we wouldn’t have had the hope to help this pony. But… next time, please, at least inform me of what you are going to undertake,” Celestia looked at him fixedly.

“Your Highness,” Fluttershy found the strength to sit straight, her fore hoof still rested on Alex’s knee though. “W-what happened to this poor stallion, if… if I may ask?”

Celestia threw a quick glance at Alex, who returned it fully, widening his eyes and silently asking her to follow the agreement.

“Well…” Celestia closed her eyes for a second, making some uneasy decision. “My apologies, Alex, but the situation changed significantly and I must revert from my previous decision.”

Alex buried his face in his hands, he imagined the shock Fluttershy could be in the next moment and her possible suspicions. He didn’t bother much about Rainbow’s opinion about himself, but Fluttershy was another story. Luna was extremely rational regarding his possible connection to the Seekers. Would Fluttershy show the same level of non-emotionally driven prudence? On the other hand, she needed to know everything sooner or later, considering her role in the situation at that moment. Perhaps, Celestia was right, thinking that sooner was better. Alex threw a quick depressed glance at the princess and nodded sentencedly.

Fluttershy put her hoof on his knee and stroked it reassuringly, she seemed to pay less attention to the “previous decision” words, than they deserved.

“We came across some strange creatures appearing in Equestria recently,” the princess was extremely straightforward. “What we deemed to be the remnants of King’s Sombra power appeared to materialize as magical hostile entities, not of Sombra’s origin. They look like a human torso without the head and arms planted on the horse body – entirely formed of the dense Dark Mist, the black fog-like substance we found before.”

“Their general form is somewhat familiar to Alex, as there are similar creatures in his home world’s mythology,” continued Celestia, making a pause for the previous information to settle in. Alex noticed how Fluttershy’s eyes started dilating. “With the exception that centauri from his home world were purely mythic and didn’t possess the same physical features and magical effect on others. Namely, they had arms, heads and were not draining positive emotions from the living beings around.”

Alex nodded and Fluttershy quietly asked in disbelief.

“You highness, you want to say that…”

“Moreover, I’m already saying that,” confirmed Celestia. “The unicorn, you saw, was subjected to direct impact of the Seeker’s powers, resulting in the condition, he was found in. The condition you, my dear Fluttershy, was able to revert by merely using your Stare on him.”

“What creatures must those… Seekers be to cause damage like that?” gasped Fluttershy. Then added after a second. “Why “Seekers”, i-if I may ask?”

“They aren’t some living creatures as we suppose,” Celestia looked fixedly at Alex. “They are somepony’s magical “puppets”, entities used for some purpose, we don’t know yet…”

“Okay, if we took this route already…” Alex decided to cut it straight. “Shy, her highness, princess Celestia wanted to say, that she suspected direct connection between me and those Seekers.”

Celestia’s cheeks got some pinkish tint and Fluttershy looked into Alex’s eyes for a whole long minute, then slowly shook her head. She was shocked by the news no doubt, bewildered, stunned, but to Alex’s enormous relief, there were no panic, hostility or suspicion in her turquoise eyes.

“They drain all the positive emotions from ponies on the certain range, causing fear, despair, bringing back painful memories instead,” continued Celestia; she squinted and Alex wondered what “painful memories” the first Seeker revived to her. “Apparently the impact and drain are so strong upon direct contact, that it causes identity loss of the subjected pony. Answering your question, Fluttershy, we started to call them Seekers, because they literally look for something, when not disturbed…”

“Him?!” Fluttershy threw another quick fearful glance at Alex, fearful for his fate, not of him, to Alex’s surprise.

“No, not Alex,” Celestia allowed herself a small smile. “Some recent events showed that Alex is the only one here, who can easily take a Seeker down without any mental risk for himself. Yes, they can feel him and if they can’t attack him physically, they try to flee.”

“I can feel their presence on a short distance, but nothing like others do – no fear or unease… it’s hard to tell, I just feel them,” said Alex carefully, still unsure what reaction all the given information could cause from Fluttershy. “And they can feel my presence, as I don’t know, if they can actually see. They feel, I’m dangerous for them. Look, Shy, I drain magic and reflect the hostile impact, thus I can destroy them by simply… touching them.”

“What was clearly demonstrated by him and my dear sister on the day Alex left Canterlot,” said Celestia.

“There was a Seeker in Canterlot…” gasped Fluttershy.

“No, quite far from here actually, but that doesn’t really matter,” Celestia waved her hoof and Alex threw a thankful glance at her, grateful for not touching the details of his mental bonds with princess Luna. “What really matters is, if we assume that Alex is not the one, who controls the Seekers and sets their aims, I still can’t take the fact, they appeared in Equestria almost at the same time, as a pure coincidence. There are some more similarities,” Celestia downcasted, then made a “control shot”. “That unicorn was subjected to an extremely strong power drain, even life energy drain, as we can safely assume. That is why Alex and I concluded, this case can be connected to Alex’s problems and give him some answers. Apparently, it brought more questions for now instead.”

Alex strained, getting ready for the reaction, he considered being the most natural at that moment. That was why he wanted to tell Fluttershy everything differently, not giving the natural, but so unfair by fact, accent to the situation.

“Do you think, Alex’s reaction to magic can cause identity loss as well? Making him dangerous…” Fluttershy covered her mouth with the hoof, struck by that possibility. Nevertheless, she moved closer to him, Alex could feel her reassuring warmth. “We must do something to help him. He can’t stay like that then…”

Celestia let out another small smile and Alex swallowed a lump, which suddenly formed in his throat.

“No, I don’t think so,” finally said the princess. “Alex drains magical force, not the mere life power. That happens, when somepony applies magic to him, and he is not controlling the process… or initiating it consciously.”

“As for the rest of your concerns, dear… Alex already IS dangerous, as anypony with numerous unknown aspects about them; we try to find out, how we can lessen that danger or avoid it completely, but at least he is not intentionally dangerous… Albeit, when you start behaving impulsively, Alex, I barely hold myself from putting that statement under doubt,” Celestia gave him a long fixed glance. “And deciding, if he can stay like that, is completely out of our power, I’m afraid.”

Fluttershy let out a fitful sigh, squeezing Alex’s leg.

“Unfortunately, that’s all I can tell for now,” Celestia looked at the wall clock, getting up and approaching them. “Excuse me, as I can’t devote you more time, too many things demand for my attention.”

“You will be escorted… unless Alex can find the way himself,” sly sparkles lit in her eyes, Alex understood that innuendo clearly.

Fluttershy bowed, following the formalities to say goodbye to the princess, and headed to the door. Alex lingered for a second.

“Thank you, your highness,” he said with a faint tint of sad irony. “Surprisingly it went better, than I expected. I would like to keep Fluttershy out of all these problems, but I guess, it will be much harder to accomplish now.”

“Sometimes circumstances are stronger than us,” with the meaningful expression Celestia cocked her head, making her illustrious mane flow. “If she stays around you, she has the right to know, what you are going into. Especially, considering her newly found ability. I extend my hope, we’ll meet in a more relaxed atmosphere next time. Good luck, Alex!”

“Have a nice day, princess!” Alex bowed, then he remembered something. “And… Oh… Never mind, sorry!”

“I’ll tell Luna that you both were here,” chuckled Celestia, following him to the doors. “And what we found out today. Stay safe both of you.”

Alex’s bewildered expression, when he looked back at her, amused the Princess of the Day much.

It appeared that they had plenty of time to get back to Ponyville, so, Alex and Fluttershy bought tickets to a regular train, not to wait longer for the next express and had their late lunch at the station.

“Why haven’t you told me anything about the Seekers, Alex?” Fluttershy woke from her deep thoughts and raised her beautiful, yet sad eyes on him. “You knew about them already, when you returned to Ponyville…”

“That’s an easy question to answer, the decision was much harder to make though,” Alex let out a heavy sigh. “I wanted to protect you from those troubles. I don’t know, if I bring them with me or it’s just a coincidence indeed… but the least thing I wanted was you dealing with anything, related to the Seekers. I still think that Tia… princess Celestia was too straight to the point.”

“Tia?” Fluttershy raised one eyebrow, then waved her hoof, asking instead. “Wasn’t it completely futile to hide that information from me, while we all are in the same danger? Except maybe you, as the Seekers don’t affect you much.”

“When we all shared the same risk, it was exactly rational not to drag you deeper into the problem, not to scare you,” Alex pointed out meaningfully, he leaned forward, looking into her eyes. “I could protect you from an accidental encounter just being near you, Shy. Now, when you are involved, I can’t be sure… Celestia can need your help at any moment… but the risk is too high…”

“But I want to help!” retorted Fluttershy with sudden passion, she put her daisy sandwich aside, barely touching it. “What chances that poor unicorn had? He could die in a few hours, if not constantly helped, simply because he had no… no passion to live… Now he has a chance to become himself again at least. How can we judge, if somepony deserves this chance or not?! Of course, I’ll agree to help, if the princess needs it! Wasn’t it necessary to take my own opinion into the account as well?”

“That is why I regret our discovery,” muttered Alex woefully. “It’s always easier to judge, when you see the victims with your own eyes.”

“What if you become subjected to that Seekers’ effect, Shy?” his voice became stronger. “I know arrant, I can’t… “stare” thee into thy normal condition! I… I fear for thee, Shy… Is ‘t selfish? I guess it can be deemed as such, but…”

Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hoof again. Several minutes passed, Alex watched the impudent sparrows, whisking almost under their table, he had no more words to say. Fluttershy got up and around the table and suddenly hugged and squeezed him tight with her fore legs.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” whispered she. “I knew your motives and I… Well… Now I can’t stay completely out of this I’m afraid. We just need to be careful,” she nuzzled his cheek. “I know you wanted to protect me, but we need to think about others, who may need our help. Don’t think that I’m not scared, because I darn sure am!”

Fluttershy shuddered and Alex wrapped both hands around her.

“Forgive me, Shy. I didn’t think about your own opinion indeed, was too concerned about your safety. About the safety of somepony dear to me,” he ran his fingers through her hair and Fluttershy snuggled closer to him. “Promise me that you won’t rush to the point of attack, whatever happens. And… when I’m not around, being at the station or somewhere else… If you ever feel irrational fear, unease or depression out of the blue, stop doing anything you are doing and… run to… to Twilight. She has magic at least and direct contact with Celestia. Don’t do anything to make me regret, we came to Canterlot together today.”

Fluttershy let out a fitful sigh, resting on Alex’s chest; he could feel her trembling ever so slightly. The adrenaline blockade of the moment started to release her, giving Fluttershy back to the impression of today’s appointment and disturbing information, she was given.

“We can’t tell Rarity all the details,” Alex stroked Fluttershy’s back gently. “Celestia wants to avoid broad publicity and I tend to agree with her here. The complete information will bring panic only…”

“But she can’t keep everypony completely uninformed either!” Fluttershy looked up at him.

“I know, Shy,” nodded Alex. “I’m thinking about that, how all the ponies can be warned at least about how to avoid direct contact with those things. And I’ll try to make some plausible version for Rarity… for now at least.”

“Merlin’s pants, I guess, the problems have only started to come,” added he, but the noise of arriving train overshadowed his words.

Boarding a regular train turned out to be a doubtless advantage, when they found out, they had the entire compartment for themselves. No mad fans, no chatterboxes…

“I wonder how many of her friends now… well, not right now, but eventually… will be informed about her getting an autograph of a famous model, even after the latter finished her career, not being a public pony now,” Alex laughed, imagining the mare gathering others alike and bragging with the speed of machinegun.

“Alex, please, don’t remind me about that…” Fluttershy shuddered, she was still under the impression of their appointment and the reaction of the unicorn. “Like if it wasn’t that awful. Those mad herds of fans exactly made me stop the so-called career, not the photographing or attending fashion events, despite I don’t like being in the center of attention,” she let Alex get to the window, in the corner of the seat under the lamp, then nested next to him. “Thinking of it now, I could hold more, purely for Rarity’s benefit, if only those fans didn’t pester me. But considering how it was, I’d like to forget about that part of my life.”

“Okay, okay, won’t touch that topic again,” Alex lowered the curtain, as the Sun was shining right into the window now. The compartment drowned in the intimate twilight. “I just think that you truly have everything for that work, Shy… and if it was within your mood and character, you’d keep it done perfectly.”

“Stop it…” Fluttershy blushed, nudging him lightly. Alex comically raised his hands, giving up.

This time the road took about five hours, as the train stopped at the several smaller stations, Alex saw on the way to Canterlot in the morning. He wasn’t watching the passing by landscape, thinking about something and absently staring in front of himself. Fluttershy curled on the seat near him and it was obvious, she tried to recompose after the events of that morning, probably thinking about Celestia’s words regarding the incident.

She looked strained and concerned and Alex ran his fingers through her mane, stroking her head, scratching behind her soft ears and trying to comfort her, while still thinking what to do with the load, placed on their shoulders by Celestia.

‘Right when I wanted to keep her out of all those troubles… Damn it! She is not a universal medic… What now? Making her attend every case, when some hay-head stupidly gets subjected to the Seekers’ effects? The last thing we need, the last thing I need is to get Shy near those bastards, risking her own sanity. Of course, she can kick somepony back on track by her Stare, but I doubt she is ready to confront the Seekers… I have no doubts, if I try to take down more of those monsters, if they appear, she will follow me,’ Alex closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. ‘I can’t risk her!’ he reached Fluttershy shoulder, stroking it gently.

Little by little Fluttershy relaxed, her strained muscles softened and her shoulders became less stiff; it took more than an hour, but the change was visible and Alex was glad that stress finally released the girl. She raised her head and Alex could meet the glance of bright turquoise eyes, not veiled by concern or fear anymore. Fluttershy smiled gently, she got up on the seat and leaned closer to Alex. Her soft silky lips touched his own and the time seemed to stop for a while, albeit differently, than when she stared the mage today. She closed her eyes, listening to her feelings, while Alex watched her, wholeheartedly giving the kiss back. Fluttershy’s small hooves traveled randomly on his shoulders, chest, arms, like trying to feel that he is still here, not going to vanish suddenly.

“Did you lock the compartment door?” she breathed out in between the kisses.

“Right after… we entered and… I saw, we were lucky… having no co-travelers this time,” Alex nuzzled her nose, when she stopped covering his face with short, but demanding kisses. “I didn’t want that to change!”

“Excellent!” cooed Fluttershy, snuggling into him with her whole body.

In about three hours they got off the train at Ponyville station and were to go back home on slightly wobbly legs. No wonder that the whole road took a bit longer, despite Alex felt like a kite and Fluttershy got some dancing tint to her gait. The clock on the tower showed almost 7 pm, when they saw it, and Alex remembered that they were to host still: Rarity and Twilight, they invited them both in the morning. Alex racked his brains to find a way to tell Twilight everything, not informing the other two girls about unwanted details. Besides, he had one more talk planned for that night, the talk which demanded proper timing, otherwise, he couldn’t reach the one, he wanted to see.

“Tea or coffee, Shy?” Alex was to shout, as he already entered the kitchen after bringing himself into order and changing upstairs.

“Huh?!” she turned off the water, Fluttershy wanted to wash her mane, getting rid of “Ponyville’s roads dust”. “What did you say, dear?”

“Take your pick, tea or coffee,” repeated Alex, lighting the stove.

“Are you kidding, Alex? Drinking coffee in the evening? I’m not…” Fluttershy stumbled. “Tea of course. I’m so tired, ready to fall, wonder, if I can hold, while the girls are here…”

‘Not drinking coffee in the evening, because she is not whom?..’ smirked Alex. ‘Was she going to mention Luna again?’

‘Well, tea it is for both,’ Alex got the kettle and filled it with water. ‘I surely need some sleep as well. First, because I really need it, and second, because I must get asleep to see Luna!’ he checked the clock, then the window – the Sun was slowly going down. ‘And before she attends to her duties, or I can’t reach her in Canterlot.’

Right when the kettle started whistling and Alex finished making the sandwiches (he decided that the lunch was history, besides, girls could come at any minute), he heard somepony knocking at the front door. There were more than two voices behind it and Alex raised his eyebrow, wondering who that could be. He saw Fluttershy going downstairs, she braided her tail and made a huge towel turban on her wet mane.

“It must be the girls.”

“Hmm… There are more of them, than Rarity and Twilight, as I could hear,” Alex shrugged, opening the door. “Oh, good evening, Rarity!”

“Ahlex, darling, Fluttershy, good evening!” Rarity pecked him on the cheek, putting some hot parcel, she levitated, into his hands. “I hope we are not too much of a burden…” she returned him a slightly guilty look and Alex wondered, what else was going to happen. “My sister, she wanted to come so much and I couldn’t leave her at home, alone and bored… So,” she stepped aside and revealed… all three fillies to Alex’s sight.

“You’ve said “alone and bored”, Rarity,” Alex made a mischievous face, he heard from behind something resembling a gasp, a snort and a giggle at the same time – Fluttershy seemingly appreciated the situation as well. Now Alex understood what was that rustle behind Rarity’s back, resembling the sound produced by mice; three big mice, to be exact. How he managed not to drop Rarity’s parcel at that moment was a separate question.

“Squee!” Rarity shrugged and made her best “puppy eyes”, like saying. ‘What could I do with them?’

“Okaaay!” slowly breathed out Fluttershy. “Don’t know what kind of entertainment we can provide… but why not.”

“Now we won’t fall asleep for granted,” she whispered to Alex.

“Hi!” said all three fillies, looking up at them. “Not going to be a problem, honestly,” smirked Apple Bloom, the other two nodded.

“Hi, girls,” Fluttershy took the process in her hooves firmly, shaking off her sleepiness, even if temporarily. “Come in! Did you have any adventures today?” she took the girls into the living room quickly, Alex followed them with his sight.

“Evening, Alex,” the last in the “queue” was Twilight with “That wasn’t my idea” expression on her smiling muzzle.

“Evening. What’s up, Twi?..” her smile seemed to Alex too meaningful, maybe his face was still dumbfounded or she simply intercepted his glance at Fluttershy taking care of the fillies… and made her own assumptions.

“Nothing, I’m glad to see you both being fine,” Twilight trotted inside, letting Alex close the door. “How did the Canterlot appointment come?”

Alex looked back to make sure that Rarity followed the girls. He leaned closer to Twilight, taking her saddle bag to place it on the small table by the door.

“With unexpected results, but I didn’t find out much about my problem,” whispered he in her ear. “Fluttershy knows everything or almost everything now, as you wanted. Celestia told her, what we both knew about the Seekers.”

“But?..” Twilight eyes became bigger than teacups.

“Not now, Twi,” Alex looked back again. “Rarity isn’t involved and doesn’t need to be for now. I’ll tell everything, but mind that I am to keep the real reasons in secret yet. So, the victim and the effect I describe are of Seeker’s origin, not some undefined magical disturbance or experiment, as I am forced to say,” he added quickly.

Twilight nodded, becoming serious at once.

‘Now, what can we do to keep the girls busy and entertained at the same time,’ pondered Alex, following Twilight to the living room. ‘There won’t be any problem, if they hear, what I’m going to say, I’ll keep it masked enough, so they won’t find much interest in it, perhaps.’

“By the way, what’s this?” he asked Rarity, nodding towards the parcel, he held in his hands still.

“Oh, this is my berry pie,” Rarity sported a bright smile. “I’ve made it specifically for the evening and it appeared to be even more handy… as we came as a bigger herd,” she looked over the company.

Alex unwrapped the pie, putting it on the table. He stared at the top of Rarity’s culinary masterpiece, resembling a lattice, every cell of which was occupied by a berry of different, but fitting together sorts; that gave Alex an excellent idea.

“Girls, do any of you have a grid copybook and some pencils?” he addressed the fillies. Meanwhile, Fluttershy made a cup of tea for everypony and Rarity cut the pie. “I’m not sure, if our talks can entertain you, but I know, what probably can.”

“Don’t know about the girls, but I have one for sure,” smirked Twilight, levitating a copybook from her saddle bag.

“Thanks, Twi! A saviour of the evening,” Alex took three sheets of paper out, found the pencils and put the whole set on the table. “Now, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, did you ever heard of “Battleship” game?”

To his utter surprise, despite all the similarities of two worlds, noosphere was unable to reproduce that simple Earth game into Equestria realm and all three fillies puzzledly shook their heads. Other girls did the same, to be honest.

Alex quickly drew a couple of 10x10 fields on each sheet, then after the second thought, added the third field to each, marked the coordinates and quickly explained the simple rules.

“So you are free to place your limited number of ships as you like, they just must bend or overlap not,” Alex gave each filly her own sheet of paper and a pencil. “Here is your own field, those two are of the opponents. Thus each of you can make two shots in her turn, instead of one, if you were one on one.”

“This makes the game harder a bit,” insinuatingly noticed Alex. “But when did challenge scare you since?”

Scootaloo huffed meaningfully and Twilight threw a quick respectful glance at Alex. Now he could be sure that the fillies were busy and entertained at the same time, as they got involved in the game with great enthusiasm. Even if something of adult talk reached their fluffy ears, it wasn’t harmful and was overshadowed by the game quite nicely.

Alex quietly told Rarity and Twilight in brief, what happened at the Castle “hospital”, inwardly smiling at his story being interrupted by cheerful “Miss!” and rare sad “Hit!” coming from the girls, none of them managed to “destroy” one whole ship of the others yet.

“That must have been horrible,” shuddered Rarity, her eyes dilated and Alex noticed that it wasn’t some acting, but truly her reaction to the incident. “Even being told by you, not witnessed myself!” she held her cup of tea in both hooves, not with her magic, like using its warmth to repel her own chilling fright. “What kind of magical accident can make this damage?”

“I don’t know exactly, what kind of impact and of what nature can provide that effect,” Alex shrugged. Twilight threw a quick evaluating glance at him, Fluttershy examined her teacup intensively. “Being magically resistant doesn’t mean that I became a specialist in all that stuff suddenly.”

“Ti… Princess Celestia has no idea either… how that was done,” Alex put away his cup and rubbed his nose bridge tiredly. “The worst thing is that the unicorn is still in severe amnesia condition, thus he can’t tell a word about what he really got into. The rest was exactly as she told, he was totally inert, not reacting on words, acts of others or any other events.”

“Until you showed something to him, right?” re-asked Rarity, alternating from Alex to Twilight; she must have spotted the glance of the latter. “What was on those sheets of paper, Alex, that made him exit his stupor?.. Moreover, in such an enraged way.”

Fluttershy strained, watching Alex; Rarity clearly felt some awkwardness of the moment.

“Hmm…” Alex tried to relax inwardly, looking over Rarity’s head, trying to avoid her eyes subtly. “These drafts were found at the place of the accident, so they could be connected to the process or the reason to the mage… identity loss. Celestia showed them to me in hope, I can recognize something, but I didn’t. There were dark spots, stripes, some red light of sort, nothing that could be deemed as a portal, to be honest. Well, according to how I can imagine a portal anyway…” Alex tried hard to balance on the thin borderline between the truth and… well, “partial truth”. At least he managed to describe the images quite close, not giving the whole impression though.

“You know, portals can be different. Sometimes they don’t look like a swirl or whatever you expect them to be,” Twilight rolled her eyes, it looked too far-fetched for her, but nopony objected.

“It’s your talent – magic, not mine,” retorted Alex with a chuckle. “I won’t recognize one, if my wallet… Merlin’s pants, I even don’t have one now… So, even if my theoretical wallet turns into one, I’ll start suspecting something, only when money begins to vanish through it.”

“Did you come here through a portal?” Apple Bloom turned to him, distracted from the game.

Alex squinted, he would like to forget some aspects of his arrival completely.

“The problem is, I have no idea, what it was,” he answered sincerely. “I was riding a car…”

“A car?” all three fillies perked their ears. “You mean, by a train…”

“No,” smirked Alex. “Well, it’s hard to explain in brief, but a car, an automobile is a big self-propelled carriage. It moves by using combustion power, like the train. I got into an accident with another car… tried to help those people, but their vehicle got on fire, when I was in… and then a lightning hit it.”

Three fillies fell silent, freezing in bewilderment; Twilight, Fluttershy and Rarity heard the details already, nevertheless, they shuddered involuntarily at the image.

“The next thing I could remember was finding myself at the top of the Old Castle tower. Back then I was too shocked to think about it, but now I can say, finding myself not fried was a big surprise as well,” Alex stared at the tea in his cup almost for a minute, until the fillies started fidgeting impatiently. “As for your question – to me it looked least as a portal, but as Twilight said…”

“Wow!” breathed out Apple Bloom.

“Anyway, returning to our story,” continued Alex. “We left the drafts there, they must have trashed them already.”

That was part truth only – Alex managed to keep one draft, the one exactly he showed to the mage; he crumpled it, when the incident happened, but kept holding it automatically, then folded and hid it later.

“I have a feeling that you haven’t found out anything for yourself today, Ahlex,” pensively muttered Rarity. “You aren’t closer to your problem solution, as you don’t even know, if that case is connected… And this unicorn talking is a quite far perspective.”

“Well, technically I did nothing today,” confessed Alex. “And I have nothing to be proud of indeed, But… we found out that Fluttershy can help with cases alike. At least she can put the victim on the road of healing quite effectively.”

Fluttershy blushed and said quietly.

“I prefer that there are no such cases to remedy anymore…”

‘I know, dear, I know… Merlin’s pants, if only I could grant that,’ thought Alex.

“Woohoo!!!” Scootaloo’s loud whoop made them all jump on their seats, the filly managed to hit all Sweetie Belle’s ships and now was to confront only Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle pouted and looked so sad, that Alex took another two pieces of paper and suggested.

“Tis a game only. Shall we try again?” he drew new fields and handed one sheet to Sweetie Belle with a smile. “Thy fleet versus mine… While thy friends are finishing their match.”

Fluttershy sighed, Twilight squinted at Alex and only Rarity noticed nothing, watching him and her sister with a pleased smile.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom continued their battle and it looked like a really hard one, as they managed to take down all of the larger ships and “swept” the enemy’s field, searching for the rest. Alex played with Sweetie Belle, talking to girls at the same time. Perhaps his attention was spread, or he didn’t take the competitor seriously enough, but Belle hit the targets quite effectively, making him lose the match soon. Almost at the same time Scootaloo won against Apple Bloom in the epic battle having only one, one square ship left; Apple Bloom took that defeat stoically, she definitely decided to take revenge next time. As the result all three fillies were rather happy about that evening, Alex knew that they heard almost everything, but apparently that didn’t interest them enough to stick in.

After a short while Rarity threw a quick glance at Fluttershy, who was almost sleeping on Alex’s shoulder and said that it was time to go; she was to walk the girls home as well. Fluttershy shook up a little and followed Rarity and the fillies to the door, while Twilight lingered for a while.

“What was on those drafts?” she leaned closer to Alex, putting the pencils back into her bag. “I mean, actually…”

“The Seekers,” sighed Alex, the answer was obvious. “Other mages, who were lucky to watch them from the distance, draw them… and Celestia showed the drafts to me.”

“So the worst thing the Seekers can cause,” whispered Twilight. “Is the identity loss… And Fluttershy can revert that damage merely by her Stare, right?”

“Yes, but I preferred that we didn’t find that out, Twi,” Alex shook his head. “Now it’s only a matter of time, when another victim appears and Celestia needs her help.”

“Isn’t it good that we have at least anything against their damage?”

“Putting Fluttershy into all that - isn’t!” dropped Alex. “I don’t want her to become a victim, whether the Seekers are connected to my arrival or not… And making her involved puts her under the risk more than…”

“I don’t think that not telling her the entire truth was a way out either, so you did right finally,” Twilight put her hoof on his hand.

“Not me, Celestia did, in the earnest,” chuckled Alex. “I was to conform under the pressure of circumstances.”

“Anyway, you both did right,” said Twilight, then added meaningfully. “And one more thing, watch thy tongue better, please.”

She trotted out to follow Rarity and girls, Alex stood in the kitchen, leaning on the table.

‘Thou art right, Twilight… As usual. Now I must find some way out of this!..’

Fluttershy entered the kitchen and started gathering the teacups and sheets of paper from the table; Alex still looked at one spot, totally occupied by his thoughts. Suddenly he felt her soft embrace and a kiss on his neck: Fluttershy snuggled to his side, handing him his own “Battleship” paper… where he was drawing the ships, all the time around squares, which Sweetie Belle hit. Alex shrugged with a smile, looking into her loving eyes and getting one more kiss, on his lips now.

“Let’s go,” Fluttershy dragged him upstairs. “I’m dropping dead almost…”

They fell into the endless well of dreams, as soon as their heads touched the pillows, so exhausted they both were, physically and mentally. Alex was even afraid that sleepwalking, demanding for certain mental powers, wouldn’t work that night. But to his surprise it happened very fluently: one second ago he was holding Fluttershy, breathing evenly on his chest, and the next moment he stood in the so familiar room in Canterlot Castle.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too late, Luna was still in her bed, sleeping on her side, her head rested on her fore legs and her hair covered the pillows with the luxurious veil of starry night. She was smiling through her sleep like a small filly, so her cheeks became prettily round and the small dimples on them made Alex’s wish to touch and stroke her cheek almost irresistible. Luna’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, she was going to wake any moment soon. With a wide smile Alex ran his fingers through her mane, breathing full lungs of lavender, then kissed her shoulder lightly; her nose funnily twitched at the moment.

Alex stepped back and sat in the armchair, taking an open book from it, marking the page and putting it away. Waiting for her and watching the sleeping beauty waking up wasn’t a bad occupation at all. He threw a quick glance through the half-curtained window: the last thin stripe of clouds, highlighted pink by the setting Sun, drowned into the darkness. Luna sighed in her sleep and straightened her fore legs, stretching with her eyes still closed and making Alex’s heart race, so exciting was the look.

“Mmm…” cooed the Princess of the Night, slowly opening her beautiful eyes. “I knew ‘t wast thou, mine lief!” she wiggled her shoulder, Alex kissed, and her sly dark blue eye stared at him through her mane, which covered half of her face, as Luna got up.

‘Just like Fluttershy in the morning!’ flew in Alex’s head, he caught himself watching her with slightly open mouth and quickly made a more neutral face.

“Mine apologies,” Luna shook her head, cocking it proudly, and her mane streamed in the insensible wind. “Now it’s better,” she giggled, heading to the bathroom. In a minute Luna trotted back fully awake and ready for her night, as Alex clearly read in her shining eyes.

“Good evening, my princess,” Alex barely had time to say that, before Luna grabbed him in her warm embrace, sitting in front of him.

“I missed thee much, mine lief!” cooed Luna, wrapping him in her wings and bringing nose to nose with her.

The first kiss turned out to be hasty and insatiable and Alex tried to feel each tiny second of it, while her soft lips and tongue danced with his own. After a while, Luna calmed down a bit, except for her racing heart, Alex could easily feel, placing his hands on the soft coat on her chest. She opened her eyes, so he could dive deep into them, while still gently sharing his breath with the princess. Luna watched his half-lidded from pleasure eyes and threw back her head with a happy silvery laughter.

“I can see, thou didst likewise,” she snuggled him closer.

Suddenly Luna frowned and got slightly aback, carefully examining his face. Alex realized that she noticed the almost faded bruise in form of a hoof on his cheekbone; he sighed. ‘Three… Two… One…’

“What miserable soul from the forsaken depths of the Tartarus dared…” her eyes shone furiously, or maybe that was the glint of the hearth fire, anyway the steel notes of hers were the Royal Canterlot Voice precursors. “I shall rip ‘t to pieces and fill with endless nightmares!”

Alex ran his fingers through her mane, behind her soft ears, making Luna let out a quiet uncontrolled moan of pleasure, and covered her mouth with his lips.

“Mmmmfff…” started Luna, but soon relaxed and wrapped her fore legs around him; her gentle hooves travelled all over his shoulders and back, like looking for a fulcrum to bring him even closer. Alex released her, only when Luna calmed down completely, becoming soft and to be honest quite hot and fluttery in his hands.

“Still…” started she in inquiring tone, throwing a glance at him.

“There is no need to rip those souls, regardless of them being miserable or contrary to that,” chuckled Alex. “I suppose they have got their retribution for the act fully.”

He told Luna about the whole accident in the bar on Friday; she gritted her teeth at the description of the racist and aggressive outburst of two builders, with new hot sparkles appearing in her beautiful eyes, but finally laughed at the image of both bullies getting their lesson the hard way.

“Ha-ha, I like the way it turned out!” she brought Alex’s head closer to her chest, laughing like a school filly.

“I still can’t understand, what got into their heads,” sincerely wondered Alex. “Big Mac said, they could think I’m taking the limited vacancies in Ponyville, but… I haven’t ever appeared at the building site…”

“In tis case they are getting their jobs out of control, if ‘t be true they still fear thy pressure.”

“Anyway, I regret nothing!” Alex removed a stray hair from her face and put his palm gently on her cheek. “It must be impossible, but you become even prettier, when enraged, truly adorable!” confessed Alex with another soft kiss.

“Doth that mean that thou art going to enrage me oft?” wondered Luna with a sly smile. “Simply for the show.”

“Only if it is totally safe, for me and others around. But I know a better method…” with these words Alex put his fingers on Luna’s wings margins.

It took only a faint move, like a butterfly wing touch, to start the marvelous transformation: Luna’s wings spread out; her luxurious mane formed a dark, silky, starry halo around her head, like blown up by some insensible wind; she bent her swan-like neck, glancing down at him with dilated glowing eyes.

“Thou! Thou art a tease…” almost moaned she, Luna’s mouth stayed slightly opened, as her breath suddenly became faster and voice deeper. “I tell thee, thou shalt avoid touching them like that, if ‘t be true thou art ready for the consequences not…”

“Okay, okay, not doing anything!” smirked Alex, removing his hands. “As I said, I knew a better way to reveal your divine look in full glory.”

Luna squeezed him, kissing, then put her head on his shoulder, breathing out loudly into Alex’s neck.

“I barely holding myself,” huffed she, her hoof unconsciously stroked his shoulder. “Thou should know better. I crave for a comparable revenge,” Luna let out a silvery laughter.

“Apologies, mine goddess,” Alex tenderly kissed her in her nose, then in her warm silky cheek, then started coveting her closed eyes with soft gentle kisses, feeling how his heart almost jumped out of his chest in its turn. “I tend to think ‘t was worth the risk forsooth!”

Luna gasped, throwing a quick surprised glance on him; she didn’t get used yet to be mirrored.

“Oh, I have forgotten almost,” she giggled quietly in a second. “Thither is the duty I can’t sabotage under any circumstances.”

“The Moonrise!” guessed Alex, when she released him and headed to the balcony. He followed the princess almost without any hesitation, this view was always worth overcoming his acrophobia a little. Nevertheless, he stopped right behind the door, not approaching the railing and watching, how Luna spread her wings and soared in the quickly darkening night sky.

Her horn glowed with the blue aura and the Moon appeared from behind the mountain, raising in the sky, obedient to the will of the Night Princess. Luna turned to face Alex and for a short moment her gracious figure with widely spread wings and flowing mane and tail appeared against the Moon, highlighted from behind with soft silver light.

‘Truly divine!’ with widely open eyes and heavily thumping heart Alex watched her, descending to the balcony. ‘Girls, what are you both doing to me?!’

“I can say that thou enjoy the view greatly, simply by looking into thy eyes,” chuckled Luna, floating in the air above the balcony; her mane formed an amazing flowing halo around her head again.

‘Just of the different colour,’ thought Alex involuntarily, his heart made a passionate jump. ‘Starry night instead of soft pink!’

“I thought about a small walk, Alex,” meanwhile suggested Luna, watching him freezing in awe obviously gave her much pleasure. “The night is so beautiful, tis a crime to spend it in four walls, in the earnest.”

“But…” Alex unfroze and glanced at her in surprise. “Where, my princess?”

“The garden is hardly less beautiful at night,” Luna gave him a cheerful smile. “Thou haven’t seen it yet, right?”

“The garden is a few galleries and stairwells from here, thousands of steps and nopony knows how many guards,” said Alex with a bewildered look. “I doubt it is a good idea, if they all see me here.”

Luna simply darted down from the balcony, instead of an answer, and when Alex was going to rush to the railing, forgetting about his fear of heights, she soared back to the same level.

“Thither is another way, thou knowest,” teasingly giggled the Night Goddess. “The garden is less guarded and… one doth need to walk far not.”

“Thou knowest, thou can do it,” Luna approached him, looking deep into his eyes. “Thou hath done and thou art capable of much more… Remember thy fight with the Seeker!”

She pressed her lips firmly to Alex’s, still floating in the air, and slowly backed up, not breaking the kiss. This way they almost reached the railing.

“It’s not so hard, right?” with another smile Luna fluttered higher and over the balcony railing.

Alex felt the fresh wind on his face and the tantalizing aroma of night flowers from the garden below; he gulped loudly.

“Okay… I know I can regret this,” he squinted. “What’s down below, Luna?”

“A gravel court,” Luna giggled. “No trees, no buildings, no rocks, if ‘t be true thou art asking about things alike!”

“It better be a haystack,” muttered Alex quite loudly, causing another silvery laugher from the princess. ‘Okay, I can do it. Merlin’s pants, I truly hope, I can… The mill with the Seeker wasn’t of a high-rise building height though!’

Alex straightened, concentrating on the task – moving himself in the air was considerably harder than controlling different objects or simply jumping higher, when he was sleepwalking. He raised in the air and reached over the railings. To be honest, his heart was beating somewhere above his throat, when Alex felt the cold wind whistling in his ears, while he descended fluently, straight as an arrow with arms outstretched slightly for balance. He would never confess that to Luna, but descending from this height was scary enough for the first time and, as Alex was going to admit, that hardly seemed to change anytime soon. Nevertheless, as the blissful relief, one of his feet met the ground and then another; he managed to keep balance, not falling or kneeling upon landing.

“Tis was wonderful, mine lief,” Luna landed next to him and covered his shoulders with her soft wing. “Believing, as I said, is the key to the mastery.”

‘I won’t tell you that I did it with eyes tightly shut this time!’, Alex breathed out noisily.

“Are you sure about the garden?” re-asked he, looking up to the balcony and shuddering inwardly at the height. “Because last time I tried to take a walk “around the castle” on my own, Tia didn’t take it well.”

“Mayhap it was, because thou sneaked into her room and took a few flowers,” giggled Luna.

“I deny anything!” Alex made an innocent face. “Besides she doesn’t snore and looks quite elegant while sleeping… Not as divine as you, of course,” he added with a smile, Luna wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue to him in a totally non-princess-like manner. “But she has nothing to worry about…”

“I wonder, if ‘t be true thy cheeky deeds bring thee more adventures, than thou expect.”

“You probably won’t believe, but my life before was routinely boring most of the time,” Alex followed Luna on the gravel path to the green hedge, which contours became clearer in the darkness with each step they made towards the garden.

“Hmmm, what else we are to witness, at which time thy… inner Alex compensates the bore?” chuckled Luna.

They reached the arched entrance to the garden and Alex could have a look at it with his own eyes. It wasn’t some banal labyrinth of green hedges, geometrically correct, molested shrubs and boring squares with fountains and benches. To Alex’s surprise and delight, it was more of a park; the garden looked as close to wild and natural as it was possible, while still keeping it well-groomed and beautiful. The strict plan and caring hoof were present everywhere, yet the trees and shrubs looked like randomly grown, where they “wanted”; flowers formed small meadows, rather than deliberate flower-beds; and benches, fountains and statues, where they were visible, didn’t spoil the whole naturalness. Alex breathed deeply, the aroma of night flowers mixed with lovely lavender of his princess, he could hear distant nightingales deeper in the garden and some other night birds, he didn’t know. A late squirrel whisked in the tree top, rustling the leaves. Alex alternated from smiling Luna to the magical image of the moonlit garden and felt, how his heart was filling with inexplicable happiness.

“Come hither, tis not a problem if ‘t be true thou art with me,” Luna approached him, seeing that Alex was still hesitating; she pressed her nose against his and looked into his eyes. “I shan’t enjoy mine walk as much without thee, mindst that.”

Alex put his both palms on her silky cheeks and gently kissed Luna instead of an answer. She squeaked from surprise and quickly pulled him closer, so the gentle kiss switched to the rather passionate one. Alex felt, his head was ready to start “floating”, while Luna’s hooves wrapped around him and her fragrant hair surrounded them in a soft cloud of living silk, when a quiet metal clank attracted their attention.

Not breaking the mutual embrace Alex and Luna turned to see a frozen on spot and totally bewildered guard. Alex stifled a snort, readying to break out at the hilarious expression of the unicorn, and Luna quickly told the latter with her widened glaring eyes that he was dismissed and could attend to his duties… somewhere else. The guard “picked up his jaw” and vanished almost magically.

“Well… ahem… this one shan’t tell anything,” she turned back to Alex with sly sparkles in her beautiful blue eyes. “Tia doth need to know everything right away not. Shall we go, Alex?” Luna led him somewhere deeper in the garden. “I want to show thee something.”

“Because you spotted him, Luna,” huffed Alex. “Others, whom we might notice not, will surely discuss… But know what? I don’t care…” he stopped her and squeezed tighter, continuing interrupted pleasure.

“By the way,” noticed Alex, when they took a break for some air. “Tia definitely knows or at least suspects something already…”

“She said that she will tell you about our today’s… experiment, when I was only about to suggest something alike,” explained he, as Luna stared surprisingly at him.

Alex briefly told her about the victim of the Seekers’ evil magic, about their with Celestia decision that it could be connected to his story indirectly, about their appointment earlier that day and about the rage attack, the unicorn entered upon seeing the drafts of the Seekers. He already described what happened next and Fluttershy’s sudden act, resulting in partial recovery of the victim, and was telling Luna, how Celestia decided to tell Fluttershy the significant part of the information, as she could be very important in confronting them.

“…and when we were going to leave, I decided to relay you a message, my princess,” Alex rubbed his forehead, realizing that it wasn’t the smartest act perhaps. “But reconsidered. Yet Tia guessed what I was going to say in a wink and suggested the same herself. Needless to say, I was dumbfounded instantly. She was going to tell you everything in the upcoming morning, I suppose.”

“I mean,” Alex pleadingly looked in Luna’s eyes. “Show her a bit of surprise at least, when she does, please. Like if you haven’t heard everything from me already.”

“Fine, mine lief, I shall cover thee. Methinks ‘t shalt be an entertaining talk,” Luna’s eyes laughed, while she dragged him further, until they reached a small pond.

“’t seems we arrived too early,” she observed the water surface, expecting something and not finding it yet. Luna threw a quick look at the sky. “The Moon is not high enough yet…”

“But what…” Alex watched the pond surface fixedly, then turned to Luna. “…we are supposed to see there.”

“Patience, mine lief,” Luna hugged him, wrapping in her wings. “Tis a surprise!”

“Okay, like you say, my princess,” Alex put his head on her shoulder, stroking her silky dark coat and inhaling the lavender aroma.

“Hey, why don’t we use the time, you insist to spend waiting, for our practice,” he looked up in Luna’s eyes teasingly. “Or you feel completely confident in dancing already.”

“Art thou joking?” huffed Luna, but her eyes shone with anticipation. “Standing on two legs is not mine common practice, let alone acting alike. I’m all for yet another lesson… with thee,” added she meaningfully.

“Shall we waste our precious time not henceforth?” Alex raised one eyebrow.

After a few passes Alex was to admit Luna’s considerable progress at “human dancing”. She felt far more confident that night, raising on her hind legs and handing him one fore hoof, while another was firmly placed on Alex’s shoulder. Alex accepted her accurate hoof like some precious jewellery and held it gently, leading the princess in their dance, trying to ignore the silky softness under his another hand on her waist, not to lose the rhythm… and his head completely. He noticed that they didn’t need any counting already, perfectly feeling the pace and each other; moreover, Luna didn’t need as much Alex’s support, as when they started only, moving on two legs much better, than their first time.

“I’ve practiced a lot lately,” confessed Luna with a slight pink tint on her cheeks, Alex never got tired to admire and be amazed by the prettiness of that simple manifestation on her face. “Surely dancing without a partner is a totally different story. I broke a vase,” her nose became pink as well, but she managed to keep the balance despite embarrassment.

“Are you sure, we can pull this out at the Gala?” Alex looked deeply in the blue lakes of her eyes. “Moreover, that you can cope with it in your dress… because it’s going to be different, perhaps considerably different.”

His words weren’t groundless, tango was noticeably harder for ponies, even for alicorns, to succeed at. Alex explained and showed Luna everything, but was to take out a couple of non vital, but very advantageous to his opinion, elements – they were hardly doable for a pony, even on two legs. Besides, Luna was larger and a bit heavier than him; Alex was to look up constantly to keep eye contact, otherwise, his eyes enjoyed not higher than the silky coat on Luna’s chest. Judging by Luna’s regretful look, she would be glad to keep and employ the mentioned elements, perhaps even more eagerly than Alex. Nevertheless, the progress was obvious, she didn’t stomp on his feet a single time that night and generally became more fluent and natural in her movements.

“Tis mine idea,” Luna cocked her head, returning Alex his glance. “And I shall do mine finest to succeed. With thy dear help, of course.”

Alex didn’t ask about the music this time, Luna ensured him that she was keeping that aspect under her personal control, the very tight one. The glare in her eyes told Alex that poor orchestra would rather learn any human dance in a couple of days, or even nights, than fail afore of the princess.

More passes made them breathe heavier finally, maybe because of Luna’s constant laughing at her remaining clumsiness; for Alex that laughter was better than any accompanying music though. Thus they decided to take a break and have some rest, the nearby low bench looked suitable enough, but Alex lowered himself right on the grass at the pond bank and Luna followed him, seating herself behind.

“It seemeth, it’s the right time, Alex,” whispered she in his ear, wrapping him in her warm wings and placing her head atop of his, as usual. “Lookest thither, mine lief!”

Alex wanted to say something and suddenly stopped, looking at the pond: surely the water mirror was beautiful itself in its green lush frame, its calmness; the moon track shone across the water, the nearby trees bowed their lower braid-like branches to the pond. But the reason for him freezing on spot was different: a few opalescent “diamonds” were there, right in the moonlight, among the large dark green leaves on the water surface. Each white flower with light golden middle almost tingled in the still air, seemingly emitting the visible glow. Large, bigger than his open palm, as he could evaluate, they seemed to be woven from the moonlight itself. Alex couldn’t care less, if he looked stupid, staring at them, he literally gasped.

“These are the Canterlot Water Lily,” Luna was quite amused by his reaction and to be honest pleased much as well. “The… younger sister of the Star Lily.”

‘How must the Star Lilies look, if those are “younger sister” only,’ Alex kept staring at the amazing flowers, which attracted a few large moths already.

“They produce almost no aroma and are smaller than Star Lilies, which are about the size of thy head. The Star Lilies are pristine white, very beautiful and rare,” Luna ruffled his hair with her nose. “I remember only one place, whither they grow – the pond in the Old Castle garden… If ‘t be true this pond still existeth…” added she with a faint shadow of sadness in her voice. “’t was seemingly aeons ere, at which time I was a filly.”

‘There is nothing impossible to overcome on the way,’ flew in Alex’s head, while Luna told him about the beauty of her favourite flowers. ‘I could easily get there and back in a couple of days… if not that suspension bridge over the canyon. It brought the creeps, when it was unbroken, now it is a complete nightmare!’

“If they are still there, mine princess, I’ll bring them to thee, somehow. I don’t know how yet… But I shall do it, in the earnest,” Alex leaned on Luna’s shoulder, running his fingers up her neck, cheek and diving into her amazing starry-night mane, stroking it and making Luna almost purr, eyes closed, while she was kissing his face, searching for his lips and finally sharing her breath with her human adorer.

The cinema attendant in uniform showed them their seats, so, Alex and Fluttershy could nest with comfort without too many strangers making a noisy herd around. There was one particular reason, why Alex insisted on taking their seats slightly beforehand – there were still enough ponies to eagerly stare at him, while they came to the cinema. Even more that evening, as he was with Fluttershy, thus both gaining double attention. Now though they could quietly take their seats right in the middle of the auditorium, after the wide walkway; thus Alex didn’t need to strain his legs much, trying to fit between the rows, still they could see and hear everything perfectly, while being not too close to the screen.

The auditorium was slowly getting filled with ponies, as it was a bit early and some preferred to have a chatter with kith in the hallway or spend some time in the cinema café. Sitting on their places Alex and Fluttershy were not catching too much sight and Alex thought once again that it was a nice idea, as walking in, when the auditorium was full, would be comparable with some red carpet stroll, which he was happy to avoid.

Alex noticed Applejack and Big Mac a couple of rows higher and accurately waved, getting two smiles and a hoof wave in return; Apple Bloom must have stayed with Granny Smith (perhaps with her club mates) as the movie had scenes not suitable for fillies.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake were here as well, but Pinkie, as Alex assumed, stayed home with baby Cakes, letting their parents have a break. Somehow Alex was sure that Pinkie could have much fun anyway, with her character babysitting wasn’t a big problem.

Three familiar manes passed his view, making their course through the fifth row; Alex wasn’t sure that watching a movie on a big screen from that close was better, but Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow could have their own reasons. Twilight spotted them with Fluttershy and nudged both her friends, then waved them enthusiastically.

“Hi, pals!” Twilight winked. “Decided to compare, Alex, eh?”

Alex nodded with a smile, he understood what Twilight was talking about: sticking to his noosphere hypothesis, there must be certain similarities between movie superheroes of his home world and Equestria.

Rarity squeezed a small smile, she was still pouting for the morning; Alex naturally didn’t understand how they could do otherwise. Then she started “questioning” Twilight about the comparison, Twilight mentioned, and Alex stifled a laugh: curiosity followed generosity very closely.

Rainbow Dash simply huffed meaningfully and turned away to the screen, taking her seat and not paying much attention to the reproving glance of Twilight. Alex inwardly chuckled, he would be surprised, if something had been going differently in her case, but he preferred to address his memories instead…

The morning! The morning started from Fluttershy waking up and facing a large, no, a huge, no… an enormous bunch of fragrant field flowers at the footrest of their bed. She trotted downstairs with starry eyes and hung on Alex’s neck; he was to wipe flower pollen from her nose before kissing and offering her some coffee, thinking with a smile that gathering them all at midnight was one hell of a work, yet it was entirely worth the result.

After the breakfast Alex could find out what Fluttershy chose as the ideal date program, first they went to the lake. Both were light on their feet and hooves, so, in less than half an hour they could swim, sunbathe and generally horse around, enjoying the weather and themselves.

Laying on the sand and holding Fluttershy’s hoof Alex noticed Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow, who seemed to make a similar decision regarding their Sunday morning. Thankfully they were on the opposite bank of the lake, as Alex, having nothing against Twilight’s company, couldn’t take much of both two other mares at once. Rarity already noticed them and waved Alex and Fluttershy, inviting to join their company; Alex was sure that if it was a swimming pool, not a fairly deep lake, Rarity would easily swim to them, so excited she looked. Alex in his turn thought that swimming and sunbathing in Rarity’s proximity wasn’t the best idea, considering her unrealized desires.

Rarity told two other girls, but Rainbow seemed to notice them with Fluttershy on her own, as she cocked her head in disapproval already. Alex was still thankful for no attempts to make a local rain over him, obviously affecting Fluttershy. He pretended that he noticed nopony and he was sure that Twilight exactly held Rarity back from making any further plans.

Alex realized that Fluttershy noticed the girls as well, but she didn’t show it, preferring to wrap around his body in the water, in tranquil solitude of their distant small beach, to some larger company. Three other girls didn’t interfere, but that couldn’t prevent them from seeing Alex and Fluttershy spending time together and enjoying each other; thus Rarity’s pouting was easily explicable.

When the Sun became too hot, Alex and Fluttershy headed to Ponyville and had a lunch in a small café. Alex told something funny, making Fluttershy giggle like a school filly; she tried to attract not too much attention, yet failed each time at the most hilarious moments.

Later they took a walk at the edge of Everfree and Alex realized that it was a completely different story, to walk in that forest with a beloved somepony, instead of doing it alone. He was to admit, this idea of a date fitted his own taste quite well. Watching Fluttershy, walking between the flowers, listening to her melodic voice, telling about different animals and birds, made Alex’s heart happy and serene, almost singing. He was amazed, each time like the first one, how seemingly wild critters trusted his marefriend and approached them without any fear. For the first time in his life, Alex saw, how a bird perched on his outstretched hand and… sang! That was easily explicable – Fluttershy, the epitome of divine kindness in the crown of her amazing hair, shining in the sun, was near, smiling and nodding in approval, whispering something in Alex’s ear and kissing his neck. Alex didn’t hear, what she said at that moment, all he could hear, was the thumping of his own heart…

The third ring interrupted Alex’s musing, but before the lights slowly went down, an attendant (not the same, which followed them to their seats) trotted to the stage in front of the screen. The whole auditorium quieted down in a minute automatically and everypony looked at the stallion interestedly, as the pre-movie announcements were not common, unlike onscreen advertisements, thus might contain something really important.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” the stallion raised his well-trained voice a bit to make sure, even the last rows can hear every word. “Good evening and welcome to our cinema. Before you all immerse into exciting adventures of our beloved Mare-Do-Well, I would like to make a short announcement.”

“We don’t usually issue any like that one,” continued he, hearing a few quiet, yet surprised voices. “Besides, each of you receives a copy via regular mail. However, this one was issued by her Regal Highness Princess Celestia herself, thus we suppose, it is of certain importance.”

Omitting the titles and usual in those cases foreword the message consisted of the following:

“The Department of Experimental Magic of the Royal Council warns: As the result of a few ongoing transportation magic tests the stray magical anomaly appearing is possible. For the attention of everypony: In the case of appearance of anxiety, unexplained fear, sad or painful memories, etc of the similar kind without any reasonable premises, please, leave the area of the aforementioned effects immediately and notify local authorities or/and the royal guards, if present! The anomaly may be accompanied by visual manifestations in form of shadowy horse-like creatures. Be aware, these creatures are dangerous, as well as approaching the epicentrum of the effects, and may cause serious mental damage to those, objected to their impact. Stay safe and attentive.”

“So, the egg-heads from the Council bucked it up again,” huffed in half voice a mid-aged stallion to the left. “As usual, we pay the taxes, they unleash some nasty trash after our flanks!”

His wife said something about it being not severely dangerous, as she didn’t notice increased guards presence, calming him down; but the foals should play near the house only, according to her next notice.

Alex heard several similar sentiments quietly voiced by nearby ponies. Rainbow Dash huffed something like “Huh, stray anomaly? Yeah, right!”

Only three knew what that announcement meant actually, Fluttershy took his hand and Alex noticed how Twilight’s shoulders strained, but she kept looking at the screen. One more knew about the ground events partially. Rarity couldn’t hold herself and turned back, throwing a concerned and caring glance at Alex.

A few muffled voices still discussed the announcement, when the lights went out and the screen lit, presenting short advertisements and movie trailers as usual before the main session. Alex and Fluttershy had nothing to discuss here, they already knew a lot more, than was said in the message; sharing a meaningful glance both decided that Celestia was cautious enough in her announcement not to inflict panic among her subjects. Alex tended to agree with her here, complete information and some inevitable panic as the result would certainly do more harm than good.

Alex slid down on his seat, as low as he could, almost laying in it, not to obstruct the view of those, who happened to seat right behind him. The pose wasn’t entirely uncomfortable, more likely unusual enough for watching a movie in the cinema, not on the couch at home. But it allowed Fluttershy to easily put her head on Alex’s shoulder and hoof on his chest, thus entirely compensating for even tiny inconveniences. Alex nuzzled her hair, inhaling the floral aroma and getting a quiet happy sigh from the girl, when he kissed her behind her ear.

From the first few minutes after the titles Alex realized that he knew the certain earth equivalent of that movie, that being not a turn down for him though, but rather making the whole thing more interesting. The similarities of the stories: masterful usage of the lasso and whip (but the epee), the masked hero, among others clearly told Alex, that was “equestrian Zorro” – the home version of which he knew and loved as a kid. That naturally made his impression of the movie even brighter.

The main character – Mare-Do-Well – saved the common ponies from the dangers, natural and not so much, helped the poor and unfortunate, but the main plot rolled on the rails of saving the locals from the oppression and exploitation by the infamous diamond dogs. Thus the action took place at the north-eastern border of Equestria and at times before sisters’ regime explained the toothy offenders the status quo once and forever, usage of “the iron hoof” included. Prior to that diamond dogs capturing the ponies and making them work in the mines was a quite frequent type of incident in that region. So, Mare-Do-Well did her best to fight that… perversity, this among other gests of the daring masked hero.

“I wonder what other… superheroes do you have in Equestria?” whispered Alex in Fluttershy’s ear during the less intense scene. “Do young fillies dream to become… errmmm… Supermare or Batmare and colts – Captain Equestria, or somepony else alike?”

“How would you know?!” softly chuckled Fluttershy. “Yes, we have Wonder Mare indeed, and Superfilly…”

“Wow!” that was the first which came to Alex’s mind at the realization of the solidity of his noosphere theory, similarities between worlds included. “We do have Wonder Woman, no joking. That’s among some others, whose names will definitely sound familiar to you, Shy.”

“So, does your Wonder Mare also dodges and reflects bullets, outruns time and so on?” Alex ruffled Fluttershy mane, making the flower aroma even stronger.

“Well, we don’t welcome firearms widely in Equestria,” squinted Fluttershy. “But generally – yes, like you say…” she snuggled tighter into him, a romantic scene was on the big screen right at that moment, so, they both decided to follow suit and shared a tender kiss.

“Hmm… That makes me think…” Alex chuckled after a few minutes of watching. “If Wonder Mare is a secret identity of our cheerful friend Pinkie Pie.”

“The ease both manage to defy the laws of physics sometimes,” explained Alex under the surprised glance of Fluttershy. “You won’t deny that some of her tricks make one think deeply, being hardly achievable without a… special special talent.”

After momentary thinking Fluttershy quietly snorted, obviously, that didn’t come into her mind under that perspective, but at the moment Alex said it…

Both quietly giggled at the idea, getting a stern quick glance over the shoulder from a mare on the row across the walkway. However, she could neither object their silent kissing, which followed, nor do anything with, even if it distracted her from the movie itself.

“So, you want to say that you have already seen this,” Fluttershy turned to Alex in continuation of their relaxed talk on the way home. They discussed the movies, including the one they saw, and stunning similarities between the heroes of Earth and Equestria.

“Not exactly “this”, but the whole plot was familiar and recognizable to me,” Alex looked into her smiling eyes. “That didn’t make it boring or tiny bit less enjoyable, in the earnest.”

He leaned and picked her up, making Fluttershy produce a surprised, yet excited squeak, as he held her tenderly, but strongly.

“Everything was awesome, the date, the movie… The evening is awesome!” said Alex, touching her nose with his own and noticing happy sparkles dancing in Fluttershy’s eyes. “And thou art awesome, mine love!”

Yet another surprise for this evening awaited them, when Alex and Fluttershy crossed the wooden bridge over the stream near Fluttershy’s cottage: a fairly large carriage was parked at the gate and a few delivery workers rested under the nearby tree, obviously waiting for the addressee to come. Alex and Fluttershy paced up, exchanging glances; Alex supposed, he knew what was in the carriage.

“Good evening, sir, miss!” a unicorn in delivery uniform saluted them, bringing the fore hoof to his cap. “Special delivery for you, sir. As I believe you must be Alex… the human.”

“Good evening, gentlecolts!” Alex waved to the whole company, Fluttershy slightly raised her hoof, totally puzzled by the event. Alex wasn’t sure, if it was the best time for that exactly delivery, as he had no idea how Fluttershy could take yet another… manifestation of involvement from Luna. “I extend mine hope, ye all didn’t wait for us for unforgivably long time.”

“Not very. Just about half an hour,” the stallion squinted with a smile. “I beg your pardon, but you speak too familiar, sir, to ignore that. The sender, I mean the princess insisted specifically that we waited for you as long as necessary, fairly supposing you can have your own affairs on Sunday evening.”

“Oh, fine then…” Alex blushed a bit under his smiling glance. “How much…”

“The delivery is pre-paid, sir, no worries. Where do you want us to put the crates?” the unicorn levitated a scroll and a bag forward. “There is a letter and… this as well.”

The unambiguously tinkling bag fell into Alex’s hands followed by the lavender fragrant scroll, when the unicorn added meaningfully.

“The princess specifically asked to not accept anything, if you try to return. I believe, she was sure that you could try to.”

“I’ll get inside and take care of the supper, if you don’t mind, Alex,” the true meaning of that quiet Fluttershy’s phrase was known to him only and Alex inwardly sighed. “Have a nice evening, gentlecolts!” she nodded to the rest of the company, heading to the front door.

“Just a minute, dear,” Alex caught her, handing her the bag and the letter. “Can I use the old shed on the backyard, Shy? We need to stack them somewhere,” he pointed to the carriage.

“Surely, you can,” dropped Fluttershy over her shoulder, the happy sparkles in her eyes noticeably faded, making Alex produce another sigh. “They can’t lay outside anyway, I suppose there is enough space in the shed, if you rearrange some stuff…”

It took quite some time to carry and place all the crates and parcels into the shed, despite the assistance of the delivery workers; but when they finished, Alex could have quick and fairly easy access to all the materials, yet there was even some free space left. Alex thanked the workers and wished them good luck; they were actually surprised – the addressee actively helping them with the heavy load was perhaps a rare case.

The bag and scroll lay on the table and Fluttershy was flitting around the kitchen, when Alex entered. He took the chair and tiredly placed himself on, leaning on the table. The money bag – and what else it could be, judging by the sound – was quite big and Alex inwardly squinted. Hasn’t he asked Luna not to worry and put him in an uneasy position?

“Omelette will be in a couple of minutes,” Fluttershy poured him a big cup of tea, placing a bowl with baked apples on the table. “Have you managed to squeeze everything in?”

Alex realized that she wasn’t that interested in the delivery or the crates, but needed to talk about something to hide her tension, looking for proper words to voice, what bothered her.

“Yup, perfectly,” muttered Alex, than brought Fluttershy closer, hugging her and making her sit on his lap. “Shy, please! What’s up?”

Fluttershy kept silence for a while.

“I guess, she is up,” finally squeezed she a small sad smile, nodding at the scroll. ‘And I’m down!’ wasn’t said, but was thought “loud” enough to be heard by Alex. “Up, high enough to provide invaluable help and take part in the building of your future like that. There is nothing to complain about here, right?”

‘And I’m not naming other aspects, still fearing them to come true, if not being true already,’ inwardly shuddered Fluttershy.

“Come on, Shy,” Alex wrapped his hands around her slender warm frame, kissing her above the eyebrow. “Nopony is… questioning your presence in my life, let alone your contribution in the mere fact, I still have any life. But… I was nobody here till about a couple of weeks ago. Frankly speaking not very far from that yet.”

“I didn’t want to be somepony’s burden since the first day, you know,” he gently stroke her shoulders, trying to soothe Fluttershy’s tension. “But it appeared next to impossible without some initial help – the favour, I still hope to return fully as soon as possible. Whom could I ask for that, if not the princesses? And it was endlessly generous of Luna to help, when I asked.”

‘Why not Celestia then? And you keep calling her Luna all the time…’ thought Fluttershy. “It seems, princess Luna is endlessly interested in your well being, Alex!” she raised one eyebrow, sporting a dry smile.

“I guess she is, thou art likewise, by the way,” Alex kissed Fluttershy behind the ear, feeling how she became softer at once. “But I’m here, not in Canterlot right now.”

“Shall we see, what she wrote?” said Alex more cheerful, than he actually felt, inwardly embracing himself and hoping for Luna’s prudence, while he opened the sealed scroll. Fluttershy leaned on his shoulder, she seemed to calm down and regret about being a bit harsh, while Alex started reading a fairly short letter.

“Dear Alex (just a common formality, yet it made Fluttershy strain a bit again),

I extend mine sincere hope, that moderate assistance, thou got (as we agreed), shalt support thy ambitious plan and bring its realization sooner. Thou deserve far more, than some loader’s “career”…”

“Hmm… You’ve started working after leaving Canterlot Castle,” Fluttershy nudged him lightly, but Alex felt, she was only partially joking at that moment.

“I believe, her sister told her everything, and I doubt, anything about my life here is a secret for princess Celestia,” Alex shrugged quite naturally.

“…therefore everything supplied with this letter, shall not be returned… At that moment at least. As for the bits, thou hath had undoubted urge to return… I shall demand back thrice than that, at which hour thou art capable to afford (Alex chuckled at that phrase). And I am deadly serious… or mayhap not that much.”

‘Oh, Luna! You’re such a filly sometimes!’ Alex imagined her expression, with which Luna was writing those lines, and his heart ached again – he loved, now he was sure, both equally.

“At this entirely enthusiastic note, I spread a good wish upon thee and thy uneasy endeavours.

Thine sincerely,

Princess Luna.”

Fluttershy meaningfully huffed at the signature, throwing a quick glance at Alex.

“Hey,” Alex was truly surprised to see the post scriptum. “There are a few words for you, Shy!”

“P.S.: My dearest Fluttershy, I’m endlessly grateful to thee for thy concern and care about Alex, the same glorious kindness thou hast shown once, at which hour thou hast been helping me at mine laborious path back to equestrian society. He could hardly fall into more caring hooves.”

‘Except mine…’ finished Alex the phrase for Luna, inwardly chuckling, yet praising the tact and neutrality of her written message. She knew that Fluttershy would be near Alex at the moment most likely… and she openly showed that knowledge of hers, yet only an entirely paranoid one could find anything “criminal” in that letter, which, to be honest, left Fluttershy rather puzzled, than annoyed by Luna’s motives. She was, no doubt, suspicious still, but masterly defused for the time being.

13. Sequence of tensions - part 2

“Hello! Hello, anypony alive here?” the old gate creaked, letting Alex in; from the first look nothing had changed at the old smithy yard since his previous visit. The same desolation spirit haunted the surroundings and the rays of morning sun didn’t do much credit to the blacksmith’s hold, mercilessly highlighting every scratch and notch on time warn instruments. The smithy looked verily better under the bright daylight, now though only rolling tumbleweed was missing to make the scene complete.

Alex approached the furnace and leaned on the stone sidepiece, which was clean to his surprise, despite the general abandoned look. He ran his hand along the cold stones, the stones, supposed to be hot and breathe life into the metal.

‘Hmmm… Maybe it’s not that bad yet and the place can resurrect, if someone gives it another chance…’

“Hello there!” the door of the house opened and Alex turned to the clear girl’s voice from behind. “May I help you, sir?”

“Oh, it’s you again…” the young unicorn mare with silvery coat and bright golden mane and tail, braided tightly, accidentally voiced her thoughts. Alex raised one eyebrow.

“I mean, we saw you earlier, when you took a view over the smithy… and there is hardly another human in Ponyville,” she became slightly embarrassed and tried to hide that under a small smile, then returned to the official tone. “So, how can I or my uncle help you?”

“Apologies for breaking in, miss,” Alex threw a look over the smithy, justifying his interest and impatience upon entering the yard. “My name is Alex and, as you properly noticed, I’m indeed the only human in Ponyville… and most likely the whole Equus at the moment,” he let out a smile as well, then elaborated. “I need to see the blacksmith, Will…smash Steel,” he stumbled on the unusual name. “As I’d like to place an order…” Alex refrained from adding “if you are taking any”.

“Uncle Will!” called the filly inside the house. “Uncle Will! A client here! Can you come?”

Alex heard the stifled happiness in her voice, as if she was afraid to scare away the accidental, first for the long time period customer, and smiled inwardly, simultaneously swallowing a lump. ‘Now careful!’ he told himself – considering what Luna said about the blacksmith, showing that help was included in his plans was highly unwelcome at the moment. For the time being he was only a customer.

Meanwhile, the muffled answer from inside the house and quick enough, firm hoofsteps told Alex that the old blacksmith was hardly the retirement material yet; that put more weight on the hope shoulder of the scales.

“Oh, where are my manners?” remembered the unicorn filly, blushing slightly. “Guess, lack of communication imprints the habits. I’m Silver Ingot, Willsmash Steel is my uncle, as you heard. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Mutually,” Alex took another, better look over her. Quite tall for an average unicorn, slender and light, with amazingly long legs and golden hair; bright eyes and faint warm smile (that was the natural form of her lips) lightened her muzzle. She reminded him of some Earth actress, Alex couldn’t remember the name. The cutie mark looked as some complex silvery pattern of foliage-like jewellery, as far as Alex could see from that distance; one shouldn’t stare close on barely known filly’s flanks.

“Yes, Sil,” the old unicorn appeared in the doorway and Alex could estimate his strong frame, accurate beard and attentive perceptive glance. The coat and beard were touched by silver of age and when the blacksmith turned to him, Alex could see a black patch over one eye and a few old, yet still noticeable scars across his muzzle. But everything told that the old soldier was still solid as a rock, strong and full of life, and only the absence of customers threatened to make his mastery rust.

“Have I heard you right, Sil?” repeated Will. “You said a customer. I thought, I forgot the sound of that word,” he chuckled lightly, subtly examining Alex.

‘Sil,’ thought Alex meanwhile. ‘The name suits her.’ He remembered the movie, it had nothing common with the blacksmith’s niece, except name… and the look. ‘What was the actual actress’ name,’ Alex mentally cringed at his holey memory. ‘There was something Russian about it…’ Alex shook his head, returning to the present day.

“Good morning, sir!” Alex bowed his head slightly. “I would like to place an order, you heard right.”

“Name’s Alex, uncle,” added the filly. “He seems to be serious about the order so far.”

“I see, child, I see,” the blacksmith looked at Alex, studying his potential customer. “So, young gentlecolt, you are going to place an order here, not at some big facility in Canterlot, despite you see the condition of our smithy; moreover, you know the rumours or at least heard something down in Ponyville, yet ready to work with us, don’t you?”

“I think, it will be worth the risks,” Alex allowed himself another smile.

“Don’t get me wrong, sir,” explained Will after a moment. “I’d be immensely happy to finally have a customer, but we simply can’t allow ourselves start working and then drop everything amidst, if that customer refuses to work with us due to any… considerations. And not even due to financial reasons…”

“It seems, I understand you,” interrupted him Alex, nodding. “I dare to assure you, I prefer to judge pe… ponies myself, this usually calls for working with them first. Besides, methinks your mastery and scrupulosity are crucial in mine case, not your past.”

The old blacksmith perked one ear, but fortunately, he seemed to not talk to princess Luna personally, so that small slip didn’t alert him.

“Thus, as I said,” continued Alex, seeing his collocutor attention. “I’m absolutely positive about placing my order here… if you don’t have any objections now and in the nearest future.”

Old Will nodded shortly and Silver Ingot approached her uncle, putting her fore hoof on his shoulder, like silently supporting him in his decision. It was obvious that this order meant much to both, rather psychologically, than profit-wise; in the latter case, one order would be a single drop falling on the sandy hill, changing nothing.

“You see, I have a few blueprints with me,” Alex waved the tube of papers. “If you don’t mind, I will show you, what I need to be done; so, if you can make that, we’ll call it a deal and can discuss the details.”

“Hmpf!” chuckled the old blacksmith, then waved his head towards the door. “Let’s go inside…”

After half an hour they were still sitting behind the table, examining the blueprints, Alex explained what he needed.

“An unusual order, to be honest. And mere forging is not enough here, I’ll need to cast some details,” Will shook his head. “What do you say it will be?”

“The casing and some inner parts of the machine,” Alex rearranged the blueprints to make them observable at once. “Machine converting kinetic energy to electricity, but a compact one, not like those magical or atmospheric you have. So, you can make these, don’t you?”

The old unicorn huffed, then muttered, cupping his beard with the hoof. Silver Ingot put full teacups in front of them, took her own and sat next to her uncle. It seemed, she knew his work well enough likewise.

“This is some complex forging, but I said I could do it and I still stick to my words. Yes, I can make them.”

“Excellent!” Alex’s face brightened. “There is absolutely no deadline on the work, as I understand the complexity. Any reasonable time is okay. So how much will you take for those?”

Willsmash named the price; frankly speaking, Alex was ready to hear a sum twenty-thirty percent higher.

“Half right now, the rest after work is done,” after sharing a hoofbump, Alex started to count necessary bits.

The blacksmith levitated the papers to see them closer and examined them very carefully again, muttering something under his breath. Alex was quite impressed, how fast old Will engaged in the work; perhaps he was waiting for that chance for too long.

“One more thing,” Alex smirked. “For the faster start… I decided to eliminate some supply issues. So, the coal is mine.”

Will froze, like struck by the lightning, even his niece turned, wondering, if she heard the human right.

“Yes, the price we agreed on is for the job only, I’ll pay for the coal and materials separately,” Alex’s tone was inflexible.

The sound of approaching and stopping cart interrupted them, making turn their heads to the window: something heavily loaded just stopped outside and a loud voice inquired, if there was anypony at the smithy.

“And here they are, right in time!” exclaimed Alex exiting to the yard and seeing a full cart of coal and two earth pony stallions, who brought it here. He turned to the blacksmith. “Apologies for that little disturbance. Where should they unload?”

Will cleared his throat.

“You know, sir, you remind me of a certain princess,” he was rather amused by that little trick, than angry. “By your meticulous advance planning and confidence in it playing out, just as you want. If the nature of your order wasn’t totally weird… if not say insane – the customer is always right of course, yet still – I would think that you were working for princess Celestia, whatever she was planning this time.”

Alex raised his hands in a comic gesture, smiling.

“I’m on mine own, in the earnest.”

This shift wasn’t any different than all the others, in fact, it was going to end even calmer, considering that day’s cargo throughput. Alex put his helm into the locker… when the sound of agitated voices from the personnel room attracted his attention. What could the colleagues discuss in such a manner in the end of the day? Alex slammed the locker shut and headed to the muffled sound source.

A few freight workers and the stationmaster were arguing about something, when Alex opened the door; he thought, he heard a tint of fear in the voices.

‘What the hell is going on?’ the palpable tension made his nerves tingle warningly.

“What’s up, gentlecolts?” inquired Alex, coming closer and leaning on the column in the center of the room (the main station office building was old enough, built in peculiar style).

“Ah, Alex, come here,” the stationmaster was visibly concerned, yet annoyed as well. “This is near your area, as far as I know. Have you heard or sensed anything unusual near the 7th warehouse hangar?”

“N-no…” Alex strained, the question reminded him of something unpleasantly familiar. “But I finished the work about fifteen minutes ago, then went here, so I might miss all the stuff. And what’s going on?”

“Those guys,” his chief pointed the fore hoof at three workers, two of which were nervous to the point of visibly shivering. “Those guys told that it was completely impossible to approach the 7th hangar, because of the unbearable feeling of anxiety and fear, painfully real, as they said. They came exactly ten minutes ago… to tell that story. And I say “What the hay, gentlecolts?”” he turned to the workers.

“B-but…” started one of them, a young unicorn, he held calmer than other two, but Alex noticed his pupils still being pinprick. “You may go and check yourself, chief. We couldn’t bear that longer than two minutes, it ran over us like a loaded rail-layer…” The stationmaster only huffed taking off his cap and wiping the forehead.

‘Fuck!’ inwardly dropped Alex – the whole situation sounded like unfortunate déjà vu.

“Wait,” he outstretched his hand warningly. “Nopony go there yet, please. I’ll check myself.”

“What?” everypony present turned to the human in bemusement.

“What I said!” cut Alex short. “First, I suppose I know, what it is all about; second, the 7th is the so-called “dark hangar”, with inflammable goods stored. At that moment…” he threw a glance at the wall clock. “… it must be pitch black thither for you all. I shall go!”

“Is the main hangar door locked?” he turned to the unicorn colt, who seemed to hold himself in the hooves better.

“Yes…” started the latter timidly, then said more firmly. “Yes, locked tight, I’m sure.”

“Excellent!” Alex squinted. “Please, somepony go to Ponyville, find princess Twilight Sparkle and tell her exactly that “our old “friends” returned to freight yard, hangar 7”. Twilight knoweth what to do!” he continued, despite surprised whoop. “Please, gentlecolts, for Celestia or Luna or whoever else’s sake… DO NOT open the 7th hangar, before I give you a sign or Twilight arriveth. I particularly insist on that request of mine being fulfilled.”

A few ponies nodded, as the human seemed to influence them positively with his confidence.

“I can go… Tell princess Twilight…” volunteered the young unicorn. “Of course, if you have no objections, chief,” he looked at the stationmaster.

The stationmaster waved his hoof permissively, his thoughts were clearly written on his muzzle. ‘Whatever trick those clowns decided to throw in the end of the day, at least they won’t buck up the daily work. Better Alex, than those three – at least he seems to know, what he is doing, besides, he sees there better indeed…’

“Excellent, partner!” Alex cheered the colt with a smile and the unicorn teleported in a flash.

“Okay, gentlecolts, let’s start,” Alex already ran to the door. “Remember not to approach the 7th too early!”

“Hey!” shouted the stationmaster after him. “Where? Without the helm?! Darn…” he waved his fore hoof once again, as the door slammed behind Alex’s back.

Alex flew, like having wings, almost not touching the ground; the Sun was setting and long shadows fell between the warehouse buildings.

‘Damn! Tis not what we need hither definitely!’ thought Alex. ‘Merlin’s pants, I am lucky as usual – the “dark hangar”, I can’t even use any fire thither. Ughhhh!!!’

He slowed down, approaching the necessary warehouse, as he thought; silence was his only advantage at the moment – he needed to know exactly, what he was going to deal with. Despite he was almost sure, that was another Seeker. He quietly approached the long hangar, strangely he felt nothing here, nothing alike he felt near the first Seeker at the old mill. Alex listened, leaning to the wall – nothing moved inside.

Theoretically, the workers could play a prank on each other from time to time… But those three couldn’t be pretending, that Alex was absolutely sure about: they were literally shaking and some aching anguish was seen in their eyes, even after they came to safety. They looked like ponies, objected to the real Seeker impact, no doubts.

Alex accurately approached the corner of the hangar, the large doors were closed and strengthened with a thick bar indeed. But… there was a round digit painted on the doors.

‘Horse apples!’ swore Alex. ‘That’s 10th! I still bucking mistake them…’

He burst running again, catching up lost time; for some weird reason the 7th warehouse was quite far from the 10th.

But it was the real deal there! Even at some distance Alex could feel them. Yes, exactly them, as the sensation was very strong and he could distinguish at least two creatures.

“Better and better!” huffed Alex, running. He switched to walking not far from the proper hangar and now could definitely hear muffled movement inside. The next second the monsters seemed to stumble.

‘Damn! They felt me likewise!’ thought Alex. ‘Well, I extend mine hope, they can’t tell, whither I am exactly…’

He checked the main doors – they were locked as well and ready to hold quite an attack from inside if necessary. There was a narrow metal staircase at the side wall of the hangar, leading to the door at the top level, which opened to the catwalks under the roof of the warehouse. The latter was quite high for Alex’s liking.

Alex smirked unkindly, taking off the boots at the bottom of the stairs. ‘It seemeth, either I kill mine acrophobia eventually, or it killeth me!’ He tried to ascend soundlessly, accurately stomping the cold metal bars with his bare feet.

‘Now easy…’ the door needed to be opened slowly, Alex lifted it slightly on its hinges not to cause a tiny screech: it was indeed pitch black inside. Far below (it seemed perhaps twice further to Alex) only the glowing arrows, drawn on the floor and marking the passageways between stacks, penetrated the darkness – Alex involuntarily swallowed a lump, climbing on the narrow catwalk with railings. He closed the door after himself with the same precautions, effectively cutting off the only light source, except the long narrow windows at the very top of the hangar under its roof. Those merely lit themselves and a part of the wall nearby, when the sun rays were falling at that angle.

A few seconds passed, before his eyes accommodated to the darkness and Alex’s “night sight” started working; meanwhile, he turned all ears and could clearly hear something unconfidently tramples in the middle of the building.

Mentally anathematizing his acrophobia Alex slowly crawled along the catwalk; it belted around the hangar and a few sections ran across the whole building in several places, giving access to almost every stack top. Alex could see almost perfectly already, yet he was to move carefully, orienting by the sound, as he hadn’t noticed the Seekers yet and revealing himself too early wasn’t a part of his plan.

They must have just appeared or materialized, if we call it that way, and having no actual eyesight got a bit distracted in that narrow cluttered place. Alex didn’t spot any traces of the Dark Mist and concluded, it was used to form the two (he was now sure, there were two of them) creatures in entirety. Turning to the cross-section Alex lingered for a moment, freezing on the spot, when empty space appeared under him; his eyes were directed strictly forward as he was unsure, if he could go further, accidentally throwing a look down.

Alex proceeded, more rustling and rumbling sounded in the darkness to the right; finally, he reached the high, long stack of crates near the middle of the hangar and was able to slide down to it. He was to avoid making a single sound, the Seekers could clearly feel his presence and it made them “nervous”, as he could tell. Some humming reached his ear from the right again and Alex decided to get closer to the source of it, before taking a look down. He thought, it would be harder for the monsters to find his exact location, if he was right above.

Quiet hoofsteps told Alex that he reached the point and he accurately looked over the edge: there were two dark silhouettes down below, one Seeker quietly stomped on the spot, another was rising to its legs from the floor. Alex decided to watch them for a short while, the last time he didn’t have any chance to examine his rival properly, as the whole encounter was fast and violent. He realized though, he had limited time, before those two took action or the workers arrived at the hangar and tried to open the door, if no signs of activity were visible. The latter could turn out a calamity, Alex was to avoid at all costs.

The Seekers started examining the area around, it was only a matter of time for them to realize, they were in a confined space, and start to look for an exit… or try to make a new one. The last encounter clearly told, they were capable of such. Two monsters rumbled and bumped around, slowly getting away from the spot of their supposed arrival. One looked a bit darker to Alex and he wondered, if the Seekers could vary, till that day nothing told that, all the previous incidents looked very much the same.

It was too high to climb, or better say, jump down here, for anypony and Alex threw a look to the far right, where he spotted a notch in the otherwise ideally even stack. Crates weren’t properly arranged there yet and formed uneven steps at that moment, which could be used to get to the floor quietly. Crawling low in that direction Alex kept watching the Seekers from the corner of his eye, they already reached the main hangar doors. There was no time to waste, Alex snuggled to the crates, almost flowing from one to another, lower and lower, finally reaching the floor.

Meanwhile, the Seekers examined the doors: the lighter one (now Alex could clearly tell, it looked less solid, like if it wasn’t enough Dark Mist for two, but he thought it was hardly the reason) quietly and almost unconfidently bumped it with the hoof, then slid it down with a nasty sound against the hard wood; another one found a narrow stairs to the right, leading to the catwalks. This, darker one tried to go upstairs, but the construction was too unstable for the big carcass, it wiggled, losing balance, and crashed down onto the floor breaking one wooden beam of the railing. The whole image could seem funny, if Alex knew not that the abominations were deadly dangerous, for the ponies at least.

The darker Seeker started trying the door as well, like feeling that it was the only actually fitting their size way outside; another one headed around the hangar and disappeared behind the crates to the left. Alex slowly approached, keeping himself low and quiet. He spotted a passage between crates to his right and slid inside, now being completely invisible from the doors. Trying to attack the Seeker from behind the corner Alex quickly got around the smaller stack and took a look – the Seeker was still at the doors, stomping from one hoof to another, it seemed to get nervous, as Alex approached in the shadows along the right wall. The creature bumped the doors with more force than before, obviously checking the lock durability; Alex was in a couple of yards already, still unnoticed.

About twenty minutes passed since the moment Alex left the main office, he was sure they managed to notify Twilight, so, the ponies might come at every moment. Another Seeker was still somewhere at the back of the hangar. Alex made a final pounce! Surprisingly, his palm met the solid and quite cold, for a living thing, flank, fingers slid on the smooth skin, instead of going right through the Seeker, bringing damage and “death” to it.

Alex had no time to wonder the irrecusable fact, that particular Seeker was somehow fully material, when his enemy twitched convulsively and sent hind hooves to own protection rather instinctively, than consciously. Alex caught both in his chest and felt like being hit by a bus, he was sent flying parallel to the floor and ended up crashing into the staircase to the upper level. Sparkles lit before Alex’s eyes, as the sharp pain pierced his right side. Through the red tint he noticed the wooden beam protruding through his body at the moment. Thankfully, it seemed no vital organs were affected, still, there was a lot of blood coming out.

The latter was going like in slow-mo: Alex saw how the Seeker wriggled between the crates and the door, frantically looking for the escape. Then a new wave of pain came: his body started regenerating fast, squeezing the wooden pole inside like a vice, trying to push the foreign matter out and making Alex involuntarily groan from striking pain. The Seeker, which first rushed into the walkway between the crates, returned to the door, it found no other way out, and seemed to decide that attacking the human, while the latter was immobilized, was a good idea – it headed right to Alex, obviously going to buck him a few times more. The Seeker sped up, going to throw its fore hooves at laying Alex with the whole weight of its large body and smash the human.

Alex heard a nasty dry crackle from behind and found that he finally could move freely again: his body broke the wooden beam, he got impaled onto, pushing the smaller pieces of wood out. Overcoming the pain Alex got to his knees and pulled remaining part of the pole outside with a loud groan, more blood splashed out; the broken end was spiky, all red and wet. In his blurred vision Alex saw the hulk of the Seeker towering above with hooves raised, ready to stomp… Dark spots floated in front of his view, but Alex turned over the beam and stabbed the Seeker in its belly with the bloodstained end, pushing it forward with his whole mass.

The Seeker got intercepted mid-pounce, like shot on the flight; it tumbled over and crashed to the floor in convulsions. Apparently, each part of Alex, including his own blood, was deadly for them, as Alex could never believe that a hit with a wooden stick could instantly take the Seeker down. At the moment though the monster was twitching on the floor, weaker and weaker with each stripe of Dark Mist flowing out of its wound: some stripes dissolved in the air, some flowed to Alex, being absorbed by him.

Next moment Alex heard two things almost simultaneously: the voices behind the door, accompanied by the sound of the door lock being opened… and quiet rustle behind himself. Alex looked over his shoulder: another Seeker made a whole loop around the hangar and returned to the exit, finding no alternative. The wound closed quickly, getting rid of the small flinders, but Alex felt like losing a half gallon of blood; hissing and spitting from the pain he tried to reach the wooden stick still protruding from the first Seeker’s corpse. The Seeker behind stepped back, but Alex saw, it was taking space to speed up, the bucking stick got stuck and didn’t give up.

The sound of the opening door made Alex’s mind clear at once. ‘Even if Celestia is already there… how many ponies shall suffer, before she taketh the Seeker down?!!’ Alex cupped his closing wound with his palm, collecting still flowing blood, as a wicked idea came to his mind. He already guessed that the second Seeker was like the first he ever encountered, not fully materialized one: that was the reason why this one looked lighter, less solid than another.

The Seeker took a speed up and launched itself forward, jumping over Alex and its “partner” in the pool of Alex’s blood, but Alex managed to throw his right hand with the rest of his strength. The line of large blood drips raised in the air, piercing the Seeker like machinegun bullets. This monster landed, stumbling, and crashed to the floor, like the previous one, twitching – the “taste” of Alex’s blood didn’t rub it well likewise. Leaning on hands Alex crawled forward, seeing the opening hangar doors and rushing to reach the Seeker before anypony accidentally could. He “grabbed” its hind leg with the last forceful push. The shiver came throughout the defeated creature, it twitched convulsively, being crumpled and torn like an origami figure, falling apart to the clouds of the Dark Mist.

Alex tried to sit, raising his hand to cover the eyes from the unbearable light, coming through the opening hangar doors. He saw princess Celestia glowing like a supernova, ready to take down the monsters, before fainting and finally hitting the floor.

Saying that she was utterly shocked by the first sight would be likely saying nothing: the first image, when the doors opened, was quite thought-provoking by itself. Celestia could spot the huge heap of the dead Seeker further in the hangar, the blood pool and trail towards the doors, where Alex sat, covering his eyes from the bright light, over what resembled another Seeker very slightly; the cloud of Dark Mist at his feet floated to Alex, being absorbed by his body. The eyes of the human were pitch black at the moment, perhaps due to the pupils widened enormously, because they started narrowing quickly in the light. His eyes returned to their usual sea-green colour, finally rolling up, and Alex fell unconscious, which wasn’t strange, considering the amount of blood he lost.

“Twilight, could you, please…” the princess nodded to her apprentice, then she turned to the guards following. “Keep the citizens away and take this out, please,” she pointed at the dead Seeker with the gold-shod hoof, “I need to examine it.”

The guards accurately levitated the large carcass, carrying it outside the hangar; strangely there was no blood, except the red human’s one – it seemed the only thing, which flowed out of that body, was the Dark Mist, like if it was the actual “blood” and force of the Seekers. Other guards ousted the civilians to a considerable distance, to avoid the unnecessary witnessing.

“Ohhhh…” with a groan Alex awoke, feeling himself being supported from behind by somepony. “What… Is the Seeker… Has it hurt anybody… Mmmfffffff!” he almost hissed, the side still ached and his sight was floating around.

“Take it easy…” he heard Twilight’s voice, finding himself leaning on her, as she kept him in sitting position. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, Alex!”

Next thing he could clearly see was Celestia’s muzzle, her eyes looked fixedly into his and she tilted her head left, then right in his field of view. Alex’s eyes followed the movement and the princess seemed to be satisfied with him being fully conscious.

“How are you?” Celestia watched his reaction. “Does it still hurt? What do you feel, Alex?”

“I’m… fine…” creaked Alex, coughed, clearing his throat and squinting from the pain again. “Less fine, than… actually fine, but… I’ll be okay. The shirt is completely ruined though,” he faintly smirked, throwing a look over himself.

Twilight nervously chuckled, it was her exactly, who ripped his shirt open to check his wounds, finding a small star-like scar on his side, luckily between the liver and lung, which already looked quite old – Alex’s body was patching up at the visible pace.

“Princess, are you sure, he is entirely adequate?” she watched him with concern.

“Twi, what are you talking about?” Alex rolled his eyes, trying to sit straight and finding that quite a task at the moment. “I was always like that… The weakness is a new thing though,” he looked at Celestia. “Your Highness, I hope nopony suffered… The doors were opening, when the Seeker tried to escape.”

“Everypony is fine, as I may judge,” Celestia allowed herself a small smile. “Perhaps a bit shocked by the whole scene… but we tried to clear the area fast enough. As for the Seeker… it was down, when we entered, you were… consuming it, don’t you remember?”

Alex downcasted, hearing the mixed mischief and concern in her voice. What could he do about that and about him being able to absorb magical force in general?

“Another one was already dead,” continued Celestia, looking fixedly into Alex’s eyes. “It was different from what we saw before. Fully materialized this time, embodied, if I may say so…”

“I’ve noticed,” smirked Alex sadly. “I tried to touch it, when it bucked me… and threw to the stairs… Princess, when you finish with your research, please, burn that thing completely.”

“Actually, I thought about the same,” the princess straightened, throwing a quick glance outside. “You need to have a rest, Alex. Twilight, please, take him to your home and ensure everything is alright. Don’t notify anypony, except Fluttershy about the incident…”

“I’ve already told Spike to go after her in half an hour…” Twilight’s ears flattened. “I hope, I did nothing wrong, your highness?”

“That’s fine,” Celestia’s glance was a bit absent, she seemed to think about something else already. “We’ll finish here and I’ll join you at the library. Don’t go anywhere before,” she turned to Alex again, making sure he got her right. “Can you move?”

Alex slowly turned over to his knees, then tried to rise: the pain seemed to retreat, but he was to lean and hold on the nearest crate not to fall.

“I can go,” he waited, until the world around stopped spinning in his sight. “A bit weak, but that’ll pass…”

“No need to strain yourself right away, Alex,” Celestia had another point of view on his condition. “I’ll send guards to carry you to Ponyville, you’ve lost too much blood to be galloping around tonight.”

Later, when they crossed the field between the railroad and Ponyville, Alex was to admit, that the princess had a point; he fainted twice and it would be a certain problem for Twilight, if not the guards, who carried him.

The Sun rolled behind the horizon completely, when they reached the Golden Oak; the long shadows, cast by torches on Ponyville streets, fell on the ground. Thankfully, the library was close to the edge of the town and they met nopony on their way, still, Alex was sure that not later than tomorrow’s noon the whole Ponyville would discuss the rumoured version of the incident, as the station workers would surely share, what they could have noticed. The lack of actual information would make ponies’ imagination go wild, but Alex could do nothing about that. He decided to rely on Celestia and her ability to think out a plausible version of the events for the masses.

Opening the door with her magic Twilight followed Alex to the couch, as he walked by himself through Ponyville. The guards made sure that the human was delivered safely and left them alone, but stood outside, Alex could hear them talking quietly behind the front door. But that was the least thing bothering him at the moment, Alex leaned on the backrest and closed his eyes.

‘One thing Tia noticed right – the bastard was fully material!’ he rewound the recent events again and again. ‘And that’s totally different brew now. Those I can’t eliminate right away, while their… “touch” can be quite hurtful.’

“Okay, wait here…” Twilight interrupted his thoughts after making sure Alex was placed comfortably enough and wasn’t going to fall anywhere. “I’ll make some hot chocolate, you need something to compensate for your blood loss…”

But before she was able to finish, the front door burst open so fast, it slammed the wall, and a pink-yellow flash blazed into the room, slowing down and stopping at the couch. Alex knew who that was, yet he made an effort not to jump on the couch with his legs, when Fluttershy stopped almost with a hearable scratching of her hooves on the floor. Apparently, the guards outside were instructed not to let anypony out, before Celestia came, but not to prevent somepony from getting in.

“Oh…” exhaled Fluttershy, she leaned to Alex, putting her fore hoof on his knees. “Thank Celestia, you are okay!” she dropped next to him, breathing heavily, her big eyes were dilated and wet. Alex wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing Fluttershy closer, and she snuggled to him, quietly sniffing.

“I’m okay, okay,” repeated Alex, stroking her mane and trying not to look at Twilight at that moment.

“My, what a race…” huffed another voice from the front door. Spike leaned on the wall, holding on his chest and loudly breathing, he waved his paw in a greeting gesture. “Twi, I didn’t even finish talking or had time to jump on her back,” he quietly addressed Twilight after taking his breath a bit. “She flew like a spear, after I told about the incident at the station…” he breathed in noisily.

“What happened there?” Fluttershy wiped her eyes and raised them on Alex, still wrapping her fore legs around him. “Spike didn’t tell any details…”

Spike huffed quite audibly, following Twilight to the kitchen.

“Well…” Alex got ready to choose the words, telling Fluttershy about this evening. “The shift was over and I already got to the office, when…”

He told her about the workers being disturbed by something strange in one of the hangars and the rest in brief, avoiding the most graphical details. Her eyes dilated in terror nevertheless, when Alex reached the point, when he actually confronted two Seekers. Fluttershy squeaked, noticing his shirt being torn and bloodstained, and started palpating him.

“Oh, come on, Shy, it tickles,” pleaded Alex, calming her down. “I’m okay already. It was worse then… One of the Seekers appeared to be fully materialized.”

“You mean that…” Fluttershy covered her mouth with the fore hoof.

“Yeah, different to all the previous, that one had an actually solid body,” nodded Alex. “And I was able to touch and feel it, instead of mine hand going right through, instantly hurting it.”

“You mean that now they can actually hurt you in return?” Fluttershy was concerned about different things, than the Seekers becoming solid. “Oh, Alex, you shouldn’t forget that while you are immune to magic, even regenerating fast, you aren’t invulnerable,” she leaned to him again.

“It seems some of them indeed can now,” forcedly confessed Alex, comforting the pegasus girl gently. “Which makes me think, I need some sort of armour perhaps, if I keep dealing with that problem…”

“Alex, please! You shouldn’t,” started Fluttershy pleadingly, but Alex could hear growing confidence in her voice. “There are mages, who are specifically trained to deal that sort of things… and the princess herself…”

“Shy, come on,” interrupted her Alex. “I saw, what it cost the group of unicorns to simply restrain a single Seeker… and I saw, what the Seeker could do with the ponies, if they come too close!” Fluttershy wanted to add something, but Alex quickly continued. “And princess Celestia supposedly spends quite some power to take the monsters down… I only need to touch one or, in the case of a completely materialized Seeker, to hurt it physically first, to make their magic “flow outside”. Even my blood is deadly for them…”

Fluttershy squeaked at the word “blood” and squeezed Alex tighter, he saw in her eyes clearly that she was rock solid about convincing him to avoid confronting those creatures. Twilight returned to the room, levitating a tray with a steaming pot and some cups, Spike followed her closely and they became accidental witnesses of Alex’s with Fluttershy talk.

“Besides, didn’t you tell me, when we discovered, you can remedy the Seekers’ effects, that if it was necessary, you were ready to help,” exclaimed Alex ardently. “simply because you could and you should, as your nature told you?”

Fluttershy downcasted and forcedly nodded. Twilight put the tray on the low table and started pouring hot chocolate in the cups; she avoided any commentaries, rightfully supposing those two should solve their problems themselves. Spike pretended, he was not there.

“So do I…” continued Alex, looking Fluttershy in the eyes. “I can’t stay aside, when I can help and can do it without much strain.”

“That’s different!” Fluttershy was confident as never before, voicing her counter-arguments to Alex. “One thing is to help somepony heal, after they were exposed to the… Seekers’ magic. When you all are safe… you know, what I mean, Alex, don’t argue. And another – when you deal with those monstrosities one-on-one… or even worse, like today… And risk getting a few extra holes in yourself,” she gasped from the passion and the inward image of the situation.

“I shall think about some protection,” objected Alex immediately, starting to wind up. “As I said ere, tis calleth for the armour.” Twilight and Spike shared a glance, while Alex continued. “I shall talk to old Will, methinks we can make something to avoid further mishaps…”

“Oh, Celestia!” huffed Fluttershy exasperatedly. “Now it’s all about “old Will” again…”

Twilight raised the eyebrow, looking at Alex, like saying “See, I’ve told you”.

“Old chap’s past hath nothing to do with mine affairs or mine orders, current or planned anon,” tiredly breathed out Alex. “If ‘t be true he can do his job in accordance to the desired standards, I need nothing more. Besides, I am not entirely sure about the rumours ‘bout that gent being justified, in the earnest. Need to find out myself… So, what else can befall, pray tell?”

The audible metal clank from behind the front door interrupted them. Those were the guards saluting, as the next moment the door opened, letting princess Celestia in; she was to bow her head slightly to fit the doorway.

“Stay, stay seated,” she waved her fore hoof, noticing their attempt to raise and dragging an armchair with her magic. “Good evening, Fluttershy, my dear. Spike,” she nodded with a small smile.

Alex couldn’t tell by her expression, what she managed to find out, yet he thought that the news wasn’t entirely bad.

“I examined the remaining Seeker,” started Celestia without any preamble, straight to the point. “And must say that while having solid body structure, bones, flesh looking quite natural, it lacks the important internal organs,” she made a pause, letting the information settle in the heads.

“What?” Alex broke the silence first. “Apologies, your highness, but how is that possible?”

“Well, despite it had a so-called body, it was actually a meat puppet,” Celestia frowned, then continued. “They are driven and kept “alive” by the same Dark Mist, as non-materialized ones. That is why there was no visible blood, except yours…”

Fluttershy quietly squeaked, snuggling tighter to Alex, who rubbed his face and exhaled heavily.

“Methinks, ‘t bringeth us to one very interesting conclusion, princess,” he gritted his teeth, understanding the whole seriousness of his assumption. “The whole “body” thing was specifically done to protect their magical essence. At least ‘t looketh quite plausible for me.”

“Go on,” Celestia shortly nodded.

“Thither is some… feedback from the Seekers to their puppet master. Mayhap something or somepony, who is responsible for their arrival, knoweth ‘bout me… Well, not me in particular, but some method of destroying the Seekers’ magical structure at contact, thus trying to shield them with… rough matter.”

“There was at least one encounter in between that on the station and the one you took down with Luna,” Celestia raised one eyebrow, noticing the quick glance, Fluttershy threw at Alex. “Why wasn’t that Seeker fully materialized then? Moreover, why both of today’s monsters were not “solid”?.. Oh, thank you, my dear,” the princess accepted the freshly poured cup of hot chocolate from Twilight.

“I can only guess…” Alex stared blindly in the middle of his own cup, then he blinked and raised his eyes to Celestia. “Mine speculations lead me to one conclusion only: the distance or extreme complexity of communication between the Seekers and their host. Why somepony would spend so much power to send… dummies hither? Mayhap merely because they can’t appear themselves… yet. Or they must be sure the attempt is successful, as we know, the Seekers are actually seeking for something.”

“Besides,” in the sudden silence Alex started to calm down, thinking clearly. “the transfer itself or materialization are complex and cost much energy. Anyway, it took a couple of weeks to “realize” that a common Seeker risked being destroyed easily, work out some measures against that and send… “new prototype” here,” Alex smirked. “And from the two of them, only one arrived as fully materialized to my fortune!” Alex sipped his drink, feeling, how healing warmth spread throughout his body.

“That means we have a small advantage and some time to prepare…” Celestia delved into deep thinking. “To what exactly? I can’t tell now, can you, Alex?”

“I’d like to tell I can, your highness, but unfortunately…” he shook his head, warming his hands on the cup.

“By the way,” Celestia’s eyes glanced brightly at some thought. “It is safe to assume that you can absorb that Dark Mist without any visible harm to yourself.” Involuntarily everypony in the room strained at those words, but for different reasons, and the princess elaborated. “Can you feel anything during the process? Any memories or visions maybe? Something, that could help us understand, what we actually are dealing with…”

“It’s hard to tell,” Alex slowly shook his head again. “Everything is… hesitant at that moment… If we think about it, I could never absorb the Seeker completely yet, to tell for sure, if there is some link to their master at that moment… I definitely feel the power gain. I can feel their hatred… towards everything living, but it dissolves fast without any consequences… Something else, dark, thirsty for… I don’t know yet.”

“Apologies, princess,” Alex let out a sigh. “I can’t tell for sure now and I don’t want to make a mistake, which can cost a lot at the end of the day.”

“No need to apologize,” Celestia rose with a kind smile, going to leave. “These events are unfamiliar to you, just like to the others. Unfamiliar, sad and… dangerous.”

“Two more things…” remembered Alex. “I watched those two Seekers for a while and I can confirm that they don’t have any eyesight in our common understanding. And… that one fully materialized Seeker, it was laying on the floor, only started raising, when I found them. I think it takes some time to get that… as you called it “meat puppet” under proper control! Not a big detail, I admit, but it may be helpful somehow…”

“Oh, by the way!” Alex even rose from the couch. “Did you burn the…”

“It freed us of that task by itself,” Celestia allowed herself another dainty smile. “We barely managed to examine the remnants. It seems that without the force running it, the Seekers disintegrate really fast. It literally crumbled to dust in an hour.”

“Oh…” Alex froze in bewilderment, others looked equally surprised.

“Of course, I left guards at the warehouse,” added the princess. “And gave orders to clean everything there as soon as possible!” She addressed them all. “Well, good night… and take care, my little ponies, and you, Alex.”

“And…” she lingered for a moment more, emphasizing the next words. “I extend mine hope, you all realize how important it is to keep those events in secret for now. We decided that the version with a predator, accidentally getting to the freight yard and being taken down by the human and guards, would attract considerably less detrimental attention.”

Celestia left, followed outside by Twilight, who probably had another question or two, as usual; Alex tiredly lowered himself back on the couch, in warm Fluttershy’s embrace.

“See, even princess Celestia admits that it’s dangerous… for everypony,” Fluttershy nudged him lightly, returning to their previous discussion. “How can you throw yourself in the middle of that so light-headedly?”

“Oh, come on, Shy,” sighed Alex. “Don’t start it over again. I said, I would think about some sort of protection…”

“Yeah, yeah, pack yourself in steel with the help of that old suspicious blacksmith,” muttered Fluttershy. “We heard that…”

“The fewer Seekers remain, the less of them and the consequences you and everypony else will deal with!” Exclaimed Alex with an affected smile, kissing Fluttershy in the nose. She pouted and hid her muzzle on his neck.

“Alex, the princess told that the station master gave you a few days off,” Twilight returned after Celestia’s departure. “He saw the pool of blood, which flowed out of you,” whispered she in Alex’s ear for Fluttershy to hear that not; Alex nodded shortly.

“Thanks, I think I can put them to good use,” Alex stroked his marefriend shoulders lightly and Fluttershy showed her muzzle, blowing a stray hair aside.

“Now, mates,” the used cups started to stack on the tray, guided by Twilight’s magic. “you can stay here tonight, if you want. We have plenty of space.”

Alex looked at the window, at the falling darkness behind, imagined the necessity to get up early to go back home, as Fluttershy’s little friends would still need attention: it was better to strain themselves a little bit more at that moment, than the next morning.

“Thank you kindly, Twilight. But I think, we’d better go. What do you say, dear?” he turned to Fluttershy with a smile.

“I-if you can go that far safely,” she raised her turquoise eyes with concern. “Because if you faint midway, I-I’m afraid, I c-cant drag you…”

“Well, I feel better…” Alex got up. “A bit stiff in the joints, but nothing I couldn’t cope with.”

He stretched to the crackling in the bones, the already torn shirt couldn’t overcome that and fell completely apart. Alex sighed, rolling his eyes and making a face, while Twilight blushed and looked away.

Next morning and the whole day, to be honest, were restless; just as Alex worried, some rumours started spreading in the town, despite all Celestia’s precautions. The workers must have seen something, imagined even more and naturally shared some of that with their families, friends, etcetera. Those who heard less than others started to make guesses, one wilder than another.

Alex promptly hid in the shed with materials and spent the majority of the day working on generator parts, those he could start assembling without the results of blacksmith’s work. He showed himself several times, when especially persistent visitors came, but didn’t answer any uneasy questions, telling that everything was explained by the authorities already.

“Yes, there was some wild beast in one of the hangars.”

“I have no idea, which exactly, I’m still new to equestrian fauna… Besides, it was fairly dark there.”

“Must have gotten in from the nearest forest, the freight yard touches by its back side. The forest borders Everfree on the south, so, nothing impossible…”

“Simply cornered it and held still, until the help arrived. Yeah, got scratched a bit, but nothing serious. That’s all.”

“Blood! What blood? The trespasser knocked a few crates over, something might flow out. But we don’t store blood there, we’re not a medical facility.”

And something along the lines. Then Alex simply apologized, telling that he needed to work, and vanished behind the doors. Fluttershy got rid of the overly curious guests extremely politely, referring to being busy as well.

Quite a few ponies came and left in this manner, some were familiar to Alex, others were complete strangers.

Applejack came and asked about the incident and possible danger. She was specifically concerned, if that wasn’t an attack of fruit vampire bats. Fluttershy quietly snorted aside and Alex swore that he saw nothing flying during that evening, not even a leaf from a tree.

A few unknown ponies asked uneasy questions about what beast exactly was there and how it was treated. Alex and Shy got rid of them quickly, after Fluttershy quietly said that those were “animal rights protectors”. “Exactly that kind, which prefer making hype and feeding on it, instead of providing some real help, dear!”

A pompous stallion, who was concerned only about the party of some goods, he was to receive shortly, so it was supposedly stored at the freight yard. Fluttershy addressed him as Filthy Rich and he frowned and asked to be called “simply Mr. Rich”, making Alex stifle a laugh and tell Mr. Rich that he had no idea about his cargo, but if it wasn’t inflammable, it was stored hardly anywhere near the place of the incident.

Rarity came after that and Alex was to have a talk with her, as she was absolutely insistent to find out that he was fine. She told them with Fluttershy that some ponies seriously discussed, how the human “got into a fight with a manticore at the station freight yard”. Alex suppressed a shiver at the thought about the manticore and inwardly facepalmed.

‘“Got into a fight”, pray tell… What are these ponies thinking about?!’

Thankfully even Rarity found that sensational idea quite stupid; truth to be told, only because the last time, she saw a manticore, was more than three years ago. But she told another story, which made Alex worried a bit. Apparently, Sweetie Belle with her filly friends thought that the official version was “incomplete”. So, they equipped with binoculars and took a high ground behind the station fence, which allowed them to observe the hangars perfectly. They managed to notice the royal guards on their posts around one of the warehouses, widely open doors and more guards cleaning something inside. Some large stain on the hangar floor, as Sweetie Belle told her sister with dilated eyes and fitful breath.

“Hmmm… They might spill something this morning,” Alex shrugged, making the most innocent face, while Fluttershy glanced at him scowlingly, like reminding that he lost enough blood to continue messing with that problem. “That’s not my hangar, but I told them that the stack left to the entrance may tumble over…”

“What is more important,” he shook his head disapprovingly. “The girls shouldn’t get farther, than the gardens and fields around Ponyville. There are timberwolves in the nearby forests… I know, it’s not the season, but still…”

Rarity’s eyes widened and she quickly nodded in agreement.

“Timberwolves? Huh…” huffed Fluttershy, when Rarity left. “If only…”

Alex grabbed her, instead of answering, and started kissing and tickling, so she finally laughed, forgetting about her concerns for a short while.

“Ahem…” coughed somepony insinuatingly, making them both jump on the spot. “No, no, mates… Go on, don’t mind me!” added the minty-green mare behind the fence, making an overly mischievous face.

“Lyra!” exclaimed Fluttershy, flushing instantly. “Stop sneaking on others like that!”

“Okay, okay,” Lyra threw her hooves in the air comically. “I give up, just don’t stare at me like THAT, Flutters!”

“Hey, Alex,” she switched the topic instantly. “They say, you “got into a fight” with a manticore at the warehouse… Were a few stallions in the bar not enough?” Lyra giggled, watching how Alex slaps his forehead.

“Don’t know who told you that and don’t want to know! Or… wait…” reconsidered Alex. “Perhaps I want to know, not to tell those anything ever again.”

“I heard that from two mares talking at the market today,” shrugged Lyra, then added. “Not those you are working with, Alex, relax…”

Alex glanced at her strangely. ‘Is she stalking me? Merlin’s pants, not another trouble…’

“Actually, I came to check, if you remember that I was going to ask you a few questions about the humans and your arrival in particular, Alex.”

“Mine apologies, Lyra,” Alex rubbed his temples. “Methinks it’s not the best day for that. Thou seest, I am a zilch busy with mine pet project right now… Don’t want to buck anything up. I am a very-very distracted collocutor today.”

“… and why you talk like princess Luna sometimes,” continued Lyra, not being offended by his rejection, while Fluttershy gasped; Alex was a bit bemused as well. “But okay, we can meet later. Mind that I won’t let you go till the end of the week, until you agree to give me some time. I’m leaving for Manehattan for a couple of days, but wanted to interview you beforehand. There hardly will be any free time next two weeks, before the Gala,” added she with a bright smile.

‘Merlin’s… The Gala… Luna… tango!’ Alex felt the chills. ‘The time flies too fast. What would Shy say, if she is already jumpy about me and Luna?’

“Okay, mates, see ya!” and Lyra turned on the spot to leave, but was almost knocked down by another visitor, who seemed to teleport from the thin air.

“Weeee!!! Sorry, Lyra! Howdy?” Pinkie jumped on the spot a couple times more, while Lyra muttered something greeting and trotted away. “Hmm… What’s up with her today?”

But before anypony was able to answer, she continued with the speed of a machine gun.

“Oh, Alex, is it true that you took down a manticore at work? They say and I didn’t believe at first, but then remembered about cockatrice and timberwolves, and decided to ask myself. So is it, is it? Oh, by the way, Rainbow said “Poor manticore!”, when she heard that story,” Pinkie pouted slightly. “I think she is a little bit harsh to you. I mean, the manticore is definitely more dangerous than a typical human… Oh! Squee…”

Fluttershy giggled quite audibly, Alex stood, like hit by a frying pan; it seemed Pinkie had another of her typical hyperactive pinkie-mornings.

“There was no manticore, Pinkie,” slowly, trying to relax his mimic muscles, said Alex.

“A dragon?!!” Pinkie stared at him, jumping again once.

Alex heard a half-gasp, half-snort… half-trumpet from behind, like there was a young elephant, instead of Fluttershy.

“Yeah a dragon,” he gritted his teeth. “We played chess with Spike after my work and didn’t come to an agreement about score…” More of this crap and he would need to pick Fluttershy up from the ground.

“Come on, Pinkie,” Alex took her by shoulders and shook lightly, as her eyes seemed to reach the hairline. “I’m kidding! I have no idea, what it was… Some wild beast got into the hangar with inflammable stuff and I was to restrain it, before guards arrived. Otherwise, it could set something aflame accidentally.”

“Oh, so it wasn’t a manticore,” slowly said Pinkie, she seemed to be disappointed that such a sensational idea turned out fiction. “And I wanted to throw a party for Alex, surviving a deadly poisonous manticore attack…”

Alex facepalmed and groaned. But Pinkie suddenly nudged him with a wide grin.

“A-ha! I got you,” sly naughty sparkles were dancing in her eyes. “I was kidding… I simply came to find out, if you were alright… But the idea was quite promising,” added she, seeing that Alex started to relax too quickly.

Alex apologized and said that he still had lots of work to do, if he planned to assemble at least a couple of prototypes till the end of the week.

“A prototype of what?” Pinkie’s ears perked and she made an impatient hop.

“That’s a secret yet,” smirked Alex. “But I’m sure… I hope… it will end beneficial to each of you in own way. I can show you the parts of my work, but I won’t explain anything just yet.”

“What surprise will it be then?” Pinkie waved her fore hooves. “I’m sure I can wait, till it’s done. I have tons of patience, you know!” and Pinkie proudly puffed like a pigeon, making Fluttershy snort quietly again.

The girls were still talking about some random things, when Alex returned to his engineering. The rest of the day passed the similar way: a few more visitors with the same questions; it was exactly the day, when Alex truly realized that Ponyville was a small and very quiet town most of the time, so news like these agitated the herd greatly. Even after the town overcame a few incidents and cataclysms, since the Elements of Harmony revealed themselves. Getting no sensations the ponies lost interest though, finally accepting the official version of the events. Fluttershy shrugged, wished them a good day and they left after their own business.

The fillies didn’t come and Alex had a strong suspicion that they were to thank Rarity for that; she might have intercepted her younger sister with the hyperactive friends after the talk with Fluttershy and him.

Fortunately, no more familiar ponies came and he could concentrate fully: accurately making generator windings, assembling rotary inductor on the metal shaft, connecting the parts, which he could, as the whole construction was still missing the casing with the magnetic layer. The most troublesome part was the current collectors; Alex spent probably a half of the day trying to make them with limited tools: the contact should be constant and stable, yet not restricting the movement of the rotor. It wasn’t a problem for some factory, but he was to make everything almost manually; quite a hard, even if worthy, task.

Finally, Alex managed to prepare the details for two generators, one more set was half finished. Telling himself that it was unbelievably nice for a start Alex decided to perform precise fitting after the test run; when the casing parts were made and he could assemble the whole device.

There was, of course, a whole long road ahead: windmills and water wheels preparation or connection to the existing ones, where possible, load schemes and balancing, breakers, etc, etc. But the first step was made and Alex allowed himself a small tired smile. One more problem remained, Alex took a look over a couple of wire coils, made of highly refractory metal, which were specifically hard to find, but vital for the lightening part of his project. Electric lamps did exist in Equestria, but were rare enough and hard to get in the quantities necessary (as they were not overly needed everywhere). Alex was going to prove this problem to be solvable simpler and cheaper and hoped that Twilight could help him with it.

The Sun passed almost three-quarters of its daily path through the sky, when Fluttershy finished with her duties; the flow of visitors dried up and she could finally have some rest, making herself a cup of tea and nesting in the armchair. The wind changed its direction, entered the open window and played with the long light curtains, bringing floral scents from the fields and Everfree and freshness from the stream nearby. Birds’ songs and muffled mechanical noises from the shed mixed and got inside as the cacophony of various sounds.

Fluttershy enjoyed the serenity, sipping the hot tea and smiling to some of her thoughts, she perked her ears. During the last two hours the open window let her hear Alex quietly swearing in the shed, something was definitely going worse, than planned. She knew nothing about this technical stuff, therefore couldn’t be of any help and preferred not to interfere. But lately the sounds coming from the shed turned purely mechanical again, seemingly the solution was found and the work continued, letting peace reign over the yard again.

It was doubtlessly nice to know that he got the job done, slowly reaching the goal, but a shadow of anxiety touched Fluttershy’s muzzle, wiping the smile off: she was worried that Alex’s endeavours could lead him nowhere safe.

‘He wants to make something significant, to help others, to provide some material acknowledgement for everypony, who helped him – okay. But he needs to deal with that extremely suspicious blacksmith to do his work. Ponies wouldn’t tell things about Will’s army career for nothing, would they? He absolutely must have a couple of skeletons in the closet.’

Fluttershy shook her head at her thoughts, which became more and more uneasy with time.

‘And Alex keeps saying, he gives no damn about Will’s past as long as the latter does his job. I clearly see that he doubts the suspicions and sympathizes the blacksmith instead; probably even wants to find out the details about his past. Alex with his impulsiveness and vehemence and old Will with his dark veiled past. Wouldn’t seeking for the truth actually get Alex in trouble? Will can definitely draw him into something… or, what’s more possible, they will draw each other into something mutually. I’m afraid it will be worse than if Rainbow Dash had a younger competitive sister of the same temper!’

Her eyes dilated with the mental image of possible consequences.

‘Alex just arrived and faced all kinds of dangerous beasts, if not to mention the mere conditions of his arrival, got severely wounded, found out a bunch of new shocking details about himself, which, as he said, never revealed themselves at his home world. Being the “test subject” wasn’t a relaxing experience as well. Then those Seekers appeared and… the first thing he needed to do was to get himself right in the middle of the events. He is here for four months barely, but already needs some “body armour” to stay in one piece! What next?!’

Fluttershy made another sip of her tea, noticing that it became almost cold, while she was captured deep into her concerns. Things more important, than cold tea, bothered her at that moment though.

‘I’d really like to know, what princess Luna has to do about all that… I could think about romance, but wouldn’t she try to keep him near herself in that case? She seems quite calm about him being here with me instead. Of course, I’m just a little pony and may not see the whole picture… Unfortunately, being an Element of Harmony doesn’t help solve absolutely every relationship problem.’

‘But that’s the minor part,’ she put the cup aside and rubbed her temples tiredly. ‘Uuughhh! I can’t sit and watch as he gets himself hurt again and again, more severely each time. He may be magic resistant, regenerating, durable enough, but he is not immortal still. I can’t let him get into even more dangerous accidents… with armour or without,’ at the thought about armour Fluttershy’s muzzle became gloomy again.

“I must convince him…” said she aloud, when an insinuatingly mocking voice interrupted her.

“Convince whom and what about, if I may ask?” the draconequus appeared almost soundlessly and dropped into another armchair; Angel, napping there a second before, barely managed to whisk away and was now sitting on the floor, looking grumpily at the newcomer.

“Oh, Discord, it is you,” a small smile lit Fluttershy’s muzzle.

“Yours truly!” nodded Discord, saluting with his paw. “What’s up, Fluttershy? Talking to yourself… And I’m quite shocked to see you not wincing at once, when somepony suddenly appears! Are you okay?”

His observation was straight to the point – Fluttershy barely moved, when he teleported right into the room and flopped into the armchair.

“The last few weeks were so rich of events, not always soothing,” smirked Fluttershy sadly. “I guess, I’m getting used to the surprises, whatever they are.”

“Hmm…” huffed Discord, scratching behind his ear. “Maybe it’s bad… or maybe not so much,” He sniffed the air. “New tea?”

“Yeah, want a cup?”

“If you please! So what bothers you?”

“Alex!” simply said Fluttershy, heading to the kitchen for the teapot. “And his plans.”

Discord raised one eyebrow.

“As far as I can feel, he is still here…” He seemed to be listening to something. “In your shed, working on something… and… appears to be satisfied with results. What’s wrong with that, dear?”

“You see, he finds the troubles, he gets in accidentally and inevitably, to be insufficient to consider his life saturated, thus looking for more,” explained Fluttershy, she filled a large materialized out of nowhere cup. “And this work is something indirectly leading him to more trouble unfortunately.”

“Interesting…” muttered Discord, quite intrigued. “I’ll take a look, what’s that problematic thing, you are so concerned about, if you don’t mind.”

And before Fluttershy could say anything, he drew a circle in the air with his long claw; the circle turned into a glowing warp, which Discord immediately poked his head into, Fluttershy only squeaked surprisingly.

Alex observed the details, he managed to make, and pondered, if he had full right to call it a day and have some rest, he didn’t notice how the generator rotor on the table behind him popped two very sly eyes of mismatching colours and took a quick look around the place, taking notice of the human himself, the assembled parts and the remaining materials; eyes blinked several times.

With a sound of a tight cork being taken out from a bottle, Discord pulled his head out of the warp; the head still carried the shape of the generator rotor and with a good shake he returned it to its usual state. Fluttershy watched with dilated eyes, while the warp vanished.

“Well…” declared Discord with the most trivial expression, like nothing strange happened. “He is surrounded by some metal parts and junk and looks quite happy about that. Nothing particularly dangerous, as I could notice.”

“That’s the whole point, in those metal parts,” sighed Fluttershy, her eyes slowly returning to normal. “He wants, no doubt, to help everypony with what he is making… Some machine… t-to produce electricity the easier way… or something alike,” seeing that Discord still didn’t get what was wrong with all that, she explained. “But despite his means are good, he needs external help to finish his work.”

“He needs blacksmith’s help!” added Fluttershy dramatically, obviously expecting some reaction. “Come on, I told you about our blacksmith, at least once… didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Discord musingly stared at his tea, making the liquid in his cup raise and take the form of an anvil. “I’ve heard something with one ear about old… funny name, ahhh… Will…smash Steel. Right?”

“Right,” Fluttershy wasn’t so calm though. “Then you probably heard about his reputation and speculations about the incidents during the war as well. He is a… dark horse really… forgive my pun. Now imagine Alex’s character multiplied by old Will’s influence… I’m afraid that the old unicorn can draw Alex into something… unruly.”

“Speculations! Exactly…” Discord raised the long claw insinuatingly to Fluttershy’s total surprise. “Have you ever thought that the blacksmith could be not so… villainous, as almost everypony preferred to think and tell.”

“Celly is not perfect, but I have certain doubts that she does nothing, if the pony in question is indeed guilty of some severe crime,” he continued, sipping his tea, while Fluttershy kept silence. “She likes giving “second chances”, of course, but still…” Discord shrugged. “Besides, maybe Alex wants to sort thing out himself or blacksmith’s past isn’t anyhow detrimental for his current work.”

Fluttershy facehoofed tiredly.

“You are talking exactly like Alex now!” huffed she. “He doesn’t want to be careful, when it comes to his… hardware. He is already talking about body armour… and that means more blacksmith’s work naturally.”

“Oh,” she blushed a little. “I didn’t tell you about the last incident…”

“I’ve heard a few bits here,” Discord looked at the ceiling with a totally innocent expression. “and a few bits there. But, of course, won’t mind hearing the whole story… as well as the conclusions you both might have made.”

“As for the rest…” he continued, putting the cup on the low table and leaning forward. “My dear Fluttershy, just imagine that his perception of “being careful” is a zilch different from yours… at least when he speaks about himself. Besides, he is already being careful, thinking of armour, thus trying to protect himself, whatever that means,” Fluttershy listened with ears drooped and Discord added. “I think that you shouldn’t rush it, as it may cause a purely negative effect from him.”

“And what do you know about those Seekers?” asked Fluttershy accurately, some idea came into her mind. “Moreover, what do you think about them? About the first incident?”

“The first incident ever or the first with your human involved?” re-asked Discord, paying exaggerated attention to his claws at the moment.

“The l-latter, if you are okay with that,” simply said Fluttershy.

“You probably know that he needs to simply touch the Seeker to destroy it completely,” Discord looked at Fluttershy very seriously.

“Yes, princess Celestia told me briefly about the incident, but I thought you knew more…”

“So, Alex and Celly and me as well, all think that his arrival is somehow connected to those Seekers, but for different reasons. Celestia, as usual, suspects some danger for the whole of Equestria and is determined to find out, if the human is, if not the driving force, but the reason for that trouble. She is worried and still unsure about him, and would rather send him back… if she could,” Discord rolled his eyes sarcastically. “Alex is still determined to return, he thinks that understanding the Seeker’s nature may help him do that… But he now wants to take down as many of those creatures as he can, I suppose. You see, what they do to your kin didn’t rub him well.”

At those words Fluttershy squeaked quietly and the sad expression on her muzzle turned to the concerned one again, while Discord continued.

“I don’t make any assumptions without facts and am simply curious about what is going to boil here. And I have no doubts that something is. To tell the truth, it would be extremely unlucky, if the whole Equus felt apart… I like this ball of rock kinda…” confessed he with a grin, then added with much more concern. “And I’d like to avoid you being hurt, Fluttershy.”

“Thanks,” Fluttershy let out a small smile. “So, you think those Seekers are a part of something bigger, right?”

“Very likely so,” nodded Discord. “So do others, I suppose… I mean Alex and…”

“But what can he do about all that?” exclaimed Fluttershy passionately. “The last time he got wounded pretty bad. I know he regenerates fast, healing his wounds at a visible pace, but… he is not immortal. I don’t want…”

‘…to lose him!’ ended she mentally. ‘Won’t you lose him anyway, if he is able to return to his home world?!’

“Hmmm…” Discord smiled strangely, for those uncommon to his appearance that might look like a threatening grin. “Immortality is a complex phenomenon, Fluttershy. I’m pretty sure, you want to say, he is not invulnerable.”

“Is there any difference in that case?”

“Of course there is!” Discord looked a bit affronted by her remark, not overly though. “Always. Remember the school in Cloudsdale, Fluttershy, biology classes… When does an organism start to age and finally die?”

“W-when the cells slower their division speed, thus regeneration, then cease to regenerate,” confusedly answered Fluttershy. “But I don’t understand…”

“According to what I found out about Celestia’s experiments… and their results,” Discord interrupted her. “His,” he pointed outside with his claw. “regeneration level and potential are that high, court mages and medics don’t dare to predict his lifespan now.”

He nodded meaningfully, while Fluttershy slowly closed her mouth in shock.

“But that doesn’t mean that, if somepony takes his head off, he is still able to survive. Sorry, Fluttershy,” quickly added Discord, seeing that she stiffened in terror. “I don’t know how to explain simpler…”

“I guess that is why he admitted the armour need finally. What was the premise, by the way?”

Fluttershy shuddered, obviously the mere memory of the “premise” terrified her, taking herself in hooves she told Discord about one of new Seekers being fully materialized and thus harder to take down, wounding Alex instead.

“Ah, so there is some feedback indeed,” muttered Discord, cupping his beard. “Even if a delayed one.”

“That’s exactly what Alex said and that’s making him think about some armour… while I’d like him to keep away from those Seekers, if possible,” confessed Fluttershy, then cocked her head with suddenly stubborn expression. “There are specially trained unicorns for that in the end of the day, royal mages, who know how to fight against magical threats!”

“…and we saw one of them exactly at the medical facility, being a complete vegetable after Seeker’s impact, until you gave him a good Stare!” added Alex, entering the living room and closing the front door.

“Good evening!” he nodded to Discord with exaggerated courtesy, then continued, addressing Fluttershy again. “The Seekers can’t tumble my brains at least, Shy. What’s so bad about helping to get rid of them?”

“Evening!” smirked Discord. “Perhaps Fluttershy thinks, it’s a bit bad that one of them tried to tumble your body instead…”

Alex squinted at the draconequus suspiciously. What could this weird chap tell already?

“Oh, I’m totally on the fence here,” Discord threw his paws in the air in a comical gesture… crossing “fingers” on his “tail-paw” simultaneously.

Alex tiredly dragged another armchair closer, grabbed the teapot and poured himself a cup; the tea was cold already and Fluttershy soared, when he tried it.

“I’ll make more…”

“No, thanks, Shy. Just boil some water, if you please. I’ll dilute that one.”

While Fluttershy was busy, lighting the stove, pouring water, Alex pondered, if he could ask some questions and hope to get proper answers without any harm done. Alex knew that Discord wouldn’t hurt Fluttershy on purpose, but he might already involuntarily tell something, which only amplified her concerns.

“So, why don’t you think it’s better to leave the Seekers to mages?” Fluttershy broke the silence, returning to the room.

“And why don’t you think the victims, already hit by Seekers, can’t cope without you, Shy?” confronted Alex.

“Oh, come on, that’s the different story,” Fluttershy threw her hooves up, calling the heavens to witness Alex’s stubbornness.

“Can you really Stare the one, “brainwashed” by the Seeker, back to normal?” Discord repeated with considerable admiration.

“Not exactly,” flushed Fluttershy. “I can… Stare them to amnesia, instead of complete inertness… and this is curable, as the princess says,” she turned to Alex, ready to convince him of being wrong. “Nopony could do anything effectively to him. Why shouldn’t I help if I can?”

“The whole bunch of mages couldn’t do anything effectively to the Seeker without risking their sanity… At least not take it down within a few minutes,” retorted Alex.

“I can’t believe there were not enough capable mages in Canterlot…” stumbled Fluttershy.

“That wasn’t in Canterlot exactly,” said Discord.

“But how…” started Fluttershy; expecting the next question Alex quickly interrupted Fluttershy, putting his hand on her hoof and stroking it lightly.

“So, what do you think about those Seekers? What do you know about them exactly?” he asked Discord; Fluttershy glanced at Alex, but said nothing.

Discord sighed, it was hard to tell, if he noticed how Alex quickly changed the topic.

“You probably know already that they are not independent, have one puppet master, who sends them through considerable distance to literally look for something here, they can communicate somehow with their master, but the distance or some other complexities make that communication delayed…”

“Speaking of non-independent,” added Alex. “The fully materialized Seeker turned out to be a dummy… “meat-puppet”, instead of a proper organism.”

“Hmm… that’s really interesting…” muttered Discord. “That tells clearly, whoever sends them recognizes your actions, which, I assume, work quite well, confronting those Seekers. As the so-called complete materialization was done the simplest way and looks to me like an attempt to prevent you from destroying the Seeker easily. Other than that, I know hardly more than you about them. There are some thoughts though…”

“Who or whatever is sending them, must be quite a powerful entity,” said he after a pause. “As the problematic transfer, delayed communication and some other symptoms tell us they must be sent from… what you call “another realm”. Their master forced to “squeeze” them through the matter of universe to Equus and be content with all the limitations it provides, even if it wastes much power, sending them… because getting here him or herself would cost much more for some reason.”

Fluttershy brought the teapot, refilling the cups and lit the candles, as it became dark outside; Discord continued.

“Will it stay that way, till they get their chance to find, what they are looking for… or their master comes eventually, is an open question still.”

“I don’t think that your arrival here is a coincidence,” he touched another concern. “Taking someone from the world without magic… Perhaps your summoner staked on your human nature. I wonder, if you were brought here specifically to confront these monsters and their puppet-master, in that case your new abilities must become a real surprise for your supposed enemy. Well, if it knows about humans…”

Fluttershy snuggled to Alex involuntarily and both sat quietly, listening.

“Or your magical resistance and other capabilities… just like the whole ability to develop them, are simply the byproduct of your transfer,” smirked Discord slyly. “Then it’s a big surprise even for your summoner. But I have doubts about the latter… Anyway,” he grabbed the teacup again. “I may be the King of Chaos, yet making wild guesses is not in my favourite practices list.”

“But what about that mysterious summoner? Do you… suppose anything? Celestia tried to find the one, who could do that, but, apparently, without any success. She thinks, that could help send me back,” Alex felt, how Fluttershy strained, but he was to ask that question.

Discord squinted at reminder about Celestia and her futile attempts to solve that “magical equation”.

“There is one assumption… But I hate groundless assumptions, as I said,” grumpily said Discord. “Besides, telling Celly that I suggested anything would guarantee her to avoid that route.”

“The problem is, she looks among those, who may do that, according to her own perception,” mercifully he gave some information away at last. “It may be helpful to remind her, there are still some powers that be on the Equus, motives of which even we can’t foresee entirely. Without mentioning me, of course, as the author of this idea.”

‘Great! He could have said nothing, would be equally useful,’ Alex internally waved his hand at that already.

“By the way,” Discord seemed to remember something. “You are so concerned to return, Alex. What do you think about the acceptance? Your image in the eyes of others, considering your new capabilities? I doubt the transfer back, if possible, will magically revert them…”

‘Fuck!’ the last phrase hit Alex quite hard, he was to admit that he already thought about that numerous times and the conclusions didn’t make him happier. ‘Why he even voiced that? And what’s more unpleasant – why he is straight to the point with it?’ Then a mischievous smile wormed on his face. ‘Okaaay! I can ask uneasy questions likewise.’

“Hey, while you are still here, Discord,” Alex tried to look only mildly interested. “Can you tell, why “Celly” is a banned word in Canterlot castle?”

Fluttershy squeaked quietly and Discord frowned, then he relaxed and shrugged, visibly accepting the inevitable.

“This is the rare case, when I prefer to play according to her rules,” said he with a sad smile. “If she wants the real reasons to not be named, so be it. She is the one who can tell or not tell, if finds necessary. Nothing too fancy, to tell the truth, more like a monument to… wrong decisions…”

“You were more than just friends someday, long ere,” Alex said thoughtfully, looking fixedly at Discord. “Tis the only case, at which hour two can “hate” each other so much and exchange spear hits without ignoring each other completely or starting a real war instead…”

“We were very young these days,” Discord seemed to look somewhere deep inside himself. “I could have done better, I suppose. She blames me entirely and, thinking of it now, I tend to agree with… Celestia. I was older, than the sisters, and must be more provident, yet failed. Well… I told you enough already… the rest is not my decision to reveal.”

“And she doesn’t want to be reminded about those times,” nodded Alex.

“As I said, nothing sensational,” Discord squinted with a sly smile. “At the very least much less interesting, than you, talking like princess Luna sometimes…”

And with a click of his fingers Discord vanished in the thin air; he managed to have the last word.

Despite all the attempts of Alex to dispel the impression, Fluttershy was very pensive and quiet for the rest of the evening. She replied absently and monosyllabically all the time and, when bedtime came, simply snuggled into Alex hiding her muzzle on his neck, apparently being deep into some thoughts still.

While the last phrase was dropped on purpose, Alex was almost sure that Discord was genuine during the rest of the talk. Almost… as it was Discord still. It didn’t look like he noticed though, what effect a couple of phrases gave on Fluttershy. It was safe to assume that she kept pondering henceforth about “how much Luna” she was to deal with. Stroking her mane and fruitlessly looking for some way to solve this dilemma Alex fell asleep.

Alex tried to utilize the next few days to the limits; the first one was thankfully a day off still, so he could give it entirely to working on his project. Thus he spent the whole morning explaining Rarity that the light-frame windmill at the backyard of Carousel Boutique won’t spoil the view, especially if properly decorated – he suggested to let Sweetie Belle paint the construction (while it was down) to fit in. Then he managed to convince the fashionista to give him the sewing-machine for modernization: thankfully Rarity kept the old one as the spare, besides, she was rather looking at Alex, than listening attentively to his arguments. Alex decided, that would do the thing; besides, he could add the newer machine, when Rarity saw the benefits of automation.

Next Alex headed to Twilight, as she was the only one, who could help him solve one relatively small, but not less sophisticated because of that, problem. The idea was to make the generators useful, even when they were not serving their main purpose, if possible. Alex was still short of some resources there due to his position, specifics of local industry and time limits; he decided to make as many parts as it was possible himself, so, his work would be more independent from rare details and facilities, easier replicable and could be applied literally everywhere in Equestria with a little bit of civilization present.

Thus he was to implement simple hardware breakers for his first prototype to avoid complex spare loads (except generic resistors) and add something to drain and utilize the extra energy. Naturally, lightening could provide that extra drain easily, while being energy consuming, yet useful addition. The problem was: Alex never saw an electric light bulb during his stay to Equestria, at least not at the places he was till that moment. Theoretically, he knew, they existed and were used in industrialized areas, but he had neither time, nor wish to look for them, when he supposed a replacement could be made relatively easy.

‘Technically it’s cheating’ smiled Alex inwardly, approaching the Golden Oak library. ‘But in the world, where magic goes parallel with technology, beating it sometimes, many technical problems are already solved with the help of that “cheating”. Why not mine?’

The doorbell sound loudly rolled through the large hall a couple of times, before Alex could hear the steps; the door wasn’t locked most of the time, as the majority of doors in Ponyville, yet Alex couldn’t simply enter out of common courtesy, that was a convention easy to conform to.

“Oh…” obviously Spike was surprised to see him. “I couldn’t imagine… Come in…” and the small dragon stepped aside, letting Alex enter the hall.

“I heard that you recovered fast and even saw the result myself,” Spike shook his head, closing the door behind Alex. “But you look quite cheerful for somepony, who had a bleeding hole in his side a day before. I guess, that’s good! Twilight!”

“Twilight!” yelled Spike again, so Alex squinted stifling an attempt to cover his ears. “That’s futile, let’s go and show you to her,” he rolled his eyes. “Guess, what she is doing right now. Two tries…”

“One is enough,” chuckled Alex, following Spike to the back room, which was filled with bookcases, covering the walls, just like the majority of other rooms here.

They found Twilight behind the desk, which could boast the exemplary order, except a few high columns of books. At least three of them were floating open around Twilight, while she was making some notes on paper, moving the quill with her magic and looking up thoughtfully. She definitely wasn’t there with them at the moment.

“Twilight,” with a smile Alex touched her shoulder lightly. “I’m sorry for bothering you, but… Twi…”

Twilight turned to him absently and Alex could see how almost a second was necessary to focus on him, instead of her thoughts, another second was spent for “switching off the studying mode”.

“Morning, Alex,” she probably realized what happened, so the tip of her nose got pinkish. “Did I hear you both not again?” Twilight alternated from Alex to Spike with a sheepish squeak. “Sorry, I was totally lost in my work…” she put off the quill, the books dived into their proper stacks.

“Good morning, Twilight,” Alex was smiling. “And yes, I noticed. Anything particularly interesting?”

“Well… It seems the connection is finally established,” snorted Spike quietly, turning to the door. “And I have my own duties, if you don’t mind.”

“Thanks, mate!” Alex’s grin became wider, Twilight nodded; Spike waved his paw with a doomed look, exiting the room.

“Nothing outstanding to be honest,” Twilight remembered Alex’s question. “I was trying to systematize new information about transportation and teleporting spells… provided by princess’ Celestia investigation of…” Twilight stumbled. “… of you, Alex. But unfortunately…”

‘Unfortunately, this won’t help me return home,’ finished Alex for her, but he wasn’t going to let the sadness celebrate its victory in his soul at that moment.

“Great!” Alex looked like teleporting spells was the most interesting thing for him. “Because what I hope you can help me with lies very close to teleportation, I believe.”

“Really?!” alicorn girl ears perked and there was even more interest in her eyes now. “And what can I help you with?”

Instead of answering Alex took out of the pocket and put on the free spot on the desk something, that looked like a homemade replica of a common light bulb: he managed to put the electrodes with a high refractory bridge between them into a vial of thick glass and melted its neck, sealing it shut; two metal wires still protruded outside.

“Isn’t it used to produce light by applying electric discharge to those wires?” Twilight looked up at him after examining the device; Alex nodded.

“But a good lightning will most likely blow that tiny thing apart,” Twilight threw another sceptical glance at the desk. “Of course, I can use magic to…” her horn glowed lightly.

“Wait, wait, wait, Twilight!” exclaimed Alex and she stopped, looking confusedly at him. “I’m not going to hit that with a lightning for sure. As for applying your magic to light it – it’s a great idea, thank you… But a bit later, to check, if my plan works.”

“You know,” elaborated Alex, seeing that Twilight looked at him with interest, but overly puzzled. “If we try to light that “bulb” right away, the glass will dim with metal evaporations and the bridge burns out very fast – there is air in the vial still. That is why I think, your teleportation spells can help me immensely, Twi.”

“You want me to…”

“To try and remove the air from the sealed glass vial, right,” nodded Alex. “Don’t worry, the glass is thick, it shouldn’t implode after that.”

“So you aren’t sure, eh?” chuckled Twilight, then concentrated on the vial. “Okaaay…”

Her horn glowed again, enveloping the improvised “bulb” in the lilac aura and lifting it afloat slightly. Twilight squinted, trying to perform the exactly requested effect… The bulb trembled, then fell on the desk empty. Completely empty! No air supposedly, no bridge… no metal wiring inside the vial. Twilight flushed, throwing a quick glance at Alex; her ears dropped and the tip of her nose reminded Alex of Santa’s deer.

“Well…” Alex snorted, scratching the back of his head. “Almost there. Almost, but not exactly…”

“Come on, stop teasing me,” huffed Twilight, nudging him slightly with her head. “I can do better, just need to adjust the conditions…” she was pinkish still.

“I believe wholeheartedly,” Alex kept giggling. “That is why I made a few of them.”

With these words, he took out another one and put it in front of Celestia’s apprentice.

When Alex left Twilight half an hour later, his pockets were full of inelaborate, but fully working light bulbs; they even checked one – Twilight used her magic to apply potentials to outer contacts. The bridge glowed bright, but the vial remained undimmed and the glow was stable, ensuring Alex that the construction was hermetic.

Another pleasant surprise awaited at home: Fluttershy told him that some details were delivered from the blacksmith. She told the delivery workers to put them in the same shed accurately, but Alex saw that she was quite concerned about these parts being not entirely safe. Obviously, the public image of old Will’s reputation was stronger than her and Alex let out a sigh.

This gave him the opportunity to prepare at least one full set for the demonstration. Alex assembled the generator, the spare load and balancing scheme, the engine, which technically was the reverse replica of the generator. He tried to work as fast as he could, while still maintaining quality and being accurate – he planned to deliver everything to Carousel Boutique and assemble all the parts into working complex at daylight.

Fortunately, the summer sun gave a plenty of time, thus when the ordered cart arrived, Alex loaded it, still having a couple or more hours of decent lightening ahead.

“Are you sure, it is safe, darling?” there was a fair dose of concern in Rarity’s voice, when she trotted around Alex, who was fastening the generator at the top of openwork frame, laying yet on the grass. Alex decided that the workers should erect the completely assembled construction, as he couldn’t trust others with assembly and nopony could probably force him to climb an upstanding windmill (higher than the boutique building) to mount everything there.

“Totally!” squeezed Alex, leaning on the wrench with all his weight to make the fastening rock solid. There was quite a strong smell of paint everywhere, Sweetie Belle murmured something under her breath, finishing her part of work on the giant windmill rotor, which shouldn’t spoil the boutique “chic, unique and magnifique” gamma, when put in place. She threw a quick glance on Rarity bustling around Alex, and produced a sly smile.

“Don’t you worry, Rarity,” Alex got up and stretched. “Despite it is a waste of wiring, I asked to place the windmill that way, so it won’t touch the house, even if it falls. Which it shouldn’t do, to be honest.”

“As for the rest…” Alex was distracted by Sweetie Belle “artwork”. “You can paint here, here and here, dear. But this part, please, leave as is.”

“Aye!” winked the filly, throwing another sly glance at her sister.

“As for the rest…” Alex continued explaining. “Everything is safe, if you follow the simple safety rules, applied to every electrical device: don’t touch bare wires, until sure, they aren’t under current, don’t wet them, don’t shorten, don’t tumble, twist, cut, etcetera. Don’t turn it on, if you have a feeling something is not right, or turn it off completely, if it was working before…” Alex stumbled, then squinted and let out an ear-splitting sneeze. “Oh… Sorry!”

“Oh, Celestia! It’s all because of that horrible paint,” Rarity nudged them both towards the house, then threw a loving glance over Alex. “Come on, darling, we all need to have a break… and clear the lungs of that smell,” she wrinkled her nose funnily, following Alex; Sweetie Belle skipped behind.

It was really a nice change to feel the aroma of delicious pie and tea, instead of paint, metal and oil. The fresh august wind brought sparrows chirping through the open window and remedied Alex’s breath. The setting sun painted everything outside in pink, yellow and gold and played in Rarity’s mane, making it shine with thousands of tiny sapphires. She was sitting and ogling Alex, who suddenly remembered about completely missed dinner (in his work he totally forgot about the proper meal, thanking Fluttershy, but refusing because of the hurry). The pie was truly awesome and they swept almost everything with Sweetie Belle, who got hungry as well.

Meeting Rarity’s constant glance and observing her dreamy smile, Alex tried to concentrate on the precautions, he didn’t voice yet, to ensure that the girls understood everything right. He was to go to the station for his regular work tomorrow, yet hired the workers to raise the windmill during the day, so, he could perform the final connections and run the device in the evening.

“They know what to do,” he ensured Rarity again, she was still worried that something could go wrong, but the fear to appear a scaredy pony in Alex’s eyes prevented her from saying that aloud. “They… and you both as well… should keep the lever, I showed you, down all the time and avoid shortening the lower contacts on the frame. I insulated them fine, but still can be shortened on purpose. Better not do that!”

Rarity nodded absently, looking at him and squinting like a big pleased cat.

Alex spent the whole next day like sitting on a hedgehog; he was to attend his usual duties at the railway station, but the anxiety didn’t want to let go. Despite being sure that nothing should go wrong (nothing could possibly go wrong, after checking and re-checking and fixing and… more checking), yet he was fairly nervous about that first run. Too much depended on it: the impression, the acceptance and finally the future of his suggestion; moreover, his own future, at least while he was in Equestria.

The reason was, Alex easily topped his abilities at the freight yard, there was nowhere to develop from the point he already reached. He could probably increase the speed of his work a bit, though it would need a fair bit of stress and concentration added. Was it worthy? Questionable. Another way was to build a precise mental map of the whole freight and start working with “eyes closed”, as Alex was joking sometimes, to turn literally into a… “freight bat”. Otherwise, Alex felt that if he had nothing to bother about, except his work, he would get deadly bored quite easily. For the moment he had no spare time for boredom, but the anxiety about his invention future was easily explicable.

Nevertheless, he managed to find time to visit the 7th and take another look at the scene in the daylight. The hangar was open, the royal guards left the place already and his colleagues were stacking more crates to the middle row, where he was hiding during that infamous evening. Somepony managed to wash off the blood stains and repair the broken railing in the last two days, while he was absent. In other words, nothing told at that moment about the nasty scene, which happened here recently; Alex decided that suited him entirely.

At the end of the day Alex headed back to Ponyville calm, self-collected and… with an irreducible feeling of butterflies, bouncing in his stomach. He covered the whole road from the railway station to the town “on autopilot” and if somepony asked later, what and how he did exactly, he couldn’t probably answer.

Approaching Carousel Boutique Alex could estimate his planning and Sweetie Belle’s work: placed behind the house and painted with love and care windmill didn’t protrude like an object totally alien to the place. Inwardly smiling Alex made a note that evening breeze spun the large rotor quite fast, providing enough juice for the generator, when it was connected to the gears. The idea was simple – the windmill was hidden by the building itself and nearby trees, leaving only the rotor open to the winds. The boutique was the hardest place to fit his technology, but Alex started with it on purpose. If nopony said “Ewwww!” next morning, then it meant that they succeeded in this work both technically and ergonomically, making it easy to add to any existing household.

Both girls were waiting for him already and, after short greeting and listening to Rarity’s complaints about the workers making quite a mess of her lawn, Alex could address the final stage of his work. He connected the wiring to the windmill contacts, blessing the weather and finally insulating them, checked all the fastenings, then returned to the house. The main part of the work inside was already done yesterday, thus he was to finally connect the engine and lightening part of the scheme and double check everything. The moment of truth!

“Let’s try now. As I said, everything is safe, but I need thee to try every step thyself, so we can see, if ‘t be true thou art capable to operate ‘t,” a bit shaky Alex welcomed Rarity to her workroom, which was fairly dark, but Alex insisted, no other lights to be brought.

To tell the truth, Rarity was quite anxious as well about what was done to her workroom, the tip of her nose becoming pinkish from emotions; she didn’t find any drastic changes at the first look though. Maybe the old sewing machine became a bit bulkier, adding at the left part of its stand; wires were going right upwards to the ceiling from there.

“Have a look,” Alex walked her to the window, pointing outside at the openwork frame. “There are two levers on the frame.”

Rarity nodded shortly, she was too concentrated, even forgetting to throw a loving glance at him.

“The upper one grounds the generator firmly, that’s for severe rain and thunderstorm cases, not to burn the generator. I’ll add a better solution later,” Alex shrugged a bit confusedly, then continued. “The lower lever connects the generator to the gears, when lifted, so it starts working. They are connected that way, so when you ground the generator, you disconnect it from the windmill automatically.”

Rarity threw a pleading glance at him and sighed.

“Well…” Alex scratched his nose. “Let’s put it that way, if you feel that a lightning can strike the whole thing, you need to pull the upper lever down, that’s all. When you need the generator to work, ensure that the upper lever is up and turn the lower one up as well. You need to turn the upper first, if both are down.”

“That’s a bit better… comprehensible, darling,” breathed out Rarity, snuggling to him subtly.

“Go on, try to turn the lower lever up,” suggested Alex, rolling the eyes inwardly, feeling the warm shoulder leaning on him. “I suppose, thou can “grab” ‘t with thy magic from hither.”

After a second of hesitation Rarity indeed could envelop the named lever in the sapphire blue aura and with a bit of concentration turned it up. Nothing fascinating happened, except quiet hum going from somewhere under the window outside. Rarity let out a tiny nervous chuckle.

“That’s okay,” Alex smiled, foreseeing her reaction. “The generator is working now on the spare load, heating the air literally. I’ll try to get my hands on some batteries later, so we can store power and use it for lightening at least, when the generator can’t be operated.”

“If you say so,” cooed Rarity. “What next, darling?”

“Now turn that switch, please,” Alex pointed on the wall near the door.

With a click the room turned flooded with light, Rarity squeaked, squinting and snuggling tighter to Alex – a few light bulbs provided enough light to work as comfortably as during the day; the hum outside became almost inaudible.

“Errmmm…” Rarity looked up at him, finding no words yet, but Alex saw, how her eyes shone.

“Now turn on your old sewing machine,” suggested he with a smile. “No, no, not that way…” he interrupted Rarity, seeing that she habitually applied her magic to the wheel. “There is another switch on the stand.”

“It was a bit simpler before, Ahhlex,” jokingly pouted Rarity, presenting him a puppy look from her rich collection.

“The switches are for additional safety,” Alex shrugged slightly. “So nothing turns on, before you want it to, dear. You can adjust the feed as before by machine controls. There is a treadle on the floor, go stomp it.”

With Rarity’s hoof on the treadle the old sewing machine came to life, filling the room with usual clacking. There was no cloth or threads on it, but it was obvious – the thing worked as supposed.

“Oh!” Rarity looked back at Alex with a mixed expression on her face; he was standing there, crossing his hands on the chest, grinning widely. “So I simply need to keep standing on it to…”

“Not necessarily,” smirked Alex. “Thus you control the feed entirely, but if you need it to constantly operate, simply apply more pressure to the treadle.”

Rarity pressed harder and heard a click. She threw a quick glance on nodding Alex and removed the hoof, the machine kept working steadily. Rarity pressed the treadle again to the click, removing the hoof, the machine stopped.

“It seems, I get it right,” she smiled a bit unconfidently. “I think, I get used to that.”

“Excellent!” Alex showed her both thumbs up, feeling relief and joy – everything worked. He could realize at that moment, how important it was for him and how stressed he really was, preparing. “Now your magic can be used to perform… more complex operations, getting even more outstanding dresses as the result.”

In a wink he found himself in Rarity’s embrace, when she raised on her hind legs and wrapped her fore legs around him, nuzzling him with closed eyes.

“Thanks, darling!” perhaps there was more subtext under those words, but at the moment Alex saw that Rarity was genuinely thankful for the help exactly.

“WOW!” the squeaky voice from behind reminded them about Sweetie Belle, who watched the whole process silently, with eyes dilated. She cleared her throat. “I mean… Wow! Really… This looks like some kind of magic,” she looked at Alex with a wide grin, then glanced at her older sister, who was still holding on him.

“Actually it is, what we constantly use instead of magic, having none of the latter. You have it as well, but not so widely spread and applied as in our world,” Alex smirked, holding Rarity with one hand. “And it was done thanks to your help as well, Belle,” he ruffled filly’s mane.

“Now, let’s hope, it works as planned on real clothes tomorrow,” chuckled Alex. “And nopony protests against their dresses being stitched by the electrical monster.”

“One more thing, Rarity,” remembered Alex. “I don’t know yet how much time or effort this will save you, but don’t speed up too obviously right away, not to become overloaded by the orders. And… if you want the same surgery performed on this one,” he pointed at the newer machine. “Ask anytime.”

Rarity let out a deep sigh of mixed feelings, she understood unwillingly that the lady should let the visitor free already.

The rest of the week flew by like one day: Alex worked, took measurements at girls’ places, planned and drafted the improvements, prepared parts; he crawled to bed late at night and fell asleep immediately, when sleepy Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around him. He placed the new order at the smithy and the faint sparkle of hope in the eyes of Sil and old Willsmash filled his chest with warmth and realization of following the right road. The old blacksmith solemnly promised that the parts would be ready in time, perhaps even earlier, and Alex interested, if they needed more coal.

Thus Alex was able to assemble and run another generator at Fluttershy’s cottage, this was connected to a waterwheel, as a quick stream nearby provided the constant energy source. Fluttershy asked him perhaps a hundred of times, if the wheel wouldn’t hurt the fish, and Alex patiently explained that he placed the parts specifically, so nothing and nobody could get stuck, and got rid of the sharp edges. Soon they could have the light independent of fire and fuel. Alex couldn’t think of some other use, except maybe heating, as in the face of approaching autumn and winter some animals could need more warmth and light. For the start it was more than nice and Alex caught himself on the thought that he was preparing, like if he was going to stay in Equestria for quite a while.

As he had another generator only half finished, Alex could only plan further installments for Twilight and Applejack. But he already saw the interest of others to his work, first pure curiosity, but it was enough to get ponies talking. Passing Carousel Boutique at least twice a day Alex saw ponies, stopping for a while, watching the windmill and bright light, coming from Rarity’s windows, and discussing something quietly. Alex smirked and headed his way.

The first swallow arrived, when Alex was at the Apple Farm, discussing his further work with Jackie and her brother. Well… Big Mac was mostly listening, of course; saying anything, when it was absolutely necessary.

“…so, you can have safe lightening anywhere on the farm, power the juicers during the cider season,” Alex leaned his back on the warm wall of the barn, heated by the evening sun. “Provide more light and warmth to the chickens in winter, pump the water to the crops and Granny Smith’s flowers more effectively.”

Applejack nodded, she stood crossing her legs and watched the sunlit apple orchard, spreading down the hill anywhere their eyes could see; she moved her stetson to the back of her head and squinted imagining the perspective. “More effectively” meant better harvest, more bits earned, less stress to the family and even the ability to help other relatives; this sounded worthy.

“Nice!” dropped Big Mac, placing himself on the lone haystack and taking a look over the sea of apple trees below from under his hoof, covering from the low sun. He estimated the ability to avoid spinning the juicers, until he was almost falling flat, to simply prepare all the cider in time for the thirsty ponyvillers; Rainbow Dash alone could probably gulp a barrel. There was enough hard work for him even without that, especially during the harvest season.

“And if we can squeeze enough juice, forgive my pun, for the pumps,” Alex was sure that a few windmills at that high ground would be enough. “We will raise the water pressure more than any water tower can provide and make the sprinklers really effective.”

“Ah can always ask Rainbow to drive more wind to the rotors, when it’s too hot and mah babies need more water,” Applejack munched on a straw with a happy smile.

“Just don’t tell her what for,” chuckled Alex. “Or she will be in a rage, finding out her weather organizing skills must accompany something of my origins.”

“Ah still have no idea, why she treats you that way, partner,” Applejack shrugged, stomping from hoof to hoof. “But this is Rainbow Dash, she changes her mind, only when sees rock solid reasons or is absolutely forced to…”

“Like with reading?” snorted Alex.

“Yeah, kinda.”

“Can we do something with those darned fruit bats, Alex?” Applejack looked at him with hope; it seemed, that was the question she silently pondered about the whole evening. “Ah told ya, they are a catastrophe, when they come in masses… If we could repel them somehow…”

“Well, if I can find proper crystals,” Alex ruffled his hair, pondering, how he could pull that out. “I could probably apply electric current to them and make them stridulate at unbearable for bats’ ears frequencies… Worth trying anyway.”

“Hey,” Big Mac even raised a bit from the stack of hay, looking fixedly at something down the road. “Somepony is coming. Hmm… I’d even say rushing” he huffed, pointing at the pony figure galloping between the trees up the hill.

Alex strained inwardly, lately, he didn’t expect any good news from anypony running to find him that fast; he was somehow sure, the visitor wanted to see him, not Applejack or Big Mac. Stretching out their necks nonetheless they couldn’t see in the counter light of setting sun, who it was exactly. The huffing, becoming closer, gave out the visitor to be a mid-age stallion. Applejack raised one eyebrow, then shared the puzzled glance with Alex.

“Good… Ummfff… evening!” huffed out the dark figure, coming closer and appearing the “Quills and Sofas” owner to Alex’s sheer surprise.

While the shopkeeper tried to catch his breath and tell, what exactly drove him here, Alex carefully examined his looks and didn’t spot any signs of fear. He allowed himself to relax a bit, as the anxiety the earth pony showed was seemingly of a business nature, not some danger.

“Good evening, Alex,” meanwhile the shopkeeper nodded to Jackie and her brother once more and addressed directly to the human. “I was looking for you, somepony at the market said you were here at the farm, so…” his breath was still faster than normal.

Applejack’s eyes alternated from him to Alex, Big Mac smirked meaningfully.

“Evening. What’s happened, sir?” Alex shrugged and showed polite interest, having no idea, what that was going to mean anyway. “I’m afraid, I don’t understand why…”

“Well,” the sand coloured stallion stomped from one fore hoof to another impatiently. “I’ve seen Carousel Boutique recently… From outside, then paid Rarity a visit to see the changes closer. I’ve heard others talking and… some rumours about her productivity boost.”

Alex sighed, despite his warning, Rarity simply couldn’t hold her perfection pursuit in hooves well enough.

“I don’t know, if it is true and what Rarity is doing behind the scene,” the owner of “Quills and Sofas” continued meanwhile. “But I saw the new showcases for her dresses and thought… I thought that my business could benefit from better light emphasizing the advantages of the goods sold,” he proudly puffed.

“Errmmm…”

“I was going to find you, Alex, and heard at least two ponies at the market pondering about placing an order,” he left Alex no chance to interrupt him. “Then I thought, the more I linger, the further in the queue I risk to stay. I knew, you were working with Applejack,” the stallion nodded to Jackie. “And somepony said that you were at the farm, so I decided to lose no time and find you first.”

Alex’s dream was exactly orders to start coming, nevertheless, when the first customer suddenly arrived, he froze like a salt column. Applejack nudged him lightly, Big Mac’s grin became even wider.

“Umm… Err…” Alex finally woke. “I think we can make a deal, when I finish with Jackie and Twilight.”

“Excellent,” the shopkeeper almost jumped with enthusiasm. “I just need the same “magic” as Rarity’s showcases to be done to my shop. And then we’ll see…”

Not entirely believing in his luck Alex quietly breathed out, while his new customer added.

“It’s probably late today, but I’d be glad, if you come to my office tomorrow, so, we can arrange the details. Oh, and don’t forget to visit the other two at the market,” he named the actual stalls. “But remember that I placed my order first, okay?”

“Sure thing!” Alex caught himself breaking into a wide smile, just like Big Mac.

Alex burst in the house, followed by the stream of evening chill and the smell of the wet oak leaves – the rain was coming from Everfree; he barely caught the front door from bumping the wall. Fluttershy, who sleepily sat in the armchair, preferring by habit the soft fire light to the newly installed electric one, almost jumped on the spot, dropping the book and staring at him surprisingly. Then she looked through the window, noticing quickly thickening darkness (clouds quickly covered the sky, promising the rain that night to be strong and long-lasting), and let out a sigh: she could never get used to him coming late, making her worry each time as the first one. But he brought more than the smell of the rain, she saw Alex being almost visibly charged, like electrified by the starting thunderstorm or… one of his generators.

“Shy! We scored!” in the couple of wide jumps Alex crossed the room, grabbing her with the plaid, Fluttershy wrapped herself in. “I’ve got three orders!”

Fluttershy, perhaps being sleepy still, didn’t quite understand him yet, her eyes becoming rounder and bigger, when Alex lifted her, snuggled and spun in an emotional swirl, laughing and making her let out a surprised squeak. Angel woke up and perked his ears, watching them and trying to understand, what happened.

“Those are proper orders, Shy!” Alex calmed down a little, he nuzzled her gently, looking in the eyes. “That means I’m actually getting paid and the ponies realizing the benefits of my suggestion. I know, it’s only a start, but it worked… It darn worked! Merlin’s pants!!!” he took a breath and sat, holding Fluttershy on his lap.

“Oh… Congratulations, dear!” Alex was granted with the cutest sleepy smile for the last few days, with a light heart and sincere laugher he buried his face in Fluttershy’s fragrant mane, kissing her in the top of her head. Fluttershy flushed and wrapped her fore legs around his neck. “I guess, that was what you desired much.”

They kept that embrace for a while. Fluttershy listened to Alex’s racing heart, he was completely overwhelmed by that sudden small success and she sincerely wanted to share his glee, but something elusive held her back, not allowing her to enjoy that uplift entirely. Alex closed his eyes, he preferred not to think about all the troubles, which might await, giving up to the feeling of another small victory and proximity of one of the girls, he owed that victory to. One of those who supported him, well, maybe not in every aspect of his endeavour…

“You probably can’t imagine, how much,” Alex touched her cheek lightly, when Fluttershy released him. “I can finally feel involved in building my own fate again… even if partially and stop being a “book character” without the distinctive role in the story, if you understand, what I mean.”

Fluttershy nodded slightly and Alex could notice a faint shadow of anxiety running over her face and taking a fair portion of pinkish colour from her cheeks and nose.

“That means…” accurately started she. “You will be making more of those… generators.”

“Generators, yes, and other things necessary for them working properly for the… customers,” Alex was still high as a kite, winged by the long anticipated, yet coming suddenly success. He released Fluttershy, letting her curl in her armchair again. “That’s a certain step forward from the freight work, isn’t it?”

“That means, more work along with the blacksmith?” she looked up at him, piercing his glance with her starry turquoise eyes.

“Oh, come on, Shy…” Alex huffed, but he couldn’t hold back the smile. “Let me show you!” He rushed upstairs to come back in a few seconds with a large stack of papers, which he placed on the table.

“Look!” he spread a few sheets, showing Fluttershy drafts and blueprints of the modified generator, engine and almost incomprehensible sketches of something, being his new ideas on the very early stage perhaps. Despite being unable to draw living creatures decently, when it came to hardware, Alex evidently knew his job.

Fluttershy approached him, raising on her hind legs and leaning on his side; Alex wrapped his right hand around her gracious frame, while she was examining the drafts.

“We can make those… and much more, when… if I can make the income stable,” Alex face got lit by another smile. “I have plans for the railway station as well, nopony will need to work in the unlit “dark hangars”, if I can pull that out! Not mentioning the opportunities for you, girls. Each of you!”

“You don’t understand, Alex,” Fluttershy clung to his hand, trying to tell him about her concerns. “I’m afraid of that blacksmith… just like many ponies in Ponyville are. There were a few quite nasty episodes during the war involving him. You know me, normally I can come along with almost anypony, but I’m afraid I can’t understand this one completely. If he has nothing to hide, why doesn’t he refute all those rumors?” she took a breath, then added more confidently. “There must be some ground under those rumours then. I’m afraid, it’s only a matter of time, when he drags you into a story. And you are facing enough troubles already to call for more.”

“Do I need to know about them, to be able to judge his work?” Alex couldn’t understand, why those otherwise friendly ponies alienated the poor unicorn that jointly. Except maybe Twilight, who was rather on the fence and cautious, but Twi was always more open-minded, than the rest. He wanted to say that they all feared Luna for quite a while, even after she was saved from the Shadow, like if she still was Nightmare Moon, but realized in time, mentioning Luna wasn’t the best idea at the moment. “He didn’t look a walking, talking menace to me, when I met him, Shy. He knows his job and, the main thing, I can’t work without his help.”

“As you said, it is only history now,” Alex looked at Fluttershy tenderly, however, his cheerful smile faded. “He does his part perfectly. Better than I can hope for, everything works, as I want it to.”

“I don’t doubt his mastery as a blacksmith…” sighed Fluttershy, she looked pleadingly into Alex’s eyes, then moved a few papers on the table. “And what is this, pray tell?”

“Alex?!!” what she held in her small hoof was a rough sketch of something resembling a… breastplate. With clasps to fit and spikes to keep enemies away or even hurt them. The papers got lit by a bright flash behind the window, shortly followed by a first thunder strike.

Alex intercepted her glance and shrugged.

“The recent encounter with the Seekers told me that I still lack of something,” he took another sheet from the heap; there was a study of the knee or elbow joint of the armour. “I wanted to visit old Will and discuss that tomorrow.”

“Alex, please, don’t…” Fluttershy snuggled closer to him, shaking her head and filling his breath with the flowers-honey aroma. “I don’t want you to suffer… W-what if you can’t… reflect their h-hits all the time?” her voice descended to a whisper.

“Shy, we both saw what those bastards do to your kin,” Alex buried his face in her lush hair, stroking her shoulders, trying to calm her down. “You couldn’t stay aside, when your help was needed. Moreover, you are going to help whenever necessary, despite I think getting closer to anything Seekers related is unsafe for you. I, in my turn, want to do, what I can.”

“You don’t have much against those monsters!” Fluttershy’s hooves travelled all over his back, like if she was looking for the way to keep him closer and away from dangers. “And you are moving from one dangerous decision to another, ever since you came here, lately it brings physical damage to you. I fear for you pushing the limits!”

“So dost thou,” dropped Alex, with a tint of irritation in his voice. “At the very least they can’t affect mine mind. Tis quite an advantage. The rest I can take care of, I extend mine hope decently enough.”

“Don’t start it again,” Fluttershy inwardly gasped. “I never need to face the Seekers directly, you are another story…”

“I can’t judge, whether mine arrival and the Seekers appearance are a coincidence or not, tis simply out of mine competence. But if ‘t be true I can help, why shan’t I, pray tell?” sighed Alex. “Besides, I have no idea how much time I have left hither, Tia is still working on returning me. I can’t simply step aside, when I can destroy the Seekers magic easily. The more I take down now, the less you, you all, need to deal with anon, when…”

‘This is it!’ Fluttershy even released Alex and stepped back a bit. ‘The main reason of my fear is that I can lose him anyway. Oh, Celestia, I will most likely lose him… not because of Luna, but because he doesn’t belong here. Doesn’t belong to me, unfortunately. But I don’t want to lose him earlier than I’m forced to.’

“Alex,” she said seriously. “Remember you aren’t immortal…” she remembered, what Discord said.

“Okay, I can’t say that for sure,” she shuddered inwardly at that thought. “You aren’t invulnerable, that’s the point. But you constantly behave, like if you are!” she facehoofed, then took a deep breath and quietly nailed. “I-I don’t w-want to lose you…”

‘Thou can’t imagine how I don’t want to lose you,’ flew in Alex’s head. ‘But I’m not sure if ‘t be true I may decide, let alone I am capable to.’

Fluttershy seemed to make some decision, an uneasy one, to tell the truth, her eyes shone and cheeks flushed. She didn’t bat an eyelash at the blinding flash of another lightning and ear-splitting thunder strike.

“I can’t allow you to risk that much thoughtlessly!” she exclaimed point-blank.

Alex’s eyes darkened, he squeezed the table edge, his fingers became white from tension.

“Apologies, what?” Fluttershy clearly saw, he tried his best to hold himself. “Methinks we have touched that aspect long afore… Ere me being taken to the Canterlot castle,” Alex took a breath, but he felt the need to talk that out. “I thought we agreed on that and extended mine hope, I was given enough credit to make even vital decisions about myself.”

“And how many vital decisions brought you to the mortal danger then, Alex?” retorted Fluttershy, starting to agitate as well. “I simply want you to keep your life, can’t you understand. Correct me, if I’m wrong, but I can see nopony else here, who is as much concerned about you staying in one piece and doing something for it!” she even stomped the hoof rest of the armchair, making the teacup jump and tinkle.

“I’m still in one piece and hither with thee,” Alex’s eyes returned to their usual colour, he closed them, embracing himself inwardly and coming to some uneasy conclusion; his expression turned sad and painful. “I try mine best to stay likewise and be helpful at the same time.”

“Barely!” usually timid Fluttershy was now like a comet on its trajectory. “You see, you don’t even understand, why I fear for you. If you can’t take care of yourself, somepony definitely must! Why not me?”

“Shy, please!” Alex said slowly, trying to think rationally. “We have discussed that afore, thou knowest. I still extend mine hope that I’m not somepony’s pet or something alike. Thou art the closest one for me hither…”

‘What about Luna then?’ Fluttershy barely held herself from saying that aloud.

“…and mine heart constantly aches, at which hour I think about returning. Tis escalated very fast forsooth. Not that I protested, guilty as charged!” Alex nodded with a sigh, then added. “And now thou art practically saying that thou shall decide for me, whether I can risk or not, how I must dispose of mine abilities. Tis arrant wrong, we shouldn’t come to that!”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to say something, but Alex continued, not letting her interrupt.

“Mine life shalt be shuttered most likely, I withhold any illusions regarding that. Considering all that happened, considering that I love thee, Shy (Fluttershy squeaked involuntarily), and…” Alex stumbled. “I don’t want thee to suffer even more. We can’t think straight and need to cool our heads, mine lief! Merlin’s pants, what are we coming to?..”

Alex covered his face with a heavy sigh, Fluttershy shrank into a ball in fear of what might follow, of what she was sure would follow; the silence pressed their ears, they could hear Angel stretching. Then another thunder strike rolled outside, making them all shudder.

“We need a break, Shy,” Alex felt that his heart dropped somewhere to the center of Equus. “Both of us… before we do something wrong. What I know arrant, we need to calm down and give each other some time to decide, what to do next.”

Fluttershy straightened, her eyes glared, she knew that wasn’t going to end well, but she couldn’t hold herself anymore.

“Before you make any more of your signature impulsive decisions,” she looked him straight into the eyes. “Can I ask you a question, that bothers me for quite a while?”

Alex shrugged, returning the glance. He wanted that talk to never take place, but the situation was stronger than him. He loved Fluttershy, he loved Luna, he drowned more and more in the circumstances… and each thought of possible departure made him freeze inside, despite he thought, he still wanted that. But did he really do? He wasn’t entirely sure of that as well at that moment.

“You took down the first Seeker… the first you encounter, together with princess Luna,” Fluttershy watched him fixedly. “But it was far from Canterlot, as we know. How could you get there shortly, if you are magic resistant, Alex?”

It seemed the questions broke the floodgates finally, Fluttershy’s eyes shone with tears, but she tried to sound calm.

“How is princess Luna informed about the small details of your life, when you are in Ponyville? Why are you talking like her that often, when stressed specifically? But the main thing, again, how could you get away from Canterlot that fast?”

Alex got up and kneeled to Fluttershy, looking into her sad eyes.

“I’m a sleepwalker,” that fell like a boulder from a cliff; Fluttershy gasped, her eyes dilated.

“Like… her?!”

“Not quite…” Alex raised his hand to touch Fluttershy’s cheek, but dropped it with a sigh instead. “She visited mine dreams once, at which hour I was unconscious yet. It started happening anon, shortly after my awakening.”

“But I can’t reach anypony that way,” continued he after a pause; Fluttershy remained silent, a single tear ran down her cheek and to the floor, making Alex close his eyes and swallow a lump. “I can reach only her dreams and… appear wherever she is. Or I can “materialize” without anypony’s help, but on a relatively short distance from mine sleeping body.”

“Tis complicated. I can affect the reality to the certain extent in that condition, move objects and do other things alike…” Alex added in the complete silence. “So yes, she was to teleport to that place and I… I followed.”

“All that time…” whispered Fluttershy. “You and Luna… were…”

“We saw each other frequently, talked and…” Alex slowly nodded, Fluttershy’s equanimity was unnatural, somewhat alarming. “And yes, we are more than friends forsooth… Thither wasn’t anything… thou knowest… between us yet. But… she is more than a soul mate for me. I think, I love her as well. It’s all complicated, Shy!” Alex groaned, gritting his teeth and ruffling the hair. “I can’t… Merlin’s pants, that soundeth terrible, I know! I can’t choose and feel like total scoundrel…” Alex fell silent.

Fluttershy slowly shook her head, like unable to believe into what was happening. She knew that she was suspecting it for quite a while and inwardly was ready for that turn. But when the reality hit, she didn’t resemble a pony who was truly prepared for that, being shaky and crushed.

“I guess, I better go now,” quietly said Alex, suppressing a strong wish to touch her face again; he wasn’t sure, if it could be properly accepted at that moment… Hell freeze, he wasn’t sure, if he was worthy anymore. “I extend mine hope, we can come to some conclusion, at which hour we calm down, Shy. Forgive me…”

‘No! I won’t let you go!’ flashed in Fluttershy’s head at that moment, right when another thunder strike rolled in the night sky. ‘YOU ARE MINE!!!’ But she just looked up at him with tears flowing down her cheeks.

Perhaps Alex could read that clearly in her raised, flaming, despite all the tears, eyes; he stepped back a little and shook his head.

“Where do you go?” Fluttershy asked instead, her voice became colourless, her ears flattened.

“Not to Canterlot, if that’s what thy question meaneth,” Alex said quietly, Fluttershy looked at him with a mixture of woe and hope in her eyes. “For the same reasons I’m not staying hither for now.”

‘Although, I must say, Luna taketh everything much more philosophically,’ admitted he inwardly.

“I suppose Twilight has some space, where I can calmly think, what to do with my miserable life now, what to do with us… still being “us”, Shy. I will understand, if you don’t want to see me, but I need you to know, I really love you… I… simply… don’t want that love to torture us to the end of our days and don’t know how to avoid that. I will do anything for you...”

Fluttershy simply waved her fore hoof weakly and Alex grabbed his papers, then headed upstairs – he didn’t have many things to pack.

The front door opened and closed, letting a few drips fall on the door step; the sound of starting rain muffled the receding footsteps.

Fluttershy turned and climbed back into her armchair, curling on the seat with her legs, ignoring the plaid, which remained forgotten on the floor. Angel bunny got next to her, feeling her sorrow, and Fluttershy held him closer.

‘Foal! Foal!’ spun in her head, while the elemental powers outside broke loose, flooding the dark room with light, flash after flash. ‘I knew that it could end like that! And Discord warned me not to push it hard on Alex. And then I still tried to talk to him, like to one of my wounded animals… Like if I knew better what was right for him. At least Alex admitted my right to help the Seekers’ victims, if I wanted.’

“We remained alone, Angel. Again…” whispered she, stroking bunny’s head lightly; a few tears dropped on his white coat.

‘But Luna… Alex… How could he do that?!’ she burst in tears, Angel lied low, waiting for the storm to run out.

‘But he was with me, while he could easily stay in Canterlot, nothing was preventing him from doing that,’ thought she after a few minutes, sniffing, sighing squeakily. ‘I saw, something was pressing him constantly, even when he tried to entertain me. I should be wiser, more careful…’

‘Now she will get everything…’ Fluttershy felt like a cold shard pricked her heart. ‘And you, little foal, delivered it with your own hooves.’

‘But we were friends! Long before he even appeared in Equestria. Is she really going to take him away, doing everything for that? We are best friends with Rarity as well, that doesn’t stop her from trying to seduce Alex. Yet I’m not very much jealous in that case, don’t feel the competition, or what?..’

‘Silly filly, Luna doesn’t need to try… She need only to bat her eyelashes. Others may be afraid of her still, but not Alex. He is exactly the one, who finds her attractive with all her shortcomings, if any exist… and she won’t lose her chance!’ Fluttershy inhaled fitfully, sniffing and wiping the tears. The rain outside “cried” for her, going to last for the rest of the night.

“I won’t give up on him that easily,” said Fluttershy quietly, but firmly, pounding the tears back.

The single doorbell sound woke her, but Twilight stayed in bed for a while longer, unsure if it wasn’t a part of her dream. She looked at the window, curtained from outside by thick streams of water – the rain lashed the Golden Oak mercilessly, despite the main thunderstorm already passed to north-east. Then a quiet knock on the front door convinced her, the doorbell she heard was real.

‘Oh, Celestia! I wonder, who dares to go outside in such weather that late,’ Twilight slid out of the bed, quickly wrapping herself in the nightgown. ‘Must be something urgent!’

Alex already raised his hand to knock once again, when he heard quick hoofsteps down the stairs, and in a moment the opened door revealed the quite sleepy Twilight, who shivered from the cold dampness, levitating a candle. The warm wave of air from the library made Alex almost weak in the legs and he leaned on the door frame.

“Oh, Celestia!” could only exclaim Twilight, when she saw Alex, wet and cold to the bone, standing on her doorstep. “What has happened? I mean… come in, quickly!”

She slammed the door behind him, effectively cutting all the rain and chill; quite in time, as the pool of water started forming under shivering Alex.

“Excuse me, Twilight,” muttered he, trying not to clack his teeth audibly. “I can’t ask anypony else… So, I thought, maybe you can…”

“Of course,” Twilight got it right at the first sight. “I have plenty of room. But… What happened, pray tell?”

“That’s a long story, Twi,” sighed Alex, downcasting. “Shy thinks, she knows better, what I should or shouldn’t do to stay in one piece… and is ready to “keep me safe”, if necessary. It escalated too fast… and I decided to leave, before… we lost heads completely. We both need to think calmly, but I have nowhere to go,” he looked at Twilight fixedly and added. “Besides, she knows about Luna… Luna and me,” he shivered convulsively and his fingers released the bag, which smacked on the floor, while Alex leaned his back on the front door.

“Oh…” Twilight flushed and picked up the bag. “I guess, the story can wait till morning… The bathroom is to the right and hurry, before you catch a cold. Where are you going to settle?.. I mean tonight, before we arrange everything properly.”

“I saw a couch in the left room,” with a faint smile Alex nodded towards the door. “If you don’t mind, of course.”

“But the couch will hardly fit,” Twilight measured him in one quick glance. “You’ll feel worse in the morning.”

“Believe me, Twilight, it’s the least important of mine problems,” sighed Alex. “I already regret what and how I did, but I hardly had any other way… not that I was able to rewind time likewise.”

Twilight opened her mouth, but reconsidered saying anything; she remembered that the last time she tried fiddling with time, wasn’t nearly perfect.

14. The Gala

“Have you heard about the ghost, appearing in the southern fields?!”

Fluttershy perked her ears, turning back from the vendor and looking for the pony, she accidentally caught that from. She spotted a couple of mares, talking at the nearby grocery stall, and what she heard made her concerned at once.

‘Oh noes, are the Seekers already lurking at Ponyville doorsteps? And… Oh, Celestia!’ Fluttershy almost crouched. ‘Southern fields, it’s near the Clock Tower and… and my cottage.’ Her pupils became pinprick at the mental image of all the possible dangers to her animals. Meanwhile, the mares continued in half-tone.

“Have you heard about the ghost of the southern fields?”

“Oh, dear! Are there ghosts already now? Don’t you think, this and the recent announcement are connected somehow?”

“Hardly. The announcement was about some anomaly and horse-like creatures…”

“But you said “ghost”?”

“Did I say “pony ghost”, mate? No. They say, it’s tall and has two legs, it was spotted several times near the Clock Tower and the edge of Everfree, where the fields end. As described it resembles much that… human, you can see in the town sometimes. You know, the one working at the railway station and making electric stuff. But the last time I saw him, he was pretty much alive; besides, he possesses no magic…”

Fluttershy relief was so strong, almost palpable, she barely stifled a laugher. It must be Alex, Alex and his nightly walks. Sleepwalking or not, he wasn’t a Seeker and wouldn’t harm anypony. She raised an eyebrow though, the reasons, making Alex supposedly appear each night at the south-eastern outskirts of the town, were a mystery to her. Well, to tell the truth, she had one suspicion, but wasn’t sure, if that, making her flush and smile, reason was the true one.

‘Well, ladies… Unable to cast spells and possesses no magic are different things, I suppose,’ she perked her ears again, but the mares chattered about something irrelevant already; apparently, one managed to convince another, there was no real ghost or something along those lines.

‘I can safely visit Twilight and find out how matters stand now,’ Fluttershy threw a quick glance at the Clock Tower, it was late morning and wherever Alex was, he definitely never stood at home at that time. “At home”… That sounded strange and Fluttershy thought that “at home” should have referred to the totally different place; that idea came so natural, it didn’t even embarrass her a iota.

Throughout the last few days they met several times with him, here and there, at the market, at the Apple farm, where Alex was still working on his devices, in the street. Each time Alex was nice, helpful, but simply friendly, like for example Big Mac could be… easily more talkative, of course, but still distant enough, not like the special somepony was supposed to be. Once Fluttershy even stifled an impulse to grab him and shake, kiss him and wake from his “winter sleep”, because he smiled, talked lightly, but never touched their mutual problems; Alex never tried to shorten that distance, they artificially made between them the last weekend. At the same time Fluttershy was completely sure, she didn’t deceive herself, seeing a faint shadow of sad pain deep into his eyes.

Occupied by those thoughts, imperceptibly Fluttershy reached the Library through the north edge of woken up and busy town, trotting almost automatically and absently replying to the greetings of ponyvillers. She emerged fully right near the Golden Oak, where her accidental glance across the field stumbled upon the distant trail of smoke, telling unambiguously that the old smithy started working again after a few years of inactivity. Fluttershy shivered and hurried to knock the Library door.

“Just a minute please!” the door opened and revealed Twilight with a feather on her nose, levitating a book and a feather-duster. “Oh, come in, Flutters. Sorry, I’m almost done!”

Apparently Twilight was performing some cleanup and rearrangement in the main hall, as a few stacks of books were still laying on the tables and floor and Spike balanced with another quite tall one; he peeked from behind of it, unable to greet Fluttershy properly, risking to drop those books, and muffledly muttered something.

“Morning! I didn’t mean to interrupt… ummm,” Fluttershy pointed with her fore hoof. “Twi, you have…”

Twilight squinted at her nose, huffed, blowing the feather off and sending it somewhere with a sparkle of her magic. “Yeah, that’s it…”

“Come one, dear, we’re almost done, no disturbance at all!” with a bright smile Twilight picked up the books from Spike’s paws and levitated them, putting at the desired places on endless shelves along the walls. Spike took his breath with visible relief and finally was able to wave to Fluttershy. “Good morning!”

“Those are from the lower shelves,” he selflessly pointed at the remaining stacks. “I’ll arrange them, Twilight…”

“Thanks, Spike!” Twilight nuzzled her small dragon aide, causing him to blush a little and wave his paw, like saying “You wanted to talk anyway, girls…”

“So, it’s been a while since breakfast,” Twilight turned to Fluttershy, while Spike started arranging the books, remembering where they were. “Do you want some tea or maybe coffee?”

“No, no, thanks, Twi,” Fluttershy scratched her nose confusedly, thinking how to say that, then finally decided. “I came to ask about Alex… and… how he settled here. Squee!”

“I understood,” Twilight let out a small smile, hugging her friend with the wing. “Well, he is quite undemanding, so… I suppose, what he has, suits him entirely.”

“I mean, now he has an advantage, knowing how I’m doing,” quickly explained Fluttershy, blushing for some reason. “As he seems to appear near my house on the nightly basis. But I know nothing about his wellbeing…”

“That’s the main reason he asked for the room on the ground floor, I guess,” Twilight headed to the door left from the front one. “Thus he doesn’t disturb anypony, simply walking out of the window, when necessary… nights included, I suppose. Actually, he doesn’t use the front door mostly,” added Twilight with a smile. “Keeping the window always open.” At that moment exactly Fluttershy noticed the fresh draught, she kept feeling for a while.

“Obviously, he will need to stop that practice and close it in the late autumn and winter, if necessary,” Twilight shrugged and Fluttershy’s heart made a leap.

“What?” Twilight noticed her frozen on spot friend. “Oh… Well, dear, I’m a realist… Princess Celestia works hard on his problem, devoting all the time possible, but I see that she isn’t approaching the solution yet.”

“Considering everything, I’m afraid that it may be impossible indeed to return him,” added Twilight after a pause. “I’m not telling him about my conclusions yet, of course…” Fluttershy let out a sigh, making her friend throw a quick interested glance at her.

“Anyway,” Twilight wiggled her wings, like shaking off the uneasiness. “He doesn’t make a secret of his work, Alex even showed me everything… I didn’t quite understand a few details yet,” Twilight blushed at the thought that she didn’t catch something up on the first try. “But technically I didn’t notice anything dangerous in his projects… And… I assume, he won’t mind, if we take a look,” she opened the door, welcoming Fluttershy to follow with a nod.

Obviously, that smaller room was full of bookshelves as well, leaving uncovered only the window, now opened, and the area around the fireplace. The small couch was moved to the wall and its place in the center of the room was now taken by the large sofa, a few ponies could easily sit on it with comfort.

“The old one was too short for him,” Twilight followed Fluttershy’s glance. “Alex barely stretched in the morning, saying that he even fell from it once and regretting he didn’t stay on the floor after that.” She shrugged apologetically, seeing Fluttershy’s drooping ears. “Then he bought this one, they brought it the next evening with Big Mac and had some hard time taking it in… Alex suggested to drag it through the window, then they finally managed to squeeze it through the door.”

The fresh breeze curled and waved the curtains and rustled with the papers on the small table in front of the sofa. It was obvious from the first sight that Alex spent almost all his time here behind it. The sheets, covered with drafts, notes, some calculations, were held in place with an empty teacup and a few shapeless stones. Girls approached and Twilight picked up a pencil, blown to the floor, she returned it on the table with a smile.

“Funny, he is like a small foal, when it comes to the quills,” Twilight pointed at the papers with pencil writings. “Can’t use them normally yet, thankfully we have plenty of pencils instead.”

“And what’s that?” Fluttershy picked up one of a few sheets, which looked differently – the drafts and letters on them were thinner, yet darker, sharper and more pronounced, than the pencil lines.

“Don’t even ask, how he makes them. I have no idea,” Twilight shook her head slowly. “The lines look burned out on the paper, so I may only guess… I suppose, that’s connected to his sleepwalking somehow.”

“Did he tell you everything, Twi?” Fluttershy looked directly into her friend’s eyes. “About the reasons making him leave and…”

Twilight nodded shortly.

“He told about you wanting to decide, what is better for him,” Fluttershy’s ears flattened and Twilight continued. “About himself unable to accept that, about everything going too far between you and him, so, his possible departure could hurt you both badly.”

“Celestia! You can’t imagine what it cost me not to say that his departure became more and more ghostly with each day,” breathed out Twilight. “But Alex didn’t look like somepony, who solved his problem, on the contrary, he looked rather regretful and lost, so, I preferred to keep that idea to myself… Who knows, maybe I’m wrong… Sorry, Flutters!” added she, noticing Fluttershy’s expression. “He told me that you know everything about his newly gained abilities, and…”

“… about the princess,” Fluttershy finished for her quietly.

“And about princess Luna,” Twilight touched her shoulder lightly. “Fluttershy, I…”

“I’m okay, Twi. So, what do you think?”

“I said that I wasn’t the one who should give any advice here. You both are completely informed now, both are adults, nopony can solve that problem, except you. Remember, how I didn’t intrude into your and Rarity’s misunderstanding, when…”

“I know, I know,” squinted Fluttershy. “Please, go on.”

“Well, you both solved all the issues between you finally,” shrugged Twilight. “Thinking of it now, I suppose, I could do more harm, if I intervened with some advice. In this case I told Alex only that, considering everything he told and I saw myself, maybe it wasn’t necessary to “solve” the problem THAT way…”

“And?” Fluttershy examined the table and papers on it with exaggerated attention.

“And Alex said that I was most likely right,” sighed Twilight. “But any other way would be even more painful at the end of the day… and if he could return to the beginning, that would probably change nothing. I remembered about the time spells, how they tend to turn out and… Maybe he is right, Flutters? I know that hardly helps,” Twilight’s guilty look made Fluttershy lean to her with a kind smile.

“Never mind, Twi. Perhaps we both need to cool down indeed. Although, I have no idea how Alex sees that possible; I personally can’t approach the situation with a cold head still,” she sank down on the sofa tiredly; Twilight nested next to her.

“Actually, all the girls know, what happened,” Twilight’s ears drooped. “They don’t know all the details, of course, but it’s natural that they noticed the change during these few days.” Fluttershy slowly nodded and Twilight elaborated further. “I’ve no idea, if they told you anything…”

“Applejack and Pinkie visited me,” something made Fluttershy smile. “Rainbow is busy training all days long lately, and Rarity… Rarity, I suppose, is simply unsure how to react, being my closest friend.”

“One part of her perhaps thinks, this is entirely wrong,” added she with a shudder-like wing wiggle. “Yet another part doesn’t want to lose the sudden opportunity, making her miserable as the whole and hesitating to voice her concerns.”

“I can guess,” Twilight’s sigh was full of sympathy towards both of her friends, she didn’t know what to do and the books contained no exact advice for that case; the best probably would be to keep neutrality, which she tried her best at. “I saw her yesterday, Flutters: she was busy with that royal tapestry and talked a bit absently…”

“Oh, I have completely forgotten… that she asked to try to restore it. Did she succeed?”

“At the very least the work was boiling hot yesterday and it seemed, she was approaching her goal,” Twilight kept silence for a second. “But at the same time, as I said, she was a bit absent, maybe pensive. Like if she was pondering about something, mate. Anyway, she didn’t tell a word about Alex,” the alicorn girl said with a puzzled expression.

“Applejack preferred to stay neutral,” Fluttershy shrugged. “She was genuinely stunned by this news, but hoped we are smart enough to solve anything; she asked not to make hasty decisions. If anypony really surprised me, that was Pinkie. She tried to convince me, we were wrong both in words and acts, for perhaps a whole hour and said, she was going to give Alex a good kick, to call for his common sense. I’d say she was very determined of the latter. Squee!.. D-did she come here already?”

“Oh, Pinkie seems to seriously consider you and Alex a couple since he returned to Ponyville… if not since she saw you both for the first time,” Twilight laughed sincerely, wrapping her wing around Fluttershy’s shoulders. “I think, maybe she is not mistaking that much…” Fluttershy let out a sad sigh.

“Sorry…” Twilight leaned to her friend. “But you come together, it’s obvious… Yes, she was here… and pressed Alex for quite a while. She didn’t look convinced by the simple explanations that you both needed to think calmly about the future, and I’m sure, she will try to “put him on the right track” again. So, that’s how the things are, Flutters.”

For a few moments only the sounds from the street, coming through the open window, and another heavy sigh, dropped by Fluttershy, broke the silence.

“Hey, what are those for?” Fluttershy picked up one of the stones and turned it in her hooves, examining; the piece of rock looked porous, with shiny blotches in it.

“So, Twi, I finished with the books!” the girls were interrupted by Spike, appearing in the doorway and leaning on the frame. “Do you need anything? Maybe some tea…”

“Thanks, Spike, maybe later,” Twilight waved her hoof, welcoming her aide to come closer instead. Then turned to Fluttershy. “About those stones… Alex and Spike dug out some cave on the road to Winsome Falls, you know in the foothills north-east from the town. They made two “sorties” already,” she nodded fast, seeing her friend’s widened eyes. “Yes, during the last few days… and brought tons of those stones.” Following Twilight’s glance Fluttershy noticed the long crate, accurately placed under the window.

“So, what are you looking there for?” Twilight turned to Spike, raising an eyebrow.

“He looks for some minerals,” emphasized the little dragon. “Which exactly, I have no idea. Whether or no, gems don’t interest Alex at all, except maybe diamonds. Not that I objected much,” he smirked; obviously, Spike’s gastronomic demands were more than satisfied by that collaboration, as he could take all the found gems to himself. “Many of them don’t look like some ore even, which is quite strange, considering his latest interests.”

Spike unambiguously poked towards the drafts of metal details and notes about smithing.

“As far as I could understand, Alex wants to affect the properties of metals and perhaps smithing conditions,” Twilight shrugged, examining one of the sheets, covered in calculations and formulae. “I didn’t check yet, what exactly he was going to do, was busy with my own work, but… I may take a look, if you want to know, Fluttershy. Although, he mentioned something and seeing all those,” she pointed at the table. “I think he is going to quit the railroad warehouse work and concentrate on his generators and some… metalwork. Technically I can see, why it is more advantageous, than his current job…”

“Seeing him really determined and serious about his work, I advised Alex to write a request into the patent bureau,” added Twilight. “I assume his generators may be deemed an invention, let alone an improvement.”

“He must be quite busy lately,” muttered Fluttershy, sorting the notes mechanically. “Does he even sleep, Twi?”

“To tell the truth,” Twilight flushed a little. “I hardly see Alex more often, than when he lived with you. He gets up early, leaves to the station, goes to the smithy after or returns here and sits with his blueprints and notes till late night. He cooks for himself and leaves meals for everypony often, mostly breakfast,” she shrugged with a confused look; that was one of the rare cases Twilight was uninformed about something and couldn’t do anything about that. “I swear, we communicated more, when they were preparing those “geological trips” with Spike.”

Spike nodded shortly, examining the stone sample in his paws; he couldn’t see the reason somepony to be interested in that dull rock. Then left, saying that if girls didn’t need anything, he was going to address the dinner.

“Alex is going to build one of those generators for me next, then probably will be in the sight more…” said Twilight. “For now I know that he works late at night quite often, so I have no idea, how much he sleeps… and how he sleeps exactly,” added she quietly.

Fluttershy, on the contrary, was entirely sure that Alex visited her neighbourhood nightly; she probably knew why and that made her heart flutter, despite their break – the Seekers felt his presence and avoided him, Alex simply tried to keep her safe that way. But if he did that in the regular way or during his… “sleepwalking”, that meant Alex was quite active almost twenty-four hours a day. Fluttershy’s ears drooped involuntarily.

“Did you hear those stories about the “ghostly creature”, Twi?”

“Yes, mate, of course, each day at the market… since Alex settled here,” Twilight produced a wry smile. “I suppose that you understand, what they mean actually. He is walking around the town at nights, mostly in your area,” snorted Twilight. “Because of his work or not… I never caught him sleepwalking actually, but on the other hoof, I sleep tight after daily duties…”

Twilight noticed that Fluttershy was hardly following her reasoning and raised the eyes at her friend – Fluttershy looked fixedly at something in the corner of the room, her eyes dilated.

“Oh, this…” following Fluttershy’s glance Twilight said in a strange tone. “It seems Alex wasn’t joking, talking about the armour. He stayed at the smithy overnight and then brought that. I believe it’s a prototype still…”

Fluttershy’s attention was captured by the human-size metal chest plate with stiffeners and clasps to mount, dark grey, shining wanly and evidently quite heavy, laying on the piece of cloth in front of the corner bookcase. The pegasus girl quietly gasped, noticing fresh burn marks, notches and quite a big area of crumpled and half-melted metal at the side of the armour plate.

“Don’t worry, Flutters!” Twilight caught her glance. “Those appeared yesterday, apparently they were testing it and… the results are yet far from ideal, as Alex said. He sat with his calculations till after the midnight.”

Fluttershy’s eyes were still chained to the damaged armour, she felt as her decision, to leave Alex with his shenanigans alone, is fading with the speed of light.

Alex leaned over his notes, checking his calculations and the results again and again: apparently, there was no mistake and they have reached the limit of durability indeed; at least with the existing technology and materials. He could change the metal of the blank slightly, with a tiny increase of the qualities of the final product… but that was it. Not a big difference, nothing that could provide a significant safety boost against known hazards. He was to admit that making armour barely holding against the most common strong impacts looked hardly reasonable; besides, he was going to deal the potential enemy of greater power, than those ponies of Equestria typically confronted.

Of course, if whole earth scientific and industrial potential was at Alex’s service, he would never be in such a trouble; Alex would simply order a certain product with certain qualities… and the materials, technology and other aspects would be someone else’s problem, not his. But frankly speaking, on Earth Alex never came across anything, which made him prepare himself that way.

Here though the metallurgy didn’t have all those advantageous alloys, instruments and techniques yet. Surprisingly Alex admitted that it didn’t affect the everyday life of commoners in some detrimental way – ponies got used to relying on magic and quite succeeded in that. Earth ponies could always be sure, their problem, if revealed, would soon be solved with the help of their pegasi and unicorn neighbours, who can fully trust earth ponies wit, agility and diligence in return.

One might ask, of course, why Alex didn’t follow the well known and natural for Equestria way then… In that situation he could fully trust Twilight and even both other princesses to help. But… First of all, Alex was unsure about possible consequences, if he was provided magical help. He knew that only active magical impact, directed at him personally, provided unpredictable and often very dangerous results; nearby magic, if not touching him directly, passed unnoticed by his “defensive mechanisms”. But he didn’t want to rely on that solely, partially because he had no idea what effects the mixed magic interactions around him could bring and partially because it was clearly visible – his own abilities were still evolving; thus the simpler his defense would be (without effectiveness decrease, of course), the better.

And the second thing, but probably the most important one – Alex wanted to make that armour himself. With the help and knowledge of an experienced blacksmith – yes, but preferably without some powers that be, doing every significant part of work for him.

Exactly because of that Alex was to remember and meticulously collect all the shards of knowledge on metallurgy, chemistry, forging, he had remaining since his student years and historical reconstruction experience. He praised the masters numerous times for insisting on them all making armour and weapons themselves for their training, cramming the theory in the young hay-heads, not only fighting, but the supplementary aspects as well.

Alex squeezed his temples and tried to concentrate on his problem again, remembering the alloying additives and their effects, conditions of forging, necessary temperatures.

‘It seemeth, quite a grim painting is coming out,’ with a sigh Alex considered the forging methods he needed to use to reach the desired effect. ‘I shall reconstruct the whole smithy for that… No, that’s a bad idea. Methinks it’s smarter to build a new forge… arrant different…’ he started quickly drafting new form on the spare sheet of paper.

“What did you say, Lyra? I’m sorry I got carried away a bit…”

“I noticed,” muttered the minty unicorn with fake grumpiness in her voice. “Are you sure, Alex, you can do both things at the same time?”

“Yeah, I’m totally fine… if you don’t mind the pauses,” smirked Alex.

Despite his polite reply, the task actually became twice more complicated, as Alex was to concentrate on both. Alas, he could hardly find any other time to let Lyra ask her questions, yet not going to disappoint her, as Alex promised to arrange that meeting before the weekend.

It looked like there was no end to Lyra’s questions and comments; Alex wondered, if she, reading all the possible sources about those “mythic beings”, was going to verify every fact herself, having an alive human in her hooves. At least every fact, she had any doubts about. Lyra asked about human culture, including music, literature, art; traditions, Alex was to debunk some weirdest speculations with laugher; science and simple everyday life, the latter interested her hardly less than some more exotic problems.

Obviously he wasn’t an absolute authority in all the named fields, nopony can know everything; nevertheless, Alex tried to fulfill Lyra’s interest as accurate as he could, simply saying that he had no reliable information in several cases. At the same time he was working on his project, catching a few glances from her. After cultural and scientific review, which; confirmed quite a number of similarities between ponies and people (Alex wasn’t surprised much, to tell the truth), his minty interviewer decided to touch the topic of human evolution as the whole.

“I still can’t believe, despite I read that from a quite reliable source,” Lyra scratched the back of her head. “That humans… people evolved from the apes.”

“Do you have apes in Equestria?” the question amused Alex greatly. “I’m asking, because I haven’t seen any yet. On the other hand, I’m hardly a diligent tourist, so that’s excusable.”

“Of course, we do, in the forested areas at the south-eastern part of Equestria mostly and… in Canterlot zoo, I assume,” Lyra looked puzzled still. “You probably know, they are quite messy and cheeky and impudent… can be totally unbearable… I mean, I admit that quite a lot of time must have passed to achieve that…” Lyra kept silence for a while. “But I still can’t believe humans… people, sorry, came from those…” she wrinkled her nose.

“Yet we did,” Alex laughed. “Us having culture, science, etcetera, generally behaving more decently; although, it’s not always the case,” added Alex with a grin. “doesn’t mean that our ancestors never hung from the trees. It took quite some time indeed. That is why I consider you, ponies, as much more fascinating… species.”

“Why so?!” Lyra stared at Alex, when she realized, he wasn’t joking.

“Supposedly, your ancestors didn’t have the social and political institutions, science and other advantages all the time since the beginning, gaining all those in the process of evolution as well. But you haven’t changed much physically, as I can assume. Your ancestors could have magic, but started using it consciously and in more sophisticated ways in the process of evolving only,” Alex took a breath.

“You developed mentally, gained advantages, but stayed the same in general…” Alex smirked at his thought. “That could mean that Nature considered you as nearly perfect as you were already.”

“Are you teasing me?” Lyra pouted jokingly.

“Not at all!” Alex started elaborating. “Look, apes needed to pick up sticks to help them with their needs, walked straight to free their “hands”, collaborated consciously and developed speech, invented writing, thought out laws and started inventing different tools and devices to make their life easier. All that, while constantly changing, which actually brought them from being “messy animals” to what you see in front of you, Lyra.”

“Well, ponies, supposedly did the same…”

“Exactly. Yet they had magic, well, some of them… And at the same time they didn’t change much physically. I find that overly interesting at the very least.”

“Maybe…” slowly said Lyra. “By the way, isn’t what you are doing now exactly inventing?”

“That’s an interesting question,” nodded Alex. “Well, technically I’m not inventing anything new in the universal sense.”

Seeing Lyra’s confused glance, Alex explained.

“Actually, you, I mean ponies, have the generators, metalwork, etcetera already, but the usage of those isn’t completely systematic. I suppose that’s because of magic. So, I’m simply filling the “gaps” in development,” smirked Alex. “Making various instruments, you simply didn’t think of some details, despite, them being able to simplify your life in various aspects galore. People don’t have magic, thus electricity mostly works for it – we need to take all those aspects into account to progress.”

“I didn’t see that your lack of magic made your work at the railroad station less effective,” smirked Lyra, making Alex wonder, how close she was actually studying her favourite object.

“Oh, come on,” huffed Alex. “That doesn’t mean they know nothing about operating things. They simply pay less attention to small details, because things like magic are constantly at their service.”

“That’s the biggest weakness of your great advantage!” Alex glanced slyly at the minty unicorn girl. “But if you combine magic with… errmmm… “magic-less approach”, your progress will be unstoppable.”

“Know what,” Alex turned the paper sheet and continued his notes and schematic on another side. “I think the most amazing thing done is the union of three tribes, Lyra. Ponies combined their advantages and started compensating their flaws together. Since then every foal has much more open roads almost after birth…”

“I on the contrary, despite being treated often like some mythic creature, feel myself… out of my element,” Alex chuckled at own accidental pun. “Everypony is easily superior to me on their positions, simply because the jobs you have, they mostly can do better; what I can do the best way, is practically undemanded here. Thus I need to look for any opportunity, I need to do something for my living. Covering, what you all missed, isn’t that bad and evidently pays back.”

“Hmmm… I think you shouldn’t be so harsh to yourself, Alex,” Lyra stopped writing and looked up at him very seriously. “I mean, all that humans do, they reach with their brains and hands only, even to be able to use electricity, you put quite an effort in; having no magic indeed and effectively overcoming it is hardly a weakness to me… You wouldn’t call the earth ponies weak at the end of the day,” added she slyly.

“Exactly,” said Alex with emphasis. “Look, Lyra, you are making your notes using your magic, right? But you do it like that, because you got used to it, it’s simply more comfortable. But Fluttershy…” Alex sighed, then continued. “Pinkie, Applejack can do the same, despite they have no unicorn magic. That didn’t make them less capable. Now look at me,” Alex raised his hands. “Tie my fingers together and I’ll become more helpless than a newborn foal. Merlin’s pants, I can’t learn to use a quill normally,” laughed Alex. “Why do you think I use those pencils? That is why I feel useless, when I do nothing here. I simply need to do something myself, with my own hands. I’m still in debt, of course, but I’m going to do my best to return it fully…”

“Speaking of hands…” Lyra even raised a little. “Can I have a closer look?”

“Sure thing, I’m not making a commercial secret of them,” chuckled Alex and Lyra left her notes and sat next to him.

“Fascinating!” exclaimed she after examining, touching and flexing his palms and fingers. “Don’t even tell… such a complex instrument, I won’t believe there are only a few things it can do better, than hooves or even magic. I stick to my point!”

Her delight and the whole image of the unicorn girl, looking at his hands with awe, were so cute that Alex involuntarily stroked her mane with a smile, ran his hand on her neck, then started scratching behind her fluffy perked ear. It wasn’t hard for him, yet Lyra melting at his touch and almost murmuring something like a minty kitten was so amusing. Alex ran his fingers through her mane and scratched behind Lyra’s ears for a while longer, causing her to lean on his arm; when she opened her eyes, they looked a bit crossed, her glance floated.

“Mmmm…” Lyra rubbed her cheek on Alex’s arm. “You can’t talk me round, this solely is enough an advantage!” She gathered her thoughts.

“Besides, humans seem to be quite strong,” added she, touching his arm again and examining with her hooves.

Alex shrugged.

“Never thought about that specifically. If you ask me, I would never imagine in my turn that hooves can touch so gently…” Alex stumbled suddenly, he fancied the aroma of honey and field flowers.

“Don’t you say! I think, nothing special,” shrugged Lyra, still leaning on Alex’s arm. Suddenly she flushed a little; Alex noticed nothing, as he continued his work, leaving his left hand in her hooves.

“Errmmm…” Lyra was evidently unsure about her next question, making Alex surprisingly raise his eyes. “Can I… ask you… one personal… eh… i-if you don’t mind, of course. I simply need to confirm or refute a rumour,” she added quickly and embarrassedly.

The tip of her nose became visibly pinkish and Alex closed his eyes tiredly; by Lyra’s embarrassed look he guessed, what she was going to ask the next moment most likely.

‘Merlin’s pants, why… Why again?’

“Okay, go on, Lyra,” he rolled his eyes inwardly. ‘It’s better to end with this here and now, than return to it again later.’

“I’ve read…” Lyra’s voice went down to unconfident whisper, her cheeks started flaming; she inhaled fitfully and made another daring attempt more loudly. “I’ve read somewhere that humans… errmmm… human stallions,” Lyra stumbled and the flush reached her mane already. “… males can… well… compared to an average stallion, I mean,” now her ears were flaming. “last about fifteen times longer, well, you know… with the mare…” she brought her fore hooves together in an unequivocal gesture and her voice dropped again, so, she barely squeezed. “I mean… Squee!.. eh…” Lyra gasped and fell silent, yet looked relieved of that uneasy question, she somehow felt absolutely necessary to ask.

“Oh… you mean… while making love, right?” sighed Alex, but he wasn’t going to make Lyra’s life easier at that moment – it was her curiosity, so the embarrassment must be hers either. “So, a typical stallion, if I remember biology, can last one-two minutes, right?”

Lyra shortly nodded, red as the finest Applejack’s tomato, hiding her eyes.

“Well, the “rumour” is correct then,” mercilessly chuckled Alex. “As for an average man fifteen minutes is the minimum, if he wants his girlfriend to be satisfied.”

Lyra squeaked quietly, while Alex elaborated.

“Personally, I don’t think that half of an hour is a big problem, if your partner needs that to enjoy it. Sometimes, even less is enough, but generally, as long as both like it, the more the better,” he barely stifled a smile, watching how Lyra’s flaming ears, perked involuntarily. “Including the foreplay, obviously,” he nailed the proverbial coffin.

“Eek!..” a quiet half-gasp, half-sigh interrupted their constructive discussion, making both Alex and Lyra turn to the door. Lyra jumped on her hooves and quickly returned to her place, checking her notes with exaggerated attention.

Rarity knocked the door frame markedly, apologizing for the interruption, but her dilated eyes and pinkish nose told Alex that she didn’t just come, on the contrary, she most likely stood at the entrance for a few moments before and definitely heard the last question and answer.

Alex facepalmed, quickly making it look like he was rubbing his temples tiredly. The last thing he needed, was Rarity hearing all that from himself, let alone that information sticking in her mind, encouraging her for more endeavours.

“Good afternoon, Lyra!” waved Rarity with exaggerated enthusiasm. “Ahlex, darling…”

“Howdy!” Alex sported a diplomatic smile, while Lyra nodded with an absently-innocent look on her pinkish muzzle.

“Oh, it’s so nice I found you here!” Rarity trotted in and rubbed her soft shoulder against Alex’s, giving him a loving glance and bright smile. “I thought, I absolutely needed to visit you today. I finally finished with the restoration!” exclaimed she and carefully placed, what she was levitating, in the middle of the table.

Embarrassment on Lyra’s muzzle changed by the expression, as if she suddenly came across a hornets’ nest, and she visibly tried to slide back with her armchair.

“So, according to princess’ Luna will, I return it to you, darling!” there was a faint tint of disappointment in Rarity’s voice, diluted in the vast amount of well deserved, to be honest, pride for her masterful work. She evidently ignored the mere fact that anything Luna and Old Castle related caused uneasiness in Lyra – the carefully folded cloth on the table was the royal tapestry, Rarity solicited to try to reconstruct in its full glory.

“Oh… How did you… It even looks newer, Rarity!” Alex stared at the tapestry, finding no words, touching it gently with the tips of his fingers. His eyes seemed to look through the royal banner though, as he thought at that moment about something unspeakably more gentle and silky than that – Luna’s shoulders, neck and mane, the main colour of the tapestry reminded him of. Alex blinked and returned to the reality. “It looks truly amazing!” He got up and unfolded the tapestry, raising it by the edge. “Mine most sincere gratitude, Rarity!”

The fashionista cocked her nose higher, her smile became wider; even Lyra, despite her cautiousness towards the artefact, couldn’t deny its beauty and the quality of Rarity’s work, watching with a slightly opened mouth.

“Thank you… I… have no words!” Alex carefully folded the tapestry again as a great treasure, then suddenly leaned and kissed Rarity right onto the proudly raised nose. She squeaked, flushing and batting her eyelashes fast, her eyes became dreamy at once, but at the same time she noticeably made some inward decision finally.

“Ahhlex, dear,” Rarity looked slightly unconfident, for the first time in quite a while. “Actually I looked for you, because of one more thing…” She lingered, like looking for words. “I thought… Could you… Umm… I’d like to ask you… if you could… keep me the company at the Gala?” She looked up to him with starry and at the same time pleading eyes.

For a fraction of second Alex froze on spot, but he couldn’t deny, Rarity did very much for him, including that restored tapestry. Besides, he didn’t want to offend her with refusing.

‘Okay!’ he sighed inwardly. ‘There will be a whole herd of ponies at the Gala, she can hardly undertake anything. Besides, I could really have some entertainment for the change… and Rarity is exactly the company to do it the most classy way.’

“I will,” he said simply, smiling sincerely and looking into Rarity’s eyes.

“Awwww!!!” Rarity grabbed and squeezed him slightly above the waist with her fore legs, then quickly regained more reserved posture, putting the lady look back. “Ahem… I mean, thank you, darling!”

‘Now there is no need to invent some way to get to the Gala to bring our plan to life,’ came into Alex’s mind. ‘If Tia wants it or not, I’m dancing with Luna!’ He smirked, anticipating the event wholeheartedly, despite the certain risk of Rarity trying to catch him off guard again.

‘Poor Spike!’ sighed Alex. ‘But I could hardly do anything to suit both parties. I promised to show no interest, but I won’t offend her on purpose. Besides, he is definitely going with Twilight anyway, having a chance to pay attentions to Rarity, if he wants.’

“Okay… Now I need to do something,” after getting the positive answer, Rarity suddenly became fidgety. “The Gala is nigh, I need to finish my preparations, darling!” she stroked Alex’s arm, looking at him affectionately, then turned to the door. “Have a nice day, mates!”

Alex and Lyra exchanged puzzled glances without conspiring, watching Rarity leaving with proudly cocked snoot; Alex shrugged.

“So, girls, he left Fluttershy,” in half voice Apple Bloom continued interrupted talk, leaning closer to her friends. “Asked Twilight for a room… and is living in the Library now. I mean, it will be easier for him, as I heard he is going to try his technical… mumbo-jumbo at Twilight’s place next…”

“That… stuff works quite nicely…” muttered Big Mac, heading outside for the rest of his work. They just had the dinner and, after clearing the table, the girls sat in a close circle for a talk. The big brother huffed, squinting at the sun, which passed the zenith, but still bathed the land below in heat, so the house was the only cooler place at the whole Apple farm. He was going to remove the cut dead trees from the far edge of the garden, quite the hard work, thus he left the girls at home, despite their attempts to offer some help. Truth be told, he had no illusions about their activity, realizing that the girls would spend their time discussing recent news, especially now, when they touched such a promising and curious matter. They came across it even before the dinner, when Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had enough of running about the garden and their usual noisy fun (a tradition of every Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting), they gathered around the table in the living room; little by little the talk reached what puzzled them much, as Big Mac could hear from the edge of his ear.

“Yeah, right…” Apple Bloom’s glance followed her brother and she added quieter. “But I still have no idea, why they broke actually… It’s so strange, I mean, they looked quite happy together and stuff…”

“He is working closely with that creepy blacksmith, as I heard,” continued she. “And Fluttershy was nervous about that and Alex possibly getting into some trouble or being hurt… So I heard,” she kept silence for a while. “I really have no idea how blacksmith work can be… well, of course, it is not selling flowers,” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “But still, it’s hardly more dangerous than any other hard work… I don’t understand, girls! I think there is more behind them breaking, than that only.”

“Maybe that’s because he may leave Equestria any time soon,” slowly and pensively said Sweetie Belle. “Alex doesn’t look like one, who can do that simply to hurt anypony…”

Scootaloo huffed.

“We’ll see, how it goes,” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “Do you know the “hot news”? Rarity invited Alex to the Gala… And it seems he accepted her invitation. She was bustling around the house, busy with last moment preparations, when I left. She had two clothes cases with special Gala clothes supposedly, but she didn’t reveal, what was in them,” the filly nodded meaningfully after the girls’ surprised “Wow!!!”. “That’s given, she is treating the event and what she expects of it very seriously. But I don’t know for sure about Alex. So I’m totally going to return, before they leave and see everything with my own eyes, girls.”

“You won’t stay?” sadly muttered Apple Bloom. “I thought we could arrange a sleepover, girls… Granny Smith is going to bake her famous cakes this evening and…” she scratched the back of her head. “On the other hoof, I can understand your reasons, partner… You can see everything rightfully without making anypony suspicious.”

“This, and…” Sweetie Belle was unusually serious. “I’d like to be at Carousel Boutique, when they get back. I know, Alex will walk Rarity home and it may appear so, that my presence there is kinda more useful for him, than Rarity,” she raised one eyebrow and elaborated, keeping in mind the evening Alex came to Rarity for a haircut. “Been there, done that once, mates. So… leave me a slice or two of those cakes, please.”

“Rainbow Dash says that we must… beware of the human. She suspects, he isn’t that nice. Maybe she is right, girls?” Scootaloo voiced her concerns finally. “Look, one of us is already suffering, and because of him exactly, you can’t deny that!”

“Come on, Scoots,” smirked Apple Bloom. “Rainbow hardly ever talked to Alex to make any conclusions about him. I mean, sometimes it’s maybe good to be stubborn, but not when you have no real arguments… So, relax, partner.” She mimicked her older sister expression so well, that it caused an involuntary smile on everypony’s muzzle.

“Is Fluttershy being upset not an argument?..” muttered Scootaloo, not going to openly admit that her friends were actually right about Rainbow’s attitude towards the human.

“Oh, no, she actually exchanged one or two phrases with him,” Apple Bloom continued louder with a laugher and Scootaloo made a face. “When Rainbow was watering him mercilessly the whole morning.”

“Or was it a preventive measure,” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle kept giggling. “Afore he maketh something horrible?”

“Speaking of which,” Scootaloo stuck out her tongue. “Don’t you both think he sounds overly strange sometimes… overly similar to the certain princess. Maybe he is… older than he looks… and, you know… where he came from…”

Both fillies snorted.

“Scoots, if anypony knows there is no Nightmare Moon now, it is you. You met princess Luna personally and…”

“Wait,” interrupted Apple Bloom with a wide grin. “Why don’t you ask yourself, Scoots? Alex or the princess… I mean, princess Luna is your hero anyway.”

“Girls, I’m serious…” groaned Scootaloo. “Besides, Belle has better chances of asking tonight, when both our revellers return.”

“I wonder, how do you imagine that, Scoots?” Sweetie Belle rolled eyes. “I admit, if I were Rainbow Dash, I would have probably done exactly that: “Hey, Alex, ain’t you a Nightmare Moon agent?””

The tone turned out so close to the original, that all three fillies burst laughing again.

“Come on, Ahhlex, darling! We don’t want to get there late, do we?”

It was already half past four, the sun shining high into the almost clear sky with rare white fluffy clouds, running by, like small sheep in the Crystal Empire zoo. Gentle breeze bothered the tops of the crops around them, making the fields look like some green sea touched by low lazy waves. Too light to bring mess to her carefully laid mane – Rarity spent two good hours to reach the expected perfection – it came from the western orchard and brought the sweetness of the best Jackie’s apples getting ripe.

‘Interesting, what would he say about my another delicious apple dessert?’ flew in Rarity’s head. ‘Not that I was as masterful as Granny Smith at that, I admit of having lots of practice ahead, still… I keep the best recipe to try yet!’ she threw a quick glance at Alex following her across the field and a smile curled her lips.

She kept graciously prancing, keeping the lady posture, despite Rarity’s heart was ready to join the chirping birds choir, while she herself wanted to squeal and jump around as a small filly.

‘The lady must be lady all the time, at least do her best to be; besides, I may look funny in his eyes, well, stupidly funny – definitely not the effect, I desire,’ Rarity threw another sly glance at Alex, who was distracted by something in the distance and now caught up with her. ‘Of course, he doesn’t look like somepony, who could frown upon a bit of foalish fun, but I need to be more accurate. Yet… Squee!!!’

Alex accepting her invitation to the Gala was a happy surprise for Rarity, truth to be told, she was ready for him refusing. She restored the royal tapestry for him, helped him solve his clothes problem, thus he had all the reasons to be thankful; although, he did quite a lot for her as well, maybe even more in the longer perspective, thus keeping her the company at the Gala was truly optional. Remembering the last less than successful attempt in her house, when he fixed the pipe, Rarity was to admit, she was as subtle as a steamroller that time. It was her mistake, caused purely by unsatisfied desire hitting the “safety valve”, and she promised herself to stock up with patience, strategy and wit for the future attempts.

‘Calm down, darling,’ she held back all the jumps and squeaks, postponing them indefinitely, despite the electrifying jolt, which made her coat twitch, when Alex came up to her and put his palm on her shoulder lightly. ‘You may look sad, desperate, even ruined, or on the contrary squeakily happy… when necessary. But you must see the aim and tread lightly!’

“What was there?” Rarity batted her long eyelashes, minding the delay; Alex was never able to understand, why she, having her own natural beautiful ones, used those fake extenders so often.

“Oh, simply checked the clock tower… Aren’t we getting late?”

“Don’t worry, darling!” Rarity theatrically shrugged with a chuckle. “I’ve managed to book the tickets to Canterlot Express, besides, I always plan it that way to get to the Gala in time. Some ponies may think it’s great as long as you get there, no matter if you are late, but I prefer to be there from the very beginning.”

She cocked her head proudly, checking if the clothing cases levitated high enough to touch the ground not. Actually two of them, which unambiguously told Alex, Rarity prepared something outstanding for him as well; she didn’t let him carry those, but there was nothing offensive in that – Alex knew already how meticulous Rarity was with everything fashion related. He knew about her tasteful approach likewise, thus being calm and convinced, his supposed parade clothes to be classy enough. Alex decided to let Rarity have a fair bit of her innocent joy, he could bring own corrections to his image anyway, if her vision of him at the Gala appeared overly… outstanding.

Obviously, she couldn’t allow her best recent work sweep the road to the railroad station or get any stains from the thick grass and crops in the fields around, thus Rarity made all the necessary precautions and was very proud of herself.

‘Better safe than sorry!’ Rarity inwardly listed everything to be sure, she didn’t miss a single trivia in her Gala preparations. ‘Plan, hard work, result, that is how success reached.’

Busy with her thoughts she completely missed another glance, Alex threw back, otherwise, she could easily tell, one hardly observed the clock or time-worn tower with such an expression. Somewhere deep inside the feeling of impropriety of the happening kept gnawing Alex: he knew from Twilight that Fluttershy wasn’t going to the Gala. To be frank, Rainbow Dash was neither, but those were totally different things. First of all, Alex couldn’t give a damn about Rainbow’s plans for that evening; moreover, the farther from him, the better – Alex wasn’t entirely convinced, Dash could hold herself of playing some trick on him… even at the Gala. To become a ridicule for the whole herd, let alone Luna (despite he was sure, the princess wouldn’t enjoy his humiliation)? No way, thank you!

Shy was another case: her animal friends provided a certain problem, needing care, but practice said, they could easily cope without her for the several hours. The actual reason followed Rarity through the fields at that moment, as Fluttershy couldn’t go to the Gala with him, she decided to not go there at all. Not being a party pony in general, at least not liking the big herds of hardly known ponies, Fluttershy could go to the Gala with the rest of the girls, of course, but something told Alex that she feared, what she could witness: not him being there with Rarity (she was well informed about that), but him meeting Luna and possible consequences.

The unwelcome memory of her preparing the dress for that event (and the final fitting was not only a decoration to hide real reasons for Rarity to visit Fluttershy, when he just arrived) made Alex’s condition truly detestable. The guilt fought the rejection of being decided for, guided or even motherly protected and he couldn’t say for sure which side was winning at that moment.

“What’s wrong with you, darling?!” his stone face made Rarity emerge from her pleasant musings and she looked at Alex with concern and anxiety. “You look like you have seen the… Headless Horse!” with a small nervous chuckle Rarity tried to turn it into a joke.

‘Just mine inner demons, hardly headless, as I can hear their teeth clenching already!’ Alex cringed a bit.

“I simply feel like a fish out of the water,” he squeezed out a smile. ‘No need to spoil the day for yet another girl…’

“You know, Rarity, I was never invited to such an event before, so…”

“Oh, don’t worry, darling!” Rarity stopped and leaned to him, nudging Alex lightly. “You are lucky to be in the right company for the events like that,” she playfully winked.

‘If only I could get an inner guide for my thoughts and deeds that easily…’ Alex knew well, he was wishing for too much.

They sped up, as the station was in direct view and the red loco was letting out long jets of steam already. All the tickets to the express appeared to be booked indeed, as there was no queue at the ticket office and the whole registration process took them a couple of minutes.

“Phew! Just as planned!” exclaimed Rarity, sliding the compartment door shut behind them.

“And we have plenty of time to bring ourselves to the exemplary order after that awful dusty road!” she accurately placed her dress cases on the seat and opened the carpetbag, which Alex put on the table, levitating a brush out and some other, supposedly hoof-polishing, instruments.

“So, is it your final decision, Flutters?” Twilight covered her friend’s shoulders with the wing, leaning to her and trying to find her eyes, hidden behind the lush pink mane. “I’m sure that your little friends can spend an evening without their caretaker; they were quite capable of that before.”

“Yes, Twilight,” Fluttershy’s quiet voice was determined. “I’m not going. I mean, I really have to do much for my animals… Besides, what’s the point?”

Mixing the ingredients for some medicine seemingly demanded for her whole concentration, but Twilight wasn’t that easy to trick. She sighed deeply and the prolonged pause made Fluttershy voice her concerns finally.

“Of course, Twi, I could arrange everything, so I had enough free time for the Gala,” Fluttershy put away the vials and turned to face Twilight, wiping hooves with the towel. There was something except sadness in her eyes, which made her alicorn friend look at her more fixedly. “But those galas are all the same each time… Remember, princess Celestia complained about them being a bore three years ago. There is no tragedy in missing one. Dashie is not going as well…” she looked away almost whispering.

“Dashie is head over hooves in her training,” retorted Twilight patiently. “She is daydreaming about impressing the Wonderbolts with some new tricks and spends all the time flying. If I didn’t know that’s for the Wonderbolts, I’d think, it’s some sleepless changeling in her disguise,” smirked she. “Rainbow neglecting a nap sounds like nonsense. But she will do as she wants anyway.”

“But you could spend the night with us three, brighten up the mood,” Twilight looked determined to cheer her friend up no matter what. “Simply distance from your problems.”

“Look I’m not going to either justify his act,” said she finally. “or blame him point blank, despite he could think better, before dating Luna, while… Ooooh!” groaned Twilight scowlingly. “See, I am judging already, while I probably shouldn’t. I’m not Alex, I don’t know how serious it was…” she fell silent.

“Actually, he said quite clearly, they were more than friends,” breathed out Fluttershy, then added quietly. “Yet I’m somehow sure they didn’t… umm…”

“What I mean,” continued Twilight after a pause. “ Is that you both are adults and the situation is better seen from inside, of course. But Alex going to the Gala with Rarity shouldn’t stop you from having some fun. She might be not entirely right, inviting him, but it didn’t look like she was going to from the start… Besides, from her point of view Alex was free at that moment…” Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy! I don’t know what to say, sorry…”

“What I know for sure, is that Alex accepted that invitation as a friendly gesture only,” Twilight put her fore hoof on Fluttershy’s lightly. “He isn’t happy about Rarity giving him excessive attention, nothing changed since the first day.”

“Oh, I know that,” Fluttershy allowed herself a tiny smile. “That’s not what bothers me, Twilight. I’m pretty sure Rarity would be tiptoeing around Alex, even if he went to the Gala with me, not because of ill will, but purely because she couldn’t hold herself.”

Twilight patiently waited for the rest of the confession.

“I’m not blaming him entirely for what happened either,” that statement made Twilight open her mouth slightly, while Fluttershy elaborated. “He was wrong, no doubt, but so was I. Probably because of different reasons… But I shouldn’t give up the fort myself, make it easier for him to leave. Alex keeps saying, we must cool down, because if he is to leave Equestria, that will be the more hurtful to break, the closer we become. But I think, I repelled him with my assertiveness, my wish to keep him safe. Yeah, I never thought I could say that about myself…”

“He may be selfless, when somepony needs help, but at the same time he can be selfish, when he fears for his freedom being taken over by anypony. Typical for a stallion… a man,” Fluttershy shrugged, turning to her ingredients again; Twilight noticed that her fore legs trembled a bit. “But I knew, it could turn like that, Twi. Yet I decided to try to convince him. We both can be stupidly stubborn, dear, and to be honest are worth each other,” sad chuckle mixed with the rhythmic sound of small mortar, while she ground up some herbs.

“But She takes him as he is,” Fluttershy suddenly moved the mortar aside and froze, looking into the window. “And I don’t feel ready yet to witness, how they meet at the Gala. I’m not sure, I can hold myself in hooves, Twi…”

“That is why I’m not going,” Fluttershy turned to her friend again. “And the dress,” she remembered with a sad smile. “Nopony saw it yet, except Rarity, I guess, it can wait for the next time. And if the fashion goes forward, I can always say that they understand nothing in the “retro” style!” dropped she with a tear in her voice.

The lump in the throat prevented Twilight from saying anything, in a flurry she embraced her pegasus friend and hugged tight.

“I-I… could stay, Flutters… really, if…” unconfidently started Twilight.

“No, no, no…” Fluttershy’s eyes dilated. “No need to do that Twilight, I’ll be fine, don’t worry. Besides, if you don’t go, Pinkie and Applejack can hardly operate the balloon, right?” a faint smile touched her lips. “And… you’re a princess, Twilight. You must be at the Gala.”

“Tartarus with “the princess”,” muttered Twilight grumpily, then added. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” repeated Fluttershy, releasing her friend. “Everything settles… somehow… eventually…”

“Okay…” sighed Twilight, shaking her head. “You’re a big girl… Just in case… We’re taking off in an hour from the balloon pad,” she looked at Fluttershy meaningfully. “An hour.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Fluttershy waved her hoof. “Have fun, girls. I mean that.”

The train covered mile after mile and entered the mountains already, it was safe to assume, two thirds of the road were left behind. They couldn’t see the sun, as the compartment window opened to the east, but the trees, which covered yet low mountainside, were painted golden, thus telling them, Celestia’s star was low enough above the horizon; the day was coming to its end. It was colder here at the foothills, more windy and the forest trees greeted the passing train with light bows of respect.

Rarity was chattering incessantly throughout the whole ride, she told Alex what to expect and which aspects to pay special attention to make a good impression at the Gala, named a few ponies, regular visitors of those social functions, acquaintance with which could help him in his further life in Equestria.

‘It seems, Rarity took mine inability to leave their world as inevitability… and is quite content with that!’ Alex inwardly smirked, sadly to be honest. ‘At least she is sincere in her wish to help me accommodate,’ at the same time he was to admit, that didn’t make the acceptance easier.

One look was enough to tell, Rarity was on the top of her spiritual ascent and Alex pondered, if that was her usual pre-gala mood or the company made it so clearly pronounced that time. He listened to her with one ear though, just enough to keep up with the route of her thoughts and fill the pauses with appropriate comments. His own head was partially busy, looking for the way to make their with Luna plan play out naturally enough. With Rarity inviting him to the Gala, he was totally safe as the part of the event at that moment, even if Celestia planned to have some rest of him, she couldn’t do anything till the point it would be futile to try.

‘I’ll be there and we’ll bring our plan to life with Luna, no matter what! I wonder though, what Tia can say or undertake, when she sees me?’ The image of Celestia’s expression made him chuckle inwardly. ‘I suppose my presence isn’t included in her checklist of “perfectly run entertainment”, yet she would hardly let it spoil the event for her. Well, we’ll see then…’

Alex threw another look through the window: the landscape was steadily raising, trees grew right next to the tracks here and it became noticeably darker. If he remembered the road right, the tunnels should start shortly and that meant they were approaching Canterlot. One more thought bothered Alex thereby – Rarity took two cases with her, obviously one with her dress and another with parade clothes for Alex. Supposedly they were to change (or in Rarity’s case better say dress) in the train to approach the castle in full glory; at least that was his fashionista companion’s plan.

But Alex didn’t feel daring to change in her presence at all and now frantically looked for some polite way to get out of that uneasy situation. Telling her directly seemed a bit harsh to him, as ponies’ relationship with clothes were still a mystery for Alex: they could pay no attention to the conventionalities in some cases, yet be overly meticulous in the others.

‘To undress almost completely in front of Rarity in that convenient compartment… Merlin’s pants!’ Alex cringed.

Maybe Rarity anticipated some involuntary striptease, but Alex wasn’t sure, it was worth the risk – the latest incident clearly showed, his unicorn friend could take any favourable chance.

“Hmm… It’s too dark here! We must be approaching the city, but I can’t see anything because of that wall of trees, besides the mountainside looks all the same everywhere,” suddenly complained Rarity, she didn’t give much credit to the forests and everything connected. “Ugghhh! It’s too bad the window is facing this side…”

Alex quietly took his breath.

“Perhaps I should go and check, where we are. We’re riding for more than two hours non-stop, it must be the time to dress up for the event already,” with a bright unequivocal smile Rarity opened the compartment door, exiting to the car passage to check the west facing windows. The door closed behind her automatically.

‘Please, enjoy the view for a while instead and give me a few minutes!’ with the speed of light Alex jumped to his legs and picked up the clothes cases, carefully opening them. ‘I must be lucky tonight!’

The first case revealed something red and aethereal through the slightly opened zipper and Alex closed it, putting aside. Despite all Rarity’s extravagance, Alex couldn’t imagine her dressing him in something alike. Another case let out something pristine white! Suppressing his first urge to squint, as the suit almost flashed in the twilight of their compartment, Alex raised the shoulders higher.

The pants were of the same style, he got used to; the free cut shirt with the lacy collar made Alex facepalm, but thankfully was moderate and the long band, accompanying them, was probably the fashionable tie. Remembering him despising the official style, Rarity didn’t include any jacket, rightfully assuming that her work was truly classy without. The fabric was unfamiliar to Alex: dense, but light on touch, silky and non-permeable, but not unpleasant to the skin. But the main thing everything was of blinding white colour, making Alex freeze for a moment!

Alex didn’t have time to stare at it in awe, one precious minute passed already. He accurately put the suit on the seat. Listening to the sounds from behind the door he almost jumped out of his clothes in a single jolt, quickly putting on the parade ones.

‘Let’s hope, I won’t be looking like a fridge at the end of the day,’ Alex quickly checked everything in the mirror on the compartment door and put the shoes back on. ‘Not entirely fitting, I admit… But…’ he threw another glance in the mirror. ‘Hmpf! I doubt anypony would look at them anyway.’

He stepped back; with the light noise the compartment door slid open.

“Oh!” Even if Rarity frowned upon the missed show, she did her best to show that not. “You are fast, Ahhlex! I guess, I need to catch up,” she closed the door with a small laugher and levitated the remaining dress case.

Alex returned to the window and promptly stared outside with exaggerated interest, giving Rarity time to dress with dignity… and trying to get rid of the uncalled thought that most of the time she was practically wearing nothing.

Observing the darkening trees, rare road posts, grassy openings, passing by behind the glass, Alex listened to the rustling sounds behind his back. Despite the experience and magic, ready to come to the aid in particularly complicated situations, it took Rarity a good few minutes to cope with her dress and fit it properly. Alex was unsure, if providing her with a helping hand would be appropriate, besides, he didn’t want to give her the freedom of interpretation, being absolutely sure about how exactly could she take that act.

With echoing noise, born by stone walls, the train entered one of the mountain tunnels, Rarity even squeaked slightly from suddenly fallen darkness. In a second the train lamps turned on and the dark rocks behind the window changed to the mirrored view of their compartment, Rarity almost finished, spreading the fabric on her shoulders and stretching the sleeves or better say long “gloves”; Alex noticed they were not connected to the dress itself.

He turned around to face very proud and at the same time slightly embarrassed Rarity, as if she wasn’t entirely confident in Alex’s reaction. Although, her hesitations were completely futile, Alex was to admit, Rarity looked fabulous in her dress. Tightly fit at the upper body, it was opulent and freely flowing from the waist down, giving her the ability to move freely and visually counterbalancing her lush, beautifully laid mane. The dense fabric went to the chest, but ended slightly below fore legs, turning into lacy and transparent one, which ended at the collar; that upper part was practically invisible from the short distance, providing the impression of completely bare shoulders and low décolleté. That would look like a quite audacious human evening dress, if the ponies had cleavage, but Alex involuntarily concluded that proudly puffed chest fluff, coped with the substitution task quite well in Rarity’s case.

The large sapphire on the collar, and a few of its brethren, placed in the thin silver tiara, shining in Rarity’s mane, finished the ensemble. Everything looked perfect to Alex’s taste.

Although, it seemed Rarity had some trouble. With exaggerated grace, holding the dress in place on the shoulders with her magic, little fashionista approached him, raising on her hind legs and leaning on the table, bending her back.

“Darling, I need some help of yours!” Rarity shot him from under her long eyelashes, Alex noticed the tip of her light indigo tail waving from side to side under the dress hem.

“Any time, Rarity. What’s…”

She turned around and Alex saw that there was a long thin zipper at the back of her dress, opened at the moment, so, Rarity’s graceful back shone in the soft compartment lights, framed by the red fabric.

“Okaaay…” Alex inwardly took his breath and accurately took the fastener, feeling her sly anticipating glance over the shoulder. ‘No way I’m buying this old trick, dear! You look radiant in your dress, that’s given, but I’m not a whelp to fall for that.’

With a tiny smile Alex zipped the dress close, slowly and carefully not to pinch Rarity’s quickly heating (he almost felt that) skin. When he accidentally touched her coat between the shoulder blades, Rarity shivered and quite audible fitful breath left her lips.

“Here we are,” emphatically neutrally concluded Alex. “Fully ready for the event.”

“Excellent!” she turned to face him with slightly dilated sparkling eyes, then noticed something and theatrically frowned.

“Ahlex, Ahlex!” Rarity pulled the white band from his hand with a giggle. “You are incorrigible. This is an important part,” she shook her head, spreading the thin aroma of some fancy shampoo, while the band accurately formed a necktie on Alex, guided by the cyan aura. “Now it is significantly better!” she took out a sapphire clasp and fixed the tie, then added a pair of fitting cufflinks to his costume.

The train emerged from the tunnel, but the lamps remained on to compensate for the setting sun, insufficient to provide enough light. The forest was left behind and purely mountainous landscape took over, a few more miles and tunnels left before Canterlot.

With a quiet laugher Rarity took Alex’s hand and dragged him closer to the mirror, so he could estimate the final image in entirety. Obviously, she was going to play on the contrasts and Alex was to admit Rarity’s success: her rich red dress didn’t overshadow her natural coat colour, but emphasized it quite advantageously, making Rarity’s skin glow even under soft compartment lights; with the bright lights of the castle hall, she would hardly pass unnoticed by anypony.

Alex’s costume was simple, but classy and outstanding at the same time, surprisingly fitting Rarity’s dress, despite the colour difference; Alex noticed that the latter was suspiciously human-like and was guessing, where this inventive unicorn mare could find her inspiration. He decided to ask Twilight a few questions later, as she mentioned that she had got her hooves on some historical notes about humans.

However, the laconic jewellery finished the impression, leaving no doubts to the beholder. When Rarity raised on her hind legs again and leaned to Alex, correcting his tie and throwing a satisfied glance into the mirror, it became strikingly obvious, that she exerted maximum effort for them to look like… a couple.

“Ah still can’t believe, he accepted her invitation, sugarcube!” Applejack shook her head, then threw a quick glance at the wide stairs, running from the castle entrance to the gravel square below, empty at the moment, but going to be full of arriving at the Gala ponies in the half of an hour. “After all the tricks our dear Rarity undertook to get her hooves on Alex… Besides, Ah was sure he would come with Flutters still.”

Twilight only shrugged, inwardly she decided to stay on the fence regarding those two; despite she found out more during the last few days, she felt, everything was even more complicated and she didn’t have the complete image yet. Pinkie let out a deep sigh, staying unusually silent; surprisingly she treated the incident most seriously among the girls, not accusing anypony, but actually seriously, quite concerned about the outcome.

Both girls arrived with Twilight on the balloon, slightly beforehand, as Twilight was to be at princess’ Celestia side right at the Gala opening, greeting the guests. As Celestia was still busy with some preparations (she preferred to perform the final check herself, guaranteeing the quality of the event, as nopony could dare to fail afore princess’ eyes), Twilight used a few free minutes to peek outside, to the terrace at the castle entrance. Maybe the fresh air helped to ease the nervousness, Twilight didn’t get quite used to the role of the princess at the galas, or perhaps she secretly hoped to see Fluttershy, finally reconsidering and joining them, on the road to the castle; although, Twilight couldn’t probably imagine the way, for Flutters to get there in time.

Twilight’s glance didn’t get unnoticed by Applejack, who understood it properly and sighed. Her dress could easily fit a social function and a classic fox hunt, if only ponies ever hunted foxes. The caring hoof of Rarity could be easily seen in how the dress reflected the personality of its owner: made in green, dark golden and light brown colours, not excessively volumetric at the hem, very convenient to move in, it could even seem a little bit rough for the occasion, if it wasn’t extremely classy, balancing on the edge between utility (valued by Jackie) and fashion (constantly upheld by Rarity). The high leather boots on Applejack’s hind legs were equally convenient for dancing and apple bucking, with the obvious visual lean towards dancing, as Rarity was uncompromising in that aspect.

“Well, girls, let’s go inside! I truly don’t like it, like if we are saying somepony’s vale,” with a sigh Pinkie seemed to make some decision. “You don’t need to greet the guests on those stairs, Twi, right?”

Pinkie shook her lush curly mane, everypony almost expected the confetti and streamers coming out of it, and turned on spot, making her opulent colourful dress rustle; the first look at it was enough to understand – its owner was the heart of the party on her own and could easily make quite a boom even at such a grand event as the Gala. She resembled a soft delicious dessert, not mawkish though, as sometimes Rarity knew perfectly, when to catch her flying imagination.

“I know, I know… But we can’t help them now, not by the mourning at the Gala definitely,” she looked at Twilight and Applejack over the shoulder, blowing away the lace, curled in the wind. “Believe me, if auntie Pinkie knew how to fix the situation, I would have tried my best already. Don’t make that face, Jackie,” smirked Pinkie. “I see you. I’m not talking about some love potion. But I totally have something to talk to Alex about…” muttered she aside.

“I guess, you are right,” those thoughts helped Twilight to switch her attention and become less shaky before the event. Later, when the Gala actually started, she would quickly calm down, but at that moment the Princess of Friendship felt out of her element, up to the point that she thought, she forgot something drastically important or her feverishly pink nose and trembling legs completely didn’t fit the expected role and amazing dress. The latter, luxurious and heavy, with wide and lush standing collar, rich decoration and deep gold and lilac colours, made Twilight suspect princess Celestia taking part in the choosing specifically to make Twilight get used to the regal role faster. The dress was perhaps easily more complex than Celestia’s one and according to Twilight didn’t fit her shaky condition completely. Although, this was a common situation, when Twilight prepared for something important… and didn’t make a “to do” list prior. Thus she took herself in hooves forcedly and squeezed out a smile.

“I would like to be able to fix the situation as well…”

“Here you are!” Spike appeared in the doorway paws akimbo, hailing the girls. “Do you three plan to greet the guests on that terrace? Twilight, please, wake up!”

“Hmm?!”

“Twilight,” sighed Spike. “There are no books here even, where are you travelling? Princess Celestia wanted you to help her with something.”

“Let’s go, girls… umm… unless you want more fresh air,” Twilight shook off the nervousness and followed Spike, who seemed to regain interest in the Gala, anticipating Rarity’s arrival most likely.

Twilight smiled upon remembering, how they came home about an hour after Rarity invited Alex. Lyra was still there, the flood of her questions just dried and Alex managed to finish his work, so they simply enjoyed some freshly brewed tea. Twilight shared her observation of very inspired and encouraged Rarity, they met on their way home. Chuckling she told about Rarity almost prancing, hurrying to Carousel Boutique, and voiced an assumption about the new collection being on Rarity’s mind.

Alex made a face and revealed the true source of Rarity’s inspiration; that wasn’t entirely unexpected, yet caught Twilight by surprise – she couldn’t imagine Rarity to actually dare. Personally Twilight thought about suggesting Alex join her and Spike, but she wasn’t sure both Alex and Celestia needed more time in each other’s company.

Naturally, Spike became grumpy at once and pouted till late evening, but eventually, he was to admit, there was no crime in Alex accepting Rarity’s invitation; it was totally her idea and refusing could undeservedly offend her. Obviously Spike decided that Rarity coming to the Gala was more important; besides, her coming with somepony, not interested in her personally, rather than a dedicated admirer, was almost a gift of fate.

“Hmm… We have a few spare minutes, Rarity!”

Alex jumped off to the platform and threw a quick glance at the wall clock of the station office, painted golden and red by the light of the setting sun. He filled his lungs with damp air, the loco stopped quite far from that point, their car was in the middle of the train and all the smoke was taken away by the constant evening wind coming down the mountains, leaving only a faint bitter tint in the nostrils. Long, flowing, mystically glowing in the bright station lights, sheets of fog curled around the light posts, benches on the platform and large regular trees behind the platform railing; Alex remembered that they passed a waterfall at the railway entrance to Canterlot. It was contrastingly fresh here after the warm comfort of the train compartments and ponies quickly filling the platform shivered and wrapped into their cloaks and shawls. Alex caught a few bewildered glances already, protruding like an iceberg from the stripes of fog, curling at his feet.

He smirked and turned to the car door, Rarity stood at the upper step, looking down at him with a bright smile. Alex eyed her crinoline, getting down the car steps seemed a non-trivial task for his companion; without the second thought Alex leaned to her and accurately picked Rarity under her fore legs, causing a tiny surprised squeak. He managed to lower her on the platform quite gracefully; obviously, her hind legs touched the ground first and Rarity put her fore hooves on Alex’s shoulders, staying like that for a moment longer and giving him a fiery glance of dilated eyes.

Alex felt slightly embarrassed, as half of the herd on the platform interestedly examined them at the moment or so he thought.

“Thanks, darling!” breathed out Rarity, unfolding the soft, dense red cloak and wrapping it around her bare shoulders. She kept holding on him and leaned closer. “We shouldn’t hurry too much, Ahlex,” whispered she in his ear, when he leaned closer. “Let the herd unflood the platform and head to the castle, so we can follow more freely. It’s not like the third ring in the theatre, darling!” she almost cooed.

Alex nodded shortly, he understood Rarity’s reasons and inwardly wondered, how she kept following her plan of gaining attention “the proper way”. Her calculations were simple: that wasn’t the last and only wave of guests, so they wouldn’t come “late”, still they wouldn’t hurry and hustle in the herd, but would instead catch the short pause between “main waves”. But the main thing was, Rarity and Alex arrive at the castle entrance, ascend and enter the hall under the dozens of glances of ponies already present at the top and bottom of the castle stairs.

That being Rarity’s “red carpet” wasn’t hard to guess; she prepared to “walk out” her outstanding dress, appear in the center of the big herd with an unusual partner and simply entertain herself as much as possible. Rarity sincerely believed, she would entertain Alex as well that way; so, with a tiny smile Alex gave up and allowed her to bask in the rays of her well-directed performance.

Thus they lingered a bit, waiting till the main mass went ahead; Alex shrugged under a few more couples of evaluative eyes. Distracted by enjoying the evening sight of the surroundings (he was unable to estimate it fully the first time they came here with Fluttershy) at first, Alex found Rarity still nesting in his warm hands – it appeared, they stood like that the whole time the majority of the passengers trotted by; the glances were explicable and Alex inwardly facepalmed. Rarity’s nose was slightly pinkish, when she released him and stood on her four legs, but her eyes were starry and shone with badly concealed triumph, while they headed to the station exit side by side.

Further the terrain started to ascend and they need to go up or by the zigzag path, when the street architecture didn’t offer the straight line. Alex admitted that he couldn’t probably find the way to the castle fast enough even on his second arrival at the station; besides, the atmosphere that time was more relaxed and he used that opportunity to pay deserved attention to the city views, prudently not looking back, down the mountain, of course. Involuntarily the same comparison with Minas Tirith, the White City from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, came to his mind, causing another smile.

Alex didn’t cease to wonder the mastery, the architects combined the stone terraces, buildings and flora with, practically turning whole Canterlot into blooming garden with white stone walls protruding from the foliage, but not breaking the natural beauty. It must be full of life during the daytime, but now only rare birds broke the silence, chirping in the gardens drowning in falling twilight, which was softly diluted by the street lights. The only sound becoming stronger, as they approached the castle, were the tidal waves of the noise of ponies, gathering at the upcoming Gala.

“Come on, Ahlex! I said we must linger a bit, but I didn’t mean we must catch another herd going after us,” Rarity looked at him over the shoulder with a laugher, she led the way almost prancing, on her peak of inspiration she anticipated ascending the stairs so visibly that Alex chuckled quietly. Rarity threw a sly glance at him. “What?”

“You’re like a… filly on her prom night, Rarity!” Alex raised a brow, returning her glance with dividends. He heard the approaching noise from behind, supposedly from another wave of guests, and was to admit her reasoning.

“Hmpf! I haven’t had such fun for a few months already,” she cocked her head and almost jumped on spot enthusiastically. “Especially in such a nice company!” her half-lidded eyes shot another spear at Alex and very pleased with herself Rarity proceeded, looking at him playfully from time to time.

Soon Alex noticed that the road to the castle, which towered its whole white mass above them already, was designated by additional lightening, so, even a newcomer could probably avoid getting lost on his way to the Gala. That discovery turned out futile though, as after three or four turns they finally entered the short, straight as a tensioned string, path to the castle gate.

Stomping on the gravel path behind the castle gate Alex inwardly braced himself: Rarity’s calculations were correct, quite a herd of guests gathered at the bottom of the stairs and the top landing, before the doors to the hall. The mares straightened out their dresses, couples met their kith and greetings and small talks filled the air, making that hum, which could be heard long before the castle gates, delivered by evening breeze.

‘Okay, you knew about that,’ Alex inhaled deeply and followed Rarity, adjusting to her pace. ‘You and Luna had certain plans for that evening, that’s primal, so, take that “red carpet stroll” as inevitable “evil” and stay cool!’

Giving that wise advice was obviously far easier than following it, while pacing along that path, which seemed about a mile long to Alex, under all kinds of glances: from interested and evidently smiling to surprised and bluntly shocked. To the honour of the guests Alex couldn’t tell, he spotted any visible negativity, caused by his arrival; perhaps ponies, who gathered here, could cope with their feelings better or the majority of them simply decided to conform the general spirit of the event, keeping their thoughts to themselves. That allowed Alex to relax a tiny bit, to let one single hair of the fiddlestick loose.

Rarity distracted everypony’s attention quite successfully as well, she paced right to Alex, nodding with an almost regal smile to the ponies, she knew personally. Her head was proudly cocked, letting the mane, gathered into complex sumptuous hair dress, sway lightly. There wasn’t a single mare left non-stunned by Rarity’s dress: they stopped half-word and followed her for a moment with nearly opened mouths. Whatever they thought about her dress and were going to discuss later, one thing was certain – it was seemingly unusual and audacious enough for the pony society; if Rarity wanted them to be noticed, she topped that by quite a margin.

Alex would be happy, if she completely overshadowed his presence, but obviously, that wasn’t a part of her plan; considering his costume and height difference, everypony paid attention to Rarity’s unusual partner as well. Meanwhile, Alex tried to think about Luna and what they wanted to do at the Gala, constantly catching himself at the urge to take his girl’s arm, remembering that Rarity had legs and it would be quite uncomfortable for her to walk like human pairs supposed to.

‘Something tells me that, if Rarity knew about that gesture,’ Alex chuckled inwardly. ‘She would have coped with any inconvenience to add that to her performance.’

They came up to another pair at the bottom of the stairs and Alex noticed a familiar muzzle to his surprise: he saw the stallion already, when they with Fluttershy got rid of numerous visitors after the warehouse incident – Filthy Rich or “simply Mr. Rich”, as that one preferred to be named.

“Good evening, Mr. Rich!” Alex nodded with a diplomatic smile and the stallion replied, taking a look over Alex and Rarity and sporting a sly smirk.

His spouse, as such a characteristically similar mare could hardly be anypony else, stared at them with dilated eyes for a second and Alex spotted from the tail of his eye, how she quickly whispered something into husbands ear right after them.

Rarity stopped for a second and took a quick critical look over herself and Alex as well, like checking, if everything was according to her preplanned order.

“Are you ready, darling?” like there were at least several “a”s in “darling” Rarity asked him in half-tone, but at the same time quite a few guests heard that and turned.

“After you, Rarity,” Alex made a welcoming gesture and suppressed one more impulse to offer her the hand, he followed slightly behind instead, securing Rarity in her long dress on those quite steep stairs.

‘I would bring Shy up in mine arms!’ flashed in his head suddenly. ‘And let a few snobs fall down in jealousy!’ He caught himself on flushing slightly.

‘I must be here with her instead,’ his heart pounded and Alex went up the stairs, like a robot, looking at one spot in front of him. ‘But we let ourselves go too far already… If I leave… When I leave, she will suffer, we will both suffer… She treats me like her… man already… Merlin’s…’

Perhaps his eyes looked glazed, when they reached the top, Rarity turned to Alex with a fair dose of concern.

“Is everything alright, Ahlex?” she looked up into his eyes. “You look a bit…”

“I’m okay, dear,” Alex shook his head, emerging to the reality, he took a deep breath, noticing the smell of the garden flowers, the baskets of which the stairs were ornate with, at that moment only. Alex could swear, he felt the aroma of honey and field flowers a moment ago.

“Oh, let’s go then!” with a tender smile Rarity leaned to him, rubbing her cheek on his arm.

The doorway was free and in a second Alex and Rarity stepped into the long corridor with columns, so familiar to Alex by his first visit to the castle. Two guards opened another pair of doors for them, letting into the giant hall and making Alex shudder involuntarily from the unwelcome déjà vu feeling. But the following surprise was even stronger.

Right a few steps behind the doors Alex saw two figures, he couldn’t mistake for anypony, despite the bright light coming from behind them, making them appear as two dark silhouettes in Alex’s and Rarity’s sight.

“… and meeting the guests right from their first step for the change, instead of sitting there, like a stone statue until the last one arrives.” Celestia nodded to her companion with a smile. “I may actually like that method, Twilight.”

Her long, flowing, almost white but with faint coral tint, as Alex could see in the bright light of numerous chandeliers of the hall, dress with gold ornament and lilac elements made quite an impression on him, when Alex’s eyes accommodated. Surprisingly the dress author managed to make it lush, at the same time not making the princess look even bigger, compared to common ponies, than she actually was. Yet, when Celestia spread her wings under pure inspiration and excitement, the look was stunning indeed.

Alex and Rarity approached, the princesses turned to the newcomers, interrupting their talk.

“Welcome to the Gala, our valorous po…” Celestia forgot about the old formula, seeing who arrived that time. Even if she was surprised to see Alex there, nothing reflected on her muzzle, at least at that moment the princess coped with her feelings and corrected herself. “Welcome to the Gala, Rarity and Alex…”

Alex noticed the final stumble and inwardly thanked the princess for not adding formal “the human”. Rarity bowed low, delivering Alex totally inappropriate for the event memory of the circus horses; he couldn’t do anything with himself, the pose was very familiar. Stifling the smile Alex bowed slightly.

“Come, join the guests.” Celestia raised her gold-shod fore hoof in the welcoming gesture. “We will attend to you all shortly.”

A mischievous thought flashed in Alex mind, with extremely gallant, yet lightning-like (not giving the princess any chance to retreat), gesture Alex took her hoof and with another bow barely touched with his lips above the golden attire, inhaling the faint roses aroma.

“Your Highness!”

Rarity froze on spot, Celestia’s eyes met at her bridge, as she stared at Alex with her nose and cheeks getting pinkish; then she threw a quick glance at Twilight, forgetting to put her leg down, despite nobody held it already.

“It’s just an ancient human tradition to greet a noble lady!” Twilight obviously lately paid more attention to small details of human studies, than Celestia did. Her wide smile could make any dentist cry of despair and realization of self-uselessness, when she warmly greeted Rarity and Alex… keeping her hooves on the floor though and not letting to play the same trick with her. “Welcome, friends!”

“Oh!” Celestia finally put her hoof down, quickly checking, if anypony saw the scene, her cheeks were still out of their usual colour. “Ahem…”

Twilight intercepted the glance, Alex scanned the large hall with methodically, she raised to her hind legs and leaned to his ear.

“She will come down later, Alex. Still preparing something. She didn’t tell what exactly,” with sly sparkles in her eyes Twilight watched confused Alex.

“Come on, Alex, only Spike is more obvious than you,” she added in half voice, nodding and welcoming Alex and Rarity to join the herd in the hall.

“Please, don’t tell that you invited Discord likewise…” Celestia asked Twilight barely audibly, but Alex was able to hear the hope in her voice.

Among the gathering guests Alex quickly found the ponies, he at least knew well, maybe because they stayed near the entrance, instinctively supporting their friend, or maybe because Rarity’s style was truly unique, making the girls stand out from the herd easily. Anyway, Alex nodded to Rarity, drawing her attention to their friends and changing the course.

“Applejack, Pinkie, what a wonderful evening, girls!” almost murmured Rarity, throwing another spear glance at Alex, who made his best diplomatic expression and greeted the girls with a light bow, obviously noticing their slightly strained smiles.

“Good evening!” Applejack and Pinkie reservedly and almost synchronously waved and Pinkie added barely audibly. “Unfortunately not everypony is able to enjoy it…” getting a light nudge from Applejack, whose smile at that moment became even wider.

Alex inwardly admitted that he deserved a good kick for all that, thus when Applejack addressed him, using the moment Rarity told something Pinkie about her dress, he was ready to listen to all the unsightly truth about himself. The bigger was his surprise to hear otherwise.

“Look, partner, Ah’m not going to spoil the evening by that talk,” Applejack squinted towards girls to be sure they are still busy. “Not going to judge you both, yer are adult ponies… Eh…”

“It’s okay, I get what you mean,” Alex nodded with a tiny smile.

“If you did this exactly, Ah believe there were some reasons, right, pal?” Applejack looked over her shoulder, Rarity was still explaining to Pinkie that the dress needed to be worn with grace, not hopping like a doe. “Ah’m going to trust Twilight’s judgment in that case…”

“Thanks, Jackie!” breathed out Alex. “Despite how pathetic it may sound now, I… we had reasons forsooth. I admit, I started worrying about that too late, mayhap even when nothing can be helped already.”

“Wait, Alex,” frowned Applejack. “Ah said, Ah need no explanation now. What Ah was going to tell – please, be smart, pal!” she nodded towards Rarity meaningfully. “And… one more thing. Don’t let Pinkie catch ya for a talk, she is full of determination to tumble ya for leaving Flutters.”

“Excuse me, girls, but I need to take Ahlex away from you! Have fun…” Rarity cheerfully dragged him further on under the fixed look of pouting Pinkie.

In the last half of an hour Alex greeted an uncountable set of guests, it seemed Rarity knew personally the lion’s share of Canterlot beau monde; he had time to get tired of nodding, supporting the more or less meaningful small talks and smiling, smiling, smiling… while accurately looking around every time possible.

‘Whither is Luna?’

He was able to sneak away from Rarity a few times and meet the ponies, he knew; there were not many of those though. Alex stopped by Mr. Rich once again and interested, if the latter got his party of goods in time and decent quality, getting a cheerful “yeah” back; Mrs. Rich looked at Alex far more benevolently after him sympathizing their problem.

Mayor Mare asked Alex, if he liked his stay in Ponyville, and Alex wholeheartedly dispelled her concerns, rightfully supposing that mentioning the single case at the bar is unnecessary. Although, he wondered, if her question was more of the professional nature, but she looked quite sincere.

“Excellent, dear!” with a smile she patted his arm lightly. “The longer you stay, the more you enjoy our quiet town. You’ll see!” Alex inhaled loudly.

Rarity intercepted him again and introduced to a bunch of stylishly looking ponies – owners of a few fashionable boutiques in Canterlot – as she explained. A few mares and a stallion, each one gave due attention to their looks and congratulated them (mostly Rarity) for “masterful approach”, “pushing apart the boundaries” and something else Alex didn’t trouble himself to remember.

Frankly speaking, the rainbow flickering of the guests in their colourful dresses behind his eyes started tiring Alex slightly, he escaped the “fashion club”, voicing some plausible reason, and leaned on the column in a quieter corner, observing the hall; they made almost full circle with Rarity and the guests kept coming, making the scene properly herded. Alex thought, that some actual entertainment wouldn’t be detrimental already.

There was another problem: while Alex was perfectly able to enjoy the drinks on the Gala, the light snacks were not designed for humans completely. Alex had no doubt in his ability to digest, for example, a daisy sandwich; he was rather unsure about that process being enjoyable though. That wasn’t, of course, something to blame the organization for, but evidently added to his feeling of not entirely belonging.

Deep into his thoughts, Alex didn’t notice a light touch on his sleeve at once.

“Oh…” he emerged to the reality, focusing on the mid-age pastille unicorn with suddenly bright yellow sandy mane in simple, but very expensive looking tuxedo and thin glasses, aiding sharp insightful grey eyes. “I’m sorry, was carried away a bit… Can I help you, sir?”

“Most definitely,” the stallion levitated his glass aside and bowed slightly. “As obviously you are exactly that Alex, I’ve been told about, there is hardly any other of your kin in Equestria, right?” he sported a small smile.

Alex nodded, his interlocutor’s serious and official tone suggested listening to him very attentively.

“I’m Solid Deal.”

“It’s nice to meet you, sir! But…” with semi-questioning intonation Alex showed polite interest and perplexity at the same time.

“I’m from Canterlot Steam Company,” Solid Deal elaborated, while Alex strained inwardly. “Somepony, I guess your good friend, suggested me to pay attention to a few interesting devices, built lately in Ponyville.”

Alex raised one eyebrow.

“I decided to see with my own eyes… and must say that I was quite impressed with what I saw, sir,” the unicorn made a wide gesture with his fore hoof. “A fashion boutique with local production, two different households, a farm…”

“Well… the farm is still in the making,” humbly amended Alex, suspecting the further course of their conversation and mentally praising himself for foresight.

“It doesn’t matter, sir, it is!” Solid Deal nodded meaningfully. “And I’m informed about your future plans…”

“A shop and few more households, maybe something else, yes,” Alex confirmed, looking directly in his collocutor eyes. “So, what do you think about them?”

“I still can’t forgive myself, and in my face the whole company, that we overlooked such an opportunity,” Solid Deal’s tone was a bit grumpy, yet humorous, and Alex noticed how he funnily wrinkled his nose in a theatrical frown. “As I said, I was impressed. By how you incorporated various power sources as well. Power from thin air,” he shook his head. “But what’s done is done. We’re catching up here.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Alex… Can I call you “Alex”, sir?” After short confirmation Solid Deal continued. “I made inquiries in the patent office…” Alex held his breath. “… you so promptly addressed recently. They confirmed your invention status, actually they have already sent you all the patent documents, must arrive shortly.”

Alex inwardly took a deep breath, not letting an overly enthusiastic smile appear on his face. Meanwhile, Solid Deal sipped from his glass and changed his tone from jokingly grumpy to purely business.

“Naturally, I have a suggestion, well, Canterlot Steam Company does rather. With all respect, you can’t cope with mass production, which actually your device demands for. This is exactly our company’s turf, thus we could use your invention and launch it, for suitable compensation and to mutual profit, of course. What would you say, Alex?”

Alex inhaled, grasping his nerves in a fist and pondering about how daring he felt actually.

“The suggestion is very interesting, I admit; moreover, I’d be happy to co-operate, sir. Methinks forty percent could be called that “suitable compensation” exactly,” he stated insinuatingly.

“My!” the glasses even jumped on Solid Deal’s nose. “I knew, it wasn’t going to be easy, but… That’s a strike, sir! I was going to offer twenty actually. Twenty percent of the income is quite a nice compensation for non-exclusive rights, as I think this exactly what you are aimed at.”

“Thirty.”

“Hmmm…” the unicorn cupped his chin with the fore hoof, he threw a quick glance up at Alex, then stared into his glass, like if the solution of his dilemma could be fished up there.

“Come on, sir!” reminded about himself Alex. “Simply imagine the conveyor belt with new shiny generators with CSC logo on them.”

Suddenly Solid Deal laughed loud.

“Okay! You have convinced me. Thirty. That’s final offer…”

“And I keep exclusive rights on development,” quickly added Alex. “So, I am responsible for future improvements of construction, technology and so on.”

“That was exactly what I was told about,” the unicorn sighed. “That you would give me some hard time making that deal.”

“But we will have priority, implementing every improvement you make,” squinted he.

“Of course,” Alex nodded. “And if the company can’t make any details, we produce the necessary.”

“Oh, that hardly will be the case,” chuckled Solid Deal, not believing in such a nonsense, that Canterlot Steam Company can’t cope with some hardware; yet he threw an estimating glance at Alex. “Okay! Thirty percent of income, exclusive development is yours and exclusive production is ours… unless we can’t manage something. In that unlikely case we call for your help. I suppose, I missed nothing,” summarized the unicorn.

“Deal!” Alex and Solid Deal shared a hoof bump and the stallion added. “I’ll send you the documents to make it official, supposedly you have somepony to assist you with legal aspects and present your interests, checking them, so we can quickly reach the final consensus.”

“Rest assured, I do,” Alex nodded with a smile. ‘I need to ask Twilight to have a look or help me find an attorney as soon as possible.’

“Excellent!” Solid Deal nodded. “I wish you to enjoy the Gala, sir. And I’m more than sure that you are capable to entertain yourself, if needs be.”

“Same to you!” Alex saluted with the half-empty glass, the drink was familiar apple cider, light and refreshing. “And thank you, Solid Deal!”

Alex took a look around the large hall, the herd became even bigger, if that was possible, and Alex thought, if any dances were supposed, the majority would need to spread along the walls to provide some entirely free space. Lazily listening to the rhythmic hum of ponies talking, he scanned the scene, when his glance was intercepted by princess Celestia; realizing that she gained his attention, she nodded to him from the middle of the sea of ponies.

He pushed himself away from the column, with a thankful smile left his glass on the tray of the young unicorn maid; lingering when necessary, apologizing, smiling Alex without much effort made his way through the herd to the princess.

“Your Highness?”

“Finally, you found something to entertain yourself at our Gala, Alex, a few ponies you know and share common interests,” Celestia’s tone was peaceful, despite his trick. “I’m glad you can enjoy it.”

“Well, I met a few old acquaintances yes,” Alex took another wide look over the hall. “and made a couple of new useful ones indeed. But without your regal sister, princess,” he bowed his head slightly. “Without princess Luna the event seems to be unforgivably incomplete.”

“Oh, I see…” Celestia let out a tiny smile and Alex noticed two sparkles of amusement deep in her eyes. “The evening has just started and she was preparing something special, not even telling me… Besides, princess Luna is to attend to her usual duties, Alex.”

After those words Alex really noticed that the princess has already lowered the Sun and darkness flooded everything behind the castle windows; he didn’t pay attention to the night subtly claiming its rights because of bright lights of the Gala.

“Truth be told,” Celestia suddenly changed the topic, fixedly watching Alex. “I expected you coming with Fluttershy… if you found any interest in the event. But I can’t even see her anywhere, and you making Rarity a company instead. Is everything alright with Fluttershy, Alex? You were close enough, therefore I decided to ask you.”

“It’s a long story, your highness,” with a heavy sigh Alex looked up at the princess.

“I think, I have some time for a brief exposition,” with a kind, yet unobjectionable smile Celestia encouraged further explanation.

“Close enough is mildly said, your highness,” Alex braced himself inwardly, telling their story as it was.

“…it became stronger than ourselves finally. I can barely cope with the break now and Shy… apologies… and Fluttershy even wanted to affect mine decisions, those she judged to be dangerous to mine wellbeing. You can see, princess, mine own concern returneth to me to strike mine own back… twice harder, it seemeth.”

“The girl is quite strong in her affections indeed,” quietly stated Celestia, closing her eyes. Then she looked directly into Alex’s again. “But that’s not the only case, right?”

“Verily! I realized, mayhap too late forsooth,” Alex confusedly looked aside, while Celestia squinted, catching his thickening accent. “That the imminent partying would be unbearable for us both… especially for her. The more severe, the longer we keep the unity.”

“Apologies, princess!” Alex interrupted his story, noticing Rarity, sending him welcoming signs across the hall, and waved back, gesticulating that he could come in a few minutes. Thus the sad long look, Celestia gave him, passed completely unnoticed and didn’t alert Alex, while it definitely was to.

“So… That’s purely mine decision, princess, and arrant mine guilt, but we needed to cool our heads up. I don’t know any solution for that now, have no idea, whether we can come to something anon, in the earnest.”

“I see,” Celestia nodded shortly and to his relief Alex didn’t spot any disapproval in her sigh.

“Rarity did me quite a few favours, your highness. So, at which hour she asked me to join her at the Gala, I agreed without any back thought, as her friend and out of pure gratitude. And… And Fluttershy… decided that if ‘t be true she wasn’t coming with me, she wasn’t coming at all,” Alex let out a heavy sigh. “So, yes, I am forsooth guilty of her absence.”

“It’s a complicated question, Alex. Guilt and…” Celestia slowly shook her head. “There are too many complicated questions arising lately.”

“You need to hurry,” she lightly touched his shoulder. “It seems Rarity is showing impatience already!”

“By your leave, your highness!” Alex nodded and Celestia waved permissively with a smile. Thoughts about Fluttershy made Alex miss the fair dose of concern in her expression again.

He tried to tune in a brighter mood on his way to Rarity, slowly making his way through the ponies, wandering around, and trying to switch his thoughts towards the unexpected luck with the Canterlot Steam Company. Suddenly he realized that in absence of Luna (Alex didn’t see her yet), he was the second largest creature at the Gala after Celestia, and not less bright one in his white clothes, protruding like an iceberg above the herd; that mischievous thought made Alex chuckle. He threw a glance to the orchestra, playing something soothing and unintrusive, heating up before the actual performance for the dancing couples; the kapellmeister though looked a little nervous, scanning the hall for something or somepony.

“What amused you, darling?” Rarity raised on her hind legs, taking Alex under the arm finally and catching a few surprised glances from the guests.

“Oh, something quite important just happened,” Alex looked at her, leaning her head to his arm. “If I’m lucky, I may consider my generators to start being profitable at last.”

“And you, are you enjoying the evening, Rarity?” asked Alex, watching the herd; the single guests were still coming, despite the Gala was officially open for quite a while – nopony thought it was a totally bad idea to be late to the beginning, the most important thing was to be at the event anyway. He stopped a waiter and took a couple of glasses from his tray, offering one to Rarity and trying the refreshment himself. There was some light wine in them, not usual apple cider, Alex got used to in Ponyville, but something with complex vinegar, fruits and flowers blend.

“Ahlex, darling, I do, without any doubts,” Rarity raised her voice a bit to overshadow the orchestra and took the glass with her aura, releasing Alex and throwing a starry glance at him. “Naturally, when you attend to them all, they become slightly boring, dear: same talks, same stilted snobs, to be honest,” she batted her lush eyelashes. “I asked you to keep me company within reason, Ahlex – now it is completely different.”

“And I’m happy, it turned out that way,” she graciously leaned on his hand, causing Alex to kneel to her eye level.

“For the plans, which are coming true!” she raised the glass, floating it with her magic, with a bright smile, looking into Alex’s eyes.

“For our plans!” Alex supported her toast most neutrally, he spotted the sly sparkles deep into Rarity’s eyes, but could do nothing about it, except being twice more careful. Their glasses met with a tingling sound and they sipped the wine, doing it well deserved justice.

“Hmmm… This year it’s excellent,” Rarity squinted, enjoying it. “I wonder, if princess Celestia changed the…”

She suddenly stumbled and Alex noticed anxiety in her widened eyes, which looked at something… or somepony behind his back.

“Excuse me,” Alex softly touched her shoulder, slowly getting up and turning to the source of Rarity’s obvious unease. He didn’t notice anything particularly alarming there, just two unicorns in their evening dress, most likely a married couple, belonging to Canterlot high society, as Alex could determine in a couple of seconds, while he examined them. They stared at him in return with a strange mix of interest and hauteur.

“Oh, who do we see here?” the eyes of a grey stallion with the dark-grey mane focused on Rarity, who seemed to forget completely about her happiness, she proclaimed just a second before. Alex spotted a shadow of vile pleasure in them, as the unicorn in tuxedo looked like a school bully, who noticed his favourite victim. “ Dear Rarity,” this sounded like a mockery, falling from his thin mouth. “I hope, you are enjoying the evening.”

The olive unicorn mare with white and light-violet mane kept staring at Alex, like at some rare specimen. She could look very pretty in her evening dress, if not a constant faint expression on her muzzle, like if something not very pleasantly smelling was placed under her nose.

With an inward sigh Alex looked back at Rarity, her desperate glance clearly said “And here troubles begin!”, but she grasped herself and addressed the couple with a forced smile (which seemed painful enough to Alex).

“Good evening, Jet Set! Upper Crust! I suppose, you’re enjoying the gala… We surely do,” she tried her best to look and sound cheerful, but it came out noticeably forced, through gritted teeth to be honest.

“My! You came with a partner,” the stallion showed simulated amaze, like if spotting Alex just at that moment. “Well, dear Rarity, maybe you introduce us…”

“Of course,” reservedly said Rarity. “Where was my head? This is Alex, my good friend and… a human, as you both might notice.”

“Alex,” she turned to him and he heard how her voice trembled ever so slightly. “Let me introduce you Jet Set and his lovely wife Upper Crust,” Alex heard faint irony tint at the word “lovely”, while Rarity continued. “Significant – I won’t lie, saying that – part of Canterlot toffs.”

“It’s been a pleasure,” nodded Alex diplomatically, inwardly getting ready for anything, as he knew that facial expression – a ruffian was always a ruffian, of the upper class or not.

“A human?!” Jet Set’s voice seemed to gain an octave in fake surprise. “I’ve never heard about such thing. Did you, darling?” he turned to Upper Crust, sounding like “Wow, that thing talks!”

“No, dear, never,” his wife slowly shook her beautiful head with a sly smile. Jet Set made a step back, as if he wanted to see Alex better as the whole.

“To me it looks like a big talking ape…” musingly muttered he, examining Alex from head to shoes. “Where did you get it from, Rarity? And more important, what for?”

Alex squinted at the couple, gritting his teeth. A small town bar or regal function, morons were omnipresent, but he couldn’t simply knock this one off, compromising Celestia’s Gala. Rarity noticed, how the nodules jumped up and down on Alex’s cheeks, when he tried his best to keep calm. Meanwhile, Jet Set continued.

“I wonder, what are you keeping it for, Rarity? Surely an ape can’t be a sterling companion for the Gala… Oh, you had it dressed, quite fancy I must admit…” he chuckled, welcoming his wife to share his entertainment. Alex noticed, how a small herd started to gather around them four, sticking their fluffy ears to an obviously heating talk. “Are you going to advertise your new line here that way? But you were always stitching for ponies, not apes, if I’m not mistaking…”

Upper Crust giggled evilly, while Rarity was about to burst into tears, keeping herself restrained by a monstrous effort.

“Or maybe, you need it for some other service, heavy lifting, guarding… Or some other kind of things,” concluded Jet Set in a manifestly vulgar tone. “I’ve heard, apes were specifically dexterous at some… errmmm… physical activities,” he smirked, glancing at the nearby witnesses with the expression of a hooligan, successfully throwing his best (at being the worst) trick.

Alex looked at Rarity, her lips trembled, she swallowed the treacherous lump, trying hard not to let a single tear out. She raised her big shiny eyes at him, noticing, how Alex’s own eyes started to darken with the rage slowly boiling inside.

“Rarity, mine lief, givest thy… mantle to me, please,” Alex leaned to her, gently touching her shoulder. Rarity nodded in confusion, having no idea what Alex needed it for, but allowing him to take it.

Alex dragged fine silk mantle off her shoulders and slowly folded it, then once again, making the cloth piece in his hands shorter and thicker; he then quickly stepped to the unicorn, who was still smiling, but not so confidently already.

“I extend mine hope, that thou spoke with full responsibility for thy words!.. Sir…” added Alex mockingly. “Ergo the retribution is not a surprise for thee, moreover, thou can support thy claims by thy deeds, as insulting the lady isn’t something, I count an act of dignity!” and with those words Alex slapped Jet Set on his muzzle with the folded mantle several times, with considerable strength. “Or shall I consider thee a filthy ruffian, a lump of cowardice henceforth?”

That made an effect of the triggered bomb, Upper Crust simply gawked at Alex with utterly stupid expression, while her husband was plain stunned. Not for long though.

“You!!!” almost roared he. “I’ll crush your miserable ape ass for that!”

“Mine impatience in waiting is endless forsooth!” Alex folded the hands on his chest, measuring the unicorn with the glance of the naturalist, spotting a rare vermin. Rarity gasped at his words and realization of what might follow. “Carest to choose thy weapon… sir! However, pickest wisely, as the magic is not going to provide the desired effect,” chuckled Alex.

“Huh! I need no weapon, filthy critter,” Jet Set was beside himself of anger, his horn lit with the magic. “Prepare to be tossed, like some pretentious trash, you actually are!”

Rarity closed her eyes, she knew too well, what would happen. A bright flash was followed by somepony’s bewildered choked shout; when Rarity opened her eyes, she saw, just like everypony gathering around them, how Jet Set was hung in the air by his tail, surrounded seemingly by his own magical aura. Alex stood next to Rarity with an uninvolved look, lazily observing the unicorn, which was slowly turning, being sometimes jerked higher, then lowered again. Jet Set muttered muffled curses, straining himself to free from the grasp, becoming a frightening surprise for him, his wife was close to syncope.

“What’s going on here, pray tell?!” the soft, but stern voice drowned out the choir of ponies, gathering around them.

Alex looked over his shoulder, noticing princess Celestia in her sumptuous dress, working her way through quite a herd, which subtly gathered around the place of the incident. She approached him and Rarity and looked at the playing out scene over Alex’s shoulder.

“Alex!” Celestia threw a quick glance at him. “Could you, please, put him down?”

“Mine sincere apologies, princess,” Alex looked up to her muzzle, his eyes were laughing, while he kept the serious face. “I have no power to do ‘t, in the earnest. As you may remember, I can’t cast.”

Celestia sighed, closing her eyes, while Alex continued.

“Tis… no more brain than a stone je… Apologies! Tis… stallion insulted Rarity, so, I saw my duty in standing for her. I challenged him to a duel, your highness, leaving him the choice.”

“Alex!” Celestia’s voice was reproving, but he could hear a stifled laughter in it and she returned him the mischievous glance.

“I warned him about magic becoming a certain problem, in the earnest. But he preferred to try nevertheless. The rest you can have a pleasure watching, your highness.”

Meanwhile, Jet Set kept spinning, his powers were ceasing and he twitched weakly, still trying to set himself free. Upper Crust tossed beneath him, bending her fore legs pleadingly.

“Princess!!! Please…”

“If ‘t be true he stoppeth trying to grab me with his magic,” noticed Alex calmly. “He hath a fair chance to become free… from his own magic immediately. I’m not insisting, tis merely a friendly suggestion.”

Celestia snorted, apparently this farce was too much for her already, yet Alex noticed that she wasn’t entirely upset about Jet Set getting his punishment. It seemed that he had it coming for some tricks alike, he might throw quite often. A golden beam from Celestia’s horn set the stallion unconscious… and the magical bond ceased immediately, as Jet Set couldn’t apply his magic anymore. His unconscious self smacked down, landing on the muzzle, quite hurtfully, as Alex could suppose, but nopony, except Upper Crust, seemed to be very much concerned about that.

Celestia waved to the guards, ordering them to take the unconscious troublemaker to the hospital. Whining and throwing angry glances at Alex Upper Crust followed. Rarity, who seemed to wake up from her stupor at that moment only, convulsively grabbed his hand; Alex granted her with an encouraging smile.

The least sound, Alex expected to hear at that moment, was applause, but he was to admit, there were them exactly. Alex looked around to spot two stallions, who approached and watched the whole scene and now stomped their fore hooves on the stone floor, producing the sound, evidently supposed to be the local variant of applause. They threw utterly amused glances at leaving Jet Set and his wife, then turned to Alex.

“Mine gratitude!” Alex bowed theatrically, smirking.

“This was quite a show,” the pink stallion with white mane let out a sincere smile. “Thank you… Sorry, I don’t know your name, sir. Finally, that jerk had it fully on his own head.”

“Yeah,” confirmed another one – the white slender pegasus with light-grey mane. “Jet Set is always so unbearable, trying to show by any means, he finds applicable, that he is higher, than anything or anypony, especially those he can’t understand or accept personally.”

“He is full of his xenophobia and coxcombry,” nodded the pink stallion. “But this may teach him a lesson! Although, he is extremely amnesic to good lessons, if this is the same Jet Set, I know.”

Both stallions giggled, bringing their heads together.

“Oh,” remembered the pink one. “Where are my manners? I’m Slingshot… and if you find races interesting, I suppose you must have heard my name occasionally…”

“A name like a good spaceship launch,” Alex let out a smile.

“And this is my coltfriend,” Slingshot gently leaned on pegasus’ shoulder. “Silver Chord. He is an artist, Vocal Chord’s guitarist. Ever heard of Vocal Chord band?”

“Do I look like one, who does?” chuckled Alex. “No, sorry… Cause I’m a human and… I’m… in transit here. Hope I do,” added Alex barely audibly, then continued louder. “I’m Alex. Well, I’m magically resistant, which this guy failed to comprehend, thus getting it back on him.”

“It’s been a pleasure,” sincerely said Slingshot and Silver Chord nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve heard something about humans as a foal, but never thought I could meet one… when I heard that royal announcement, I thought, it was… well, it didn’t sound serious to me,” he shrugged with an apologetic smile.

Alex felt a soft warm touch on his arm and his eyes met with Rarity’s; she quietly approached and wrapped her fore legs around him.

“Ahlex, darling, do you still need it,” she pointed at his hand and Alex realized that he was still holding her folded mantle.

“No, Rarity, thanks. And sorry…” Alex covered her shoulders with the silky cloth; Rarity rubbed her cheek on his arm.

“But why? You shouldn’t be, that was quite…”

“You are with Rarity,” a wide smile appeared on Silver Chord’s muzzle. “Congratulations, she‘s quite a figure in the fashion world. So it was her, you stepped in for against this moron…”

“Twice more points to you,” added Slingshot, he raised his fore hoof and Alex shared a hoofbump without hesitation.

“Well, enjoy the night,” said Slingshot, after Alex introduced both stallions to Rarity, who appeared to know Silver Chord’s music, but wasn’t a fan of races, so Slingshot was a new pony to her. “And remember, if you come to watch the races, find me, free tickets to Jet Set’s “teacher” and his company,” he winked and both stallions mingled with the herd.

Rarity snuggled into Alex, but before she was able to say anything, they heard fast approaching hoofsteps. Celestia, who managed to sort the problem out at that moment, was followed by her sister.

At the sight of the younger princess Alex gasped, all the thoughts flew out of this head at once, leaving it empty and quickly filling with the thumping sound of his racing heart.

Apparently, not only Rarity decided to play on the contrasts tonight. Alex knew from the girls, who mentioned the galas shortly, that princess Luna usually preferred the dresses of the classic fashion: wide hem, tightly fitting bodice, high and lush collar; besides, the colours were always matching or fitting her starry mane and tail. The more stunning her current experiment looked, making quite a few, if not the majority of, heads turn and follow her for a while with a mixture of shock and rapture in the glance.

Alex, who wasn’t visually familiar with usual Luna’s style, froze on spot like a stalagmite, forgetting about all the words, frozen on the tip of his tongue, and simply staring, staring, staring… Contrary to the tradition, Luna chose the blinding white colour for that night and Alex thought that the long seemingly glowing from inside gown could easily make his own costume drop out of the competition as grey and dull in comparison. The dress, strapless, unique in its simplicity, yet elegance, tightly fitted Luna’s figure, advantageously emphasizing all the lady curves it was supposed to. It started under princess’ fore legs, forming the proper décolleté and probably using some magic to hold in place, silkily embraced her body and freely flowed down with quite narrow long hem. Sporting no visible décor or accessories, it simply shone, emphasizing Luna’s coat and starry-night mane in full glory of their variety of blue tones, and Rarity’s slightly opened mouth clearly told that half of Carousel Boutique could be bought for a roll of the fabric that fabulous dress was made of. The tiara-like crown and silvery hoofwear were the same, but Luna complemented the ensemble with the different, narrower and more elegant necklace, so it didn’t overshadow heavily her décolleté.

When Alex regained his ability to breath, he absently noted that Luna’s dress in its hemline is barely fitting the pony anatomy, making the princess move with short quick steps to pace with the older sister. Although, it had a high cut on one side, almost at the entire leg length; the edges were held together with silver clasps at that moment, but apparently the cut could be used for more comfortable movement at any time. Alex realized that the whole dress was designed to satisfy and highlight the moment, they both anticipated the most; the glimpse of Luna’s cutie mark made his heard jump and a small content smile curled princess’ lips.

“Well, thankfully Jet Set didn’t suffer much and we may deem the incident over… technically,” Celestia still looked concerned. “Are you alright, both of you? Alex… Alex!”

“Ahem… Princess? Apologies!” Alex twitched and emerged to the reality, looking up to the white alicorn; his eyes slowly returned to their usual size.

“The ponies keep discussing it and hardly anything can be done about that!”

“Excuse me, princess, I can’t help that,” Alex shrugged, clearing his throat and turning to the younger sister.

“You royal highness, princess Luna!” Alex followed the formal protocol, bowing with the whole elegance he was capable of, while still lavishing glances of delight. “Now the evening seems to be complete finally, like your Night after the moonrise!”

“Alex, Rarity, good evening!” with a dainty smile, yet bright and extremely sly sparkles in her eyes, Luna bowed slightly, responding to Alex’s compliment and the reverence of finally unfrozen Rarity. Then the shadow of concern tinted her serene face and she addressed her sister. “I must have missed some incident. What exactly our subjects keep discussing, Tia?”

Celestia lingered with the answer, looking at Alex fixedly instead; he sighed, visibly pondering about the words to describe the situation, which would be less provoking the explosion. Alex remembered Luna’s reaction to the incident in the bar, Jet Set had a fair chance of his unconscious self to be kicked once again and considerably harder this time. Besides, making Rarity come through the details of that talk again seemed unnecessary to him.

“Your Highness, we came across… one of Rarity’s acquaintances,” Alex tried his best at keeping the poker face and neutrality in the tone. “He wasn’t the epitome of mannerliness, to tell the truth… Perhaps he never saw a human prior… Errmmm… Possibly he masked his surprise under being simply rude, but… he ended up voicing the suspicion that I was an “ape”. Maybe my posture made him say so…” diplomatically added he, inwardly shrugging and getting ready to what might follow.

Pause! Watching how Luna closed her eyes and pursed lips Alex almost felt the electricity quickly filling the air.

“Ape?” Luna’s voice was quiet, yet full of arctic ice. “Posture?..” added she slightly louder and the metal notes in her voice made Alex think that it would be hardly smart to calm her down by the well-tried method in front of the whole herd. Yet he would gladly take the risks, if she continued in the Royal Canterlot Voice, whatever happening after…

“I shall show them the “posture”…” hissed Luna, squinting, her nose became pinkish from stifled rage. “Well, Merlin’s pants!..” dropped she suddenly with a challenge, making Alex literally drop his jaw. A few nearby ponies interrupted their talks, turning to their small company and watching with growing interest.

Luna’s horn flashed with a bright magic orb, making everypony, including Alex, froze; Alex thought that he even pitied the poor moron, as he knew, Luna was perfectly capable to reach Jet Set from here. But the magic aura enveloped Luna herself instead, leaving Alex guessing, what idea came into that pretty head.

When the flash faded, surprised and shocked sigh rolled across the hall accompanied by the loud trumpet sound from the orchestra podium – somepony clearly had less self-control and expressed their awe by breathing into the instrument accidentally. Now the dress was completely fitting, as Alex could notice with great relish: the décolleté, the narrow hem, the high cut – everything; despite being totally inspirational move, Luna’s spell came awesomely to the place.

Luna stood on her hind legs: not raised for a while, but exactly stood, quite comfortably, as she managed to alter her posture to become closer in shape to Alex. He completely understood those who gawked at the Princess of the Night, including the kapellmeister; Twilight mentioned polymorph magic once briefly, but Alex never saw it in action before. Although, the kapellmeister was professional to the bone, and despite the initial shock, followed each princess’ move with great attention; Alex started understanding, what she was going to undertake.

So, Luna kept her natural muzzle, mane, tail, hooves, everything a dignified alicorn should have, but she made herself smaller in size, completely fitting Alex’s height. She could move on two legs fluently now, freeing her “hands” to hold on the supposed partner. The dress fitted her like the second skin and Alex involuntarily noted that Luna remembered his first dream she visited, making the décolleté be not only a “concept”. Yet Alex was thankful, she didn’t mimic the whole girl appearance from their first “meeting”, staying the same Luna he loved and anticipated to see on that gala.

With another spark of her magic Luna unfastened a few clasps to be able to move faster, her mane formed a starry halo around her, when she quickly approached Alex, who barely stifled the urge to touch the silky coat of her leg visible through the high cut. He raised his bewildered glance on her instead, having no words.

“Follow me, lief!” Luna grabbed his hand gently, but firmly, and proudly cocked her head, making a barely noticeable nod towards the kapellmeister, who quickly turned to the orchestra and with a single glance brought the surprised herd to order. The familiar melody broke the forced silence and Alex let out a small smile, looking into princess’ bottomless eyes.

“Let’s show them… apes. Hmpf!!!” Luna dragged him to the center of the hall, where guests already formed widening free space, properly guessing their intent.

“Luna you’re simply… That was incredible,” whispered Alex. “What would Tia say though?”

“We shall find out a zilch anon,” Luna’s eyelashes flew up, the sly sparkles danced in her eyes. “I admit that wasn’t in mine plans, Alex. But came out quite nicely, considering I didn’t practice polymorph magic since last Nightmare Night; besides, we can dance easier now, mine lief!” She turned to him, reaching the spot.

Alex gallantly caught her silver shod fore hoof and placed his left hand on Luna’s waist gently, causing a barely audible sigh of excitement. He started leading without the delay, as the orchestra finished warming up and already played the melody, they had enough time to learn to be able to reproduce with closed eyes and probably tied hooves. Luna nodded approvingly, she didn’t spent her free time for nothing, being able to move properly without any count or noticeable guiding. Alex wondered how much time she spent training lately, as the dance came out fluently for her; Luna even was able to maintain the conversation without concentrating tensely on what her body was doing at every single moment.

“I thought about having the fingers likewise,” Luna placed her free hoof on Alex’s shoulder, the starry glance of her eyes seemed to pierce to the bottom of his soul. “But reconsidered the last moment. I didn’t try to turn into humans ever yet… Having an idea to try the same look thou hast observed in thy first dream, I entered, I was afraid to do something wrongly, lief! Henceforth hither I am of mine best effort…”

“People, my princess, people,” chuckled Alex lightly, holding her like the greatest treasure in the universe, advancing in cadena, making Luna step back, controlling the movements, minding the tail and at the same time enjoying the whole thing immensely. “I’m greatly thankful, you stopped, where you did, in the earnest. The result is exceeding all mine expectations!”

“Thou shan’t argue, that it’s easier to dance like that; I supposed that, but was surprised how much it is!” Luna snuggled to him, sharing the strong beat of her heart and feeling his one racing; she let out a satisfied smile. “Of course, it’s different from what I experienced afore, even on two legs, but amazingly easier, despite I didn’t try it,” she advanced in her turn, keeping her muzzle inches from Alex’s face, their glances constantly chained. The visible effort, Alex made, not to kiss her right at that moment, apparently brought her much pleasure.

“Oh, you are overly modest tonight, my love,” Alex brought her even closer, enjoying the look of dilated blue eyes. “You are wonderfully accurate and graceful, your highness! I couldn’t ask for more…” He spun Luna in a swirl, letting her away, holding on one hoof, then drew back, embracing from behind, enjoying the silky coat of her shoulders.

“Flatterer!” breathed out Luna, tilting her head back on his shoulder and almost touching Alex’s ear with her lips. “Although, thou art a good teacher, admit it.”

“I’m trying to conform you, my princess,” Alex chuckled, unable to shift his glance from her, from Luna’s smile, eyes, excitedly perked fluffy ears, from fast breathing and stretching the fabric of the dress chest.

Nopony dared to make them company in their dance, the guests kept the wide open space, Alex and Luna conquered entirely. The eyes of majority returned to their orbits already, yet the ponies followed them with the mix of surprised, amazed, enjoying and completely shocked glances. Among the herd with stunned, smiling and frowning muzzles (although, with the light heart Alex noticed that the frowning were in minority) Alex spotted two familiar stallions, sporting wide joyous grins; Solid Deal, whose eyes looked round behind the glasses, which he took off and started wiping, like trying to verify his vision; another unknown rank and fashion stallion with a beautiful young mare, the stallion nodded and a small smile curled his accurate moustache, his marefriend leaned on his shoulder with dreamy look. Then two mid age mares got into Alex’s field of view, those were frowning disapprovingly, pursing their lips; Alex noticed with a bit of gloating, they lacked the partners evidently.

Celestia’s and Rarity’s muzzles, who managed to get their feelings under control and watched him and Luna with eyes probably slightly wider than usual…

Then guests, walls with chandeliers, high dark windows, everything merged into smudged colourful stripes. Luna’s mane surrounded them, touched Alex’s shoulders and face, they both were in their own lavender fragrant world, others were unable to reach or affect.

“So, what hath happened actually, mine lief?” Luna performed exemplar molino, holding Alex’s shoulder and keeping eye contact.

“Everything was almost perfect,” Alex rolled his eyes. “Almost, because I tried to find you futilely all the time. Then a couple approached, it appeared that Rarity knew both well. Jet Set…”

“Oh!” Luna sigh was self-explanatory. “Tia didn’t have time to explain, but I arrant understand it now. After mine ill-mannered nephew Blueblood Jet Set is the second major Rarity’s disappointment in Canterlot upper crust… Excuse mine pun!” Luna smirked.

Alex briefly told her the rest of the incident between Rarity and Jet Set, not going deep into the details. He noticed in astonishment that Luna performed her part perfectly, almost automatically doing all the moves; she used her newfound biped form for the maximum advantage, trying the elements, they talked about, but barely tried with her, while learning. Thankfully Alex was ready to that turn right from the moment, she used her polymorph magic; although, he kept wondering, what she was going to undertake next.

“…and that was obviously too much to let slide,” Alex made a face. “I took Rarity’s shawl and slapped him nicely on the muzzle, telling everything, I thought about him and his manners.”

“So, thou practically…” chuckled Luna.

“Yes, I duelled him. What else did it look like?” Alex brushed her mane, letting the awesome hair flow between his fingers. “I left the choice to him and clearly warned him though that magic will backfire.”

“And he still tried to affect thee with it…” Luna finished for him, giggling like a school filly and leaning her head on Alex’s shoulder. “I recognize Jet Set – incorrigible no more brains than stone snob. I extend mine hope he got, what he “craved for”.”

“More than he could expect, my love,” chuckled Alex, leading again, as Luna was almost ready to stop and simply stay for a while in his embrace. “I won’t lie, I was even afraid a bit that the moron tried something different, than a kinetic spell, and the reaction would be overly strong and unpredictable. Thankfully he simply ended up being hung by his own tail.”

“Oh, lief!” Luna laughed openly, throwing her head back and making her marvelous mane flow, bathing them both in lavender. “Couldn’t thou wait a zilch with that, so I had a look likewise?”

After a few minutes of silent watching, princess Celestia and Rarity shared a bemused glance, evidently bearing the question: “Do you see, what I am seeing?”

With all due respect Celestia managed to control her thoughts and feelings noticeably better, although her eyes were still wider than usual. Rarity’s expression was still the mix of bewilderment, awe and, truth be told, despair; her lips trembled slightly, her wide open eyes shone and it seemed a wink away from the lakes to overflow. She opened her mouth, but the words got stuck somewhere amidst her throat, letting only a quiet intermittent sigh away.

“Exactly!” Celestia shook her head slowly. “I have no words either… What was that, pray tell?” She gently covered Rarity with her wing and nuzzled her ear reassuringly.

“I don’t know, your highness…” Rarity barely whispered. “But I can’t deny, they look… Ohhhh!” she squinted afflictedly and almost tore from her heart. “They look fabulous!”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” quietly muttered Celestia.

Meanwhile, the melody passed its climax, approaching finale slower, more measuredly; although, seeing the shine in Luna’s eyes Alex realized, her adventurous nature demanded for more. His amazing alicorn partner looked fixedly into his eyes and a gamine smile touched her lips.

“Knowest what, Alex,” playfully whispered Luna, watching him. “I’m arrant ready to try what we couldn’t do, at which hour I was larger and heavier than thou.”

“But it calleth for thy aid, mine lief!” her eyes were smiling, engulfing Alex, taking him away like a strong compelling tide. “As tis a game for both of us.”

“Llevada element? Merlin’s pants… Yes! Why not?” Alex lingered for a second only, giving back her smile and turning Luna fast, embracing her from behind; an excited squeak left her mouth, as she snuggled to him. ‘We only discussed that move, never tried it on practice, but… she seems confident and knows exactly, what she wants! My incredible princess!’

Three more pa to their triumph or fiasco… Two!.. One…

With the last high note they turned and Luna arched backwards, holding on his shoulder and hand and throwing her knee up on Alex’s hip, wrapping her leg around his; Alex supported her under strained shoulders, placing another hand on her cutie mark, which burned under his touch. He leaned to that alicorn beauty, his heart thumping its way out towards Luna’s raising chest, while she fluttered in his hands with eyes closed and her sumptuous mane flowing to the stone floor.

An eternity passed… Alex gently helped Luna stand up, they stood face to face, literally touching with their noses, holding hands and hooves; the sudden gust of wind threw Luna’s mane, covering their faces with the lavender veil, and Alex managed to steal a fast kiss.

“Thou art wondrous, mine princess!” Alex’s lips moved, but all he could hear was the sound of blood rustling in his ears. Luna whispered something, touching his billowing chest lightly.

When Alex could hear again, he thought first that the ceiling was falling, thunderstruck by the loud rumble around – perhaps half of the herd stomped their hooves on the floor, a few stallions were especially rampant. A wide grin wormed on Alex’s face, he knew, that was sound of their with Luna triumph. Less enthusiastic part of the guests kept stunned silence, but they both paid no attention to those.

Alex stepped back and kneeled to Luna, placing a kiss above her fore hoof and looking into her shining eyes, as the princess nodded benevolently.

Following Luna back to her sister and holding her “hand”, he noticed how the guests started mingling, flooding the center of the hall again and obviously anticipating more familiar music to dance. They quietly talked, throwing quick glances at Luna and Alex, making him inwardly chuckle.

Celestia met them with the poker face, carefully hiding her current emotions, but the absence of usual diplomatic smile didn’t bother Alex much this time.

“That was… quite an unusual experience, Alex!” finally finding the words the princess blinked, her left ear twitched up and down. “Although, after your the very first demonstration I am ready to the surprises seemingly of any kind.”

“Lulu, dear, what in Equestria…” she turned to her sister.

“Apologies, your highness,” Alex interrupted the Princess of the Sun softly with an apologetic gesture. “Princess Celestia, Luna…” Celestia quietly gasped.

“Could thou excuse me for a tiny moment longer, darling?” Alex kneeled to Rarity’s eye level, while she was looking up to him with a glimpse of tears in widely open hopeful eyes; Luna muffledly giggled at her sister’s expression at that moment. “I shall be back shortly,” he touched Rarity’s shoulders lightly, then quickly straightened.

Following his notable figure fixedly, Rarity bit her lower lip and watched Alex, approaching the orchestra podium. He gained the kapellmeister’s attention and leaned to the aged stallion, explaining something; the latter nodded finally, a smile made his moustache funnily wiggle, and turned to the musicians, raising the stick.

The sounds of the waltz, or something very similar from the usual Equestrian repertoire, reached their ears, before Alex returned to Rarity, making the majority of guests perk their ears: this was the melody they could perfectly dance under, in their own style.

Rarity threw her eyelashes up and her glance, dull and sorrowful lately, ignited again in a wink, when Alex bowed to her slightly, inviting for a dance. Straightening and becoming an epitome of grace again, she followed him side by side to the open space, already occupied by a few couples, who wasted no time with the first sounds of the local equivalent of the waltz.

Rarity took a victorious look around, making Alex smile inwardly, and raised on her hind legs, mercifully giving him one fore hoof and placing another on his shoulder. Standing straight she reached his neck only, forced to look up at Alex’s face constantly, but apparently, that didn’t spoil her pleasure; her starry again eyes and flushing cheeks clearly told that. They were given some space at once; perhaps, ponies feared such a large dancer as Alex slightly.

“Apologies, Rarity, I promised that dance long ago,” Alex leaned to her, pointing at Luna with his glance. “But this one is for you only!”

“For us, Ahlex!” Rarity batted her eyelashes, aiming that shot directly at her “prey”. “Maybe I am slightly angry with you… or maybe not, but you are atoning for your mistakes quite effectively, darling!”

“That was the actual plan!” chuckled Alex, spinning with Rarity fluently.

The guests joined the dance little-by-little, enlivening the evening; Alex’s glance jumped from one familiar muzzle to another, despite how few they might be. Mayor Mare in pair with an unknown stallion (Alex inwardly smiled, watching the stern mare having fun); Mr. and Mrs. Rich; that conspicuous high society couple of beautiful mare and noble stallion with a moustache, they felt and met his glance. Alex slightly nodded thankfully, keeping in mind their positive reaction to his dance with Luna, and got two dainty smiles in response.

They didn’t talk much with Rarity: she was the less confident dancer, and paid more attention to her moves and her dress not to stomp on it, trying to snuggle closer to Alex at the same time, when the moves allowed. In his turn Alex tried to control the situation constantly, supporting and helping Rarity, to make her experience the best possible.

He noticed Pinkie with a random partner, despite waltz being not her favourite dance, that pink lump of energy couldn’t stand still, given a chance to move. Applejack stood under the column with a pensive look, when suddenly a stallion approached her and bowed, inviting; dazedly Alex recognized Solid Deal. Jackie stumbled for a second and flushed, then a modest smile lit her muzzle and she nodded energetically.

Twilight, paired with Spike, moved quite classically and made Alex quietly snort, remembering her outstanding “exercises”, he witnessed once already. Spike was the only one, except them, dancing on two legs, but Alex and Rarity gained considerably more attention from the herd due to obvious reasons. Some ponies kept staring at them deliberately, throwing quick curious glances at the princesses, like trying to guess, what else that company could undertake tonight.

Watching sisters talking, Alex felt, how little inner discord nudged him under the ribs with a naughty thought, to check what effect could inviting Celestia make. Although, she was too large for him; besides, he remembered Luna’s words about her sister being not particularly good in dancing human-style; besides, Alex clearly knew the limits of his luck and dare for one evening. Now, when he wasn’t a prisoner or a test subject, the trip to the Moon in Tia’s company looked even less promising idea.

Luna noticed his glance and waved; Rarity nested her head on Alex’s chest, minding her horn not to poke his neck, her hoof stroked his shoulder unconsciously.

“Yet, Luna, dear, what are you doing for Equestria’s sake?” Celestia leaned to her sister, whispering loudly (although not too loud to let the nearby ponies hear) in her ear. “As it clearly was your idea as far as I could notice.”

“Defusing the incident, ye both told me about… and having much fun, in the earnest!” Luna threw a sly glance at Celestia. “What else did ‘t look like, Tia? Methinks galas are exactly about enjoying the company, dancing, having some fun, not about guests quarrelling or something alike.”

“And yes, that was mine idea from the start,” added she with a mirthful smile, watching the herd, like nothing happened. “For quite a while, if ‘t be true thou wantest to know.”

“Lulu, I thought, it was strange, when you spent so much time with the orchestra,” Celestia sighed. “But I couldn’t imagine it was going this far. It looked like something Alex could undertake exactly – random and… quite provocative.”

“Well, that was the point, Tia,” Luna was of the totally different opinion, finding the whole situation entertaining only. “I extend mine hope, thou understand, our little “show” shalt make everypony forget about the quarrel, the reasons of it, all the “strange effects”, Alex caused, ten times faster, than thy negotiation and persuasion. We haven’t done anything unusual, Tia, we simply danced,” Luna shrugged, stretching her wings graciously. “I say that again, I haven’t had that much pleasure for aeons it seemeth!”

“But the way you look… Lulu!”

“Hmm… I wanted to have the fingers likewise, must have been nice experience, Tia” Luna examined her fore hooves musingly. “But reconsidered at the last moment, didn’t want to fail something. I can’t recall, I ev’r mimicked a human afore, so… But it turned out well,” she raised her “hands”, stretching and doing a 360-degree pirouette. “What dost thou think, Tia?”

“Now the eyes of the whole herd are chained to you… and Alex,” almost hissed the Princess of the Sun. “And while he was in center of their attention all the evening, you attracted too much of it to yourself, Luna… To both of you at the same time,” added she meaningfully.

“Hmpf!” huffed Luna with a silvery laughter, making a few guests look back at her. “They shall talk about that dance, nice change from the usual boring court rubbish, I must say.”

“Besides, nopony dareth to mention any… apes now!” she snorted angrily, hot sparkles flashing in her eyes.

“Oh, that’s granted,” Celestia let out a wry smile. “But I’m not talking about that aspect only...”

“What then? We were simply having fun. And I’d like to believe, succeeded at that.”

“Exactly! Lulu, you both look like a proper couple tonight. Imagine the talks!”

“I extend mine hope wholeheartedly, we did!” slowly articulated Luna, smirking. “As for the rest – I don’t care, in the earnest. I advise thee to follow suit, sunny! They are always talking. Didst thou always take close to thy heart everything, the court gossiped about, Tia?”

“So, how long do you plan to keep that… look?” with a sigh Celestia preferred to change the topic. “It’s not bad, don’t get me wrong, blueberry! But it’s utterly weird…”

“For the rest of the evening I suppose,” Luna said casually, shrugging. “I tend to like it, sunny.” She waved to Alex with a smile, causing Celestia to facehoof.

‘I guess, that’s a rare coincidence,’ Celestia watched Alex and Rarity, alternating to Luna and back. ‘They look so much alike. Rarity must have made quite an effort to achieve that effect subtly, but in case of Luna and him pure coincidence made the impression stronger… Poor Rarity…’ Celestia shook her head slightly.

Meanwhile, Rarity nested her head on Alex’s chest and completely gave up to his careful lead; what was in her head could only be guessed by her half-lidded eyes and dreamy expression, a mirthful smile made her muzzle lit with serenity and satisfaction.

Bathing in her undoubtedly promising thoughts she didn’t even noticed, how the melody came to its end and the hum of the herd reached their ears again. A few dancing pairs applauded and Rarity dazedly noticed that some applauded them as well as the orchestra, which did their job flawlessly to tell the truth.

“Oh, darling, that was fabulous!” Rarity’s eyes shone, she noticed that they stood in their embrace for a few moments after the waltz finished; Alex held her by shoulders gently and Rarity’s heart jumped like a sparrow on a twig. “Although, I’m a tiny bit tired,” confessed she apologetically, flushing a little. “I’m not used to moving on the hind legs for that long, Ahlex!”

Since that moment Rarity found the Gala, the guests, the program (which to tell the truth didn’t change much throughout the last years) simply fabulous; everything suited her as long as her own idea of the nicely spent evening came to the ealization in entirety… Well, maybe something was missing still, but in general she enjoyed greatly, what she had.

They made almost another full circle around the hall, spent in small talks; well, it was mostly Rarity who greeted the old kith and talked, Alex kept the diplomatic look and smile, fashion and style were not his stronger sides. Although, Rarity was quite surprised, when the stallion in thin glasses, who entertained Applejack with socialite talk, nodded to Alex and said something about their dance; Rarity even didn’t pay much attention to the actual words.

“Do you know him, Ahlex?” Rarity looked a bit stunned, when they distanced, so Jackie with her gallant couldn’t hear.

“Yeah, that guy… Solid Deal, he is from Canterlot Steam Company,” casually waved Alex, looking for somepony in the herd. “Talked to him a bit here on the Gala…”

Rarity opened her mouth to say something, but they reached Twilight and Spike at that moment and distracted Rarity lost the thread. Her bright mood drifted her away from anything non-important and she paid exaggerated attention to Spike with his jokes, laughing sincerely and nuzzling him gently on the head, making the little dragon flush instantly and release two heart-shaped streams of steam from his nostrils. She didn’t even notice, how Alex kept deliberate neutrality and the understanding glances they shared with Twilight.

They danced several times more and Rarity even benevolently switched partners with Twilight a couple of times; quietly giggling Twilight whispered to Alex that with more of Rarity’s favour she would need to carry Spike home like a balloon, holding by his tail. Alex nodded absently, he felt the fixed glance on his back and, looking over the shoulder, noticed Pinkie, watching him with a strange expression.

Little by little it passed midnight. Alex volunteered to bring the refreshments, while they came to an agreement, that Gala came out nicely, almost without weird incidents, sparing Jet Set’s vagary; he returned, then parted with Rarity, Twilight and Spike again.

At some point Rarity caught herself upon not being able to see Alex for a little while; she stumbled, answering Spike’s question, and took a quick look around. She could swear, she saw him a minute ago, cornered under the column by Pinkie, who meticulously tried to talk something through; Alex nodded and told her something, caught the concerned glance of Applejack from another edge of the hall, but smiled and waved both girls, showing he can perfectly handle. And indeed he managed to distract Pinkie and whisk away from her “mentor’s grip”.

Pinkie just joined them, her smile clearly told that she managed to deliver, what she wanted, at least partially, or so she thought. But Alex was nowhere visible…

“I’m sorry, darling,” Rarity patted Spike lightly. “Girl, please, excuse me!”

She threw another concerned look over the giant hall, yet seeing no signs of her companion. Rarity crossed the hall, looked behind the rows of columns at both sides; there wasn’t a place Alex could stay unnoticed, definitely not among the herd, unless he decided to sit on the floor, but Rarity couldn’t imagine the reason for that. He wasn’t on the large open terrace either, among the few ponies, enjoying the fresh night air and more private talks, as she could see through the high windows, approaching them.

Almost about to ask princess Celestia of where her quite noticeable company could vanish, Rarity noticed that she couldn’t see one more character on that stage. Princess Luna was also missing among the guests, like Alex she should be easily seen above the herd, but…

Rarity’s heart skipped a beat.

On another side from the entrance the hall opened to the long, almost dark now, dimly lit by rare torches, gallery and Rarity decided to look there, as it was the last possible place, Alex could reach without teleporting from the Gala.

A sudden chilling draught fluttered the long red hem, curling around her legs and making Rarity involuntarily shudder: the gallery seemed to go across the whole castle, with a few turns to avoid racing winds, yet plenty of space to search for a couple of hours. Rarity turned her head perplexedly, she had equal opportunities to go left or right from the main hall, when she fancied distant voices from her right, coming from the twilight of the gallery.

Long rectangles of ghostly moonlight alternated on the gallery floor with warm yellow spots from the crackling torches; Rarity tried to keep in the shadows to stay unnoticed by the mysterious collocutors, slowly slinking forward and inwardly scolding herself for each accidental rustle of her fashionable dress. A strange thought about borrowing Fluttershy’s spec-ops masquerade suit instead popped in her mind, Rarity shook her head exasperatedly.

The voices became closer, Rarity could easily distinguish the male one – Alex. A couple yards closer, trying to breathe less often, Rarity slid further, staying at the line between light and shade, mentally blessing her relatively dark dress. She heard and recognized the female voice as well, silvery and tenderly flowing, with laughing notes piercing the quiet tone. But it wasn’t necessary already: Rarity could clearly see two tall white figures in the misty twilight under the column; stifling her rapid breathing she turned all ears.

“Thou art so heavily guarded tonight, mine lief!” Luna’s eyes radiated. “I thought, I had no chance to reach thee…”

Alex simply sighed, he was lucky, he could escape Pinkie with her attempts to drive into his head the idea about them with Fluttershy behaving overly stupid, breaking like that. He barely managed to intercept Luna’s glance and follow her to the gallery, sliding out of pink energetic pony grasp by some unbelievable miracle.

“I couldn’t simply leave them right away, my princess,” Alex looked into those large deep blue lakes, feeling he was sliding in, drowning already. “Besides, we needed the guests… and your dear sister to relax, enjoy the evening and loosen their vigilance, otherwise, we couldn’t probably be given a single chance to enjoy our talk.”

“Oh, Alex, Tia is already almost sure about us,” the dark blue beauty funnily wrinkled her nose, making a face. “Mayhap unsure about how far it hath gone, but arrant not having any illusions.”

“Well… my butt is still not served on a silver plate, so, maybe I was right not making things even more obvious,” Alex felt his heart beating faster, as Luna stepped closer.

“Or mayhap thou simply liked dancing with little miss Rarity,” giggled the princess, placing her fore hooves on his shoulders. “Comest on, mine lief, make a confession…”

Alex quickly pulled her closer instead of an answer, the silk fabric of her dress cooled his hand pleasantly; diving into her eyes Alex ran his fingers through Luna’s starry mane, causing another wave of lavender aroma surrounding them.

“Mayhap I’m wrong…” quietly added Luna, leaning to him and wrapping her “hands” around Alex’s neck.

“Rarity is a good friend, my princess,” Alex stroked her bare shoulders, making Luna coo and snuggle to him tighter with every second. “An awesome friend and I always tried to do my best to be thankful for that, but she allows her dreams run in front of the reality, I can do nothing about that, Luna. I accepted her invitation wholeheartedly, but as a friend only… Besides, I could hardly…”

Alex leaned to Luna’s soft ear and, despite she stretched her neck and perked the ears, Rarity couldn’t catch a word from the end of the phrase, said in a whisper; although, she could see Alex’s hands travelling across Luna’s back, stroking, caressing tenderly. Suddenly Luna rested her knee on the column, letting Alex’s hand drop on her hip and snuggling into him with her whole body.

“Thou dost not need to tell anything, lief! I know… I am arrant happy everything played out as it did. And… I enjoyed our dance immensely. Certain elements espe… Aahhhh!”

Luna squeaked and threw her head back, Alex squeezed her leg gently, placing a hot kiss on her neck and making Rarity bite the fore hoof in her hiding place, not to give out herself. Feeling Alex’s palm on her burning cutie mark, Luna held his head in place for a while, squinting and almost purring, then released and kissed his forehead.

“Something… is still bothering thee, Alex,” half-asked half-stated she, looking fixedly in his eyes. “Is it… thy parting with Fluttershy? What did actually befall, if ‘t be true thou can tell?”

“Yes, my princess,” Alex wrapped his hands around Luna’s shoulders, letting her nest her head on his shoulder, her night coloured mane covered both like the luxurious mantle. “I love you, I love her, I can’t decide… And I arrant hate myself for that. I fear the moment, I’m able to leave, the inevitable words and feelings… and I’m already unsure, if ‘t be true I’m doing right, trying to leave…” Alex took a breath. “Thou seest, Luna, I’m one big sack of contradictions lately, that helpeth find the solution not. The one, which shan’t be hurtful for us all.”

“Tia doth the best she can,” quietly said Luna, stroking his chest with her hoof musingly. “But I don’t know, if…”

“Fluttershy knoweth about us,” Alex sighed heavily. “I was to tell her that I am a sleepwalker… and all the rest naturally. In brief, but that changeth anything not.”

“I expected that, lief,” Luna nodded calmly, then she looked up into his eyes. “But that’s not the main problem, correct? Thither is more to your problem than that.”

“Truth be told, we parted the way, we should nev’r actually come to,” Alex downcasted. “Unlike thee, Luna, Fluttershy is uneasy about me unable to decide and choose, but at the same time she is uneasy about me wanting to decide on other aspects of mine future.” Luna waited till Alex elaborated.

“She feareth for me dealing with the Seekers, me working with the blacksmith… and at which hour I mention the body armour, she becometh shaky, realizing that I’m ready to take even more risks,” Alex rubbed his temples tiredly. “She wanted to decide what was safe for me and what wasn’t. And I simply can’t stand, at which hour others try to pamper me like that, without the actual reason.”

“Alex, Fluttershy was always of a strong motherly type,” Luna nuzzled his cheek soothingly. “It’s her native Element – Kindness. I’m ready to admit, it can be excessive oft, but…”

“… but I used that as an excuse, because I’m afraid of what can happen, when it’s time to leave, Luna!” Alex finished for her with a doomed expression. “It all has gone too far and we eagerly allowed that, the more painful it can be, when… She doesn’t have your serenity and wisdom, my princess, you are too different. But maybe that is why I am unable to choose. I said we must find some solution, but I don’t see any yet, I’m still at the starting point.”

“Knowest what,” Luna threw a sly glance at Alex. “Not so long ere, if ‘t be true any stallion made such a confession to me, I would have made him regret any tiny word of it most likely… But things change oft, so do ponies,” she squeezed him tighter, biting his ear slightly and making Alex gasp. “This solution is arrant thy burden, mine love.”

“Can I make another confession… while I am safe from the royal wrath seemingly?” Alex tenderly took Luna by her cheeks and stared into her eyes. “Luna, I appreciate your gesture verily. That made the evening, the dance, my experience special, for which I’m immensely grateful. But… could you please return to your usual form, my princess? Because that’s Luna, I once met and sincerely love. I don’t know how else to say, but… I’m quite happy with you being you!”

Luna’s eyes dilated, she stepped back a bit and in a second bright flash of magic returned the regal alicorn to her usual form and size, her dress magically fitting the changes. Alex couldn’t say a word before the dark blue and white flurry grabbed him into the warm, soft, lavender fragrant embrace, his lips melted into Luna’s and two white silhouettes became one again.

For a few blissful moments Alex forgot about everything: the gala, the guests, the gallery. There were only them two in lavender clouds, holding on each other, sharing their breath ardently. Luna’s fore hooves stroked his back, pulling Alex closer to her soft warm coat, her eyes were closed, she even staggered and Alex was to support her a little, leaning his back on the column not to fall himself. He ran his fingers through her mane, touching her swan neck lightly, stroking her soft ears, which perked excitedly, like carved from the stone; Alex kept caressing Luna’s awesome hair, unable to stop, feeling its watery silkiness on his skin. Luna’s breath became noticeably faster, panting she rubbed her cheek on Alex’s, when they parted, then brought her nose to nose with him, hypnotizing with her half-lidded eyes… only to conquer his lips again in a series of fast hungry kisses.

“Lu-u-una-a-a!” Alex could only quietly moan, when she relaxed the embrace slightly. He blinked several times, focusing.

The magic of the moment was interrupted by a stifled whimper and loud sound of hoofsteps quickly receding from the place of their spontaneous rendezvous. Turning to the noise Alex and Luna were able to notice the edge of the red dress, flashing in the rectangle of moonlight.

“Merlin’s pants!” Alex facepalmed with a heavy sigh. “Right when she finally calmed down…”

“How long did she hide in the gallery behind? What do you think?” added he after a few seconds of awkward silence.

“Could do for any amount of time, but methinks the last few seconds were more than enough, mine love,” Luna shrugged, letting out a tiny smile and nesting her head on Alex’s shoulder; Alex exhaled forcedly, then lightly touched her silky cheek.

“I don’t want…”

“I know, mine love… And I know Rarity,” Luna stroked Alex’s chest lightly, trying to hide the sadness in her voice. “Thou needst to go, Alex. Follow her, so she maketh something weird out of pure emotions not. I shall see thee anon, mine lief!”

“Promise?” Very slowly, half-heartedly Alex broke his embrace with Luna, still holding her fore hoof. He had no tiniest wish to leave her sitting alone in that dark gallery, but at the same time understood that prone to overdramatizing Rarity could throw any trick, after witnessing them.

“Royal Word!” his blue beauty raised her nose comically, then whispered. “I promise…” Right before Alex caught another short, but very affectionate kiss of her lips. With a sigh she watched his back, vanishing in the shadows of the gallery; the accelerating steps faded in the distance.

Accurately, with an innocent expression Alex entered the large hall, trying not to gain unnecessary attention. A quick, but inspective glance around revealed no signs of his unfortunate fashionista partner.

‘Naturally!’ inwardly scolded himself Alex. ‘What else did you expect? Well, it’s already half past midnight, she could head to the station only…’

Bracing himself Alex headed to princess Celestia, easily finding her among the herd.

“Your Highness!” Alex cleared the throat diplomatically, elaborating, when Celestia turned. “Mine deepest apologies, the circumstances force me to leave the Gala. It’s been a pleasure, princess…”

‘Up to the certain moment,’ added he inwardly, then decided to ask. “Ahem… Maybe… Your Highness, did you see Rarity? We… errmmm… missed each other and…”

“Oh, of course, I saw her,” Celestia’s voice was noticeably dry. “She apologized and bid a goodbye a few minutes ago. I think I’ll be hardly mistaking, if I say her eyes were tear-stained… You can still catch up with her, if you want.”

“Thanks, princess! And excuse me…” Alex breathed out, bowing and almost running to the exit, making the ponies give him way fast. Celestia followed him with a concerned expression on her muzzle.

“What did I miss, Tia?” the silvery voice made Celestia turn and look at her sister.

“Rarity and Alex just left. I must say they crumpled their goodbye noticeably, can you imagine?” Celestia watched Luna fixedly, then smirked. “Oh! What made you reconsider, Lulu, against your extravagant look?”

“He simply asked me to,” stated Luna, not batting a single eyelash.

Alex found the road back quite easily: first he was able to check the “landmarks” from the castle terrace at the top of the stairs, the rest of the city lied lower and the station was discernible from the distance; besides, the road was still highlighted by extra lamps at the most unobvious crossings. Although, he took an extra turn once, but quickly oriented and returned, not even walking the whole block in the wrong direction.

The castle with its noisy party stayed behind and the streets were quiet, a single night bird chirped wistfully in the distance, a dog barked from behind somepony’s fence, disturbed by his steps, loud in surrounding semi-darkness. Everypony, who by any reason were not attending the Gala, already slept in their houses; the ponies usually got to their beds considerably early, if nothing demanded for staying awake late.

‘Well, not all the ponies…’ Alex looked back at the lit mass of the castle, the thought of ponies, preferring nightly activity, made him smile wide involuntarily. Perhaps even made his steps lighter, as after a few more minutes of wandering the dimly lit streets with dark gardens at the sides Alex finally reached the railway station.

The fog noticeably took over since evening and the bright station lamps on their long posts looked like floats, swaying above the white clouds in the cooling down air; they lighted the milky mist around, but were unable to let see through it decently. All the boarding platforms were empty at that moment as far as Alex could notice through the foggy veil. He scratched the back of his head; obviously, it was too early and the trains supposed to be given in time to take returning guests back, when the Gala is over. At that moment the cars were resting somewhere not to obstruct the transit tracks. But where?

With a low warning whistle a cargo train passed by, slowly dragging the heavy cars through the fog, like a long shoal of whales. Alex looked around as far as the mist allowed, it took him a while to spot a darker silhouette under the light post near the station office, ghostly shadow floating in the damp air.

‘Interesting, how do they fight the rust, if the proximity of that waterfall makes each evening alike,’ absently pondered Alex, heading to the building. ‘Or we are simply that lucky tonight!’ He thought that a bit longer and his fancy shirt would stick to his back.

“Good evening, sir!” Alex’s voice and greeting gesture pulled the station worker out of his thoughtful observation of the platform and tracks and made the earth pony stallion in railway uniform and cap pay his attention to suddenly emerging from the mist human figure.

“Evening. How can I help you?” the grey pony wiggled his moustache and looked over Alex from head to toes, his eyes stopped for a second on Alex’s tie and cufflinks.

“I’m looking for the… Southern Express cars…”

“They are at sidetrack five, down the dead end,” the stallion waved his hoof, showing the direction. “There. Just be careful not to slip on the tracks; you need to cross a few, sir. The fog is quite thick tonight…”

“And the…” continued Alex, but the railwaypony interrupted him, taking another look over Alex and stifling a smile.

“And your lady headed there a…” the stallion checked the office clock. “… a quarter of an hour ago. I thought she needed help crossing the rails in that dress of hers, but she was quite determined and quick…”

“She looked upset and mildly stressed,” added he with a tiny sympathetic shrug.

“Oh, mhm… Thanks,” Alex downcasted, heading in the shown direction. “Good luck on your shift!”

“Have a good night, sir!”

That sincere wish wasn’t excessive; although, Alex wasn’t entirely sure, if it had a fair chance to become implemented. The tracks he crossed were wet and slippery indeed. With the mental image of Rarity crossing them, supporting the hem of her dress with magic and swallowing tears, Alex inwardly scolded himself. On the other side, she knew enough about him and Luna, she knew everything about him and Fluttershy, he agreed to make Rarity’s company at the Gala, but if she expected much more of him, that wasn’t his fault – he definitely didn’t give her any chance to treat that evening anyhow, except as a friendly gesture. That was pure logic… Unfortunately, the reality felt uneasy anyway.

It was darker here, but Alex managed to almost bump into his train, even before his night vision worked; he raised the hand and touched the cold side with condensed drips, walking along the tracks and looking for their car. He didn’t know, if the lightening was working, besides, the compartment windows were from another side, thus Alex was to count the cars, considering the train was oriented exactly the same way it arrived at the station. Alex followed along the train, thinking about Rarity’s reaction.

‘What exactly she expected to see on the Gala? Me completely ignoring Luna? I tried my best to make the evening enjoyable for her… considering all, that happened. But if Rarity hoped that I would push Luna away, simply because I “came to the Gala with her”…’ Alex facepalmed inwardly.

Finally, the right car was found, Alex groped for the door in the light of distant lamp at the dead end and got inside. The corridor was dark, only a little light came through the windows from outside, but one of the compartment doors was loosely shut and a thin gap let out a stripe of dim light into the hallway.

‘That’s going to be more serious, than I thought…’ Alex sighed and slowly shook his head, he seemed to hear a quiet whimper.

‘What did I do wrong?! Oh, sweet Celestia, why… why it’s always happening to me?’ Rarity didn’t change her pose seemingly since she entered the compartment, turned on the magical light crystals and dropped herself on the seat, fore legs onto the folding table and her head on her hooves, completely forgetting about the unforgivable possibility to crumple her manedress. Bitter tears of regret, when she mourned another lost opportunity, changed with moments of apathy and Rarity absently pondered, how she could affect the event and if she ever could change anything.

‘Everything was almost perfect,’ sighed she, accurately blotting the next portion of tears and checking, if her eyelash extenders were in place. ‘We had fun, Ahlex actually enjoyed the Gala… I could see that right before… before…’ she sniffed again, then let out a little smile. ‘It was the first time, when my encounter with Upper Crust and Jet Set ended differently. Unbelievable… but Ahlex easily made them pay for each evil word, still being above the situation.’

‘And he did it for me exactly!’ her reflection in the dark window covered with condensed water from outside nodded to her and Rarity examined her own sad eyes, tear trails on the white coat and tiny smile, that stayed for a while, when she remembered, how she watched the scene with dilated eyes and half-opened mouth; despite she was in shock, her heart fluttered happily at that moment. ‘He was completely calm, watching with the wry mocking smile, when Jet Set badmouthed him personally… and that smile turned into gritted teeth in a wink, when those two tried to insult me…’

Rarity let out a sigh, absently drawing the imaginary pattern on the glass with her fore hoof; her pensive reflection bowed the horn and sapphire tiara in her mane dimly flickered in the compartment lights.

‘The incident wasn’t a pleasant experience, of course. I can’t remember something like that happening, but there was no our fault in that – Ahlex warned Jet Set clearly, but the stubborn snob preferred to check himself. And even that couldn’t spoil the evening, princess Celestia was quite understanding and resolved the situation quickly,’ Rarity remembered, how she snuggled to Alex afterwards and he wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and hugged her; another smile, this time pleased and dreamy, appeared on her muzzle.

‘Princess Luna though…’ Rarity slowly shook her head with disbelief. ‘I always do everything methodically, meticulously planning everything beforehand, as father teaches me at every occasion. Planning is the key to success, I made this dress, quite daring for ponies, and Ahlex’s costume specifically to… “stake out the plot”. Everything worked just right, guests looked at us and saw at once that we came to the Gala together. But then her highness appeared,’ Rarity frowned a little, she still felt a bit insecure in princess Luna’s company. ‘And crossed out all my efforts…’

“Ugghhh, daaarling, you’re trying to compete a royalty! Don’t expect it to be easy,” Rarity said aloud, trying to swallow a lump and hold back tears, treacherously filling her eyes again.

‘Still… Her dress, despite being simple, looked more classy and daring at the same time. I wouldn’t wonder, if it held on with magic usage partially,’ Rarity rolled her eyes with a tiny viperous smirk. ‘Furthermore, it was of the same white colour as Ahlex clothes, what an unlucky coincidence…’ she inwardly facehoofed. ‘And when she threw out that trick… Ohhhh, she looked almost exactly as one of his kin… Sweet Celestia, they danced and looked like a couple. And there was true passion in their dance, not simple politesse or entertainment; she simply grabbed him and dragged to the center of the hall.’

‘How she leaned to him, looked and smiled…’ Rarity’s ears flattened. ‘And the last element… Ahhh!’ Dreamy sparkles shone in her eyes for a moment, she so wanted to be on Luna’s place there, not even thinking that it would be impossible to repeat every move with pony anatomy. Rarity squinted.

‘On the other hoof, it did only good actually,’ she let out a small sad smile. ‘Everypony stopped discussing the incident and switched their attention to Ahlex and… and princess Luna, their dance,’ Rarity sighed heavily. ‘Yet, he invited me next… Second, but I managed to look and move quite elegantly… and that dress paid for itself!’

Rarity cocked her head and seemingly enjoyed her memories for a few moments; then suddenly her joy faded again and head drooped.

‘But then… then…’ Rarity sniffed with a fitful sigh. ‘After a while I noticed that Ahlex simply vanished from the hall! He could want to take a breath on the terrace or… but he didn’t tell me a word,’ Rarity’s eyes glistened wetly again. ‘Then I noticed one of the princesses missing as well. Exactly THAT one!’

Rarity remembered, how she decided to look for Alex in the nearby rooms and hallways, checked the terrace, finally entered the long gallery behind the large hall; her breath became more and more uneven with each second and it traitorously tingled in her nose again. The image stood before her eyes too vividly to stay calm: she entered the gallery, took a look left and right, deciding, where the human might go, then headed to one side… she didn’t even remember, where exactly. Rarity thought, she heard quiet voices in the shadows of columns, further in the gallery… Slowly and accurately, not to let accidental hoofstep give her away, she approached the sounds. Then she was able to see two white silhouettes in the soft twilight under the large column. Then the two silhouettes… became one.

‘They simply glued to each other!’ tears ran down Rarity’s muzzle, as she quietly whimpered, masochistically recalling more and more details. ‘They talked so tenderly, almost cooed and Luna snuggled to Ahlex… then he asked her something and with a chuckle she returned to her usual alicorn form. Still, the snuggle became only tighter after… How they embraced each other…’

Rarity sobbed again, dropping her head on her fore legs, exactly how she did after running out of the gallery, squeezing an apology to the princess and leaving the castle in frustration and despair. She ran to the station, asked about their train and curled in the compartment like a small filly, deprived of a holiday.

‘Why it is happening to me each time? The worst thing ever… The worst thing that can happen to a lady at the gala!’

She pitied herself and inwardly complained about the injustice of that world, but a small voice told her that she was a silly filly and if circumstances were different, Alex would hardly ever leave Fluttershy, so she had even no chance for that attempt. Then an uncalled thought about trying, how it was to be at Spike’s place once, came afloat, but Rarity banished it away quickly.

Remembering about Spike Rarity thought that despite her mare charms always worked flawlessly on everypony (for example, Spike was unable to resist her slight eyelash batting), those arrows missed Alex completely and he managed to treat her kindly, thoughtfully, even gently… but as a friend only. That called out another burst of tears, but inwardly Rarity was determined to accept the challenge. She sniffed and let out a sigh full of sorrow, at the same time bracing herself and getting ready for a new “battle”.

‘Nopony can say that Rarity gives up that easy! We’ll see…’

What exactly everypony should see remained secret, as the steps and sound of opening door interrupted her thoughts and almost made her jump on the spot a little, despite Rarity anticipated it. She stayed in her sorrowful pose, crying and sniffing quietly, but one ear carefully caught each sound in the compartment. She heard, how Alex closed the door with a heavy sigh, then the seat went a bit down under his added weight.

Alex stretched his hand to stroke her mane, but the suffering girl sounded so miserably, he reconsidered, unsure if touching Rarity at that moment was a good idea.

“Rarity,” Alex cleared the throat, noticing that the cute white ear perked a bit more; the little fashionista still sobbed quietly. “Rarity, please… I’m sorry, it went that way! But…”

“Look… I couldn’t simply ignore others on the Gala,” said Alex quietly in the most soothing tone, he was capable at the moment; a whimper followed. “Not princess Luna definitely. She… she is one of the few, who really understand me, moreover, she is not indifferent to my fate… We are very close, emotionally, by our characters and…”

“I noticed…” another quiet whimper.

“Rarity, I don’t know, what you want me to say… and if I really need to report to anypony in that case,” Alex sighed and shook his head. He looked around the compartment and took out one of the clothes cases, opening it and putting on his seat. The cufflinks and tie clasp resisted him for a while, so he huffed impatiently, finally detaching them and putting on the table.

Alex took off his fancy clothes, trying to do that fast enough and not look at Rarity at that moment. Both white ears perked high already, hearing the rustle, Rarity fought a strong wish to turn and watch him. Alex managed to replace his daily clothes in the case with his fancy costume and put on his casual pants, when she gave up, letting out a particularly woeful sigh and sniffing again.

Rarity raised her head and looked up to him, Alex met the glance of large sad eyes, compartment lights reflected in them, shimmering like distant stars. Nevertheless, a small smile lit Rarity’s muzzle and she blinked several times, drying her eyes.

“It’s me, who needs to apologize, Ahlex,” whispered she finally. “I’m a silly filly… Dreamed things up, made myself a complete foal in front of Celestia and the guests, ran away like a tiny filly. We agreed to go together and have fun… and instead of that, I decided that I could…” she sighed. “As I said, Ahlex, a complete foal I am.”

“Don’t say that…” Alex left his shirt on the seat and sat next to Rarity, finally stroking her mane lightly. The girl squinted and unconsciously leaned to his hand, Rarity’s ears lowered horizontally and it looked a bit funny, how she enjoyed the touch. “I’m sorry, it turned out a bit disappointing to you… I… I really tried…”

“Don’t apologize,” an obvious sigh of pleasure left Rarity’s mouth. “I got… a bit… carried away… Cried like a little filly… all the way back here…”

“I think we need to have some rest,” Alex got up; even if Rarity preferred him to stroke her mane more, she didn’t show any regret. “The Gala will be over soon, but the road takes over three hours and we need to walk to the town from the station. Some sleep won’t hurt.”

“You’re right, darling,” Rarity got up as well, but leaned on the table with a sigh.

“I’m still a little shaky and weak,” she looked at him over the shoulder apologetically, then straightened up. “I need a couple of minutes…”

Alex nodded, he hung his clothes case and opened another, putting it on Rarity’s seat, made his one into a bed, using the bedding, mindfully brought by the conductor. When he turned, Rarity still stood with tiredly closed eyes, holding on the table. Alex approached her, taking her by the shoulders lightly; thick fog stuck to the window from outside, letting it reflect Rarity with Alex behind her. She barely noticeably staggered.

The touch on the dress zipper made Rarity wake from her thoughts and she looked at Alex over her shoulder; he noticed that she was actually tired, perhaps the evening and the following tense was too much for her. Gently opening the zipper Alex put his hands on Rarity’s shoulders, sliding the dress down; he felt how her coat instantly heated at his slightest touch, as unicorn girl leaned on him, looking up sleepily.

“Ahhhlex!” Rarity’s eyes dilated, when he took her under the fore legs and practically lifted out of the gala dress, sitting on his seat and letting her nest on his lap, wiping the remnants of her tears accurately. She couldn’t keep that surprised look for long though, her eyes were closing and she was soft and limp, like a doll.

Rolling the eyes inwardly Alex felt, how Rarity wrapped her fore legs around his neck and nested herself on his bare chest. He held her warm body and inhaled the smell of her mane; Rarity nuzzled his neck gently, cooing something muffledly and placing a hot kiss under his chin. But before Alex thought that he might overdo with sympathy, he heard her quiet, even, relaxed breathing – Rarity fell asleep.

Wrapped tightly into his unicorn friend Alex shrugged and tried to get at least some comfort for himself: he lay on his, prepared for the night, seat and accurately placed Rarity the way, not to risk being poked with her horn in the eye. She immediately snuggled her warm back into him, smiling happily through her sleep.

A whistle from outside notified about the loco arrival, muffled voices of the station workers, attaching the train, came from behind the window. In a few minutes their car jerked as the loco headed to the platform delivering the Southern Express to the waiting passengers. Alex held Rarity to secure her from sudden train pushes, he buried his face into her soft mane and stroked her shoulder lightly, thinking about all the troubles, this girl was going to bring him yet.

The train stopped again at the boarding platform, tired and enlightened voices of the returning guests filled the car. Somepony trotted back and forth behind their compartment door, but Alex didn’t hear that already. The following whistle and another push of the departing train were completely ignored by them – both Alex and Rarity slept tight.

“Knock, knock”

Fluttershy waved her mane to remove the naughty strands from her muzzle and listened. Was she falling asleep already and hearing that in her thin and transparent yet dream?

“Knock…”

Apparently, somepony was behind the front door, asking to let them in. The wall clock unambiguously told that it was half past midnight; quite late for her, no wonder that she felt drowsy, Fluttershy totally forgot about the time, distracted by her duties. Nevertheless, she approached the door calmly, neither timberwolves, nor Seekers knocked.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Flutters…” Rainbow’s voice was tired and colourless, but still easily recognizable… up to barely audible at that moment “So what?” tone to it.

“May I come in for a minute?” Rainbow floated like a balloon inside, when Fluttershy opened and nodded surprisingly, feeling that the sleep was dispelled completely.

“Sure… What has happened, Dashie? You simply burst in usually,” Fluttershy chuckled, but hugged Rainbow wholeheartedly. “I wonder, what could make you knock on the door tonight?”

Rainbow wrinkled her nose funnily, like if she was going to make a face, then suddenly reconsidered.

“I’ve trained till late night, pal. While I was able to see the obstacles fine,” simply said she instead and nuzzled her friend’s cheek. “You know, I need to impress Wonderbolts, so I need to be awesome or not be there at all! Then I flew by and saw the light… and decided to check, if you were alright, pal. You’re not a night-bird, Flutters, so…” Rainbow shrugged.

“Oh, well,” suddenly exclaimed she. “I didn’t simply fly by… I wanted to see you, pal, and ensure you are okay. But trained till darkness and came that late instead. I guess, I’m lucky, you stood up that long. Sorry…”

“You are training all days long lately,” Fluttershy slowly shook her head. “Is it necessary to stress yourself that much?”

“Oh, Flutters, you know, what I think about that,” the rainbow pegasus girl rolled her eyes. “Of course, it’s worth all the effort… I can’t remember even, when I pranked somepony last time.” Rainbow Dash followed her friend and dropped into the armchair with a sigh of relief.

“This part I miss the most,” added she with a grin and sly sparkles lit in Rainbow’s eyes. “I have a few awesome ideas for certain human,” she winked mischievously.

“What?” asked she, seeing how Fluttershy glanced at her reproachfully. “Wasn’t he making you sad, moreover suffer lately?”

“Speaking of which… How are you, pal?” Dash examined her friend fixedly. “I heard, you were not going to the Gala because of him,” the contempt in her tone was enough to fill a small barrel.

“Not exactly so…” Fluttershy’s voice was more conciliatory. “Of course, if… everything was as usual… we would go there together,” she sniffed quietly and bit her lip. “But I had absolutely no drive to go alone…”

“You could go with the girls, pal!”

“Oh, you know, what I mean,” Fluttershy waved her hoof slightly. “Besides, Rarity invited him and Alex agreed to make her company. I simply couldn’t…”

“Ugghhh… Rarity!” squinted Rainbow. “Rarity in her repertoire!”

“Knowing Alex I am sure, it was simply a friendly gesture from his side,” Fluttershy let out a small smile. “Rarity, of course, may expect something, but I don’t know, what must happen for Alex to live up to her expectations.”

“Knowing Alex?” her friend smirked venomously.

“Come on, Dash, don’t start it again…”

“Fluttershy, pal, I told you!” Rainbow leaned forward. “I told you all, the human wasn’t that nice. And look what has happened already… He made one of us totally upset already, moreover, crying…” Rainbow looked into Fluttershy’s eyes fixedly. “Don’t deny, Flutters. What next? He is dangerous!”

“Our friction with Alex,” Fluttershy pronounced it with pressure. “Even any of us being upset about that, don’t necessarily tell that Alex is dangerous to any of us, sorry. Him being unable to sort out his feelings doesn’t make him our enemy.”

“You didn’t know everything, Dash, I assume,” Fluttershy continued, giving Rainbow no chance to reply. “We both were not ideal, treating each other. I may be disappointed, even angry with him, but I’m not going to judge, whose guilt is heavier…”

“Still… he made you really suffer…” Rainbow looked at her friend, surprised by her determination, Rainbow’s stubbornness was yet hard to overcome. “That’s exactly what I warned you all about.”

“Wonderbolts are hard to impress, they bring much stress to your life, Dashie,” Fluttershy glanced at her friend with a sigh. “You are even upset because of something not going… “totally awesome” sometimes. That doesn’t mean they are dangerous and any of us, including you, Dash,” she stared at Rainbow fixedly. “must keep away from them.”

“I’m going to believe him,” she added simply. “And see, if he… if we can find any way out of that problem.”

Rainbow kept silence for a couple of minutes, watching Fluttershy very attentively.

“I’m sorry, Flutters,” finally muttered she confusedly. “Sorry, that I poured salt on your wound. What happens between you is indeed not my business, pal. But I don’t know what to expect of him… and I don’t like that feeling.”

“And I don’t like the one causing that feeling, Flutters, sorry,” added Rainbow, getting up and embracing Fluttershy tightly. She clumsily stroked the soft pink mane.

“I know, what you think about him,” said Fluttershy softly. “But all that I saw and knew about him, told that he sincerely wanted to help those, he came across in Equestria. If he succeeded in that or not, it’s another question, Dash. Alex may be impulsive, even weird sometimes, he may behave like a complete hay-head, but he isn’t a monster.”

Rainbow Dash sighed.

Alex woke up, maybe the train car passing the railway switch was guilty of that, or Alex’s feeling of being captured and slightly strangled by somepony, which he had the last half of an hour through his sleep. The answer was more prosaic and less dangerous: Rarity turned over and wrapped all her legs around him, so his face ended snuggling into her neck, barely letting him breathe through her mane. Apparently, she dreamed about something pleasant; she didn’t wake, when Alex moved, letting out a sigh instead and nuzzling his head with a tiny smile on her muzzle. It took him a while to accurately slip out of her embrace, not waking Rarity up; she grabbed his pillow instead and cooed something, cuddling it even tighter, when Alex gently stroked her flank.

Taking a look into the mirror Alex smoothed his hair and wiped a couple of faint lipstick prints from his chest, Rarity didn’t lose time even while sleeping; Alex rolled his eyes, wondering how lucky he was not to be poked with her horn. The train passed another switch, they were approaching the station and Alex thought about packing.

The shirt, the boots, in a couple of minutes he was completely set. Rarity’s dress was still on the compartment floor, where they left it; Alex picked and accurately packed it into the clothes case, then swept the jewellery into the small carpetbag.

There was a dilemma now: he had two clothes cases, the carpetbag… and sleeping Rarity, and obviously only two hands. Alex decided not to wake the mare yet, because Rarity was really tired and because he was unsure about more fancy ideas, which could appear under that stylish manedress. Alex scratched his head, that wasn’t a really heavy load, but not quite handy to carry all at once.

‘Rarity will go mad, if she finds out, how I used my tie,’ the silky band was durable enough and Alex tied it to be able to hang both clothes cases and the carpetbag behind his back. Meanwhile, the train was slowing down, the wheels rattled on the frequently passed switches, the dim station lamps slowly floated by behind the compartment window. Alex took a quick look around, checking if he forgot to pick anything, then sat on the edge next to Rarity.

The loco softly rolled past the station, bringing the cars at the boarding platform and coming to a complete stop. Alex waited till all the ponyvillers from their car follow to the exit and leave, then lifted Rarity, who frowned a little, when he took the pillow out of her grip. Although, she consoled quickly, curling on his hands and wrapping her fore legs around his neck. With a happy smile Rarity nested her head on Alex’s shoulder, tickling him with her even breath.

‘I think, I can make it to Ponyville without resting,’ Alex estimated the weight, leaving the compartment. ‘Now all I need is to get out from that car safely…’

It wasn’t a trivial task, despite seeming simplicity, Alex descended the narrow steps really slow, inwardly praying for the express not to start moving again right at that moment and causing a few surprised glances and at least one understanding smile from the conductor and station workers. He was to wait till the train departed to be able to cross the railways and head to the town through the field.

The light breeze played with Rarity’s curled mane, throwing the strands into Alex’s face and making him quietly huff them away, but she still slept on his hands, lulled by his paced walk. Only once she muttered something, snuggling her warm body into him tighter and placing a hot kiss on Alex’s neck.

After a while, as the extra weight affected his speed, the rare lights pierced the darkness; Alex reached the edge of Ponyville. The town was deep into its sleep at that late hour, almost very early hour already, as the morning was nigh; only a few windows glowed on their whole way to Carousel Boutique. Although, one ground floor window was lit there, apparently Sweetie Belle didn’t go to sleep, waiting for her sister, or woke up already.

Inwardly regretting at that moment that he had no magic, Alex was to accurately knock the front door with his knee. In a moment he could hear the hoofsteps and non-suppressed loud yawn, making him smirk.

The door opened, the yawn transformed into “Eek!” sound and for a second the filly stared at him with open mouth and wide opened eyes. Then Sweetie Belle giggled, covering the mouth with her fore hoof.

“Good night, Alex, bring the big girl in…”

“Good night!” the whole scene made Alex smile wider, while he waited till she closed the front door behind. “Or maybe it’s “Good morning” already… Hey, can you help me a bit?”

“Oh, right…” Sweetie Belle untied the knot with her magic and levitated the cases and carpetbag to the nearest chair. “Did everything go fine?”

“More or less,” diplomatically shrugged Alex.

“She slept all the way home,” Alex nodded at Rarity, who nuzzled him with a sigh, making Sweetie Belle flush slightly. “I didn’t want to disturb her and thus carried from the station…”

“Squee! Sorry…” the filly jumped on the spot and turned to the stairs. “Come on,” Sweetie Belle skipped to the upper floor, Alex followed. She opened the door to Rarity’s bedroom and uncovered the bed, so Alex could accurately put Rarity down and make her comfortable. Frankly speaking, the girl let him go quite reluctantly, but soon stretched and relaxed under the blanket, Alex covered her with. Finally, he could stand up and flex the numb arms.

“Sleep well, Rarity!” Alex turned off the light and they exited with Sweetie Belle, closing the door quietly.

“Maybe some tea?” the filly looked up at Alex, when they headed downstairs. “It’s quite fresh outside already and…”

Alex thought that giving himself a ten minutes rest wouldn’t hurt, taking a seat and relaxing his legs and hands was exactly what he needed at that moment.

“Sure thing, Belle. Thank you!” he followed Rarity’s sister to the kitchen and dropped on the chair. “And one more thing, before I forget… Please, untie that band and put it into the case with the rest of the costume. And don’t tell Rarity, I used it as a sling, okay?”

“Well, I definitely must cover you, right?” Sweetie Belle agreed, giggling. She put the kettle and turned to Alex. “So?”

“What can I say? I’m not Pinkie,” Alex stretched to the bone crackle. “Big parties are nice, but in moderation… Definitely too much for me in one evening!”

“Good night, Sweetie Belle!” Alex nodded with a light smile, then winked. “Be gentle with her in the morning!”

The filly snorted, closing the door; Alex leaned his back on the frame and inhaled the night air, gazing into the black velvet, woven with silvery constellations, and listening to the whisper of leaves in Rarity’s garden.

‘Rarity, Rarity…’ he slowly shook his head. ‘It’s a miracle, that day ended without… “casualties”.’

Alex pushed away from the wall, crossed the dooryard, exiting to the street and throwing another look back. The large rotor lazily mixed the air above the sleeping garden behind Carousel Boutique. The window at the ground floor became dark: Sweetie Belle must have headed upstairs as well.

‘I need to stop pushing my luck with Rarity,’ Alex rubbed his temples, feeling that sleep fled completely. ‘She may try different tactics, but at the end of the day, I see one thing – staying with her tete-a-tete becomes a hard game!’

He turned right, going east, instead of north-west – Alex still had one self-assigned duty to attend. The wooden bridge rattle under his quick steps, Alex’s eyes accommodated to the darkness already, his ears caught every quiet sound, including the splash of some fish in the stream below. Leaving Ponyville he took the road through the fields.

The wind became stronger in the open area, making the high grass bow in constant strong waves and turning everything around him into a dark green sea. Nothing interrupted the serenity of the moment, except rare sad cries of some night bird far away at the edge of Everfree. Despite all his problems, current and awaiting him in the future most likely, Alex felt the strange wish to whistle something quietly, a crazy thought came to his mind.

‘Maybe everything settles some day…’

‘Aha, fat chance!’ Alex sadly smirked, pacing forward on the dark road.

Suddenly the silver light flooded the fields: the crescent Moon emerged from the single large cloud and highlighted the road, waves of grass and the old white barn to the right – insensibly Alex covered half of the way. He sped up, then ran lightly to his aim, barely touching the ground with his springy steps.

The dark cottage met Alex with silence, not a single window shone; the large trees guarded its sleep, only even noise of the water wheel in the stream broke the lull. Alex felt that everything was alright here tonight, like numerous nights before. Nevertheless, he circled around once, not entering the garden and listening. The hens sleepily clucked in the wooden coop, something rustled in the tree top, perhaps a late squirrel fiddled in its hollow through the sleep.

Alex spent a few minutes in the shadow of the tree, looking at the familiar window on the first floor, now dark and curtained.

A feeling of somepony watching him fixedly made Alex turn around. The moonlit field looked empty, farther was the dark, darker than the sky, stripe of Everfree, the pitch black mass of the Clock Tower penetrated the air to the far left; everything silent and motionless. Alex slowly scanned the neighbourhood, when his eyesight stumbled upon a low grassy hill with a single large tree in the field, halfway to the forest. A smile lightened his face, when Alex headed there.

“Art thou coming hither every night?” she was laying gracefully in the tree shade and it seemed the part of starry night sky descended and covered the ground around; Luna’s eyes glowed in the darkness slightly.

“Yes, regularly,” Alex simply sat on the grass next to her and Luna rubbed her cheek on his shoulder gently. “Sometimes personally… and sometimes through my “sleepwalking”.”

He moved closer and leaned to her, inhaling the lavender aroma, listening to the leaves above and feeling unusual tranquillity again.

“So, thou art exactly that “ghost”, rumours of which wander in the town,” whispered soft lips in Alex’s ear, making his skin crawl and heart beat faster.

“You’ve heard already…” Alex shook his head with a chuckle, then his tone suddenly became very serious. “I left her house, but I can’t leave her without any protection completely. Thou shan’t deny, the Seekers become more and more impudent… or arrant ignore ponies’ presence lately. It becometh dangerous, mine princess. What could they do next? I’m not going to foresee.” Alex turned to Luna and looked into her eyes. “What I know for sure is that they try to avoid contacting me, feeling mine presence and trying to leave the area.”

“So, I come nightly to check, if everything is alright, if she is safe; I can’t do otherwise,” continued Alex, relaxing a bit. “And make sure they stay away, even if they appear nearby. At least I will feel them… and try to… get rid of them.” Alex went silent, listening to the cicadas he paid no attention before. A couple of minutes passed. “Fortunately they didn’t show up in the sunlight yet, but… I feel out of my element each day, while I don’t know for sure…”

“I understand, lief!” Luna looked forward and, following her glance, Alex saw sleeping Ponyville below: rooftops between the trees, rare lights scattered across the streets. The Night Princess crossed her fore legs and put her head on top, watching the town; a few blades of grass trembled in her lavender breath and her awesome mane flowed, curling around Alex, giving him soft, watery, yet amazingly warm touch.

“I come hither each night I visit Ponyville, lief. Simply beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Beautiful…” but Alex didn’t look at the town at all. He ran his fingers through her soft mane, behind the horn and let his hand travel in her hair, to the back of Luna’s head, along her gracious neck…

“Dost not stop…” cooed the Night, arching her swan neck under his touch. Smiling, Alex did another pass under the sly glance of half-lidded eyes.

“I guess, it was you, who advised the Canterlot Steam Company representative to have a look at my humble efforts here,” Alex pondered aloud, while stroking Luna’s mane gently.

“They would pay their attention anyway, sooner or later, lief… Or somepony from the patent office would inform them eventually. I simply sped up the process a zilch,” the princess giggled like a small filly. “I extend mine hope the attempt wasn’t futile and thou came to some agreement with Solid Deal.”

“I… simply have no words…” Alex shook his head, catching himself on absently scratching behind Luna’s ear. She didn’t protest though, visibly enjoying it.

“Dost not worry, Alex!” Luna’s smile became even brighter. “It’s still arrant thy merit, not… “mine protection”!” she huffed lightly.

“I know Solid Deal for about two years,” elaborated she. “And he didn’t make a single harmful for the company decision yet. Methinks he isn’t in the directorate for nothing…”

“What?!” Alex froze. “Thou dost not say…”

“What terms did you come to?” Luna threw a quick glance at bemused Alex.

“Thirty percent,” slowly squeezed Alex. “Mine exclusive development… and they address me, if ‘t be true they can’t cope with any production. Merlin’s pants, I’d be more discreet, if…”

Luna burst out laughing instead of an answer, making the cicadas shut up instantly. She raised and moved closer, sitting next to him and putting her head on Alex’s shoulder, having much fun of his bewildered look.

“Thou tumbled him arrant,” she still giggled. “Thou seest, he must have been under the strong impression of their missed opportunity… and decided to catch, what they still could. I warned him that thou would give him hard time.”

Alex shook his head slowly, looking at one spot, somewhere miles behind Ponyville. A soft tender kiss on his neck sent an electric jolt along his spine, tearing a gasp from his mouth. Alex turned to the princess.

“Thou art mine soft feathery ruffian, thou…” Alex ran his fingers along her sensitive ears, feeling the strong urge to kiss them, caught Luna’s silky cheeks in his palms and brought his nose to her, looking into big blue eyes.

15. Firestarter

“…thou can only delay the inevitable!!!” hissed her rainbow aura enveloped enemy, wriggling and struggling for a few moments more, before the final blast of combined magic sent the monstrosity to the place of prolonged imprisonment. The destructed walls, cracked and notched columns, pieces of debris and flickering torches smudged and trembled around her; everything became clouded by the milky white fog, she felt like fainting after the exhausting battle…

Suddenly the surrounding changed: there were no castle walls around anymore and fresh wind played with the grassy field in the brightening morning light, making her mane flow and filling the nostrils with unknown smells. Taking a look around revealed that she was standing on a high river bank and fields and meadows, marked with rare trees here and there, spread around as far as the eyesight could reach, limited by the dark stripe of the woods at the horizon. The only other noticeable tree mass nearby was a small grove, covering a low hill to the right. The Sun was rising completely unattended, but strangely that didn’t appear as a shocking surprise.

The approaching rumble came from the sky, making her stretch out the neck and watch anxiously: a gleaming flying machine appeared from behind the hill, large rotors kept it in the air; she remembered Twilight told about that thing once – humans called it “helicopter”.

Despite her being a quite noticeable spot on the grassy bank, the helicopter flew by, heading to something that completely slipped from her attention before – far to the left, in the light of independently rising Sun, lied the large city. Tall light-grey buildings, roads, parks and streets; it could look a piece of colourful carpet from that distance, but it was evidently real and resembled her… Manehattan from the first look.

‘Earth! That’s Earth,’ guessed she. ‘His homeworld…’

Large horses with wings were hardly an everyday occurrence for humans, but since the flying machine disappeared in distance, nopony else showed in her view as far as she could notice. As the peaceful silence returned, the birds started chirping, greeting the morning again; there were only them, fluttering above the field and diving in the grassy waves. Cautiously she took a look over the shoulder, a wide river lazily flowed in the twilight of high bank shadow, unreached yet by the sunlight; no unfortunate evidence there as well. The area seemed quite wild and inhabited, giving an opportunity to risk.

With a sigh she spread her vast wings and soared, heading to that grove nearby. She couldn’t tell why, but something attracted her to that tree-clad hill. Although, she decided to keep the safe distance and watch. Unaware of the reasons of both her attention to that place and sudden anxiety, she spotted a wide glade at the hilltop and managed to land on the large tree with thick branches, hiding in its lush green crown; surprisingly she could see everything in slightest details.

A small bright sparkle appeared above the ground in the middle of the clearing, quickly spreading into a portal, shimmering like a pool of quicksilver; a few unicorn ponies jumped out of that warp, heavily loaded, each with large saddlebags. They completely ignored that the portal immediately collapsed behind them and quickly started their work, unloading some equipment to the ground.

The winged observer noticed to her bewilderment, that all the unicorns were armoured, dark steel flickered in the sun rays, coming through the treetops. Unnoticed she watched, how a few of them started guarding the area immediately, spreading around the perimeter, one more unicorn gathered dry branches and cleared a fireplace in the center of the glade, another two addressed the brought equipment, assembling something of it. They moved like clockwork dolls, no commands, no talk, no unnecessary sound, except those their movements accidentally produced; the expression of neutral concentration was on each and every muzzle. And their eyes…

‘Oh, Harmony! These eyes… I’ve seen them already… That absent glazed look into the distance and calm emotionless indifference. But how can they act coherently then?!’

Meanwhile, the spurts of flame raised at the prepared fireplace, adding more light to the scene and allowing her to see the device, two unicorns assembled, in details. At that moment it looked mostly like a giant mirror frame, with crystals, built in the thickenings, complex carving, tubes wrapped around the edges, and massive stable base. The ponies put it on the flat even spot on the ground and continued assembling the remaining frame, now standing vertically.

One of the “guard” unicorns left his duty and joined another, who ignited the flames; the latter simply lay down comfortably on the grass nearby. The sparkle of magic fell from the horn of the guard pony, putting the lying one to sleep and causing a muffled gasp from the secret observer. She saw exactly that scene not long ago and realized to her terror, what could happen next… what should happen next no doubt.

It didn’t take a long time: a ghostly human figure started to materialize near the sleeping unicorn, gaining volume and mass. He obviously became larger, something dark concentrated behind his back, but when the human looked up and stretched, she could clearly tell, that was Alex. As much of him as left in that creature, clad in heavy black with silver armour, moody and dangerous!

‘Did he gain the ability to reach everypony through their dreams?!’ her thoughts bustled in panic.

The human, if Alex could be called that way now, inhaled and enormous black wings spread with soft rustle; a grim smile wormed on his face, resembling a motionless mask at that moment, dark shadows lied around the eyes, looking like two pools of the void – darkness splashed in them. Alex stretched out his hands to the fire and the flames obediently enveloped him, adding fiery “armour” to the steel one. He could fully control it, like during the first encounter with the Seeker; Alex looked right through her, evidently unable to disclose, as nothing reflected on his face, yet making the observer shudder inwardly.

With a few heavy flaps, sending hot sparkles fly around, he soared, like a giant phoenix, and made a narrow circle around the glade, raising higher and observing the surroundings. Now her vantage point in the top of the tree, concealed with leaves, seemed an excessive precaution not, as she wasn’t completely sure, if Alex really couldn’t see her due to some strange coincidence. She even crouched on her branch, when he passed above the tree, flames roaring fanned by the adverse air.

The familiar rumble, brought by the wind, caught her attention; looking over her shoulder and up in the sky she noticed the same flying machine approaching the hill. Naturally, the patrolling “human” spotted it as well, he stopped, hovering in the air, the flames burned brighter, as the helicopter quickly shortened the distance. Silence fell, as the birds hid and shut, startled by the mechanic noise.

With a blinding flash the flames formed a wider sphere around the winged sleepwalker – the second tier of armour, made of stripes and threads of swirling fire. Evidently, it was taken as a sign of aggression by the helicopter pilot, the machine muzzle lit up by the rotating with dry metal clatter device; the helicopter passed the glade, sprinkling it with small shiny metal cylinders. She could notice a few bright bursts in the flames, and guessed that the projectiles got incinerated there, not reaching the aim; the ponies below continued their meticulous work, like nothing was happening, not giving any attention to the battle unfolding above.

Alex made a loop and tried to latch to the bottom of the machine, perhaps he planned to turn it over, but the helicopter weaseled away at the limit of pilot’s reaction. Despite the shock, the latter was going to make another attempt; the pilot must have noticed the activity on the glade and hardly liked the look of it. The metal bird hovered at the distance and turned around almost on the spot.

Another wave of gunfire did nothing, but Alex wasn’t going to wait till the pilot switched his attention and provided danger for the ponies working below: a few clusters of flames dashed from the sphere to the machine in response, blooming with fiery roses on its hull. One reached the tube-like shape right under the rotors, the sound of tearing metal reached their ears and in a second the helicopter exploded in the sky, turning into the expanding sphere of scarlet, orange and bright white flames, hardly dimmer than the rising sun.

Stifling the silent scream with her fore hoof over the mouth she watched, how the burning parts of the flying machine fell far into the field like in slow motion, leaving dark threads of smoke in the air. “The human” returned and hovered above the glade, facing the distant city, obviously ready to prevent any new attack attempt. The ease, he finished the armoured machine with, was quite intimidating, and she considered her chances; any magic impact was pointless, as she knew, and she had no idea, where his actual body resided. Retreating looked like a much smarter decision, taking into account that she was invisible for them all somehow.

She spread her wings, ready to take off, but then her glance fell at the glade and the unicorns again and she froze, watching. The device was assembled and activated: with low hum and glow of the crystals in its frame, the “mirror” slowly filled with the familiar quicksilver-like matter, forming a portal large enough for a couple of royal chariots to come through. Time froze for a second…

The first row of horns, steel-shod hooves, armoured muzzles and heads emerged from the warp; hooves met the ground, ploughing it up, the next line of unicorns followed shortly, and next one, and next with no end to that.

They quickly spread along the glade, forming the front line facing the city direction; more and more ponies continued to arrive and, naturally, they started going down the hill, tacking among the trees, but keeping the order. That wasn’t a herd, an army, that was a swarm, with only unicorns in avant-garde and mixed after maybe the first hundred of lines. The avalanche of ponies, all heavily armoured, emotionless and still determined to execute whichever order they got, reached the field, muffling all the sounds with the trampling and gaining speed.

When steel clad pegasi started to fly out of the portal, it was too much for her. With a totally non-royal squeak, she spread her wings and soared, raising higher and distancing from the grove, ready to surround herself with protective shield at any second. She couldn’t afford to attack the ponies, yet was unable to take down the one, who guided them, risking to take as much damage as she could inflict. The swarm rolled below, spreading across the whole field, it’s aim was obvious – the city, unsuspecting and unprepared.

‘How many of them die in that horrible attack?!’ she painfully squinted.

Suddenly the wall of flames rose in front of the pony army, rushing forward and shielding them; it looked like their lead wasn’t going to trade any of them easily. With the roar of fire “the human” glided under her, flying low; she could feel the heat even on a considerable distance, fluttering in despair.

“It’s only a dream, Tia,” the familiar silvery voice made her twitch surprisingly, yet it was the most soothing thing, she could expect in the situation alike. “A nightmare forsooth, but it existeth in thy imagination only, heated by thy concerns and suspicions.”

The world around them froze, the swarm, the fiery menace, the grass and trees, as she could feel no wind… even the Sun stopped in the sky. With a fitful sigh Celestia turned around, to see her regal sister hovering next to her with a small pacifying smile, feeling a great weight off her mind.

“Comest with me, sunny!” Luna nodded, her horn lit up with the magic and everything around became smudged and rippled. “Thou hast spent hither too much time methinks. Tis nerves shuttering, I guess.”

“Arrrgghhh!” with a migraine-like groan Celestia unglued her head from the pillow. The next thing she saw, gaining focus, was Luna comfortably sitting in the armchair and watching her sister.

“That was only a dream…” muttered Celestia, raising on her fore hooves. “But what a nightmare it was!”

“How beest thee, sunny?” Luna slid next to her, sitting on the bed and nuzzling sisters shoulder, wrapping her in lavender aroma coming from the flowing night-coloured mane. She looked in Celestia’s eyes with concern. “Mayhap I should take thee out of thither long ere… Thou lookest shaky still.”

“Well…” Celestia cleared her throat. “Did you see it, Lulu? Did you see that… swarm?”

Luna shortly nodded, waiting for continuation.

“There were millions, I think… He must have mobilized half of Equestria!” Celestia squinted, sitting on the bed, trying to gather her thoughts. “Mares and stallions, young and strong mostly, all moving like enthralled…”

“Tia, please… That was only a bad dream,” Luna touched her shoulder lightly. “Thou seeing things, which bother thee, in a nightmare, maketh it a prophecy not.”

But the Day Princess got on her hooves and started measuring the room, voicing her concerns.

“It was him, you can’t deny, blueberry… It… he looked like Alex and was Alex exactly, but… different…”

“Nightmare Alex?”

“Oh, Lulu! I don’t find that funny at all,” Celestia threw a slightly reproachful at her younger sister. “He gained certain powers, that was the… sleepwalking version of him!”

“He could control the objects, he could control fire,” continued she, seeing that Luna was patiently listening. “Exactly like he did the first time he confronted that Seeker. When he travelled to the place through your dream, Lulu!”

A few seconds only quick hoofsteps broke the silence, Celestia huffed, shaking her mane and making rose aroma more pronounced; apparently, Luna decided to give her an opportunity to vent and tell everything.

“When I saw that poor unicorn put to sleep with a spell, I realized what was going to happen next,” the white alicorn cocked her head, her eyes shone. “But now he can reach anypony through their dreams… and can fly. He was invading worlds through portals, using the pony army and his ability to enter dreams. The one we saw, was his home world – Earth!”

“But what must have happened here for that to become even possible!” exclaimed she, waking her pet phoenix, who chirped loudly on her perch and flapped wings anxiously.

“Oh, Tia… Thou art talking about that, as if it was the reality, given and inevitable,” with her magic Luna scratched Philomena’s neck and back, calming the bird; Celestia watched the phoenix, cooing something quietly and stretching her neck squinting, and her own shoulders relaxed a bit. “I said that once and I’m going to repeat again: thou art suspicious about Alex, mayhap even afraid of what he may bring to Equestria, it’s natural that thou saw things bothering thee in thy dream, and Alex looked exactly like himself. All the rest is the result of thy daily stress, mine lief.”

“Thou workest more and get less and less sleep,” Luna took a look over her sister. “Thy concerns don’t leave thee for a moment, thus the result. Everything, what thou saw, are the elements of our everyday reality, simply combined in a weird mix in thy dream, thy tired mind gave thee mercilessly. We had a few morbid incidents in the past, so it’s natural forsooth that thou art overly cautious about everypony unusual.”

“But…”

“Sunny, thither is a certain difference between things, thou thinkest may befall, even thou fearest to befall and the things, which shall inevitably befall no matter what. A certain chance existeth of course, but…” Luna rose from the bed and approached her sister, looking into her eyes fixedly and absolutely seriously. “I can recognize the evil, thou knowest, Tia.” She fell silent for a while, then added. “I saw none in him!”

“Are you sure, sister?” Celestia leaned to Luna, putting her head on sister’s shoulder. “Because…”

“I am!” Luna’s answer was categorical. “Absolutely!”

“Now get some sleep, sis,” she nudged Celestia towards the bed lightly. “Thou needst rest, it’s only three past midnight, Tia. I can stay with thee for a while, if ‘t be true thou wantest.”

After lingering for a minute, Celestia nodded and returned to her bed, promptly fixed by her sister’s aura; she tried to nest comfortably, but something obviously didn’t get out of her mind, as her eyes were still full of concern.

“I have a feeling, we aren’t controlling the situation already…” muttered she quietly, laying her head on the pillows and watching Luna, who sat on the bed edge.

Luna simply shook her head slowly, kissing her sister and covering her accurately with the blanket.

“Sunny, dost not make thy wish to control the situation let the situation control thee…”

The look of slowly smouldering furnace was so heartwarming, contrasting to what it was a couple of weeks before, Alex simply stood for a while, leaning on the fence, and watched the embers, brightly glowing in early morning shadows, fanned by the light wind. No sound disturbed the peaceful silence at that moment, except some skylarks chirping far in the field. Rare sparkles floated in hot air ripples, dancing above the candent surface, and quickly vanished in the first rays of rising Sun.

Alex smirked and mentally wished Celestia a good morning, he didn’t hurry to bother the owners with his visit, as rightfully considered entering the smithy yard without invitation simply impolite. Although, knowing the old blacksmith and his niece being the early birds, he had no worries either – soon one of them would definitely look out of the house and see their guest; Alex decided to wait for a while, inwardly playing the possible course of their talk with Will.

The front door screeched, letting the sound spread widely in the cool morning air and revealing golden braided mane and its whole owner’s nicely shaped figure. Girl’s eyes took a look over the yard and stopped on Alex, Silver Ingot froze for a short moment, surprisingly blinking twice.

“Oh…” she looked embarrassed, but quickly braced herself and waved her fore hoof. “Come in. Just… a second…” she disappeared into the house and Alex could hear her surprised and slightly anxious voice. “Uncle Will!.. Uncle, Alex is here!”

“That early?! Hmm…” the old unicorn cleared his throat; Alex waited outside, listening to the hoofsteps approaching the door. “What’s happened, my dear?”

“I don’t know… I hope nothing serious, uncle. You’d better ask him.”

“Good morning, young gentlecolt… errmmm… man!” Will squinted at Alex patiently waiting in the yard, looking for tiny signs of bad news in the posture of the human; the blacksmith got used to them and treated the life realistically, to think that early visits meant bad news more often than good ones. That time he couldn’t find any visible precursors, despite Alex was like a tight bow inside, but Will didn’t hurry to relax and inwardly prepared himself for everything. “You wanted to tell me something, Alex? Well, this time is neither better nor worse than any other, go on, tell, what bothers you.”

“Actually, I wanted to ask rather,” Alex spread his hands, unsure how to approach his problem. After a short hesitation he decided to start with the main thing. “Would you take an apprentice, sir?”

“Aaaa… errmmm…” Silver Ingot dropped her jaw, unable to believe her ears. Her uncle treated that thunder strike statement with more moderation; apparently, Alex was least joking and Will was going to listen, what that strange human had to add. Alex used the sudden silence to his own advantage, elaborating fast.

“Sir, I have some fairly amateur experience of blacksmith craft, which accompanied my reconstruction and fighting training, but I would like to grow above mine limited knowledge. You see, what I’m trying to do can only benefit from me being involved in the production process personally. If I know what and how is done, I can find better ways to improve mine wares… and progress myself. And I mean not only and not mostly the generators,” Alex took a breath; seeing that the old blacksmith listened attentively, he continued. “That armour we make… I considered all possible variants and it looked like we couldn’t make it any better… while keeping it simple. You know, I have serious reasons to be unsure about strong magic associated with something, that concerns me directly, but that armour needs to hold against much more, than it can at the moment. I have a few ideas, which can hopefully improve our product technologically and… I will be glad to see you getting more new customers as the result. That’s possible, but… I need to be involved in the process to try that,” shrugged Alex, he wasn’t happy with his mess of explanation. “Besides, I’d like to hope that I’m capable of something more complex, than moving the crates at the freight yard.”

Will nodded shortly, acknowledging the latter reason being not the least important, he examined Alex fixedly, then took thought. Silver Ingot overcame her bewilderment and now quietly alternated between her uncle and the human, yet not entirely believing, what she heard.

“You are going to confront those creatures, princesses warned about in their announcement, right?” finally slowly said the old blacksmith; raising his eyes on Alex and seeing his amazement, Will chuckled. “You are magic resistant, besides, you aren’t a pony, so, aren’t affected by the damage they inflict, you seem not to be afraid of some challenge… and you suddenly need armour, while it’s practically nothing to use it against, at least in that part of Equestria. I may be an old soldier, but I can add two and two.”

“Well…” Alex sighed, disarmed, then laughed. “It would be foalish to try to deceive you. Yes, Will, you are right, that’s about the plan.”

“But, uncle…” Silver Ingot touched old blacksmith’s shoulder and he shortly nodded, agreeing with her unvoiced concern.

“Alas, there is one thing, which makes me less enthusiastic,” with a sad smirk the unicorn stomped from hoof to hoof. “My own service is hardly demanded nowadays, let alone taking an apprentice and wasting somepony’s else time and effort. I’m afraid, you would only lose time, learning something,that you couldn’t apply later. Besides, we won’t have much to practice on, Alex – you are our first and the only one customer for quite a few years already.”

“Exactly!” ardently objected Alex. “I am still your customer… and I shall be for quite a while. It appeareth that many ponies in Ponyville need mine generators, I got a few more orders on the last week. That means a lot of work, and there shall be more…”

The filly gasped and cupped her mouth with her fore hoof, Willsmash squinted, trying to concentrate on some thought eluding him. Not giving them time to tell anything Alex continued enforcing his arguments.

“As I said, I have a few ideas, which can make our… your service unique, if properly implemented. Thither shall be customers, in the earnest!..” Alex bit his tongue, watching the squinting blacksmith, and quickly added. “I want to try something that can bring the smithy back to the competition… even stand out! It’s your choice, sir, to let me in or…”

“Are you going to say that you hope to compete even large companies?” Will shook his head, the human sounded crazy and at the same time quite confident in his ideas, that confidence strangely looked like having solid ground underneath.

“Not only and not exactly to compete,” Alex produced a sly smile. “I’m going to try and make them need our service!” the unicorn only huffed, but Alex continued. “Come on, we still have Ponyville to work for, we have our own time and… we have armour to improve. I’m sure, we can make it profitable after that likewise.”

Willsmash still weighed something inwardly, he threw a glance on his smithy over the shoulder and chuckled.

“Well, young gentlecolt, why not. But I stick to certain standards of my work and not going to refuse them, even if I didn’t have an apprentice for Celestia knows how long,” old Will squinted, a sly sparkle flashed in his eye. “You said, you had some experience, that’s nice… Actually, I’ve understood that already. You know, what you are doing, and that means, we will hardly stomp on one spot, if we have to work and learn at the same time.”

Alex produced a small smile, he was ready for something alike, that was only rational to find out the level of training of the potential apprentice. He even suspected the further route of their conversation.

“However, I firmly believe that one, who plans to progress in armour and weapon making,” continued Willsmash. “Must be able to imagine how to use their product, how it works in reality. Only in that case their work can be relied on.” Alex shortly nodded, inwardly praising himself for coming earlier. “Surely, your fighting training must make things easier…”

“I’m ready for the test, sir,” Alex inquiringly glanced around. “Right here, in the yard?”

“Uncle Will…” started Silver Ingot, but the old blacksmith interrupted her with a soft gesture.

“Calm down, child. I’m not that old to avoid recalling my early days and try, what Alex is worth in a fight. And don’t worry, I won’t hurt our guest much,” he squinted at his niece, making the girl flush.

“Let’s see,” muttered the old unicorn, heading to the empty part of the yard and a wooden rack with numerous poles and clubs sticking from it. “So, take your pick. I have real swords and spears, but that’s only a test…”

Alex pulled a long wooden pole out of the rack and weighed it in his hands, he swirled the “weapon” around himself, throwing it from one hand to another, checking the length and handiness. Willsmash raised one eyebrow and took two shorter clubs, levitating them with his magic.

“The rules are simple. No muzzle, head or below the belt hits. Everything else – at your discretion. Ready?”

Alex saluted with the pole instead of an answer… and immediately was to reflect an attack, holding his stick with both hands and knocking away the first bat, then ducking and blocking another, which approached from behind. Wood hit wood with distinctive loud dry crackle.

“The real enemy won’t wait and ask questions,” muttered old Will, trying to walk around Alex and find the blind spot in the defense of his deceptively lazily rotating pole. He made another attempt, again from two different sides at the same time. Silver Ingot watched them with dilated eyes from the front door.

Alex was to think and act quickly, the advantage was obviously at the side of magically driven clubs, capable to approach him from almost every direction and angle, yet he was to mind the pace, not to get exhausted earlier.

‘Must keep them away from my knees and shoulders!’ he made sure that nothing is going inside the “sphere”, he was drawing with his stake, as the properly placed hit could easily make his own strikes less effective for a while.

Alex dived under the next attack, so, the club stuck in the sandy ground, turned and hit another with full force to make it bounce further away; not wasting time he balanced the pole and dashed to the blacksmith…

“Quite nice, young gentlecolt,” huffed Will, when after half an hour they sat at the doorstep, breathing heavily; both clubs and the pole looked rather shabby, but the satisfied smirk on the scarred muzzle unambiguously told that the blacksmith liked, what he saw.

“Hmm… I would like to share that enthusiasm,” Alex cringed rubbing his side, he missed a couple of tangible hits there and at his hip. “If there were real swords, I wouldn’t have been in one piece most likely.”

“If you didn’t hesitate to attack me more often and aggressively,” the old unicorn looked at him fixedly. “I would have less time to plan my own attacks and chance to carry them out. It’s not the case to be unnecessarily polite, Alex. But to tell the truth, without magic I could hardly get past your defense either; whoever taught you, taught you well, you did right keeping that knowledge.”

“Okay, I’ll be less scrupulous next time…”

After a second Willsmash laughed loud.

“Well, you guessed right. Why don’t we try indeed, darn it! Ultimately, I’m not getting younger year after year,” he became serious at once. “When can you start?”

“I must round out my duties at the station first,” Alex imagined the station master’s expression, after being told he was going to leave, and shrugged. “They probably won’t let me out for a month, but I’ll try to bargain less.”

“Fine!” Willsmash levitated the pole and examined it closely. “Speaking of the weapon, if you really want to confront those creatures…”

“I was thinking about a long spear or something along those lines,” confessed Alex, stretching the aching side. “To be able to pierce the… them, afore they can buck.”

“You worked quite nicely with that stake today,” the blacksmith threw a quick glance at him. “It seems the weapon suits you well. Actually, I thought of a double-end glaive rather. You know what I’m talking about, right?”

“Hey, gentlecolts!” Alex’s reply was interrupted by a loud call from the gate; a long covered cart stopped there with uneven mechanic rumble and one of the stallions pulling it addressed them no doubt, as there was nopony else around. “Can I talk to the local blacksmith?”

Sporting a sly grin Alex pointed at Willsmash with his thumb, the latter seemed overly surprised by that sudden question, nevertheless took the business tone.

“What can I help you with?”

A muffled squeak from behind their backs made Alex look up over his shoulder and see Silver Ingot, who approached the door and watched the cart like some miracle.

Meanwhile, the driving stallion elaborated.

“Somepony in the town told us, we could find the blacksmith here… They mumbled something else,” he scoffed. “But I had no time for stupid rumours. We’re in transit here and the cart is badly broken… The darn thing is barely moving. I simply need somepony to fix it and do their job nicely.”

“Well…” Alex raised and winked at Will and the filly, who froze like thunderstruck. “It nev’r raineth all the time!” He wanted to say something about the Sun shining again, but reconsidered in time, rightfully supposing that it would be not entirely smart to remind the blacksmith about Celestia once again in the present context. “Apologies, but I need to go, for I hear the cargo calling,” with the light heart Alex bowed slightly. “Have a nice day, ye all.”

He quickly crossed the yard, while the old unicorn opened and closed his mouth, without proper words in mind; Alex addressed the newcomers.

“Hither is exactly the master you need. But mind, please, his quality work is expensive, in the earnest!” with the imperturbable look Alex hopped over the fence and headed across the field.

“…so, do you plan to build your “windmill” onto the...” Twilight switched her attention from the book to Alex, raising her glance at him and putting her chin on folded fore hooves.

“No, Twilight, I said that once and I’m still not going to attach anything to your Golden Oak, don’t worry. I’m going to put the rotor behind the library, in the field… It won’t be even visible from Ponyville due to the size of the tree. I pull the wiring from there and pass it into your underground lab, or better say “undertree lab”. Although, Twi, I can’t see how my mechanism can harm the oak, considering all the things that forest giant can cope with and evidently is not objecting against,” Alex closed a thick heavy geological reference book and took a look around, as if hinting of everything already built in the giant tree trunk. “Hardly the rotor at the very top would change anything, besides, we could put it really high for more wind power.”

“But I won’t do that, if you don’t want. We decided, so be it,” he weighed the tome in his hands, then threw a quick glance at the book’s original place, in the corner of the very high shelf, almost under the ceiling of the hall. Alex critically observed the thin long rung ladder. “Errmmm… Twilight, could you please…”

“Oh, come on Alex!” Twilight followed his glance and rolled her eyes sarcastically. “It’s only as high as that room is, not some chasm. You need to fight your phobia, if it is making even routine household tasks uneasy for you.”

“Actually, I do fight my phobia,” Alex downcasted. “With varied success…” then added mentally. ‘And mostly when my material body is guaranteed to remain unscathed anyway!’

“I agreed to double anti-fire precautions, building the scheme for your library, according to your concerns… Can you respect my own… quirks likewise?” He looked at Twilight pleadingly. “You don’t even need to leave the couch for that, Twi…”

“Oh… Okay,” the alicorn girl sighed and took the tome from his hands with magic, returning it to the proper place at the higher bookshelf. “I still think you should bring more effort, getting rid of your acrophobia, Alex, otherwise it may play an ugly joke on you someday.”

“Thanks,” Alex sighed with visible relief. “And speaking of my work, thanks for checking the contract for me.”

“You’re welcome,” Twilight’s eyes followed the lines in her book again. “I’ve run it through and didn’t find anything dubious or misleading, but I sent it to one friend in Manehattan to have a professional look. I think we must give him a couple of days. By the way, how do things go with the patent office?”

“I got all the necessary documents the day before yesterday,” Alex stopped gathering his papers and picked up the pencil, he dropped to the floor. “So, my invention has a completely legal status now,” he let out a small, but satisfied smile.

“I’m sure it’s only a formality and the contract is genuine, thus with confirmation of the patent office your invention will finally work for you, Alex,” Twilight looked at him again. “Are you still positive about leaving your current work at the station?” she watched him checking his notes.

“Yes, Twilight, I am. I see armour building as a more interesting job, besides I need to invest certain effort into it, as I think, I will come across more and more Seekers, while staying here. Of course, they were not overly happy with me leaving,” Alex chuckled, scratching the back of his head with the pencil. “But I had a talk with the chief and hinted quite opaquely that they will gain much more with me doing my other job, than staying at the freight yard.”

“I wanted to make their work easier since my first days there,” elaborated he, seeing Twilight’s questioning look. “And now with Canterlot Steam Company, adding their production capacity to my plans, I can actually do that.”

“I still can’t see how armour making can help that,” Twilight shrugged lightly.

“Well, armour is only the… “testing sample”, Twi, what I’m going to do can be applied more widely, but…” Alex looked at her fixedly. “Hey, I thought your evaluation of old Will was more on the prudent side?”

“My – perhaps,” Twilight turned a page, deliberately not looking at Alex. “But I can imagine that your business with the old blacksmith can probably change your image in somepony’s eyes, because…”

The accurate knock at the front door interrupted her, Alex looked through the window and exchanged glances with Twilight – the Sun was setting, visitors unexpected; Spike was taking a nap upstairs.

“Come on in,” Twilight raised her voice.

“Good evening, Twilight,” the door opened and closed and the familiar voice made Alex want to become invisible in his armchair. Sweetie Belle told him recently, that her big sister woke up late the day after the Gala, got down and had her late breakfast in silence, carefully remembering something or listening to herself, then was noticeably grumpy the rest of the day. ‘Failed expectations!’ concluded Alex inwardly, while Sweetie Belle described him “morning Rarity” in details, giggling.

“I just wanted to ask about one thing…” cooed Rarity, Twilight welcomed her with a wide gesture. “I was at the Apple Farm, with my sister, walked her there for the sleepover, the girls arranged… and then I decided to check you, guys, and ask.”

“Good evening, Ahlex, darling!” apparently, Rarity changed anger to mercy, as she dragged an armchair with her magic and nested closer to Alex with all possible comfort. “So…”

Alex and Twilight showed polite interest; Alex a bit less sincere, than Twilight, he was still unsure what to expect from the devoted unicorn fashionista, despite salvatory presence of another pony.

“As you both may know, I am going to present mine new collection soon,” Rarity cocked her head, throwing a spear glance at Alex. “I must say, it becoming ready sooner is solely certain human’s merit. To tell the truth, I’m almost ready to ask you do the same to my new sewing machine, darling,” she leaned to him adding in theatrical whisper, then returned to the main matter of her visit. “But I thought I could make the impression stronger, if I showcased another qualitative work of obvious importance. Besides, several dresses follow the gamma quite nicely, so…” Rarity raised one eyebrow.

“I wanted to ask, if you let me take the restored royal tapestry for a while,” Rarity addressed Alex, elaborating finally. “So I could exhibit it with the collection, darling. That would be fabulous!” exclaimed she enthusiastically.

With the light rustle, awoken by the louder voices, Spike appeared on the stairs, squinting at the bright light. He noticed Rarity and froze in the middle of the stairs, rubbing his eyes and staring at her sleepily, as at some miracle he didn’t expect to see.

Watching him Rarity laughed heartily and took a look around the room, like if she was seeing it for the first time or found some new aspect of it at that moment.

“I must say, you have quite a homely and cozy atmosphere here,” with a warm smile she nested deeper in her armchair. “Unlike some other places today…” a light shadow ran across her muzzle, attracting Alex’s attention.

“What do you mean?” he put his notes aside and Spike whisked to the bathroom to bring himself in proper order.

“Well, I could never think, I say that about Apple farm,” Rarity rubbed the armrest pensively. “But the atmosphere there, when we came, was like a minefield. I’m not committing a crime against truth, saying that, darling!” she waved her mane theatrically and elaborated.

“When we arrived, Applejack and Big Mac were arguing about old trees removal or something,” Rarity wrinkled her forehead remembering, it looked like if it took some effort and she flushed embarrassedly. “The funny thing is, I can’t remember the details well, but it didn’t look like usual Apple farm, to tell the truth. It seemed, Jackie didn’t want to remove some tree, because she thought it can be yet saved… awoken to life or something along those lines. And Big Mac said there wasn’t any alive twig and the tree could be used as the firewood only, moreover, it could probably contaminate the nearby ones, if it was ill,” Rarity rubbed her temples forcedly and Alex arched the eyebrow, listening very attentively since some moment. “Strange… I can’t… They listlessly disputed all the way I stayed, that’s for sure. Granny Smith grumbled about soot gathering in the chimney, so soon the smoke would come inside the kitchen rather. She said that there were quite a few young and strong ponies around, but things going that way, she would need to climb the roof herself or hire the sweeper.”

She put her fore hoof on Alex’s hand and this time he simply turned his palm up, taking her slightly trembling hoof gently and making Spike frown; the latter just returned, fully awoken, with clear eyes, but caught only the very tail of the story. He nested at the edge of the couch near Twilight and threw a reproachful glance at Alex.

“The girls started teasing each other and arguing about something almost the moment they gathered,” Rarity frowned a bit, her eyes were still focused on something seemingly far away, as she tried to recall the recent events. “But when I said that we should probably go home, they quickly calmed down, apologized… and whisked to the orchard, to their clubhouse, I guess.”

Alex’s face darkened, as he was thinking about something, and Rarity continued.

“Even I myself felt out of my element,” she chuckled nervously, stroking Alex’s palm absently and causing another fiery glance from Spike. “I remembered, completely without rhyme or reason, about my almost failed collection… you know that display for Hoity Toity,” she shuddered and looked at everypony present, like if only seeing them at that moment. “That was awful! Truly awful, why did I even think about that?” added Rarity in the dramatic whisper.

Alex and Twilight exchanged the glances; Twilight looked noticeably concerned as well and Alex realized, she must have thought exactly about the same as him. Releasing Rarity’s fore hoof softly, Alex got up.

“Look, Rarity, we need to go check one thing with Twilight,” he grabbed his notes and Twilight nodded fast. “You stay hither, with Spike… till we return,” Alex looked in the eyes of still not understanding unicorn girl. “We simply check, if ‘t be true everything is alright… with the trees… and the chimney. Besides,” he turned to Twilight, winking at her barely noticeably. “methinks, Apples need a small guidance in friendship right now.”

Spike alternated between them with wide open eyes and bemused look, Rarity felt nearly the same and watched Alex heading to his room, with slightly strange expression. Twilight got up and quickly put away the book she was reading; she trotted to the kitchen and when returned, unnoticed by others, there was a large medkit in the saddle bag she took with her.

Alex left his notes on the table, he used the moment Rarity was asking Twilight about something and subtly locked the door.

“Well, I’m arrant ready,” he waved Twilight from the front door. “Dost not worry, Rarity, we shall be back shortly…” Twilight rolled her eyes and followed him outside, into the thickening shadows.

“What was that, pray tell?” Rarity raised her eyebrow, but Spike realized, he was left to “guard and comfort” her and threw away all the thoughts about events unimportant for him.

“Rarity, you know Twilight,” he waved his paw, ogling his white goddess with a smile. “She can be… a little strange sometimes. And Alex…” he shrugged. “…is Alex – that’s just another degree of weird, if you ask me. Well…”

“Next time, when you tell anypony not to worry,” Twilight huffed sarcastically, when the front door closed behind them. “Mind thy tongue better Alex, otherwise the effect may be contrary to expected.”

“Arrghhh!” groaned Alex. “It’s hard to notice in time… Lookest…” he made a visible effort. “Look, we must act fast. I can’t be teleported, Twi, so, you go there and try to find Jackie and Mac as quickly as you can, then find the fillies,” he looked at the darkening sky with concern. “I’ll return to my room and follow you by… sleepwalking.”

Twilight nodded nervously, she didn’t get used to that yet; Alex continued.

“Thus I can appear right where necessary, I hope… and I shall be of more help, in the earnest,” he kneeled to Twilight’s eyelevel. “Please hurry, but remember… and warn others – ye ain’t supposed to look at them… into their “eyes” at least. Beest careful!”

With a clap and bright flash Twilight teleported, Alex reached the windowsill in a couple of jumps and climbed back into the room; he searched fast, trying to make no noise – he needed Twilight’s sleeping potion. ‘Come on, come on! Whither it was?..’

She found Applejack with the teacup behind the table, mumbling something about “brutally treating the perfectly curable trees”; when Twilight burst into the room, her friend raised the eyes on her with slight bewilderment.

“Evening, Twi… What’s ‘bout all the hurry,” Applejack took a look over the ruffled princess. “Ah…”

“Listen, Applejack,” Twilight was at the “low start”. “There is no time to waste! Where is Big Mac?”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Applejack looked at her, exactly like when Twilight desperately tried to learn something about friendship and write a letter to Celestia, before the day ended – in other words, like at slightly nuts alicorn girl. “It’s late, and… Ah was going to drag the girls home already… You know, they never come by themselves. And you’re coming in like a storm… What’s the darn matter, partner?”

Twilight almost jumped on the spot, but took herself in the hooves and tried to elaborate as calm and simple as she could.

“It’s exactly about the girls. Although, we all aren’t entirely safe. Remember that royal announcement about the strange horse-like creatures? Well, we have reasons to think, at least one is somewhere nearby. We need to find the girls and bring them home fast. That’s why I was asking about your brother.”

“Tarnation!” Applejack dropped the cup, but didn’t even bat an eyelash at the sound of breaking ceramic. “Macky had gone to the town a tad before you came…”

Twilight groaned. ‘Things getting more complicated! Although… maybe the less uninvolved ponies, the better…’

“Are you sure, Ah mean… Ah be damned!” Jackie’s hooves dropped at the realization. “We started to feel strangely since noon… Ah have loads of work usually, so…” she scratched her head. “Now Ah can say, it felt… depressive. And the feel only doubled in the evening. What should we do, Twilight?!” she startled.

“Sweet Celestia!” gasped Twilight. “Things are worse than I expected! Okay, me and you, we need to find the girls fast… Where are they?”

“Must be in their clubhouse or somewhere near,” breathed out Applejack, when they ran out to the twilight. “Follow meh, Twi!”

They passed the barn, corral, beds of flowers and crops; the apple orchard stood as the dark wall, the pink stripe at the western edge of the sky was razor thin.

“I’m not orienting there, the apple trees look all the same for me!” exclaimed Twilight on the run.

“Just stick to mah tail, partner!” huffed Applejack, she dashed into the dark green tunnel between the trees, like a water snake gliding on the waves; Twilight could barely keep up.

Their nostrils were filled with the apples and damp soil smells, the trees seemed to run in gloomy rows into the infinity, touching by their crowns and whispering in the light breeze, as the two girls ran past them, frequent shrubs obstructed their view, throwing weird shadows; daily hum of the insects changed to silent dance of night moths between the trunks, and each sound made Twilight shiver – she knew well, what could be hiding in the thickening darkness.

“Remember, don’t look at them!” breathed out Twilight on the run.

Applejack gritted her teeth and almost doubled the pace, Twilight galloped on top of her strength, folding her wings tightly, as they were useless there. They made one sharp turn, then another and Twilight realized, she wasn’t orienting already; without golden mane and tail in front of her and light sandy stetson she would get lost easily.

Suddenly a flock of bats soared from the nearby shrubs, startled by the trampling, and swirled around Twilight. The young princess feared the snakes most of all, but she didn’t find the bats to be the fanciest critters either. She even crouched on her hind legs, almost scared by that surprise and shooing the flying shadows with her wings, squinting, as a few touched her muzzle accidentally.

“Shoo! Shoo, you, apple thieves!”

Finally, the bats dissolved in the darkness, Twilight turned her head quickly, taking a look around: Applejack didn’t notice the hitch and ran forward. Where actually… Twilight could hardly say, she wasn’t even sure, where they came from, at that moment.

‘Sweet Celestia! And what now? How can I find them?.. No, no, no!’ Twilight bustled around the opening, losing orientation completely. The night fell around quickly.

‘No, that’s not going to help! Stop, you silly filly!’ Twilight tried to calm down and grasp her thoughts. ‘I must hear them… I hope… But I can’t see even my own hooves.’ She tried hard to discern something in the deep shadows around.

“Jackie is going to kick my butt for that most likely…” muttered Twilight, finally finding a dry branch on the ground and mentally blessing the pony, who forgot to remove it; the rest of the orchard was meticulously cleaned, as she could have noticed. With a sparkle of magic the branch turned into a torch and Twilight headed into the orchard depth, levitating it high, not to set anything on fire. The wide ring of light drifted between the apple trees with her being the center of it. She managed to pass a few rows of trees, heading in the chosen direction, when the distant scream made Twilight jump on the spot, in a second she stormed towards the heard sound, not even thinking about discreetness. ‘Oh, just let me be late not!’ rang in her head.

Applejack reached the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse, built around the thick trunk of an old lush apple tree, and only then noticed, nopony was following her; she lost Twilight somewhere behind.

‘Tarnation!!!’ she took a look around, there was no sound, except wind rustling the upper twigs, the windows of the tree-house were dark and the trees around kept silence, not going to tell, where the three fillies could be. ‘Please, please, let them be okay!’

“Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle!” Applejack yelled so loud, that a single bat rushed into the dark sky from the nearby tree. “Scootaloo!!! Girls, where are you?!”

She made a circle around the large tree, looking fixedly in the darkness. A quiet squeak from the shrubs, made Applejack almost laugh with relief, but she knew, there was not the best moment for that.

“Girls, that’s me, come on out. It’s safe!” the feeling of great weight off her mind mixed with sudden anxiety and feeling of guilt, because of her leaving them in trouble.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo almost crawled out of the thick bushes to the opening, letting Applejack see the glistening terror in their eyes.

“Sis…” Apple Bloom shivered and gasped on a lump in her throat.

“Applejack, we felt that…” whispered Sweetie Belle loudly. “We felt fear and despair, it was like any hope left us…” she whimpered quietly. “We were so scared, auntie Jackie…”

“We extinguished the lights,” added Scootaloo, she tried to keep Dashie’s trade mark “So what?” look, but her lips trembled. “And hid outside, not to be caught in the house.”

“It’s okay, okay,” unusually softly said Applejack, she nuzzled each filly gently. “Ah found you and… it’ll be alright. We’re going home now.” The feel of anxiety grew and she realized that the troubles were only beginning.

Suddenly girls’ eyes dilated, the fillies produced an ear-splitting squeal and snuggled to her chest all together. The fear became almost unbearable.

“Something is behind me, right!” whispered Applejack and that wasn’t a question. Sweetie Belle sniffed and nodded convulsively, hiding her muzzle on Jackie’s chest, other girls snuggled even tighter. “Don’t look, just don’t look!”

‘You must be strong, girl!’ Applejack tried to breathe evenly and leaned on her fore legs, hearing a quiet stomp. Then another one closer, almost behind her tail, the sound turned into the tinnitus in her ears.

“Hhhha!!!” with all her strength and weight Applejack threw her hind legs in the air and felt with triumph, how they met something alive and flexible. The kick was so strong, it could break a young tree; Applejack almost fell flat, standing on her now trembling legs by some miracle.

With a muffled grunt, or maybe it was the sound of the flesh hit by her hooves, that “something” flew back a couple of yards and smacked into a tree, sliding and staying down. Applejack looked over her shoulder cautiously, feeling the strong urge to lay down and not move for a while; the dark heap under the tree was motionless and the feeling of fear and anxiety almost vanished. Almost!

“Oh, girls!” the glade suddenly lit with trembling fire and they saw Twilight approaching, keeping her eyes on the knocked down enemy. “Thanks Celestia, I finally found you! Is everypony alright? And what’s with that… thing?”

“We’re fine,” squeaked the fillies barely audibly, they found the strength to show their snoots from Applejack’s embrace. “Jackie kicked it,” the pride was audible in Apple Bloom’s voice, despite the fear. “Will think better next time…”

“Yeah…” Applejack shrugged with a tiny smile, kicking her stetson at the back of her head. “Ah… can hardly repeat that kick in a few days, partner.”

“Let’s go to the house. And quickly,” Twilight approached, lighting the scene with her improvised torch, to her surprise Jackie didn’t say a word about it, and forced herself to smile encouragingly to the fillies. “Wait…” she felt another wave of uneasiness rolling over them, like a strong tide, and threw the branch to the grass, embracing all the girls with her wings.

“Another one!” whispered Twilight, gathering all her strength and lighting her horn with a powerful spell. A magenta with lightning-like streaks dome of protective shield covered all the ponies, separating them from the approaching menace. With relief Twilight felt, as the feeling of despair weakened noticeably, but she wasn’t going to give up her concentration.

‘Don’t know how long I can hold the shield… but maybe that thing leaves us!’ she threw an accurate glance right above the grass towards the source of quiet unconfident hoofsteps behind the magic dome, noticing two pairs of strong almost pitch black legs with misty stripes curling around them; if anypony had some doubt, there they were dispelled – that was another Seeker.

With a gust of wind something else, dark and fast, rushed to the monster, knocking it off and going through it. An evil groan made the girls’ coats stand, when the Seeker crashed to the ground and wriggled in convulsions. Unknown force ripped it to the shreds and sheets of the Dark Mist, absorbed by the new shadowy visitor.

The latter turned his head, noticing the still smouldering “torch”, and in a second his frame became enveloped in bright flames, which lit and roared with new strength. Twilight recognized Alex, but couldn’t hold back a shudder still: his eyes looked like two wells of void on the fiery face, when he nodded to her.

Another Seeker started moving weakly, regaining “consciousness”… or it was its master, regaining control over their puppet. The magic shield faded and Twilight leaned on Applejack with a fitful sigh, she felt exhausted. Both girls and the fillies risked to take a look and noticed how the bright fiery silhouette lowered over the defeated, but trying to get up, monster and spread its “wings”, clenching to the Seeker.

The monster twitched and produced a loud groan, making the ponies jump on spot, the flames enveloped its carcass, destroying it and releasing the Dark Mist, which was visibly absorbed by the unexpected rescuer. The fillies hid their muzzles under Twilight’s wings again and, after a second, Applejack looked away as well. Twilight watched, as the Seeker turned into a large pile of dust, deprived of its magical substance. Alex rose and she saw an apologetic smile on his face, bringing palpable relief, as his look sent shivers along her spine; that emotion showed her, it was still Alex she knew. The “phoenix” quickly dissolved in the darkling orchard, taking all the light, except the barely burning branch on the ground.

“What… was that?” as the darkness fell, Scootaloo was the first to break the silence. “I mean… ehh…”

“That’s a… “guardian spell”,” downcasted Twilight, wholeheartedly grateful that the girls couldn’t see her pinkish nose and flaming cheeks. “I wasn’t supposed to use it, but I felt, I couldn’t hold the shield any longer.”

“You are indeed a great mage, Twilight!” squeaked Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle quickly nodded.

“Girls, please stop…” Twilight was embarrassed, but she couldn’t tell the truth – that wasn’t her secret.

Applejack kept silence, her expression was slightly pensive, but she shook her head, shooing some impossible suspicions away.

“Ah…” she cleared her throat. “Ah hope that’s safe to go home now. Twi?”

“Yes,” Twilight picked up the torch and made it burn anew, lighting their path. She remembered that Alex could feel the Seekers. “The… “guardian spell” is supposed to take all the nearby enemies, before… before it dissolves. Ahem…”

“Are you sure, it’s safe around, partner?” Applejack raised her tired glance on Twilight, when they put exhausted girls to beds, despite the terror, they came through, the fillies simply drowned into the sleep as soon as their heads touched the pillows.

“I’m sure,” Twilight nodded, heading to the front door. “But don’t go out tonight… I… I’ll try to make sure the orchard is completely clear… Simply better stay in the house, okay?”

“Eeyup,” after a short thought agreed Big Mac, who was already home, when they arrived, and listened to their brief story with gritted teeth at first, noticeably regretting that he couldn’t give the intruders a good buck himself. Applejack confirmed with a nod and Macky added. “Can you get home, Twilight? You look… beaten up.”

“It’s okay,” she smiled weakly. “I can manage.” She vanished with a flash…

Twilight was to lean on the library door not to fall, admitting that Big Mac was probably right – “beaten up” was mildly said.

“Psst…” the quiet whisper made her jump on the spot and she squeaked, when a dark figure detached from the oak trunk.

“Sorry,” Alex noticed her twitching. “I didn’t want to startle you. Is everything alright?”

“More or less,” breathed out Twilight. “I’m falling off my hooves though.”

“We still have Rarity to deal with,” chuckled Alex. “With all respect for her, I hope to send her home with the tapestry as soon as I can; you need some rest.”

When he vanished, Twilight opened the door, entering the brightly lit hall and squinting. Spike was entertaining Rarity with some talk, but both heads immediately turned to the sound of tired hoofsteps.

“Oh, Twilight, darling!” Rarity quickly got up and approached, letting Twilight lean on her shoulder. “You look… quite tired,” she stated accurately, then repeated Alex’s question in letter. “Is everything alright?.. And… where is Ahlex?”

Twilight let out a small smile and Spike cringed with badly concealed disappointment, but the sound of unlocking door made them all jump and turn to the small room. Alex appeared on the doorstep, holding the folded tapestry in one hand and rubbing his face, he looked like somepony suddenly awoken. Rarity dropped her jaw.

“Ahlex!..” started she, regaining the ability to speak. “You… you went with Twilight… How on Equus…”

Alex handed her Luna’s tapestry with a sly smile.

“I come and go through the window sometimes,” he shrugged with the most innocent look and Twilight giggled involuntarily, watching Rarity’s muzzle. “Thus I don’t bother anypony, if I’m late… Like tonight.”

When they finally sent Rarity home, convincing her everything is fine at the Apples and the girls are safe, it was far past midnight; Spike simply fell asleep and Twilight levitated him to bed. As the result Rarity left, proudly carrying her “catch”, and Twilight was almost sleeping on her hooves.

“Go to bed, Twilight,” Alex kneeled to her and hugged, stroking her sleepy head lightly. “I’ll put off the lights and… take care of the mess,” he nodded towards the teacups and books on the table.

“Can you do one more thing?” Twilight looked up to him sleepily. “I know, you will be… taking a walk… around the town anyway. Please, check the farm as well; the Seekers never appeared twice in a row, but…” she stopped at the middle of the stairs to the first floor. “Just in case.”

“Rest assured, Twi, I shall!” Alex shortly nodded.

The western edge of the sky glared with the bloody sunset, last rays flooded the landscape with hard light, adding almost visible glow to the edges of every tree, shrub and stone, sharpening the long shadows and making the world look frustratingly similar to the flat multilayered decoration in some theatre. The colours: bright yellow, red, dark golden, deep green, black and even blue of the clear evening sky, despite being saturated, looked gloomy in the ensemble. The air was still, not a tiny leaf moved, disturbed by the sudden wind; filled with the parched soil and somehow smoke smells, it provoked faint, but persistent inexplicable anxiety.

The princess floated above the discomposedly frozen orchard, her vast wings flapped slowly, keeping her in the air; Luna took a look around and frowned – something was definitely wrong here, she felt that her intervention was highly needed. The apple orchard shouldn’t be that quiet in the warm august evening: birds chirping and flittering, insects humming, wind playing in the crowns – there was nothing alike and the apple trees stood in even endless rows of silent austere guards.

‘What is going to befall hither,’ intently gazing into the distance of the nearest rows, Luna listened to her intuition. “To play out at this looking trivial, yet hostile stage.” Usually she appeared where and when necessary, it didn’t take much to wait that time either – suddenly the distant clatter of some hurrying hooves pulled her out of the deep thoughts.

‘Aha! Hither cometh,’ Luna soared higher, gliding a few dozen yards aside, closer to the source of the noise, and watched; it approached, heavy huffing added to it.

Sliding by, the apple trees looked like two smudged green and brown stripes, all the same for about half an hour. The apple orchard wasn’t the place Big Mac could get lost into, even in twilight, even after the sunset… well even with eyes closed probably. Even storming through the orchard, looking for his sister and fillies, after finding out the creatures in the royal warning were quite real and one of them (at least one) threatened the girls at that moment.

‘What the hay is goin’ on with our orchard?!’ McIntosh stopped, throwing a bewildered look around. “JACKIE!!! GIRLS!!!”

The yell of usually taciturn stallion must have been heard at least at a few miles range, and would definitely startle up a few birds already and some omnipresent pesky fruit bats; although, Mac’s voice seemingly met a cotton wall, reaching nopony. Big Mac rushed forward again, a little slower this time, the thought, he could take the wrong direction, looked completely inconceivable to him. Inwardly chilling he was to admit that he ran past that forked tree with a hollow in place of the broken branch at least five times already. Considering he was running in one direction, supposedly to the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse, all the time, that was… Sometimes it seemed that he was moving his legs on the single spot and some part of their family pride slid past him in an endless loop.

‘C’mon, ya ‘an’t find the proper place in yar own orchard!’ he froze on spot, listening, then shook his head with a loud huff; the silence around oppressed, thickened hostilely. ‘I could have laughed, if…’

“JA…”

Some muffled sound reached Macky’s ears and he leaped forward silently, preserving the breath.

It looked completely different for the Night Princess, observing the scene from above and slightly afar; the red earth stallion indeed looked running almost on spot, like in slow motion.

‘What a nasty nightmare!’ Luna frowned, her horn lit brightly with magic. ‘Thankfully, it needeth so little to fix some of them, no visible presence even necessary.’

‘Okay, grass, shrubs, apple trees… Wait, what?! Grass?!’ Alex bemusedly observed the surroundings, raising one brow. ‘That’s… kinda unexpected!.. It looks like… Like Apple’s Orchard, but what am I supposed… Oh!..’

A single glance up told him, his unwilling travel here wasn’t futile: the mere look of the night-coloured alicorn, floating above with her amazing starry mane and tail flowing and dissolving in quickly falling darkness, made Alex’s heart warm up and beat faster.

“Ahem… My princess?”

Luna threw a quick glance at Alex, the magical glow of her horn faded and she graciously, but quickly landed next to him, approaching with a smile and slight surprise in her bottomless eyes.

“I missed thee, mine lief!” In a second Alex’s face was on the inch distance from hers, feeling the soft feathery embrace, he cupped her soft shoulders and inhaled full chest of lavender; the princess voiced his recent thoughts almost exactly. “Tis quite unexpected!”

“I wanted to see you, Luna!” Alex touched her nose with his, closing eyes and smiling. “Although I expected to reach you in your room in the Castle.”

“Thou wast a zilch late then,” Luna nuzzled him with a silvery chuckle. “I was thither a few minutes ere forsooth, but…”

“I definitely didn’t expect to appear in the middle of… Apple’s Orchard, right?” Alex glanced around meaningfully. “Isn’t it your dream, my love?”

“Yes and… not quite,” Luna nodded, the slightest touch on her neck made her squint and sigh, Alex wrapped both arms around her. “Hast thou forgotten the nature of mine duties, lief?”

“Come, Alex, follow,” seeing his puzzled expression, Luna welcomed Alex, heading to the group of shrubs in between the tree rows. “I shall show thee. I extend mine hope, thou can tell me the latest news likewise, I heard thou made… art going to make significant changes in thy life since the Gala.”

“Yeah, right, Twilight’s being a diligent student,” smirked Alex, causing another smile on Luna’s muzzle. “Writing regular letters to Tia…”

“I heard a few bits at the breakfast, something about thou leaving the railroad station… But I prefer to hear those stories from thee, mine lief,” dropped Luna over her shoulder. Alex flushed catching himself upon staring at her swaying flanks fixedly.

“Hmmm… I will tell, of course,” he blinked, catching up with Luna shoulder-by-shoulder. “But first tell me why and where I reached you, as…”

Instead of an answer, the princess moved a few twigs aside and a small natural glade opened to their eyes; a few trees were missing in a couple of rows, forming an opening in otherwise even planting. In a second somepony burst in, trampling and breathing heavily.

“Thou dost not say…” Alex dropped his jaw, seeing the stallion, he obviously knew. “Tis… HIS dream?”

“The nightmare, better say… well, till recently,” Luna let out a tiny smile. “But, hush… We can talk anon! Now simply watch.”

Big Mac turned his head, trying to understand, where he heard the sounds from, when the shrubs on the opposite end of the glade parted, revealing Applejack, the fillies and Twilight, guarding the rearward and lightening the surroundings with her magic.

“Macky!” Applejack rushed to her brother, other girls followed. “Ah thought, you went to Ponyville… Have ya been lookin’ for us?” Alex heard a faint silvery tint in her voice, not natural for Jackie, but the red stallion was too happy to see them all, to notice anything.

“Eeyup!” sighed out Big Mac with noticeable relief, squinting, when Applejack hugged him with one fore leg.

“Twilight told me about the incident in the orchard,” the silky touch of Luna’s lips on his ear barely let Alex grasp the sense of what she was whispering. “It seemeth, Big Mac feeleth guilty for not being hither, at which hour it befell… while he actually isn’t.”

“Tis an arrant useless nightmare, pure suffering without any outcome,” Luna shook her head slowly and Alex was to agree. “I took the liberty to fix it a zilch, mine lief! His next dream shalt be peaceful. Methinks I can’t be blamed much for that… But… Thou said, thou hast news to tell. Let’s see, if ‘t be true I can take us to the proper place to talk, like I… summoned thee hither,” she giggled silverily.

“Methinks I know, what place it can be,” pondering for a moment, Alex looked at her sly muzzle fixedly. “Mine amazing princess!”

The world around blurred, when Alex caught Luna’s lips with his, snuggling to her. The ponies left the glade, disappearing in the darkness between apple trees; at the last moment Big Mac looked back and Alex noticed, how the stallion’s eyes suddenly rounded out like saucers, before everything vanished.

When he broke the kiss, rather from surprise, than willingly, Alex and Luna found themselves in the old, almost ancient, dark overgrown garden. Old large moss covered trees, thick grass coming even through gravel pavement, alleys almost unseen in the freely spreading shrubs and expanding flowerbeds, green hedges turned into walls through the time – all those gave little to no chance to recognize the preplanned planting by some caring hooves, which the garden didn’t know seemingly for ages.

A quick look over the shoulder and the old time-worn towers, empty windows, peeking rafters in places of roofs unambiguously told him, where they arrived.

“The Old Castle garden,” smirked Alex. “I had a strong feeling, thou wanted to talk hither. I haven’t seen it upon mine arrival, thinking about the exit from the castle rather; besides, I wasn’t particularly happy with the views from above.”

“Laugh, laugh, mine love! Thou can be amused by that… I, on the contrary, was unable to fly, even in mine dreams… well, regardless of whose dreams those are,” watching Luna giggling at the mental image of Alex, arriving at the highest intact tower of the Old Castle, he frowned jokingly, then grabbed the laughing alicorn into embrace and Luna could only blink her wide open eyes, as their lips met in another passionate kiss.

“Oh…” she breathed out after a few minutes of head-swirling pleasure, nesting her head on Alex’s shoulder. “Simply tallest me, lief, at which hour thou hast enough… for the start, as tis not the final destination of our travel. I wanted to show thee something else.”

“Hmmm…” Alex held her silky cheeks gently, diving into Luna’s dark blue eyes. “I have one idea… but I would like to check, if ‘t be true I’m right. So, lead the way, mine princess, I’m faithfully following thee. And dost not look at me like that, before I fall to thy hooves and thou needst to carry me,” added he meaningfully, forcedly focusing on the surroundings, instead of whirlpools of those eyes; he swallowed a lump, instantly making Luna produce another silvery laughter.

The princess released him and headed into the ancient garden depth, almost prancing like a joyous filly, throwing starry glances at the human, who froze for a short second, unable to break his stare at her sliding along the barely visible in the grass path. Finally, he twitched, waking from his contemplation, and caught up with his collocutor, pacing next to the Night Princess and listening to her light hoof steps, unable to startle the screeching cicadas.

“So, is it true, thou art going to leave the railroad?” Luna broke the silence first.

“Yes, mine princess. I almost did that already… a few formalities remain rather,” Alex nodded, moving away the branch overhanging the path.

“Exactly at which hour I thought that thou lingered too long at the place, which arrant conflicted with thy nature,” Luna’s smile flashed in the darkness.

“With thy help, confess that,” Alex replied. “One can’t attract the attention of large company directorate every day… And I was to start somewhere. But, thou art correct, only two Seekers… What a boring routine job!” he shook the head theatrically; Luna burst laughing again.

“Thou art incorrigible, Alex. Yet still?”

“I signed the contract with Canterlot Steam Company, within the conditions I mentioned afore,” Alex held Luna on her shoulder for a second to let an adder cross their path unharmed. “Besides, I still can work for ponyvillers, making the generators thither, at which hour CSC runs the Equestria-wide production.”

She threw a quick glance of satisfaction and admiration at her human.

“Now I have a strong base and can focus on what interesteth me more. Since certain moment some personal safety and ability to confront our shadowy “friends” are among mine priorities. Besides, methinks Ponyville blacksmith deserveth some support and helping hand in his struggle with time and progress…”

“I can understand thee arrant,” Luna nodded, leaning to him for a second.

“I decided that I can succeed at reaching both goals only in one case – working together with Willsmash,” Alex smirked slyly. “It shalt look like I’m interested in making advantageous armour and weapon against the Seekers, learn the secrets of the craft from Will and share mine own knowledge on technology, but even when I leave,” he noticed, Luna winced, and added after a pause. “if I leave, he can use those methods to compete with any company in Equestria at that moment.”

“Tis soundeth intriguing! Go on,” Luna headed deeper into the seemingly oldest part of the garden; she was to use her magic to softly clean their path of growing obstacles, the castle ruins couldn’t be seen from there because of the thick foliage. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed Alex’s slightly surprised expression.

“Really? Thou wantest to know, mine love?”

“And why not?” Luna glanced at Alex slyly. “I have learned to find out something new every day, ev’r since mine return. It nev’r hurteth, in the earnest.”

“Well, I plan to add some components to the source metal, mine curious princess, and generally change the smelting and forging processes slightly,” Alex explained briefly, what he had in mind. “The latter shalt demand for mine newly, so comfortably, obtained abilities much…”

They walked in silence, broken by the cicadas endless tingling and leaves whispering and gossiping above their heads, for a while, when Luna caught a glimpse of clearing ahead; with a bright smile she sped up slightly, asking Alex to continue.

“But with a few changes to the smithy itself, Will can use the advantages to the certain degree, even without mine aid,” Alex sighed, noticing her slight frown. “Well, if ‘t be true I am to leave, I want ye have something, helping you against those monsters. I can’t do much, thou knowest, mine princess… The closest to magic, I can perform, calleth for me sleeping in the process,” chuckled he.

They finally reached the opening, which attracted Luna’s attention from behind the trees, a small now, overgrown pond revealed itself to their eyes. It must have been larger and cleaner before, but years of unattended existence without care, cleaning and proper gardening around did their unfortunate job – the waterside constantly narrowed and the mirror of clean water in the middle became definitely smaller, than it was intended by the lost in time castle garden planners. Large round leaves occupied quite a portion of that limited surface, telling the observer about some rare water plant presence.

“Thou art already doing much, by merely staying hither and standing against those abominations!” Luna turned to face Alex and seek for his gaze.

“Eh… What?” A smile lighted previously concerned face, Alex observed the old pond with the satisfied expression, most likely telling about the proper guess, he made. With a sigh, although, not very disappointed one, Luna repeated.

“I truly don’t know,” Alex shook his head. “Thou knowest, Tia hath a point, noticing that me and them appeared almost at the same time. The connection must exist methinks… Another question is, what connection exactly?”

“I think oft, mayhap ye would have been safer, if ‘t be true I have had arrived not…” added he pensively after a second. Then seeing Luna’s sad muzzle, Alex tried his best to shake away those thoughts.

“Apologies, mine love… I still frequently think that I don’t belong hither… lately a zilch less to tell the truth.”

“So, is it, what I think it is?” added he, raising one eyebrow with a sly smile.

“It dependeth…” Luna tried to pretend, she was pouting, but couldn’t hold the face under his glance. “Okay, okay… It is. Tis the place they used to grow… and something telleth me, they still do.”

“Mindst that tis our dream, or mine, or thine… It’s hard to tell now,” she added with a tint of sadness. “I don’t know, if ‘t be true that pond still existeth in the actual garden. Daring to think it is would be heartwarming.”

“What is the dream or what is the reality?..” Alex had the impudence to mimic her and Luna quickly slid to him, wrapping in her wings.

“Mockingbird!” breathed she out, nuzzling him and sharing her breath with Alex again. With his fingers travelling through her mane, caressing her ears and cheeks gently, Alex dissolved in Luna’s embrace for a good few minutes; all the world around ceased to exist, even including the pond with the Star Lilies, he so wanted to see, truth be told.

“Forgiven arrant!” apparently the princess changed her mood to merciful, when they went for seemingly fourth or fifth round, after a momentarily break for the air. She nested her head on Alex’s shoulder, cooing something tender and nuzzling his neck; Alex could barely hear because of blood rushing in his ears. He placed his palm on Luna’s soft silky chest, sensing the fast beat, feeling how she calmed down slowly, their hearts amazingly getting synchronized.

“If… if ‘t be true I recall correctly,” Alex could clearly say something from the third attempt only. “We need to wait closer to midnight, mine love…”

Luna simply nodded shortly, her breath swept Alex’s neck, sending chills up and down his spine. Holding her gently by shoulders, Alex sat on the grassy shore and looked up into her eyes, then into the night sky… and stretched on the grass.

“I nev’r liked waiting, but this time it’s too different to refuse it,” he ran his fingers along her fore leg ever so gently.

The Night descended to him, surrounding Alex in lavender fragrant hair, snuggling warmly to his side; Luna rested her forelegs and chest on Alex’s, surprisingly he didn’t feel much weight.

“Thither is a thing that still concerneth thee, mine love,” she watched him from above with concern and something in Alex’s glance attracted her caring attention.

“Even a couple of,” Alex let out a tiny smile, stroking Luna’s mane, sliding his hands along her neck, enjoying her squinting from his touch… yet thinking about something else, as she noticed. “But I’m afraid, they shall be too boring and uninteresting for mine princess.”

“Oh, dost not be foalish, Alex, dost tell,” Luna’s nose funnily twitched and she nudged Alex lightly. “Thou knowest well, I shan’t be too intrusive…”

Instead of the answer Alex brought her face closer with both hands and kissed her snoot tenderly; naturally, the kiss migrated to the more advantageous area in a second. Luna closed her eyes and gave herself to the pleasure entirely, with ears perked, heart racing and her fore hooves frantically stroking Alex’s shoulders, seeking for better grip to bring him closer. She didn’t expect Alex to give up to the pleasure of stroking her shoulder blades and wings base lightly, which made her tremble, muffledly moaning through their kiss and wiggling her shoulders weakly, becoming softer and warmer at once.

“Th-thou shan’t go away… from m-mine question,” she emerged, fitfully taking her breath, granting Alex with the amazing look of her slightly veiled by desire eyes, and pecking him onto his nose, while they regained focus.

“Okay,” Alex sighed, pretending to be forced to spill the beans. “By mine princess command…” Luna squinted at him, but seeing Alex chuckling subtly, she huffed and nuzzled him, then nested her head on his chest.

“One of them is mine ambitious plan to deliver energy to the railway station,” Alex bathed his hands in the lavender fragrant mane, dissolving in heat, Luna’s soft coat provided. “I want to try placing a large generator at the Ponyville dam, obviously with the help of the Steam Company, as it’s some unrealizable work for me alone. Of course, I’m anxious about the possible outcome… but the main thing…”

Noticing, he fell silent, Luna murmured gently, encouraging Alex to elaborate.

“Thou hast seen that dam,” Alex faintly shuddered and Luna noticed, how his fingers stumbled in her mane for a second. “I don’t know, if ‘t be true I can attend the work, without getting to the top of it… W-which I desire to avoid at any cost, in the earnest!”

“That would hardly improve the work as the whole,” he added.

“Mine lief, thou can get thither while… “sleepwalking”,” Luna face, framed with flowing starry mane, overshadowed the sky, her eyes shone. “Methinks thou art less affected by thy… problem while doing that,” her soft lips touched and pressed his again tenderly.

“Oh, mine endless gratitude!” Alex retorted a bit grumpily, when he was returned his right to speak. “And if ‘t be true something goeth wrong… I can imagine and… I don’t need to scare the ponies… more than necessary,” added he, realizing that he hardly was an ordinary figure in their eyes already. “I shall need to find a solution, mine love… Thou can’t help hither, apologies.”

“Oh,” he remembered. “Twilight said likewise that either I expel mine phobia, or it may “expel” me. Tis easier to admit, than do,” sighed he heavily.

Listening to cicadas and watching the dark, stars woven tapestry of the sky, being overshadowed by seemingly darker clouds passing by, was undoubtedly easier than thinking about and voicing another problem. That one troubled Alex the most, he knew he was moving along the rightful path, but explaining that to others involved looked quite complicated at times. He rewound the possible routes, that talk could bring him to, again and again, each inevitably taking the dangerous direction in his mind. Alex woke up from his thoughts, feeling Luna’s fore hoof stroking his chest; gently, but unambiguously reminding him of her presence and attention, and his own promise to tell, what troubled him.

“Forgivest me!” Alex ran his hand over Luna’s muzzle ever so gently, putting the fragrant strand of her mane behind her soft ear and caressing her cheek. “Well… I shall try to explain. Both Willsmash and his niece literally saw the light, at which hour I placed quite a large order. I see the hope in their eyes for quite a while already… unlike the first day we met. Truth be told another couple of customers appeared, not native ponyvillers, but that was almost a miracle for Will.”

“I am to tread lightly, mine love,” Alex bit his lip. “The single sign that I’m working not only for myself, but trying to “help” them raise, and Willsmash shan’t be so trustful. Can thou imagine, I avoid mentioning Tia or thee in the talk, as she tried to help him and he may consider her trying the same again with mine hands. I know, the real future of that smithy is not in making generators details only, but… tryest to explain that to those unicorns, for whom it is the first real work for years.”

“I can’t imagine… I simply can’t tell them out of the blue, I involved the CSC into that work,” Alex took a breath and shook his head slowly. “That was necessary, that giveth us space for maneuver… but the mere mention of the company crossing their road shalt break the nerves of Will and Sil arrant.”

“Sil?” Luna raised one eyebrow.

“Silver Ingot,” Alex watched the princess, whose meaningful “Oh!” was quite eloquent. “What? Oh, comest on, Luna. She is a nice, cute, thoughtful filly, that’s all!”

“Fluttershy is nice, cute, thoughtful filly likewise…” Luna pressed her nose to Alex’s jokingly, then giggled after a second. “Aha! Got thee!..”

“As I said, I know how to make the smithy raise from the ashes again… But I must convince Will, that I do… knowing his stubbornness, tis not going to be easily reachable. I thought I could simply show him some advantages of the technology, I bear in mind, at least I have everything necessary for that demonstration now.”

“Then dost it, mine love,” Luna arched her neck, looking down at him and flashing her smile. “Thou dost not need to mention the Company yet. If ‘t be true I know something about thee, Alex,” elaborated she, amused by his surprised look. “I highly doubt, thou negotiated for the… development rights being reserved for thee in that contract for nothing…”

“Well, ” Alex downcasted most innocently. “Who knoweth, what I may come with anon…”

“Alex!” Luna kept staring at him.

“Okay, thou win,” giving up, Alex wrapped his arms around her swan neck again. “I had in mind a few difficulties, they can shortly meet in mass production.” He kissed Luna fast and, before she could squeeze him again, exclaimed.

“Lookest, judging by thy Moon, it’s close to midnight.”

Alex leaned on his elbows and raised a bit to see the pond, Luna graciously turned to another side, nesting her head on his chest as before, but facing the water as well.

A few miraculous stars of pristine white, tingling beauty shone between the large round leaves, drifting above the pond depths in the track of moonlight. Luna didn’t exaggerate, mentioning them: each flower was hardly smaller than Alex’s head, glowing with its finest porcelain grace and attracting numerous moths. The thin, but sweet and very distinctive aroma soon reached the unusual couple, silently admiring the Queen of nocturnal flowers.

“Mine love,” whispered Alex, touching Luna’s silky ear with his lips. “Do I harm the whole plant much, if I pick one flower.”

“Methinks not more than any other herb,” the flush of hers, understanding his motive at once, seemed awesome to Alex; he felt long fore legs squeezing him tighter for a moment.

“Then…” with a few seconds of concentration and a loud clap a single “star” came afloat in the air and, being followed by two pairs of eyes, finally landed behind Luna’s ear, fixed in her mane with the relatively long piece of remaining stem.

“I wonder, if ‘t be true the flower stayeth with thee, as we seem to be in somepony’s dream still,” Alex examined Luna’s extra crown with a hopeful smile.

‘I shall find the way to bring them to thee in reality…’ his promising thoughts dissolved in the loving embrace of alicorn princess, when her shining eyes filled Alex’s view and mind completely.

“Bouncing Barrels” bar was quite herded, like usual at that time of the day, but one company gained more attention, than all other ponies together. It wasn’t specifically noisy, although, definitely more vivid, than the rest; probably because the initiator of the party wasn’t a common occasion here. Rainbow Dash was a known lover of apple cider, but usually she preferred it freshly made from the Apple Acres harvest and rarely was the bar visitor. Maybe because she wasn’t a totally company pony type or maybe because she preferred a good nap to any other activities, when she had time free from her cloud bucking or training.

Nevertheless, she was exactly the center of the small pegasi company at that evening and if somepony took a closer look, they could notice, there were mostly those from her colleagues, weather pegasi, whom she could call her friends, maybe not so close like the girls, but still mates at work and… prank. The latter was the most common activity for Rainbow, when she didn’t work, nap or… get stuck with a book.

The whole celebration happened spontaneously, but it was obvious that the event causing it was important for her, making the tomboy pegasus suggest a couple of mares and a few stallions drop into that bar and have a drink.

Perhaps Rainbow planned the real party as well, when she could share the joy with the girls and have a chance to brag, moreover, argue with Applejack again on the eternal topic of “who was the most daring mare in Ponyville”. Nevertheless, that didn’t prevent her to pay tribute to “Bouncing Barrels” old cider, which was noticeably stronger than freshly brewed Apple Acres’ one, and relax. The rest of the company didn’t plan to fall behind as well.

“Well, I say, that’s cool that you have succeeded, Dash!” one of the stallions saluted, smirking. “Not only because you did, and actually showed Thunderbolts your best, but also because your training must be over… for now,” he looked around their company, like asking, if others shared his idea. “And we finally get our good ol’ Rainbow Dash back.”

“What do you… mean?” Rainbow turned to him and huffed, raising one brow. “Like if I was ever going to change. Hmpf!”

“He means that we were hardly seeing any Rainbow Dash lately,” another pegasus supported him with a laugher. “More like a dash of rainbow, jetting by few times a day, kicking a bunch of clouds as a part of her duty and vanishing for her endless training.”

“Not that you were an epitome of sociability before…” muttered he quieter, but loud enough everypony around to hear.

“Oh, stop inciting her!” nudged him a mare with tightly braided green blue mane, she threw a glance on Rainbow, who barely noticeably hiccupped at that moment.

“You wanna say, I’m becoming a bore?” Rainbow shook her head, arching the eyebrow again.

“Well, maybe not a bore… but we can’t remember the last time our Daring Dash pranked anypony or generally enjoyed a good joke,” both stallions kept giggling and others, including both mares, sported light smiles involuntarily. “You were either training or ears deep into the book.”

“Yeah, a bit more along that way and you can freely move to Twilight Sparkle, Dash!” added the first stallion, causing a few snorts.

Rainbows nose became pinkish. On the one hoof, despite the recently discovered love to reading, she still thought that calling her an egg-head or book-horse would be a terrible exaggeration; besides, Dash rightfully supposed that her love for only certain books (mostly Daring Do’s adventures) excused her effectively. On the other hoof, she remembered, who moved to Twilight not long ago, and the mere thought of staying with him under one roof sounded like a profanity to her. Accusing her of avoiding pranks was clearly an unheard-of strike at Rainbow’s reputation, she couldn’t allow.

“So… you are going to say that I ignore you, ignore any entertainment, maybe even becoming less awesome,” Rainbow Dash raised on her hind legs, fore hooves akimbo, pouting like a big sparrow. “Maybe even becoming an egg-head, right?”

“I had no time for pranks, I admit… But boring!” huffed Rainbow, putting down the empty mug and taking a look around, quickly figuring. “I’m becoming less socialite and more predictable, you say,” repeated she.

“Hmm… Clear and correct, position by position, like a written down list,” chuckled one of the stallions. “As we said, one more Twilight in the making…”

“That’s not going to end well…” muttered the mare with the short chestnut mane.

“Drop it, Rainbow!” another mare gave a killing glance to the snorting stallions. “They didn’t want to say…”

“Huh? They said it exactly,” Dash shook her rainbow bang. “That I can’t enjoy a good joke now and am turning into a… nerd, I suppose. Maybe that I’m even not daring enough,” she glared at the scoffers, who couldn’t stop already. “Perhaps they forget that air tricks are, leaving only books for me…” she gasped of resentment.

“Well…” slowly said one of the stallions, barely stifling another snort…

That evening wasn’t among the easiest for Alex, he had another talk with the station chief in addition to his regular work, consisting of loads of boxes, crates and sacks, logistics, in particular coordinating a group, which in record time loaded and sent to the southern border a very important train. Alex knew that the situation there, near the sadly known Badlands, was quite sharp – the Changelings didn’t want to calm down and conform to the agreements, constantly crossing the border and pestering small villages and separate farms. Thus that cargo train was of great importance for those, who uphold the border and unstable order along.

The chief only sighed, seeing Alex entering his office at the end of the day, he knew well, what the talk was supposed to be about. In his turn, he did everything possible to linger with Alex leave. Certainly, the latter promised quite an advantageous changes, as the result of him working in the different role, but the terms were uncertain still. Besides, the station master preferred the well known responsible employee, who could be put at the night shifts easily, if the necessity emerged, to the fantastic technological improvement of the freight work process, which nopony knew when to be implemented actually. Alex was to call for all his eloquence to prove his point and paint the benefits of his new job for the freight workflow in the brightest colours.

As the result, despite the aged stallion huffed through his moustache and wanted to keep Alex on his job for two weeks more at least, while they looked for the replacement (or better a couple of), Alex could talk through his own terms – working till the end of this week and staying available to be called for in case of some emergency for a while longer, if his new job allowed. The talk wasn’t overly heated, but Alex fell out of the office, feeling quite tumbled.

The road to Ponyville took him a bit more than usual, as Alex tried to relax during his walk and pondered about the uneasy task of telling old Willsmash that they would give out some work to the big company and cooperate in a way. There was a certain risk that the old blacksmith wouldn’t listen to any reasons and ideas, but would rather buck Alex from his home, prior to those ideas even had some chance to be voiced. Loaded with those thoughts Alex reached the town and, despite there was about a couple hundred yards to the Library, turned right instead, heading to the southern part of Ponyville.

Later Alex scolded himself countless times for that decision to visit a bar and have a mug of cold apple cider, instead of going straight home. Did he really need that cider that much at the end of the day? And they could definitely have made even better coffee with Twilight, than any bar offered… And the evening could have turned out calm and nice… for the change, but the choice was already made.

“Good evening!” with a smile Alex greeted one of the mares, he worked for at the market; two steps separated him from the bar entrance.

“Evening,” there was a fair dose of concern in the glance she raised at him, making Alex wonder. “So nice, I met you here. I’ve heard, you were going to leave the station, moreover change your job completely,” the mare shrugged with a tiny smile, like if apologizing for the town tattle; Alex inwardly cringed – definitely Ponyville was a small town, if even that decision of him was already a matter of “market talks”. “Well… That probably means that you won’t be able to offer me your service either. That would be really sad, let alone quite troublesome. Are you sure? If the rumors about your decision are true, of course.”

Alex sighed and produced a diplomatic smile.

“I plan certain changes indeed,” he confessed forcedly under the mare’s pleading glance. “But I won’t leave you in trouble, ma’am. What if, let’s say, I find somepony ready to change me on that job?”

“Oh…” his employer tried to hide disappointment and failed at that. “As the worst case…”

“I’ll try to find a capable pony, who can take some part-time job for the few extra bits,” Alex had a more cheerful look on the perspective. “And I’m more than sure they will cope with the task just as well as I did. Don’t worry, please.”

“Only if you find somepony as responsible and meticulous…” squinted the mare, smiling involuntarily at Alex’s encouraging expression. “Okay?”

“Rest assured, I will,” reassured Alex, already opening the bar door; he was almost inside, automatically crouching under the barrel above the entrance and waving to the mare with a smile. “Stay calm and have a nice evening, ma’am!”

“Sorry,” his smile became apologetic, as he involuntarily squeezed in front of another customer; the earth pony stallion only shrugged.

Alex let go of the door and turned; apparently, that small talk played its detrimental role in the further events.

“Hmpf! So, I can’t enjoy a good joke, something totally crazy and… and unpredictable,” huffed Rainbow dash angrily, putting her mug on the table. “I’m a boring and… totally unsocial pony…”

“Okay… I’m…” she jumped on her hooves and took a look around, then stared at the still having fun stallions scowlingly. “I… I’m going to kiss whoever enters that door right now. Yeah, be it a stallion or mare… Beat me to it,” she stuck out her tongue at them, making both mares shake their heads in disbelief.

“Easy stuff! And here goes the victim,” she perked her ears at the sound of the opening door.

In a prankish flurry Rainbow Dash turned to the sound, their table was close to the exit, otherwise she could notice something perhaps.

Still smiling Alex passed the barrel and straightened at that moment.

Rainbows felt dizzy from the sudden turn and already consumed cider, thus was to close her eyes for a moment, but she grabbed the newcomer firmly and placed a well-aimed kiss right on their lips.

The complete silence covered the bar with the deafening quilt. The bartender squinted, he knew both customers and was informed about… certain tension between them; judging by his muzzle, he already counted the inevitable losses. Alex’s eyes met at the bridge and he made a desperate attempt to start back, when the rainbow mane unambiguously told him, who was kissing him at the moment, but she held him tight. Nevertheless, he noted that Rainbow compensated the possible lack of practice with outstanding enthusiasm, but Alex was unable to pay due tribute; his mind searched for the ways to retreat in panic.

In a few infinite seconds the pegasus girl finally realized that the shape of pony muzzle should actually differ; Rainbow opened her eyes and tried to focus on Alex’s face. Her eyes dilated, changing the relaxed and content expression to utter terror.

“Mmmmffff!!!” Alex twitched and retreated, pushing her back with both hands, for his fortune Rainbow Dash loosened her grip out of bewilderment and jumped back as well. Her eyes quickly filled with rage. Alex shook his head like a dog, getting out of the water, and threw a quick glance over his shoulder at the door. Alas, a big company just entered the bar and totally herded the entrance (which was the only exit for Alex unfortunately), wondering about the jam-up reason.

“Youuuu!!!” Rainbow produced a roar, capable to put a timberwolf into shame; Alex barely managed to jump aside, when she landed on four hooves right at the place, where he was standing. Now she was effectively cutting him from the front door.

‘Here we go again!’ flashed in Alex’s head, he stifled a stronger damnation. ‘Merlin’s pants! Why on… Equus…’

The entire herd around them unfroze at once, flooding the room with the cacophony of voices; everypony talked and laughed, a few still sat in shock, the stallions from Rainbow’s company, first stunned by the incident, neighed shamelessly. Alex would be endlessly grateful, if they did not though, as they agitated enraged mare even more.

“Hey! The hay are you going to…” started the bartender, when Rainbow grabbed the nearest mug. Alex barely managed to dive under the table, when that mug smacked at its center, spraying the pieces around and making the ponies jump away.

‘Daaamn!’ thought Alex, carefully peeking from under the table… only to quickly leave his cover and look for another one, as Rainbow dashed towards him grabbing something on the run. ‘Tis shan’t end with one broken bottle now!!!’

They made a couple of circles around the hall: Alex maneuvered between tables and customers quite effectively, Rainbow followed close, throwing at him everything, she could pick, and trying her best to catch him and kick. A few attendees still laughed at no doubt looking hilarious for an extraneous observer scene, but the majority worried for their health already. It was a miracle, how they managed not to hurt anypony yet.

Finally, Rainbow Dash remembered that she had wings and Alex was to seek cover under the tables quickly again. She tossed about the bar, eyes flaming, nose and cheeks flushing; if she was a bit tipsy, the anger and excitement of pursuit made her sober at once, but the same feelings didn’t let her stop and cool down. In his turn Alex launched a few things at her, but the mare managed to dodge, scoffing his attempts; an unfortunate throw made one of the large windows crumble with woeful tingling, causing an angry shout from the poor bartender, forcedly witnessing his bar being ruined by those two.

Alex did his best to get to the exit, but the vengeful girl tried to leave him no chance; besides, the exit was occupied by those, who didn’t want to get hit with an accidental “flying saucer”, yet preferred to watch the play to the end. Rainbow advanced, Alex stumbled upon somepony’s folded shawl and grabbed it without a second thought, folding it tighter and throwing at her. The rolled cloth smacked right into Rainbows nose, making her huff and blink a few times. Somepony snorted in the corner.

‘Shut up finally, you…’ thought Alex, when Rainbow produced an ear-splitting squeal and stormed, seemingly ready to tear him apart. He managed to dive under her and hopped over the counter, landing on the floor next to stunned bartender and crouching, just like that stallion. Right in time: the chair crashed in the counter with a nasty crackle. The bartender glared at Alex with a mix of despair and anger.

“I shall pay for that mess!” breathed out Alex, trying to hear the “enemy” out, as raising was hardly a smart move at that moment.

“Ouch!!!” a bottle swept by something, Rainbow threw, rolled on the counter and fell on Alex’s head, hitting him quite tangibly. “Damn, I’ll show thee…”

Alex quickly moved aside to take her by surprise and raised behind the counter; he spotted an intact clay mug and grabbed it.

“Aha!” Rainbow fluttered right in front of the exit; she triumphantly pointed at him rubbing his head and looked for another chair to launch at the hated human.

Alex threw the mug, but either his aim was affected by the hit or he hurried a bit – the mug crashed exactly into the barrel, hanging above the entrance, and knocked the tap out. The effect was unexpected by Alex, who wholeheartedly believed that the whole barrel was a simple props. Contrary to that the waterfall of cold fragrant cider came down on unsuspecting Rainbow, making her lose height and huff under the sudden shower and Alex freeze for a second, estimating the effect, almost folding in half from laughter.

“Ha! Deuce!” Alex quickly jumped over the counter and dashed through the broken window outside, while stunned pegasus shook her head and wiped the cider off her eyes. He landed on all four and quickly raised, looking for the best possible cover, still snorting at the priceless image, he witnessed. ‘Granted – she is annoying as hell, especially now… but I’m not going to fight a girl, yet it hardly stops Dash on her way to bucking me aplenty!’

Outrunning Rainbow Dash at a beeline would be a futile attempt, as she would catch up with him fast and simply knock him down on the fly, then possibly jump on Alex till… till she considered her cider shower and, moreover, their unfortunate kiss (Alex shuddered) paid back entirely. His only chance was hiding and Alex thought about the area north of Carousel Boutique, where buildings stood close to each other, yet were a lot of narrow backstreets to lay low and wait till the infuriated pegasus calmed down and minded her own business.

Alex dashed left and down the street towards Rarity’s home hearing from the corner of his ear the loud angry scream, which only made him double the speed.

“I will get you, scrub!”

He was almost behind the first alley corner, when Rainbow jumped through the broken window and turned the head fast to spot her offender. Apparently, she caught the glimpse of his back, because the mare produced a victorious (quite prematurely, as Alex thought) yell and soared, chasing him. Thankfully Rainbow flew straight after Alex, she was so angry and eager to get his miserable ass that simple idea to fly higher and watch his path didn’t come into her mind.

Alex got far enough into the alley and passed a few crossings already, actually, they were more like sideways between houses; the stuff, ponies didn’t find a place in their homes, was stored in some of them: carts, barrels, some crates, flower pots and other similar things. Twilight slowly flooded the town and Alex thought, he had a good chance to flee and hide, before the storm died.

He turned on the next corner and snuggled to somepony’s door, hiding in the shadow of the deep door frame. Right in time, the next second the blue smudged silhouette flashed by, leaving a comet-like rainbow tail; Alex froze and almost stopped breathing, the hearing was his best defense at the moment. Rainbow Dash stopped further down the alley and fluttered, exasperatedly looking around, she couldn’t believe, she lost the human. Alex could hear her receding, muttering something unpleasant in his address; he looked out accurately and slipped from his hiding place, trying to get away quietly and unnoticed.

Lady Luck decided to tease him more, Rainbow Dash became tired of fruitlessly looking for Alex and turned back almost ready to stop her pursuit… when she noticed him quietly leaving the scene. Her “hunting spirit” got new fuel and with a loud holler Rainbow dashed after the human again. Alex whisked into the sideway and with the speed of light made a few turns between the houses, trying to make her lose his trail again. Fortunately, he had a couple seconds of advantage, thus managed to dive into some dark narrow space and crouch behind the large crate.

After a few minutes of tension Alex’s knees subtly hinted him that it would be quite nice to stretch them or simply walk a little. Rainbow Dash flew past his improvised shelter twice already and it was only a matter of time, when she could finally check that gap; time worked against him.

Alex got up and looked around carefully. He found himself in a small passageway between two buildings. There was nothing, except the crate, he was crouching behind. As far as he could see in the falling twilight, there was a dead end, blocked by a stone wall, between buildings on the other side of that passage. The height of the wall didn’t leave a chance for any doubts – he couldn’t climb it. And despite being narrow, this opening wasn’t narrow enough for him to climb up, using opposite walls. There was a tree behind the dead end, but it could equally be none, as Alex couldn’t reach lower branches either.

Two doors lead to the passageway, both locked and he had no time to try his luck with any of the locks. Besides, that would be breaking into somepony’s property with damage inflicted. There was one dimmed window on the right wall, next to the crate. Alex tried what appeared to be some sort of French frame; thankfully it wasn’t locked and gave up. Moving it very slowly, not to let it screech or bump the other half of the frame, he raised the window, making an opening wide enough to squeeze through, then accurately closed it behind.

When Alex’s eyes accommodated to the low light, he found himself in some sort of storage with lots of clean and folded towels, bathrobes of pony size and fashion and generally different sorts of bath or sauna accessories on the numerous shelves. Praying for the narrow door on the opposite wall to be unlocked, Alex accurately pressed the handle.

‘By the name of Celestia… Yes!’ the handle gave up freely and the door opened. ‘Now, quiet. You don’t need anypony to join the race, drunk and disgruntled Rainbow Dash was enough for me tonight.’

He then cautiously squeezed through the door and entered the new room. It was a much bigger one with a large marble basin, built into the floor and filled with hot water and bubbles. The air was humid and warm, steam filled the room making it harder to see the details. A few folded towels and colourful vials surrounded the basin’s edges. Enveloped in the relaxing aroma Alex thought that it could be quite nice to take a breath here and plan his escape, but…

When Alex saw who was sitting in the basin, in a completely relaxed pose, with a damp towel on her eyes, he froze on spot.

‘Merlin’s pants!’ Alex’s eyes desperately looked for the exit, while he was trying to not move, not breathe and, frankly speaking, become completely invisible. ‘By sheer luck she isn’t facing me and seemeth uninformed of mine presence… yet.’

The horn, the pristine white coat, the blue strand of hair protruding from under the towel, which was wrapped around her head to keep her mane dry… Alex didn’t see the cutie mark underwater, but the whole ensemble of features was enough for him to fall into quiet panic. Especially considering the situation they both got into.

‘Just when I thought the evening had a tiny chance to end well…’ sighed Alex mentally. He tried to make a tiny careful step aside. Maybe his clothes rustled or maybe the base of his shoe met the floor faster than it was necessary…

“Uhmmm… Lotus? Finally,” Rarity stretched in the basin and leaned forward slightly, while straightening her shoulders in the most graceful way. “I think I’m ready for a massage, you master so well, darling. It was a long day…”

‘Damn, Damn!!! DAMNDAMNDAMN!!!’ Alex’s thoughts ran and bounced inside his mind like a pack of mice deadly scared by a stray cat, while his eyes madly moved from one object in the room to another.

‘I guess, tis mine karma,’ he gave up and thought of the way to sneak out of the situation with all possible dignity.

Alex approached the basin and kneeled at the edge, he took one of the vials with the liquid, resembling the massage oil to him. Thankfully it was indeed something alike, as he found out, opening it. Lavender scent flowed into the hot air, making Alex stumble; for a tiny moment he returned back to the Old Castle garden and the overgrown pond bank, to the tender embrace of the incredible alicorn princess and felt her lips on his own – the memory was so fresh and vivid, Alex barely stifled a sigh.

‘Okay, careful now!’ Alex forcedly returned to reality, shaking his head. ‘If ‘t be true thou art lucky, thou shall sneak out of hither without troubles soon.’

A few minutes passed in almost complete silence with only Rarity murmuring and stretching under his… fists. Yes, Alex decided that the only way to keep his cover was to use fists for massage, as his hands with fingers wouldn’t ever deceive even a blindfolded and overly relaxed pony into thinking, she was massaged by hooves. It was very unusual and troublesome for him to refrain from using the most natural tools, every human had since birth, and still stay gentle, yet effective with Rarity’s skin. He caught himself numerous times upon massaging her with open palms, almost “clawing” her white coat, like cats did with soft furniture. With the only difference, he had no claws thankfully. Alex planned to round up the treatment in a couple of minutes and quietly sneak through another door he spotted, this one must have lead to the exit eventually.

“Ohhhh…” Rarity waved her shoulders. “It seems that you’re on a roll today, darling. I can’t remember last time, when your massage was SO delightful.”

“Uhum…” hummed Alex, trying hard to make it sound like an agreeing snicker, a proud pony could produce, when he saw Rarity’s horn glowing with magic; she started lifting the towel from her eyes.

‘I be damned!’ flew in his brain, when he was desperately asking for some miracle to help him stay covered.

Of course, he could stretch the towel from her head onto her eyes and flee. But Alex admitted, it wasn’t the best idea. First of all, Alex couldn’t do this to a lady, not mentioning that Rarity was always kind to him and offending her was the last thing, he wanted to do. Allowing that debacle to happen would no doubt offend the sensitive fashionista immensely, perhaps, up to effectively cutting him off the only reliable source of clothing in Equestria.

Alex decided to flee right away and jumped on his foot. Apparently, his luck decided to play a nasty joke on him right at that moment, as Alex stomped on a folded towel, slipped and fell into the basin with a giant splash of water and bubbles.

When he emerged, coughing and shaking his head to remove water from the ears and eyes, Alex was granted the picturesque image of Rarity, sitting with her forelegs raised, hooves covering mouth, eyes dilated, almost twice bigger than normal, if that was even possible. Usual for such a surprise shriek didn’t come out and died as a tiny squeak, coming from her mouth. The towel fell from her mane, revealing now the cutest messy head of sapphire colour. When Alex wiped his eyes regaining non-blurred sight, he couldn’t help admitting, she was very beautiful, despite all the shock drawn on her muzzle.

‘C’mon Alex, don’t let it stun you,’ he reminded himself. ‘Get away, before she realized, what is going on!’ He didn’t like the fast-changing expression of Rarity’s eyes.

“Alex?!” creaked Rarity, she then cleared her throat and continued in suddenly softer and eager voice. “Well, my birthday is distant, but somepony apparently decided to send me a present beforehoof. Right, darling?”

“Wait,” some thought just visited her and her eyes widened again. “So that was you, giving me one of the best massages in my life?!”

Alex automatically nodded, while giving her a deadpan look, with his head completely empty at the moment. The white unicorn presented him her best bed eyes and a smile, that woke Alex from his stupor. He noticed that his shirt was being pulled away over his head, while equine vixen’s horn glowed again. With one fierce pull he found himself sitting in the hot basin with foam, stripped to the waist, with quite determined Rarity next to him. Alarm, alarm!

‘Oopsy! Magic may not affect thou, but not the things on thee,’ Alex returned to clear thoughts at once. ‘The longer thou stay, the fewer clothes on thy body!’

He already felt, she wasn’t going to stop at that; fortunately, it wasn’t so easy to cope with belt buckle underwater.

“Come on, darling, nobody takes a bath while clothed,” giggled Rarity and slid closer. She tried to enclose him in a hug, when Alex stormed out of the water.

“I promise to consider thy proposal…” he breathed out, while crossing the room on all four and grabbing his wet shirt, Rarity dropped.

“…some other day!” he raised on his feet at the door and blasted through, throwing the last glance back to see, how Rarity snorted and slammed both hooves against the water in despair, causing one more splash.

In the corridor he almost bumped into another pony with a fillet on her head, keeping her mane up and not obstructing her sight or operations. Perhaps that was exactly Lotus – one of two sisters who run the spa salon (as Alex finally realized, where he “broke into”) – who was going to check Rarity. She almost ducked in terror, following with dilated eyes the strange tall wet figure, which fell out into the corridor and almost rolled over her.

Alex jogged to the door on the opposite side, supposedly leading towards the hall, reception and exit to the street. He tried to dry himself with his shirt and found that to be completely futile; he was soaking wet with only hope to dry outside after a while. One more desperate yell reached his ears from behind.

“AHHHHHLEEEEX!!!”

Next door released him into a wide hallway with reception counter, a fancy thick carpet on the floor, potted plants with large leaves, resembling small palm trees, and a few couches. Alex rolled his eyes thankfully, that looked like an exit and there was nopony behind the counter. Inwardly apologizing for the wet prints, Alex crossed the hall and opened the front door a little, listening. It was quiet outside, but chances, Rainbow was ambushing, were still high; although, he couldn’t find a reason for her to wait for him exactly at the SPA… unless she heard the noise from outside.

‘If she pounces me now, I’ll probably shriek and faint,’ chuckled Alex inwardly, trying to calm his beating heart. He weaseled outside and took a quick look left and right; no sign of the rainbow menace was encouraging. A quiet giggle made Alex freeze and carefully turn; thankfully, that wasn’t Rainbow Dash anticipating the “final strike”. Two young mares at the table of the street café across giggled at the sight of wet, stripped to the waist human with ruffled hair, tiptoeing out of the SPA salon.

“Hmpf!” Alex took a breath and straightened, he flexed a bit an winked at them with the most mischievous expression, making them snort, leaning to each other and flushing. He sent them an air kiss to complete the effect, causing another wave of uncontrollable giggling, and ran back past the bar towards the Golden Oak Library, rightfully concluding that Rainbow would hardly muck about the place, she took part derailing. The Sun almost set, but Alex promptly kept closer to the walls, putting his shirt on and checking the air from time to time, he had more than enough surprises already.

There was nopony at the Library front door and the area seemed clear, but Alex didn’t want to tease his luck and crossed the street beforehand, approaching the library from behind, under the cover of thick foliage. He took another careful look at the square and above and quickly hopped over the low windowsill of his room, heading to the ground floor bathroom first.

The short examination under the bright light showed that he looked quite a mess, besides, all the dust he raised, running across the town, now turned into the dirt on his clothes. Naturally, all went to the laundry basket. With a sigh Alex turned on the water and climbed into the tub, relaxing under the warm streams and letting them wash the dust off. He let the tub fill, putting the plug after a few minutes, and simply sat there with eyes closed.

‘What rabid fly bit her?’ Alex leaned on the edge, rubbing his face tiredly. ‘First she grabs me and kisses and then gets mad about that. I admit, she was a bit tipsy most likely, but still… Girl, brace yourself finally!’

The tub finally filled, letting Alex warm up, but before serenity embraced him, some sound made him turn off the water and listen nervously. Somepony knocked on the front door persistently.

‘Not again!’ Alex rolled his eyes, hearing how Twilight went downstairs; he could bet, he knew the visitor – well, that was natural, hardly anypony in the town was uninformed, where Alex resided.

“Evening, pal,” Rainbow sounded a bit tired, but as stubborn as usual. Alex turned into the pair of very sensitive ears.

The situation could hardly be worse, he was trapped in the relatively small, brightly lit room, without any hiding place and with a single entrance and exit simultaneously; moreover, his clothes were in the laundry basket and any retreating plan was hardly feasible.

“Good evening, Dash,” Twilight made a considerable effort to stifle a yawn. “Can I help you?” Alex heard she made it sound sympathetically, despite having no idea, what made Rainbow wake her.

“Y-yeah…” Rainbow seemed to realize that her question sounded quite strange, she remembered about her reputation too late and tried to word it the most neutral way possible. “Did you saw Alex, Twi?”

If somepony could be named a slow thinker, that was definitely not Twilight, besides, something on Rainbows muzzle alerted her, after a short pause and another small yawn, which made Twilight look most innocent and uninvolved, she said.

“I haven’t seen him here, Dash, if that’s what you mean. I was at home the whole evening and he didn’t come in my presence. But what do you…”

“Oh, look,” Rainbow squinted and pointed over Twilight’s shoulder. “You left the lights in the bathroom!” she visibly twitched towards the slightly open door.

“Ahem…” Twilight raised her voice a bit, keeping the deadpan look. “I was going to take a bath and go to bed actually, when you knocked,” she threw an unambiguous glance at herself, dressed into a fluffy bathrobe. “But if that reassures you…”

She quickly trotted to the bathroom, inwardly praying for it at least to look empty, and opened the door, blocking it first from Rainbows inquiring glance.

Praising the not filled to the edge tub, Alex got down, leaving almost only his nose above the water. Twilight took a fast look around the room, with a tiny sigh subtly moved Alex’s shoes aside and behind the door with her fore hoof and turned to her impatiently jumping pegasus friend, who tried to throw a look over Twilight’s shoulder.

Rainbow observed the bathroom, making sure there was no place to hide, and downcasted with a disappointed and a bit embarrassed look.

“Sorry, Twi! A-actually… that doesn’t matter. I can always find him later…”

Twilight shrugged with a tiny friendly smile, inwardly noting that the latter sounded quite threatening, considering Rainbow’s attitude towards the human.

“Okay… Eh… Have a nice evening, pal, and… Good night! Yeah…” feeling the growing embarrassment Rainbow preferred to retreat.

“Good night, Dash!” Twilight held the door for her friend, stifling a giggle; seeing her bloodshot eyes, she added. “Have some sleep, mate.”

The door closed behind puzzled girl; Twilight leaned on it and chuckled, she lingered for a while, listening that Rainbow actually soared, then headed to the bathroom door.

“You can tell me the whole story tomorrow, okay,” Twilight raised her voice a bit, stopping in the doorway and looking fixedly at the tub; she didn’t hold back the next yawn. “I suppose that can wait and I’m going to bed. Please take care of the mess after yourself, Alex. And… the towels are in the closet.”

With a quiet splash the hand with raised thumb emerged from the tub, making Twilight snort and shake her head.

The rest of the week turned out a messy and mad race, Alex tried to tie all ends at the station freight at once, while still having some time for his smithing studies. It appeared that he didn’t forget too much of his previous practice; it was limited to most basic knowledge, yet gave an ability to make simple things on his own without much guidance. That provided the certain advantage, as they managed to pace up making the generators for Alex’s current customers from Ponyville; although, Alex saw the assembly and installation of them as a problem, as his free time became nonexistent. He almost finished his work at Apple Acres, but with all the activities he was engaged in already, electrifying the library became delayed for the undefined period; thankfully Twilight didn’t object, she rather watched Alex with growing concern about his stability.

Naturally, Alex couldn’t deprive old Will and his niece of sleep, so, he always appeared for a few hours right after the main work at the freight and before the whole Ponyville drifted to sleep. That practically limited his daily schedule for the next several days to working, eating and sleeping, the latter being quite short, to tell the truth. Every night Alex walked around Ponyville, taking his “duty” as serious as possible: he circled the whole inhabited area to watch all the borders of the town, eastern orchard, the smithy and hospital on the north, railway station and Apple Acres on the west, Fluttershy’s cottage and the Clock Tower on the south. Everything seemed quiet night after night; Alex knew, it was only a short break, as the observations told that the Seekers reappeared after a few days period, yet it gave some time to prepare.

He kept looking for a simple way to convince the blacksmith that the generators were the passed step; giving them out to a big company didn’t mean that the smithy was going to be left jobless again. Alex could imagine Will’s reaction to the mere fact that big companies crossed his road again, moreover, the one, who brought some hope regarding smithy’s future, welcomed them. Despite the most natural act in that case would be bucking Alex out, he needed to be listened to completely first, that was the most complex part of his plan. Finally, he decided that demonstrating the new horizons, they were going to pursue, was the smartest way, as Alex had everything prepared; mentioning Canterlot Steam Company role in their play needed a proper moment though.

With his days spent like that, Alex got away and returned home in time, when nopony could see him; Twilight realized that everything was more or less alright only by the things changing their places nightly. Nevertheless, she caught him on the third day and, seeing Alex walking like a somnambulant, told him quite sternly that he should reconsider his routine to become less stressful. Albeit, there was an obvious advantage in that: Alex could easily evade all Rainbow’s attempts to get him, so far she made quite a few, trying to ambush him in the morning at the library (thankfully the “morning” started much earlier for Alex than her) and later in the town. She kept circling around the Golden Oak until Twilight, who knew about the reasons at that moment, told her to “leave a letter” for Alex instead. Rainbow Dash flushed to the roots of her colourful mane and left, confusedly muttering something, making Twilight chuckle reservedly. But the pegasus girl didn’t drop her hunt altogether, she even appeared a couple times at the station, looking for her “offender” from the skies; the co-worker stallions warned Alex in time and he kept extra vigilance.

Thankfully Dash slept her hind legs off at nights, besides, she was uninformed about his sleepwalking, so after the sunset Alex was relatively safe of her presence. Although, in that state Alex was hardly an easy target and it wasn’t obvious, who could rather get bucked that time – Alex could give Rainbow a proper “bath” once again.

That evening Alex appeared at the library before the sunset and Twilight realized that he wasn’t at the smithy yet, changing his usual route for some reason, as he used his free time reading the notes, choosing and gathering into the bag numerous stones and ore pieces from his quite large collection.

“You are definitely plotting something with the blacksmith…” with a smile Twilight watched Alex pensively picking the salad during the supper. “All those preparations… and you being absentminded and nervous, Alex. Today’s being a big day, right?”

“Well, that’s rather me plotting,” Alex switched attention from his plate to Twilight. “Will is completely uninformed yet of my plans. But yes, too much depends on my talk with Willsmash tonight;the last thing I need is my… our,” the symbolic nod to Spike was met with salutation gesture from the little dragon. “meticulous preparations to end futilely.”

“Yeah, we didn’t dig out half of the cliff for nothing,” snorted Spike. “And it seems Alex is going to take half of that heap with him. I wonder, what use all these stones can be of at the smithy…”

“That’s because you paid more attention to the gastronomic value of our finds instead of geologic,” chuckled Alex. “Because another half of that heap ended in your stomach, Spike. Except diamonds only, which, surprisingly for you, I will need for my work likewise.”

“Oh!” Spike raised his paws. “I won’t deny, that cooperation was… quite fruitful, nor will I object the further… research of that kind,” he licked his lips unambiguously.

“Guys, can you be serious for a while at least?” huffed Twilight, watching them snorting. “Alex?”

“Well, the contract with Canterlot Steam Company is signed already,” Alex put away the fork and rubbed his chin. “And while all the Ponyville customers remain ours anyway, their number is limited. Alas, I have no idea, if ponyvillers start coming to old Will with their problems on their own,” he sighed, shaking his head slowly. “The Equestria-wide production is CSC task now, we even don’t have suitable production capacities. Although, we can focus on the development and some other more advantageous aspects. But those are reasons, one must listen to them and another have a chance to tell them at least.”

Twilight nodded, understanding already, what he was going to say.

“How do you think, Twi, Will can take the news about another large company taking that job away?”

“I think, he wouldn’t be happy, to say the least, considering all the history of his relations with the companies,” Twilight’s glance, raised at Alex, was extremely serious.

“Exactly! That is why I’m going to show him, that we are going to win, despite it looks a desperate attempt at the first glance. These generators are the passed step, they give me a solid base to lean on, but we must focus on something immeasurably more advantageous… with the help of certain improvements of technology, of course. That’s what I’m going to show Willsmash tonight and that called for some preparations… thus the few last days were especially hard!” Alex made a sip from his teacup, backrest creaked slightly, when he tiredly leaned on it.

“I’ve noticed,” something made Twilight smile. “Or better say, I almost couldn’t notice you for the last few days. By the way, you promised to tell me about that story with Rainbow, but I couldn’t catch you up since that evening,” she shrugged innocently. “Never mind, Alex, I’ve been told everything already.”

“Really?!” Alex looked like there was nothing interesting him more at that moment, than the story, Twilight heard from somepony; although, he kept his sarcasm on the leash yet. “And what did they tell?”

“I’ve heard that from Rarity and Rarity heard from somepony else, she mentioned Aloe or maybe Lotus,” Twilight stared at the ceiling musingly, while Alex inwardly facepalmed. “Among other things, Rarity sulks each time hearing your name lately…”

“Simply because I managed to escape one of her flirting attempts again,” Alex put in and Spike joyously huffed.

“They say,” Twilight continued tranquilly. “They say, you and Rainbow Dash were kissing at Bouncing Barrels, yes, Alex, half of the customers clearly saw that… and then you both, don’t look at me like that, that’s the exact quote – “smashed the bar as a haystack”!”

“No! Way!” Spike looked like he needed help to pick up his jaw from the table, he alternated from Alex to Twilight like a startled owl.

“Wait…” to tell the truth Alex didn’t look much better than Spike. “They can’t say… Do they actually…”

“Just in case,” Twilight let out a tiny smile. “I don’t believe in that fascinating story as well, I suppose some mistake took place…”

“Exactly!” Alex even raised a bit from his chair, Spike still tried to close his mouth. “I don’t know what was in Rainbow’s head, but that was a mistake, quite unpleasant mistake, I must say… That’s why, as you say, we “smashed the bar ” anon forsooth… Tis was arrant Rainbow’s fault, she threw out something crazy and yet she blamed me for that.”

“But… if ‘t be true half of the town telleth the story in that way now…” Alex groaned in a second and covered his face.

“Oh, don’t worry, they will forget in a short while,” Twilight giggled, taking her cup. “Rumors are our curse, but they fly by fast naturally. Oh… the bartender came the other day and asked me to tell you that the compensation was quite enough, so, you aren’t anathematized at the place, Alex. Of course, he expressed his hope, neither you nor Dash will inflict as much destruction next time.”

Alex let out a muffled groan of wounded elk, the mere fact that Spike closed his mouth with a clap and now giggled as well, finding the story quite amusing, didn’t make his condition better.

“By the by, he said that Dash was angry, when he suggested her to compensate half of the damage… but quickly reconsidered, when he told her, you were going to pay the whole sum.”

“I did forsooth, thought that it would be easier that way,” nodded Alex, showing his flushing face. “The rest was so Rainbow Dash – from me… she shan’t accept a sip of water in the desert methinks.”

“She twisted around, looking for you,” Twilight smirked slyly.

“Looks like you are twice lucky,” concluded Spike. “Being that busy all the day long lately.”

“Yeahhhh…” Alex took a breath. “Look, Twi, it was a pure accident. Some of Rainbow’s crazy pranks went wrong or something… I don’t know, in the earnest.”

“So…”

“It was an accident!” with emphasis repeated Alex, slowly regaining his natural colour. He preferred to change the topic, adding with a yawn. “Well… It’s nap time methinks…”

“Errmmm… I thought, you were going to the blacksmith tonight,” Twilight’s surprised glance followed Alex heading to his room. “Now I don’t understand anything, sorry…”

“Thou seest, Twilight,” Alex lingered at the door. “The advantages, I need to show Willsmash, call for some of mine new abilities to succeed anyway...”

“Don’t ask, I understood nothing myself” was reading in puzzled glances Spike and Twilight shared, Spike started to clear the table. The more surprised they became, gawking at him, when after a few minutes Alex appeared on the doorstep of the room with a bag, ready to depart.

“Ehhh… Mmmm”

Alex beckoned them silently instead of an answer; Twilight already started guessing what it was about. Spike, who never saw Alex sleepwalking before, dropped his jaw the second time for that day, seeing Alex serenely laying on the sofa, evidently sleeping and… Alex standing in the doorway, holding a bag and smiling slyly. The little dragon turned his head that fast, it seemed, he had two faces at once.

“I’d like to ask you, mine friends, for a favour,” Alex (the awake one) leaned closer confidingly. “Don’t wake me, even if… Celestia falls from the sky hither.”

“No, uncle Will, the road is empty still,” Silver Ingot looked over the shoulder and shook her head. The cooling evening wind, making the field ripple with its green tide and pushing the light smoke of Will’s furnace to the ground, flowed around her slender frame and played with a few loose strands of her braided mane, throwing them on her muzzle and making her huff them away cutely. Silver, or as Alex called the filly – Sil and she didn’t object, as it sounded strangely cute, leaned on the fence and observed the road to Ponyville again, shielding her eyes from the setting Sun with her fore hoof.

The old blacksmith watched his niece with a mix of love, admiration and faint sadness: under his daily care grew a wonderful, thoughtful, beautiful rose, who could make any dignified stallion happy… only if the named stallion was free of prejudices and unaffected by the community rumours.

‘Almost impossible in our area…’ sighed the old unicorn, throwing a look at the field and squinting because of the sunlight. Willsmash could probably drop everything, as he could never imagine selling the smithy within the given circumstances, and move to some new place with his niece, where they could be completely new ponies, unbeknown to the locals, so Silver Ingot probably had brighter future. Those thoughts visited Will numerous times and it wasn’t the financial aspect, which held him back – they would still have enough for the living. Strangely though, both he and Silver didn’t want to leave the town. The blacksmith’s heart ached each time at the thought of leaving his ancestral workplace to decay without caring and capable hoof and eye; in her turn Sil carried no unholy thought of leaving her uncle alone in his struggle, saying that it wasn’t the place to change, but rather the ponies, themselves included.

“Strange… He never sabotaged our work before or changed the plans without notice,” Will shook his head, casting the sad thoughts away, and frowned with concern. “Something must have happened…”

“Maybe he is busy tying the ends at the station,” Sil threw a quick glance at him, barely shrugging. “Alex is going to leave them all in all, must have lots of work to finish before that.”

“Maybe you are right, child. Hmmm, perhaps I did right, not fanning the smithy stronger before the night. If we don’t pay for coal, that doesn’t mean we must waste it… Still, it’s strange…” Will didn’t have time to tell, what he considered strange.

“Oh!” Sil’s amazed exclamation made Willsmash raise his head and look fixedly at the road, the eyes of both ponies involuntarily dilated, they could have sworn, there was nopony a moment ago; now although, the tall human figure singled out amidst the green sea, with the large bag on his shoulder Alex headed to them and waved, noticing the unicorns watching him from the distance.

“Where did he appear from?”

“I didn’t notice, child! Just a second before there was nopony… One needed to teleport even to appear from the clear skies,” Will and Silver Ingot shared a puzzled glance; the road made a turn in the field and Alex marched right towards them, crossing that turn.

“Uncle… he looks… unusually fluent,” the unicorn girl watched the approaching figure fixedly with a pensive expression. “Like… floating?!”

“Oh, my filly,” chuckled the blacksmith, shaking his head. “It must be the warm air from the heated road…” Silver only shrugged; Alex quickly crossed the trampled space behind the fence, opened the gate and stopped amidst the yard, dropping the heavy bag to the ground with a loud stony clank.

“Good evening! I apologize for being later than usual,” his smile was usual and sincere and Silver shook her head dispelling strange thoughts. “It took me some time to prepare for this evening and convince princess Twilight Sparkle to cover me up…”

Willsmash raised one eyebrow, some question evidently was getting ripe on his tongue, when Alex elaborated with another disarming smile.

“I know, I know, please forgive the delay and surprise… and the whole strangeness of the following… I planned to show you the real aim for us, if we want the smithy to work further and even advance.”

“But I would like to ask you to keep everything, ye see tonight, in secret for the time being,” added he in the inquiring silence. “Whatever ye see and think of ‘t!” he emphatically waited for their gesture of agreement.

“Did you find a way to make your armour more durable?” brightened up Will, when it was up to his work, other questions might wait. “I can’t figure out entirely, why you don’t want magic to our aid; it’s proved, as you say, that magic, not directed at you personally, doesn’t give any side effects…”

“Oh, tis simple,” chuckled Alex, a little nervously, yet bracing himself quickly, as he crossed the “start line” and there was no way back already. “Ye all got used to the magic to your aid any time, I got used to living without it, I want to do something working as intended myself. Besides, mine own existence proves one fact, magic not always worketh. Armour is not a thing, which failure in certain circumstances may be treated easily…”

“I wanted to show something arrant different tonight,” elaborated Alex. “But vital for the armour anon and… for the future in general.”

‘For the future of the smithy, if we want it to have any,’ added he inwardly.

“No, please, not yet, that shan’t be necessary,” seeing that blacksmith’s magic enveloped the bellows, readying to fan the furnace, Alex stopped him softly. “With your permission, I would like to start from the ground and show you, what we shall do to have real advantages in the competition. I promise, I shan’t break anything,” added he, noticing how Will barely audibly, yet skeptically huffed at his mention of “advantages”.

The old smelter breathed with heat, not the inapproachable hell of the roaring flames, but the calming heat of a stone oven in some old house; evidently the blacksmith used it earlier that day, maybe even before the noon. Alex opened the main camera hatch, here the heat was obviously stronger, borderline painful for everypony, and loaded an iron ingot and a few “stones” from his bag. The human added a few smaller ones, taking them from several pockets of the bag according to some, known to him only, system; he overshadowed the hatch and left both unicorns only guess, what he was going to achieve. A few shovels of coal followed into the smelter through the side hatch, which clanked, when Alex forcefully shut it closed and locked.

“That will take quite some time,” noted Willsmash, shaking his head, and Silver Ingot nodded. “You should warn us that you needed the smelter, Alex, I could keep it hot…”

Alex let out a tiny smile and patted the side of the smelter with almost a friendly gesture, making Silver cry out in terror and awe; nopony, being sane, should touch it, even not fully heated, risking to fry their hooves. Girl’s eyes dilated, old unicorn’s mouth opened slightly, then both squinted in disbelief, seeing that Alex’s hand didn’t feel any worse. He stood, facing the smelter, downcasting in almost pensive manner, leaving them puzzled of what he was waiting for.

Suddenly the smelter “sighed” quite loudly, throwing the cloud of coal dust from its upper opening, and for a second flames flashed above it. Like enthralled Will and Silver watched the stone beast huffing and breathing faster, till the sounds turned into the even hum of flames inside.

“What in the name of…” started Will, Alex watched the smelter, folded hands and slightly absent glance gave him the totally uninvolved look, but the old blacksmith couldn’t be distracted that easily. “How’s it even possible. Sir, I would like…”

“Please, let me finish first. I shall answer all the questions anon, let them appear,” Alex raised his eyes on them with a disarming and slightly sad smile. “I promised, I wouldn’t break anything…”

‘Huh! Easier said than done,’ he listened to the roar of flames in the humming and crackling smelter. ‘The thing is working at twice its usual load. Quite much for an old piece of history, we shall need a new one definitely, arrant different.’

“There was something strange in Alex tonight,” emphatically whispered Silver Ingot, leaning to uncle’s ear. “And… the way he is talking… I swear, I heard that already. A couple of years before, I can’t remember only, where and whom from.”

In about fifteen minutes of complete silence, broken by the smelter noises and rare quiet whispering of the unicorns, Alex interrupted his mute contemplation and finally moved, showing that he was an alive creature, not some stone statue. The Sun set already and his face was highlighted by the gleam of smelter’s muzzle, when he glanced at the smithy, looking for something under its awning.

Perhaps the old blacksmith and his niece thought that self-igniting and fanning smelter was the main surprise of the evening, but the old mold for a sword billet slowly floating past them made them wince and instantly freeze. With dilated eyes they watched the mold, landing at the smelter muzzle; Alex forcedly pressed the lever and brightly glaring metal flowed, spreading sparkles and hardening in the air, filling the form. The mold crackled and hissed under the abnormal heat and suddenly burst a crack, thankfully the steel solidified quickly and nothing came out through the hair-thin opening.

Alex slowly headed to the anvil, following the mold, floating in the same direction; all that time neither Willsmash, nor Silver sounded a word. He grabbed a mallet, leaned against the anvil, three more flew from the workbench under the awning and froze afloat near; Alex totally ignored the usual pliers though.

The mold turned upside down above the anvil and with a hit of the mallet a candent steel stripe fell out with a muffled clank and fountain of sparkles. Peacefully smouldering furnace threw out flames and roared, lighting the whole smithy yard; the glowing steel blank turned, driven by the unknown force, putting its sides under Alex’s aimed hits. Three mallets followed, working at the whole length of the future sword. Will and Silver Ingot shared a silent glance.

Half of an hour passed in the measured rhythm of steel hitting steel, shaping it, bending it to master’s will, making all the sounds around the old smithy die; even the birds fell silent in the field, unaccustomed to somepony working that late there. The metal clanked, the sparkles sprinkled around and hissed, fading on the ground, water in the tray splashed and boiled, cooling the slowly gaining the desired shape sword.

Alex didn’t have time for sophisticated design, he needed utility and quality of the cut first: there was no handle in that sword only a thick round shank instead, the whole product was rather a sample for demonstration, than a finished weapon. Although, the thin steel stripe shone in the flames of the furnace, after the water tray cooled it for the last time, letting out a fountain of steam. A few minutes more at the grinding stone and Alex examined the semi-sword, turning it in his hands and checking the balance. He looked satisfied with the result, smiling to some thoughts and swaying his product, leaving a glowing trail in the air.

“Looks like a crude sword, doesn’t it?” he turned to the silent unicorns, who watched him fixedly, evidently opening a new page in their book about Alex. “Let’s be honest, I don’t pretend for a true mastery or quality of design yet. But it’s not the main thing about this sample. Let me show you…”

With those words Alex rested the point of his sword in the notch of the old anvil, he noted beforehand, and forcedly pressed on the “handle” – the metal strip bent in an arch… but didn’t break and returned to its initial shape completely, when Alex released it.

“Can I use something of your metalwork, sir?” Alex turned to Willsmash; the latter stood like a salt column and barely jerked his head in a strange way, which Alex preferred to interpret as the permission. “Nothing too valuable, as I’m afraid, I will need to destroy the thing.”

He picked a metal rod from the nearby stand, the blank for some cart detail flew towards Alex dragged by unknown force. Nopony could catch the jet-like move, cutting the rod into half with a bunch of sparkles; both pieces fell to the ground and Alex cringed a little from the palpable hit and swayed his hand, holding the sword.

“Ehhh… I need more practice!”

“As you can see, adding some rare ore and minerals to the smelt made the final product more flexible, yet durable and capable to cut easily the simpler metal,” if Alex waited for some distinct reaction to his words, he was to wait, while what they had seen settles in Will and Sil’s heads; they definitely paid little to no attention to the technological advantages at that moment.

Alex sighed and stepped aside, then returned, unicorns’ eyes followed him. ‘Well, at least they are responsive!’ chuckled he inwardly.

“That’s only a start of the road we are entering… If you are ready to,” Alex tried to sound as softly as he could, perfectly understanding Will’s condition. “We’ll be able to make more complex alloys and durable things… if we can… if we can raise the temperature generally. As we are limited in the fuel, we shall need to raise the pressure to achieve the desired heat. For which I have certain ideas, how to reconstruct or, better say, rebuild the smelter and alter the furnace a zilch,” Alex added carefully. “That shalt demand for all mine capabilities… but methinks is worthy arrant.”

“What… Ahem…” Willsmash cleared his throat, convulsively nodding at something behind Alex’s back. “What, pray tell, is that?”

“Oh… Apologies…” Alex glanced over the shoulder, noticing the three mallets, patiently floating in the air near the anvil still; they accurately returned to their place at the workbench.

“You said, you aren’t capable of any sort of magic?” Silver Ingot measured him worryingly.

“It’s not magic…” bemused Will shook his head slowly. “Not magic in its common understanding. It’s something different. What?” he raised his eyes at Alex inquiringly.

“The humans are generally believed to be incapable of magic,” added the blacksmith. “Then who are you? What we saw, resembled magic evidently… unless it was and still is our dream.”

“Not yours,” Alex allowed himself a little smile.

“Rest assured, I’m a human,” seeing the old unicorn narrowing his eyes in confusion, Alex elaborated, adding under his breath “At least I would like to believe, I still am.”

“I’m a “sleepwalker”!” Alex tried to shrug in the most casual manner, perfectly understanding that it might not work the desired way. “I am on mine bed in the Golden Oak library at that moment… and yet I’m hither, telling you, how your craft can have… the second breath! Thusly it’s not your dream, formally it’s mine. Although, I don’t actually know, how to explain it better. Apologies!”

‘Luna knoweth neither!’ Alex inwardly wondered, if that amazing princess wasn’t overly loaded by that question, simply enjoying where things were going instead.

“Sleepwalker?!” Silver Ingot couldn’t hold back the dazed squeak. “But there is only one… pony, who is able to do that! How on Equus…”

“Thither are no humans on Equus normally,” Alex spread his hands. “None are usually taken hither by some wicked thunderstorm of unknown origin, no mind-wrecking monstrosities appeared out of the blue in Equestria till shortly afore… I’m afraid, I can’t answer thy question, Sil. I myself don’t know, whither it goeth.”

Alex examined the semi-sword in his hand, he stepped forward and handed it to Willsmash, turning the grip towards the unicorn.

“I shall leave now. Please, think, if ‘t be true thou are ready and comfortable to work with a… student of that nature, sir. I shall come on morrow… to start, unless ye want to reject mine collaboration. I can understand either. Although, please, keep mine little secrets as secrets… while it is possible,” Alex alternated between Will and Sil seriously.

“Apologies for the… for the shock, I guess… Have your night lightly!” he downcasted and before they could take a breath, Alex figure started to dissolve in the air, vanishing completely in a few seconds.

“He… forgot his bag…” squeaked Silver Ingot completely out of place.

The night was young and bright, being far from the New Moon; the silvery “lantern”, slightly bitten from one side, made the nearest part of the Milky Way pale compared to own glory and shine. Nothing could break the serenity reign: neither night birds, claiming their territory, light breeze, ruffling the treetops, rare chipmunks, whisking along the branches, playing and quarreling, minding their nightly business, nor the accurate steps, barely audibly rustling in the high grass. They crossed the field, creaked with the gravel of the pathway and stopped, their owner sniffed in the air, letting the sensitive nose catch the damp smell from the stream. The bridge planks rocked with the dry rattle, making the nearby birds silent.

The cottage stood silent and dark; an attentive glance told that the owners were peacefully having their deserved rest, none of the windows shone, at least from that side. Making sure of surrounding tranquility, the steps slowly deepened into the garden, going around the house.

Despite the long day full of useful chores, the sleep didn’t hurry to come and touch her with its caring wings; Fluttershy lay in her bed and listened to the night. The whisper of leaves behind the open window, letting the fresh tender wind inside; endless “crex-crex” of sleepless landrails in the fields along the stream; cicadas, chirring in the garden – all those could easily lull anypony. Anypony, but Fluttershy, whose head was full of uneasy thoughts even at that late and peaceful hour.

She rolled from side to side under the thin blanket, unable to fall asleep, staring at the window, the ceiling with wooden beams, the wall, the window again. The events of the last few days were not particularly calming: she listened to Twilight’s story with wide open eyes, barely breathing, the Seekers evidently became “brave” or impudent enough to appear almost in Ponyville.

‘Do they appear completely randomly? It looks so still, but…’ Fluttershy watched the shadows of the tree branches stroking the moonlit frame. ‘There must be a reason for them to appear in Equestria, I don’t believe they come to haunt us only… Especially after what princess Celestia discovered about their nature,’ the girl shuddered, suddenly she felt, how thin the blanket was, despite it was enough for the summer nights otherwise. ‘They are somewhat similar to changelings… I wonder, if the princess suspects any connection. Although, Chrysalis never used something alike, despite her passion to take over Equestria.’

‘Them coming here looks completely irrational,’ Fluttershy folded her wings tighter, dragging the blanket up. ‘Alex… destroyed five of them already, four near the town… Why would they keep coming to that part of Equestria, if their “master” knows, they are destroyed here? What they seek for must be really needed by one, who sends them with such determination.’

Fluttershy turned on her back and stared at the ceiling lamp again, she pulled the blanket almost to her chin and looked like a little pensive filly on the Hearth Warming eve at that moment.

‘It makes him confront them with more and more passion each time, more selflessly,’ a tiny sigh left her chest. ‘Tying himself more and more with this problem.’

‘What next?’ Fluttershy’s anxiety made her fiddle under the cover nervously. ‘Weapons? Hunting the Seekers regularly and “officially”?’ she even squeaked quietly; flushed and checked fast, but Angel was calmly sleeping, curling at the free edge of the bed. Fluttershy sighed again. ‘Joining the Night Watch?’

More darkness flooded her bedroom, a single cloud overshadowed the Moon; the same twilight crawled into the girl’s soul, when she remembered about the Night Watch and especially the one commanding them.

‘No, knowing Alex… he can hardly tie himself with the guards, not the obedient type,’ Fluttershy smirked sadly. ‘He wants to avoid anypony being hurt and, as usual, will be the first to take any damage. It seems nopony is actually going to warn or prevent him of dangerous moves; the old blacksmith must be happy, his mastery finally finds some use,’ she cringed.

‘We might have decided to cool down and treat our relationship with clear heads,’ her thoughts returned to what bothered her the most. ‘But it’s easier said than done. I can’t calmly watch how it plays out now… but… If only I knew, how to fix it...’

Tired from the sleepless watching Fluttershy scrambled from under the blanket; approaching the window, she leaned on the sill and watched the garden: the rare clouds ran across the sky, casting shadows below. There, at the window, the wind seemed fresh enough and the girl shivered a little, pondering, if to take the blanket and wrap into it was a better idea. She remembered about Angel sleeping on it and reconsidered, when suddenly some quiet sound from the garden attracted her attention.

Chills ran up Fluttershy’s spine with the realization that the sound was actually slow, accurate, but very distinguishable steps; she was close to panic, when she caught herself upon the feel… or better say the lack thereof. From Twilight and Alex she knew that the Seekers caused a variety of rather unpleasant feelings in everypony witnessing them: fear, despair, depression, anxiety, sad and painful memories. Fluttershy didn’t feel any of those, nothing new, except quiet regret about their relationship coming to such an unfortunate turn.

The steps stopped meanwhile, now they were somewhere under the trees in front of her window and Fluttershy praised the mere fact that she extinguished the light a while ago. The sigh, muffled, yet heavy and sad, made Fluttershy almost jump on her spot, but at the same time gave her an unimaginable relief – with all their strangeness Fluttershy could hardly imagine the Seekers capable to produce that sound. Listening to herself once again and noticing nothing alarming, she threw a quick glance over the shoulder at peacefully sleeping Angel and soared through the window, smiling happily and silently landing like a feather right under the bedroom window.

Fluttershy remembered about Alex’s nightly voyages around Ponyville, ending supposedly near her cottage; that explained the nature of the sounds and she headed to where she heard them from without fear.

The scene revealed to her eyes, when she accurately trotted between the shrubs and approached the farther trees, made Fluttershy stumble and freeze, the greeting stuck in her throat. Alex sat cross-legged, his back to the cottage, apparently relaxing and using the spare minute to train his new abilities, as he found the surroundings calm and safe. It could look ordinal… if he wasn’t “sitting” a few feet above the ground in the thin air, making small twigs, stones and other rubbish circle him on different orbits.

Fluttershy knew about his newly found powers and even thought that she accepted them as given quite calmly, but witnessing Alex… sleepwalking, she simply gawked and produced a tiny squeak.

Alex threw a quick glance at her over the shoulder, all the objects, he lifted, immediately fell on the ground, but he managed to stretch his legs and land like undisturbed, turning to Fluttershy with a slightly confused look. She unfroze and made a few steps towards him.

“Hey…” awkwardly started Alex. “How are you, Shy? I… I hope, I didn’t scare you,” his wry smile wasn’t entirely confident.

“W-well…” Fluttershy took her breath and giggled nervously. “Actually, y-you did… a tiny bit at first, w-when I heard you… Obviously, I didn’t know… it was you at that moment.”

“I didn’t mean to, Shy,” Alex shrugged apologetically. “I thought, you were sleeping already.”

“I would normally,” Fluttershy approached and looked up to him, making Alex kneel to her. “But different… thoughts made it hard tonight.”

“C-can I…” Fluttershy made one step closer and stretched her fore leg. “Ermm… Squee! I-I mean…” her ears flattened and nose became pinkish at once.

“Touch?” Alex guessed with a small smile. “Of course, I’m as solid as you or… or that tree,” he nodded and his hand met Fluttershy’s small hoof. The touch was warm and with a sigh she leaned to him, snuggling her forehead to Alex’s chest.

To her relief Alex hugged her as usual, like there was no unresolved tension between them: he held her shoulders warmly and brushed through the mane, inhaling its aroma. Fluttershy snuggled to his chest, like a little happy kitten, feeling Alex’s heart immediately speeding up. Alas, he held her quite reservedly, compared to what she got used to expect from him; that made Fluttershy realize, Alex, just like her, didn’t find any way out from their problem. A few seconds more the girl simply stayed in his arms, rubbing her head on Alex’s chest lightly, not wanting to move anywhere or say anything.

‘Where is Twilight with her time spell, when necessary? I could stay that way forever!’ catching herself on really meaning that, Fluttershy didn’t even wonder.

‘I missed you so much!’ she wanted to say, but instead changed that to a more neutral. “Do you come here often, Alex?”

“Nightly…” after a second Alex inched back and looked into turquoise eyes, raised at him. “Although, I come much later now, after the recent events. I circle the whole Ponyville, visit the farm and the orchard, then end here, Shy. Sometimes I go on my own, sometimes – like now, “sleepwalking”, as you call it. It seems nopony is actually and entirely safe now, if those monsters risk to approach the town that closely…”

“I know, Twilight told me everything. It’s a miracle, the girls didn’t get hurt!” Fluttershy noticeably shuddered in his arms. Unexpectedly, Alex didn’t get angry at Twilight, inwardly he admitted that Fluttershy had right to know everything about the situation with the Seekers.

“Exactly!” Alex shook his head reproachfully, lowering on the grass, he leaned to the tree trunk and Fluttershy nested next to him; after a second thought she wrapped her fore legs around Alex’s chest and he held her shoulders softly. “Nopony knows, when the Seekers materialized that time and how long they prowled around Jackie’s house; she said, they felt uneasy almost since noon.”

“Oh, Celestia!” gasped Fluttershy, throwing a quick shocked glance up at him. “I can only imagine, how they felt the whole evening… It’s unbelievable luck, nopony of them suffered!”

“Nothing except luck,” grumpily said Alex, stroking her shoulder absently. “They all minded their business, girls came for the sleepover, then Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Rarity left and nopony paid enough attention to what was happening. Each of them could become the next victim, if you ask me!” Alex let out a heavy sigh and fell silent for a while, listening to the landrails screeching.

“Interesting, what will Celestia say about all that?” Alex frowned. “Sometimes I wonder, if we did right, not telling everypony all the truth…” he pursed the lips. “However, that would cause more panic and rumours rather…”

“Probably,” Fluttershy slowly nodded. “The authorities and guards must deal with that, not common citizens.”

That phrase caused a quick glance from Alex, but he simply continued.

“It’s a case of no win, Shy. Either way is bad enough, as long as we all don’t realize, the problem is very serious and it affects all of us equally. It’s simply some of us can deal with it, one way or another,” Alex looked at Fluttershy meaningfully. “While others can’t… But at least they can be vigilant enough to help. Anyway, the Seekers must be treated as a threat, not as a phenomenon… and actively confronted.”

“That means, you…” Fluttershy returned his glance with dividends.

“Yes,” Alex shortly nodded. “I’m done with the station, Shy. At least as a freight worker. I’ve already started with Willsmash.” He noticed, how Fluttershy shivered and squeezed him tighter involuntarily, for her that meant not simple blacksmith work, but more Seekers, fights and danger.

“I feel, I can benefit from that, learn something, I don’t know and can’t do yet,” Alex’s decision was firm nevertheless. “And I know, how to improve the smithy in return. Finally, I can work on something meaningful, like those generators. That shall be quite helpful… against those Seekers either.”

Fluttershy kept silence, she told Alex already all she could on that matter and wasn’t sure, if his reaction could be more welcoming next time. Full of uneasy thoughts and unsaid warnings she snuggled to him tighter, staring somewhere into the distance; her large beautiful eyes shone in the moonlight, seemingly one step away from a sudden sad tear. Alex looked around, he didn’t want the girl’s thoughts going that route.

A green “butterfly”, made of a few tree leaves, landed on the tip of Fluttershy’s nose and slowly batted its wings, making the yellow pegasus squeak surprisingly. With a tiny laugher she wiggled her nose and huffed the “butterfly” away, it soared and fell apart in the evening breeze.

“I almost forgot,” she nuzzled Alex’s cheek lightly and giggled. “You don’t look like a dream to me, Alex, quite real on contrary.”

“That’s because I’m not in thy dream, Shy,” Alex put the loose strand of pink hair behind her ear gently, meeting her amazing eyes with his sad glance.

“Hey! Speaking of the rumours…” Fluttershy preferred to change the topic, nudging him lightly. “I’ve heard, you and Rainbow Dash had a rather saturated evening in the bar the other day. So, you even were to pay some reparations and… Rainbow is still dreaming to give you a kick. Did you forgot how to kiss, Alex? Or the cider affected you both badly…”

Alex facepalmed, flushing brightly, but Fluttershy’s eyes were laughing – that wasn’t the real accusation. He braced himself and told her the whole story briefly, extremely officially, straight to the point.

“I have no idea, what got into her ever-ruffled head,” Alex rolled his eyes sarcastically. “But who actually disliked the whole situation more is debatable. I’m fond of myself winning that bet.”

“Exactly,” chuckled Fluttershy, watching his confused face. “She must have had some of her wicked bets, otherwise I can’t imagine Dash doing that.”

“She hardly saw at first, whom she was smooching,” muttered Alex disapprovingly, shaking his head. “She was really drunk at that moment. Not after all the rumble though…” he smirked. “Still, I managed to get away.”

“Hmm… And why are you so humbly avoiding all the following… adventures?” Fluttershy squinted at Alex, sparkles of amusement shone in her eyes. “Rarity was very grumpy and dissatisfied the last few days, she didn’t want to talk… but Aloe enlightened me by secret, when we were at the SPA with Rarity yesterday.”

“Rarity!..” Alex groaned like a wounded beast. “I think now, if I knew, where I “broke into”, moreover, that she was there at that moment, I would rather go and give up to Rainbow… or play catch-up with her more…” he sighed heavily again, but chuckling Fluttershy made Alex smile finally. “I seriously don’t know, what to do with her. Sometimes she is borderline dangerous…”

“She simply has the entrained nature,” chuckled Fluttershy. “Our Rarity.”

“I’ll try to remember that next time, escaping her, if you think, that can help.”

Fluttershy nested her head on his shoulder, instead of an answer. The wind stopped blowing and it suddenly became very quiet around, like it becomes each time not long before the sunrise, before all the birds start singing, welcoming the Sun. Only the stubborn landrails kept screeching their “crex-crex” and the pleading cry of an owl came from the distant edge of the forest. Both Alex and Fluttershy watched the Moon, framed with the rare clouds, and each one thought of their own.

16. The Fall

“…There are ten gates on that dam, I mean, lower gates, of course. We examined the construction and it appears that we can effectively build generators at six of them, leaving four more free for emergency overflow and… Are you listening?!”

“Yeah,” Alex seemed to be stunned by the view of Ponyville dam, but forcedly took his eyes off and turned to the pony engineer in the CSC marked helmet, who touched him on the sleeve lightly. “Surely, I am. Six gates with generators and s four more – free,” he confirmed that he followed the thread, despite the distraction could be easily justified.

The one thing was to hear and know about that dam, but standing near the spillway at the lower bed was totally another story. Alex knew that he had no faintest wish to estimate the view from the upper edge. ‘No way! Even Luna and Fluttershy both can’t lure me there!’

The Sun was rising behind his back and highlighted an image worthy of some tourist post-card, but looking up at the 150-foot wall Alex wasn’t sure, if he could be the one to buy it. The terrain went uphill subtly from the railroad, reaching that place, where a curious observer could have a perfect view of both the station and Ponyville below. Here it suddenly formed a fold, turning into a high plateau, cut by the river bed. Or maybe those were the foothills already; Alex only knew that some mountains were in that direction, including the one with the cave, where the girls drove away a sleeping dragon from, saving Ponyville from the choking cloud of smoke.

The road reached the lower post, the nondescript grey building, used by dam technicians to monitor water level and control the lower basin, then made a sharp turn and snaked uphill to the upper post and the dam itself, supposedly going further north, along the river. There was another way to the dam as well – the stairwell cut in the solid rock, leading from the lower post to the upper edge of the construction, if anypony was willing to climb the stairs approximately of twenty floors height…

“We decided to place the first generator at the third gate, counting from the right,” continued the engineer, finally gaining Alex’s attention. “Thus the pressure would be supposedly enough to effectively spin it.”

“The upper bed is not that deep,” elaborated he, watching Alex bemusement from the dam scale. “Actually, there was a waterfall here… long before the dam was built and the river used to noticeably flood the railways and old Ponyville each Spring… and sometimes in Autumn, after heavy rains in the mountains, bringing much inconvenience.”

“The upper bed is slightly deeper than the lower one, but the river is squeezed between the cliffs and water levels can fluctuate noticeably. Thus we have two levels of gates on the dam, with upper being purely the emergency one,” the stallion cocked his head, throwing a glance at the upper gates sparkling in the sunlight, and held his helmet. “We cut the flow with the four of regularly used shutters, so the works can be performed safely. The water raised slightly, but it’s nothing to worry about.”

Alex nodded; despite the four closed gates, the noise of falling water was so strong, even where they stood, they were to almost shout to hear each other normally. Falling from the lower level, thus 120-foot height, the water turned the lower basin into the boiling pot, hitting rocks and the dam wall itself and filling the air with foam and spray. The considerable amount of water didn’t even reach the bottom, blown away as a fine mist, which covered everything with a thin grey veil and reached them, settling down on the faces and bringing the distinct smell of the river.

The lower basin was practically a small lake, limited by the wide grey concrete wall of the dam and two high cliffs, as both river sides here were rock, and nothing but rock, dark, glistening from the falling water and mist, and awfully slippery. Nothing could hold on those stones, flushed down by the artificial waterfall; although, much higher, starting from halfway up on both sides a few crooked trees fought desperately for their place under the Sun. The latter was plentiful here, so was water, naturally, but the scantiness of the soil made their task non-trivial at the very least.

Alex and earth pony engineer stood at the lower bank, almost at the exit of the dam basin, yet each look thrown at the concrete monster, squeezed between the cliffs and towering above them, made Alex shudder. Here the disturbed muddy water got onto the flatland and the river calmed down, lazily flowing to Ponyville, shimmering with clear water, as the sand, small stones and other garbage eventually settled down. It was hard to believe, that was the same stream calmly rotating the Southern Mill at the town outskirts, as at the foot of Ponyville Dam the river was undoubtedly dangerous; the lower basin was definitely the place to be observed and guarded from the strangers.

“Normally it’s a bit more herded here,” the stallion raised his voice. “But considering it’s Sunday today, there are only a couple of technicians on duty,” he nodded towards another earth pony, exiting the lower building and joining them, overlooking the basin with an attentive professional glance. “One on each post, monitoring the basins and gates, ready to react on any emergency.”

“The dam mechanisms are very reliable in general, moreover, the shutters can be easily operated by a single technician,” elaborated the Canterlot Steam Company specialist. “It won’t be excessive to say that the company took part in building the machinery, which needs only a single pony force to move the shutters and regulate the flow. So, we are rightfully proud with that achievement and adding more advantages…”

“When do we expect the big herd?” interrupted him the dam worker, whose professional interest was in letting nopony into the dangerous areas.

“Well, we already mounted the crane and part of the frame,” the engineer frowned slightly. “I think we start the next week… right after the additional safety railing is mounted at the catwalks.”

“Additional safety never hurts indeed!” Alex threw another glance at the dam and swallowed a lump. The lower gates row looked like a grumpy narrow mouth, spilling the water from the one side and showing dark teeth from another. The crane and the rest of metalwork, placed in the middle of “dry” sector, looked like some toys from here; metal beams, glowing in the sunlight, seemed not thicker than the sewing needles.

Suddenly Alex stiffened. ‘Something is not right!’ His glance scanned the lower gates and catwalks intently, unable to spot the source of his anxiety yet. Listening to his feeling, Alex disliked it more an more with each second… ‘What if… It can’t be!..’

The distant thin high-pitch and undoubtedly girly scream pierced the air and reached their ears, making everypony twitch.

“Thou said, thither was only a technician…” feeling the creeps down his spine, Alex turned to the engineer. “The voice didn’t sound as an adult mare…” He already knew, what that feeling of him was, and inwardly beseeched to being mistaken, realizing, there was no chance of a mistake.

“Oh, Celestia!” the dam worker’s olive muzzle turned grey, eyes widened. “Staunch Flume brought his daughter today…” he forcedly swallowed. “He wanted to show her the workplace. I-it’s… it’s not the common practice, b-but she is a big filly and Staunch Flume knows his job… so… nopony objected. They must be at the upper post or the gallery,” he squinted, downcasting.

“The gallery where the gates mechanisms and workshops are,” elaborated the engineer, catching Alex’s mad glance. “It goes along the whole dam and has exits to catwalks. The same on the upper level.”

“Merlin’s pants!” hissed Alex, squeezing his temples with the palms, as if trying to drag that nightmare out of his head, chills along his spine became almost painful.

“Thou!” he pointed at the dam worker, straightening at once and shaking his head. “Stay hither and let nopony in. At least until some guards arrive!”

“Now,” Alex turned to another stallion. “Please, takest the road to the station fast, ask them to relay to Twilight that she, the guards… mayhap even Celestia, are needed at the dam immediately. If ‘t be true thou seest any pegasus on thy road, yell them down and ask to relay the message… same with unicorns.”

“Yes, it’s that gravely important!” confirmed he, looking into engineer’s eyes fixedly. “I’m sure arrant, thither is one of those creatures, everypony was warned about recently.”

The stallion shortly nodded and rushed downhill, giving no attention to his helmet, which fell and rolled on the ground.

“Ohhhh!” groaned Alex, having a nasty gut feeling about all that, he dashed past the worker to the post door. “Better the stairs, than the road up the cliffs!”

“Please, sunny, stay here and don’t touch anything,” father’s warning was perhaps excessive, as the filly was noticeably intimidated by the scale of the rooms and mechanisms around. The filly quietly nodded and prepared to wait for her father, interestedly observing the arched length of the so-called gallery with numerous doors to the mechanisms, she was promised to see, and the exits to the dam face, she wasn’t going to approach anyway, hearing the roar of water outside.

Staunch Flume entered the workshop, firmly knowing that his daughter wouldn’t do anything stupid; she was a smart and obedient filly, despite reaching her teen. He taught her well the difference between some casual mischief and the seriousness of obvious dangers.

“Now… Where it is?” the stallion sorted out the tools on the workbench, looking for something specific. Yesterday he noticed that the lever at the fourth gate mechanism had some backlash, becoming noticeably loose and calling for large force to turn the gears. As it was late in the evening, Staunch Flume decided to tighten it, when the light would be naturally brighter, thus this morning. He could show his daughter, how the gate propulsion mechanism worked as well.

“Aha. Come here!” he picked a large wrench with his mouth, when the loud panicking scream from the gallery almost made him drop the heavy tool. Staunch was to spit it away on the floor with loud metal clang anyway, as he was almost knocked from hooves by the filly, who darted inside, slamming the door shut, trembling, and snuggled to her father with all the strength she had. Being able to take his breath finally, he was immensely happy to see her safe and sound.

“Hush, hush, dear, what’s up?” he hugged her by the shoulders and nuzzled her forehead, inwardly guessing which disaster he was to deal with in a moment; he was to calm the filly first and listen to her.

“Dad, please, hurry…” panted the filly, when she could catch her breath. “I saw the monster far in the… corridor! We need to get out of here now!”

“A monster in the gallery?” the stallion sported a bewildered and slightly sceptic look. “Are you sure, sunny? It’s dark there, I admit…”

“Dad, it was there! Big… and black and scary,” the girl gabbled fast, but quietly. “It had no head… and it had… those… tendrils!”

Staunch Flume stiffened: the mere look of his daughter told that she saw something and truly believed it wasn’t simply imagination, besides, the description sounded nastily familiar.

“I saw that announcement letter, daddy!” whimpered the girl. “It’s one of those creatures, princesses warned about…”

The sound of quiet, but very distinctive hoofstep outside, confirmed her words better than any explanation. Somepony… something large and heavy definitely was in the gallery. Taking another look at his pale and shaking filly, the technician decided to err on the side of caution. Thankfully, there was an unsophisticated hiding place in that workshop.

“Here,” he nudged her lightly towards the small closet with a metal door and a through lock, following her and accidentally kicking the wrench, which noisily slid away on the floor. More determined hoofsteps sounded from the gallery, something headed in their direction.

With jet-like speed Staunch Flume pushed his daughter into the closet and squeezed there himself, closing the door. The lock clicked, the stallion fiddled with his tool-belt, taking out a long screwdriver and shoving it in the handle hole, blocking the lock from their side. ‘It better be somepony’s idiotic joke! I’ll personally whip the ass throwing that trick!’ Both ponies, the adult stallion and the filly, froze listening.

The hoofsteps quickly reached the workshop and stopped behind the door; by the sound one could guess, they belonged to a creature considerably bigger than an average pony, and […] started to doubt the idea of it being somepony’s joke. Whoever was there, lingered for a few seconds, stomping hesitantly, then the large workshop door opened slowly, screeching seemingly on the mere souls of hiding ponies.

“Step-stop!” something got in, rustling and quietly moving along the room; the loud sound of the table, pushed by the large body, almost made them jump. Staunch carefully cupped daughter’s mouth with his fore hoof to prevent accidental scream. The sudden feel of despair and chilling fear made his coat stand; his heart ached at the view of his little princess’ painfully dilated eyes – she must have suffered the same inexplicable terror. ‘Celestia! That’s not a joke…’

“Step-stop!” Maybe it was their imagination or the noise of blood rushing in their ears, but they vividly imagined something dark and dangerous, “sniffing” the door of their closet. The large hoof, or whatever the monster had, screeched on the metal door and made their hearts skip a beat. Then something bumped the door, not very hard, simply trying it; thankfully the closet opened outside.

Another bump! A thin stripe of the Dark Mist licked the narrow gap below, showing its edge inside and making both ponies wince away from the door, deeper into the small closet. The stallion supported his nearly fainting daughter, still holding her mouth shut, squinting from the becoming unbearable ringing in his ears and doing his best to grit his own teeth, not to neigh from the hammering terror.

Lazily bumping the door once more their tormentor turned and heavily trotted away, out to the gallery. Panic and despair started releasing them little by little and, as soon as he could hear something except the ringing and his own blood rush, Staunch Flume turned all ears. Their lives or at least sanity, judging by what he heard in the announcement, depended on that.

“Now…” he felt, how his knees suddenly shook and large drips of cold sweat ran down his neck, something Staunch was unable to notice seconds before. “That… thing must be heading to the building… Probably looking for the exit. There is one more at the other end of the gallery. The grate is locked, but I have the keys. We need to get there, sunny, fast and quietly! Understood?” he released the muzzle of his filly, when she nodded convulsively, at least her eyes looked normal already.

“I know, daddy… But… I can’t,” whispered she, still holding on him. “My legs are trembling…”

“Oh, Celestia…” breathed out the stallion, listening at the door carefully; the heavy hoofsteps receded to the left and vanished. ‘It’s now or never!’ he yanked out the screwdriver and carefully opened a gap – the road was clear.

“Now, be quiet!” the stallion tried to open the door without any screeching, but stopped, seeing the filly almost hanging on him clenching to his neck; her knees trembled indeed and she couldn’t stand straight yet, let alone run.

Staunch Flume kneeled and let her get on his back, wrapping the fore legs around his neck; he could feel now, how the poor girl trembled, and closed his eyes for a second, making a deep breath.

“Hold on tight, okay! Whatever happens…” the filly nodded faintly and the technician accurately exited the workshop, listening and watching the left end of dark corridor fixedly. It was empty and silent and the stallion turned away, pondering for a second.

The rising Sun bathed the dam face with bright light, which flooded the catwalks and got into the gallery through openings. That, although, made the unlit parts of the pathway almost pitch black for their eyes. ‘What now? Risk and stay here, where we could be ambushed from every corner, if only I was mistaken... or get outside, where we at least can see the threat immediately.’

He made a single step, the sound, not very loud, but quite recognizable, rolled through the gallery, making the stallion decide at once. Slowly and tensely, ready to burst to gallop at every second, he reached the nearest opening and stepped on the catwalks.

“Don’t look down, sunny!” he squinted from the bright sunlight, falling right into their eyes, and stopped for a moment, letting them accommodate, then turned right.

A large metalwork construction partially blocked the way in a few yards distance, overshadowed by the crane – the part of supportive frame for the future generator assembly work. Staunch Flume realized his mistake, he wanted to return and quickly pass that area through the gallery safely not to climb through the frame. The noise behind his back told him, it was late; the black horse-like monster, surrounded by flowing Dark Mist, darted to the catwalks, as if it was chased by the Cerberus.

The filly squeaked and snuggled deep into father’s mane not to look; catching the glimpse of the nasty creature behind Staunch remembered the warning to the letter: “…please, leave the area of the aforementioned effects immediately and notify local authorities or/and the royal guards, if present! The anomaly may be accompanied by visual manifestations in form of shadowy horse-like creatures. Be aware, these creatures are dangerous...” In a couple of leaps he reached the metalwork frame and ducked, trying to get through the construction fast but safely, remembering about his daughter behind his shoulders. It turned out to be unbelievably hard, including the wave of mind-shattering terror, which mercilessly flooded them again, making the stallion grunt and pant groping through the scaffolding. His eyesight darkened and the tinnitus-like sound in the ears became almost unbearable.

The beast lingered for a second, but some sound from the gallery made it rush, stomping the catwalk heavily and making it noticeably shake. The technician panicked, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder at the approaching menace, he paced forward, his hoof got onto something round and… unattached to the rest of the frame. In a second the world around made a couple of loops; in some wild survival spasm he managed to grasp something, which got under the hooves, and firmly clench it… hanging over the gate, the spillway and the raging waters below.

His heart was beating seemingly under his throat and the noise of blood in the ears could easily compete with thunder; thankfully his daughter held onto him really tight, but he could barely recognize her voice in that pleading squeak.

“He-e-e-elp!!!”

“Damn all the stairs!” breathed out Alex, reaching the top. “Especially over twenty floors high!” He flew up in about ten minutes on foot and couldn’t call that feeling pleasant. His lungs seemed to be bursting, heart pounded hard and temples were “pressed in a vice”, but he could definitely feel the Seeker; fortunately a single and… (Alex wondered the clearness of that feel) startled one.

He remembered about their with the blacksmith work and rolled eyes sarcastically. ‘What’s the point of even advantageous and ultra-durable armour… if when it is needed, it’s not on you all the time?!’

‘Huh, thou mind-wrecking bastard! Thou can feel me, right?’ grinned Alex, taking his breath and pushing the door forcedly. The mess in the room behind clearly told him, the Seeker was there, maybe even a few seconds ago, and was disturbed by Alex’s proximity, rushing back upstairs and sweeping everything on its path.

Alex covered a couple of stair-sections more and quickly crossed the second storey, noticing the same mess everywhere, apparently, the Seeker looked for the exit… and most likely couldn’t squeeze through the single door to the stairwell, when Alex startled it.

He took a look around, the large double doors should lead exactly to the named gallery; Alex quietly opened them, peaking into the darker passageway. ‘Whither art thou, sneaky scoundrel?!’ He quietly moved along the door on the right, listening carefully, and the openings to the left, leading to the catwalks. Alex threw quick glances there as well, but tried not to fixate his attention on the outside too much – the thought about the 120-foot high wall didn’t want to release him. He passed three already, when quiet clanking from outside and some muffled squeak caught his attention; that squeak sounded horribly like a call for help!

Alex dashed into the fourth opening and… froze on the spot, feeling like the platform was floating from under his feet somewhere. The walls, the catwalks, the damned scaffolding, the amazing view on the valley far away and below with rising Sun, everything doubled, maybe even tripled in his eyes. The abyss opened up under his feet, narrowing into the tunnel in his darkening view, when he threw a glance at the raging element below, through the metal grates; the noise of blood in Alex’s ears easily overshadowed the roar of the falling water. He was to grope the railing not to fall, hit by the sudden fear wave, taken by it overhead and almost flushed away, keeping some remnants of control by the mere miracle.

In his blurred view Alex spotted the stallion hanging over the spillway; something, no, somepony, struggled with gravity, trying to hold onto his back, and to his terror Alex noticed the filly – that was her scream minutes before and it was her barely calling for help. A couple of yards to the left, on the catwalk, a large materialized (Alex could tell by its solid darkness) Seeker stopped and made a step back. It was too close to the technician and his daughter, Alex could only imagine, what happened in their heads.

Widely open eyes of the stallion floated, he looked at Alex, seemingly not even seeing him, then…

“NO!!!” bawled Alex. “DOST NOT LOOK AT IT!!! Lookest at me only!” He rushed forward, but his acrophobia violently threw him on the knees, punching him in the stomach and flooding with the sudden strike of nausea. Everything floated before Alex’s eyes. He tried to raise, fell down on the knees again, but from the corner of his eyes he could notice that the stallion heard him. At least he looked at Alex at that moment. Pleadingly, desperately, even from that distance Alex could see that in the dilated eyes of poor pony, trying to hold on the metal beam with the remnants of his strength.

Alex inched forward, towards the scaffolding, crawling, hating himself for his phobia; tears and dizziness blurred his view. One foot, another, he was to lay flat and claw on the metal grate to drag himself closer; Alex couldn’t make himself stand and proceed any faster.

The Seeker preferred to avoid the fight, it turned around and rushed to the gallery, Alex wasn’t going to complain about that. Perhaps its effect weakened, when the Seeker disappeared from their view, as the stallion looked no into Alex’s eyes fixedly, but the increased weight and fatigue slowly dragged him to the abyss; Alex could see how his hooves barely noticeable gave up. He tried to concentrate on those eyes only and slowly proceeded.

‘Almost thither!’ overcoming the nausea Alex squeezed a smile, laying flat on the catwalk and extending his hand towards the earth pony stallion and his filly. The eyes didn’t plea already, they simply waited, submitting to the fate, yet hoping for the last miracle to happen.

The hoof was only a few inches away… But to reach it Alex was to get to the edge… and lean over!!! He had no doubt, he could lift both. No, it was another thing that troubled him!

With a groan Alex squinted and grasped the platform edge, ready to drag himself in one forceful jerk… He wasn’t sure, if he had any strength for another, and he was to drag the ponies onto the platform still.

The galloping sound from behind told him that the Seeker “decided” to pass its enemy through the gallery and try to look for the exit on another end of the catwalk; the dark silhouette ran outside from the next opening and turned right.

Alex gave no damn about the Seeker’s plans at that moment, his fingers slid on the fore hoof, slippery from the omnipresent mist, trying to grasp the fetlock. The same mist evidently covered the catwalks above the open gates even denser: the Seeker slipped, staggered and fell heavily on the platform, making it noticeably shake under the weight of the large body.

With a muffled gasp the stallion let go of the metal beam. Alex looked into his eyes for a few endless moments more, seeing, how they widened, almost in childish misunderstanding, how the filly shrank from the realization of the inevitable terror… Both ponies fell and with the thin fading scream of the girl vanished in the swirling water clouds below.

“NOOOOOOO!!!” Alex fell his face down on the metal grate, he roared and sobbed, beating the catwalk with both fists, shaking…

Meanwhile, the Seeker managed to rise, first unconfidently, it trotted away along the catwalk, speeding up.

Alex fell silent, he squinted and forcedly pushed himself up to the knees. When he opened his eyes, darkness filled them, making impossible to distinguish the human pupils. He clenched his teeth, the left hand stumbled upon something round, cold and heavy. Alex grabbed the railing closest to the dam wall and with another jerk made himself stand, dragging the metal pipe from under the scaffolding and heavily leaning on the railing. His field of view narrowed into the thin tube aimed along the catwalk with the receding dark figure on its other end.

“Can anypony tell me clearly, what exactly happened there?” Twilight threw a fixed inquiring look at the guards, shifting from one hoof to another at the door, at Alex, whom they were to walk in and make sit on the sofa. She felt her question inevitably turning into a rhetorical one, as the guard could see the same she did, while Alex… Alex didn’t drop a word ever since they arrived at the dam and found him near the exit grate of the maintenance catwalk. Twilight shuddered, remembering the image.

“Your Highness,” started one of the guards, as the question was asked nevertheless. “There was nopony, except the human, on the dam itself… We searched both upper and lower premises, the building, the catwalks…”

Alex winced slightly, but kept sitting with a deadpan look, staring at some point seemingly far-far away, maybe in Appleloosa, considering he was facing south, or maybe even farther, at the Badlands. Twilight noticed, how his fingers spontaneously squeezed some imaginary tool, or maybe it was a weapon.

“…There was only one worker at the lower building.”

“I know,” Twilight impatiently waved her hoof. “I asked him a few questions already. He will need to stay there, until the change arrives, then he will come to tell thoroughly, what he saw.”

Twilight remembered the shocked earth pony stallion, who met them at the lower basin of the dam, and his brief inconsistent report. Due to the large distances, they all had the binoculars at their work posts and, when the human rushed up the stairs, the technician ran to grab his one, thus he was able to see the following events clearly enough. The monster didn’t actually touch anypony, neither Staunch Flume and his daughter, nor the human, as the worker told. Granted it approached close enough to affect them, if that was one of those creatures from the royal warning. The stallion was almost sure of the latter, as he managed to discern all the unpleasant details of the enemy look through his field glasses. He said that the human tried to help the technician, but… there was something strange happening to the human himself.

Twilight sighed and closed her eyes for a second. ‘Yeah, I can guess, what was happening to Alex!’

The worker said that the creature retreated, when the human showed up, and went to the gallery. Apparently, to outflank the obstacle, as it ran outside again through the next, unobstructed opening. The human almost reached his colleague’s hoof, when the monster slipped and fell onto the platform, heavily shaking it, visible even through the binoculars. Staunch Flume fell from the beam from surprise or concussion of the catwalk. The rest… he didn’t see the rest… and, frankly speaking, Twilight couldn’t blame him for dropping the binoculars. It was clear for her in general, maybe some more details were necessary, but that could wait. Meanwhile, the guard continued…

“Then we hardly saw more than you did, princess… (Twilight frowned) There was something… A heap… Well, it looked like a shapeless heap of flesh already, when we approached. That must have been that creature… the Seeker, or how they are called…” he swallowed a lump, feeling uncomfortable. “Strangely, there was no blood… But there was that… thing, that “mist”, coming out from the torn corpse in stripes and sheets. And he!..” the guard twitched, nodding towards Alex. “He was kneeling at the monster and simply absorbed that dark… stuff!”

“He didn’t tell a word, when we helped him rise, your Highness,” added another guard. “And there was a metal pipe on the platform. I guess, that’s exactly with what…”

“I saw it, thank you,” Twilight visibly shuddered.

“Well, after… everything happened,” she tried to summarize, throwing a quick glance at Alex, who still didn’t change his pose. “The Seeker tried to escape, but the gate at the end of the catwalk was closed; it’s durable and high enough to jump over… And it couldn’t turn back because of you, Alex.”

The human didn’t move or react to Twilight’s words, even addressing him on purpose.

“Then you got up… Picked that… pipe…” Twilight inhaled deeply, suppressing the chills. “You were to walk along the whole catwalk, the six gates with falling water more underneath, to reach the Seeker and…” she gulped.

Alex leaned on the backrest, gritting his teeth and squinting; trails of tears went down his face.

“Oh, Celestia!” breathed out Twilight, she quickly turned to the guards. “Fine, you are dismissed for now. I suppose the princesses will ask their questions, if they have any, later.”

“Aye, your Highness!”

“Alex, please, talk to me!” she leaned forward, when the guards left. “There is no your fault in what happened…”

He slowly shook his head, eyes still closed and watering, Twilight downcasted with a heavy sigh; suddenly something made her brighten up a little, her ears perked.

“Hey! I’ve got a…”

A loud sound and a flash from the kitchen, where Spike was busy with the breakfast, interrupted her and made Twilight look over her shoulder for the source of the disturbance. Spike already entered the hall, handing her a scroll; Alex hardly paid any attention.

With a small shrug Twilight broke the seal and read, raising one eyebrow. ‘Hmmm… The second letter in a single morning… and that early!’ Although, with the reading her ears slowly drooped and the concerned expression touched the girl’s muzzle.

“My dear apprentice Twilight Sparkle!

I’ve got your message about the Seeker on Ponyville dam… and the next one about the horrible tragedy. I’m sending the search teams down the river, but…

I sincerely hope that you haven’t hoofed my previous letter to Alex. If you didn’t yet, do not! Destroy that scroll instead, as it’s not the best time for that information and talk now. I shall visit you later and tell Alex personally.

We had another Seeker outbreak at the North and I am to address it immediately, as contrary to yours, that one, while thankfully passing without casualties, inflicted major destruction. Henceforth I fully trust you to handle the accident at the dam, until I can attend. Please, inform me about any progress, especially about the human condition. Hopefully he’ll make it through.

Princess Celestia.”

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat, she knew for sure, what could be in the first letter and why it wasn’t the best time to give it to Alex. She threw a quick glance at him, watching her with a faint tint of interest. Twilight felt, she started panicking inwardly, crumpling the letter and feverishly pondering about the feasible explanation.

“Princess Celestia… errmmm… was to attend an emergency,” if Alex was capable to pay his usual level of attention, he could easily see everything in her eyes and Twilight downcasted. “Another Seeker appeared at the North… Some destruction took place, no casualties though,” she noticed, how Alex exhaled. “She needs to address that case and asks me to deal with ours, until she can arrive.” She cringed at how far-fetched it sounded, but apparently, Alex was stunned enough not to think deeper into the details.

“Now,” exaggeratedly cheerful Twilight trotted to Alex’s room, Spike followed her gimmick all that time silently, while Alex closed his eyes again. She rustled there for a while, moving some papers and seemingly undoing the bed, then appeared again, busily heading to the kitchen and levitating a cup. “Whatever you think of it now, Alex, you need time.”

Spike followed her, hearing Twilight moving some stuff, pouring water, searching through the shelves, and entered exactly in time to notice, how she quickly took another sealed scroll from under her wing, incinerated it with the spell and pushed the ash deeper into the sink. He couldn’t help but stare at her with the raised eyebrow. Twilight intercepted his glance, while making a large cup of tea and adding several teaspoons of sugar to it, and slowly shook her head, telling with her eyes only that all the explanations could wait.

“He had no breakfast, but can hardly eat anything now, and…” She pondered for a second, then poured a single drop of her sleeping potion into the cup. “Don’t look at me like that! He is in shock, Alex needs to think it through, I admit, but the last thing, Alex needs, is to overly fixate at the impressions, while they are fresh.”

“And I suppose you need this!” she headed to Alex, handing him the cup. “And maybe some rest, you are truly exhausted.”

Alex looked up at her and took the cup, like a clockwork doll, staring at it blindly for a few moments, then downing it whole in a few giant gulps; Twilight’s eyes dilated, she didn’t expect him to swallow the hot tea like that. Nevertheless, she leaned to him, helping him to get up.

“Come on, Alex. I can’t lift you anyway!” Twilight squeezed out a small smile, trying to stir him up a bit. She walked him to the room, but instead of the sofa, Alex dropped into the armchair, as if the remnants of strength left him suddenly.

“O-o-okay…” slowly breathed out Twilight. “I said that once and I will repeat. From what I heard and saw, there was no your fault in what happened. You equally could get there not in time to help. It was a tragedy, but… ” she fell silent, not knowing how to explain, and didn’t realize at once, the sound she heard was the quiet raspy whisper addressed to her.

“I came in time,” Alex raised his eyes at Twilight and gave her a long desperate look. “And did nothing…”

“Oh! Don’t… I don’t want to hear that!” Twilight braced herself and changed her tone to the sternest and most serious, she was capable of at that moment. “You need to have a rest and calm down, Alex. I mean that! I… I’ll notify Willsmash that you need some time for yourself. I doubt, that will drastically harm your work, besides he can make, what you ordered earlier, without your help.”

In the convulsive mimics that followed Twilight was barely able to recognize the attempt to produce a faint ghost of a smile; Alex gave up and thanked her with his eyes only.

“And…” Twilight started unconfidently with a tiny nose-wiggle. “I firmly believe, I should tell at least Fluttershy about… about everything. Before she heard that somewhere else in form of some wicked rumour,” concluded she quietly.

Alex’s eyes glistened again, he wanted to say something grateful, but choked on air and nodded very slowly instead.

Again… The dam. The water. The vertigo-inflicting height… Somewhere deep into his subconscious Alex realized that it was a dream, despite its amazing vividness, sharpness: he could actually feel the wind on his skin and hear it whistling, the concrete under his fingers was palpable, scratchy and cold since night, Alex could feel the smell of the river, the dampness of the mist-filled air. The worse was that nightmare he saw a few times already, closer to the morning, making Alex wince each time and wake up, shivering in cold sweat in the darkness of his room.

Alex slept the whole day and fell into the night, like in the bottomless well; even waking up after each nightmare, he felt an uncontrollable wish to sleep again. He guessed, that Twilight added something to his tea… and was thankful for that – he wasn’t left alone with his thoughts at least for some time, being able to sleep normally for a while. Then, as the effect of the supposed potion started to wind out, the dreams came. Alex fought the impulse to find Twilight’s sleeping potion and repeat the treatment; the first dose wasn’t yet out of his system, besides, he couldn’t spend the rest of his life under some drugs.

But at that time everything was different, Alex couldn’t understand why. First, it was quite dark around, the Sun was only preparing to show into the sky, which east edge slightly glowed at the moment. Alex looked at the Ponyville Dam from above: the gates, the catwalks, falling water – everything was far under his feet. Strangely, he almost didn’t feel any fear, standing on the edge of the dam wall. The shutters below were closed and the water was coming out of the main gates, about thirty foot lower.

‘Merlin’s pants!’ Alex never was on the top of the dam wall, he didn’t even know, how to get there. ‘How the hay did you get your miserable butt here? And the main question, what for?’ He turned around, looking for a safe way to get off that dreading wall. ‘Thither must be some door or gate, I came through…’

But something kept him there, despite his fear of heights, Alex tried to understand, why he got there, be it dream or not. He carefully lay down and took a look over the edge, clinging to the concrete surface seemingly with every single cell of his body. The Sun already appeared from behind the horizon and Alex was to cover his eyes with his palm – the upper edge of the dam became brightly lit by the sunlight.

The shadow quickly retreated, it’s border crawled down the wall; Alex waited, he didn’t know what for… A few minutes passed, the catwalks below and the newly built constructions got lit by the sunlight and shone brightly in the mist rising from the raging water below.

Suddenly two figures appeared on the platform and Alex could glare at them and them only. One, larger, was the earth pony technician with a tool belt and familiar helmet, another, smaller – his daughter, she unconfidently clung to her father, visibly intimidated by the view, opening in front of her eyes. The helmet was too large for her, falling on her eyes and nose and making her cock her head, Alex involuntarily smiled. The stallion told her something, pointing his fore hoof to the metal frame and the crane, but Alex couldn’t hear anything because of the distance and roaring water. After a short while they returned to the gallery inside the dam wall… to exit to the catwalks from another side of the crane.

But…

Alex noticed that not only the catwalks, but also the gates, the falling water were lit by the rising Sun already, shimmering like a waterfall of diamonds.

‘What the… It couldn’t be… The Seeker was to be already thither!’

Alex quickly got up in a single jump, painfully scratching his hand on the concrete edge and… woke up in his room. Supposedly in his room, because it was pitch black around, Alex couldn’t see even the light ceiling. According to his perception, it was not very far in the morning, still… Suddenly he caught himself on the feeling, like being swaddled; he couldn’t move freely as something was laying on him.

The darkness was warm, soft and… feathery?! And smelled of lavender! With relief Alex’s fingers felt soft velvet coat, silky mane and the cute fluffy sensitive ear almost above his nose. The ear twitched, sliding out between them.

“Mmmm…” muttered Luna, waking up and nuzzling Alex’s neck, cheek and ear, as she raised her head, swaying her mane to the other side. She placed a warm kiss on his temple and Alex could finally see the ceiling and her eyes shining slightly in the early morning twilight.

“Luna?” whispered Alex, running his fingers down her cheek and neck, he inhaled intermittently, calming down the racing heart.

“Exactly. In pony!” she pressed her nose at his; loving sparkles glanced in her eyes.

“You almost scared me, when I woke and was unable to move or see anything around.”

“Oh… Apologies,” Luna moved aside a tiny bit, still wrapping her legs around him; her left wing covered him like the soft feathery blanket. “I thought, that was the moment, thou needed some love and support, mine lief. So I came hither,” she rested her head near, carefully not to poke Alex with the horn, and looked at him with concern. “But thou wast sleeping… And I decided not to wake thee… Considering… Well, I watched thee for a while and, I guess, I fell asleep likewise. The sunrise is nigh, I’ve lowered mine Moon already.”

“How art thou holding, Alex?” the silver-shod hoof gently stroked Alex’s shoulder. “I found out in the evening only… and I couldn’t reach thee the whole night, thus finally decided to come hither on mine own. Thou wast… “closed” for me!” added she with obvious concern.

“I slept,” simply said Alex, the memories of the recent events wiped all the light off his face. “Turned off completely. I think Twilight added some sleeping potion to mine tea… And, frankly speaking, I’m thankful for that. Because when it started winding out…”

Luna downcasted with a sigh.

“So, you know what happened, my princess, right?” tears start running again from Alex’s eyes, he could do nothing to stop them. “I had all the chances to save those two lives… Yet failed shamefully, all because of mine stupid phobia.”

“I know,” Luna nodded slightly. “And I know, thou seest that accident in thy nightmares – I caught the glimpse of them, exactly afore coming hither. I hurried, because of that.”

“I guess, at which hour Twi’s potion effect ceased, mine small inner voice took over,” Alex closed his eyes again, swallowing the lump. “I see his eyes, the eyes of that poor stallion guy, each time when I only close mine. I return to that dam, when I try to sleep. Each time differently… but I can’t change anything, even in mine dreams, Luna! At which hour I would so like to change it in reality. I simply can’t… just like I failed to help that poor stallion, despite I was his only hope.” Alex squinted.

“Thou shouldn’t blame thyself arrant, Alex. Thou didst, what thou only could. That phobia, stupid or not, was a part of thee, thou can’t cut it away, like some useless rag. Would it be better, if ‘t be true thou fell likewise, forcing thyself to overcome it no matter what?”

“Who knoweth?” Alex looked aside, at the slowly brightening window.

“Dost not be foalish!” Luna cocked her head, sounding suddenly stern. “Thou wast the only one, who rushed to help; moreover, the only one who could really help, not becoming another victim of the Seeker. Thou did all thou could and didst it, at which hour it was necessary. Thou fought thy phobia!”

“Not. Well. Enough!” rapped out Alex. “Besides, doth it matter now?”

“And what alternative didst thou have?” Luna put her chin on her fore hoof, looking down at Alex fixedly. “To try saving them, which thou didst… or wait for some… pegasi, for example. But! In that case they would undoubtedly be dead anyway.”

“Well… They are,” groaned Alex.

“Tia sent the search teams immediately, they are still brushing the river,” Luna stroked his chest lightly. “Without the result yet, mindst that. Any result!”

“I suppose thou saw that dam,” apparently Alex wasn’t that optimistic. “And speaking of alternatives, I could simply waste mine time NOT and pull them up, afore that monster fell on the platform, shaking it!”

“Alex,” Luna sighed, like explaining obvious things to a stubborn foal. “And I could become Nightmare Moon not. But could I?”

“What I know arrant,” she added after a moment. “Is one soul, who lived through the worst… only because she let her fears, sorrows and frustration haunt her endlessly, stuck to them, kept them to herself only.”

“Hardly mine case,” Alex’s painfully grinned. “I’m a simple human, mine love. It can hardly become any worse.”

“Believest me, it can,” Luna watched him fixedly. “And methinks the term “simple” isn’t arrant valid anymore.”

“I would like to have thy optimism…” Alex suddenly stumbled. “Wait, strange thing befell to me tonight – the last dream I had, afore waking up with thee hither, was different,” he pondered aloud, looking for the proper explanation. “Like… like I saw the same morning, but thither was no Seeker at all. Like nothing hath befallen…” Alex told her his last dream in brief. “But that’s impossible! Didst thou…”

“I know what thou art implying, Alex,” Luna’s smile was sad. “No, I didn’t change thy dreams, mine lief… Although, I would like to…”

“I can take thee to Canterlot!” added she fervently. “Thus I could help thee to get rid of those nightmares. And convincing Tia is not a problem, in the earnest…” She stumbled.

Watching Alex laying in her embrace, tears silently coming from his eyes, Luna flushed suddenly.

“Forgivest me, mine love!” she nuzzled his head apologetically. “Thou art not a toy, which can be repaired easily. I’m sorry, Alex.”

“Lu-u-u-na,” he wrapped his arms around her neck, rubbing his temple on Luna’s cheek gently. “I know, thou mean well… but… I need to find the way out myself. I’m grateful . Verily! But…”

“Mayhap I felt better, feeling thee near… Stay with me, please. For a while...”

“Oh, Alex…” Luna sighed heavily, unable to talk Alex round. “I fought mine demons alone and thou art so eager to follow mine…”

“Luna, please!..”

She snuggled into him tighter, wrapping in the feathery cocoon, wholeheartedly wishing to shield, to protect from the sorrows, perfectly realizing she has no power of protecting him from himself. Almost no power. She could give anything for him staying in her caring hooves like that forever.

“Promise me one thing, Alex!” Luna looked into his eyes fixedly. “Thou can simply call me, at which hour thy pain, in thy dreams or otherwise, becometh arrant unbearable. Promise me that thou shall do that, if necessary!”

“Dear Princess Celestia!...”

Having a few letters on her desk Celestia dived in deep thoughts: the image, drawn by Twilight daily part by part, got only darker in summary. She spread the scrolls, each longer than the previous, so parts of them combined in the whole picture.

“…Alex spent the whole first day sleeping and I hoped for the initial shock to fade at least partially after a while, but I can’t see it happening. I admit to assisting that in a certain chemical way, but that day and next night passed relatively calm, so I hoped it could make things a tiny bit better indeed…”

“…The blacksmith was quite understanding, when I visited him; I tried not to give out too many details, but, princess, this is Ponyville, everypony will know everything sooner or later. So, the next day Alex spent at home. He sat over his notes and it could look for a random observer, as if he simply worked on his problems as usual. But actually, he was like a stone statue all the day: he didn’t write a word, almost didn’t move, didn’t eat… Strange thing though, Alex woke up smiling, but it faded away as a matter of seconds. I wonder, what could happen that night…

Fluttershy came today and she was the one, whose presence he finally reacted to. She sat next to Alex and they hugged each other, but Alex kept the same lifeless look. I left them alone. She tried to talk to him and he even replied occasionally, as I could hear. But when she left in about an hour, she was almost in tears. “He hurts much,” she said. “But he doesn’t want to accept any help…” I don’t know what to do either…”

Celestia sighed tiredly. ‘I know, Lulu “happened”…’ she shook her head slowly, but this time her expression wasn’t reproachful. ‘If neither her, nor Fluttershy could do anything, things went deadly serious. I don’t even know, how to…’

“…Alex could hold himself staying at home for one day only. He went to the smithy this morning. Princess Celestia, have you ever seen a walking mannequin? That was very similar to it; it looked even more awful, because I can’t undertake anything to help him recover. It either didn’t work as expected, or he rejected every attempt to assist him.

As you might have guessed, everypony already knows everything. Thankfully, the only source of that information was the dam technician, who actually witnessed the events in detail, therefore the rumours spread around the town were as close to the reality as they could possibly be. To my relief, nopony blamed Alex for that tragedy; for example, I talked to the girls… and each of them sympathized with him. Even Rainbow was to confess that there was hardly any of Alex’s guilt in what happened at the dam; that didn’t change her general opinion about him though.

The day passed as usual… at least according to that little I could see of Alex’s face, when he returned. I wonder what old Will thinks about all that, had no chance to find that out yet, but I will try to catch his niece at the market the other day…”

“…Several days passed, but it didn’t get any better. Alex is not going to discuss that matter, masterfully dodging every attempt to convince that circumstances were stronger than him. He is not going to talk much at all these days. He goes to the smithy as a… “mechanic human”, works there automatically, following his own plans. He even started to build something there, Spike, whose help he needed once, told that it looked like another smelter, but a different one: thicker walls, larger and wider in general, with more complex inner construction. But he does everything automatically, without any inspiration, like following some plan, he wrote for himself… Following simply because he must, not because he wants.

Understand me right, your Highness, he cares about others around, is willing to help if asked, can even produce an occasional smile… Exactly – produce. It’s a mask, princess, he blames himself and it is burning him from inside daily. I don’t know what drives him these days…

I caught him going downstairs another morning, Alex was of light lime-green colour, but strong determination was written across his face. It was the strongest expression of him, I could come across lately. When I asked him bluntly, what he did there, he said only. “Healing!” Not something obvious, I must say. That made me watch him the next morning. Princess, can you believe? He gets to the upper balcony of the library, almost to the railing, and simply sits there, looking down at Ponyville, for an hour or so. He gets down almost fainting, covered in cold sweat, but keeps doing that every day…”

‘Hmmm… He is struggling,’ the princess closed her eyes, thinking. ‘But where it will lead him, that is the question.’

“…Canterlot Steam Company started building the generator at the Ponyville dam, they tripled the safety… and pegasi guards are on duty there round the clock. But Alex is totally uninterested, he avoids any thought about that project now. Thankfully, they didn’t need his help or consultation yet and… I didn’t dare to mention the whole thing to him, your Highness.

I have a strong suspicion, Alex started having nightmares (which he was seemingly never prone to before) and they are likely progressing, becoming more severe with time. I heard him groaning at night several times, but when I came down to check, it was abidingly quiet; yet I’m sure he can’t get rid of those memories even in his dreams.

Dear Princess Celestia, I’m afraid, I have no idea, where it goes… but I dare to doubt the lingering with telling him… what you wanted. I think I know what it was… and I can imagine, how it can strike Alex. But… maybe it’s better to tell him, instead of waiting, until the wound heals up a tiny bit, and cutting it again…”

‘Oh, Twilight!’ Celestia bit her lip pensively. ‘If only you knew, how often I thought about that.’

‘I wonder, where it can lead as well, my dear faithful apprentice…’

Ignoring Celestia’s fixed glance the portrait of Luna at the opposite wall apparently wasn’t going to provide any advice.

The roar of the falling water was almost unbearable, yet it couldn’t overshadow the thumping of Alex’s own heart in his ears. At the mental image of the wet narrow catwalks, shaky-looking railing and the thousands of tons of water raging below, Alex stumbled for a moment and leaned on the wall, feeling his heart skipped a beat and creeps rushed up the spine. He took a deep breath, trying to ignore the treacherously shaking knees. ‘Comest on, thou art at the top of the dam already! Thou simply needst to find…’

A thin barely audible through the rumble of falling water plea for help, almost like a piteous squeak of a deadly trapped small critter, made him wince. Alex rushed through the opening and froze on spot; the horrible view opened to his eyes. The dam technician, the earth pony stallion struggled for life, clinging to the part of the construction – the thick smooth metal beam, protruding from the partially assembled frame. On his back, wrapping her fore legs around father’s neck, trying to hold on and almost fainting from the deadly scare the little filly shrank into the miserable trembling ball. Her weight dragged both into the abyss, as her father was afraid to make any abrupt movement, risking to drop her and inevitably sliding off the beam slowly. A quick glance around showed no Seeker presence, but that was the least important thing for Alex to bother about.

“Dost not move! Simply hold on!!!” Alex gulped and… made a few steps forward, feeling as if some giant hand was tumbling his stomach. Cringing from the piercing thin noise in the ears and strong nausea, he lay on the catwalk and extended his arm. Alex was to drag himself closer to the edge, freezing from the mind-wrecking terror and fighting against the urge to squint, but was finally able to grab the stallion above the hoof firmly, looking into his eyes and transforming the gritted teeth into an encouraging smile semblance.

“Hold on, little one!” forcedly squeezed Alex, shifting his glance to the filly’s eyes for a second, and noticing to his relief, how she convulsively nodded. Alex started dragging them up, flattening on the platform not to slide and putting all his strength into that. Another hoof of the stallion reached the catwalk, Alex kept the eye contact and allowed himself a small real smile already. The pony pulled himself up to the chest level, the filly firmly held on his back…

The long nasty sound of tearing metal reached their ears through the roar of water and their own heavy breathing. Still pulling, Alex cast a wild glance over his shoulder: the rusty fastening bolts failed to hold against the weight and vibration, the whole section of the catwalk flinched and… flew down, dragging them three into the swirling waters.

Alex winced madly… and woke up, trying to focus his eyes in the darkness of the room. His heart thumped heavily, but the blood rush in his ears started fading. Alex gasped, fitfully inhaling with the force of the one, barely dodged drowning, and jerked up, sitting on his sofa.

‘Merlin’s pants! Is it going to end ever? Which time for one night is it already?’ He ran his hand down his forehead and face, wiping the cold sweat and… quickly opening his eyes again, not to see the desperately hoping for the rescue eyes of that stallion behind own closed eyelids. Alex groaned and fell back, staring at the ceiling without blinking.

It was somewhat hard to lie that way… ‘Damn it!’ Alex leaned on his elbow and fumbled near the sofa, finally finding the pillow and shoving it under his faintly aching head. He turned at his side, trying to fall asleep again, despite that idea didn’t bring much enthusiasm…

Holding on his chest, as if catching the racing heart, Alex reached the top of the endless stairs and rushed through the door. Trying to take his breath Alex darted through the building, turned into the mess by the raving Seeker, and blast opened the doors to the gallery.

The roar of the falling water filled his ears immediately and the cold fear started creeping into his soul, making the blood thicken in Alex’s veins. At the mental image of the wet narrow catwalks, shaky-looking railing and the thousands of tons of water raging below, Alex stumbled for a moment and leaned on the wall, his eyesight darkened for a second and creeps rushed up the spine. He took a deep breath, trying to concentrate and make the world around him stop shaking. ‘Comest on, thou art at the top already! Merlin’s pants, they’d better be holding still…’

He couldn’t hear anything, except the roar of the falling water under the catwalks. Alex rushed through the opening and froze on spot; the platform, the crane, the half-assembled frame… the beam, poor pony stallion was hanging on, were empty. Alex was alone on the catwalk, above the raging element. He was late: the dam technician, the earth pony stallion struggled for life as long as he could, clinging to the part of the construction – the thick smooth metal beam, protruding from the partially assembled frame. But the constructions were wet and slippery, his forces were fading, affected by the shock and additional weight of his little daughter, holding on his back, wrapping her fore legs around father’s neck; the stallions hooves inexorably unclenched and both ponies must have fallen, seconds before Alex could reach the top.

Alex squinted, groaning like a wounded beast and squeezing his temples hard. ‘NO!!! No, no, no, no!’ He swayed on the catwalks, paying no attention to the abyss gaping below.

Little by little he regained the ability to think clearly and finally opened his eyes… immediately regretting that, feeling as if some giant hand was tumbling his stomach. Cringing from the piercing thin noise in the ears and strong nausea, he made an accurate step back, taking a look around.

‘Whither is this bucking Seeker?!’

A horrible strike between his shoulder blades, threw Alex forward, the world made a loop around him and in some miraculous flurry Alex managed to grab the metal beam, protruding from the frame. He firmly clenched to that single chance to survive, hanging above the roaring waters and almost fainting, as his eyesight narrowed into a thin tube and his heart thumped seemingly somewhere under his throat.

Alex tried to pull himself up, the edge of the platform was so close… and at the same time it could be in Canterlot.

Suddenly a large shadow obstructed the light; the Seeker, it seemed giant to Alex, towered over the catwalk edge with the beam and hanging human. For a second, for the small eternity, it froze, as if pondering what to do. Alex’s forces faded, he made another desperate attempt to pull…

The Seeker raised on its hind legs… and heavily threw its fore hooves onto the metal beam, which flinched with the loud metal buzz. Unbearable striking pain pierced Alex’s fingers, which let go of the beam and Alex…

…woke on his sofa, staring at the backrest in the darkness of the Twilight’s Library. Alex exhaled, blinking several times and turned to another side…

…to see the metal grate of the catwalk underneath, flowing water and mist below and meet the desperate glance of the eyes of the earth pony stallion holding on the platform edge; the filly was holding on his back, sobbing, whimpering quietly. Alex’s eyes dilated, fixating on the pleading hopeful eyes of the pony struggling for their with daughter lives. With a wild jerk he turned, trying to grab stallion’s leg and pull both on the catwalk… But the latter gasped, seemingly losing the last strength and released the edge… falling, falling, falling, like in slow motion, to the swirling clouds of mist below. Alex shrieked on top of his lungs and…

He must have shrieked in reality, as the flickering light dispelled the darkness of the room. It went from a couple of candles in the chandelier Twilight levitated in front of her; she wrapped up in the long night robe and blinked several times, trying to wake up completely.

“Did you have a bad dream?”

“Apologies, Twi! Bad is very mildly saying…” Alex exhaled and sat on his sofa, catching the sliding to the floor blanket, he rubbed his face, wiping the large cold drips off his forehead. “Did I wake thee up?”

“You woke up Spike even, and that says much,” Twilight sighed and put the chandelier on the small table; she leaned to Alex, looking into his eyes, like trying to see at the bottom, what was bothering him. “What is going on, Alex? Well… I know what is,” corrected she herself. “But… You can’t stand against all this alone. It’s not the first time for that night, you wake up screaming, right? And it’s definitely not the first time in general…”

“I face that nightly, Twilight!” Alex ran his fingers through his hair and sat, staring in front of him, holding his temples. “Nopony knoweth, how many times each night. Each time differently, but each time to somepony’s perish… Even mine oft. I’m tired, Twi! At which hour I close mine eyes, I see them, I see his eyes, his hope, Twi.”

“You should stop blaming yourself, Alex. Believe me. You said, you didn’t help them in time… Nopony knows, you could slip on the stairs, come across the locked door… You’ll never know that!” Twilight lifted his pillow from the floor again and sat next to Alex at the edge of the sofa.

Alex slowly shook his head.

“No, Twi, I was thither and they were still hanging on that beam, I was thither, at which hour they fell… He couldn’t make it, Twi. He was waiting for mine help, believing me…”

“And I failed to help them!” Alex gritted his teeth, holding back tears. “It really would be better, if I was there instead of that pony and his daughter. Did she deserve to die?!”

“Alex! For Harmony’s sake, don’t be foalish!” Twilight stared at him reproachfully, while Alex tried to lay down again, feeling the shivers, despite it was warm in the room.

“Harmony? I would like to believe, thither is any!” muttered he, snuggling his forehead to her knees. With a heavy sigh Twilight stroked his shoulder lightly.

“Twilight! Twilight, are you even here?!” Spike was to tap her several times to get her attention; the book in front of her was opened at the same page, as when he saw her several minutes before, while the alicorn girl stared at the single point, being far away from here in her thoughts.

“Huh? What’s up, Spike?” Twilight woke up and focused on him, squeezing a small confused smile. “I, eh…”

“It’s tea time actually,” the little dragon rolled his eyes, putting the tray with cups and some cookies on the table, he sat across and looked at her fixedly. “By the way, you exactly asked me for some tea a few minutes ago, Twilight… And if my eyes don’t lie to me, you are still “reading” the same page of that book as back then.”

“This doesn’t look like usual you!” he made a sarcastic face and picked up one cup. “Now you started behaving strangely as well. I almost got used to him,” he pointed back with his claw. “being weird occasionally. But it seems to be contagious.”

“Ohhhhh…” Twilight sighed, levitating another teacup and staring at her own reflection in it. But before Spike thought, she got lost in her thoughts again, Twilight continued pensively. “Okay, you will get to know anyway, why not a bit earlier then? That letter princess Celestia sent us this morning, she plans to visit today…”

“Well, while her Highness isn’t a frequent guest here, I admit, she writes you something daily, Twi. What’s so special about that one, that gets you out of your Element, forgive me my pun. Unless…” Spike squinted. “Unless she wants to talk to Alex specifically. Right?”

“Yeah. And while I know, this talk is inevitable… moreover, this comes up anyway, through this talk or without it completely,” Twilight bit her lip and threw a concerned glance at the door to Alex’s room. “I still don’t know, if it’s a good moment. He tries to act as usual, but after all those days, it’s getting only worse. Alex has already judged himself, sentenced and is now concentrating on that feel more and more… On the other hoof, keeping this untold is simply unfair towards him… Ugghhh, this isn’t something, you are taught in the School for the Gifted Unicorns, Spike!”

“Can you imagine, I don’t know, if what Celestia is going to do is right, but there is no other way around either…” added she, downcasting.

“You may continue not, Twi,” Spike looked at her seriously. “I suspected something like that, when I saw you burning that scroll.” He lowered his voice, glancing over the shoulder. “She can’t send him back, right?”

“Yes,” simply and tiredly breathed out Twilight. “They couldn’t find a safe method. Nopony can do anything about that… But it will hit him, like all the hammers of old Will’s smithy together.”

A quiet rustle from behind the loosely-closed door made them fall silent and listen, but apparently, the human simply moved in his sleep. Twilight slowly shook her head.

“I guess, we can only be glad he came back so exhausted; maybe it can block his anxiety and bad dreams at least for a short while, so he can sleep,” she kept listening to the sounds with concern. “I suspect, he wakes dozens times a night and didn’t even go around Ponyville last few times, while he did it nightly before. It’s not his duty, of course, but the mere fact he can’t do that is self-explanatory enough.”

Twilight remembered, how she was to stay with Alex for a while last night, until he finally fell asleep. Thankfully, he didn’t wake up screaming after that, but the room was empty, when she got down in the morning to check; apparently, Alex couldn’t stay alone with his feelings and whisked to the smithy even before the sunrise. He worked especially meticulously and hard those last few days, as if he was trying to accomplish his job in time or tried to muffle the mental pain by the muscular strain. In the first case, Twilight knew, that he had more time than necessary, unable to leave Equestria, and both reasons made her feel for him even sharper, yet having zero opportunities to help.

That’s why, when Alex came back earlier that day and practically crawled to his bed, falling asleep at once, she left him alone, not even reminding that to exist every living thing must not ignore the food completely. Twilight didn’t bother Alex, when he restlessly fiddled and groaned through his sleep, rightfully deciding that if he woke not, then it wasn’t severe, thus having some rest was in priority for him. But the feeling of the upcoming disaster kept pestering her, even the proven remedy for all kinds of anxiety – the book didn’t help much; Twilight couldn’t get rid of the mental image of Alex totally breaking down under the new problem.

Spike wanted to say something, when a quite loud clap from upstairs made them both twitch and start up, looking for the source of that disturbance. The thin, but easily distinguishable fragrance of roses told Twilight what, or better say, who it was.

“Good evening, Twilight, my dear!” princess Celestia personally greeted her, cocking her beautiful head and folding her vast wings tighter, not to knock something down accidentally. “Evening, Spike!”

“Your Highness!” both bowed; seeing their bewildered glances the princess gifted them with a small smile and elaborated.

“I left the usual guards back in Canterlot. Sometimes even princesses need privacy, I wanted to avoid the unnecessary witnesses naturally.”

“That doesn’t apply to you Spike, of course,” she nodded to Twilight’s aide slightly. “I have full confidence in you both, but mind the talk isn’t going to be easy and light.”

Twilight’s heart jumped as she imagined vividly, what reaction the news might cause.

“Princess,” started she cautiously. “You know, that I hardly ever questioned the propriety of your Highness’ decisions, but…” she fell silent, but seeing that Celestia shortly nodded, not rejecting her point of view, continued. “I somewhat reconsidered and can’t stop thinking, if what we going to do is necessary right now.”

“We all can see the reasons, why nopony is guilty in that tragedy, but Alex is too deep in his complex now to even admit their existence,” Twilight hurried to elaborate, while Celestia was listening. “While time heals generally and the one starts to criticize the situation inwardly, seeing it from the different angles, I’m afraid it’s not our case. It goes only worse with time, he fixated on the thought that he could help those ponies and he was to help no matter what. That led him to the endless nightmares, Alex can’t sleep normally, experiencing the tragedy time after time…”

“Luna told me,” Celestia softly nodded, making Twilight flush.

“He tries to load himself with work over the top, but it hardly helps either. Today he came almost falling over and I admit, that made him fall asleep, relatively calm… but I don’t know what the night will bring. The last one he woke us, screaming loudly from his nightmare, I assume it’s not the single time, simply the first we heard. I stayed with him, till he drifted to sleep again… and… tried to convince, he blamed himself in vain,” Twilight downcasted, obviously, she didn’t succeed. “He stuck to his own vision, no matter what... That’s why, I thought, maybe we shouldn’t…”

“My dear Twilight,” Celestia brought her muzzle closer and looked into her apprentice eyes. “Rest assured, I thought about that a lot. I can see your reasons, but as you said already, “letting the wound heal, then starting to cut it again” is neither an option.”

“You can probably say, that he is not healing,” nodded the princess, seeing Twilight’s expression. “Well, he is to accommodate somehow to the reality and the reality dictates, he stays here, my dear. We can only try to help him accept that easier and overcome that tragedy he witnessed. Lingering with the answers will only do worse, I believe, as I give Alex enough credit to treat things realistically.”

“He was here nearly four months, three of which we were trying to find the way to return him to his home world,” Celestia subtly drove Twilight and Spike to the stairs, she made her decision. “Alex is an adult, he understands perfectly that we had more than enough time for that and if we didn’t tell him anything exact, then we had nothing to offer. Truth be told, I was sure, we couldn’t bring him back, a couple of weeks already, taking time to check everything twice – neither the Mages Council, nor I can send him back to Earth due to his magical resistance. He will ask that question sooner or later and our silence can only make him trust us all less.”

“I understand, princess,” Twilight’s ears drooped. “It simply hurts to imagine, how the news will strike him. But you are right, it’s inevitable.”

A loud scream from the ground floor made them wince, Twilight rushed downstairs like a lilac jet, Spike followed shortly; with a sigh Celestia trotted after them. They found Alex sitting on the sofa, already untangled from the bedding, covering his face with both hands.

“Did it happen again?” Twilight’s question was rather rhetoric, she levitated and put back the pillow automatically.

“This time even worse, Twilight,” Alex’s voice came like out of the barrel, he inhaled fitfully. “Good evening, princess. Apologies for greeting your Highness like that.”

Obviously, he meant the mess on his sofa, the papers and drafts filling the table, his own ruffled look; thankfully, Alex simply fell down and “switched off” in his regular clothes, Twilight and Spike covered him and shoved the pillow under his head.

“Good evening, Alex. You didn’t know about my visit, so it explicable…” Celestia softly approached, watching him. “I suppose, asking how you feel is useless.”

It was hard to tell, if Alex shrugged or twitched convulsively, slowly removing his hands, his forehead covered in cold sweat, tears trailing from the closed eyes.

“You have probably heard that countless times already,” she sat right on the floor in front of the human, watching him fixedly. “But I’m going to repeat, you don’t need to blame yourself entirely for that, Alex. You did everything you could, trying to save those ponies, while, let’s be frank, you weren’t to.”

“Yeah. Exactly tried,” Alex squinted, whispering barely audible. “When all I needed, was simply to DO, to drag them back on the platform fast. I could easily do that, it was barely half mine weight!” He gritted his teeth and almost hissed. “But instead I… tried and obviously failed. I allowed mine phobia take over, yet another time, losing a few seconds… Only few seconds… and two lives, I could easily save!”

“Not that easily, apparently…” after a pause Celestia explained the route of her thoughts. “You knew about your phobia, yet you rushed to help them, as nopony else could. But you’re not a machine, Alex; with all the changes, you did undergo here, you aren’t omnipresent and omnipotent. You were all alone there… and did what you could.”

“What should I do?” woefully smirked Alex. “Take others with me and risk subjecting them to the Seeker impact? Double the tragedy…”

“Fair point!” Celestia said quietly. “You see, you judged the situation and made the proper decision in the given circumstances, yet you think, you are… “the root of evil”. You did right, believe me, the rest is a tragic accident. They happen, despite our will sometimes.”

“I failed, Tia!” Alex opened his eyes, inhaling convulsively. “I failed, at which hour I shouldn’t, according to all the reasons, thou hast mentioned correctly. Tis what counteth at the end of the day!” Tears trailed down from his almost black pain-ridden eyes.

Everypony shuddered: the princess barely noticeable, Twilight and Spike made a step back.

“I shouldn’t…” quietly repeated Alex; he braced himself like someone freezing and leaned forward, unwittingly snuggling his forehead to Celestia’s chest, shutting his eyes and trembling, as if he was still in his nightmare. Celestia’s eyes dilated shockingly, but she coped with herself quite fast; Twilight gulped loudly and started breathing again, feeling how Spike clenched to her fore leg.

“Thou knowest, Tia! That’s mine first death witnessed,” quietly said Alex. “At which hour I realized whither I got, I could nev’r imagine things like that befalling hither. Not hither. Merlin’s pants! Not like that at least! But instead… And on top of ‘t, I’m the one, causing that death…” He squinted, a few drops fell on the floor between Celestia’s gold-shod fore hooves. “Tis not something, one can easily live with, Tia. It’s burning me from inside…”

Arching her swan-like neck the princess looked down at him with the mixed expression of sheer bewilderment, empathy and concern, hard to tell which prevailed; she touched Alex’s shoulder lightly.

“I’ve sent guards on the search mission as soon as I found out about that tragedy; they are still looking for… for anything, we stopped the water for a while and searched the basin and down the entire river…” Feeling, how Alex shivered, she emphasized then. “They didn’t find anything! I admit, they didn’t find them, but they didn’t find the bodies either!”

“Oh!..” Alex straightened, the momentary weakness gave up to the cold sarcasm, tears dried. “That surely changeth things arrant, correct?!”

Celestia downcasted with a sigh. Twilight realized that the decision was inwardly made and held her breath, when the princess looked fixedly into Alex’s eyes.

“I hate to tell you this news, Alex, but I’m not going to keep you in the darkness anymore… that would be unfair to you anyway. After a few months of investigation the result is still the same and we considered all the means possible.” Celestia took a breath, the faint sparkle shone in Alex’s eyes for the first time that day. “We can’t send you back to Earth.”

That sounded like the hammer nailing the coffin shut. The hope faded, as if somepony extinguished the lights in the human’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Alex! I truly am…”

Alex leaned back slowly, Celestia’s hoof fell onto his knee; at first, they thought it was a desperate groan, but then to her bewilderment Twilight realized that Alex snorted. He burst laughing, closing his eyes again, shaking with his entire body, stopping for a second, then leaning back and laughing again. Spike whisked to the kitchen for some water and returned with the glass, throwing an inquiring glance at Twilight. Exactly at the moment she started to concern about Alex’s sanity, the laughter ceased, was “turned off”; that sudden change was hardly less scary than the laughter itself.

“Yeah!” said Alex slowly, he got up and took a look over the audience, making a short bow towards Celestia. “Apologies, your Highness, Twilight, Spike…” Alex squeezed a tiny smile, noticing the glass, and shook his head. “Methinks I need some time for myself.”

He crossed the room, stopping in front of the open window; the night was quickly taking over, flooding the square at the Golden Oak Library with darkness, pierced with the golden light of nearby houses’ windows. The crescent Moon showed up from the clouds and sharply outlined Alex’s silhouette.

“Something, I for once appear to be unquestionably good at hither – expelling those monsters, is wasted, due to me succumbing to mine inner ones,” he looked at the waning Moon, arms crossed. “Whatever I touch, is ruined henceforth, except mine damned machines… Fancy, isn’t it? Not for me though… But, it reminded me of some duties, I shouldn’t sabotage forsooth…” Alex stretched to the bone crunch and inhaled full chest of fresh night air, letting the wind ruffle his hair. He cast a sidelong glance over the shoulder at two alicorns and one dragon. “Mine apologies! Nopony should suffer anymore…”

Alex stepped over the windowsill and vanished into the night, followed by Celestia’s concerned sigh; Twilight downcasted with a pensive expression.

He didn’t bend his heart, saying about the duties, he wasn’t meant to forget. Deep inside Alex realized that each night he was flouncing about in his nightmares, unable to sleep, unable to either rest or concentrate, unable to sleepwalk as well, was a perfect chance for the filthy brain-tumbling bastards to appear somewhere else scot-free and hurt somepony. But if he couldn’t sleepwalk, he was able to walk around the town on his own.

‘Still better than waking every several minutes with the racing heart, screaming and cursing yourself!’ When Alex did something, no matter what exactly, something demanding his attention, the pain retreated slightly, hid deep inside, giving him a small short respite; he was thankful even for that.

Alex used all his senses at double, watching, listening to every rustle, inhaling even the faintest change of familiar smells, carefully passing the sleeping houses in the shadows, becoming those shadows when necessary. Tonight though he passed the well-known places, looking at them anew; the mere thought all that could become his home now… and there was no way back, was wild, mind-wrecking, Alex couldn’t entirely believe; although, Celestia was completely serious about that, having more than enough time to make sure his transfer was impossible.

So, he was stuck in the world of sentient ponies. For life. Forever?! Alex remembered, what the princess told him about his changed metabolism, and clenched his teeth not to howl. On the one hand, the perspective wasn’t entirely dreading, he personally could name a few far worse ones. For example, the fate of that unicorn, who came across the Seeker… if not Fluttershy, his life would be a constant nightmare and Alex already knew that equestrian ponies lived much longer than average humans; although, Alex wasn’t sure if that unicorn realized himself before Fluttershy… “switched him on”.

On the other hand, thinking of Fluttershy, Alex was to admit that up to that moment he rather came across plenty of unresolved problems in that world. And some of them, usually those, which demanded the solution the most, he was unable to find the way out of. Leaving would make all three of them suffer (Alex realized that Rarity wouldn’t be happy likewise, but supposed her crush was something, that could release her lightly without the object), but at least equally, making them regret, live with it… and eventually turning the pain into the sad memories. Occupied by those thoughts Alex reached the south edge of Ponyville insensibly.

‘You can’t leave! Shut it finally!’ he scolded himself. ‘And even if you could…’ Alex remembered Discord’s words about him keeping all the new features he got, regardless of the ability to return. That drew the completely bleak perspective to become a… freak, an outcast, moreover, a very long living and therefore suffering outcast in his home world. Alex was unsure, what he really wanted at that moment and where he really belonged; the feeling that he belonged neither worlds now flashed through. Blood rushed into his face; Alex leaned on the nearest house wall, pressing his forehead against.

Lit by the Sun the whole afternoon, the wall was warm and felt unpleasant; although, the familiar homely smell of candy and bakery sobered him up and cheered. Apparently, Sugarcube Corner had another busy, customers filled day and Pinkie and the Cake family had their deserved rest peacefully. At least here everything was alright; Alex let out a small smile, crossing the street and heading out of the town.

The Apple orchard met him with the quiet whisper of the leaves in the night breeze and the sweet smell of early apples. The birds hid for the night and only the omnipresent cicadas screeched restlessly everywhere, falling silent when Alex approached and continuing their concert shortly after he passed by.

Alex paced up, sensing nothing unusual in that dark warm August night, then ran, aspiring to cross the uniform sea of the trees faster. He tried to keep at the openings more or less, as got used to orient by the night sky during his walks, so the endless rows of the apple trees were not a big problem. In about twenty minutes he reached the Apple Farm, hopped over the fence, passing the crops and flowerbeds, the slowly rotating windmills of generators, approaching the house… to be greeted by the quiet, low, but unequivocal growling. Alex stopped, but after a moment the wind blew from his side and the growling changed to sniffing and recognizing whining; a shadowy silhouette emerged from the shade of the house.

“Hey, Winona,” Alex kneeled and scratched the dog behind the ears, letting her sniff his face and playfully bump him with her nose, huffing. “Having a late walk, eh? I guess, everything is calm here tonight…”

Winona didn’t bustle around at nights usually, but it was known that the Seekers didn’t affect the animals much, yet the latter could feel and warn about their presence; letting the dog guard the house freely was a smart idea in the light of the latter events.

“Okay, okay,” Alex ruffled Winona’s fur. “You won’t mind, if I check around likewise, right?”

Alex slowly went around the house and nearby barn: no light, no sound, no threat, apparently. Judging by the dog’s merry jumping – Winona followed him, bored by monotonous duty – everything was fine; loud snoring of Granny Smith sounded through the wide-open window on the ground floor, making Alex let out a little smile.

Winona followed him to the farm fence; Alex stroked the fluffy head a goodbye, then hurried back towards the town, taking left, to go around it.

The field rippled with its silvery-green waves in the moonlight, a late train snaked along, approaching the station with a distant whistle. The station itself was lit, so was the freight yard and the memories about the plans to electrify the place made a faint shadow run across Alex’s face. He turned away and headed through the field, passing Ponyville from the west.

‘You are without your armour again!’ sudden thought caused a wry smile. ‘Granted it’s not perfect yet, but… isn’t it funny that you always don’t have it, when it could become necessary.’

The smithy met him with silence, both Will and his niece were sleeping after the daily work and the broad yard was barely lit by the slowly smouldering furnace. Alex stood for a while, inhaling the smell of warm metal, he ran his hand on the wide edge of the newly built smelter – large construction, reaching already his waist level.

‘Properly finished it will let Willsmash continue the work…’ Alex pondered, if the blueprints contained all the necessary information. ‘Yeah, even changing the metal structure will be enough.’

Checking the sky and Moon position Alex darted around the town, skirting it from the east that time. He passed the building site, the market: everything lied in silence, not a single window was lit at that hour and the human was the only living being outside, except several dogs, sleepily barking after him and a few night birds here and there.

Approaching the bridge, Alex habitually slowed down the pace, passing Rarity’s house and trying to be extra quiet, despite everypony saw the tenth dream there. He lingered for a while, watching another windmill, lazily mixing the night air, then turned away to the familiar road and crossed the river. His legs seemingly carried him on their own, lighter and faster.

“Hmmm… I always thought you were rather an early lark than an owl, Shy!”

The quiet phrase and familiar voice coming to her from the depth of her garden made Fluttershy squeak and jump on the spot; although, the squeak sounded rather happily than scared. In a second Alex caught and hugged tight the very determined pegasus girl, who pounced him and wrapped all four legs around. He kissed Fluttershy on the nose lightly and snuggled to her cheek, ruffling her mane, inhaling the fragrance of honey and field flowers… and forgetting about his problems for a few moments, while small hooves were stroking his back frantically.

The wind and moonlight ceased, all the sounds got muffled, except the beat of her racing heart, while Alex hands travelled over Fluttershy’s mane and back, stroking and squeezing her, like trying to remember each curve and soft strand of hair; remember and keep within his tactile memory. She wrapped him in her soft wings, snuggling tighter and making Alex wonder once again, how surprisingly large and strong they actually were. Fluttershy squeaked and even let out a quiet moan of pleasure, embarrassedly biting her lip, because of him covering her neck and shoulders with quick affectionate kisses.

“Alex!!!” she held his head, rubbing her cheek on his hair, while he buried his face into her chest fluff, doing his best to hold back the treacherous bitter tears. “Alex!..”

Alex inhaled, nuzzling Fluttershy deeper and making her flutter in his arms, then leaned back and looked into her eyes.

“I really didn’t expect to see you outside at that hour, Fluttershy,” Alex moved a naughty strand of her pink mane from her face; he wanted to say something else, but gasped and kept drowning in her turquoise lakes instead.

“I-I was checking the… henhouse,” Fluttershy’s nose became pinkish, she couldn’t look away from his dilated pupils. “I l-lock some animals for the night lately… after… Ohhhh!” she clung to Alex and covered his lips with a long kiss.

“O-okay, okay, who am I trying to foal,” huffed Fluttershy, when they were able to take their breath after a few minutes; she let out a tiny smile. “I was hoping to see you, Alex.” She squeezed him tighter, nuzzling his neck gently and giving another kiss, which made chills run along his spine. “I do lock some of the animals indeed though, just in case… You didn’t come for a few nights. H-how are you, Alex?” she looked into his eyes with concern and anxiety.

He slowly lowered himself onto the grass, instead of an answer, holding the mare, like a mother held her child: dearly, tightly to ensure nopony can hurt it, yet lightly at the same time, like the most precious and delicate treasure. Fluttershy nested on Alex’s chest, covering them with her wings; her lush pink tail wrapped around his legs, as if trying to keep her human as close to her as it was possible. She didn’t know, how long they sat together like that, feeling his chin on her head and watching the stars with him. She even started thinking that Alex totally forgot about her question, when a hot single drop fell on her nose; the sky was crystal clear though.

“I can’t sleep, each time I close mine eyes, I see the desperate hopeful glance of that poor stallion, Shy, I hear his daughter plea for help…” Alex snuggled to her cheek, stroking her amazing mane, running his fingers through, as if trying to distract his attention by something dear to him; a heavy sigh raised his chest. “Several days passed, but it’s not going to get any better. And with the latest news I doubt it can.”

“What news?” she breathed in Alex’s ear, rubbing her cheek on his. “Aw! You grew some stubble.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” dropped Alex, leaning back and looking at her, he noticed the bright sparkles deep into her turquoise eyes, despite Fluttershy did her best to hide them fast.

“You mean?”

“Tia… Princess Celestia came this evening and told me, they have no means to send me back to Earth,” Alex raised one eyebrow, trying to mask the pain behind the stone face, but Fluttershy could see everything in his eyes. “Tis final. I’m an equestrian citizen now…”

“Oh…” She wasn’t sure that any comment is appropriate and, moreover, would be accepted as such here.

‘Why should I be upset because of that, not another way round?’ That thought came afloat automatically and she wondered, how naturally it sounded, yet became ashamed at the same time, watching, how Alex stared at the single point lifelessly. A few more minutes passed in silence.

“Thou knowest, Shy,” suddenly slowly said Alex. “One doth not necessarily need to make some choice, but the mere fact that thou art able to make it meaneth much more, than the choice itself.”

“Well, I should reconsider mine life henceforth, or…” Alex fell silent, then kissed her cheek shortly but tenderly. He kneeled, putting Fluttershy on the ground. “Go to bed, Shy, it’s really too late. Thou needst some sleep. I shall make sure that nopony and nothing bother thee!”

He stared into her large beautiful eyes for a whole long minute, Alex’s eyes glistened and he blinked, looking aside.

“Remember, please, what I said once,” he swallowed a lump. “If ‘t be true thou suddenly feelest anxiety, fear, anything alike, at which hour I’m not around, drop everything and run to Twilight immediately!”

“Good night, mine love!” Alex stroked her cheek lightly and got up.

Fluttershy watched, how Alex crossed the yard, getting over the fence, and headed to the field, running his hand through the grass, like trying to feel it better. She thought about his last words, while he climbed a small hill and sat under the single large tree on its top, watching the sleeping Ponyville.

The next day brought work, more work and nothing but work, or maybe that was Alex, who escaped the Library and headed to the smithy, as early as he could without being impolite towards Will and Silver Ingot, waking them up. He couldn’t remember, if he actually slept, as when Alex returned from his night walk, the Moon already left its starry throne and the thin opalescent stripe showed up at the eastern edge of the sky. Each attempt to close his eyes and disconnect from the reality sooner or later brought Alex straight to the Ponyville Dam, amidst the tragedy, that kind of sleep hardly delivered any rest; evidently, considering he didn’t feel completely exhausted and chivied, Alex didn’t recourse to that method of… “personal torture” much. Nevertheless, physically he felt fine and dived right into his current work – the new smithy was yet halfway built; Alex tried to dispel all the uneasy thoughts, by some simpler, more practical, referring to his business, rather than ethics ones. The smells of the smoldering furnace and hot metal, the rhythm of hammers quickly drove away the vagrant thoughts. A few of them kept buzzing somewhere in the far backyard of his consciousness though, drilling his mind constantly and making occasionally pause the work and freeze pensively for a second. One was particularly strong.

“You are unusually quiet today,” Will stopped fanning the furnace and threw an attentive glance at Alex, who just fitted the large stone of the outer shell of the new smelter, naturally growing faster than the inner casings, and stopped for a moment. For a stranger that could look, like the human was estimating the solid concrete pallet at the bottom of the smelter, but the old blacksmith watched Alex since early morning to know, that stare was directed inside rather than at some primitive material objects. “Any problems with the new construction?”

“What? Oh… sorry!” Alex raised his eyes and took a look around, he needed an extra second to catch up, where and how he “suddenly” got; then squeezed a strained smile. “Our work is fine, going exactly as expected… I was thinking… whither I shall move anon…”

It was impossible to see in Will’s shrug, if he got satisfied with that simple explanation or kept guessing about deeper motives. He noticed that Alex made a few important changes to the construction plans of the smelter at the last moment. Another strange observation was the armour or, better say, the lack of Alex’s attention towards it that day, despite Will had a couple of ideas, how they could improve the durability with the existing methods.

As if hearing his unasked questions, Alex turned away from his creation and elaborated.

“Lately I decided that it would be better, if the new smelter could be operated by a single pony only… by a single unicorn I mean,” Alex amended. “As you will need to use your magic to move the trays in and out, instead of mine… kinetic impact during the… sleepwalking, if… If ‘t be true I’m unavailable at some moment.”

“But, as far as I know…”

“Well, I’m not going to make a secret of that,” Alex spread his hands the most casual way. “I was informed already, there is no feasible method to send me home, considering my magic resistance… At least the princess knows none of such, and if she doth not, then very likely thither are none forsooth. But I would like you to be able to operate it even… errmmm… regardless to the circumstances.”

“So,” he turned to the smelter, pointing at its entrance. “Due to our technologic limitations, this smelter is still. Thus I was to incorporate some rails, for you to be able to slide the moulds in and out.”

“Obviously, stone “rails”,” he added. “As we can’t put anything metal inside that smelter, because it will melt instantly... I extend mine hope this one shalt offer temperatures noticeably higher than the current one, even without mine partaking in the process, and naturally, shalt be enough for… our new goals.”

“You do realize though, that without your abilities we can hardly reach the planned potential of that one,” under Will’s fixed glance Alex looked aside, paying exaggerated attention to something inside the new smelter, while the blacksmith added. “Watching your work I supposed that you planned to raise the smelting temperature considerably, to be able to use different materials and reach new qualities of the steel. But… it calls for you controlling the processes inside the smelter, right?”

“In mine case – yes. But even in arrant… self-sustained mode this new smelter shalt provide major advantage…” Alex fell silent for a short while, thinking of something.

“Well… As we already touched that matter…” He put away the next stone block, he was going to add to the row. “Allowest me to explain in some details, how and why it shalt work…”

Will slowly shook his head with the most pensive expression.

“What can I say? It’s your idea and creation, son… you obviously know better what to do. But… somehow I don’t like the general route of your thoughts…”

Alex only downcasted.

The Sun passed three-fourths of its daily journey on the sky, making the colours and shadows softer; the heat subsided and the multitude of birds in the field started their melodic fuss again after the short entr’acte at the hot noon. Putting the pot on the stove Silver Ingot turned her muzzle to the fresh breeze, coming through the open window and playing with the light curtains, she murmured something quietly – a rare phenomenon, which happened more and more often lately, as the life seemed to return to the old smithy again.

They got a few small orders more: even if keeping away themselves, ponyvillers directed the strangers in need to the smithy, seeing that it started working full-time. Of course, it was a single drip in the sea, but the general trend looked optimistic enough, contrary to what they had for several years before.

“Did he left already?” Sil woke of her thoughts, when she heard Willsmash coming in, putting something heavy in the hallway and running the water to wash off dust and sweat. “I wanted to invite Alex for dinner…”

“He was outside a minute ago, still examined the new construction or…” the rest of the phrase sank in her uncle huffing and water splashing. In a couple of minutes he entered the kitchen, taking his breath. “I seriously don’t know what is going on with him today,” Will sighed and threw a quick glance at his niece. “I mean, everypony knows, what happened, but Alex seemed to be holding… as well as one can in such a situation.” He fell silent for a while.

“Although, today he is… One moment he is here and you can talk to him, another – somewhere else, and it takes some time to catch his attention to the simplest question,” Will nodded towards the window. “You can try, my filly, but something tells me that some company is the last thing the human may need today. That’s worrying, but… I have no idea, what’s going on in his head. And Alex is not telling.”

The blacksmith watched his niece picking up a large jar, filling it with water and headed outside; a small smile touched his muzzle at the look of her slender frame vanishing in the doorframe and Will shook his head at some thought.

The yard looked empty and Silver Ingot thought that Alex headed to the town already, when she decided to trot around and finally found the human sitting behind the unfinished new smelter, leaning his back at its wall. Alex’s glance was directed at something in front of him, as if he tried hard to see something in the long dense shadow, spreading from his feet and further away.

Nevertheless, hearing the hoofsteps Alex raised his head and the weak smile, touching his lips at Sil’s appearance, looked like a single ray of sunlight in the gleam of heavy storm clouds, surrounding his head; it flashed shortly and faded away, overshadowed by some of his thoughts.

“Oh, here you are…” Sil inwardly rolled the eyes. ‘Just listen to yourself…’ Although, a short glance at Alex made her suspect her uncle was right about Alex’s feelings, she felt less confident about her idea at once. “I… I brought some water…” she raised the jar higher a bit.

‘Great. The embodiment of eloquence and obviousness,’ Sil squinted.

“I thought, you might need to wash off all the dust and…”

“Thanks!” With another faint smile Alex got up slowly, bringing the involuntary image of a folding divider into Sil’s mind. “That shan’t hurt forsooth. Thanks, Sil!”

The filly flushed slightly, when Alex dragged his shirt overhead and hung it on the half-built smelter edge; nevertheless, Sil lifted the jar higher and slowly poured the water, letting him put his hands under the stream. She stepped back with a giggle, when Alex cleaned the arms to the elbow and simply put his head under the water, brushing through his hair and splashing, cooling down and washing his neck and shoulders as well.

“Mine gratitude!” Alex squeezed the water out of his hair, as the jar emptied.

“I wanted to ask…” Silver Ingot seemed genuinely interested, but Alex interrupted her, picking up his bag and taking something out.

“Apologies! I wanted to leave something hither,” he handed her a thick envelope, evidently stuffed with some papers. “These may provide some use anon…”

“What’s in there?” light-grey transparent aura enveloped it and Sil turned it over, examining.

“Some papers,” vaguely noticed Alex. “Thou…” he stumbled. “I shall tell later, at which hour they are necessary. Simply keepest them, okay?”

“Oka-a-ay…” puzzledly squeezed out the girl, looking at the envelope. Uncertain thoughts overshadowed her idea to invite him for the dinner and when Sil raised her glance, Alex already put the shirt on and was ready to depart. “Errmmm…”

“Thanks, Sil!” Alex threw his bag on the shoulder, leaning closer and looking into her eyes. “Cheer up, everything shalt be fine!”

“I… I need some time,” added he, aiming his glance at Ponyville. “To think and…” Alex shrugged, got over the fence and looked back. “Hast a nice evening, Sil! Thou and thy uncle likewise.”

“Uncle Will,” Silver Ingot slowly entered the kitchen, submerged into her thoughts, her inward glance was still chained to that envelope, she left in her room upstairs. “What do you think about all that?”

“About Alex, you mean?”

Sil nodded shortly. Willsmash pursed his lips with a sigh.

“My filly, he didn’t reveal all his plans from the beginning. Granted, we benefitted from them so far only. But I don’t like his current mood very much…” the blacksmith cupped his beard, pondering for a couple of minutes. “I swear, Alex looked better a couple of days after the tragedy… Was more responsive at least. Now though it’s impossible to tell what’s going on in his soul… And I guess, the news, he remains to Equestria forever, doesn’t make things better.”

Sil opened her mouth, but reconsidered and downcasted, sinking on the chair; she kept thinking about the envelope upstairs.

The recently restored window shone its large glass and reflected the ponies, the street, the Sun, setting far behind the fields, the thin stream of smoke from the train approaching the station and looking a thread of colourful matches dragged by a steel shiny needle from that distance. Leaning closer one could see that after the reparations the Bouncing Barrels bar was working as usual, attracting numerous visitors by the delicious smells of snacks and fragrant cider. The barrel above the entrance was fixed as well, although, now it was purely props to avoid any future accidents.

Remembering about the barrel Big Mac smirked and pushed the door, entering the bar and waiting for a moment, until his eyes accommodated to the lower light inside. He then trotted to the counter and landed there, nodding to the bartender and taking a look around the large dimly lit room.

“Evening!” The bartender stallion approached, throwing the clean towel onto his shoulder and nodding back to Big Mac. “Another hard day off the chart, eh?”

“Eeyup!” McIntosh sighed and scratched the back of his head.

“Any problems, Macky?” the bartender leaned on the counter. “You look… disappointed.”

“Was at the hardware shop,” huffed Big Mac. “Out of hinges and some other stuff. Ah say, the corral fence won’t repair itself… without parts, but nopony cares there!” The bartender even raised his eyebrow at the unusually talkative client, while Mac smirked ironically and continued. “Seriously, Ah’m thinking about ordering the necessary details at the smithy. As it is working again and… Hey, you’re back to business as well,” chuckled he, winking at the bar owner.

“Yeah,” the stallion shrugged, addressing another customer and quickly fulfilling the order. “I’m not even going to make Rainbow Dash and the human ponies non grata here. They paid for the damage, they inflicted, more than enough. Separately, of course!” he chuckled insinuatingly, causing another smirk on Big Mac’s muzzle.

“Speaking of which,” the bartender nodded shortly towards the customers and, taking another attentive look around, Big Mac noticed the human at the farther darker corner of the room, alone behind the table, deep into his thoughts, sitting his back to the rest of the visitors. Alex’s light shirt and height made futile his unambiguous attempt to stay as unnoticed as possible; there was some obvious empty space between his seat and the rest of the customers.

“Ehhhhh…” breathed out Big Mac meaningfully, quickly noticing all the worrying details.

“Yeah,” the bartender made a face. “We miss only some rain and lightning here, storm clouds galore though. And if you look, what he is drinking…”

Applejack’s brother leaned over the counter, throwing his glance at the bottle, he was subtly demonstrated, making quick notice of deep golden liquid inside and… an alicorn on the label. He could only whistle quietly.

“And… how many?”

“Six doubles,” the bartender looked at him fixedly, raising one eyebrow. “Or maybe this one is the sixth, I myself am a bit… impressed,” concluded he. “By the way, cider as usual?” he raised the empty glass.

“Nnope…” slowly said Big Mac, he watched the human still. “Ah think, a large coffee is exactly what Ah need this evening, mate. Ah’ll be there.” He slowly left his seat and headed to the “stormy” corner of the hall.

“Good evening, partner!” Big Mac walked around the table and faced the hall, so his muzzle was lit and recognizable, or at least so he hoped. “Won’t you mind?”

“Umm… Oh… Yeah, ev-vening…” Alex’s eyes focused on his collocutor with a fraction of a second delay. “Feelest… thyself like home,” the wide gesture was a bit strained and it seemed that Alex’s aiming system was to resort to some noticeable correction all the time. Yet he held quite nicely, considering the amount of “green snake” envenomation, Alex was undergoing.

“Letting out stress after a hard work day?” Big Mac inquired innocently, placing himself across and watching Alex fixedly.

“Oh, yeah…” chuckled Alex sadly. “Rather morning… gah… mourning, mate… rather… mourn-ning.”

“What exactly?” the stallion didn’t feel himself an epitome of artistry, but obviously it was enough for Alex in his current condition. “Well, I know about the… about what happened at the dam, but… The search is still going and they didn’t find anypony.” McIntosh looked embarrassed. “You know, what I mean… They found nothing yet, so…”

“That’s…” Alex stumbled and stifled a hiccup. “That’s a part of it… A big part… but not the only…”

“But…” Big Mac raised his glance. “You definitely scored otherwise… Ah mean your work and stuff. Alex, it seems, you have more orders than you can make in time. Not something to mourn, pal.”

Big Mac suspected, what the human could try to muffle with alcohol, but the problem unearthed appeared deeper than his expectations.

“Exactly!” Alex supported his exclamation with a wide sway of his glass, but managed to keep the liquid inside it; he squinted at the customers behind and continued quieter. “Exactly. That’s prb… prob-bably the only thing about me going well, mate – mine m-machines. Everything else, I touch, crumbles to dust almost at once. Everything… Pfff!” Alex huffed quietly, the bursting gesture of the free palm supposed to show, how exactly the stuff around got screwed.

“Errmmm… Ah still think, you overdramatize a bit,” Macky balanced on the thin line between sympathy and healthy scepticism; he nodded to the bartender bringing him coffee and turned back to Alex. “But if you have to tell anything…”

“Oh, tis not a secret, methinks it’s obvious enough,” Alex’s wry smile looked rather painful. “And I hardly drama… tize much.”

“Look hither,” Big Mac listened quietly and Alex continued with a sigh. “I got hither… I-I mean to Equestria… purely by an… hic!.. accident. I didn’t ask to take me… and I w-wasn’t asked,” he glanced at his collocutor meaningfully. “I’ve lost mine past in… a wink,” Alex tried to click with his fingers and succeeded at the third attempt. “Well… It wasn’t… mine past at that moment… it was my present… ahhh… Whatever!”

“I’ve lost my everything,” added Alex quietly in a minute. Only Big Mac could hear the next phrase. “Except mine bucking phobia and “luck”.”

Alex made a sip and Big Mac noticed that his glass bottom was barely covered already; nevertheless, the human barely reacted to the “fiery” drink going down his system. McIntosh inwardly shuddered. ‘How much is actually sitting inside him already?’ Meanwhile Alex caught the tail of own thought again.

“Thank… fully, I appeared to be more stable than I even expected,” Alex smirked, focusing on the stallion across. “I didn’t go… nuts, when I realized, where I got…”

“Eeyup!” confirmed Big Mac with a tiny smile. He was to admit that Alex accommodated quite easily for the situation; normally, someone finding themselves among the sentient ponies could need more time and effort to keep sanity.

“I didn’t… I… I probably even found mine place hither, sorta… at least for now…” Alex fell silent, trying to stay coherent, apparently, long distance logical chains troubled him at the moment. “Despite, I didn’t feel myself belonging.” He sighed and stifled another hiccup.

“It’s a complex question – belonging,” accurately noticed Big Mac. “I guess nopony feels “belonging” somewhere new right away…”

“Oh, I have plenty of time now… to learn… to belong… or not,” huffed Alex sarcastically, making Jackie’s brother raise one eyebrow. “That’ssss… That’s en-encouraging, mate, indeed!”

“Anyway…” Alex stumbled upon some other thought and it made him pull a long face at once. He lowered his voice and leaned over the table. “I fell in love… Mac, can you imagine? I couldn’t ever… in mine… previous life. For the pony girl.”

“That’s not a secret,” chuckled Big Mac quietly. “Fluttershy is an awesome young mare. Congratulations, pal! Ah would wonder, if you did not,” added he with a wink.

“Ehhhh…” breathed out Alex and Big Mac inwardly praised the absence of the candle on the table, so the human couldn’t turn into a fire-breathing dragon at least; McIntosh tried his coffee instead, enjoying the aroma. “Thou didn’t listen to the whole story. Moreover, I fell in love with two mares, mate. Two!”

Big Mac hummed meaningfully, nodding Alex to continue.

“Both recipe… rectipro… Damn! Re-ci-pro… mmm… return love. And I can’t choose, I simply can’t,” Alex squeezed his temples, leaning his elbows on the table. “What a loser!”

“Errmmm… Normally you must, sooner or later,” noticed Big Mac quietly.

“Oh, believest me, mate, I know that arrant!” groaned Alex, making a mare behind the nearest table throw a reproachful glance at them; he startled her amidst the tender talk with her stallion. Alex lowered his voice. “I love both… equally! They are different, but each is… unique and dear to me on her own.”

Big Mac wondered, how suddenly Alex got over a long phrase almost without stumbling, as if the alcohol fell back in front of the passion. He leaned closer to the human. “Okay, one is Fluttershy… And another?”

“Wait…” stallion’s eyes dilated, when Mac suddenly realized. “Another is… princess Luna?!” He carefully looked around, if anypony heard that; Alex simply nodded, drooping his head.

“Ah… Ah saw you both once… in my dream,” Big Mac still couldn’t believe entirely. “Ah knew, you were not a part of it. Not both… not that way.”

“But HOW?!” asked he; Alex understood the exact sense of Mac’s question, squeezing out a smile.

“At least… I can trust thee, mate. Thou shan’t tell anypony… Luna visited mine dreams… upon arrival,” Alex took a breath and spilled the beans. “Henceforth I share her ability to… “sleepwalk”… But I’m connected to her and… can’t visit any other’s dreams,” whispered he after Big Mac’s gasp. “So, forsooth, Fluttershy and Luna.”

“Yeahhhhhh…” Big Mac let out air slowly, like the loco let out steam. “There is no easy solution here, Ah admit…” He made a large sip of his coffee and rubbed his muzzle pensively.

“I know for sure, each of us will suffer, whichever choice I make,” dropped Alex. “Damn it! I don’t even want… to make that choice, knowing it will hurt them both anyway. Sss-sometimes I think that it would be better for me to… simply vanish,” he fell silent for a long while.

“Although, I don’t know… if that can save them from suffering… Mayhap after some long time. Not myself though.”

“It’s a case of no win,” Alex tiredly closed his eyes and hunched over his glass. “No… Better say, I see no way of winning without hurting somepony. I can’t s-solve that equation, Mac. So, I’m ruining mine present… and I have no future because of that. I even ruining somepony’s else life by mine mare… damn… mine mere presence here.”

McIntosh sighed and examined his cup fixedly, while Alex elaborated further in half voice.

“I’m sure, Luna… is fine with how it is going now. She was more judicious and cool-headed always… But Shy…” Alex ran his fingers through his hair forcedly, as if pulling them hard could stimulate some fresh ideas. “Man, it sucks! And I put into it… as deep as I only could.”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac shook his head, making another sip; the coffee cooled down. “Alex, you know, the booze won’t solve the problem, right?”

“I know, it can’t be solved that way,” squinted Alex. “I’m not looking for the solution hither!” he raised his glass slightly, looking at his collocutor through the contents, which noticeably decreased. “I wanted to switch, to be able to muffle the pain…”

“But it works like shit!” Alex smirk was bitter like a box of hot peppers from Apples’ field. He leaned on the table heavily.

“Dost thou know, what happened on Ponyville Dam, Mac,” choking on words, Alex swallowed a lump.

“A tragic incident!” firmly said McIntosh, keeping a poker face. Alex closed his eyes.

“Two ponies died…”

“That’s not confirmed yet, partner!”

“…because I tried to save them… and failed! Tried…” repeated Alex with a tear in his voice. “At which time I was to simply do! But I. bucking. Failed! All because of I’m afraid of the bucking heights, Mac.”

“Eeyup! But you at least tried,” retorted Big Mac with pressure. “Not that you stood and watched, what could happen.”

“I could equally do that instead…” Alex hiccupped, his eyes glistened treacherously. “Same shit, mate, same… shit!”

“Nnope!” firmly dropped Macky, looking at Alex fixedly. “And you know, it’s not the same. You should stop kicking yourself all the time for what you couldn’t change…”

“I was thither already,” hissed Alex, making the closer customers pay attention again. “I almost held him on the hoof, Mac! I needed only a second more… to take them out, but I had none, because of the fucking acrophobia.”

“He brought his daughter with him,” groaned Alex, his eyes became wet. “Macky, he brought his daughter… to show her his workplace. Arrant safe, as one could assume… if thither were no monsters…”

“Exactly!” the stallion took him on the shoulder. “Why are you blaming yourself then. Could you change that?”

“I see his eyes!” whispered Alex, apparently, he couldn’t hear Mac’s reasoning. “Each fucking time… I close mine, more than for a minute… I see his eyes, his hopeful glance, Mac. That poor stallion… he believed I could save them… and I didn’t, I didn’t believe in myself enough to do.”

“I see them every time!” repeated he, gulping forcedly. “Hardly can ever forget…”

Both fell silent for a while, both knew how to treat things rationally… But one couldn’t find any strength to call for rationality and another realized that he could hurt rather than heal.

“I could hope for the only way out…” Alex exhaled noisily. “Out of some of mine woes at least… I can’t say, I’m ready to live with two lives on mine account, but I can’t do anything about that either, shall… live with it somehow,” Alex chuckled painfully. “Thou knowest the latest news, Mac? No?”

“I’m unable to leave Equestria, mate!” Alex spread his arms, shrugging and leaning on the backrest; he was to hold on the table not to fall. “Ti… Princess Celestia notified me recently… quite unambiguously, that mine magical res-sistance… maketh them unable to send me back to Earth safely. I’m stuck hither…”

“Wait,” Alex suddenly remembered something else, which made him cringe. “It’s even more interesting… They found out… Celestia and her… specialists,” Alex scoffed. “That they can’t predict mine lifespan, Mac. Namely, they can’t say how long I shall live… with all that.” Big Mac exhaled slowly and Alex nodded meaningfully. “Yeah, mate. I’m stuck hither and I have no idea how long for. Fascinating, isn’t it?”

Big Mac kept silence, he felt his eyes became slightly bigger than normal, despite the thought, he wasn’t the one easy to impress or shock.

“So, I supposed that if ‘t be true we couldn’t… solve the equation, we may try to remove… one variable arrant. Simplify it, so to speak,” Alex smirked. “And no… No solution. No escape. No remedy! Although…”

“You want to escape?” Big Mac blinked and looked into Alex’s eyes, which wasn’t a simple task already.

“And what else can I do?..” Alex leaned on the table again. “We broke with Fluttershy… I admit, I got mad at her attempts at pampering me, mate… But I regret that we didn’t even try to solve the problem differently. I can’t stay with one of the girls, not breaking another’s heart and mine own. I can’t sleep… I can’t forgive myself for the… dam…” he took a breath fitfully and added. “And now I find out that I am to live with all that… nopony knows for how long.”

Alex downed the remnants of his drink and stared at the empty glass pensively, as if not knowing what to do with that trouble.

“Eeyup,” nodded Big Mac. “You are right, Alex. Life can be painful very often… but you still can fight it, partner, can’t you?” he softly stopped Alex, ready to call the bartender and order another drink, and shook his head slowly.

“I tried, Celestia to the witness, I did,” Alex dropped his head. “But I keep returning to the dam, into that morning, no matter what… I see that worker and his daughter falling, I see myself… Merlin’s pants, I even see Fluttershy… Man, I’m regally screwed!” he raised the eyes at Big Mac, pain splashed into them, filling to the brim. “What can I do?”

“Methinks to solve a problem we need to remove the source of that problem oft,” added he barely audible. “Who said thither was no way out? Thither is always some… One must find it only…”

“What we really need now, mate, is to get you home,” Big Mac swallowed his cold coffee and raised on his hooves. “C’mon, big guy,” he took the glass from Alex’s hand, returning to the table.

It appeared that Alex could stand more or less straight, but walking was a task too complex for him that evening; he almost fell and grabbed the table to keep balance.

“Ehhhh…” sighed Big Mac, he left a few bits on the table, nodding to the bartender. “You need to hold on me, Alex, okay? We don’t want to lose you on the road,” he chuckled, supporting the human and picking his bag.

Darkness filled the skies and stars were shining, when they left Bouncing Barrels, but numerous windows and torches in the streets were lit as well – the town only prepared to sleep yet. Changing position became crucial for Alex’s intoxication and whole Ponyville smudged around him in dark and bright stripes, while he surfed the suddenly unstable ground, holding on Big Mac’s shoulder and stumbling, when the road under his feet started dancing too vividly. He seemed to reach his goal, at least for a short while: the amber liquid finally got to his system, putting a powerful mental block and covering all his thoughts and troubles with merciful veil; Alex’s head was awesomely empty the first time for quite a long while, with only one lazy thought floating there – to reach the Library, before he fell asleep completely. Alex blinked and smiled to the world slowly spinning around, he grasped Mac’s shoulder firmly and forced himself to walk forward. He couldn’t remember how they reached Twilight’s home, but was sure, he managed to make from the first attempt, not falling during their slow walk.

“Good evening, Mac! How can I…” Twilight looked a bit surprised, seeing Applejack’s brother on her doorstep. Then she noticed him supporting something or somepony and opened the door wider to see, who that was, her eyes stopped on the dark, tall, slowly swaying on the spot figure in the shadow. “Oh, sweet Celestia!” Twilight’s eyes widened and she stepped back, letting them both inside.

“Nnope!” stated Big Mac with visible pleasure, dropping Alex’s bag from his mouth. “That’s not her, that’s only Alex. Although, he seems a bit above this mortal land tonight…” Right at that moment, Alex left without his support, made a complex pirouette on the spot and grabbed the door not to fall.

He seemed to be sleeping on his two and wasn’t going to let go off his accidental anchor that easily. Twilight needed to pull him by his shirt and Big Mac nudged from behind, so, they managed to push Alex in, closing the door. Evidently, he realized that his destination was reached, as forces left Alex and he slowly kneeled on the floor, blinking and focusing his glance at Twilight with visible effort.

“G-good… evening, Twilight,” Alex let out a cute smile and placed a small kiss on the nose of completely stunned Princess of Friendship; Big Mac snorted quietly and Alex added seemingly addressing the ceiling. “My kind… and caring f-friend!...” With those words Alex’s eyes closed and he sank down, stretching on the floor right where he stood.

“Oh, my…” it was one of those rare cases Twilight felt helpless, wiggling her wings nervously and looking around for help. “I never saw him in that condition!” Obviously, she already felt the strong smell of alcohol, specifically at the moment her nose getting kissed. “Where…”

“Ah met him at the bar,” chuckled McIntosh. “Or… better say, found him at the bar, nicely loaded already.”

“I never saw him like that,” repeated Twilight, watching evenly breathing Alex.

“Same!” Big Mac was more practical. “He was trying to shut the uneasy thoughts, but Ah realized, he could need some help… It didn’t look like Alex succeeded,” added he more seriously.

“Thanks for walking him here, Macky!” breathed out Twilight feelingly. “What did he drink by the way?”

Big Mac’s muzzle expressed surprise and mischief simultaneously, he raised one brow, telling Twilight in dramatically and trustfully lowered voice.

“Old Alicorn” whiskey…”

“Oh, Celestia, I need to move him to the bed somehow… but how… ugghhh! Oh… I know!” Twilight pondered aloud in the meantime; she gasped and turned to Big Mac slowly. “Wait… what?!!”

“Old Alicorn” whiskey!” nodded the stallion, confirming. “Six doubles, as the bartender said…” he watched her reaction with a mix of curiosity and concern.

“Eek!” Twilight produced a “rubber duck” squeak and dropped her jaw, her eyes could make Rarity jealous of their size at the moment. “You… sure? Because… f-for the majority of ponies… one shot is a… “knock out” dose.”

“Eeyup!” nodded Big Mac. “Nevertheless.” He meaningfully glanced at the human.

“Ah think the bartender was as shocked as you, Twilight, after Alex didn’t fall flat after the second glass. Shocked and curious, how much the human could take, otherwise he wouldn’t let him a few,” added he, while Twilight opened and closed her mouth, completely wordless.

“Ahhh… Are you sure, he doesn’t need help?” she finally regained her voice, her eyes almost returned to their usual size.

“He made it through the whole town on his two… with little help from me,” noticed Macky calmly. “What he needs is a good cool shower… But Ah doubt that we can… persuade him. Other than that, he needs some good sleep only. And the dose, he took, will help him, Ah’m sure.”

“You sure?” re-asked Twilight, watching sleeping Alex with concern and disbelief.

“Eeyup!” Apparently, Big Mac didn’t find it necessary to explain further.

Together with Twilight they managed to drag Alex onto a thick blanket and only then Twilight could apply her magic to the edges, moving the whole “construction” to his sofa. She closed the door and took her breath with relief.

“Keep an eye on him,” advised McIntosh. “But Ah think he will be okay… except for the darn strong headache,” shrugged he.

“Thanks again, Mac!” Twilight let out a tired, but grateful smile. “I couldn’t cope without you, mate…”

“No probs!” he was at the front door already. “Ah better go… Before girls start worrying.”

After Jackie’s brother departure, Twilight exhaled deeply, trying to embrace her thoughts. ‘Six double shots of “Old Alicorn”… For the Harmony sake, where was his head?’

“AAAARGHHH!!!”

Alex shuddered hard and sat on his bed in a convulsive jerk, staring into the darkness and feeling large drips of cold sweat all over his forehead and neck again. He wiped his face and rubbed the temples forcedly, the heart seemed to be jumping out of his chest, while the room around him slowly stopped spinning. The bloody boosted metabolism did its unholy job, converting the alcohol to derivatives in a matter of a couple of hours and removing the most anticipated effects, leaving the most tormenting unfortunately.

‘Headache – check. The feeling of a few cats shitting in your mouth – check. Nightmares…’ Alex sighed heavily. ‘Double check!’

Alas, he was almost completely sober already, despite checking the clock told him that only three hours passed since he consumed his last shot. The merciful mental blockade crumbled to pieces, letting his usual thoughts flood his mind again. The pulsing headache and slight dizziness only made it even more disgusting, while Alex was sure he could hardly feel any worse. He swallowed a lump of sandpaper, at least that was the effect of the simplest move; Alex gasped and coughed.

He just fell from Ponyville Dam, holding the earth pony filly, snuggling tight to him with silent tears… And the mere fact that it was in his dream didn’t make it easier!

‘Merlin’s pants! Ohhhh…’ Alex could benefit from some water, but the first attempt to get up caused such a massive… Alex-quake, followed by the new wave of cold sweat and faintness, that he reconsidered trying his luck and fell back weakly, mentally anathematizing everything. The hangover he had wasn’t the “light version”, unlike the oblivious effect of boozing off his problems.

Alex found a pillow, thoughtfully placed by somepony under his aching head; although, the blanket was strangely under him. He couldn’t remember the events after them with Big Mac entering the Library, but it seemed he was carried that way onto his sofa and left unconscious, relieved from his boots only.

The window was open as usual and the air coming in from the street was quite fresh, but trying to take the blanket from under himself was probably a “deadly trick” at that moment. Alex picked the edge after a fashion and covered himself, forcedly closing his eyes and hoping for his hangover to pass at least a bit faster; the cool air could help that supposedly. Trying not to think of the possible outcome he fell into the spinning well of his restless sleep again.

The catwalk platforms were frail and felt groggy, when Alex went on them, inwardly shuddering at the view of the raging waters below. He wasn’t sure, if they could hold his weight, proceeding unconfidently slow, as they trembled under his surprisingly heavy steps. The first idea was to grab the railing to support himself on that slippery path, but somehow he couldn’t; Alex wasn’t going to fixate on that sudden inconvenience, he looked around – the dam worker was to be there.

His vision was blurred and strangely reddish, maybe the rising Sun gave everything around that weird tint; the thick mist coming from the artificial waterfalls underneath made it worse and the roaring water distracted much. Alex caught himself on the thought that he moved on the catwalk quite freely, except concerning about the flimsy constructions, without his usual striking and tumbling fear at least. He didn’t have time to wonder though…

Staunch Flume was there, clinging with his fore legs to the metal beam of the half-built frame under the crane. Holding on his neck, snuggling to him shakily in her devastating fear, his daughter could barely breathe, almost fainting at the look of the abyss under their hooves. Alex’s heart sank at that image, carefully he tried to approach the edge.

The stallion noticed him – their only hope and help, but the his eyes dilated in terror; the muffled sound he produced wasn’t something Alex ever heard before. A mix of gasp, scream and groan, with which the stallion winced and made an attempt to move away, totally futile in his condition; the filly could only whimper faintly, but the fear in her eyes was of the same nature, as Alex could notice.

The stallion squinted, closing his eyes shut and screaming something to his daughter. Alex couldn’t catch up the phrase, as Staunch Flume’s fore legs trembled and his hooves slipped off the beam. Alex was at the edge of the catwalk already, he could watch both ponies falling to the boiling wet death at the foot of the dam… for a few endless seconds, until two small figures vanished in the mist clouds below. He looked at his strong black legs and carefully retreated from the slippery edge, turning away, already seeing the exit from the catwalk, barred with the metal gate. Alex heavily trotted towards the way to freedom and…

…woke up with a loud scream, wincing and sitting on his bed again, clasping his mouth. The hand was normal, his vision – as well, when Alex accommodated to the surrounding darkness.

‘Tis slightly encouraging,’ Alex smirked venomously and rubbed his face forcedly, returning to the reality completely. The nauseous thought that he is not better than them still drilled the brain, despite he tried to convince himself, he didn’t hurt anypony on purpose.

‘What about Fluttershy?’ sarcastically inquired the small inner voice. ‘Her and… Luna, if you left or decided to stay with none of them… Although, what you are doing isn’t much better…’

Cringing, both inwardly and actually, Alex tried to rise, finding that he, at last, could do that without weakness strike and vertigo was quite satisfying, if there could be anything satisfying in his condition. His head ached mercilessly though and the feeling of his tongue becoming made of sandpaper stayed; Alex groaned and headed to the bathroom, holding on the wall with one hand.

‘Ain’t thou going mad, Alex? A few more days… and nights alike, and thou art arrant mental…’ the hangover didn’t affect his night vision and Alex could enjoy his ruffled, tired, painfully squinting face in the dark rectangle of the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot and red, wry smirk looked like a scoff of some demon; although, there was nothing that can’t be fixed with some rest for his body and mind both.

‘Nothing like a Seeker, eh?’ Alex sadly chuckled at his reflection and opened the tap, splashing cold water onto his face, he brushed his wet hands through the hair to straighten them and bring to nearly some order.

Suddenly the bright light flooded the room, making Alex squint tightly for a second; a hoof lay on his forearm softly.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Alex slowly opened his eyes, accommodating to the magical light and turning to her. “Did I wake you up again with my screaming?”

“I heard it, but that doesn’t matter,” Twilight shrugged sleepily, wrapping in her nightgown, she looked at him with concern. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Alex.”

“Kinda,” with a wry smile Alex nodded towards the mirror. “It’s all the same, Twi… these nightmares only become weirder each time. But I’m holding,” he was looking seemingly through her. “If I can call it that way.”

“You seriously scared me, Alex!” Twilight shook her head reproachfully, seeing that Alex could finally react coherently. “What did you think of, drinking that much? Do you know that “Old Alicorn” whiskey is very strong? And I mean VERY.”

“So, this is how it is called…” chuckled Alex sadly. “I simply asked the bartender for the strongest stuff they had and, after a short pondering, he brought me the bottle. I wanted to muffle the thoughts of my problems, of… what a problem I am. He was very surprised to see me standing straight after the first shot.”

“Well, I got a couple of hours of dreamless sleep,” the fake cheerful tone of him turned out quite painful. “Mine head acheth mercilessly though,” he added quietly. “The problem seems to be solvable by removing the problem itself only…”

“What are you talking about, pray tell?” Twilight strained and threw a quick glance at Alex. “It’s too late for deep thinking, Alex. Please, go back to… sleep,” she downcasted in realization. “Sorry!”

“Tis okay, Twi” Alex sighed, heading back to his room past her. “Thou art right, of course. Forgivest me for waking thee…”

Under her fixed and concerned glance Alex straightened the bedding, half of which appeared to be on the floor again, and nested on the sofa, putting the blanket over, not under himself this time and trying to think not, where he was going to find himself shortly after closing the eyes.

“Good night, Twilight,” Alex tried his best to remove any faint tint of sarcasm from those words and watched the alicorn girl leaving him alone, extinguishing the magical light orb with a heavy sigh. He restlessly turned from side to side for a short while, when his head unambiguously told Alex that its ache would be better overcome with eyes closed; with the heavy heart Alex obeyed.

The catwalks were wet and slippery, the thick mist filled everything around him and Alex wondered, how that was possible – the height was too big for water foam reaching there. The Sun barely appeared from the horizon, lighting the top of the dam brightly; where he was, the shadows were still thick though, making him stare at the platforms fixedly not to miss somepony, he came there because of.

He was almost stunned by the roaring water, spilling from the seven wide “mouths” of the opened gates, and his heart and whole body froze at the first glance of the flimsy railings above the swirling abyss, chills rushed up Alex’s spine, his feet became glued to the spot at once. Nevertheless, the awfully familiar thin scream woke him up from the sudden stupor immediately, dispelling the terror and making his blood rush. Alex rushed to the voice along the catwalks, to the half-built frame under the large crane. One thought filled his mind, pulsing disturbingly, “bouncing off the walls”.

‘She?! How that could be… She can’t be hither! Merlin’s… Please, not her… Please!’

Alex made himself proceed faster, holding on the railings with one hand, but still going, despite the overwhelming heartbeat and noise in his ears. This time he had no right to fail, he wouldn’t ever forgive himself, if he did.

His heart froze, when Alex came closer, so the mist revealed the awful scene: there was a pony on that dreading metal beam protruding from the catwalk, the beam becoming one of the main motives and “characters” of his nightly fears. Only one pony this time, but the colours of the coat, mane and tail would hardly make Alex flutter in terror more, than if there was half of Equestria in danger instead.

She barely held on the very end of the beam already, hooves were not the best instrument to grab something round and slippery. The idiotic thought, that she had wings and thus could fly, easily avoiding the danger of that fall, didn’t even come into Alex’s mind; he knew perfectly that in situations alike Fluttershy simply couldn’t unfurl them, even if her own life depended on that – Alex could understand her.

“Hold on, Shy!” in a fraction of second Alex covered the remaining distance and lay on the platform, getting to the edge and trying to reach her fore legs. “Simply hold on!”

Alas, the extending part of the beam was slightly longer than his arm, Alex couldn’t grab Fluttershy’s hoof, while keeping himself completely on the catwalk. Inwardly sending the most awful damnations, Earth and Equus both knew, to the dams, bridges, waterfalls and generally any heights, Alex squinted and tried to pull forward a bit more, despite his whole body seemed to be screaming and pulling back.

When his chest appeared above the boiling abyss, Alex made an inhuman attempt to suppress the feeling of entire dam suddenly spinning around him; nevertheless, his view narrowed to the thin tube again with the noise in the ears and mortal danger chilling Alex’s blood at once. He avoided looking directly into Fluttershy’s eyes, fearing that unwelcome memories might make him lose precious seconds. ‘Hold on! Please Shy, dost not let go…’

She painfully bit her lip, visibly getting tired and slowly sliding to the very tip of the metal beam, yet he was still unable to reach her fore legs. Despair made Alex take that decision at once, dispelling fear and doubts: praying for his touch not to make the construction tremble and Fluttershy slide off it, before he could catch her, Alex grabbed the beam with his left hand, forcing himself forward and firmly grabbing Fluttershy’s pastern right at the moment her fore hooves slid off.

“I… got thee!” he could look into her eyes now, in the fraction of second seeing everything, they could tell each other, and realizing, he could never let her back for somepony. ‘I got thee, but we both are doomed…’

Although, his leap of faith shifted the center of mass and broke the balance: for a few seconds Alex was holding on the platform with his left leg, futilely trying to lift himself back, the next moment he slid, hanging on his left hand only and holding Fluttershy. The catwalk was so close, yet unreachably far…

“Alex!”

“Dost… not move!” Alex looked into her scared dilated eyes again, inwardly amazed how beautiful they were even at that moment. ‘If only I could get her back onto the catwalk…’

But he understood, that he couldn’t get the necessary swing, strong enough to throw Fluttershy up and left, to the safety of the railings; besides, the overhanging metal frame would interfere such attempts, making them dangerous. Instead of that, Alex pulled Fluttershy up a bit, making her reach and wrap her free legs around him, he still held her fore hoof like the last treasure in this world. The rising Sun lit the catwalks and two figures: human and pony, struggling for their lives, with the merciless dispassion of the theatrical spotlight. Alex gritted his teeth, feeling his left arm getting numb and aching more and more with each second, and closed his eyes…

‘Luna!!! Luna, mine love, please help… Help, if ‘t be true thou heed me!!!’

Suddenly a bright flash, brighter than the morning sun, made them both squint; the next moment some shadow eclipsed the daylight. Risking to fall Alex turned his head to see the vast wings of the blue alicorn, approaching in the halo of sunlight. She descended fast, noticing them at once and… floated in the air, desperately looking around.

Luna could easily catch Fluttershy with her magic, she could grab and move anything around, but she couldn’t touch Alex with her aura, risking to inflict more damage that way. For the first time in her life the Princess of the Night didn’t know what to do.

“Here!” overcoming the sharp pain Alex smirked wryly. “Closer… and above me!!!”

Seeing Luna following his words and making small circles above them, Alex turned to Fluttershy.

“Shy… Let thy legs off me,” seeing fear and concern in her turquoise eyes Alex breathed out. “Please. Trust me, Shy!”

Shivering and shrinking from terror Fluttershy opened her legs, pulling Alex’s right arm down with her weight and letting out a small squeak; the strain in his left arm seemed to double with those movements. Feeling his fingers slowly weakening and sliding Alex realized, he had only one attempt and it was to be successful. He made the decision already and nothing and nopony could make him change his mind.

“Luna! CATCH!!!” gathering all the remaining forces in one jet-like throw and feeling like if his left arm was being ripped from the shoulder by somepony, Alex launched Fluttershy as high above the beam as he could the second before his own fingers let go off the cold metal.

He saw the blue aura enveloping the yellow pegasus, Luna’s fore legs catching Fluttershy and holding tight. Alex could see both girls’ dilated eyes and mouths open in silent scream… and then Luna and Fluttershy started receding. Their figures, brightly lit by the Sun, vanished in the thickening mist and the growing roar of water filled Alex’s ears…

Alex opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling, the reflected light came through the window, telling about the brightening dawn; he felt like being forcedly thrown against his bed, against the pillow and blanket, like if they were the stones of the river lower bed. But he finally knew the solution for that “equation”.

‘Thither is no other way! Alas…’ Alex cringed, sitting on his sofa and wrapping himself in the blanket; he watched the darkness being dispelled outside by the morning, taking over the nightmares, but not the problems themselves.

A large raindrop, unusually cold for the summer, smacked on her; Fluttershy wiggled her nose, shaking the water off, and pulled forward her hood, hiding her muzzle and wrapping in her cloak tighter. Looking at the sky was futile – the same grey cloudy space was everywhere her glance fell, without any hope for the tiniest gap, and Fluttershy preferred to look under her hooves not to slip and fall into some pool.

She left her cottage, like usually that Sunday evening, because Sunday was the day… the day it happened. Wiping a few tears Fluttershy braced herself, she was yet to cross the field of high wet grass to reach the small hill with the single large tree. The hill where…

Tears ran down Fluttershy’s face like the salty waterfall, mixing with the rain water and blurring her view; risking to fall on the slippery grass, she shook her head and sped up towards the hill behind the grey veil of the rain, which mourned with her.

Some part of her conscience knew perfectly that everything happening was a dream, another iteration of the same recurring nightmare she had lately. She had good as well, but that one was constantly haunting and torturing her… Yet at the same time her heart and the rest of her mind firmly believed in the reality (or maybe possibility, she never could tell) of what happened and she never did any attempt to wake up consciously, before something in her dream eventually led her to the awakening. She could stay there till darkness (or better say, till some other dream changed that one), finding some bittersweet relief in that unity; sometimes the mere glance onto the stone made her wince and wake up, biting her lip in a woeful groan, breathing hard and pulling the blanket up, like some shield.

‘It’s too rainy today, even for a bad dream…’ Fluttershy threw another glance at the low heavy skies from under the hood, squinting from the raindrops on her face. Finally – the hill, the tree spread its large branches above her, giving Fluttershy shelter from the weather as usual. But… something was different that evening, the very important detail of becoming customary to her scene was missing. Fluttershy didn’t have time to wonder, when she noticed the grass under the large tree was… flowing, because it wasn’t the grass actually, it was all tints of night sky starry mane and tail. The familiar tall silhouette detached from the tree shadows, eyes flashed in the twilight and quiet silvery voice greeted her.

“Good evening, Fluttershy!”

“You!!!” Fluttershy stepped back, but sounded as determined as she ever could. “What are you doing here?.. your Highness,” added she after a short, but noticeable pause.

“I’m glad to see thee likewise,” the shadowy figure smirked sadly and stepped into the scarce light of the gloomy day, turning into princess Luna herself. She looked at Fluttershy fixedly. “Methinks we decided it should be simply Luna almost three years ago…”

“I thought so,” nodded Fluttershy shortly. “I thought, we w-were friends… Luna. But…” she looked around, like if trying to find something, she missed.

“We were friends. And we still are,” Luna’s calm voice called for Fluttershy’s prudence. “That is why exactly I came to thee, that is why and… for one obvious reason more.”

“Thou can see something is missing from thy regular dream, Fluttershy,” seeing her opponent is listening, Luna took the advantage. “Things came to the moment, the tombstone can actually appear, whither we’re standing, not in thy dream only. Alex is on the edge…”

“You came here, trespassed into my fears and sorrows,” quietly started Fluttershy, but her eyes sparkled. “You, who partially made him the one he became, who constantly pulled him from my hooves, who…” Fluttershy gasped, unable to continue. “And you want to talk about Alex?!” exclaimed she after a second.

“Exactly!” Luna’s serene smile disarmed ready to blow Fluttershy better than any words; Fluttershy’s ears, once perked in rage, drooped and Luna elaborated. “I know that thou lovest him… and I know that thy love is pristine, Fluttershy. Thou art the only one who can help me… not allow the stone to appear in reality,” ended she with severeness.

“But…”

“I was unable to reach Alex’s dreams quite frequently as of late,” Luna stated without any foreword, not giving Fluttershy any time or chance to reply. “Last night even more, he… his mind was shielded from me somehow. I know, he is suffering, but I was unable to see exactly, what was befalling to him in his dreams…”

“… until the last one,” the words dropped like heavy stones. “Methinks the signs were quite obvious: Alex is going to do something, we can’t allow him to do. He found out, he is unable to leave Equestria, but he is determined to do that at any cost. Deadly determined, if ‘t be true I’m allowed to say so.”

Fluttershy squeaked like a wounded duckling and Luna shook her head seriously, making her mane flow in the wind.

“Alas, I can’t follow him hoof by hoof, Fluttershy, staying unnoticed and standing out, at which hour it’s gravely necessary,” Luna looked deep into her scared eyes, noticing with satisfaction how they filled with determination, despite all the fears, distrust and offense. “We can’t “prevent” him from doing anything, he planned to do! He shalt simply wait for the moment and chance, and tryeth again, at which hour we least expect.”

“He must be intercepted right at the moment of the highest determination, Fluttershy. Then mayhap he realizeth, the exit, he thinketh he found, is unacceptable arrant!”

“Thou art the only one, who can do it!” added Luna meaningfully, leaning closer to Fluttershy, so her deep blue eyes almost filled the vision of the pegasus girl. “Thou must follow him close this upcoming day, staying unnoticed until it’s time, keeping both eyes on him, constantly!” The voice, the whole vision faded, blurring away in the milky mist.

‘…Both eyes on him! Constantly!’ sounded in Fluttershy’s head upon awakening, when she sat on her bed in a flurry, inhaling deeply, almost gasping.

“Alex! No!”

One well-placed hit and the door, made of a few hurry-scurry attached wooden planks, gave up and hung on one hinge with a plaintive creak. Alex didn’t want to lose time with a massive padlock and simply kicked the plank, the rim was attached to, breaking it into halves and opening the skewed door. It was the first consciously inflicted damage, Alex made since almost four months in Equestria, not counting the tumbled chandelier in the castle during his sleepwalking shenanigans and Fluttershy’s front door, they spoiled by darts with Angel; he inwardly smirked, imagining somepony’s frustration, when his ruffian act was revealed; but the decision was made, nothing should stand in his way.

Alex threw his head back, the top of the old time-worn tower was surrounded by the low clouds; the wind blew stronger up there, herding them and driving round the obstacle. The day became gloomy after the noon and precipitation looked imminent: nature was simply deciding, if it should be a mild rain or a real flood accompanied with the thunderstorm. Smooth after the partial restoration, dark brown, immovable wall towered over the landscape, looking more oppressive than ever, when he was standing right at its foot. Involuntarily Alex swallowed a lump, unsure if his acrophobia allowed him to follow the plan; he knew that it was going to give him some hard time anyway, despite he was to admit of making certain progress in fighting it lately. Following that route his thoughts naturally reached the reasons, he came here for, slowly boiling up Alex’s anger at his own weakness; weakness, which appeared to be morbid for others as well. He gritted his teeth to the rasp and stepped in, moving the “Falling bricks danger! Do NOT enter!” sign aside.

Surprisingly, the spiral stairs remained in considerably good condition or were restored nicely, at least at those levels of the tower; as Alex remembered, the giant clock was built at the lower third of its height, thus at least one third of the tower must be kept in relative order and the sign was rather a precaution measure against accidental trespassers. To his relief, the named stairs went on a large wide spiral around the central trunk of the tower containing the actual rooms. A quick glance up didn’t stumble upon any visible gaps, the stairs looked solid and reliable there, unlike the Sisters’ Castle tower he first arrived to. Alex smirked sadly – it started with the tower and with the tower it would end; although that one was noticeably higher, thus not hollow in the middle. That allowed Alex to imagine, he wasn’t constantly ascending above the ground; at least he could try to, until… Until the top was reached. Alex sighed, putting his foot on the first step and inwardly burning all the bridges behind himself.

That day, or better say early morning started as usual: despite the plans, or perhaps supposing that it might help him fulfil them, Alex spent about an hour on his morning “ritual” – getting to the highest balcony of the Library and sitting there, watching the waking Ponyville, sweating and forcing himself to stay, even if some part of him was pleading to run down as fast as he could. Alex couldn’t explain why he did it that day, as naturally, it must have been a waste of time; he simply felt strangely obliged to, regretting, like every morning, that he didn’t think about that method before. Before it was too late to overcome himself, while he was to act instead. Alex even noted that it took him less effort to enter the balcony this morning, coming closer to the barrier than usual. His mind got tired of fear and despair, purged by the thoughts about the possible escape, perhaps the mild remnants of his hangover smudged the effect as well.

The rising Sun lit the rooftops, painting them pink, candent golden and bright silver, depending on the view angle and roof material. The long shadows of trees, flagpoles and lighting posts stretched on the ground like giant clock hands. Dense august fog disturbed by the morning unwillingly retreated from the streets, snaking to the gardens and narrow alleys, making the houses and trees there look like if they were floating on the milky sea surface. The gust of south wind ruffled his hair, bringing the smells of apples and something sweet and caramel-like; Cakes family and Pinkie seemed to be the early birds, starting the work already. Alex caught himself upon enjoying the view, being able to estimate the beauty of the landscape for the first time from the vantage point that high, not entirely fixated on getting down in one piece; that simple thought brought a sarcastic grin on his face and Alex squinted from the reminding of itself headache.

‘Right about time, Alex, right about time! How ironic…’

His gaze turned south-east and stumbled upon the distant dark mass of the Clock Tower, blurred and ghostly in the air heated by sunlight. Alex downcasted, he felt that one of the tower stones was already placed over his heart.

Half an hour later Alex leaned on the bathroom sink examining his jaded face in the mirror; he was to splash a couple gallons of water onto his head to wash away the tension, but he definitely wasn’t of the same tenderly green colour that time. Looking fixedly into the bloodshot eyes of his reflection, Alex overcame the exhaustion and started shaving off the bristle, which peppered his chin since yesterday morning.

‘I wasn’t far from the truth, telling Twi, I saw not a ghost, but mine inner demons,’ concluded Alex, examining the more civilized, yet quite ruffled “demon” in the mirror, pondering how much more he could probably hold without normal sleep. He had no idea, how he was able to think coherently after the last week: contrary to his sleepwalking, when Alex consciousness was still resting in the process (the phenomenon he was unable to explain, so was Luna, despite having immensely more experience), those few nights appeared the endless sequence of nightmares and abrupt waking, hardly something capable to bring comfort and serenity to any soul. Perhaps his changed metabolism and regeneration helped Alex hold, struggling yet with the mental and physical stress, thus being his blessing and curse at the same time, considering the situation Alex got into.

The stairs were quite steep and Alex thoughts returned to the Old Castle again, his arrival playing before his inner view as fresh and vivid as yesterday’s events. His own concerns and hopes of those days, made present Alex cringe.

‘You thought, the worst already happened,’ the inner voice was merciless. ‘Praying for the princesses not putting you to the jail or zoo and quickly sending back… because they had magic. Merlin’s pants, how naïve!’

Considering Celestia’s doubts about Alex, her inability to send him back to Earth wasn’t something she could overcome, otherwise she would do that with great relief. Alex was sure that Luna couldn’t help, she wouldn’t do that to him even being tempted to keep him in Equestria. Of course, she overcame their complicated relationship better from the height of her experience and temper, but that didn’t mean she liked that vagueness. If he chose another girl, her heart would be broken, regardless of how much of that she considered dignified to show.

The sudden memory of the Old Castle and its garden specifically pierced Alex’s mind with the realization of one promise, he had no chance to keep; Alex was to stop and lean on the wall for a second, as his heart painfully skipped a beat.

‘Apologies, Luna! The Star Lilies stay, whither they are… if ‘t be true thither are any still,’ Alex squinted and gritted his teeth.

Passing a few dozens of steps Alex was to stop for a while, making his night vision compensate the lack of light; the narrow entrance left below and the rare barred windows made the stairwell completely dark. Although, Alex was glad about that; some tiny part of him still opposed his idea aggressively and he didn’t want to give it any aid, feeding his acrophobia with picturesque views from the tower. He avoided opening any of the doors to the inner rooms due to the same reason, fearing that if any of them had no floor, the vision could shatter his determination, before he reached the goal. There was no place for curiosity, Alex slowly went higher and higher, unable to dispel his depressive thoughts.

He slipped out of the Golden Oak Library right after bringing himself to some semblance of order, completely ignoring the breakfast, not even trying to cook and consume anything. Maybe the hangover unambiguously “voted” against, or maybe his body simply forgot how to operate properly. Anyway Alex did his best not to wake Twilight or Spike, especially Twilight, not to give any explanations about the last evening and moreover the upcoming day; Alex noticed at once, how their night talk with accidentally awoken Twilight planted a faint concern, which could only grow fast, if they could have a word in the morning.

Although, getting away quietly wasn’t a big problem this time, as Alex didn’t take anything with him, except his pain and troubles – the luggage he was unable to get rid of, no matter how ardently he wanted to. He left through the usual exit, this time closing the window after himself with a wry grin.

Visiting the smithy or any of his customers wasn’t in Alex’s plans for that day. Truth be told, he didn’t want to see or talk to anypony at all; fortunately, avoiding the town folk wasn’t a hard task in the early morning and Alex spent some time at the northern edge of Ponyville, simply watching the Sun rising higher and higher. He couldn’t confess to himself, but something prevented him of simply going directly to his aim, kept him lingering, watching trivial things, he couldn’t pay attention each day due to work. It was shameful, cringe-worthy, but deep inside Alex was scared by his idea of remedying the heartache, by the mere fact that this idea came into his mind and, apparently, he accepted it as feasible without much pondering.

Some part of him struggled yet, made him delay the final act of that drama. He could roam the town for a while, despite the obvious futility of that move, because tomorrow would bring the same pain and nothing could magically change for Alex.

‘Waiting for the execution is unimaginably worse than the execution itself!’ cringed Alex, finally looking away from the fields, the already smoking smithy, the brightly shining mountain tops far to the north. That morning was wonderfully bright and with a certain bit of effort one could even see the distant bright spot of Canterlot on the mountainside.

Alex headed East: the same clear sky and air made the cliffs, framing Ponyville Dam, perfectly visible, if he turned to the opposite direction; Alex was unsure, if he could tolerate that vision. Undoubtedly all his torments were written across his visibly exhausted face and Alex reconsidered about deepening into Ponyville, the day claimed its rights and avoiding the excessive attention of the ponies filling the streets, became an impossible mission. He decided to sneak through the northern outskirts of the town, not going out into the fields though, where he was visible from the great distance, but using the narrow backstreets and shadowy alleys, not fully awake yet.

There was another reason as well: Alex had a feeling of being followed, he could have sworn that it appeared almost right after leaving the Library through the ground floor window. That exactly feeling, when he couldn’t tell, why it appeared, as he couldn’t notice anything strange or anypony suspicious, regardless of if he turned around fast or looked over the shoulder subtly. Nevertheless, wherever Alex walked, crossing the larger already herded streets quickly, hiding in narrow passages between houses, being seemingly completely hidden in the shade of lush trees of ponyvillers’ gardens, that strange watching eye never released him. Alex was to admit that he didn’t feel any threat, but the general impression was disturbing to some extent.

‘Congratulations, hay-head!’ grinned Alex venomously. ‘Thy nightmares and concerns finally paid back, thou art going insane, mine friend!’

That assumption, if being justified, spoke in favour of his decision; inability to think coherently was among the few things Alex feared the most and desired to avoid.

Alex passed a few more spans… everything in the stairwell of the round tower looked quite similar, but a few differently barred windows let Alex feel that he was proceeding. Making all the possible precautions not to slip on the smaller stones, littering the stairs here and there – the memory of his fall in the Old Castle tower was still quite vivid, not something one wholeheartedly wanted to repeat.

‘Hmmm… That could help solve the problem otherwise…’ at that thought Alex even laughed aloud and the echo of his voice blasted in the stairwell and rolled along fading in the darkness far above. The sound of his laughter, voicing quite creepy in the old abandoned stone tube, shook Alex and sobered him up fast.

‘Yeah, errmmm… ‘t was a bad idea!’ shuddered Alex, not risking to say that, when the silence, disturbed only by accidental stone crackling, reigned again.

Dust, cobwebs, although it wasn’t clear, whom local spiders hoped to catch in the complete darkness, except each other, wooden flinders, perhaps the remnants of restoration scaffolding – Alex’s night vision gave him the complete image of neglect, despite the lower part of the tower was masterfully restored. He sighed, imagining the condition of the stairs on the upper levels and the troubles, supposedly waiting for him there. The overall picture of coexisting order and management semblance with visible neglect and mess made Alex smirk sarcastically.

‘Isn’t my life practically the same now?’ Alex stepped over an old wooden beam, checking first, where that thing could fall from. ‘I try to pretend everything is normal, everything happening is exactly as it supposed to be, while actually, I should ask myself, how the hell I came to that bloody mess.’

‘I was torn from my native and familiar world and thrown here without anyone giving a damn about my own opinion about that. I don’t belong here, but everypony, including me, keeps pretending that it’s merely a temporary inconvenience and all I need is to keep living further, until I eventually accept the surrounding as my new home.’

‘I found myself among the sentient ponies,’ Alex stumbled and sneezed from the cloud of dust he swept from the wall, holding on it to keep balance. ‘Which I thought were a part of a bucking kids show, but appeared to be real… If we think better, even more real in this world, than I am. And on the top of it, I’m in the relationship with two girls.’

‘Two PONY girls, Alex!’ but his mind evidently didn’t find any contradiction, accepting that.

‘Actually loving them both,’ Alex stopped, his heart painfully winced. ‘I’m completely aware of my feelings being genuine and I treat them as my women… in all the senses. Unable to choose, unable to break one’s heart and my own… Merlin’s pants, I love two mares and it’s completely fine with me!’

“And one more is dreaming about making me her own,” whispered Alex with a wry grin, remembering about Rarity.

‘Still, that didn’t make me belong here more,’ Alex stopped for a minute. ‘The girls are friendly… Well, except Rainbow… because they are quite unique anyway. Damn, they are the Elements of Harmony after all! Many treat me as an interesting stranger, some – as a scientific interest, quite a few – as a potential danger…’

‘…including princess Celestia, by the way!’ Alex forcedly pushed himself from the wall, he was leaning onto. ‘I’m the source of constant tension and suspicions for her and I hardly err, supposing her dearest dream to be getting rid of me and returning things to their usual, normal state.’

‘I could have hoped, she found the way to send me back and end this…’ Alex swept the cobweb off his way, pondering how high he had climbed already. Judging by him not reaching the large clock yet, and Alex was sure, he could hear it, he still was lower than roughly one-third of the tower. ‘But she can’t!’ Alex chuckled sadly. ‘I wonder, who was surprised by that more: me, finding out that Tia can’t do something, tied with magical limitations, or her… for the same reason!’

Remembering, how at the top of all that he was informed, nopony was going to predict his lifespan, considering his immense regeneration levels and supposedly still ongoing changes, Alex groaned. He wasn’t simply going to be a stranger there, he was going to be a stranger forever technically. If nothing supposed to change, of course… but Alex knew only one method of changing things at that moment. He didn’t want to be some freak, a source of troubles and distress, and constant threat, even if the latter was somepony’s farfetched assumption; yet he didn’t have a variety of means to avoid that either.

The simple thought that even if he could somehow (in pure theory) return to Earth, he would hardly be accepted the same as before his sudden journey, made Alex almost howl – he became a stranger even for his own kin. Alex remembered the words of Discord well, that supposed travel back to his home world wouldn’t change or revert any of his already received abilities. Even if Alex could probably hide his regeneration – he wasn’t a fan of getting locked in yet another research facility to the end of his days… which wasn’t going to come soon (Alex facepalmed at the mere image of that), even in that case people surrounding him were to be completely blind not to notice that he didn’t age, despite quite some time passed. Not to mention him being doomed to stay alone in that case… after witnessing all his friends passing one by one; he preferred not to think that the same problem existed, if he stayed on Equus. Alex stopped again and closed his eyes.

Friends… Did he still have any left on Earth? Alex remembered his old dream about his own funeral. The reality was cruel: having no information about him, his parents most likely admitted him being dead and already tried to live with that fact. Same for Elen and others… Would he have any chances to show up, out of the blue again, after all that? Moreover, would he have any chances to prove that he was the same Alex, they knew and loved? It seemed Alex had the answer; the one providing no optimism.

Parents… His last dream, one of a few and rare normal lately, where Alex didn’t fall or fail to save somepony from the dam, was about his parents exactly. Or rather about his mother, as she was the one he saw, assuming father was somewhere in the house as well, as it was the late evening in Alex’s dream. The memory of her being glad to see him evidently, not treating him like a ghost or a hallucination, called a small warm smile on Alex’s face; he squinted, like if some dust got into his eye.

She was concerned about her son, asking him something, most likely about his wellbeing and about troubles clouding his life, as she seemingly noticed Alex’s gloominess. Although, he wasn’t sure, if he answered any of her concerns, moreover, if he said a single word during that dream. But mother’s heart was happy to have even that, to be able to see even the silent presence of the one she loved. That was Alex’s mom he remembered from his previous life; he was afraid to admit that in reality she would be deadly scared to see him again most likely. The coveted belief, everything can be reverted to normal, was exactly the strongest of motives, driving Alex to try and return to his home world. Even if rational thinking had a few doubts. For example, Elen: a year, maybe slightly more, and she would look for someone else to…

‘I won’t be surprised, if she is already having exaggerated attention from guys around,’ Alex sighed, inwardly accepting that as a common order of things. ‘She needeth some time to release me and resign herself, but that’s inevitable.’

‘Shan’t the same befall to Shy and Luna, if ‘t be true I suddenly vanish? It looketh like the best way out of otherwise unsolvable situation. Someone needeth to accept the responsibility of making that decision. Why not me then?’ Alex was perfectly aware of him being able to avoid both girls completely in one case only.

Reaching the eastern edge of the town Alex crossed the bridge over the wide stream and dived into the crops field, trying to cross it as fast as he could, using the few small bosquets for cover. Gaining anypony’s attention, let alone getting into Rarity’s field of view was undesired. Besides, Alex remembered that he could easily meet Rainbow Dash there, unless she had her midday nap at the moment; she would enjoy the opportunity of some revenge though, as she had no chance to pay him for the accidental cider shower back yet. Thus Alex took a deep breath, when he reached the dense foliage of the Eastern Orchard only, hiding under the lush crowns of the old apple trees.

Normally he would leave it behind to reach another field at the south, where the direct road to Fluttershy’s cottage was laid, but not at that day. Alex’s aim and the persistent feel of the foreign eye watching him, which alternated between strong and almost insensible eventually, but never vanished completely, made him sneak through the edge of the orchard, passing the pegasus girl’s home unnoticed and approaching the final point.

The mere look of the old dark giant Clock Tower, standing in the open field like a silent guard, the most durable and loyal from the whole garrison of once unshakable stronghold (a few pieces of walls and single stones still lied here and there near the tower), made chills run along Alex’s spine. Later he was to admit that it was a pure strike of faint-heartedness, which made him took further East and pass the tower, finally reaching the edge of Everfree and dropping under the large shadowy tree, as his legs suddenly felt limp and cold sweat ran down Alex’s back. Alex asked himself often, what would have happened, if that moment of weakness didn’t occur.

Inwardly scolding himself for that weakness, yet unable to fight it effectively, Alex spent quite some time under that tree, hidden by the spinney and trying to bring suddenly hesitant thoughts to some order. He had no idea how long he spent at his forced halt, but when Alex woke from his concerns and fears, the day passed noon, the weather changed completely and irrevocably, low clouds gathered from somewhere and the rain became almost promised. But the main thing: the signs of that strange feeling of being observed left Alex alone entirely, for the first time since morning, or became that subtle, he couldn’t register them. He took that as an encouraging symptom, quickly getting up and heading to the tower, hurrying to utilize his sudden serenity, before anything distracted him again.

The dark, smooth below and chipped and stained with weather above mass of the Clock Tower didn’t obviously become more attractive or friendly since morning. The shadows of running clouds and wind whistling in the holey walls at the top didn’t add any charm to it, even if Alex approached the tower from the west, where the small entrance door… and the Sun, showing itself rarely in the gleams, currently were. Risking to have another anxiety attack, Alex threw up his head and watched the top, almost dissolving in the clouds; he broke the wooden plank, holding the padlock, and started his ascension.

Alex came back to reality with the strong hum and regular ticking, he could hear and even feel, touching the rough cold stone wall. He couldn’t hold his curiosity back and opened the door at the next loop of the spiral stairs, freezing on spot in awe and giving due attention to the giant clock mechanism, occupying the large hall taking the whole space in the central trunk on that level. Alex rather felt than saw the faint metallic luster of large cogs slowly and nobly turning in the darkness, involuntarily wondering how the whole heavy precise mechanism was set in motion, despite the obvious and most natural answer was – magic. The cogwheels, the chains, the smooth, accurately matched and managed shafts, kept their measured work; they paid no attention to others’ surprise or admiration, having the incomparably more important task. They counted everypony’s time!

Closing the door respectfully, Alex went a few stairs up, finally coming to an obstacle. The wall crossing the stairwell was obviously a new construction, built much later than the whole tower. Made of wood it was nevertheless solid and extremely durable compared to the entrance of the building. Another door of the same nature blocked his way up, carrying the similar caution sign, warning strangers about the danger of climbing the old tower ruins. Thankfully it was locked with a large bar only, as the proper lock would take a lot of time or even make Alex retreat.

With a considerable effort Alex slid the bar aside and pulled the door, it didn’t want to give up, seemingly weighing tons, like if it was made of stone or metal instead. Alex strained his muscles to the limits and could move it very slowly, little by little separating from the wall and opening wide.

Immediately he was hit into the back with the air flow that strong, that Alex almost fell on his knees on the stone stairs, releasing the door, which slammed into the wall. The whole tower sighed loudly, almost deafening Alex, making his hair stand on ends at once and chills run up his spine; he shuddered, hearing the wind whistling and roaring far above in the holes and windows of ruined parts of the walls. Apparently, restoration didn’t yet touch that part of the trunk or perhaps was considered unnecessary and the whole tower didn’t have any closed doors or solid walls across the remaining stairwell. With the holes at the top that turned it into an aerodynamic tube, making that strong draft possible; cold sweat covered Alex’s forehead and he almost panicked, imagining the height necessary to create such pressure and temperature difference and the resulting wind. That was the reason of the door sudden and unusual “weight”.

Alex clenched to the doorframe to the whitening knuckles, fearing that his shaking legs turn him back and rush away from that place. It took him a good few minutes to return to some semblance of straight thinking.

‘Fuck you, Alex! Don’t be a foal-sissy! That’s exactly what you came here because of…’

Alex almost threw himself into the doorway, stomping across the step heavily and shakingly. The even breath of the tower picked him and pushed forward.

‘What’s my purpose here?’ the wind wasn’t that strong in the wide stairwell, but Alex felt the constant draught following and flowing around, as that door was opened; like if some foreign touch was guiding and supporting him in his endeavour. ‘What I can do the best is not needed here… what I can do well, as it suddenly appeared, while of course capable to ease somepony’s life much, is hardly some unspeakable advantage. They have lived without that before, naturally, they can cope further. Was I brought here because of the Seekers indeed, like some sort of a weapon?’ Alex cringed, the mere thought of being a tool in some hands or hooves or whatever else didn’t rub him well apparently.

‘What if I don’t want to?’ Alex paltered, he knew pretty well, that he wouldn’t be able to stand aside, seeing somepony suffering. Exactly that trait brought him to the top of Ponyville Dam, making him not a saviour, but the witness of the tragedy. He was to stop for a moment again and close his eyes, fighting the strong urge to howl and beat the stone walls. It was stronger than him, in his grief Alex completely ignored at least one evident fact – if he wasn’t brought to Equestria, nopony could prevent that infamous timberwolf from pouncing Fluttershy. ‘If I’m a weapon, then a faulty one… Sure thing, I can inflict major damage to the Seekers, but when it comes to defending somepony, I’m a disaster… Not mentioning the pain I bring to some particular ponies…’

From Luna and Fluttershy Alex’s thoughts fluently reached their concerns, especially those of Fluttershy; while the desire to keep him away from the “front line” was generally understandable, her and others’ attitude towards the blacksmith and Alex’s cooperation with Will looked irrational.

The blacksmith, Willsmash Steel… and his niece: Alex felt a faint sting of conscience, he was practically dropping them midway, when the life finally changed colour for them for the more optimistic one. Alex tried to convince himself that he did for them enough before leaving, for Will and Sil having a competitive advantage even against the background of large companies. The simple thought that they had only approached the stage, when they could try to restore the smithy reputation, thus gain some actual customers, didn’t occur apparently. Besides, there was a certain possibility that Will and Silver Ingot wouldn’t want to use the advantage received for that price. Still, he wholeheartedly hoped that Willsmash could use the improvements, Alex already implemented, and maybe even those he had time to describe only. At least that part of his deeds shouldn’t be a failure.

The stairs became chipped, walls uneven, with smaller blocks missing here and there; apparently untouched by the restorers. More debris littered the steps, mostly dust and small stones, so, Alex doubled the attention, choosing where to put his feet not to stumble and inwardly chuckling at his caution.

‘Doth it really matter now?’

It was a bit brighter there, as the rare windows were unobstructed on that height. Even not approaching them Alex could assume the weather turned worse since he entered the tower: the clouds became thicker, the sky darkened and he fancied the distant sound of thunder, but couldn’t spot the lightning – the storm was far away yet.

Alex passed more stones, dry leaves, brought here by strong winds; a few old feathers told him that probably some hawk had its humble abode there for a while and some unfortunate birds met their end in that tower. He was going to leave slightly more behind than a bunch of feathers, but Alex wasn’t sure, if he wouldn’t leave way more woe.

‘I wonder, if ‘t be true somepony, except Shy and Luna, shalt regret mine absence,’ Alex stepped over the feathers and continued ascending. ‘Mayhap Rarity, but I’m sure, her interest is a passing crush, it shalt dissolve in daily routines, being impulsive and purely… inspirational. Well, I really extend mine hope she suffereth not.’

He actually regretted about Twilight, who sympathized him sincerely and never actually tried to influence his decisions, wisely stopping exactly at the thin border of friendly advice. Her regal mentor, Celestia, on the contrary, never stopped considering Alex some sort of a threat, staying on the side of caution; she would feel major relief rather, seeing the source of so many troubles (actual and suspected ones) removed without much effort and questionable ethics.

“I’m more than sure that Lyra will miss her favourite study subject,” muttered Alex with a wry smile. He swept the momentary thought that Lyra could be the reason for that sense of persecution, he had earlier that day, as she hardly could stay effectively unnoticed for that long. Truth be told, Alex was cautious enough, needing no witnesses of his walk. “But that’s about all…”

He was a complete stranger for everypony else, regardless to his helpfulness; ponies were of no difference from people here – being generally friendly didn’t mean actually caring much of… an alien. Maybe fillies, especially Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, and Jackie would be sad, because of him vanishing just as suddenly as he appeared. Pinkie became undecided about him right when Alex bucked up his relationship with Fluttershy, not blaming him directly and solely, but eager to put him on the “right track”, not listening to his reasons. The worst thing was – Alex admitted to agreeing with her on many points. Rainbow Dash…

‘Rainbow shalt be arrant happy,’ rolling his eyes Alex tried to keep away from yet another window, not risking to take a look through, before reaching his actual aim – the top. ‘Methinks she shalt be even happier than Tia about the… “automatically solved” problem and definitely shan’t hide her feelings.’

‘So what doth that leave me? I’m most likely already dead for those I cared about on Earth… Hither then…’ Alex sighed. ‘Hither me vanishing shall hardly bring more harm than good.’

Something softly smacked in his face; Alex didn’t have time to become surprised or scared, he simply took off this large flat damp object, pensively examining the large leaf of some tree, thrown there by the sudden gust of wind through one of the holes in the tower wall. That leaf reminded him of… Alex couldn’t catch the memory, spinning the silvery-green, almost glowing surprise in his fingers, then shoved it into his pocket for some reason. It definitely meant something, something he couldn’t recall right at that moment, being on another loop of his painful reflections.

The dam tragedy became the last drop of poison, which turned his newly found reality into the complete mess. Whatever he tried, Alex had no naïve illusions – he wouldn’t be able to get rid of those nightmares completely. Each time, he went to sleep, returned him to Ponyville Dam and Alex was to look into that poor stallion eyes, watch that glance full of faith in the sudden “saviour” and fail to fulfil that hope. Each time differently, sometimes he even saw somepony else in place of that technician and his daughter… but every time he returned to the vision of the silently waiting for help glance and their endless drop to the bottom of the artificial deadly waterfalls. Each time Alex woke up in cold sweat from the pleading scream of that filly, hearing upon awakening his own painful groan.

Alex saw no way to stop that happening, he couldn’t sleep normally, he couldn’t sleepwalk most of the time; how he could keep his legs was a mystery for him, as he felt exhausted lately, tumbled by those nightmares and guilt. It didn’t matter, if it was justified or not. Of course, time might heal that wound at least partially, but Alex didn’t know, if he could keep his sanity long enough for that. Besides, time was the only thing he had, instead of any solace; plenty of time, almost eternity, if he was going to believe Tia’s medics and mages. That single thought could make anypony insane, for Alex it became a real torture: seeing no way out, he was to seek it as long as he kept breathing.

‘I had no chance to talk to their relatives… The girl must have had the mother at least,’ Alex gritted his teeth, squinting; the sorrow took his throat in a tight grasp. ‘A shame… and a blessing at the same time. I don’t know how to look into her eyes… how to tell her, what actually happened to her foal and husband. Damn it!!! It looks a worse perspective than standing on the top of the dam again.’ He wasn’t sure, if anypony left of that family would even want to see him; whatever they were told, that would be enough most likely to imagine the tragedy in general. ‘Whom to blame likewise!’ concluded Alex, inwardly admitting that he couldn’t rebuke them either.

Alex accommodated to the seemingly palpable darkness that well, so, passing another turn he almost got blinded for a short moment, by the sudden bright (in comparison to the stairwell) light. Protecting his blurred eyesight with the hand Alex observed the white spot at the tower wall, when he realized that it was actually a giant hole in it; the huge part of the wall was missing, destroyed by time or by a sudden thunderbolt strike. Feeling the ice in his stomach Alex quickly turned away from the large gap and carefully passed that place, clinging to the inner wall of the tower, keeping his eyes fixated at the stairs, not to throw an accidental glance at the ground far-far below, and shuddering from the sudden chills. The wind was indeed stronger and colder here, but Alex felt, as if it was sending its frozen breath right into his soul, through the fissures of his miserable life. He was approaching the top and the dark clouds with rare gleams seemed touchable, if Alex could dare to stretch his hand outside.

His only two rays of light here, two mares he loved and valued, were just as close and at the same time unreachably far from him, as Alex was unable to stay with one, thus rejecting another and starting to disgust himself. Alex wouldn’t be able to do that with either Luna or Fluttershy for a number of reasons: he loved each too much to break her heart; he knew that another, despite being chosen and supposedly happy about that, would never stop feeling the presence of another and unwitting competition, jealousy and suspicions; Alex would also suffer from those reasons and from the once-and-forever choice he would have made. Without that choice it seemed, there was no future for him in Equestria, unless the endless suffering, doubts and regrets were accepted as feasible one.

‘Leaving both would be only fair methinks,’ Alex was to admit, that blasphemous thought being reasonable, despite highly unwelcome. ‘We will regret that decision and look for excuses to break it, but the time could heal forsooth, if ‘t be true I could vanish from their lives only…’

With the latest news from Celestia that appeared to be impossible: Alex couldn’t be sent from Equus anywhere, not by the magical means leastwise. Leaving Ponyville or whole Equestria in addition to being problematic, as Alex could use only land or sea transportation, wasn’t yet an option. Their bonds with Luna wouldn’t simply dispel, being unable to hold themselves from seeing each other, they would betray Fluttershy that way only. Previously Alex wondered, if his hypothetical departure to Earth could “break the connection”, realizing it would become a real torture, if not. But at least that problem was effectively solved by the Royal Mage Council: no meant no, without any stipulations.

Alex knew that princess Luna and Fluttershy became friends shortly after Luna’s return; Fluttershy, the Kindness embodied, along with Twilight helped the princess to rehabilitate for the pony society, not causing dread anymore. Luna was to overcome her estrangement and Fluttershy – her trepidation at the face of the mighty Night Princess, but since they succeeded, Fluttershy became one of the few closest friends of the princess… till the recent days. His sudden stepping in could easily drive a wedge between two girls, ruining that friendship. Luna wasn’t spoiled by friendship galore, the majority of her subjects respected her and admitted she wasn’t a threat anymore, but weren’t sure of how to approach the princess without their awe making them not quite eloquent and socialite. Besides, unlike for example Pinkie, being the life of the party was never in Luna’s character (thus their performance at the Gala had that shock effect). Knowing that Alex couldn’t afford to commit such a crime – break one of a few really close friendly bonds of his beloved alicorn and pegasus girls.

‘Unable to be with the one only, I must stay away from both,’ Alex choked on air upon this looking natural to him idea. ‘The way which no magic can overcome… Mayhap they can finally release me then. I have enough guilt burdening mine soul without taking the responsibility for a broken friendship.’

He fancied the wind whistling outside and after a moment Alex found himself standing under a familiar long opening, which had a wooden hatch long-long ago, protecting the stairwell from winds, rains and snow, before the time chipped and chiseled the stone edges, making the hatch decay and crumble into dust.

‘This is it… End of the road!’

The setting Sun blinded Alex for a moment, peeking through one of the rare gleams, and made him shield with the hand, as he emerged from the darkness of the Clock Tower, exiting to the observation area. Apparently, the tower once had a proper room at the top; regaining clear sight Alex could notice the uneven edges of the walls, which supposedly had windows and some sort of coverage or roof… before time and weather took them away and made the wall edge look like an old man’s mouth with remnants of rotten teeth.

Alex pushed himself up and climbed out of the hatch, straightening and letting the wind ruffle his hair; it was noticeably colder here, this or the mere height made his skin crawl under the thin shirt. A few first drops of rain fell on Alex’s face; a long zigzag of the lightning ripped the sky far away and in a few seconds a blast of thunder reached his ears. Somewhere behind the thunderstorm, further to the north white walls and towers of Canterlot nested in their mountain cradle.

‘Luna!’ Alex approached the edge, swallowing a lump and not risking to take a single look down, his eyes were riveted to the gloomy sky in front of him. Somewhere below, almost right to the North from the tower as well, lied the cottage, which nearly became his home. ‘Fluttershy!’ Alex still didn’t dare to look at the ground, he inhaled fitfully instead and put one foot on the dented parapet, shifting his weight on it. The Sun hid behind the clouds, leaning forward Alex managed to notice in thickening twilight a smudged dash of dark, yellow and amazingly bright pink…

Something pushed him and threw back from the edge, knocking Alex down to the floor and nearly making him roll. The impact, thankfully he didn’t hit with his head, and something on his chest squeezed all the air from Alex’s lungs; he coughed, gasping, dumbfounded by the sudden strike. When Alex stopped seeing stars and managed focusing his eyes on the force that hit him, he found extremely embarrassed, yet at the same time irate Fluttershy in a tight dark suit, unzipped at the collar, as if she was short of air hurrying somewhere. With meticulousness, which could be explained by the utter shock, Alex noted that the suit looked armoured, made of durable fabric with solid sections, belts and cords of unknown purpose, zipped pockets and a black medkit with the small purple cross on the left flank; the only part missing was the supposed headpiece, revealing Fluttershy’s sumptuous mane and flushing cute muzzle. Her eyes glared though, despite the visible abashment, she breathed heavily after her mad dash across the sky; Alex stared at her, stunned, eyes like teacups.

“Alex!..” She choked on air from the visible resentment, inhaled fitfully; the small hoof hit his chest lightly, but scowlingly, Fluttershy’s braided tail swept from side to side. “From all the ways… to show, your life belongs to you only… that was the most… uggghhhh! I can’t even…” her eyes shone wetly. “Alex, how could you come to that idea?!!”

“Seriously! That was the most stupid and uncalled thing among those, you could undertake,” tears sounded in her voice, slowly taking over the anger. Yet at the same time Fluttershy’s voice became more confident with each word. “You are not among foes here, Alex. Never was! Nopony is going to judge you for the crimes, you never commit.”

Alex found out that a quiet sibilance was the air coming out of his mouth, he closed it, gulped and opened again… to be immediately interrupted and shut by the agitated pegasus.

“Killing…” Fluttershy half-gasped, half-squeaked on that word. “Killing yourself wouldn’t solve any of your problems, Alex!” She leaned closer and almost shouted at him, tears falling from her eyes. “It wouldn’t revive those ponies, don’t you understand… return you to Earth neither,” her voice dropped again.

“I wouldn’t save you, if I was going to allow your life to be wasted that way,” tears formed trails on her cheeks. “I never doubted, you deserved the better fate, Alex, thinking that you should value your life a bit more… at least not taking it away, because of some problems, you didn’t need to fight alone.”

Alex exhaled, tried to put a word in, but Fluttershy wasn’t going to stop, before venting out all she had on her heart.

“You are not alone, Alex!” she sniffed and took her breath convulsively, tears flowed freely from her eyes, falling on Alex’s cheeks and neck, mixing with the started rain. “If you are that fixed on the idea of leaving Equestria, I will be with you till the end… whether or not it is possible, helping you, as I said already. But… b-but that w-wasn’t the way of “leaving” I could ever think of… or understand, Alex. How could you think about something that stupid and selfish?!”

“I… love you! If you are that blind that you didn’t notice yet… And I’m not the only one who does,” added she quieter, through more tears. “Luna warned me and asked to keep an eye on you, Alex. She couldn’t decipher your dreams completely… but what she saw scared her. Me either…”

“I can probably put up with you not being mine… but I can’t live with you not… not being at all,” Fluttershy realized that she was still mounting Alex and flushed even more, becoming like a tangerine, flaming from her catsuit collar to the roots of her mane.

“Shy!” he sounded raspy, but Alex couldn’t swallow that lump, no matter how he tried. ‘I’m sorry!’ sounded pathetic and out of place; he couldn’t find words to thank her or apologize, rising his hand instead and trying to touch Fluttershy’s cheek, feeling sudden chills and weakness from the understanding of what he had done almost… If not for his flower fragrant guardian angel.

“I love you, Alex,” repeated Fluttershy, yet she winced from his touch, bursting into the real waterfall of tears. “B-but I can’t look at you… without crying now!!!”

She jumped off, biting her lip, and rushed down the stairs into the tower, vanishing in the darkness; the sobbing faded away, leaving Alex one on one with the whispering rain.

The raindrops mixed with his tears and rolled off the face, laying under the darkening sky Alex felt that it would have been better, if Fluttershy had hit him hard, blamed him of sheer egoism and stupidity, instead of asking him, then running away crying. After the eternity, getting completely wet and feeling the stones of the ruined tower top with his entire back, that feeling overshadowing Alex’s inner shivers, he turned over slowly and painfully. Fluttershy knocked him down quite sensitively, but the psychological drop was incomparably longer; something broke in Alex, burst like a strained string, something detrimental, as Alex felt a faint glimpse of relief, he wasn’t able to explain yet.

Alex got up and almost rolled into the tower womb, grasping the wall not to fall on not entirely responsive legs. The actual way down took him much more than his ascent: he was quite shaky and damn certain that wasn’t acrophobia that time, besides, Alex had quite a few things to think about. Only reaching the restored part of the tower and shutting the door behind, cutting off the solo of the wind in the stairwell, he could take a deeper breath and brace himself.

‘The girls saved your miserable ass again!’ the stung of his small inner voice was well aimed and relentless. ‘Both of them. Together this time! They both do care about you, otherwise you would be an unpleasant pancake already. What will you do now… considering nothing has changed?’

‘Whatever I do next, I need to talk to Fluttershy,’ decided Alex, brushing aside all the tricky questions. ‘Even if she can’t look at me, mayhap she can listen to me at least…’

The rain faded out already, only a few last drops fell on Alex, when he finally exited the tower; the wind, which quite nicely dried his clothes in the stairwell, winnowed its way through the field and herded the clouds away as fast as it brought them there before, little by little clearing the sky and revealing the sunset. Alex inhaled the damp air and headed to Fluttershy’s cottage as someone finally taking the right decision.

Viewing his chances realistically after the incident, Alex wasn’t expecting to be greeted with the red carpet, thus the silence and extinguished lights didn’t become a surprise. Although, when Alex approached, leaning to the front door and listening, he fancied quiet muffled sobbing, interrupted by a single woeful sigh. The mental image of Fluttershy sitting curled in the armchair, cuddling Angel – the bunny expressed unusual compassion in such circumstances, with awesome pink mane curtaining her pretty face and turquoise eyes full of tears, made Alex’s heart painfully shrink.

“Fluttershy…” he barely knocked on the door, hoping to be heard nevertheless. “We need to talk. I’m… I’m sorry, Shy!”

“I very much hope you are!” another light sigh interrupted her tears, Fluttershy’s voice sounded stern despite them. “I don’t know… Just… not now… I can’t…” More sobs swallowed the rest of her words.

“Please, Shy… Can you simply listen?..”

“I… we… I can’t now… Please… go away, Alex!”

The armchair creaked on the wooden floor, convulsively moved aside, the quick rattle of hoofsteps towards the stairs told him unequivocally that the talk was to be postponed… if his little saviour ever wanted to talk to Alex again. The door slammed shut upstairs and everything fell silent.

The cottage stood dark and unusually inhospitable in the last rays of the setting Sun, Alex reconsidered going around and calling Fluttershy under the bedroom window, not risking to add another foalish act to his today’s account. He stood for a while, leaning his forehead at the cold door, and having no alternative, trudged to the field across the road; gathering his thoughts seemed a non-trivial task, but absolutely necessary at that moment.

Old Will was extremely puzzled: he couldn’t decipher the human’s behaviour completely. Regardless to the small number of purely random visitors, mostly strangers passing Ponyville and unaffected by local rumours and prejudices, Alex was still their main customer, source of income and, truth be told, their only guide to some brighter future, than the one they have resigned to already. He got plans, his ideas worked for mutual benefit, finally somepony managed to make the smithy progress, despite the resistive mood of the society. When everything seemed to roll back to the normal, proper tracks, long ago forgotten due to lack of customers, so, both unicorns finally felt like being demanded for, felt the wish to work, started to look into tomorrow seeing some light, instead of endless storm clouds there. Right at that moment everything suddenly became strange and worrying.

The last couple of days old blacksmith caught himself on the thought that he had no idea of what was happening inside Alex’s mind. Obviously, the tragedy on Ponyville Dam could easily make anypony drop out of their element; one could imagine, what Alex must have felt, being the witness of the accident, let alone the partaker. But there was more to his behaviour that made Will ponder and concern. The last day the human was particularly strange, meticulous, while working on his beloved “project”, yet absolutely absent-minded, when it came to everything else surrounding him. As if some uneasy, but very important thought was constantly drilling his mind, distracting from the reality completely, making him unable to concentrate on the simple request from the first time. Will knew that Alex was told, he was unable to return to his home world; he wasn’t blind to not notice Alex’s complications in his relationship and he inwardly guessed about Alex’s nightmares, watching his exhausted look day by day.

But even all those combined would hardly form a rock as heavy as the one, that was seemingly placed over Alex’s soul. And a few weird phrases he dropped… Willsmash shook his head, Alex’s mood looked the more alarming, the more he thought about it. If the human wasn’t so determined and inspired by his work, the blacksmith could suspect, that…

Will frowned at the last thought. That day Alex didn’t appear at the smithy since morning and sent no note about the possible reasons of him sabotaging his advantageous project. Moreover, Alex didn’t show up even after the dinner, that was totally uncommon since Alex started working at the smithy; time passed, Sun rolled to the sunset slowly, still no signs of the human. The unicorn cupped his beard pensively, but the sound of hoofsteps of his niece made him relax the mimic muscles at once: Will didn’t want to worry Silver Ingot with his own, frankly speaking, very vague suspicions.

Although, the first glance at her muzzle told Will that the young mare was already overly concerned about something; she hurried downstairs exactly to share with her uncle, what was obviously bothering her for quite a while already.

“Uncle Will, I need to tell you something very important,” her golden head was surrounded by the clouds of uneasy thoughts, the eyebrows almost met and the glance was serious and worried. “I probably shouldn’t do that… That was a bit impolite towards Alex, as he asked me to keep them… “till it’s time”. But exactly that phrase, among others few, to be honest… How he made changes to the new smelter… For it to be operable by a single pony… How he explained to us the process and its benefits…” Silver Ingot gasped.

“And?” asked Willsmash shortly in a hushed voice. “Tell, what bothers you, my filly, don’t keep it…”

“That envelope!” Sil wanted to nod towards her room, but it looked like a nervous twitch instead. “I thought about it since morning. No. I thought about it since yesterday, since the moment Alex asked me to keep it… The more I thought, the more worrisome it looked to me.”

“I couldn’t hold myself,” quietly said Silver Ingot, apology mixed with the certain dose of fear in her voice, making Will raise on his hooves involuntarily. “I opened it finally, a few minutes ago, and took a look. There were blueprints of the new smelter, plans of the improved smithy, some tables of metal properties and more stuff… chemical formulas I didn’t understand yet… Quite a load of information about his work, which he, of course, wanted to keep safe. But considering all that happened and that he was saying…”

“It’s practically the testament…” dropped Silver barely audibly… Willsmash knew already, what she was going to say; the old unicorn frowned and pursed his lips, quick thinking was written across his forehead.

“Run to princess Twilight, my filly,” quietly stated he in a moment. “Alex lives at the Golden Oak Library, she knows where he can be. It doesn’t matter, if we mistake or not, he may be there still… he better be there. Otherwise…” the filly squeaked involuntarily, attracting his serious glance, and Will shook his head. “Celestia! I hope young Twilight can search for him effectively at least…”

The end of his phrase was cut by the sound of the front door hitting the frame, Silver Ingot dashed down the road to Ponyville already.

‘Merlin’s pants! I admit, that way of dealing with the problems would become very far from the ideal…’ Alex sat under the large tree, eyes closed, holding his temples; he finally reached the single hill in the slowly turning yellow sea of the field. Widely stretched branches and the lush crown preserved the dry spot under and the cover, he was using now, inhaling the tranquillizing smell of wet oak leaves and trying to recollect his thoughts. ‘Shy was too gentle, describing me! That’s giving up… the most stupid and… ugly way!’

The mere glance at the tower, the black column standing out against the darkening landscape and the sky cleared by the wind, made him shudder from the realization of what he had evaded. Evaded by sheer luck of being loved by two amazing girls… Alex shook his head. ‘Okay, one more chance…’

Being extremely generous today Celestia lingered setting the Sun completely, granting her subjects the colourful show of variety of pink, golden and even greenish tints, because of the thin and transparent low clouds at the western skyline; the colours faded slowly, giving up to the softly descending night, like the flowers closing their sleepy eyes at the foot of his hill. The omnipresent cicadas already crept out, invading the dried grass, and started sawing the warm August twilight.

‘I would bring more troubles than I solved. Those neither me, obviously, nor anypony would have any power of preventing. Damn, where was my head… planning something as foalish and egoistic, as… suicidal…’ a bitter wry smile wormed on Alex’s face. ‘Man, your sarcasm is still here, you are definitely alive.’

‘That means, you can struggle a bit more… but…’ the insensibly falling night reminded Alex about the most vital problem at that moment. ‘But I have no solution for my nightmares. No matter how long I can still hold, I’m gradually turning insane, if nothing is done.’ He ruffled his hair tiredly, listening to the persistent choir of cicadas and throwing a look at the finally darkening sky, which revealed a few brightest stars already. ‘I doubt even she can help me… Besides, constantly altering my dreams, even if possible, is not an option.’

“Luna!” Alex whispered that, still looking at the deepening sky quickly absorbing the remnants of daylight and spilling the multitude of stars instead. He didn’t expect an actual response and was immensely surprised, even shocked, shocked and stunned by the bright flash above the field.

Shielding his eyes from the light, which faded fast, but left an afterimage, making him blink, Alex watched the landing alicorn, whose coat almost merged with the sky, but the starry mane played with the tints from darkest of the night to most gentle of the dawn. Leaving the shade of the oak tree Alex made a few steps toward the princess, but stopped, noticing her expression.

Luna touched the ground lightly, the grass barely moved under her hooves, but her eyes were glowing bright and wings were still spread. Alex was granted by that look of the Night Princess only once, when Luna found out about his less than friendly encounter with some stallions in the bar. Being stunningly beautiful her look didn’t bode well, Alex was to admit Luna being rather beautifully dangerous at that moment. She quickly approached and her wings and flowing mane filled his view entirely, amazing and intimidating at the same time.

Alex carefully took his breath, forcedly not stepping back, despite the first impulse.

“Luna…” he couldn’t endure her glare and downcasted. “I…”

“Alex!” she almost hissed through clenched teeth, towering above him and electrifying the air around; the hit of Luna’s silver-shod hoof in his chest, quite palpable, while not being exactly painful, made Alex stagger. Luna almost repeated Fluttershy’s words. “How could thou be such a no more brains than… such an idiot! Refusing the help of everypony and deciding instead that finishing thy life could be the best solution. Why dost thou fight to save each life thou can, if ‘t be true thou dost not value it arrant, dost not value thy own life? Thou even tried to shield from me most of the time… Ugghhh…” Luna groaned, stomping the ground forcedly and moving closer. “How…”

“I’m… I truly regret…”

“Thou regret?!!” Luna’s eyes launched sparkles. “Can thou even imagine how scared I was, thinking I… we may be too late to change anything? How scared Fluttershy was, at which hour she realized, what thou planned to undertake? But she darted to save thee without the second thought!”

“Now lookest!” Alex swallowed a lump and finally took a small step back, only to see Luna better, not only her glowing eyes, he finally made himself look into. “I was exhausted by regret, by mine nightmares, by all the shit I have done...” eyes shone brightly, he almost shouted, venting all the tense of the last days. “By the life, as thou sayest, the life I FAILED to save,” he added quieter, the outburst faded. “I couldn’t live with that peacefully… I still can’t. But I am sorry! Verily!” Alex’s eyes dimmed and he closed them tiredly. “Please, forgivest me! I don’t know what to do now…”

The silence lasted for an endlessly long minute, Alex was ready for Luna hitting him, as he thought, he probably deserved, even for her leaving without a single word. But instead he heard a tiny silvery, quite nervous, yet still a laughter. The velvet wings were not spread to oppress, they wrapped him into the warm feathery embrace… and a stone fell off Alex’s heart. Only one. Not the largest. But it was the beginning.

“Finally!” the glow faded in Luna’s eyes and Alex could look into the familiar deep blue lakes with relief. “Finally I am observing Alex I know and love… not that grey shadow thou wast resembling ere. I know, it shan’t be easy, but thou art ready to fight… And, which is more important, thou art ready to accept the helping hoof.”

“Luuunaaaa!” Alex snuggled his face into the silk of her coat, resting his head on the night blue shoulder, he ran his fingers across Luna’s cheek, inwardly hoping the darkness conceals his flaming face. “Please, forgive me… I don’t know if you both can, but…”

“Thanks Harmony, I could catch thy last dream,” Luna’s head took the usual place on top of Alex’s and with a deep sigh she squeezed him tighter.

“The one with Fluttershy falling… almost falling from the dam?”

“Yes. Thou finally called me,” Luna huffed quietly, ruffling his hair, sending chills up Alex’s spine. “I suspected the worse… Ohhh… I was scared, Alex, thou can’t imagine how… I dreaded to think, it was too late, yet it was to be done exactly that way. Thou was to realize thyself, thy life being thine, doth not mean, thou can take it away futilely.”

“But why her? After all… after our…”

“Because I couldn’t follow thee without gaining harmful attention. Because she can fly…” Luna chuckled, looking down into Alex’s eyes. “Because she loveth thee, thou foal! Loveth thee no matter what and shalt do anything to save thee. Like I do!”

Before Alex could say a word the soft lips covered his own, making his thoughts dissolve completely in the moment of bliss; unconsciously wrapping his arms around Luna’s neck Alex buried his fingers in her flowing mane, wishing for that minute to last forever. A load of his problems waited for him on the ground, but that meant nothing, while they were sharing that heavenly embrace.

“I love thee!” quietly said Luna, when the stars in their eyes faded; she rubbed her soft cheek against Alex’s. “But I don’t know, what to do now either. I can’t take THAT burden. I can’t live without thee, Alex… And I can’t take thee for such a price. Stepping aside is the last thing I want… Mayhap we could… I don’t know…”

“What dost thou mean, mine princess?” Alex felt how fast was Luna’s heart beating, he stroked her shoulders, getting another lavender kiss on his cheek.

“Allowest me to show thee something,” Luna waited for an answer and Alex slowly nodded, not completely catching her thoughts.

Luna’s eyes approached, filling his entire view, as she brought her muzzle closer and closer, this time not kissing Alex, but touching his forehead with hers; he was already drowning, choosing not to resist, but instead be driven by the deep blue whirlpools, where his dissolving consciousness led him.

The yellow dry grass with colourful fallen foliage, the grey-blue sky with rare clouds, crossed by dark naked branches, the air filled with the smell of damp soil and leaves and the barely perceptible breath of winter. Alex’s feet didn’t hit the ground, to his surprise he could see everything around, except himself, when he looked down. The familiar low fence nearby gave him the cue and, turning abruptly, Alex saw the façade of Fluttershy’s cottage, lit by the low evening Sun.

“What?..” started Alex, but the silky lips touched his ear; he could fall (having his body at the moment), startled by the dissonance between tactile and visual sensations.

“Shhh… It’s a dream. Not thine or mine, obviously. It’s Sunday evening…”

Luna fell silent, interrupted by the sound of the front door. Somepony slid outside, wrapped in the thick warm cloak; the deep hood fell almost on the snoot, but a strand of pink hair…

‘Wait, why her mane looketh that dull, the colour is a faint semblance, greyish and pale?’ Alex was unsure if he asked himself or said that aloud. It appeared to be of no difference, as he got his answer immediately.

“Yes, that’s Fluttershy,” the silvery voice was sad and spiritless in its empathy. “She can’t hear us, Alex. I would like thee to watch though, thither is time for questions anon.”

Fluttershy shrugged under the hood convulsively and pulled it forward, hiding her muzzle and wrapping in her cloak tighter. Looking under her hooves not to slip on the dead leaves, she headed to the field, closing the fence gate behind. Alex noted that despite moving with her usual grace, she walked slowly and mournfully, something took away an insensible part of her gait, making it different, less vivid. He was to follow Fluttershy, obedient to an unknown bond, leading him where his marefriend’s goal was.

Apparently, Fluttershy followed the usual path, as she proceeded fluently and determinedly, even submerged in her thoughts; Alex concluded that these walks, or whatever it was, occurred regularly. Wiping a few tears Fluttershy braced herself, she was yet to cross the field of high dry waving grass to reach the small hill with the single large tree. The hill where… where he and Luna were in reality, even knowing it was Fluttershy’s dream Alex winced from that notice.

He kept watching, pulled by the dream route and given no alternative; shortly Alex couldn’t stay dispassionate, wishing with the entire aching heart to become a more tangible part of that dream. The further in the field, the closer to the hill, tears ran down Fluttershy’s face like the salty waterfall, blurring her view; tangling in the high grass, she shook her head and sped up towards the hill clearly visible in the crisp cool autumn air.

The large oak seemed older, more overgrown, it dropped the last leaves, covering the ground, where its shade gave shelter in summer. Something protruded from the hill surface, something solid, cold, high and smooth enough, so the leaves couldn’t hide it in their last futile attempt. Fluttershy approached that, looking foreign at the familiar place, object, giving Alex an opportunity to look.

“Alex the Human, unknown - 4 NLE August …” said the grey stone, a few oak leaves stuck to the surface, covering the last digits.

“Good evening, my love!” quietly said Fluttershy. The tears already dried, giving up to fateful tranquillity; with a tiny sad smile she lay in front of the memorial, resting her head on the folded fore legs. Fluttershy’s breath caught and swirled the oak leaves, sweeping them off the stone.

Alex’s vision darkened, dragging him into the tight whirlpool again, and in a second he found himself standing among the warm summer night, in Luna’s embrace… catching for air, like drowning, and shivering. He raised dilated eyes on Luna, unable to find proper words; the princess nodded shortly.

“The stone is supposed to be right whither thou art standing…”

“What’s NLE?” Alex’s voice was barely audible.

“New Lunar Era,” said Luna calmly. “This year exactly. And the second date could easily be yesterday, if ‘t be true thou got wasted not; it was Sunday,” she fell silent for a brief moment. “She seeth that dream regularly since…”

“Since the… Dam?..”

“No, Alex, since thy fight with the Seekers at the warehouse.”

“Merlin’s pants! No wonder she was…” Alex covered his eyes with the palm. “I had no idea, Luna. I was such an idiot…”

“That doth not mean thou needst to avoid doing, what thou findst dignified,” Luna mercifully looked away. “Although, a zilch more consideration towards others’ feelings would be quite a prize for everypony.” She let out a tiny smile and added gently. “Thither is one more frequent dream of hers, alas, the first one prevaileth lately, but…”

Another familiar swallowing glance and feeling Luna’s silky touch on his forehead, Alex dived into the next vision.

When the milky haze dissolved and the world around him took clear outline, Alex could easily tell that whatever he was going to be presented, the dreamer’s mood was completely different, compared to the first vision. It was the day or early evening, the Sun shone quite high into the sky, escorted to the distant nightly rest by the birds’ singing; various insects, among which the awesome large blue butterflies took the place of honour, filled the garden; the shape of the house could be seen behind the trees and with amazement Alex recognized Fluttershy’s place again. The house seemed bigger though for some reason.

The unforgettable scent of flowers, Alex was able to enjoy only once, when he first arrived in Equestria, told him, it was late spring or early summer. Accompanied by the freshness from the nearby stream it filled Alex’s imaginary lungs, making his imaginary head spin. He squinted…

When Alex opened his eyes, the vision moved aside slightly and… Alex’s heart fluttered unwillingly: under the large tree, bathing in the warm setting Sun, lied Her. Resting in the almost regal pose on the lush grass, amazingly contrasting with her silky yellow coat and bright sumptuous pink mane and tail, which covered almost all space under the tree, visibly becoming even longer since last time, Fluttershy looked more mature, but at the same time even more stunningly beautiful, if that was possible to imagine. Long slender legs, perfect mare shapes, luxurious shiny mane and tail, sharper, but wonderfully fitting and aristocratic lineaments; Alex stared and stared in awe. He almost felt by the back of his head the faint smile of Luna, but he couldn’t do anything to himself.

After a few endlessly long moments some noise attracted his attention, Alex turned to the source of it and… froze again surprised and stunned even more: two foals played in the garden, running jumping, chasing butterflies and making the merry fuss. The unicorn colt was younger, he jumped a bit clumsily yet, funnily throwing his hind legs in the air; the pegasus filly already tried to fly, teasing and fluttering above her brother with loud glinting laughter. Their noisy romp brought a peaceful and loving smile on Fluttershy’s muzzle, making Alex’s heart skip another beat.

“Mom, when is dad coming?” getting a bit tired of making circles around her mother the filly snuggled to Fluttershy, nuzzling her shoulder and looking into the bigger version of her turquoise eyes inquiringly. Her little brother almost rolled near and supported her eagerly. “Yeah, when, mom, when?”

Fluttershy wanted to reply something, but throwing a quick glance at the road behind the fence, she let out a joyous smile and simply nodded there instead of the answer; Alex fancied the dear floral-honey aroma. He or his vision,it didn't matter, froze on the spot, as if the gigawatt of electricity flowed through him… facing himself! Almost unchanged, tiredly smiling, shaking the dust off the long blacksmith apron, he opened the gate and headed towards them with wide springy steps, at once losing all the visible fatigue.

Foals darted to him with happy squealing and hung in his embrace. With double load Alex crossed the glade and kneeled to Fluttershy, she leaned to him in response and their lips melted in a loving kiss. The vision already fell apart dissolving in swirling mist and after a second Alex found his actual self under the same oak, next to Luna.

“Merlin’s pants…” exhaled he, hiding his face in trembling hands, gasped and couldn’t say anything else.

With another understanding smile Luna didn’t tell him that he was repeating. She patiently waited till Alex could brace himself. Finally, he raised eyes at her, asking unexpectedly.

“A unicorn colt? How on… Equus?”

“That’s what puzzled thee,” Luna couldn’t hold a smirk. “So, the idea of having foals with the equestrian mare isn’t looking strange for thee already…” Seeing him flushing to the roots, she mercifully changed the topic. “I can’t tell for sure. Tis her dream, I’m not adding anything. Mayhap she considers thee, the human, different enough to provide strange combinations…” Alex choked on air and Luna continued, as if noticing nothing. “Or mayhap thou not being arrant inert to magic could give a chance of the unicorn foal… theoretically, of course,” chuckled she, seeing Alex flaming, ready to fall through the ground. Then suddenly her voice became completely serious again.

“Anyway, that made me think a lot, mine love. If that’s what I’m ready to prevent befalling. I don’t see the univocal solution now, it’s too hard, too gravely crucial for all of us.”

“I love thee too much, Alex. Thus I better step aside, than allow any of us to make some drastic mistake… despite giving up on thee is the last thing I wanted to do,” whispered she barely audible, nuzzling Alex’s cheek. “I nev’r minded sharing, as I said, but…”

Alex raised his hand and stroked Luna’s neck slowly, still dumbfounded by what he saw and heard; she sat next to him and cuddled with her fore legs, Luna’s heavy sigh was more meaningful than thousands of words.

“Thou needs to talk with Fluttershy, mine love!”

“I tried, Luna, I truly tried,” Alex held her carefully, like made of porcelain. “Shy is angry with me… and she can’t be blamed for that, in the earnest. She didn’t want to see me, when I tried to explain…”

“It shalt take some time, mine love. She is shakingly scared… and angry at thee vastly because of that. Thou must show the readiness to talk, to move the situation from the dead point. Beest patient…”

“I feared, I could lose thee, Alex!” added she, nuzzling his hair like enthralled. “I still can’t believe that could actually befall…”

“I shall do mine best…” Alex wrapped his arms around Luna’s swan-like neck, snuggling to her. “But I don’t know what to do with my nightmares. They keep me restless, exhausting me arrant, I feel like a tiny bit longer of that torture and I shall go insane…” Shadow ran across his face. “I can struggle at daytime, work helpeth immensely… but at night I’m helpless. Each time I close the eyes, I see that stallions hopeful glance. It burneth me from inside!”

“I understand that thou can’t pamper me all the time,” Alex looked away and immediately felt soft loving lips on his cheek. “But I’m desperate, Luna… I don’t know what…”

“Alex, mine love, methinks I have an idea, which shalt help thee survive, while thou art learning to accept, what befell. Hast thou ev’r had any dreams while sleepwalking? I mean, any actual dreams, seen by the sleeping thee…”

Alex turned to Luna like thunderstruck, noticing the sly sparkles in her bottomless eyes; Luna nodded, raising one eyebrow.

The fast and loud knocking on the front door made Twilight jump on the spot, she was peacefully gathering a few things in her saddle bag, planning to visit Fluttershy that evening and didn’t expect anypony to come that late. Spike was going to take a nap, resting of his daily chores… after he subtly inquired and found out that Rarity wasn’t going to join the girls that time. Twilight didn’t see Alex since morning, but she wasn’t worried, as that was quite a common case for him to get up early and quietly whisk, minding his own business; lately even more often. Besides, his bed was accurately fixed and the damp towel, drying in the bathroom, told her that Alex came through his morning “ritual” of sitting for quite a while at the upper balcony of the Library, coming down a bit shaky and nauseous and needing to cool and calm down. She made no reckoning of nothing being prepared for the breakfast, despite it was a rare occasion normally, while returning late was entirely common for him.

Raising one eyebrow from pure curiosity – it couldn’t be Alex, then whom it was, Twilight opened the door; she froze on the step in surprise, least expecting to see that guest, late or not.

“S-Silver Ingot?”

“Sorry for bothering, princess Twilight,” the thin frame and posture of the unicorn filly expressed the indescribable mix of extreme confusion, strong determination and utter terror. “B-but… it’s an emergency. Alex…”

“Oh, Celestia, you are shaking, Silver. Come on in, please,” Twilight held the door, the anxiety started to infiltrate her soul as well. “And… it’s simply Twilight, okay? Please,” added she automatically. “So what’s about Alex?”

“I… We need to find him. Immediately!” seeing that strong embarrassment touched Twilight’s muzzle, Silver Ingot threw away her doubts and dropped bluntly. “Alex… may want to commit suicide!”

“Sweet Celestia! What am I saying, he is most definitely going to commit suicide!” Silver Ingot almost jumped on the spot, her voice gained an octave.

“What?!” Twilight’s eyes got round, she produced a nervous cackle, but quickly pulled Sil inside and slammed the door shut. “What, sorry? Are you sure? He…”

“I’m terribly sorry, princess… but I am absolutely, entirely sure,” Silver Ingot stomped her hoof impatiently, despite the guilty expression on her muzzle, she wasn’t going to give up. “I can swear by anything we have with my uncle, by the smithy… by anything… that I am not making things up!”

“Okay. I admit he is depressed and shattered after… the dam… But suicide. I could never imagine, he looks determined in his struggling with those memories. Please, do tell!” Twilight shook her mane.

Silver Ingot quietly groaned, visibly desperate about the necessity to explain and lose time.

“The whole his behaviour, pr… Twilight,” she remembered. “Alex was drowning in his regrets and terrors more and more each day. He came exhausted since mornings and I hardly mistake, if I suppose, he couldn’t sleep: eyes bloodshot, he was absent-minded, if he concentrated on something, he couldn’t switch fast, he became pensive occasionally out of the blue.” She took her breath and continued, not giving Twilight, who looked sceptical still, a chance to interrupt. “But the main thing – the changes in his work. He suddenly made a few complex amendments to the new smelter, he was building, making it operable by a single pony. Even if it was obvious: for the full advantage we couldn’t cope without his abilities.”

A faint shadow ran across Twilight’s stretching muzzle, while Silver Ingot quickly proceeded.

“He mentioned his inability to solve his problems, him being tired, coming through that tragedy repeatedly, having only one possible way out,” Sil shuddered catching herself on speaking about the human in past tense already, but found the strength to exclaim. “The only possible way out, Twilight! And on top of that, he brought me his papers one day, asking to keep them safe “until necessary”. I admit, that alone is not enough to suspect… But with the rest, with what he came through…” she gasped. Twilight approached and wrapped her fore leg around unicorn girl’s shoulders. Getting over herself, Sil whispered. “I couldn’t hold myself… It bothered me much and I took a look… Blueprints, notes, future plans, quite a portion of his work… Alex left those for us to keep, until it’s time to use them, while we can barely implement the half. Do you understand, what it means, Twilight?”

Twilight shuddered, at that moment, reimagining all the strange things Alex said recently, she was to admit the rationality of Silver Ingot’s words; she remembered that she didn’t see Alex since the very morning, moreover she didn’t see any signs of his activity except the damp towel, the cold fear started creeping into her soul. Confusedly apologizing, Twilight rushed to Alex’s room: everything was on its place, almost exemplary order, hardly achievable where somepony lived and worked. The curtains hang dull and motionlessly, the window was closed.

The window was closed!

‘Alex never closes it. He comes and goes through the window too often,’ Twilight tried the frame, finding it firmly shut, no wind could do that. Twilight’s heart dropped somewhere below her fetlocks and fluttered there. ‘He closed it… knowing… that he was not coming back! Alex didn’t plan to return!!!’

Apparently, everything was clearly written on her muzzle, when she dashed back into the hall; Silver Ingot easily read the worst signs and squeaked in despair.

“Now! Where can we look for Alex? Where could he go to… Arrrghhh!!!” Twilight trotted a nervous circle around the Library hall, pondering aloud. “Calm down, Twilight! We need a solid plan…” she turned to Silver Ingot. “Did he tell anything… well, mention occasionally. Maybe the place, which could improve his state of mind, or… He spent more time at the smithy than here.”

“I’m afraid, we talked only about the work,” the unicorn filly shook her head, downcasting.

Twilight facehoofed. “It’s so Alex-like!”

“Well, fortunately, there are not so many places around Ponyville… And Alex couldn’t reach some far point that fast… There are not so many places, where one can… can…” Twilight twitched visibly, glancing at blacksmith’s niece. “Where… you know…” Sil convulsively nodded.

“I wholeheartedly hope, he didn’t use the railroad,” muttered Twilight; seeing that Silver Ingot is close to a blackout, she quickly explained, feeling the cold sweat on her own forehead. “To ride somewhere far from here, not to… Although… No! I sure hope not…”

“Wait!” Twilight’s eyes shone with some memory. “He was fighting is acrophobia lately. I thought, that was purely not to let the dam… incident happen again, but now…”

“The mountains are too far,” as usual, having a clear route, Twilight thought fast and sharply. “Another place is the dam… I doubt that Alex could go there willingly, of course… but we can’t drop that possibility. What else do we have?” she scratched the back of her head, Ponyville wasn’t surrounded by the dangerous places, especially heights; suddenly her eyes dilated. “The Clock Tower!”

She examined Silver Ingot fixedly, most ponies in the town treated the blacksmith small family with a certain degree of distrust; Twilight couldn’t risk, sending her, where long and uneasy explanations would be necessary. Although, Alex worked with Apples the longest and assembled the biggest party of machinery for them, he was close enough with the family and Twilight knew, he discussed the blacksmith with Applejack and others. Naturally, Apples must show more tolerance and trust.

“Time is short! Silver, please run to the Apple Acres and tell everything briefly to Jackie and Mac. Refer to me, if necessary,” Twilight picked her saddle bag. “Send Big Mac to the railway station, they know what to do in such cases. You and Jackie check the Dam, please. It’s a low chance, but…”

“Then… Spike… No, let Spike sleep,” Twilight shook her head. “I notify Pinkie and Rarity myself, they both can run around Ponyville and find out anything they can. I can ask Rainbow, but I doubt, she joins…”

“I go to Fluttershy and we try to search around the tower and the tower itself carefully!” Twilight was ready to teleport, lighting her horn.

“What are you up to, girls, pray tell?” the tired voice sounded like a sudden strike of thunder, making both Twilight and Silver Ingot jump on the spot and turn around fast.

Alex stood as large as life in the front door, leaning on the frame, jaded, ruffled, grey-faced, but safe and sound. The deafening silence made the rustling of coats perfectly audible; both girls sat right on the spots they were standing.

It took a few minutes to convince Silver Ingot, she was not seeing things. At first, Alex wanted to suggest his own version of events, totally unrelated to suicidal thoughts, but the look of utter embarrassment and shame on Sil’s muzzle made him abandon that; he couldn’t let her look completely nuts, because of his own wicked ideas.

“Look, Sil, whatever it was, I reconsidered,” Alex looked fixedly into the eyes of unicorn girl, who was ready to drop a tear. “Rest assured, I’m not going to do anything stupid!”

Silver Ingot inhaled fitfully, realizing that in point of fact she was right and only some outstanding accident made Alex actually change his mind regarding his “departure”; Twilight cupped her mouth with the fore hoof in shock, apparently, she doubted the mere possibility of such thoughts coming into Alex’s head, but almost the literal confession caught her off guard.

“Thanks for concerning about me that much,” Alex took Silver Ingot by shoulders softly, feeling how her strained muscles finally started relaxing; she closed her eyes and nodded shortly. “And… I’m very sorry, Sil, for scaring you so much.”

She nodded again, it wasn’t obvious, if the tension released her completely, but in a moment Sil squeezed a small smile.

“I… I better go now. Sorry, pri… Sorry, Twilight!” she turned to Alex again. “I’m glad that… that you changed your mind.”

In the doorway something made her stop and look over the shoulder.

“Your papers, Alex… I’m sorry, I didn’t bring them with me and…”

“Excellent!” overcoming the fatigue Alex made the most cheerful face he was capable of at the moment. “Let them stay with you for now. I’m sure that they are as safe as the could only be. We need to check them tomorrow, I have a couple of ideas, how to improve the smelter. Tell your uncle, I shall be as usual, please.” This time Sil nodded vividly with a heartily smile.

“So?!” Twilight stared at Alex fixedly, when the front door closed after the blacksmith’s niece finally. That short “so” was worth a thousand words, making Alex imagine that if Twilight was a human girl, she would be standing hands akimbo most likely. He expression was identical to the human equivalent for the similar situation though. “Don’t you want to tell something, Alex?”

“Well… I actually climbed the Clock Tower,” Alex noticed, how she twitched, and continued neutrally. “But… two girls helped me see the things differently.” Twilight raised one eyebrow slightly, explaining, who those two girls were, wasn’t necessary. “And while I know, what the Seekers’ victims feel… right before… well, thou knowest… Methinks I’m ready to struggle a zilch more, despite that. I can’t allow that befalling again and again.”

“Oh, dear!” Twilight took her breath, watching Alex’s expression carefully. “I’m glad… that…” She couldn’t continue and simply waved her fore hoof, sniffing and blinking fast.

“Thou seest, Twilight,” Alex heavily dropped next to her on the floor. “Figuratively I fell from that tower… but managed to survive!”

17. Feathery trouble

Author's Note

No, tis not the whole chapter dedicated to Rainbow Dash.

17. Feathery trouble

Last night Alex took Twilight’s sleeping potion again, as he wasn’t sure, if he could relax enough even for a short moment, to use Luna’s advice. Not being a fan of the chemical or, in that case better say, alchemical sleep, he couldn’t deny that the night completely free of any dreams, turning off and dropping like a log at once, was what his body called for. Alex spent the rest of it behind the protection of artificial sleep and felt nearly normal upon awakening. Even managed to get to the bathroom fine…

He might think that the worst was left behind, but the reality was going to prove otherwise, preparing a certain surprise for Alex.

Soft morning light flooded the bathroom through the small window on the eastern “wall”. Alex turned on the water, half asleep yet, leaning on the sink and trying to yawn with his mouth closed, not luxating his jaw at the same time; the hot stream was breaking in the sink noisily, filling the air and Alex’s lungs with steam. He rubbed his face, driving away the remnants of sleep, and wiped a small clear window on the misted mirror.

The tired aquamarine eyes blinked, then focused on Alex, pupils narrowing with waking and recognition…

Staunch Flume was falling silently through water mist with the filly on his back, confusion and bewilderment written in his dilating eyes, remaining in Alex’s inner sight even after both ponies vanished behind the vapour clouds below…

Alex fell to the motherly embrace of the ground at the foot of the Clock Tower, with trees of toy-size and Fluttershy’s cottage flashing its windows, like a small sparkle at the edge of the view; his expression became surprisingly serene with eyes closed and a faint smile ready to lighten his face…

Alex slowly slid to the floor, grasping at the sink, as the forces suddenly left him; he sat there, feeling limp like a puppet with the strings cut, shivering and bracing his knees. The strong wave of realization, followed by weakness, hit him, knocking down and flooding over the head. His idea stopped looking nearly acceptable to him, let alone being capable to bring a serene smile.

The remnants of sleep were broken and without yesterday’s salvatory adrenaline blockade Alex curled on the floor, cold sweat covering his forehead, when he imagined, what could have happened, if not for the vigilance and care of certain mares.

‘Moron!’ Alex gritted his teeth, trying to force the shivers away. ‘You almost took your miserable life for nothing. That would be a “perfect solution”… To leave more mares crying! Fucking idiot…’

“Alex?!”

He didn’t hear the quick hoofsteps behind the blood noise in his ears, when the attack released him a bit, but the breaking monotonous sound of water made Alex raise his glance.

“Alex?!” Twilight turned off the water and stared into his eyes with concern; it wasn’t an easy task to catch the focus of his floating pupils at first. “What’s going on?” she asked softly.

“Proper…” Alex coughed, clearing his throat. “Proper judgment finally, I guess.” He grabbed the edge of the sink, leaning on the tub with another hand, and got up after the second attempt. “I just realized, what an idiot I was… Felt too screwed last night for it to come into my mind.”

“I don’t know which part of myself I was thinking with yesterday…” the mirror got misted completely again and Alex was to wipe it carefully. “Not everypony is given another chance… Don’t know if I’m lucky yet, but I shall try not to waste it… If only my body came into agreement with my mind that fast,” he shuddered visible, holding on the edge, his knuckles getting white.

“I said that last night… And I’m saying again… whatever it was, I’m glad that you didn’t do it!”

“Thanks, Twilight!” Alex was examining his pale-grey, ruffled, crumpled self, but Twilight heard the expression in his words; he turned the water on and splashed a few handfuls on his face. “Well, nothing I couldn’t cope with, right?” he looked into his own eyes fixedly.

“Are you sure? I mean… if… if you want to talk about that…” Twilight’s reflection watched him unconfidently. “I…” small hoof softly touched his back.

“It’s okay, Twilight,” Alex kneeled, squeezing her shoulder lightly. “The “cure” was effective enough…” he rubbed a small bruise on his cheek, smirking faintly. “I’m not going to do something as stupid, if… if you’re talking about that. I have enough consequences to deal with.”

“That’s exactly what bothers me, Alex,” Twilight still tried to see something at the bottom of his eyes; the result seemingly looked safe enough for the alicorn girl and she nodded slightly. “I would like to help! And I think I know, what can actually… make you breathe lighter.”

“Okay, maybe later… I’m really fine, Twi,” Alex squeezed a tiny smile. “Well, not fine as in completely fine… you know, but I’m going to deal with all that. With thy help, of course,” he raised and shut the water. “I wanted to visit Willsmash and… apologize for all the ado. That’s after bringing myself to some semblance of order…” he glanced at the shower unambiguously.

“Oh, of course. Sorry,” Twilight’s nose flushed.

‘I still think, that’s exactly what he needs… to stop making a monster of himself,’ she closed the door under the noise of running water, her eyes shone with some idea.

Dressing into the clean after a few minutes, Alex checked his yesterday’s clothes automatically, folding them before shoving into the laundry bin, when his fingers met something rough and leathery in one of the pockets. He took out and stared at the large light silvery-green leaf, absolutely non-crumpled even after those few hours, so thick and tough it was.

Alex dropped the clothes, trying to remember, what that find reminded him of, brushing away the unwelcome memory of when and where exactly he got that leaf; somehow he felt that he was failing to catch the actual and very important clue. Slowly sinking on the sofa Alex spun the light-green star puzzledly, as if he was expecting some hint to appear on its coriaceous sides.

“Twilight,” Alex raised his voice a bit, hearing the hoofsteps in the main hall. “Can you… For a moment?”

“Yes?” the girl trotted through the doorway maybe even faster than expected. “What’s up, Alex? Why…”

“I wanted to ask, if you ever saw…” Alex stopped, Twilight’s dilated eyes told him that she saw, moreover, she considered the thing in his fingers quite unusual. “…these leaves. Where are they from?” finished he, watching the girl.

“That’s…” Twilight came closer, her eyes still fixated on the leaf. “Definitely, that’s a leaf from the Tree of Harmony. But… where did you get it from, Alex?” she glanced up at him in bewilderment.

Alex’s face brightened up with recognition.

“The Tree of Harmony…” repeated he slowly. “Isn’t it the huge… I mean, really huge tree, lush and silvery-green… somewhere in the Everfree forest, in a wide… cleft, sort of…” Alex rubbed his temples, forcing the memory. “And even then it’s higher than all the nearby trees on the ground level, so large it is?”

His eyes met Twilight’s wild glance and Alex elaborated.

“I saw it in my dream once… But I tend to think the tree itself was quite real, just as…” he stumbled. “Is it, Twilight?”

“Y-yes… But you never told…” she took her breath and nodded. “The Tree of Harmony is indeed in the large natural cleft, deep into Everfree. Exactly as you described, but where…”

“Oh, tis not a secret,” the part of the mystery was solved, but only a part of it; Alex still had no idea, why that large leaf should tell him not only about some equestrian relict tree. “That one,” he raised it and looked through at the window – totally futile idea. “was smacked into mine face somewhere amidst my tower climbing… there is a large section of broken wall… near the top,” Alex and Twilight gulped almost synchronously. “Methinks I shoved it into mine pocket automatically, it reminded me of something, but I couldn’t remember what exactly. I still can’t,” added Alex pensively. “But now I’m sure it wasn’t the Tree… of Harmony, or how it is called… Not only it!”

“The cleft is far from the edge of the forest, from the Clock Tower,” Twilight still watched the leaf in Alex’s hand, then looked aside, rising one fore hoof in her thoughts. “This leaf… any leaf could hardly reach the tower from that far…”

“I simply thought, it was strange to see a tree leaf thrown to that height,” Alex chuckled nervously.

“Unless it was necessary…” dropped Twilight, looking at him. Through him…

“Necessary for whom?” the smile froze on Alex’s face for a moment. “Twilight?!” he was to touch her lightly to gain attention.

“I-I don’t know… for sure,” muttered Twilight, she examined Alex, like seeing him anew. “I must tell princess Celestia about that…”

“Oh, come on, Twi!” Alex let out a short laughter, he was unsure if the new details added to his side of the scale. “Like if Tia had no important concerns, except me gathering some leaves…”

“Alex… You are incorrigible!” Twilight presented him with a slightly annoyed glance. “That’s more important, than you may think.”

“If you say so…” following her through the hall to the kitchen Alex realized how late he woke, compared to his usual mornings. The breakfast was served; Alex squinted – the plates were filled with something shapeless and, frankly speaking, strangely looking. However, the smell was quite nice.

“Spike slept in and… I guess, it was my turn… for a change,” Twilight produced a humble smile, Spike covered a yawn with his paw, confirming her words. “I hope it tastes better than it looks. I’m a limited experience cook, sorry.”

“Morning! No offence, Alex, but you look… worse than last days,” Spike stifled another yawn and measured Alex pensively. “If you feel half that bad… well…”

“Oh, mine endless gratitude!” Alex bowed sarcastically. “I can always count on you, when Jackie is not near, Spike.”

“I was simply stating the obvious,” shrugged Spike. “I think you should do something with these nightmares… Anything, to help you sleep… at least sometimes.”

“Actually, he is right,” Twilight raised one eyebrow, watching Alex, who tried the unusual dish carefully; despite his suspicions, it was perfectly edible and the taste was nice. Twilight visibly relaxed. “I will hardly exaggerate, if I say that the night before you woke almost every several minutes… That’s when you could fall asleep at all. How long do you think you can hold? The princess…”

“I think, there is a working remedy…” Alex filled himself slowly, his thoughts were somewhere far from the table. “I’m not going to take the sleeping potion nightly till hell… ahem… Tartarus freezes over.”

“Luna told me one thing and it seemed, she got the point.” He focused on the company. “When I sleepwalk, I don’t have dreams… I mean, I can’t remember a single case the actual me to see some dreams, while in that condition. I have nothing to lose, right?” he shrugged, putting down the spoon. “So, I’m going to try it tonight. The only problem is to have enough time without the actual nightmares to…” he chuckled. “…“exit myself”.”

“Well…” Twilight blinked several times. “If that actually works… You were doing it regularly before anyway.”

“I would feel incomparably better, if I can get rid at least of the half of the nightmares. It’s enough that I constantly think about that during the day,” Alex nodded meaningfully; Spike wanted to say something, but Twilight stopped him, making big eyes, which Alex missed completely diving into his thoughts again.

‘I still need to check something, before I take Alex to meet them,’ Twilight glanced at him quickly, biting her lip. ‘I suppose they are prudent enough, but…’

After the breakfast Alex volunteered for walking up to the market with Twilight’s list, he planned to visit the smithy, but needed to think over, what and how to tell the blacksmith and his niece. Truth be told, seeing their concern about his fate Alex felt guilty for making them worried, yet upsetting Sil by telling everything openly wasn’t an option – Alex remembered her expression last night well.

However, when he was almost holding on the front door knob, his plans met a disarray in the muzzles of two guests; Alex could feel the mixture of some fancy shampoo and caramel smells. Stepping aside behind the door he opened it completely.

“Hey! Twilight!” in two hops “caramel” reached the centre of the hall and grabbed the alicorn girl in a hug. “What a nice morning! I had some free time and met Rarity on my way here… I wanted to see…” her eyes found Alex behind the door and he could clearly read, whose poor soul she was after.

“Ehhh… Yeah!” Twilight wiggled her wings, being released from her fluffy friend’s grasp. “Good morning, Pinkie! Good morning, Rarity!”

“…Alex and ask him…” Pinkie tilted her head, examining Alex fixedly.

“Morning, Twilight!” unlike her mate, Rarity pranced in gracefully, with dignity, every lady should uphold. Alex noticed that Spike was already wounded right through, even before being shot by her eyes; he quietly snorted, deliberately ignoring Pinkie’s heavy gaze, and closed the door…

“Hello, darling!” Rarity turned to the sound, throwing a quick glance over Alex, but before a smile formed on her muzzle, Rarity’s eyes dilated and her expression transformed to an utterly concerned one. “Oh, Celestia! You’re so… pale and… Are you alright, Ahlex? Seriously, you’d probably better stay in bed and rest well, before returning to your work.”

“Errmmm…” muttered Alex, he didn’t like, how Rarity’s eyes sparkled at the word “bed”; besides, the quiet grunt from Spike was self-explanatory. Pinkie opened and closed her mouth with offended expression, but something in his look made her agree with Rarity inwardly.

Accepting no objections and noticing nothing, Rarity trotted around him and nudged lightly; not wanting to be poked by the horn accidentally, Alex obeyed, followed by the determined girl, until he found himself seated on the couch. Rarity watched him discomposedly, like if he was going to faint any moment.

“Yeah…” Pinkie approached him from another side. “You look quite… beaten indeed,” she was to admit reluctantly. “What’s happened?”

“Oh, come on, girls!” sighed Alex. “It’s not that I’m going to fall flat… That’s… an after effect of yesterday’s… endeavours,” added he evasively.

“What kind of… endeavours those must be to get you to that condition, Ahlex?” Rarity was determined to find out everything. “That was something tough, even compared to your usual business…” she tried to smile.

“Well… Let’s say the… stakes were quite high,” Alex heard, how Twilight quietly gasped, from the corner of his eye he noticed her shaking her head. “I would like to avoid that route of discussion, in the earnest. Apologies!”

But Rarity wasn’t that easy to put out of countenance, Alex felt the cushions being levitated and carefully placed behind his back and under the elbow; he rolled his eyes, noticing Twilight’s smile.

“Rarity, seriously… I’m okay. I actually planned to go and…”

“…visit the certain pegasus girl and finally have a talk?” with deadly bluntness asked Pinkie, raising one eyebrow; nothing was going to distract her for long enough.

“Yes. No… Not right now… Ugghhh!” Alex groaned, grabbing his head. “Look it’s not that simple. I wonder, if she even wants to listen to me… Especially after… I know, I need to do that. I just… must think how.” He raised his eyes almost pleadingly. “Actually, I was heading to the smithy, well, after the market, of course. We have lots of work and need to…”

“I see…” sighed Pinkie, ignoring Rarity’s reproachful gaze. Thankfully, her nose twitched and Pinkie’s fluffy head turned towards the kitchen. “Hmmm… Smells delicious! Is that Spike’s, Alex’s or… your experiments, Twilight… finally.”

Flushing, Twilight humbly shrugged and followed Pinkie, who quickly headed to the source of the smell; Rarity lingered for a moment, making sure that Alex was comfortably placed and not going to faint any moment, then the curiosity took over and she joined the girls, throwing a quick concerned glance over the shoulder at him.

“Oh, Twilight…”

Alex heard Pinkie’s sigh and couldn’t hold a giggle, vividly imagining her, leaning over the peculiar dish critically and shaking her cotton candy mane.

“Although…” Pinkie fell silent, evaluating the rest of Twilight’s cooking qualities… more directly. “Mmmmm…”

“Apologize to the girls for my sudden departure, Spike!” thankful for that distraction Alex jumped to his feet; grabbing the bags he quickly slid outside, followed by Spike’s vexed wave.

The first signs of approaching autumn took over the fields with overgrown and starting to yellow in some places grass; the sounds of birds became rare, only a few persistent singers broke the silence this morning, disturbed otherwise by the becoming stronger wind only. The Sun was quite high, yet evaporating the dew on the long stems, leaves and flowers, it wasn’t able to completely dry the deep variegated green sea; Alex felt it at once, trying to cut the road turn through the field and quickly reverting from that idea, as his legs got wet inevitably.

Brought by the south wind as usual, the smell of apples became stronger and stronger each day; so, Alex failed to notice that he took the wrong route, occupied by his thoughts, before his glance stumbled upon the high railway embankment – he made it too far to the left, taking the familiar road to the station automatically.

With the loud whistle a single loco passed above, the gust from it finally brought the peculiar railway oil and heated metal wave; Alex noticed the familiar muzzle and torpidly waved the motorpony greeting him.

‘There! When you are too deep into yourself…’ with a shrug Alex turned back, as the smithy, not the railway station was his actual aim. He kept rewinding his visit to the market constantly.

It wouldn’t be any different than usual one, if not for him coming across Fluttershy at the marketplace; Alex noticed her, paying off at one of the grocery stalls and making a couple of steps away, into the constantly mingling herd. His hesitation wasn’t lengthy and Alex headed towards the bright pink-yellow figure, inwardly considerably less confident than it was written in his moves and expression.

Fluttershy saw him, when he passed half of the way, tacking between ponies hurrying about their business and apologizing upon accidental collisions; she stumbled visibly, but remained at the spot, properly reading his aim. For which Alex was already grateful, despite the feeling that Fluttershy decided, it was easier to settle things at once than listening to him again, didn’t want to leave him alone.

“Good morning!” inwardly facepalming Alex quietly kneeled to his… his?.. marefriend, realizing that they inevitably attracted some glances from the nearby stalls. Yet it felt better than talking through the closed door. “I… errmmm…”

Fluttershy simply nodded, her wide open turquoise eyes glanced up at him, stopping at his for a second.

“Morning,” Alex barely heard her, a great dose of embarrassment mixed to her hard feelings towards him at that moment, but… if Fluttershy wanted to leave, she would have done that undoubtedly. Her voice became more determined and audible. “Are you going to tell me something, I didn’t hear yet, Alex?”

“Shy,” a familiar sparkle brightly lit in her eyes at that word, but quickly faded; all Alex’s thoughts left his head, dissolving in the turquoise whirlpools. “Please, forgive me…” Alex braced himself with a sigh. “I’m hardly original… but I truly mean that. I do regret, verily!”

“Regret what? That you tried… what you tried. Or… that I came in time…”

“Neither,” Alex swallowed a lump. “I regret of making thee cry, Shy… offending thee…”

The foreign glances thickened, but they could do nothing about that; Alex heard a couple of grumpy remarks about them making a scene amidst the road, instead of finding a better place for that, not obstructing busy ponies’ way. The other time he could have laughed at that…

“Sorry,” quietly whispered Fluttershy, hiding her muzzle behind the amazing hair almost completely. “I didn’t mean to… Maybe I have forgiven you already, Alex… in my mind. But I still can’t look at you and believe that you could think of… escaping… that way!” added she suddenly stronger, with barely hidden anguish, inhaling intermittently, as if struggling for air. “I… don’t know what to say…”

Words could make it more miserable only, Alex stretched his arm, touching Fluttershy’s shoulder was the only thing, which came into his aching mind at that moment.

The mare took a small step back, looking aside with a tiny sigh.

The hand fell down halfway.

“I need to go… Sorry.”

Alex closed his eyes, he could hear only those receding hoofsteps in the buzz of the surrounding herd.

“Hey! Are you okay?” after the eternity a passing by stallion shook him on his arm. “She has left already…”

“Yeah… I know…” squeezed out Alex, slowly getting up. He shielded with his back from the curious glances and a couple of sympathetically concerned ones.

Alex could hardly remember the further purchases or how he crossed the market at all. Twilight looked at him strangely, unpacking the bags upon his return, but told him only to be careful on his road to Willsmash.

Alex woke up, reaching the fence, when his hand lied on the gate; Will and Silver Ingot were outside and turned to him both interrupting their conversation at once. He noticed concern and visible relief, mixed in their eyes. And… something else, maybe some flashback, in the glance of the old blacksmith; Alex didn’t fixate on that, entering the yard and stopping a few steps before the unicorns.

“I would like to apologize,” without the extra foreword started he. “For all the hassle, for misleading you… For making our work irregular and… quite chaotic at times. I’m sorry!”

“No need to, Alex. You did, what you could and… frankly speaking, we have nothing to complain about ever since you came here.”

“I…”

“You left the papers to my niece and vanished for a day,” nodded Willsmash, his tone was light, contrasting to the extremely serious glance of his attentive eye, almost evaluative. “I admit, that was… that looked strange enough. But it’s your work at the end of the day, you decide what to do with it.”

Alex threw an understanding glance at the blacksmith and didn’t argue.

“I want to continue… if ‘t be true ye don’t mind working with somepony that occasionally becometh incoherent,” carefully choosing words said he instead. “Twilight’s generator is barely touched… and the armour is still… nothing more than a plaything, while I’m theorizing.”

Silver Ingot, who didn’t drop a word since Alex’s arrival, approached him; he caught himself on involuntary thought, how tall she was compared to the majority of ponies. Alex tried his best to endure the attentive gaze, the mare kept searching for any known only to her alarming signs, seemingly couldn’t find any and let out a tiny sigh.

“Still… Why? Why did you leave the drafts to me? Those words… about “using them, when the time comes” and…” she gasped, unable to continue.

Looked into those bright, almost glowing eyes and remembering her muzzle last night, when he suddenly witnessed her desperate attempt to find him, Alex felt that he couldn’t tell her the truth. He had no right to add more sadness to anypony’s life, because of his own problems.

“I,” Alex looked aside. “I thought, I had another chance to return to mine home world,” lied he with the light heart. “There would be no use for them there, while their purpose was to help you improve the smithy.”

“The chance was illusory…” Alex tried to shrug away the unwelcome realization, that part of his words was deadly truthful. “So…”

“Welcome back, son!” nodded Will, Alex fancied the same flashback glimpse in his expression.

To Alex’s surprise, Sil squeezed him around his chest with her fore legs, desperately flushing and ran into the house with a treacherous sniff; Alex stood, feeling a bit dumbfounded.

“She was out of her element the whole morning,” Willsmash watched his niece with a tiny smile, then turned to Alex. “Thanks!” His gaze was full of understanding and some distant sadness, Alex didn’t have time to wonder, when the unicorn added.

“I know how you feel, son,” Will checked Alex out evaluatively. “I was on that road… long ago. Before things went downwards,” he took a look over the resurrected smithy. “I’m glad, you didn’t go to the end of it.”

‘Oh, for Harmony’s sake… what are you doing?’ Princess Celestia noticed that her teaspoon was full of salt, right before dipping it into her tea; quite in time not to completely ruin the impression of finest light food. She facehoofed inwardly, returning the salt to the appropriate place and levitating herself a spare spoon instead of the “salted” one. Her absentmindedness grounded in the recent news and Celestia paid extra attention to stop after the third spoon of sugar, not making her breakfast tea resemble some syrup.

What Alex did was quite unexpected for her, as one’s reaction in general and unusual attempt to cut all the problematic knots, and especially as a strong manifestation of treating his own fail (despite obvious facts, Alex treated it as such) gravely serious, up to practically self-sentencing. Celestia knew the other side of the same medal too well to treat this news lightheartedly. ‘It may appear quite easy to see the reason for your problem in others in the moment of emotional instability. And I can’t predict… and don’t want to, truth be told… what can happen.’

Of course, the Day Princess knew all the possible details already, mostly from Twilight, and could extrapolate the missing parts of the image herself. The mere phrase “two girls made me reconsider” kept her pondering: while Fluttershy’s impulse was natural, Celestia didn’t doubt a iota, another girl was Luna, and it cost a little to conclude, she was the “brain and soul” of the rescue operation rather.

Celestia watched her younger sister sitting behind the opposite edge of the long served table in the royal dining room; she wondered what thoughts occupied that head veiled with night-coloured mane, played by the wind, which brought freshness through the open window and made the curtains wave and flap. The princess loved that morning feel and smell, even when autumn was nigh, but at that moment her pensive glance was chained to the eyelashes of her sister; throwing long shadows on her cheeks, trembling lightly they made Luna looking almost sleeping, but Celestia knew her well – Luna never lost her concentration.

‘I’m confident in Lulu, sometimes even more than in myself, but…’

‘They are becoming too close, closer than I could ever expect. What may her influence on the human fruit with? She sees no danger in him and shares too much…’ Celestia sighed. ‘What if…’

‘On the other hoof, what did you expect from the girls? Wouldn’t you do the same in the similar circumstances?’ It wasn’t a question of falling for the human, of course, and Celestia chuckled lightly, but from purely benevolent reasons. ‘Besides, nopony knows, what could happen, if Alex put his unfortunate plan to practice…’ The thought about Discord, warning that physical elimination of the human wouldn’t be final anyway, made her huff in frustration, bright magenta eyes rolled sarcastically.

The letter caught the princess mid-thought; a small green flash lit her cup, Celestia already held at her lips, and made her put it down, squinting anxiously. The letters, received that early, were usually the most important ones, as hardly anypony, especially Twilight, would dare to bother the princess with something insignificant in the morning. Celestia caught the scroll with her aura, before it dropped into her plate, and threw another quick glance at her sister; Luna yawned, sipping her nopony-knew-which-already coffee sleepily – she noticed nothing yet, unlike Celestia’s pet phoenix, who showed interest, almost sniffing the letter.

Expecting to see Spikes calligraphy, Celestia discovered on that floral-honey fragrant scroll some familiar, but hard to recall hoof to her surprise; that was enough to double her attention.

“Dear Princess Celestia!

I never wrote to Your Highness before and knowingly apologize for any flaws, which I may thus commit! Although, the certain recent events regarding the human – which you were undoubtedly informed about by Twilight already – made me brace myself and address Your Highness directly.

I know that Your Highness and the respected Royal Mage Council performed the extensive research of the means to transport the human to his home world, taking his magic resistance into consideration. It’s not a secret that your joint attempts were fruitless due to his nature and, of course, I have no reasons to not trust your expertise and effort.

But I also happen to be informed that you looked mostly for the methods of transportation, basing on the assumption that somepony summoned Alex to Equestria. Your Royal Highness, princess Celestia, please forgive me my impudent attempt at advice and that wicked idea, but… what if you are dealing not with the pony, human (if it is possible) or any other known creature magic in that case?

There are some powers in Equestria (I was able to witness during the events in the Crystal Empire), which can’t be strictly named sentient in pony sense, but nevertheless possess own, often unpredictable, will and plans. This we can’t deny, even if the assumption that the Crystal Heart could summon somepony is farfetched, there are a few others, as far as I know, which may have played their role.

Your Highness, being absolutely sincere I am writing that with the aching heart, as Alex’s departure is the last thing I could desire. But I promised to support him in everything he aspired to, be near and provide my helping hoof no matter what. So, if his ardent wish is to leave Equestria for Earth, I can’t stay aside and keep that suggestion to myself. That would be the worst imaginably unfairness, done to Alex.

Please, princess, take that idea into consideration and don’t judge me too strictly.

Your always loyal subject

Fluttershy.

P.S.: I can’t watch him suffer and I’d better send him to Earth, than lose him completely and wittingly, even if Alex claims that the recent events won’t happen again…”

Lowering the letter Celestia closed her eyes for a second, muttering in half-voice.

“Poor girl!”

“What, apologies?” it seemed, Luna finally noticed the scroll and made an effort to wake up, seeing her sister’s concerned muzzle. “I didn’t hear thee well, sunny…”

Sending the scroll afloat across the table, instead of an answer, Celestia did her best to look relaxed again; she levitated a walnut core from the salad to Philomena, princess’ phoenix perched her armchair backrest and picked the treat with quiet cooing. With genuine interest Celestia watched Luna, catching the letter and running her eyes across the lines, waking up fast. The Night Princess squinted attentively, then the faint shadow touched her muzzle, making her wrinkle her cute nose funnily; nevertheless, it was evident, the letter provoked some uneasy thoughts in Luna.

“I’ve just got that curious scroll,” dropped Celestia innocently. “What do you think, blueberry?”

“Well, if ‘t be true Fluttershy sayeth, she wanteth to help Alex get home,” sighed Luna, still scanning the letter. “Then she is serious enough, as that’s hardly something she would fake.”

‘Just like me!’

“At least she firmly believeth, that may work,” added Luna aloud, putting down the paper, which rolled tightly again.

“What’s about the whole idea in general?” Celestia gently stroked Philomena with magic, making the phoenix squint and stretch her neck. “It looks somewhat familiar to me… and I’m not sure, if I like that feeling.”

“She didn’t make a revelation, saying thither are some powers on Equus, sentience and motives of which we can’t arrant comprehend, but can’t deny either,” Luna shrugged casually; although, her strained perky ears told Celestia, she took the letter seriously enough. “As for the actual possibility to undertake that… I don’t know… Fluttershy is correct, something like the Crystal Heart could hardly do that, but… Tia, at which hour thou preferred to listen to mom, I spent mine time watching dad’s training or craft.”

“Still I would like to know your point of view about that idea applied to…” Celestia even leaned forward, forgetting about her cooling tea. “Let’s say, applied to how exactly Alex arrived in Equestria. I hope you remember it quite well, despite the four months period.”

Luna kept pensive silence for a couple of minutes; finally the spear eyelashes flew up and deep blue eyes stared into sister’s.

“I watched the storm through the telescope forsooth, so I dare to think, spotted more details, thou might have missed, Tia. The storm didn’t look natural, but… I’m not a specialist in teleportation magic,” her ears flattened. “Yet what else could it be except a portal to deliver the human to our world?”

Universal patience and readiness to wait as long as necessary were written across Celestia’s muzzle and Luna gave up.

“Okay… If ‘t be true mine memory serveth me well, the whole nature and appearance of that “storm” gave the only one answer - that was, that resembled the… unfocused meta-portal. At least three of four attributes matched,” under Celestia’s surprised glance Luna continued. “I don’t know many mages, who can create those even theoretically, not mentioning that a magical instrument like that taketh immense amounts of power.”

“You underestimate yourself, Lulu,” Celestia said heartily. “I always knew, what I was to study with great effort for hours, you often were able to catch up naturally. And what’s the most complicated aspect about the meta-portals?”

“Them being unfocused methinks.”

“Exactly! The rare cases they used are ones, when the mage doesn’t know the exact object or location at the moment the portal is created, that is why the power consumption, the complexity, the high possibility of mistake… and as the result, even those, who can, appeal to them quite rarely. The object is chosen during the meta-portal lifetime by meeting some criterion, then… poof!” Celestia clopped her fore hooves together. “But why? Even according to his story, Alex was an average human… Or not?”

“That still leaves a few questions open,” added she after the long pause. “Who or what, if we admit that idea,” she nodded towards the letter. “as feasible. Was it entirely safe? What about Alex’s abilities?” Celestia elaborated. “While he might get his metabolism and sleepwalking as the result of interaction with alicorns here, he was already magically resistant, when Fluttershy brought him to her house. In that case, how was he transferred at all?”

Luna listened to her sister, biting her lower lip, visibly deciding something.

“Thou knowest that I visited Alex’s dreams…”

“Yes, sister. That’s exactly where my anxiety grounds from!” Celestia raised one eyebrow.

“Oh, Tia, dost not start again,” huffed Luna impatiently. “I’m not talking about that. Alex’s first dream I visited was exactly about his ride at the day of… transfer. I was practically able to ride his… carriage with him, unnoticed by him at that moment, of course,” Luna shrugged. “So… It looked exactly like the unfocused meta from the other side and it took quite some time, afore it aimed at Alex.”

“Funny that you mention that now only,” dropped Celestia a bit grumpily.

“Sunny, I told thee, I nev’r was a specialist in warp magic, besides, I could hardly help thy research, as not the kind of the portal mattered, but the mere human’s resistance to all kinds of magic,” Luna glanced at her sister. “What I mean is, whoever transferred Alex must be a really powerful being.”

“And?..”

“Methinks our best bet must be the Tree of Harmony, sister. Besides, it’s quite close to the place Alex arrived to. And as we both know, it easily meets all the other conditions.”

“You surely remember, what… who the Tree of Harmony actually is, blueberry!” Celestia couldn’t sound more serious at that moment. “I mean, the risks in case of…”

“Although,” added she after a minute of silence. “I’ve got another interesting letter last evening, this time from Twilight. More of a short message rather, but very thought-provoking, Lulu. Very!” She put away her cup and brought her fore hooves together pensively, then glanced at Luna with concern. “The connection seems obvious, although, I don’t know what to think about all that. She wrote that Alex caught a leaf… from the Tree of Harmony… while on that tower.”

Luna closed her eyes with a tiny sigh.

“Considering the Clock Tower height and the distance to the cleft,” Celestia watched her with growing interest. “I’d say that leaf reaching him was least accidental. Yet it’s open to interpretation, of course. I’m not sure…”

“Considering all we know about him, Tia,” Luna leaned forward meaningfully. “She is the only one capable to send him back, if ‘t be true that’s possible,” Luna shrugged with incorruptible sincerity. “The decision is thine. Trust me, I know about the risks and I would nev’r take that particular case lightheaded…”

‘…as I’m least interested in his departure!’ read Celestia in sister’s wide open eyes.

That day Alex was to finish his work earlier, long before the sunset, as Twilight insisted on the eve; he had no idea which plans she had regarding him, but assumed that would involve some help or more generator checks – Twilight was very concerned about the Golden Oak wellbeing. Fortunately, the new smelter was almost finished, at least pure building stage was, for the rest Alex needed some extra help according to his research. Anyway, nothing prevented him from tying the ends earlier and using the remaining time for more training, as lately they had less time for that; the sudden pause in work came really handy.

The Sun wasn’t very hot and the air provided enough cooling, not being entirely still, thus the training took longer time, utilizing naturally beneficial conditions. Alex was to spin like a squirrel in the wheel – the blacksmith increased the difficulty and charge significantly, compared to the first time, rightfully assuming that Alex needed to progress, not stomp on the single spot. Or perhaps he supposed that heavier training left Alex fewer chances to concentrate on his darker memories. Thus busy reflecting the numerous hit attempts of blacksmith’s wooden clubs, Alex didn’t notice Twilight, appearing on the road from Ponyville and approaching the smithy.

“Wow! So this is what you do, when you put your metalwork away…”

Alex threw a quick glance aside, finally spotting Twilight leaning with her fore legs on the fence and watching him with wide open eyes. Not less than half a dozen sticks flew around the human, keeping him constantly on guard and making the pole in his hands move that fast, it was hard to notice.

“Yeah!” he breathed out, hitting away the next club. “Will… simply… uh!.. thinks that… the closer… uh!.. to the actual battle… huh!.. the better! Ouch!” his distraction by Twilight was rewarded by a palpable slap slightly below the back. Alex groaned, attacking the clubs with new energy.

“This way it will be easier, when it comes to the real encounter!” smirked Willsmash, he slowly circled around Alex, looking for a weak spot in his defence as usual. “Good afternoon, miss Sparkle!” the old unicorn nodded slightly, but with visible respect.

His warm and surprisingly unofficial tone made Twilight, ready to hear “princess” again, smile and relax. ‘I understand Alex, not believing that Willsmash was guilty of some grim incidents. If only other ponies were as open-minded…’

“He could be twice more effective in the… certain condition,” noticed the blacksmith meaningfully. “But unfortunately, Alex prefers to test his abilities the most “natural way”, as he calls it!”

‘Maybe he is right,’ thought Twilight. ‘The temptation to take over the offensive “weapons” could be too high, who knows, what effect his ability colliding with magic could give…’

“Can I steal your diligent apprentice, sir?” she let out a sly smile.

“Of course, young lady. One of us is about to run out of steam anyway,” chuckled Willsmash. “Your intervention allows us both keep face…” Both Alex and Twilight couldn’t hold the laughter… and Alex missed a couple of pokes more.

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

A few minutes later they hit the road to Ponyville; Alex hurried a bit to leave the smithy – he noticed from the corner of his eye how Twilight fixedly watches Sil pouring water onto his hands, when he washed after the training. The sly sparkles in alicorn’s eyes and the shadow of the smile made Alex facepalm inwardly; he would prefer pouring a whole bucket of cold water on his head instead of those insinuations. Luna’s jokes about Sil being one of “simply nice fillies” were more than enough.

Twilight trotted with good pace, making Alex follow and wonder, what came into the book-pony’s head. They managed to cover half of the way, when Alex failed to hold his questions; Twilight was unusually silent, yet determined and her pensive expression brought faint suspicions that it might be not only about some common household help.

“Well, Twi,” Alex caught up with her and walked by side. “Maybe you finally crack it up and tell what problem made you… mum. I admit that the generator is half-baked yet, but I’m not going to leave it that way. There are a few things to connect and tune, I think we’ll be up in a couple of days. Twi?”

It took her a minute or two, before Twilight finally tuned in, so deep in some thoughts she looked.

“What hath befallen, Twi?” Alex felt, her uneasiness relayed to him.

“Oh… Errmmm… It’s not about the generator,” Twilight blinked, looking at Alex, but her glance seemed turned inside, as if she was playing something in her mind or building a better strategy. “Although, making it work will be nice of you. Actually, I thought about another thing, Alex.”

Twilight fell silent again, watching the road under her hooves and the complex plan in her mind simultaneously; Alex decided to wait patiently. They almost reached the Library back yard, when passing the windmill frame Twilight dropped another grain of information.

“Remember, I told you, I had an idea, how to remedy your mournful thoughts at least partially?” her smile looked a bit unconfident though. “I think I can help… You mentioned that yourself anyway.”

Alex sighed, wondering if Twilight planned to try her psychoanalysis experiments on him; however, he couldn’t remember, if he mentioned psychoanalysis at any point.

“Well, if you think that may really help,” he shrugged away the image of Twilight trying to find the roots of his problem in his childhood. ‘No need to dig too deeply, checking the certain road accident… err… four… almost four already! months ago is enough.’

“You’re not Rarity. I mean, what can probably go wrong, right?”

Twilight chuckled nervously. They passed the Golden Oak, but when Alex threw an unequivocal glance at the front door, Twilight simply headed further across the square, making Alex even stop for a second.

“Ahem… Twi?” Alex raised one eyebrow. “Ain’t we going…”

“Come on, Alex,” she looked at him over the shoulder, nodding forward. “It’s not… in the Library.”

“Oh… Well…”

Side by side they crossed the square, a couple of streets with sunlit facades and front gardens; Twilight’s silence and pensiveness made concern slowly crawl into Alex soul, he couldn’t explain why, but something in that idea didn’t rub him well. At the same time he trusted Twilight’s wits and experience; not all the medicine tasted nice – that went without saying. Alex caught himself on suddenly paying attention to what he failed to notice seconds before – strong aroma of some late flowers in the gardens they passed.

Finally Twilight stopped, her glance at Alex carried the mixed feelings, but Alex stared in another direction. He understood where exactly they were heading at once, at the very moment he noticed that house, all the windows of which were tightly curtained. Warm August sun flooded it with light, the flowers in the front garden looked only a bit wilted, maybe the owners forgot to water them properly; two ponies held a quiet conversation at the porch. But the house caused chills running down Alex’s spine; cold and blind it didn’t look like the houses in Ponyville supposed to.

“Merlin’s…” Alex swallowed the sudden lump, his heart dropped and the world around turned grey and mute for a moment; Alex shook his head, shooing away the weirdness of finding himself inside a falsely drawn decoration, feeling punched in the stomach by reality. ‘Well, thou can’t deny that thou wanted to visit them forsooth. Rewinding and replaying the possible situation in thy mind… But at which hour it befalleth, thou feelest least prepared anyway.’

“T-twilight,” Alex cleared his throat. “Is it… his house?”

“Yes, Alex,” Twilight’s voice was quiet and sympathetic, she still watched him frozen on the spot with slight concern. “That’s Staunch Flume’s house… and his wife’s. His sister came to support Rainstrorm on those days, but… Don’t worry, they know we may come…” Alex glared at her, but he was to admit, he was nothing to complain about, Twilight did what she could to ease that meeting. “I think everything will go smoothly.”

“Although…” she threw a quick glance at two ponies at the porch. “I hoped for more privacy first.”

“No, Twilight, thou art correct,” Alex took a deep breath. “This needeth to be done. The sooner the better. I lingered for too long anyway, it shan’t be easier on morrow.” He made a few steps forward, like flexing the legs, which suddenly got numb.

“Alex, please,” Twilight quickly pattered along. “Mind the words… I mean not the words themselves, but… thy accent!” she made big eyes. “No need to add more awkwardness…”

“I shall try,” dropped Alex. “Can’t promise anything, but…”

They passed the gate under the mildly curious glances of the stallions, who interrupted their talk and moved aside, returning Twilight’s silent nod. Lingering for a second Twilight knocked on the front door twice; the hoofsteps resulted in a mid-age mare in the black neckerchief, but apparently, that wasn’t the muzzle Twilight expected to see.

“Excuse us, ma’am. Can we see Mrs. Flume?” she said quietly, but determinedly. “She knows about us, I’m Twilight Sparkle and this is Alex.”

“I see, princess. Come in, Your Highness and your… friend.”

Twilight squinted, unable to hold the usual flush, and pushed Alex lightly inside, when the mare stepped back, revealing the room. The muffled even hum faded and Twilight noticed, what Alex saw already over the head of the mare, stumbling on the doorstep, so Twilight was to nudge him.

It wasn’t obvious, who felt more dumbfounded, him or Twilight: the main room was full of unknown ponies, mares and stallions of different age and a couple of foals – more than a dozen all in all, as Alex could quickly estimate. Everypony had some black detail of clothing, the bloodshot teary eyes of the filly stood out a mile; relatives and close friends gathered to bid the last farewell to Staunch Flume and his daughter, finally unable to deny their apparent loss.

Alex felt like an alien much more than he did at the Gala, where the whole herd observed his standing out frame. He closed the eyes for a moment and let the air through clenched teeth slowly – there was no way back apparently.

“Good evening” weren’t the proper words for that moment and Alex and Twilight simply nodded shortly to the herd, getting a few similar gestures in response. The silence pressed his ears, but Alex was endlessly thankful for the absence of hateful glances, as he could notice shortly.

“They are upstairs,” the mare in black neckerchief shortly jerked her chin towards the stairs, but that wasn’t unfriendliness, rather the expression of awkwardness – they caught the whole company by surprise. “Both Rainstorm and Azure Wreath.”

“Thanks,” whispered Twilight, receiving the mare’s short nod, the latter pursed the lips and squinted, holding back tears, making Alex swallow another lump.

“I had no idea…” quietly muttered Twilight, when they ascended. “They didn’t tell, the relatives were going to gather today… How are you, Alex?” she looked into his face with concern.

“Been better,” face of stone, he blinked. “I… I’ll be fine. I… hope.” He made an effort over himself, following her to the half-opened door in the end of the hallway.

“I beg for your excuse…” Twilight accurately hoofed the door frame. Alex barely heard the welcoming phrase.

Two mares sat at the couch, their backs to the window; Alex could only see the dark silhouettes for the moment, before his eyes accommodated to the counter light. He fancied a faint smell of some potion, reminding him common natural sedatives from Earth. The pegasus mare held the earth pony one in the wing embrace, stroking her fore hoof; the latter apparently cried moments before they broke their mourning – him and Twilight.

Inwardly ready for any rightful outburst of the mare losing the most precious, Alex braced himself and stepped forward. The pegasus whispered something into the ear of another mare, whom she tried to comfort, waiting for her nod, then got up. She threw back her long wavy mane with a short habitual movement, folding her wings and coming closer. Twilight kept silence.

“Mrs… Flume?” his own voice sounded distant and so… artificial to Alex, the words – stupid and clumsy.

“Mrs. Flume, yes,” she nodded shortly, tiny bitter smile looked like a convulsion rather. Alex wondered, how the strong and fit mare, whose muscles visibly rolled under the soft coat, as she moved, could look at the same time so deflated; as if she suddenly forgot, how to use all her strength. “Rainstorm Flume.”

“I… am that human, Twilight told about. Alex… I was on the dam, when…”

‘What am I saying?’ Alex’s back crawled, he felt awful. Awfully incongruous there. He glanced down at her. “Mine…” Twilight quietly inhaled behind.

“Please… Forgive me!” Alex kneeled to the pegasus, whose electric blue widened eyes stared at him perplexedly. Another mare raised her teary glance, as surprised as mrs Flume; she squinted her azure eyes, peering into him, Alex noticed the thick glasses on the coach next to her. “I… couldn’t…” He choked on words and downcasted. ‘No bucking apology can return her family!’

“Forgive you?” Rainstorm seemed not believing her ears and eyes. “You actually blame yourself in their…” she swallowed and Alex noticed a single tear trailing down her cloudy grey cheek. “I heard what happened from Staunch’s colleague and pr… miss Twilight told me the rest.” Alex closed his eyes.

He felt a light touch on his arm. That was the least he expected; Alex would probably feel better, if both mares pounced him, accusing of their loss. That would feel more appropriate to the circumstances in his opinion.

“I thought miss Twilight… exaggerated a bit,” the widow’s voice was soft, slightly surprised; Alex didn’t know what to say or do, that reaction caught him completely defenceless. Meanwhile Rainstorm sat right in front of him, looking concernedly into his face. “But it seems you are… How was it your fault? You were the only one, who did something, who dashed to help…”

“I was to,” Alex dared to look into her eyes, to his surprise he found only sadness and sympathy there; that hurt even more. “But I failed drastically. I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t be foalish! Alex… right?” Azure Wreath sighed intermittently and rose from the couch, approaching Mrs. Flume, she brashly wiped the tears, trailing down the pistachio cheeks and veiling her view. “It… it was a miracle you could reach the top, before they fell. I saw the dam… and can’t understand how you…” Shaking her short mauve mane with apricot strands, which got into her sight, she put on the glasses again to see the human better.

“That’s the point,” quietly squeezed Alex through gritted teeth. “I was thither, before they fell. But I lost too much time, lingering…”

“You did, what you could, more than anypony else. I know about…” Rainstorm stumbled. “The circumstances were stronger than you, Alex. Don’t blame yourself!” she shook her head slowly. “By the same logic I’m even more guilty than you are, not saving them, despite I can fly… Could I be there?” she wiped another tear, while Alex watched both mares with dilated eyes. “Could you grab them or could they fall even before you came?”

“It’s pointless to guess,” added she. “You should blame those, who made that nightmare happen, nopony else.”

“Storm is right! The monsters terrorizing Ponyville. And… it seems the entire Equestria,” nodded Azure Wreath, putting her fore hoof on Rainstorm’s shoulder.

“I know how you feel, Alex,” Missis Flume leaned closer to his ear. “Miss Twilight told me… everything. Don’t be angry with her, please!” she intercepted the wild glare Alex threw at his alicorn friend. “There is always somepony, who cares. As a mother…” Rainstorm stumbled with a painful expression. “As a mother, I’m glad that you didn’t… finish, what you planned.”

Alex squinted, making a titanic effort to hold back tears choking him.

“Thank you,” he held her hoof instead, squeezing it lightly. “And… Please, forgive me, Rainstorm…”

“Believest, Twilight,” said Alex, stopping amidst the street, when several minutes later they slid out of the house, like two ghosts, not wanting to disturb the mourning relatives of Flume family. “I thought, I… thou… It made me feel a zilch better forsooth. I guess, I should thank thee for that!”

Truth be told, Twilight couldn’t tell for sure, if Alex actually felt any relief. But he looked a tiny bit brighter than when they entered the house, so she wanted to believe, that effort wasn’t futile.

“Tellest me one thing,” Alex watched her fixedly, Twilight’s nose turned pinkish. “Didst thou actually know, how it would go?” He headed back to the Library with Twilight trying not to fall back.

“Well, I won’t deny, I told them… everything,” she confessed, flattening her ears. “Rainstorm didn’t ponder too long, she said that we might come. She looked calm, yet… I didn’t know for sure. But I wanted to help and… I’m happy that it turned out as it did.”

Alex went silently, he didn’t drop a word the whole road back to the library, while they crossed the streets and Twilight greeted the numerous ponies, filling the town at that hour after work. Alex simply wasn’t there, while he actually walked alongside her, looking down, occupied by the thoughts. Or maybe he didn’t want the setting Sun to hit him directly into the eyes. Only when they entered the square at the foot of the Golden Oak, he stopped and turned to the girl.

“I really want to know, if ‘t be true those Seeker-bastards are straightly connected to mine arrival to Equestria! It would be a promising perspective – to leave and take them all with me, so nopony else suffered hither… On Earth, without magic… Hmpf, it would be a question, whose victory it was.”

Twilight could only shake her head slowly, listening to him. ‘I’m afraid it’s not that simple anymore, Alex.’

“Know what,” said Twilight, watching Alex consuming his dinner, if unwilling digging in the plate could be named such. “You definitely look better recently. I mean… you still come exhausted, maybe mentally even more than physically, but that looks…” she stumbled, searching for a suitable, yet not an overly blunt word.

“… like exhaustion of one healing from the mortal disease, correct?” Alex came to her aid. “Not the doomed one at least.”

“What?” Twilight half gasped half chuckled. “Well, upon the second thought, you’re right, something along those lines.”

“Apparently, constant fighting my inner demons consciously… methodically is a bit more straining even than succumbing to them, but I don’t complain,” the fork spun in Alex’s fingers slowly, as if he was deciding about the mere necessity of the food at that moment; Alex sported a little smirk. “I’m finally able to rest at least sometimes, thanks to Luna… and thanks to Fluttershy I’m able to do anything at all,” added he slowly after the second thought.

Twilight threw a quick glance at him, pondering about something she considered since Alex came back from the smithy that evening. Intercepting that glance Spike made an encouraging face and she nodded, seeing that Alex was hardly going to cope with more food. Despite the initial plan was to hoof it to Alex after the dinner, the small officially sealed scroll, enveloped in the lilac aura, floated to Alex.

“Ahem, this came with evening mail, Alex,” the scroll fell into human’s stretched hand and Twilight noted the subtle, almost subconsciously automatic sniff of Alex upon unsealing it; the scroll smelled nothing but paper and ink though. Alex arched the eyebrow: the only one, who could write to him, as he thought, was still angry with him.

Although, the letter didn’t cause him any anxiety, despite Alex couldn’t feel any familiar fragrance; it rather made him mildly curious. Alex unrolled the scroll, the CSC official header and seal attracted attention, making him put away the fork and read deeper into it. Predicting such reaction Twilight watched him with a smile; unwittingly Alex presented her a nice pantomime with each new line.

The first few were read with the same tired, politely pretending to be interested face: Alex expected some forgotten formalities about the contract to be solved that way, nothing else. But the deeper into the text, the more noticeable changes happen to his expression: he chuckled quietly, raising one eyebrow and nodding with a content smile, then suddenly a faint shadow ran across Alex’s face and Twilight almost felt, how he shuddered. But he managed to cope with himself; a few more lines and a grin, unconfident at first, then wide and hopeful, lit Alex’s face, the latter being a nice change from his recent jaded look. Alex nodded to some of his thoughts enthusiastically.

“HA!” Alex’s sudden exclamation made both Twilight and Spike jump on their chairs involuntarily. “Thither was a small possibility that mine plans were… sand castles, but they really came across that technical contradiction. That meaneth, we scored!” the sparkles in his eyes highlighted the shadow of pre-dam Alex for a moment. “Will and Sil scored finally!”

“Tis not a secret… Merely mine plans working as expected…” he handed the letter to Twilight, taking his fork automatically.

Twilight unrolled the naughty scroll with her aura and read aloud.

“Dear Sir!

Basing on our former ability to communicate personally, I took the liberty to write you unofficially, as a private individual (even if from informal approval of the directorate), as we firmly believe some of the following details must stay hidden from the foreign eye for now. This, of course, does not apply to ponies, involved in development and production, and certain princesses, whom I entirely trust in that case, knowing about their support and role in your development.

Back to the news now, not being tongue-in-cheek, I have the proverbial two – good and bad – for you, sir. Starting from the good one, despite you will most definitely see its influence on your account in the nearest future, I would like to inform you that the production of your generators has started successfully. One of the existing production lines was converted to conform the technological process of your origins and is already launched. Thus the first party of smaller household-scale generators (with the supplementary equipment) was built and passed all the quality testing…”

“As planned,” Alex shrugged almost dispassionately, but Twilight could fancy the subtle tint of glee in his voice; besides, he finally addressed his dinner as somepony, who hadn’t fill himself since morning.

“After the demonstration in Appleloosa (as we decided, that region naturally needed the product), where the device was accepted with great enthusiasm, the entire party (after final fitting and equipping with wind propulsion units) found its owners. Moreover, we have a growing number of orders and cooperation proposals. That’s hardly a disappointment, sir.

However, some technical, even better say – exploitative, difficulties were met with the heavy-duty industry size generators. As you know, a few of which were made to operate at Ponyville Dam.”

Twilight stumbled and threw a quick glance at Alex; the contents of his plate interested Alex more than anything else at the moment, but… his stone-like jawline told her everything; Twilight quietly exhaled and continued.

“The test showed that our existing materials aren’t durable enough under the load at high rotation speeds. In particular, the generator shafts bearings experience the high rate of wear-out; up to the degree, when maintenance becomes more expensive than the production itself, even for the manufacturer, let alone the customer. Henceforth I, and the whole Canterlot Steam Company in my muzzle (unofficially at that point), express the high hope that you are willing to fulfill your part of the deal, namely aforementioned development and construction (or material) improvement.

Personally, I have no tiniest idea, how you, dear sir, would complete that task within the given technical situation, but… if you take your hard craftsmanship into action and finally perform that miracle, I will personally apologize for every word of doubt I might have.

With the hope of sooner solution of our common technical problem and further fruitful cooperation

Solid Deal, M.S.”

Almost with a whistle of a boiling kettle Twilight stared at Alex’s face inquiringly, her nose twitched funnily.

“I could probably say, you caught them a little bit unfairly… but technically I have nothing to cling to,” she snorted quietly and shook her head. “Did you actually predict that outcome and plan everything beforehoof?”

“Well,” Alex tried to keep a serious face, but a sly smile found its way out anyway. “I supposed that some technical difficulties could emerge at some point of development and improving the construction. Besides, I didn’t want them to spoil mine invention by uncontrolled intervention. But I sincerely didn’t expect the troubles to emerge that fast.”

“Okay, okay, methinks I had the right to reserve some guaranty that we wouldn’t turn up over the board after the large companies stepped in,” giving up under Twilights fixed and sarcastic glance, Alex raised his hands. “The point is, they won’t suffer anyway, getting their income. Quite a large one, considering the scale of mass production. I simply wanted to back up our interests and Will’s future regardless to the circumstances, don’t you think it was simply fair, Twi?”

She examined him for a few long seconds, then to his surprise Alex noticed her shaking from stifled laughter; she finally gave a crack, laughing aloud, looking at Alex sly mien.

“Maybe you are right, Alex,” confessed Twilight after a while. “Princess Celestia told me once, how Willsmash got out of the business because of the competition. Even with full trust credit he would have about the quarter of his previous income.”

“Did Tia tell you, how she tried to help Will and what happened?” Alex interested, paying no attention to Twilight’s gasp. “Please, Twilight, don’t mention princesses within Will’s presence, okay. I don’t want him to suspect me of acting on their behalf, he looked at me strangely enough, finding out that I was a sleepwalker.”

“Don’t you think that being a sleepwalker… well, for a human at least, is already enough to receive “strange glances”?” Spike rested his chin on the fists and blinked several times, looking at Alex, Twilight huffed again and Alex only shook his head.

“You two may giggle as much as you want. I meant… even more strange, than facing a sleepwalker.”

“Oh…” meaningfully nodded Spike, they still snorted with Twilight, sharing a hoofbump.

“I’m serious Twi,” Alex facepalmed, alternating between them. “About finding out the truth regarding Will’s past as well. I don’t believe, he was treated fairly… But work comes first.”

“Speaking of which,” Alex squinted at Spike. “I will need some invaluable help of the certain dragon-guy soon, we have plenty of work… Both technical and geological!” Alex emphasized the last word, instantly gaining attention from the little dragon.

“Don’t know about the technical side, you know better, but I must say, I simply love geology!” Spike licked his lips involuntarily. “It completely suits my taste.”

“I never had any doubts,” smirked Alex. “It appears, I will need more diamonds with that size of the new smelter, thus more digging awaits. As usual everything extra is to your service, Spike.”

Twilight followed their talk with a mirthful expression, noticing pre-dam Alex showing up again for a short time, when she intercepted the attentive sad glance, which contrasted with the rest of Alex’s expression strikingly. To Twilight’s bewilderment his slow understanding nod clearly told, he almost literally read her thoughts.

“I simply must share the news with Willsmash,” quickly dispelling her confusion, Alex rested the fork on his plate and stretched his shoulders. “That’s the perfect moment to tell him about the Steam Company involvement and…”

“…and not getting kicked out!” snorted Spike.

“Well… I thought about discussing the future plans actually, but the one is impossible without another,” Alex measured Spike with an exaggeratedly attentive glance. “So, I guess, your version isn’t far from the truth.” He bowed slightly, keeping the serious face.

Twilight was going to tell those two to finally stop acting foalish, but reconsidered; she admitted Alex’s right to vent in some way after the recent events. ‘The more distracted he is from his current position, the better!’

“I have no doubt that the news couldn’t be more optimistic… if they even made you finally pay due attention to your dinner…” Twilight made a face, nodding at Alex’s plate and only then he noticed that he had unwittingly cleaned it, as somepony having nothing since morning should. “But waking somepony for that,” she checked the wall clock unequivocally. “won’t increase their understanding. If you get, what I mean.”

“Oh, rest assured, Twi, I won’t wake Will and his niece simply to tell them something. But something tells me, Will can stay awake for a little longer tonight,” under her inquiring glance Alex elaborated. “He seemed barely holding himself from telling me something important and only the amount of work today prevented him… and maybe he wasn’t entirely sure in what he had to tell. I bet the old blacksmith will think about some improvement, he wanted to suggest, till the late night.”

“So, unless you need some help with the dishes,” Alex got up. “I planned to recourse to my usual remedy these days and check myself, if he is still awake… as soon as I will be roaming around Ponyville anyway.”

Spike waved his paw, showing that they could cope with a few plates perfectly.

“Truth be told, I extend mine hope the idea, he wanted to share with me, helpeth me stay… errmmm… “unkicked” till I can explain mine,” he raised one eyebrow, masking the tension under bravado. “What are you both going to do?”

“Sleep, what else,” Spike shrugged, as if somepony asked him an ultimately obvious question.

“I was going to check the books to ensure I can provide the help, you recently asked me for,” Twilight’s aura enveloped and stacked the dishes one by one. “I don’t want the same hitch as with the light bulbs to be repeated,” the tip of her nose flushed slightly at the memory of her mistake and Twilight hurried to change the topic. “Besides, you will have only one attempt this time… otherwise, a lot of hard work is wasted.”

“Don’t stay up too long, Twi,” Alex winked. “You risking falling asleep on the pile of books again.”

“Know what?” the alicorn girl stuck out her tongue, looking at him over the shoulder. “It’s a little strange to hear that advice from somepony preferring nights for scientific work.” With that shot and victorious look she disappeared into the kitchen, carrying the plates; Spike followed her with the diplomatic face and sly sparkles in the eyes.

Trailing through the high grass of the field, bringing thick mist from the lakes north from Ponyville, the fresh, almost autumn-like, breeze played with the embers of cooling down furnace and made the new sunshade flutter above the workbenches with tools, patiently waiting for the morning. Almost palpable silence fell around without the birds’ chatter in the fields, as the most heat-loving already quietly cherished their plans to travel south; only the accidental crackling of the coal and distant barking of the dogs at the town outskirts disturbed it. The brightest, rare on the deep blue velvet of the early night, stars shyly weaved their jewellery on the canvas of the August night, resembling the threads of pearls in Luna’s mane on the gala.

Two smaller sparkles lit above the road to the old smithy, reflecting the light of the lone window of the house and the mist swirled, disturbed by the gaining form and volume body. The late guest threw the bag on his shoulder and headed to the welcoming light through the field, spreading the grass on the way.

‘As I expected, some fancy idea visited old Will forsooth, and he can’t sleep before fleshing it out,’ smirked Alex, watching the lit window for a while, then taking a look over the brought to the exemplary order smithy, stopping for a second at the new sunshade and wondering why such a simple detail caused a warm smile on his face. He hopped over the gate and headed to the front door, not a single gravel creaked under his feet. ‘I wonder what that may be and… extend mine hope I’m not kicked out right after the first phrase,’ Alex braced himself.

The attention of the blacksmith was chained to the number of drafts on the table in front of him, but not that much to make him ignore the polite knock on the front door. Slightly surprised – Willsmash just started getting used to any visitors since a long time again, let alone that late ones – the old unicorn raised, showing agility impressive for his age.

“Who goes there? And what can I help you with that late?” the opened door revealed his human apprentice, sporting a faintly nervous smile.

“Good evening, mister Steel,” Alex shifted from one foot to another. “I extend mine hope I’m of no disturbance…”

“Evening. But why so official, Alex?” huffed Willsmash, stepping aside and welcoming Alex in with a nod. “We already decided that it’s simply “uncle Will” for you… after…” Alex inhaled deeply, crossing the doorstep.

“Allow me to tell what I have, then we shall see, if ‘t be true I still can use that… as well as if I am still welcome hither. I have only good news, but…”

“Oh, come on, Alex, get inside and tell, what is bothering you…” old Will let out an encouraging smile, nudging Alex towards the room. “I have some news as well, but yours first… as you seem overly jumpy already keeping them to yourself.”

Willsmash followed Alex to the table and waited markedly, until Alex took a seat, placing his bag on the next chair. “So?”

“Mister Steel,” the old unicorn cringed and Alex continued with a sigh. “I shall try to be brief… Since the very beginning I tried mine best, so my own aims went parallel with the smithy interests. I could have some wicked on the first look ideas, but they managed to work somehow.”

“That’s true, I must admit,” chuckled old Will lightly, not entirely catching the tail of Alex’s thoughts yet.

“With our partnership, I’m more than ev’r interested in the smithy prosperity and success and mine latest work is aimed mainly at that in the long perspective.”

“Well, those generators were an undoubted success, son, they brought you noticeable profit and more work to us both. For us with Silver more than for the few last years combined,” added Will, gratitude sounding clearly in his words.

Alex swallowed a lump.

“I plan much more than those generators with the improvements I’m working on; as you know the new smelter is capable to produce arrant different metal… how much different, I shall show. The use of it shalt be comparably advanced.”

“Those generators bring profit, but they are a relatively simple product,” continued Alex under the attentive glance of the blacksmith. “Nevertheless, we don’t have enough capacities to fulfill the demand of that product. Apologies, but I see the real future of that place in making something noticeably more advanced, which can make difference even in relatively small quantities or the time of production isn’t that crucial compared to the value of the product.”

“Like the blade sample you made even with our old smelter,” Will became very serious instantly. “It cuts every sample of my old steel I can offer…”

“Tis one of the possible uses,” nodded Alex quickly. “But let me finish please.”

“It wasn’t a simple decision and it was a part of the complex plan, sir. I would nev’r make it lightheartedly… I involved the Canterlot Steam Company into generators mass production,” that sounded like a thunder strike in the sudden silence.

Willsmash leaned back on his chair, his eye stopped at Alex’s face and a shadow of the long forgotten grief ran across his face. For a single short second it seemed the old unicorn was ready to hit Alex, and Alex couldn’t blame Will for that wish at that moment; actually, Alex was prepared inwardly even for that turn in their conversation.

“They have only rights to replicate and mass produce mine invention, selling it Equestria-wide outside Ponyville,” accurately continued Alex, seeing that even if he was going to be thrown out, it wasn’t going to happen immediately. “For the thirty percent of their income. We reserve the full rights for development and improvement of the construction on our own, obviously, we share the working improvements with them. We still have the related customers from Ponyville and the surrounding area.”

Silence was the only response from Willsmash, his muzzle resembled his anvil at the moment and only the glaring eye scanned Alex’s face. After a long minute he dropped.

“Go on, Alex. I never doubted your practical wit and suppose you wouldn’t come to me with this only.”

“But the main idea was deeper than that,” Alex nodded shortly. “I signed the contract with the main condition – if CSC comes across any technical difficulty, they address us first for the help and amendments, that’s in addition to our exclusive development rights.” Will’s eyes involuntarily dilated and Alex confirmed. “Yes, that makes them practically dependent from us… if they can’t produce something. Of course, they turned a blind eye to that, mayhap even laughed… but have a look, please.”

Alex opened his bag and levitated a scroll out, making Will wince – the old blacksmith threw a wild glance at the human, the understanding his collocutor was “sleepwalking” came after a second.

“Strictly confidentially,” Alex allowed himself a tiny smile.

The light grey aura enveloped the letter; Willsmash wrinkled his nose at the broken CSC seal and unfolded the scroll, taking a read. His single eye ran along the lines quickly, giving up Will’s tension, but… at the last passage his wrinkles smoothed and the tip of Will’s nose treacherously trembled.

“Ha! A-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!” Alex couldn’t believe his eyes, but the old blacksmith suddenly burst out laughing. Will laughed and laughed, dropping the scroll and holding on the table edge, almost blowing his own papers aside, while he took his breath. A small smile, more confident than before, wormed on Alex’s face as well.

“Sweet Celestia!” breathed out Will, stopping as suddenly, he looked at the ceiling, listening, if he didn’t wake up Silver Ingot, who supposedly fell asleep in her room long ago. “If that was a part of your plan since the beginning…” He snorted again like a colt. “I never thought, I could feel avenged that ironically.”

“Seriously, son,” Willsmash shook his head and Alex took a deep breath. “When you mentioned Canterlot Steam Company and generators mass production, I thought, I was going to kick you out of that window,” the unicorn huffed unequivocally and Alex nodded in understanding.

“That was a weak part of mine plan, in the earnest.”

“And I wondered, why you looked like you swallowed a wasp,” Will smirked. “But how did you know?”

“Well, I supposed that the increasing load should increase the demands to the materials,” Alex elaborated. “The household usage was arrant safe, but with enterprise load, like on… the dam,” the old unicorn noticed how nodules jumped on Alex’s jaw. “they would need the more advanced materials. Truth be told, I didn’t expect the bearing giving up that fast…”

“So what are we going to do now?” Willsmash shook his head, trembling from the silent laughter.

“We finish the new smelter as soon as we can,” Alex threw a sly glance at his partner and teacher. “Thankfully I managed to get some help, quite capable assistants I must say. We make those details for CSC and keep them dependent from our work, they won’t be at a loss anyway. Those won’t miss their profit, notice, how they started presenting the generators in Appleloosa first…”

“Yeah…” Alex could spot a sigh and sudden dark shadow running across Will’s muzzle. “There is hardly any other part of Equestria in more need and stress than Appleloosa…”

“So,” accurately stated Alex. “I’m still not a persona non grata here… and we are in business…”

“No, you are not, son,” the old unicorn shook his short mane determinedly, letting out a wry smile. “And yes, Tartarus, we’re going to do that… if you think we can.”

“I’m more than sure, we can,” Alex crumpled the letter with contagious enthusiasm. “But I still think the future of the smithy is into more unique and sophisticated work than… “ultra-durable heavy duty bearing”. Uncle Will,” Alex looked at the blacksmith fixedly. “That armour, I’m struggling with… I need it, no doubt, but… it’s rather a prototype. What if we try to offer the really advanced armour to the royal guards?”

“Guards?” Willsmash stumbled, his muzzle becoming gloomy again. “I don’t know, son… I spent half of my life… working for the army and… it brought nothing but the trouble at the end of the day.”

“I shall try to keep us as uninvolved as possible,” Alex lazily spun the letter in his fingers, trying to see, what was on Will’s sheets of paper, but his ears “perked” at once – for the first time ever the blacksmith mentioned his past. Moreover, gave some emotional value to his musings; Alex was ready to catch every word. “Mayhap I can convince the princesses, we have some advantages to offer… Anyway, I’m ready to take all the negotiation in mine hands.”

“Well… if we simply do our work, hoof it over to the… tin-heads and that’s all, it’s fine. You seem to have fair chances of convincing the princesses of anything, Alex!” Will threw a quick attentive glance at him. “I’d say both Luna and Celestia are hardly more stubborn than you.”

“Oh…” Alex bowed sarcastically. “I may try to compete at least!”

“I think, you have some news as well, uncle Will,” he nodded at the papers, covered in thin lines and some writing, but Alex couldn’t see the upside-down turned text well. “Anything about the armour? Frankly speaking, I gave up with it until the new smelter is operational – the number of burns and holes grows on the prototype, but we are going in circles. A completely different approach is necessary to reach the durability we aspire…”

“No, it’s not about the armour; although, I thought about some ways to improve it indeed. Alas, all I could come to would increase the weight noticeably… Meh!...” the blacksmith shook his head. “I thought about some weapon against those Seekers and… generally against any threat you may encounter. We had a talk about, but since then a few ideas visited my old head during the long evenings.” A wide smile lit Will’s muzzle and he proudly turned the papers, pushing them closer to Alex. “I’ve made a few drafts of a glaive, we discussed. Have a look, Alex.”

The sheets were tightly covered in small drafts of the glaive, with generic measures visible here and there and Alex noticed, those were fitting a human rather than a pony. He wondered how scrupulously, almost with visible love, the details were drawn; whatever old Will said, weapons and armour were his destiny. Will watched Alex, who sorted through drafts with a faint smile; finally, Alex stumbled upon one variant, attracting his attention the most.

That glaive was long and massive with thin crescent blades placed almost at the right angle to the handle; not a common construction, but Alex knew, if he spun it properly, it would turn into a shield of deadly steel, being both the defence and the weapon at once.

“I stopped at that variant myself,” Will noticed Alex’s pondering. “Remembering how you worked with the stick during the training we had… I think it could pay for its unusual form noticeably, even if it seems a bit clumsy at the first sight. Let the enemies check it out!” he chuckled.

“Although the whole thing is indeed large and not very hoofy at the time you aren’t using it as supposed,” the unicorn frowned a bit, leaning to the draft and pointing at the size and weight he estimated. “Unfortunately the weapon of your size is either light or effective, son.”

“Alas, I’m already not as mobile as I would like to be, when it comes to dealing with threats,” sighed Alex. “Unless I’m “sleepwalking” and even then my abilities are quite limited by the magic resistance… Carrying extra weight only makes the problem deeper.”

“We could try making it collapsible…” Alex scratched the back of his head, examining the image thoroughly; he poked his finger. “Here, here and here… and maybe here. We can “break” it and… Still, one won’t wait till you assemble it and if we make it mechanized…” Alex fell silent for a while, leaning on his fist.

“What? The idea is nice,” Will turned over another sheet and quickly drafted the glaive broken into five sections. “If the blades fold as well… it would become four times shorter and still can serve as a weapon, while folded – you can strike with both edges of it.”

“Yeah…” Alex had another concern. “Although, the mechanism seems to become quite complex. Especially if we want the whole thing to be solid enough, when unfolded. What bothers me most, how the mechanical part will operate. I mean, manual unfolding is still clumsy as hay and slow…”

“That’s not a problem exactly, when magic can be used to make the mechanism work.”

“But…”

“I mean simple magic crystals,” elaborated Willsmash, smiling at Alex’s bemusement. “Which are commonly used for lighting and some other things. They can be charged and one can easily change them, if necessary…”

“They aren’t supposed to affect you with their magic,” Will guessed the reason of Alex’s silence properly. “As far as I know, you don’t react to the magical effects, which aren’t directed at you, so…”

“Hmmm…” Alex was to admit, the idea seemed reasonable. “I will need more help then. I have no idea how magically propelled mechanisms work… Still, I think it may be too heavy…”

“The heavier will be the strike against your enemy!” smirked Willsmash.

“Hmmm… Nothing prevents us from trying,” Alex shrugged. “Let’s try making a static glaive at first. Thus we can see the possible problems, besides, I need to get used to that stuff.”

“There is nothing like a good craft challenge, eh?” the blacksmith sly wink made them both laugh quietly.

The wall clock struck midnight, when they finally agreed upon the best shape and construction of the main handle and blades; the mechanism was a problem mostly. Not an unsolvable, but definitely something to think through with the fresh mind. Besides, nightly walk around the town still waited for Alex, he planned to check the outskirts fast, the apple orchard was quite a mass of trees, which needed attention as well. Alex wanted to spend the rest of the night near Fluttershy’s cottage and check the edge of Everfree: quite some time passed since the last Seeker encounter in this area and if the pattern was nearly the same, extra vigilance wouldn’t hurt.

Alex grabbed a couple of drafts – the copies he made to think of the mechanism in his free time, despite thoughts of “free time” called for nothing but sarcasm in his case lately – when some sound from the upstairs attracted his attention.

“We woke Silver anyway,” shrugged Will, answering Alex’s inquiring mimics.

“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to…” the papers flew into his bag and Alex quickly snaked out of the room. “Have a good night, mister Steel… I mean, uncle Will! And thanks…” The blacksmith only waved his hoof after Alex vanishing behind the front door.

“Is everything okay, uncle?” extremely sleepy Silver Ingot levitated a lamp, stopping on the upper step of the stairs and taking a look over the room. She couldn’t hold back a yawn, covering her muzzle with the fore hoof. “Sorry.”

“Still sitting over those papers…” her eyes stopped at the table and the heap of drafts, which doubled since last time she saw it. “Oh, uncle Will, why don’t you get some sleep? The day was hard and the next one will be as well, as you both continue your work now. I’ve dreamt about a beautiful jewellery piece, I’m going to make, having some inspiration finally… when I fancied voices. I thought somepony was here…” she stifled another yawn and looked at her uncle fixedly.

“I was talking to myself, Sil,” unwittingly Willsmash used the short name, Alex gave Silver Ingot. “It happens with the old ponies, like me.” He shrugged with a faint smile.

“Oh, you’re not that old to talk to yourself, uncle,” Silver Ingot quickly trotted down and hugged the blacksmith tenderly. “I actually thought that was Alex, roaming at nights again.”

“I’m not getting younger anyway, my dear.”

The Library met him with silence, but the ground floor windows were lit; with a sigh Alex hopped over the windowsill into his room, dropping the bag on the sofa. Quietly opening the door he faced the scene, he predicted earlier in letter. Spike fell asleep long ago, as otherwise he would most likely take care of that, but the lights were out upstairs and listening carefully one could fancy the quiet even snoring.

Twilight drifted to the Dreamscape right on the couch in the main hall, resting her chin on the thick open book and breathing evenly – the girl saw the tenth dream already. Her bangs overshadowed her closed eyes, trembling lightly with the slight movement of girl’s eyelashes, reflecting the dreams she saw. Twilight’s fore hooves almost hugged the book, accidentally serving as her pillow; books were everywhere: in stacks around the couch and between the chandeliers, on the low table, a few even nested under Twilight’s side, visibly making her feel a bit uncomfortable.

Alex watched that scene for a while, a wide smile curled his lips unwittingly; he shook his head. ‘Let’s hope, she found, what she looked for so methodically.’ He carefully extinguished the candles and when his eyes accommodated to the sudden darkness, lifted Twilight from her Procrustean bed, going to carry to her room.

“Mmmm…” Twilight sighed and nested in his arms, curling into a soft lilac fluffy ball. “Auntie Celestia… A few more pages… and… I’ll go to bed…” the rest was some undetectable cooing.

Doing his best not to burst laughing, Alex headed upstairs with the filly. It took a few attempts to undo the bed with his hands occupied otherwise, strangely the soft objects were harder to operate kinetically, but finally Alex was able to place Twilight comfortably on her side. She cuddled the pillow, curling again and almost covering her snoot with her tail, mumbling something; Alex could hear only “books” and “this spell… must work”.

“Shhhh-shhh, sleepy head,” he accurately covered her with the blanket. After a minute, checking the rest of the lights to be off, Alex slid out of the Library: his nightly duty… and the remedy for his nightmares lay afore him.

“C’mon, Apple Bloom, we need to get to the market in time! Flour, salt and spice ain’t going to buy themselves,” Granny Smith waved to the filly, who lingered for a moment, examining a flower blooming right under somepony’s front garden fence. “Bring themselves home neither. If we are too late, the best will be bought and Ah have nothin’ to choose from.”

“Ohhh… We are already late… because of my aching knees,” muttered the old mare with a sigh.

“Ah’m going, Ah’m going, granny,” Apple Bloom caught up in two leaps and pranced along, making a small circle around her grandma occasionally – the redhead filly couldn’t stand still for a minute this morning. ‘Hmmm… Looks like the girls plotting something again,’ Granny Smith squinted at jumping filly, smiling inwardly and unwittingly remembering herself in that age; she didn’t know about the note from Scootaloo, Apple Bloom found earlier under her windowsill.

“Ah wanted to check, granny,” elaborated the girl. “That flower looked like Marebena Officinalis… A rare plant and Ah never thought, Ah could see it in the town. Well, that one was not Marebena… but Ah was kinda shocked at first. You know, granny, school starts soon… and we want to continue practising with Zecora. We had a break, as she said that fillies must have some rest even from the Alchemy, but Ah don’t want to catch up too much.”

“Marebena?” the old mare picked the main from girl’s machinegun-like speech. “Hmm… Isn’t it a bit too strong ingredient to teach you, fillies, about? Ah remember how we used to make potions with it as fillies… but we were older than you, girls. It’s not a toy… Zecora knows better, of course, Ah hope she told you about…”

“You made potions, granny?” Apple Bloom jumped on the spot and glanced at Granny Smith with doubled interest. “Please, tell…”

“Amateurishly,” shrugged Granny Smith, stopping for a moment; the tip of her nose got pinkish a bit. “Those were… ahem… love potions…” she chuckled. “Some of them were pure rubbish, but some actually worked… Ah’m not a master at that stuff, little Apple, better get ya’r theory from Zecora,” seeing that Apple Bloom perked her ears too curiously, the old mare hurried to change the topic.

“Ah always said, the school was to offer Zecora a position,” grumbled she, starting her shaky gait again. “On the one hoof, it would be simply fair, considering you girls learning from her anyway. Why not all those, who are interested in the Alchemy? Besides, it would be a proper appraisal to her knowledge. On the other hoof…” she glanced at Apple Bloom seriously. “Those lessons would take place at school, not in Everfree. You know the forest becomes more dangerous in Autumn… with those timberwolves and… Ah always worry about you and ya’r friends, when you go there.”

“Ah love you, granny!” Apple Bloom nuzzled Granny Smith’s shoulder and the old mare hugged her with the fore leg, before the filly skipped ahead again. “Don’t worry, Zecora often walks us in and out.”

“Oh, you, cunning one, then come along,” Granny Smith laughed screechy and ruffled Apple Bloom’s mane. “And don’t jump around me that fast, or I may think there are two Apple Blooms… buy twice more goods and one of them will need to help me carry home everything.”

“Aye, ma’am!” the filly cocked her snoot with a sly smile in her eyes.

The market met them with the usual hum of the large herd of vendors and customers negotiating, sharing news and simply chattering; the saliva provoking smell from the greenery stalls clearly told that they came later than usual – the air already heated to the average daily temperature leaving no trails of almost autumn morning chillness. But the greenery stalls weren’t their aim, Apples had everything growing of their own production. Following Granny Smith along the rows, past the lazily flapping in the wind tents, Apple Bloom noticed her friends at once, despite the noisy herd.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle whispered about something in the shade of the large tree at the edge of the market square and quickly ran towards her, attracted by her gesticulation. Scootaloo’s muzzle was somewhat puzzled, even mildly concerned, while Sweetie Belle’s expressed noticeable doubt, like if she was undecided about participating in some plan, Scootaloo was bearing.

“Good morning, mrs. Smith!” greeted the girls almost univocally. “Morning, Apple Bloom!”

“Good morning, young fillies, good morning!” Granny Smith took an interested look over the girls, she knew well, those three in one place, meant adventures at the very least, if not some mischief. “Taking an early walk, enjoying, so to speak, the tail of your holidays?” Apple Bloom covered her mouth with the hoof behind granny’s back and Scootaloo faintly nodded.

“Hi, mates!” said Apple Bloom in the most neutral tone, she was capable of at the peak of her curiosity, seeing girls’ muzzles.

“We wanted to discuss the approaching Harvest Festival,” evasively started Scootaloo. “And hoped, we could… steal Apple Bloom from you for a while, if you don’t mind, of course…”

“Apple Bloom is helpin’ me with the purchase, girls,” Granny Smith watched the fillies with sly sparkles behind wrinkled eyelids. “It’s too hard for me to carry everything home, so it will take some time, sorry.”

“Actually, I have an idea!” Scootaloo’s ears perked. “We can help you carry the stuff. That won’t prevent us from talking, right?” she sported a smile and Sweetie Belle quickly nodded.

“That would be very generous of you, young ladies! Just be careful, please, and don’t fall back.”

“So,” whispered Apple Bloom, when they finally followed in the wake of Granny Smith; when she didn’t use her ear trumpet, quietly discussing the plots was perfectly safe. “What did you want to talk about? Ah bet, the Harvest Festival is the first thing, which came into your ruffled head, Scoots. What’s the matter actually?”

“Don’t you plan to become a detective, mate?” Scootaloo stuck out her tongue at Apple Bloom, then added more serious. “Of course, not the Festival… Although, we must think of something special this year, you’re right here. But it’s all about another… thing, which bothers me for a while.”

“Funny that he “bothers you”, while actually he bothers nopony, except maybe Twilight, while coming home at night,” smirked Sweetie Belle, throwing a quick glance at Granny Smith’s back.

“Exactly!” huffed the pegasus girl. “That I was going to mention specifically, thanks!” she rolled her eyes very similarly to a certain rainbow-maned girl. “You and Rarity are doted on the human. Don’t you plan to make… “drafts” as well?”

The memory made noses of all three fillies go pinkish at once; Sweetie Belle nudged Scootaloo lightly and the latter continued with a chuckle.

“Remember the strange things happening at the warehouse? We couldn’t find out anything that time,” Scootaloo cringed, considering that personal pique. “And the guards quickly swept away everything. Obviously, one couldn’t fish something out of Alex either.”

“Well, things became only stranger since then!” dropped she weightily.

“Attention, ladies! We reached the goods we needed,” Granny Smith’s loud voice made the conspirators jump. They were to share their attention between the prices and Scootaloo’s loud whisper.

“He started working with that suspicious blacksmith… but it’s kinda strange work, one day he is there, another – not… What do I say? Day?” huffed Scootaloo sarcastically, but quiet enough not to be heard by the old mare. “It’s more like the human stays way late at the smithy.” Apple Bloom only shrugged at those words, she firmly believed that anypony could work, when they felt comfortable and wanted to.

“Your favourite princess works at night time,” Apple Bloom scoffed at her becoming suddenly suspicious friend. “You don’t consider that strange!”

“Oh, come on!” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “We’re not talking about Equestrian Princess, the Ruler of the Moon now. Others supposed to sleep at night normally… and Luna’s duty is by the way exactly to protect us from those, who lurk in the darkness.”

“He behaves even stranger lately,” she stood her ground stubbornly. “Sometimes he roams around the town, seemingly aimlessly, while Twilight’s… generator is still unfinished. Speaking of bothering nopony,” Scootaloo glanced at Sweetie Belle meaningfully. “He broke with Fluttershy, but despite that, she tried to stay in good relations with the human, but suddenly she started avoiding him, becoming even more wailful… if it was possible. Something doesn’t quite fit here.”

“Alex’s behaviour and strangeness are exactly explicable,” retorted Sweetie Belle. “He was at the dam, when two ponies died supposedly… Do you remember? I think we should stop poking nose into his affairs and cut him some slack instead. There was one of those monsters as I heard, you know, those princesses warned about. Witnessing one can easily be the reason to start behaving “strangely”, don’t you think?”

“That’s what I’m talking about, Belle,” hissed Scootaloo concernedly. “He was there, right in the middle of the events… I know about the monster, the more reasons to be suspicious then! Two ponies “supposedly” died,” she huffed at the word “supposedly”. “But the human didn’t even get scratched, becoming even stranger afterwards. Not THAT type of stranger,” added she, seeing that Sweetie Belle was going to say something.

“They fell from the dam,” simply sighed Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded, admitting her friend was right.

“Aaahhh…” waved Scootaloo in frustration. “I still insist, it wasn’t that simple. If the monster, as it was told, messed with their brains so hard, making them fall, why Alex had no signs of that.”

“Well, he isn’t a pony,” simply noted Apple Bloom. “Maybe that’s why…”

“It’s so nice that you both finally admit that!” even Big Mac couldn’t probably move the carriage loaded with Scootaloo’s sarcasm. “Now all we need is to make Rarity notice that and we will be fine then.”

“I would like to know, what he does at the smithy, what weird plans he is bearing,” Scootaloo squinted suspiciously. “He even recruited Spike, which looks…”

“Yeah,” slowly stated Sweetie Belle. “After all what Rarity did, especially after the Gala, I could think that Spike was the last one to help Alex willingly. It seems he knows what exactly they are doing and what for, still… Maybe it would be better and… well, more honest… to ask Spike instead?”

“Why not Alex then?” Scootaloo glanced at her sarcastically, raising one eyebrow. “I bet it is the same thing at the moment.”

“One more thing,” added she in a second. “Do you remember those rumours about the ghost and blah-blah-blah… Bipedal ghost, mind that! I wonder, if that’s Alex roaming around at nights? What for? And why ghost then?”

“By the way, Rainbow thinks, these rumours have solid ground,” Scootaloo looked pensive. “She would probably try checking them… if she didn’t love a good nap more than late flights,” she let out a giggle. “Anyway, don’t you, mates, think that there are too many suspicious things combined at the same time? Way too many!”

Something in the words of the pegasus filly made her friends take thought; interest mixed with doubt even on Sweetie Belle’s muzzle. Scootaloo glanced at them again with “who’s with me” expression written so clearly in her eyes.

“Okay. If we are going to find out anything… If…” Apple Bloom bit her lip, thinking. “We better do that now, before school starts. This way we have more free time, in the evenings as well, but we better hurry then – only a few days remain.”

“I hope you don’t put those binoculars too far…” smirked Scootaloo slyly. “The field near the old smithy isn’t the best hiding place, but…”

“Ahem…” busy with their plans, girls completely missed the moment that Granny Smith was making a bargain with one of the vendors, thus using her ear trumpet; moreover, that ear trumpet was turned to them for a while already. “In the times of my youth, not poking their snoots into something out of their business was among most valuable fillies’ virtues.” Three girls winced in surprise and the old mare continued. “Ah didn’t talk much with that young… gentlecolt… but Ah… eat my ear trumpet, if he is guilty of those, you speculate ‘bout, girls. Want to know something, ask Twilight; otherwise you really shouldn’t get into that,” she glanced on them fixedly, making three girls downcast… but evidently missed the winks, they exchanged.

“Oh, we were talking… purely… theoretically, granny,” Apple Bloom produced a bit strained smile; Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo supported her with quick nods.

“Theoretically… Hmmm…” Granny Smith watched them a few moments more. “Hmmm… Well, young weasels, stop plotting, please, and take ya’r load each,” she nodded at the bags. “Help us to the farm and feel free to play as you wanted… But, please, don’t do anything… unwise, ‘kay?”

“Okay, Granny Smith,” sighed Apple Bloom, flattening her ears obediently; although, they perked exactly the moment Granny Smith took the way back, so the fillies were following again.

The girls trotted in silence for quite a while, thinking about their plans each; they reached the greenery stalls again, when Scootaloo considered it safe to touch the topic, as Granny Smith put away her ear trumpet and led them, occupied with thoughts about the cakes, she planned for dinner.

“So, we decided, didn’t we?” whispered she, watching Granny Smith’s back from the corner of her eye. “They are quite busy with something in the smithy yard, we won’t get better chance, mates. Are you with us, Belle?”

“Of course,” Sweetie Belle sighed doomedly. “There must be at least somepony prudent enough with you to hold you from getting into even a bigger trouble!” she huffed, rolling her eyes, but the girls could fancy the curiosity in her voice.

“We may even try this evening,” Scootaloo stopped for a second and scratched behind her ear. “Let’s hit the field and watch, what they are doing there. I really hope they won’t start too late… What?”

“Shhhh…” Apple Bloom nudged her lightly, pointing with mimicry at the Apple’s stall they were passing exactly. Big Mac was chewing a straw with uninvolved peaceful expression, probably not giving much attention to filly’s words; although, his ear subtly turned to the girls at once.

“Oh! I doubt your brother tells anypony anyway,” quietly giggled Scootaloo. Nevertheless, she avoided touching their plans, until they left the market square completely, discussing the upcoming studies instead.

“I’m going to talk to miss Cheerilee that week,” Apple Bloom straightened her saddle bags with a short hop. “Going to trade the… official Alchemy program for Zecora’s lessons. I think… I hope, miss Cheerilee won’t object after my reasoning. And I hope you are going with me, girls.”

“I’ll go, if you are,” Sweetie Belle was evaluating her Alchemy talent realistically, considering it something similar to cooking in a way. “You know, Apple Bloom, without your help we wouldn’t reach half of our current knowledge.”

“Same for me,” Scootaloo nodded in agreement. “Although, I don’t know, where I can need it later, but… I doubt I can bear these classes at school without your company,” she giggled.

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom swayed her mane. “I for one choose studying in Zecora’s shack, full of herbal aromas, than sitting in the basement, despite its nice ventilation.” The three fillies giggled, causing Granny Smith to look back at them with interest.

“Uh-oh, you plotting something again, little mischievous fillies,” her eyes were smiling though through the web of wrinkles. “When you giggle like that… I always worry about ya’r tails to stay with their sly owners,” she tried to read, which new shenanigans the girls prepared.

“Granny also thinks that Zecora should teach at the school,” exclaimed Apple Bloom, feeling her nose flushing. “The program could only benefit from that, right?”

“Mhm…” muttered Granny Smith, passing Carousel Boutique and turning to the far bridge across the river, as the nearest was on the road to the Clock Tower and Fluttershy’s cottage. “Mind that Ah actually meant “at school” as in “in the school building”, thus you wouldn’t need to go to the woods at least.”

Talking that way they passed the southern outskirts of the town, crossed the bridge, entering the road to Apple’s; Granny Smith measuredly trudged ahead, musing about something.

“We gather at eight in our Clubhouse, it’s closer to the town. And don’t forget the binoculars!” Apple Bloom reverted to their concerns quietly. “You can say, we’re planning a sleepover at the farm, that shouldn’t sound suspicious, even if reaches… them,” she raised one eyebrow markedly.

“I’ll come earlier, if you don’t mind… We could wait in the Clubhouse. I simply don’t want Rarity to walk me in,” explained Sweetie Belle. “She is paranoid about the timberwolves lately… about since that incident at the railway warehouse.”

Scootaloo huffed, deliberately marking the human’s involvedness again, and Sweetie Belle added.

“Besides, she could probably guess, it would hardly be a sleepover… especially, if she saw Scoots being jumpy like now.”

“I’ll be in time, girls. If not, don’t wait, I’ll catch you up in the field,” Scootaloo stuck out her tongue, wrinkling her nose funnily. “I’m going to try to fish something out of Rainbow Dash, maybe she knows something new. It will be easy to make her talking on the topic of human’s strangeness,” she winked slyly.

“Fine!” nodded Apple Bloom, she nuzzled Sweetie Belle’s shoulder lightly “Ah’ll wait for you in the Clubhouse at… let’s say, five. That won’t turn your sister suspicious. Besides, I have an idea about the Harvest festival indeed.”

*WHAM!!!*

Alex lowered the large mallet with all strength; the work was unusual enough, so he preferred to do everything manually, not completely sure in the precision of levitated tools.

*WHAM!!!*

That steel, even candent and flexible, resisted the hits quite noticeably and it took him much effort to give the metal stripe the desired shape. Each hit produced a bunch of sparkles, which hissed, quickly dying in the cool evening air hitting the ground. The latter was damp after the mild afternoon rain and the wind brought the smell of slowly drying grass and sometimes even coal and grease with the distant sound of rolling cars, when the gusts were the strongest, coming from the railroad direction.

Thankfully, Will and Sil realized to cover the new smelter opening with some mat, when the rain started, otherwise Spike would swim in a pool of the rainwater, doing his part of the job. The inner coating, they spent a few last days on, was finely fitted, Alex checked specifically, and wouldn’t let the water out of the tray. They almost finished and planned to complete the work, before Twilight coming to their aid.

‘I’m afraid the coating can still give up and part under the powerful heating. Let’s hope Twilight knows, what she is going to do! Only Spike would love to have another attempt, I personally can’t look at the gems anymore without shuddering,’ Alex smirked and put down the mallet, listening to the field whispering in the wind and regular quiet clicks from the new smelter’s belly, when Spike positioned the next diamond on its proper place, trying not to leave even a hair-thin gap between.

Alex raised the mallet and the loud bangs filled the smithy yard again, as he continued thinning and curving the first glaive blade to fit the shape they drew with the blacksmith. Finishing his daily tasks Willsmash sat in deep thoughts over the glaive folding mechanism, Sil went to her room, saying she got a few ideas for the new jewellery, nopony prevented Alex from staying one on one with his thoughts. The solitude was almost idyllic, if not the loud hits of the mallet on steel.

“Let’s get a bit further,” Scootaloo pointed with her fore hoof and crawled first, leading them. “The grass is thicker there, so we won’t get caught.”

“Are you kidding?” Sweetie Belle wiped the binoculars from condensing drops. “The grass is filling half of my view already, almost all I see is grass… Besides, I’m wet and, I have a suspicion, dirty as well… Ugghhh! The prickly straws in my mane…”

“Nopony will see it in the darkness anyway,” chuckled Apple Bloom, nudging her friend forward lightly and sneaking after her, carefully not to disturb the long stems too obviously.

“Oh, you know, I don’t care about grass or mud,” Sweetie Belle followed the pegasus filly quietly. “But I’m actually itching from those stems…”

Apple Bloom was right, the quickly falling twilight smudged the colours and tints indeed, aiding the fillies in their hiding attempts. “It’s awesome that the smithy is brightly lit, I didn’t think it would be gloaming that fast.”

“Speaking of which,” Scootaloo stubbornly proceeded closer to the smithy. “Are you safe, girls?”

“Rarity thinks that I’m seeing the tenth dream at Apples’,” whispered Sweetie Belle, she cupped her muzzle with the hoof and quietly sneezed, causing Scootaloo to hiss cautiously. “What? I said it’s wet here…”

“Macky and Applejack are in the town and granny is sleeping already… Get here, sugarcube!” Apple Bloom pulled Sweetie Belle closer to the large boulder, where they finally stopped. “It’s dryer here… Well,” she accurately raised the binoculars and threw a glance at the yard opening further in front of them. “That gives us a couple of hours, before we need to hurry back. Jackie wasn’t happy about us staying in the Clubhouse for the night… and I know why. So, we better see something soon…”

“Cool! Like in the theatre,” Scootaloo barely peeked from out of the cover and corrected her field glass. “Who said, half of the view is grass?”

“I still think we are too close,” Sweetie Belle sounded a bit grumpily, very similar to the certain white fashionista. Maybe because she was still pulling straws out of her mane.

“So, what we are supposed to notice,” she finally used her binoculars, observing the smithy yard for a few minutes, then glancing at the girls with disappointment. “It looks quite common for me. There is nopony there, except Alex, who is busy with some forging… And I pity his ears already,” noticed Sweetie Belle. “But isn’t it, what he was supposed to do at the smithy anyway?”

“I wonder, where is Spike?” Scootaloo pretended this claim passed by her ears, watching the scene fixedly. “I saw them heading here together.”

Alex threw the shaped blade into the cold water tray, causing a fountain of steam and splashes, and wiped his forehead; he put down the mallet and flexed his arms habitually, then chuckled, feeling no strain – some things were still hard to get used to in his sleepwalking, like being able to take the heated metal blank with bare hands.

“Ahoy! More gems…” Spike sounded muffledly, like from the barrel. “I’ve almost done here. A square foot, maybe a couple…”

“Just a moment!” Alex examined the blade, noting mentally to make another pass on the edges – that would ease the sharpening of the highly durable material; he turned to the smelter finally. “Here goes… Watch your head, Spike!”

A large sack with something heavy came afloat and rose over the neck of the smelter, disappearing in the opening; Alex tried to lower it slowly, as he couldn’t see, where it was going. After a minute a dry clank told him that the sack reached the bottom successfully and Alex returned to the blade and shoved it into the furnace, fanning it up with the bunch of sparkles coming out.

After the short rustling and huffing, sounding muffledly from the stone construction, Alex could hear the rumble of the gems, being poured out on the smelter tray… and quite familiar crunch, followed by appetizing chewing.

“Spike!” Alex squinted reproachfully.

“Ffot?” with a mouthful came out from the smelter. “I’m fofally clean – fere fas a ruby in that heap…”

“Well, you sorted the gems!” shrugged Alex, pulling the candent blade out and smacking it on the anvil again.

“Yeah,” said the smelter. “And I’m fixing it!” Alex only snorted.

“What was that, for real?” Scootaloo lowered the binoculars and looked at her friends puzzledly. “I mean… Errmmm… I dunno…”

“I’m not sure, what I just saw,” slowly said Apple Bloom, very attentively examining the grass under her hooves. “So, Spike is doing something inside of that round… thing… It looks like another smelter… But…”

“What?” Sweetie Belle shrugged, but she looked through her glass too fixedly and her voice sounded strange. “Alex threw a bag with some… stones, I think… inside that, well, let it be smelter, if you say so. I can’t hear everything well…”

“Oh, come on!” Apple Bloom threw her fore hooves up. “Threw?! Didn’t you notice? He. Didn’t. Even. Touch it. And there is nopony except Spike and Alex around.”

“Well, supposedly there are two unicorns at the smithy: the old blacksmith and his niece,” pensively muttered Scootaloo, glueing to the binoculars again. “But as you properly said, we didn’t see any of them; they must be in the house or somewhere else. How’s that possible then?”

“I don’t know…” Sweetie Belle glanced up at them unconfidently. “I’m not going to jump out and the grass really prevents me seeing everything. We could probably… If it was darker, we could get on that rock,” she nodded towards the large stone nearby. “and watch from there.”

“Don’t even think about that,” objected Scootaloo. “If it was darker, we couldn’t see a single straw, but… Don’t you think, if he is roaming around at nights, he must see perfectly in the darkness!” she made scary eyes.

“Stop it, Scoots!” huffed the unicorn girl. “It’s Alex there, not some… cockatrice!”

“In the last few minutes we definitely saw something new about him…” sarcastically smirked her friend.

“Shhhh! Quiet!” Apple Bloom hissed at them, making the girls wince and stop their banter. “Look there.”

She pointed towards another side of the smithy, where the road to Ponyville started behind the low fence. The girls looked at the direction of her fore hoof, then checked through the binoculars… No doubt, the familiar lilac stripy mane could belong to the only mare they knew.

“And Granny Smith suggested to ask her…” Scootaloo looked at the girls fixedly. “Twilight knows well, what’s cooking here… But something tells me, she would hardly give it out.”

“Couldn’t that be her lifting that bag?”

“Don’t be a foal, Sweetie Belle, we just saw her a second before… I know, you like Alex. But… Let’s simply watch what happens further.”

Apple Bloom only quietly sighed, she didn’t believe that the human could have some malintent, but the strange things they witnessed were real as well.

Meanwhile, Twilight reached the end of the road, crossed the empty space behind the fence and was already entering the small gate.

“Evening, Twilight!” Alex put away his metal stuff and waved. “So, you found the way to solve our problem and ready to help…”

“Probably more confident than actually ready,” the alicorn girl let out a wry nervous smile, coming closer and nodding to the human.

“Well, it’s time to find out anyway!” Alex looked more optimistic, maybe purely because it wasn’t him, who needed to try a rare spell for the not entirely predictable result.

“Don’t even say anything about the light bulbs!” Twilight glanced up at him very seriously.

“It didn’t even cross my mind!” Alex grinned ruffianly. “Before you mentioned…” He turned to the smelter. “Are we ready, Spike?”

“Just… a second…” huffed the smelter muffledly, then another click followed. “Yeah, I think it’s all set.”

“Then get out of there and we’ll try… Well, Twilight, shalt try…”

Three fillies in the field froze in anticipation. ‘Here! Something important was about to happen!’ They didn’t sit in the damp grass for nothing.

“Easier said than done!” sounded grumpily from the smelter, followed by the scratching of claws on the smooth surface, then the embarrassed voice said. “Darn it! I can’t climb myself… can anypony bring the rope?”

Alex and Twilight exchanged glances.

“Something wrong?” Alex’s bemused expression seemed to Twilight funny and helpless at the same time.

“We had no rope,” slowly said Alex. “Each time Spike got in an out on his own, using claws…”

“It was something to cling on here till tonight,” the smelter sighed boomingly. “Well, at least I won’t starve, while you decide how to take me out!” Spike shook the bag with the remnants of gems.

“I can...” started Twilight, but Alex stopped her with a gesture.

“You need to concentrate on the main thing, Twi.”

“I don’t know how that works on the living creatures,” Alex told Twilight from the corner of his mouth. “Never actually tried, but…”

“What do you have there with you?” he raised his voice. Three fillies in the grass perked their ears.

“A wooden hammer… and a bag,” Alex and Twilight almost saw, how Spike shrugged. “What…”

“Hold on the hammer, please!” Alex smirked. “Are you?”

“Yeah, but I doubt that would help… WOAH!!!”

In a second the wooden hammer appeared from the neck of the new smelter, then completely stunned Spike followed, holding the hammer in one paw and the bag in another. Emerging completely, he slowly passed the edge…

“What the…” Spikes eyes were set on the hammer, floating in the air without any visible reasons; he turned to Alex and Twilight on the ground and his eyes dilated. “Another one to take me by the scruff,” Spike’s acid looks was quite expressive, when he safely landed.

“Oh, Spike, I never abused that,” said Twilight with a slightly unconfident smile. “Errmmm… maybe once… or twice.”

“Well, I appreciate you being cautious at least,” Spike handed the bag to Alex, who kneeled to him with an apologetic face.

“Sorry, that was the fastest way,” Alex glanced at the quite large bag. “Know what?” he patted Spike on the shoulder. “Bring this to Rarity, she will appreciate, I suppose,” Alex winked.

“Did you see, what I just saw?” Scootaloo put down her binoculars and stared at her friends. “I mean, hopefully, nopony will insist that it was Twilight levitating Spike out of that… thing!”

Seeing the two pairs of bemused eyes looking at her, she added sarcastically.

“If you both didn’t notice, there was no aura on that hammer, or Spike, or the bag…”

“Errmmm…” started Sweetie Belle.

“Oh, come on. Heard Spike saying “Another one taking me…”,” huffed Scootaloo quietly, throwing a quick glance at the smithy yard. ““Another one!”, pal… Twilight was always picking him up with her magic, when it was necessary.”

“And here we saw no magic,” slowly whispered Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo clung to her binoculars instead of an answer and the girls hurried to take a look.

“Ahem… Gentlecolts!” Twilight reminded of the main aim of them gathering there. “If you’re done…”

“Oh, of course,” Alex and Spike even stepped back. “It’s all thine, if ‘t be true thou art ready…”

Twilight’s glance made Alex shut up with the mocking and, turning to the smelter, she squinted, concentrating. Her horn lit, dispelling the thickening darkness and flooding the yard, overshadowing all the other light sources, followed by an even brighter flash from inside the smelter and a very loud click, making everypony wince involuntarily.

“Eh, is it done?” Alex rubbed the eyes, he was shielding with his hand, and blinked several times, when the bright glow faded.

“I’m sorry!” Twilight’s nose wiggled, becoming pinkish. “I didn’t expect it being that bright…”

“Let’s have a look, what we got,” Alex welcomed her. “After thee, Twi.”

Hoping that everything went well, Twilight slowly approached the loading door of the smelter, opening it and lighting her horn with soft, but quite effectively penetrating the darkness light this time. Following her Alex heard the quiet sigh of relief and took a breath as well.

“Wow! Like a mirror!” Spike peeked from behind Twilight’s shoulder. “Twi, you’re a genius! And somepony doubted that…” he gazed at Alex slyly.

Finally Alex could take a look inside the smelter, taking the nerve; the tightly fit one next to another, but still separate diamonds merged, with the help of Twilight’s spell, into a single mirror-like surface indeed. Now the coating shielded the whole smelter from inside like glazing on the clay bowl.

“Nothing prevents us now from doing, what I planned!” Alex let out a long sigh, turning to Spike and Twilight with a suddenly bright smile. “Twilight… I can’t even… Thank you!” he kneeled to the girl and hugged her, making Twilight flush again slightly. Suddenly she perked her ears, then looked over her shoulder.

“What’s wrong, Twi?” Alex released her, following her glance: the old fence, dusty road, field with high grass, dissolving in the distant darkness, and a few large rocks laying here and there.

“I think I heard something,” Twilight squinted, observing the darkening field; she lowered her voice considerably. “You are risking to disclose your sleepwalking widely, Alex, working here openly… You can’t hide it forever anyway, but if you don’t want everypony to know already…”

“McIntosh told me today one interesting thing,” Alex got up and took a wide look over the grassy sea. “I was at the market at noon, finally managed to arrange necessary help to those two mares, Twi… So, Mac said, the fillies were plotting something,” Alex switched to whispering. “They wanted to “watch somepony at the evenings” and he guessed it could be me. But I don’t see anything… Oh, well, just a second…”

“Quickly! Behind the cover,” squeaked Scootaloo, when the grass in the field started to bow almost to the ground in a long wave, approaching them slowly. “What the hay is that?!”

The fillies were to lay low and crawl fast; they barely managed to whisk behind the large rock, when the grass started moving, where they hid seconds ago.

“Well, the rock finally made itself useful, Sweetie Belle,” breathed out Scootaloo, leaning her back on it with a nervous smile, when they were safely hidden in its shadow.

“I’m so sorry, girls,” guiltily squeaked Sweetie Belle, rubbing her snoot intensively not to sneeze once more.

“Oh, drop it, partner!” Apple Bloom hugged her and Scootaloo nodded. “It is quite damp here indeed… Oh, Celestia!!!”

All three of them clearly felt how the rock, they were leaning onto, wavered slightly under the unknown force. Like enthralled the fillies watched the wave of grass passing them and vanishing in the dark field; they exchanged the startled glances.

“Let’s get out of here!” Scootaloo shook her head. “We saw enough!”

Cautiously peeking from behind the boulder, the fillies quietly sneaked deeper into the field, towards the distant lights of the railway station; they decided to make a wide loop just in case, crossing the road from the smithy to the station further under cover of the deepening darkness.

“Hmm… It seems, nothing…” shrugged Alex, turning away from the grass whispering in the night wind.

“Maybe it was my imagination, I thought, I heard a sneeze… Are you going, Alex?” Twilight threw a quick look at yawning Spike. “It’s quite late for the work.”

“You both go, I’ll be shortly. I need to discuss a couple of things with Will,” Alex picked up his metalwork, returning the mallet to the workbenches. “Besides, you know, I’ll be roaming around most of the night, it’s the only way to have some physical rest for me lately…”

Half an hour later, when they finally reached the farm, managed to pass Applejack unnoticed and get into Apple Bloom’s room, as if nothing happened, the girls got under their blankets and fell silent for quite a while, trying to digest the impressions of the evening.

“So, what do you think, mates?” Scootaloo finally broke the silence, unable to hold that to herself anymore. “I hope nopony will deny the strange things we witnessed tonight. Right, Sweetie?” she threw a side glance at the two fillies, who lied quietly, staring at the ceiling, just like her.

“I won’t deny… I never kinda did, Scoots,” Sweetie Belle shrugged, staring at one point. “The thing is, what does it give us now? I mean, it wasn’t trivial to have a human in Ponyville anyway, so…”

“Well, scratch the bag,” Scootaloo started pondering aloud. “We saw that somepony levitated Spike out of that thing… and we can safely assume, that wasn’t Twilight. There were two more unicorns, but that’s not them either… or there would be some aura of a different colour as well. Then we almost got caught, somepony must have made that “wave” we all saw and even felt, when it hit the rock.”

“So, either we don’t know something about Alex, something Twilight definitely knows, or…” Scootaloo pulled her blanket higher, watching the shadows dancing on the ceiling – the wind became stronger at nights, bothering the trees outside.

“… or it wasn’t Alex…” quietly dropped Apple Bloom, making both fillies rise a bit and look at her puzzledly.

“We know that humans can’t use magic, right?” elaborated she under their glance. “We know Twilight is involved and Alex does something at nights. But who said, THAT was Alex there? Maybe we were wrong discussing it at the market… even if we didn’t name anypony directly, so, it could be a play to distract from the actual thing. They did that once, when the human just appeared.”

“Isn’t it too complex for distracting us?” Sweetie Belle sounded sceptical. “Too complex in general, because…”

“There is some point in that…” Scootaloo scratched the back of her head, ruffling her mane even more. “But Belle is right as well. It needs some wicked magic to mimic anypony that well. I know only three ponies, who could probably do that… Well, except Twilight, who is capable as well, I think.”

“Nopony in their healthy mind would party with Chrysalis,” Scootaloo wrinkled her nose, like if she was presented some stale cheese. “Princess Celestia… She is cautious about those things. Besides, I fail to see the reason… What could she get from that… “play”?”

“Hmmm… What about your favourite Princess of the Night?”

“I wonder why?” Scootaloo noticed that Apple Bloom wasn’t teasing her that time, the question was genuine. “Although… she can take part in that type of… “jokes”, besides, I think, she knows enough about metalwork herself. You all saw, whoever it was, they didn’t simply bash the chunk of steel mindlessly…”

“You forgot one thing…” Apple Bloom curled on her side, watching the girls. “…there was no aura on Spike or tools or grass,” thinking coherently Sweetie Belle finished for her friend. “When Twilight used her spell, the flash was simply blinding…”

“Ugghhh!” groaned Scootaloo, falling back on her pillow. “I simply hate it, when I can’t understand something. I will find out… somehow… what they were making at least; maybe it can help us find the truth,” added she tiredly.

“Let’s sleep already, girls,” Sweetie Belle yawned naturally.

“Easier said than done,” muttered Scootaloo, moving closer to her. Apple Bloom snuggled from another side, hiding her snoot in the mane of her evenly breathing mate. Finally, the sleep defeated even the most curious ones.

“So, what have you decided?” Twilight watched Alex hunching over the generator and doing something in its metal belly. The maintenance lid lay next to him on the ground, small enough, so it was obvious, why Alex was quietly swearing, trying to find something by touch; his hand was elbow-deep into the construction, the glance aimed at the blue sky.

Twilight squinted, the low evening Sun got into her eyes; she comfortably nested on the chaise lounge at the back yard, holding the book open on the necessary page with her fore hoof, a large gem slowly rotated in her view. The spell, Twilight found recently to help Alex with the new smelter coating, interested her beyond its initial purpose. Thus investing a few changes of her own, she practised it now, when she had time – and this evening gave plenty of; besides, this strangely helped her to think over the recent news or better say the consequences they might bring.

The aura brightened on the gem. Click! The shapeless gem turned into the proper octahedron. Click – triangle pyramid! Click – butterfly-like shape… Spike, witnessing her exercises, said that he finally found out, whom he would ask for help with his next birthday cake decoration. Twilight chuckled, with a single gem it went immensely simpler than with the whole layer of hundreds of diamonds.

“Damn! If I had time, I would have placed those contacts differently!” Alex strained, a loud snap announced success and he straightened, wiping the hand with the clean cloth. “What? Sorry…” jerking the wires coming from the generator a couple of times Alex turned to Twilight.

“When are you…” Twilight downcasted, putting the now star-shaped gem on the grass.

“Oh…” Alex completely switched his attention, the question was serious… and uneasy. “I have a few things to complete, but I think I’m on time. I need to run this,” he nodded towards the almost connected generator. “I’m going to finally try the new smelter tonight and discuss the future plans with Will. So, generally I’m fine with the date, Celestia planned it on. I shall be ready…”

“No. Who am I trying to convince?” suddenly sighed Alex, taking a seat right on the generator, shielding Twilight from the sun with his back. “I don’t know… if I’m ready or not… I’m going to tie the ends, the best way I can. I told the girls about that chance… but I don’t know now.”

“I wrote to Fluttershy,” quietly said Twilight. “I hope that’s okay. I think she will come.”

“Thanks, Twi. That would be the toughest,” Alex shook his head. “But at the end of the day I must try. Although…” he rubbed his face tiredly. “I don’t know, if it works. Even Celestia seemed not entirely sure.”

“The worst thing, I’m having doubts myself,” added he after a moment. “Who waiteth for me there? I mean, this me,” Twilight nodded knowingly under Alex’s glance. “Thou knowest, Twi, humans are quite xenophobic. I don’t know, if ‘t be true we were like that or became such once… but unlike ponies, who treat different creatures, even very strange ones, calmly, most of mine neighbours would be simply scared, seeing thee addressing them in the street,” Alex sighed heavily.

“But you are still a human, Alex,” Twilight even raised a little, genuine quandary was written on her muzzle. “Why should anypony treat you differently?”

“I became too different from mine kin,” Alex smirked sadly. “Fortunately not physically, if ‘t be true we ignore that simple fact that I most likely shall live much-much longer than them. Truth be told the latter solely is enough to rile up some.”

Twilight threw a long fixed glance at Alex and nodded again, while he returned the metal lid on its place and tightened the nuts methodically. Alex slapped the generator lightly, throwing up a glance at the windmill openwork frame.

“Well! Hopefully, it shalt work and I can address the last… untied end.”

The windmill blades rotated slowly in the evening breeze, breaking the sudden silence with their quiet hum.

Celestia’s visit to them the last evening was completely unexpected. Only five days passed since Twilight’s letter about the Tree of Harmony leaf, Alex found in his pocket and how he got it, but she didn’t expect the wheels to start rolling that fast and determinedly.

Twilight was in the main hall of the Library, checking if she put all those books, she studied to find the spell suitable for gems “forging”, on their proper places; she could easily misplace something, considering the heaps of them, Alex found her sleeping among late at night. Alex was in the basement, assembling the load part of generator equipment and checking the wiring; very meticulously – exactly as he promised to Twilight, when he only started to work at her copy.

A bright flash lit the Library, rows of books on the shelves along the walls, cosy couches and lamps; immediately two loud claps followed. With the first the large pristine white alicorn – princess Celestia in pony – materialized in the place of the fading flash; with the second, slightly quieter, Twilight dropped a large folio, startled by a sudden visit.

“Your Highness!” Twilight took her breath, she fancied a series of quick steps up the basement stairs.

“Everything okay?! Twilight!” Alex almost jumped out. His glance found nothing disastrous and stopped on princess Celestia. “Oh! Good evening, princess.” Alex bowed slightly, he didn’t have time to realize the significance of the moment and the expression of mild surprise on his face was rather diplomatic, than driven by the situation.

“Good evening, Twilight, Alex!” the princess didn’t look very concerned and Alex tried his best to guess, what could bring her here out of the sudden, if not some emergency. She politely refused the tea offered by her apprentice, pulling an armchair and nesting in it instead.

“I won’t take much of your time,” Celestia took a look over the few books lying here and there, then Alex hands in dust and scratch marks. “But I’d like to share this with you, as wasting the time seems harmful to me… And while my own determination hasn’t vanished,” added she quieter aside, but both her interlocutors were able to hear.

“It’s about you Alex, you and your chances to leave Equestria.”

Twilight gasped, not believing her ears, which perked nevertheless; Alex visibly strained.

“Do you still want to try returning to your home world?” the princess repeated, looking at him seriously.

Alex slowly sank, thankfully a couch happened to be under him; his eyes, glazing for a short moment, focused on Celestia’s muzzle. The princess nodded with satisfaction, continuing.

“There is a certain chance that we can still return you to Earth,” Alex wanted to say something, but Celestia stopped him with a gesture. “I’m not expecting your answer right now, Alex. You must think that over thoroughly and then… well, you can send me a one-word letter, I suppose.” She looked at him almost sympathetically. “So, if nopony objects, I continue…”

“As you may guess, I was informed about the recent events…”

Alex sighed quietly.

“…by Twilight… and by Lulu partially. Besides, my dearest student,” Celestia glanced at the girl with a loving smile of a proud teacher, making Twilight flush faintly. “wrote me about the strange incident with you on the Clock Tower, Alex. Namely that you were able to catch a leaf from the Tree of Harmony.”

“The Tree is quite far from the Clock Tower, Alex. Besides, its leaves are, as you might have noticed, quite large and heavy compared to others.”

“I can’t imagine the hurricane necessary to catch and throw that leaf on that distance,” after a moment Celestia shook her head slowly. “Probably the one, pegasi use to lift water to Cloudsdale, could. But there was none on that day, natural or artificially made.”

“Yet if we assume that you getting that leaf was an intentional part of some plan, then…” the princess shrugged meaningfully.

“Trying to find a way to send you back,” Celestia noticed, how Alex winced involuntarily. “We supposed that you were brought by some form of usual magic, even if very powerful and sophisticated one. Thus pony, gryphon or any other… of the various creatures in general sense. But there are different sources of magic on Equus and not all of them are directly connected with so-called mages, as we understand them.”

“Earlier I’ve got a letter, voicing the assumption that you were brought to Equestria by some different powers, ancient and native to Equus, but not of pony origin.”

Alex threw a quick glance at Celestia, remembering Discord’s idea at once. Mentioning the lord of Chaos wasn’t the smartest idea though. ‘But who could… What if?.. Impossible!’ Alex’s eyes dilated.

“The letter, the following information, provided by Twilight, our own analysis of the events, you appeared here within,” princess Celestia seemed deep into her thoughts and missed Alex’s reaction. “Everything tells, that you might have been brought to Equus by the Tree of Harmony magic. Moreover, it’s very likely that the Tree is exactly the power, bringing you.”

“And you suppose…” slowly started Alex.

“…that it can send you back. Yes,” the princess nodded seriously. “In theory, but the arguments in favour of that theory are very strong.”

“What about his magical resistance?” Twilight finally regained her voice and immediately picked the most concerning aspect. “Shan’t it be dangerous…”

“There are certain risks,” the princess admitted unwittingly and Alex clearly saw, Celestia didn’t approve the idea entirely yet. “But if somepony… something can cope with your unfortunate ability, then it’s the Tree. I’m sure, we with Lulu can convince her… it… to open the proper portal and then… We can only hope.”

“That’s, of course, if you are still willing to try…”

“Her?” Alex startled on his couch; he looked into Celestia’s eyes. “What do you mean under “her”?..”

“If you decide to try that way,” Celestia pretended that she didn’t hear his question. “Simply send me your answer. We don’t need to waste any time, so, the upcoming Friday is as fitting as a saddle.”

“I suppose Twilight will gladly make us a company, as maybe somepony else…”

“Yes, princess!” squeaked Twilight, still abashed. “I would like to…”

“Excellent! Simply don’t take a large herd with you,” Celestia got up with a merciful smile. “Not mentioning that the whole process isn’t for everypony’s eyes. You will have plenty of time to tell those you want everything you need, Alex… if you decide to depart,” added she. “Well! I need to leave you on that note, my duties won’t wait!”

“Twilight, dear! Alex!” Celestia nodded. “Be well!” With another bright flash the alicorn princess vanished.

Alex looked at still stunned Twilight and decided that his question could wait.

She remembered Alex’s expression precisely, a mixture of surprise, disbelief, concern and unasked questions; Twilight watched Alex gathering the instruments, as he finally finished connecting the generator.

Spike, who returned to the Library the moment before Celestia’s departure, couldn’t understand what the talk was about for quite a while; he still rubbed his eyes, blinded by the flash of princess’ teleport.

“I-I don’t know,” slowly said he. “It looks tricky for me, Twi. They couldn’t find the way to send him back for three months in a row… and then, boom! The Tree of Harmony will save the day?..”

“I’m not going to deny its powers, but…” Spike scratched the back of his head. “But wouldn’t your magical resistance be enough of a problem… even for the Tree.”

“Apparently, Tia thinketh that if ‘t be true the Tree of Harmony, supposedly, made this befall,” Alex shrugged. “It can find a safe way to deal with me.”

“So are you going to try?” Twilight watched him with concern.

“If I could only tell that easily,” Alex dropped back on the couch, squeezing his temples. “I don’t know if ‘t be true it worketh for sure… But to try meaneth to leave all the friends I made hither. Leave all the friends again, diving into the unknown.”

“What shalt befall after mine return? I don’t know for sure. But on the other hand, if ‘t be true I don’t try, it seemeth, I shan’t be able to live in peace with myself! Besides, the longer I stay, the more I change. Time may come the return is impossible simply because of these changes…”

“Are you going to tell the girls?” Twilight asked quietly.

“I have to!” simply stated Alex. “Obviously not at some “Good-bye human!” kind of party, even if that’s exactly how Pinkie sees that.” He tried his best for his smile at least not to look bitter. “I shall talk with everypony I know and value… Shan’t be too many,” Alex sighed. “I don’t know about… Will she even listen to me?”

“I can tell Fluttershy about Celestia’s suggestion,” the hoof gently touched Alex’s arm. “No matter how angry she is at you… I think she will come… At least it would be her own decision…”

“Thank thee, Twilight!” Alex hugged the girl heartily, snuggling his forehead to hers. “Thou savest mine worthless butt again!”

The present Alex looked paying more attention to the details, he was assembling, or maybe he was hiding his anxiety about that evening; he visited all the girls earlier that day, except two, for the obvious reasons, waiting for one of the latter made him visibly nervous. Twilight watched him gathering the instruments, despite all the sympathy, she firmly decided to keep certain evaluations to herself; some situations could only be spoilt by the foreign advice.

“Well, let’s go and look… if this thing winds up at once,” Alex smirked, heading back to the Library; Twilight followed him closely.

The placement was chosen specifically that way, so the rotor frame was visible from any of the back windows. Alex asked Twilight to flip the main switch, connecting the generator, from inside of the Golden Oak; he listened to the even hum of the load balance and nodded contentedly. Going down the dark stairs to the basement, Twilight was to cast the minimal light, as Alex insisted that they should test the electric lighting, not her undoubted abilities. With the flip of the switch right at the entrance the basement was flooded by the soft light of a couple of bulbs at the ceiling, making all sorts of strange equipment emerge from the shadows along the walls.

“Now I guess I have only one aspect uncovered,” Alex folded his arms at the chest, looking satisfied and at the same time a little unsure. “Tonight. I told Willsmash, I would come late. But before there is one more… thing to do.”

Twilight sighed. ‘Don’t know if I worry more that she won’t come at all, or about her reaction at his possible departure. I can only hope, it will go smoothly with Flutters, just like with the rest.’

“…so, Ah thought, you wouldn’t refuse to be our referee once again, sugarcube,” Applejack leaned on the fence, crossing her fore legs in high boots and moving her stetson aback. She caught Pinkie accidentally passing the farm and decided to waste no time. “You know, Twilight thinks these challenges are ‘bit stupid”, she always says that we are “unique and daring in our own way and have nothing to argue upon”,” she rolled her eyes. “While Ah think otherwise – if Rainbow wants a challenge, Ah will give her one.”

“Don’t say, like if you don’t,” chuckled her fluffy mane mate. “You have no chances to fool Auntie Pinkie!” She stood on her hind legs, putting her fore legs on the fence and placing her chin on the hooves, staring at Applejack, like if reading her like a book. The sunlight came through her mane, turning it almost flaming ginger.

“Well…” Applejack slyly raised one eyebrow. “This time it was her idea.”

“Anyway… Fluttershy always worries about us too much instead of judging,” shrugged Applejack. “And Rarity is always busy, besides, she would hardly like some rumble in the open… where twigs can get into her mane,” she squinted at Pinkie meaningfully. “So, you’re the only one, who can save the day, partner.”

“You know, I’m up for any shenanigans, except the hunger-strike,” giggled Pinkie, waving her fore hoof in the air lightheartedly. “Besides, I’m dying to find out, when this “Most Daring Mare” thing gets you both bored…”

Applejack got her last phrase past her ears, watching something on the path to Ponyville, Pinkie came from a few minutes before. Following her glance the latter noticed the long human figure, looking distorted in the heated flickering air. In a couple of minutes Alex reached them, waving his hand in greeting; both girls noticed his hesitant expression at once.

“Good morning, Jackie!” Alex squeezed a smile. “Hi, Pinkie! It’s… actually good that I caught you here likewise.” He threw a searching gaze behind Applejack’s back, hiding his embarrassment in the casual look, and whistled.

“No chance,” chuckled Applejack, following his glance. “Winona sleeps in her kennel, paws off. Strange thing, we let her out guarding at night, of course… but she looks, as if she played catch with somepony each night. Go figure…”

“Errmmm…”

Watching him interestedly, Pinkie nodded, Alex could read in her wide-open eyes the wish to ask something about him and Fluttershy, but he couldn’t find proper words in the critical moment, stumbling.

“Come on, partner, you look like swallowing a wasp,” Applejack came to his aid a bit harshly. “What’s troubling you, Alex?”

“I’m simply trying to compact the story, Jackie…” mumbled Alex, before Pinkie could open her mouth. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell the simplest things. And… no, Pinkie, this time it’s not about us with Shy… not only…”

“You won’t tell, if you don’t start, sugarcube!” huffed Applejack, reaching over the fence and patting his arm.

“Celestia visited the Library yesterday,” Alex took a deep breath. “With the news… She told me… and Twilight…”

“Don’t pull the crops, Alex,” seeing his confusion Applejack even jumped over the fence and looked into Alex’s eyes. “Did they find the…”

“No. Not them,” quickly retorted Alex, a faint shadow slid across his face. “After all those investigations… somepony gave them a totally fresh idea and… She thinketh, thither probably is a method to send me back. Hither, I said that…”

Both girls stared at him like thunderstruck: Pinkie forgot that she was going to scold Alex for not explaining himself to Fluttershy, Applejack simply opened and closed her mouth several times.

“Yeah, I also thought that I can’t be easily surprised now,” Alex closed his eyes, shaking head. “That new approach made them conclude, the Tree of Harmony may be involved in mine arrival to Equestria and… Ti… princess Celestia thinketh, she can “persuade” it to return me as well.”

“I have no idea how though,” added he in the complete silence, which made bumblebees over the dog-rose shrubs perfectly audible. “But the princesses mostly achieve, what they aspire…” he drastically failed at the smile attempt.

“So…” Applejack regained her voice, blinking fast.

“So, that may easily mean a “Good-bye”,” nodded Alex seriously. “I… I don’t know, if it worketh, but if it doth…”

“I’m glad, I have the friends like you, girls!” Alex raised his glance. “All of you…”

In a wink Alex found himself in the tight embrace of the tough pony with the golden mane, several minutes before discussing her chances to become the acknowledged “most daring mare”; he clumsily stroked her shoulders, the hay-coloured braid, smelling of bark and apples, soft sensitive ears.

“When?” simply asked she.

“This weekend. I don’t know the exact time yet,” Alex alternated to Pinkie and slowly shook his head, looking into her questioning eyes. “Tia wanted to keep it private, sorry.”

“I… know that was important for you, partner…” Applejack sniffed, blinking off a treacherous tear. Alex looked down into her green eyes and nodded barely noticeable. “Well… Good luck with it!” she snuggled her forehead into his chest before releasing him.

It was Pinkies turn and she looked up at him like a puppy with huge sparkly eyes, wrinkling her nose and bathing Alex in caramel smell of her soft puffy mane. She didn’t look that determined to put something into his mind that moment.

“Please, Alex, talk with Flutters, okay? She suffers more than she tells…”

“I’m working at it,” Alex swallowed a lump, squeezing Pinkie in return. ‘We with Twilight do.’ “I shan’t leave without a word, I promise.”

“You are an incorrigible stubborn foal, Alex!” Pinkie shook her head, sending another caramel wave. “But I wish you luck as well! One can always find a party somewhere, eh?” she winked, making Alex smile involuntarily.

“Thank you! Jackie, Pinkie… Thank you, girls,” Alex squinted with a sigh. “If everything… plays out… I won’t forget, in the earnest!”

He could probably say more, but Alex wanted his possible farewell to be brief; as painless as he could make it, despite his own heart was full of doubts and hesitation fighting his wish to return. Hitting the road back to the town he threw a quick glance over the shoulder, two mares stood at the fence, shoulder to shoulder, watching the receding human.

Extremely unsure about the next visit, how to approach it and what to expect, Alex lingered before coming to that door. He visited the rest of his customers: those he started building generators for and those waiting for their turn, apologizing for his possible absence (he preferred to play safely) and directing them to Willsmash; Alex explained that the blacksmith would finish the assembly and qualified specialists take the installation part, if he – Alex wouldn’t be available for any reason. He ordered more coal for the smithy, keeping in mind that he planned some intensive work that night.

When he returned to the Library to write a few lines to the Canterlot Steam Company and send that letter, Twilight looked at Alex very fixedly and asked directly, when he was going to visit Rarity, causing the instant flush.

Thus the Sun passed half the sky, when Alex finally reached Carousel Boutique… despite he passed it a couple of times since morning. He took a look over the small front garden with roses, then a deep breath and crossed the door yard; the note “Closed” gained his attention at once and Alex stumbled for a second, trying to guess what could make the determined fashionista avoid her work on the pretty common day. Coming here alone Alex had no idea what to expect from Rarity, but keeping in mind her previous shenanigans he realized, being prepared to literally everything wasn’t a futile precaution; the girl finding out that it could be their last meeting didn’t make things easier.

‘It seems that I’m looking for a reason to delay that visit even longer…’ that shameful thought made Alex’s ears burn and he listened carefully to the silence in the house, then knocked on the door. Knocked another time, inwardly surprised; usually Rarity didn’t lock and reacted to the guests and potential customers faster.

“Who’s there?” Rarity’s voice, he finally heard, was extremely tired and somewhat colourless, but Alex was glad to hear her, as he started worrying already.

“That’s me, Alex,” he tried to sound neutral.

“Oh…” the unlocked door opened, revealing exhausted and sleepy Rarity, in the night gown, but with amazingly perfect mane still. Her eyes were pinkish, when she batted her long eyelashes, glancing up at Alex. “Hi, darling! Come in…”

She moved aside, letting the puzzled human in; Alex threw a look around the hall, noticing that everything was generally normal, then stared at Rarity.

“Are you okay?”

“Me?” Rarity re-asked, she threw a quick glance at herself and the tip of her nose flushed. “Squee!”

Although she didn’t rush to bring herself into “appropriate order” immediately and that worried Alex even more. Rarity shivered slightly in her night gown.

“I’m okay, Ahhlex!” the familiar notes made Alex relax a bit. “But the night was awful, darling! Sweetie Belle caught a cold… Well, I very much hope it’s not contagious, and the doctor said it was a simple cold.”

“She came to me at night with the aching head and high temperature,” Rarity rolled her eyes woefully, following Alex into the room and nodding towards an armchair. “Sneezed and coughed all night long and her sore throat turned her almost mute. She said, she had no idea, how that happened.”

“But I think I know,” sighed Rarity with a dry expression. “That sleepover she and the fillies arranged… The nights turning cold, I think they kept running in the field too late.”

Alex stumbled suddenly, Rarity almost bumped into him; her words immediately brought before his inner sight the evening Twilight helped them with the new smelter, applying her spell and then saying that she fancied some noise from the field. Alex stood, looking at the waves of high grass in his memory. ‘Interesting, how much could they see and understand? Although… it’s not that important now… And the poor girl must have gotten cold that night.’

“What’s up, darling?” Rarity looked into his eyes with concern. “Take a sit, please.”

“No, no, I’m fine, Rarity. Better tell, how’s Belle doing?” Alex shook away the useless suspicions.

“As I said the night was sleepless, I did my best to lower the temperature, but succeeded only a couple of hours ago, Ahhlex. The doctor came and examined her; thankfully he is confident, it’s only a cold, not something more serious,” Rarity took a breath. “But we must treat it not to have complications. School starts on Monday and I’m afraid she can miss the first days of studies, darling, she was so bad. Poor thing got asleep, right before you came… and I’m almost off my hooves as well.”

“Rarity, I’m very sorry that Sweetie Belle is ill,” Alex turned to the tired unicorn girl. Bothering the sick filly was the last thing, he wanted to do. “I won’t… Please, tell her everything, when… when she feels better.”

“Tell her what?” Rarity raised her widening eyes at him. “Ahhlex, you’re making me…”

“It’s… Merlin’s pants! It’s not that easy…” Alex shook his head, stopping Rarity. “Okay… Princess Celestia visited me yesterday…” he tried spilling out the uneasy part as fast as possible. “She thinks… There are certain reasons for… Ughhh! Celestia thinks that they can try to return me home. Using the magic of the Tree of Harmony.” Rarity gasped, covering her lips with the fore hoof; Alex nodded meaningfully. “Mayhap the Tree of Harmony is somehow involved in mine arrival.”

Alex got a déjà vu feeling, when the unicorn girl grabbed him into a quick hug, snuggling tight in her fluffy night gown. To his surprise there was nothing lustful in Rarity’s gesture that time, despite the fixed gaze of dilated, suspiciously glistening eyes, she gave Alex. The girl quietly sniffed, then burst into quiet tears; Alex didn’t know what to do, stroking her shoulders and soft silky mane slowly.

“Rarity! Please… I… I don’t know if ‘t be true it worketh, like princess supposed… All the previous attempts, well, theoretically, failed,” Alex almost lulled the mare in his embrace. “So, thither is not much hope, this one is any different… But…”

“You must try,” Rarity finished for him. “It is very important for you, Ahhlex… You speak strangely again… I understand,” she hid her muzzle on Alex’s chest, nodding shortly with a fitful sigh; he held her trembling shoulders. “But that means, it can easily be the last time… last time I see you, darling!” Rarity leaned back to take a better look of Alex and wiped her tears brashly.

The girl stretched on her hind legs, giving Alex a tender warm kiss on his neck.

“Let’s hope, everything plays out the best way for you, Ahlex!” Rarity let out a tiny unconfident smile, watching Alex with glistening starry eyes. “Oh, you desperately need a decent haircut again, darling…”

“Rarity, I’m sorry…” Alex choked on words, as if a giant hand squeezed his throat.

She nodded, squinting, and looked aside; sniffing again Rarity waved her hoof, fearing of her own possible reactions and biting her lip. Alex nodded knowingly, slowly retreating to the exit.

The door closed. Upholding the lady look wasn’t necessary anymore and Rarity dashed upstairs, stifling her sobbing not to wake her sister.

Alex leaned on the front door from outside, covering his eyes with the palm. ‘Merlin’s pants!’ he gritted his teeth, the heart painfully sank. ‘What shalt this evening bring?’

“Well! You worried for nothing!” Twilight’s voice was exaggeratedly cheerful. “And me as well!” She clicked the switch several times with her fore hoof, then with magic, making the lights in the basement blink accordingly.

“I placed the extra contacts here,” pointed Alex, following her tone, while perfectly understanding, what his alicorn friend was worried about, masking it behind the casual talk. “So you can make any equipment get power from the generator, saving your magic for the… more delicate manipulations.”

The sound from above made them both turn their heads.

“Good evening, Fluttershy,” Spike opened the front door, welcoming their guest in. Alex could hear the quiet soft voice, but didn’t get the exact words. The door at the upper end of stairs opened as well.

“Come on, guys,” Spike huffed. “Stop messing with your technical stuff and don’t make Flutters wait!”

Alex took a deep breath; they exchanged meaningful glances and Twilight nudged him to the stairs lightly.

“I told her everything,” Twilight followed Alex, who ascended on the cotton legs. “I mean everything Celestia suggested and that she planned to try tomorrow. I thought that could save you both time and effort for the… more important things.”

“Thanks, Twilight,” whispered Alex feelingly. “I don’t know, if I can find the right words, let alone explain everything that happened recently.”

The hall looked darker after the electric light, with the candles in stands and last rays of the sunset burning out through the windows. Spike closed the front door, leaving the evening coolness outside, but the wind brought the familiar floral aroma, making Alex inhale full chest involuntarily and suddenly feel strange serenity, despite he couldn’t predict the result of the forthcoming talk.

She was there.

Fluttershy made only a couple of steps inside, looking around, as if she came to the Library for the first time, unconfidently raising one fore hoof, still undecided, if she made a proper choice, but realizing that she couldn’t change anything and hardly wanted to. She nodded to Twilight shortly, then her turquoise eyes stopped at Alex; Fluttershy blinked slowly, looking at him through the naughty strands of her lush mane falling on her muzzle, as she kept her head low.

Alex’s heart skipped a beat, he made a few steps towards the girl, feeling how all the carefully prepared words left his mind in a wink. Fluttershy let out a quiet sigh, her soft ears perked and soaring lightly she dashed to him in a flurry, leaving her doubts behind; she wrapped her legs around Alex and hid her muzzle on his neck.

The cloud of awesome mane filled Alex’s view, he buried his face in the fragrant hair, breathing thirstily, feeling her racing heart at his chest, holding his mare carefully and stroking her back. Holding back tears Alex found the silky ear, whispering.

“Please, forgive me… I… I was an idiot, Shy!”

“Shhh… Don’t say anything,” she snuggled to him even tighter, breathing fitfully; small hooves stroked Alex with the same tenderness, he never expected to return. “I don’t want to remember those… things. And you shouldn’t. I’m sorry, Alex, I was so scared that I could lose you… and so angry because of that, at you, at myself…”

She leaned back, meeting his glance and Alex was to balance on the shore of those bottomless lakes again. The next moment he felt the soft lips covering his neck and face with fast frantic kisses; overwhelmed he sank to the floor, holding Fluttershy in his hands, his head spinning mercilessly, when she shared the breath with him passionately.

“Ahem…” barely audibly cleared her throat Twilight; red as a boiled lobster she pulled widely smiling Spike to the kitchen, where addressed him with some contrived problem deliberately loud.

“I was far from smart myself,” whispered Fluttershy, when she took her breath, resting her head on Alex’s shoulder. “Twilight told me, what was happening. I spent the whole day thinking… what was really important for me, for you, for… us.”

“Shy…” Alex inhaled fitfully, he finally found the strength to get up with her and move to the nearby couch, holding the girl on his lap; proper words barely came to mind. “I couldn’t be more wrong in mine whole life, standing on the top of that tower…” he fell silent, shuddering from the memory. “It maketh me debate my choices more and more, would trying that… thing with the Tree bring any good to everypony.”

“I know, you need to try that… Just like with… your work, with the Seekers. You couldn’t live peacefully, knowing that you ignored that chance… And I am… Who am I to take it from you?” the small hoof stroked his chest gently. “I remembered, what was important for me, what I promised… to myself at least. I promised to stay with you, to support you no matter what. Even in your attempt to get to your world… even if it hurts to accept that,” added Fluttershy quietly.

“Thou art mine little guardian angel…” Alex swallowed a lump, brushing through the marvellous mane tenderly, snuggling his cheek to her forehead. “Which methinks I didn’t deserve…”

“Don’t say that!” Fluttershy looked into his eyes. “I don’t know and I’m not going to judge. What I care of now… is that we are together… I’m not going to leave you till… while…” she fell silent, but it was clear what she tried to say; Alex nodded and Fluttershy squeezed him even tighter.

“It’s going to happen tomorrow,” she simply stated that, colourlessly, but suddenly calm.

“I don’t know, what is going to happen,” sincerely admitted Alex. “Tia thinks, she can “convince” the Tree of Harmony to send me back… supposing that it brought me here in the first place. Maybe it works, or maybe it’s just my stupid expectations,” he wanted to add something else, but said instead. “I couldn’t believe, you wrote and told her about that idea.”

“I simply wanted you to be safe, Alex,” Fluttershy looked into his eyes seriously. “And I don’t mean safe from the Seekers or anything else… Exactly – safe, doesn’t necessarily mean “safe next to me”. I finally realized, she wanted the same.” Alex understood, she wasn’t referring Celestia. “Why don’t we have time, Alex? We could solve our problems somehow… all… three of us,” she bit the lip, but faintly nodded, submitting to that thought inwardly.

“That doesn’t matter now,” she shook her mane, filling the air with strong honey-floral aroma. “I’m going to stay with you as long as necessary. I’m going with you to the Tree tomorrow… and then… we’ll see, I guess.”

Fluttershy leaned to him, rubbing her silky cheek against Alex’s trembling palm, he dissolved in that kiss completely, closing the eyes, floating… Floating away on the pink sea of her amazing hair surrounding them.

Puzzled by the silence flooding the hall Twilight peeked in to find Alex and Fluttershy on the couch, snuggling together, like they were freezing, even if it was obviously warm in the room. Fluttershy rested her head on Alex’s chest, watching with him the candle lights of the small chandelier on the table; they didn’t drop a word for quite a while, making their lilac friend concerned.

“Everything okay, guys?” Twilight took an edge of the opposite seat and looked at them inquiringly. “You both are… far from here.”

“What? Oh, sorry, Twilight,” Alex looked confused, hugging the soft yellow shoulders he stroked them lightly. “We thought about… things… Right, Shy?”

“Ummm… Twilight, I w-wanted to ask one thing… if it’s okay with you,” Fluttershy woke from her contemplation and the tip of her nose flushed. “C-can I… stay? I mean, it’s only about twenty-four hours till… you know…” she leaned to Alex, who nodded, being caught off guard by that mere idea, yet accepting it wholeheartedly. “We won’t disturb you…”

“Of course, you can…” Twilight’s muzzles flushed as well, but added determinedly. “You can stay, Flutters, I understand. What disturbance are you even talking about?”

“Thanks, Twi!” Alex and Fluttershy said that almost in unison, the smile touched both their faces.

“I need to check my animals in the morning, of course,” Fluttershy glanced at him apologetically. “But I’ll try to be back after the noon the latest.”

“You don’t need to justify,” Alex wrapped his arms around the girl, making Twilight flush again involuntarily. “I need to settle some odds with the company, so, my morning will be filled with papers anyway.”

“I have one more thing to do though,” added Alex quietly, nuzzling Fluttershy’s mane and making her squint and perk her ears. “And I don’t know how you look at that, Shy… I need to visit the smithy, before I leave. I must run the new smelter and check, if I give Will the working instrument,” he added quickly, before anypony could say something. “It won’t take much time, but I need to go… while “sleepwalking”.”

A theatrical pause made the silence so thick, everypony could hear the candles crackling, when Spike, who joined them a moment ago, froze and exhaled, glaring at Alex and Fluttershy.

“I couldn’t fall asleep yet anyway, probably at all tonight,” the pegasus girl looked up into his eyes, stifling shivers and letting out a small smile instead. “If… If you don’t mind… I would like to see… M-maybe I could take everything you do there lighter, if I knew exactly…” she stumbled, then the small hoof touched Alex’s chest. “Can I go with you? I got used to thinking that old Will was to be avoided, but…”

Saying that Alex was knocked all of a heap was next to saying nothing, he could shortly nod only after a minute; Twilight thought that many problems could have been avoided that way, but prudently kept that to herself – it wasn’t the best moment to judge the past mistakes. Everypony barely noticeably, but obviously took their breath.

“I extend mine hope the whole thing shan’t be deadly boring for thee,” Alex finally regained his voice. “But that meaneth, we must depart soon… I don’t want to be much of an overnight burden for them.”

“To tell the truth, I always wanted to see, how it happens,” with a tiny smile Fluttershy kissed him tenderly; Alex’s strain simply dissolved in her touch. “Your sleepwalking… It hard for me to imagine…”

“Ahem… I hope my help with the smelter won’t be needed tonight,” pronouncedly busily asked Spike. “I would like to address my sleep sometimes, if you don’t mind!” he puffed jokingly, making everypony laugh.

“Yes, Spike! I think we can cope,” Alex still chuckled, with his eyes only thanking the dragon boy for relieving the atmosphere.

“By the by, talking about sleep I remembered something,” muttered Alex pensively; he looked into Fluttershy’s eyes seriously. “Can you relay my good-bye to Rainbow, Shy? When you go home in the morning… If you see her, of course… Say that I’m sorry for the bar… No! Scratch that! That would be a bad idea… Simply tell her, I wish her luck… despite all the complications between us.”

Fluttershy sighed with the sudden shine in her eyes, she hugged Alex tight.

“I will!”

“Rest assured, that’s still not entirely usual even for me,” Alex measured the dusty road, holding back his pace to let Fluttershy keep up with him; he looked at her still bemused muzzle and let out a small encouraging smile. “I doubt a couple of months is enough to get used to that, even if it becomes a part of your everyday life. I still have that feeling of surreal, each time I appear near… my sleeping body.”

He obviously meant that moment, when he finally fell asleep in his room with Fluttershy slowly stroking his hair; the girl looked, as if she was ready to sit next to him till the morning or even longer if necessary.

“Ahem… Fluttershy?” the quiet voice made her wince.

She was ready to something alike, as much as one could be ready for some totally wicked experience, yet it took Fluttershy an effort not to squeak loudly, waking Alex up, the real Alex.

Another one stood in the opposite corner of the room, watching Fluttershy, who covered her mouth with the fore hoof, and pressing the index finger to his lips.

“Shhhh… That’s me, Shy,” Alex, the proxy-Alex, approached and accurately touched her shoulder, letting Fluttershy feel that nothing had changed since that night in her garden – the hand was still warm and solid. “That’s how it happens,” he whispered. “Well, when I appear near my material self, not on some distance.”

“That’s…” Fluttershy blinked several times, alternating between Alex sleeping on the sofa and Alex leaning over. “Sweet Celestia, that’s… weird, to say the least!”

“I still believe it’s not the weirdest part,” chuckled Alex, opening the window quietly and waving to Fluttershy. “Let’s go!”

“You know, Shy, I always wondered,” Alex stopped for a moment, the sky colours were quickly fading, smudging into the solid dark blue and black, where the rare dark clouds wandered slowly; the brightest stars already encrusted the velvet night here and there, little by little forming the known and unknown constellations, as more of them became visible. “Where Earth was in that pattern,” he nodded towards the night sky. “It must be somewhere near… Well in the universal scale – near, as I know some of the constellations. They are the same here and in our world… But the others…” Alex inhaled deeply and slowly shook his head; the cool air brought the familiar scent of the smoke and heated metal from the smithy. Alex smiled wryly. “That doesn’t entirely compute, Shy.”

“I don’t know, how that’s possible, dear…” Fluttershy sighed quietly, the talk about Earth hardly made her mood brighter. “You said once that you may be on Earth… simply… another version of it. I didn’t understand quite. But if that means… we c-could meet again… maybe…” with another rueful sigh she fell silent.

Alex felt the small hoof on his arm and the next second Fluttershy reached out to him, raising on her hind legs and putting the fore hooves on his chest. Leaning to her Alex held the girl on her waist, feeling the soft coat and the silky touch of her lips on his own; it tasted sweet and time stopped again with their kiss. The omnipresent cicadas screeched again, encouraged by the silence, disturbed only by a couple of late dogs, barking at the edge of the town. The sudden whistle of some night bird in the field made Fluttershy twitch in Alex’s arms slightly; Alex cursed the feathery peacebreaker inwardly.

“It’s becoming quite fresh,” he looked deep into girl’s eyes, the brightening stars reflected in the turquoise bottomless lakes, making Alex doubt his decision the most at that moment. “I can carry you, if you want…” he brushed through the sumptuous pink hair, removing the naughty strands from Fluttershy’s muzzle and planting another small kiss on her nose.

“I-I’m okay…” Fluttershy snuggled her cheek to his chest tighter, looking somewhere in the dark fields. “I… just don’t want to…” She didn’t need to finish, Alex understood that it wasn’t their late visit, she spoke about.

“Look, the lights are up at the smithy,” Fluttershy pointed her fore hoof exaggeratedly cheerful. “It seems they aren’t even going to sleep.”

Slowly, unwillingly she released him and both human and pegasus walked on side by side again.

“I notified Will earlier today about that,” quietly said Alex. “I’m still trying to find out, why he is treated like that… I saw no tiny reason for that, Shy. Whatever Willsmash had in his past, I’m not sure it is worth alienating him now. Moreover, transferring that on his niece.”

“But, of course, all that doesn’t matter now,” added he aside in half-voice.

Mutely, followed by the cicadas as they passed the field, they crossed the empty space in front of the fence; Alex reached the gate first, understanding Fluttershy’s hesitation.

A couple of windows threw the beams of light on the ground and the old blacksmith was outside, fanning the smithy at that moment; candent coals lit his scarred face with an eye patch from below with bright red and yellow, turning him into the semblance of his own work from some aged darkened bronze.

“Good evening!” Alex opened the gate. “I’m sorry for a small delay, uncle Will…” Fluttershy raised one eyebrow behind his back, still invisible for the blacksmith.

“Oh… Evening!” Willsmash left the bellows and turned to the sound. “I’ve got your letter, Alex, and kept the fires hot. I wonder what was the urge to gather at night though…” his single eye watched the human shrewdly and Alex thought that the old unicorn guessed, if not knew, about his plans.

“Hi, Alex!” Silver Ingot appeared at the doorstep, attracted by the talk. “Errmmm…” she had a better view and noticed Alex’s follower, real surprise reflected in her widening eyes; from all the ponyvillers she could imagine Fluttershy coming to the smithy the last.

“I came not alone tonight,” following her glance Alex elaborated. “Fluttershy…”

“Good evening, mister Steel,” Fluttershy peeked from behind Alex and stepped into the light. “Silver Ingot,” she nodded to the filly; flushing a little Fluttershy scratched the ground with her fore hoof unconfidently, then raised it, glancing at them through the mane, which fell on her eyes again.

“I-I’m sorry… if I am disturbing you… I simply wanted to see…” she stumbled and flushed to the roots of her long pink hair. ‘…if you aren’t that dangerous as ponies tell,’ finished for her Alex and sighed inwardly.

“You wanted to see, if what we are doing with your… friend is totally safe and couldn’t harm anypony, primarily Alex,” Willsmash sported an understanding smile, it was warm and open at the same time, like if the old blacksmith remembered how it was – to meet guests, and did it with pleasure. With a welcoming gesture he added. “Well, it’s a nice idea, miss Fluttershy. Good evening! Join us and judge by yourself.”

Flushing even more, but with visible relief, Fluttershy trotted to the porch, as Silver Ingot came down.

“I hope all of your animal friends feeling well, miss Fluttershy,” said she timidly, stopping next to the pegasus girl. “I saw you buying herbs at the market this morning, sorry…”

“Oh, it’s for the tea… They are alright, thank you,” a bright tender smile lit Fluttershy’s muzzle. “And… it’s simply Fluttershy or Flutters… for the friends.”

“Alex calls me Sil,” both girls immediately blushed, while Alex watched them fixedly with rounded eyes. “And I admit, it’s more hoofy than the whole name quite often.”

“Ahem…” Alex cleared his throat a bit hoarsely, making the old unicorn quietly chuckle; throwing an unambiguous glance at the new smelter, Alex stepped forward. “I… We came for one certain reason tonight…” Alex looked around and Will strained a bit.

“Truth be told, I have no idea whether this worketh or not…” slowly said Alex, downcasting. “Too many variants appeared to be useless afore, but in case it doth…” He raised his glance and dropped.

“The princess thinketh, thither is one possible way to send me home!”

Willsmash nodded in confirmation of some thoughts, Silver Ingot gasped raising the fore hoof to her mouth and Fluttershy simply sighed heavily.

“It is involving the Tree of Harmony,” Alex walked back and forth, getting his head together. “As princess Celestia believeth, it might be involved in mine transfer hither. She is going to try to… persuade the Tree of Harmony to send me back the same or similar way. On morrow!” added he meaningfully, while both unicorns listened to him like stunned; Fluttershy simply bit her lip silently. “Tomorrow evening to be exact.”

“When it works,” with a huge effort Alex braced himself. “IF it works… I don’t want all that we did to be lost.”

“You have all my notes and calculations,” he turned to Will determinedly. “And I’m going to run the new smelter and explain everything you need to know to use it as planned… for the smithy to work, moreover succeed,” he interrupted the blacksmith with a gesture. “Sorry… I wrote to Canterlot Steam Company and asked them to send all the blueprints of details they have problems with. On morrow I shall prepare final letters, making them work directly with you, Willsmash.”

“But,” Alex glanced at the smelter again. “We need to run that thing first!”

“Well, it’s your decision, son, and I won’t dissuade you,” sighed Will. “But… are you absolutely, completely sure about your leaving, about returning to your world? I mean, you’re not the same Alex, which came here, anymore.”

“I’m not sure about anything already, it seemeth…” muttered Alex with a sad smile.

“I’ve noticed, how you were moving Alex, you came here sleepwalking, right?” Silver Ingot looked at him inquiringly under the surprised glance of Fluttershy. “Would the others easily accept all the changes, which happened to you? Especially that one,” added she thoughtfully. “I always wonder, why you don’t use it in training…”

‘And she doesn’t know about my supposed life span. That’s the real problem!’ Alex opened his mouth to reply, but Fluttershy was faster, her soft melodic voice sounded suddenly firm.

“I suppose the real friends differ in the way that they can accept him regardless to Alex’s new abilities or appearance changes, be it sleepwalking or even… fire breathing. Even wings or horn are not the reason…”

“Merlin’s pants!” Alex chuckled nervously. “I still hope I’m lucky enough, getting neither of the latter. Considering all the circumstances, it would be great if at least mine own parents accepted me as… the real me. I would hardly be surrounded by a crowd, thus hiding mine new abilities is an easier task, than it seems at first.”

“Anyway… Back to our matter of importance,” Alex addressed the smelter again.

“I’ve loaded it, as you asked, and the materials you brought yesterday are there,” Willsmash nodded towards the awning over the workbenches.

“Excellent!” Alex lovingly stroked the side of the smelter. “Thanks, uncle Will!”

Like before, in a second or two the large construction “sighed”, as the coal inside ignited, getting hotter and hotter, so soon the rare sparkles flew out of the neck of the smelter pulled by the roaring flames and draught. Alex didn’t pay the process much attention though, he didn’t look overly concentrated, simply waiting for something; the blacksmith witnessed that the new smelter could reach much higher temperatures on its own, without foreign influence.

“There is nothing new for every unicorn in the process,” elaborated Alex. “I’m not interfering with it and the smelter reaches much higher temperatures, simply being lit initially. Obviously, you can amplify the heating a bit more with your magic perhaps, but what it gives itself, in this mode, is already much higher than the old one.”

The old blacksmith cupped his beard, watching attentively, and Alex pulled and levitated a few chunks of metal and some ore from the workbenches.

“Normally, those elements can’t be combined in an alloy,” he winked mischievously, while the materials disappeared in the smelter maw. “But not at that temperature. And the result will be much more durable than anything, we made afore.”

“Well, I see nothing strange or dangerous so far,” noted Fluttershy, they kept a safe distance with Silver Ingot. “If Alex said before it was mere metalwork, it would be easier to accept… Of course, it all depends on what the result is aimed at,” added she meaningfully.

“Oh, miss… Sorry… Fluttershy, knowing Alex,” chuckled Silver Ingot, causing Fluttershy’s fixed glance. “It’s not that simple as it seems. I think, we didn’t see everything yet.”

“Now choose the mould and try making something of that metal,” offered Alex. “We don’t have the necessary calibres for the bearings yet, so it can be some mallet or… And, uncle Will, handle the mould with your magic only, before it cools down a bit, as the current tools will most likely melt in contact.”

“Hmmm… It’s easier to say…” Willsmash picked out the form carefully, stopping on the mould, they made recently; supposedly it was to hold fine under the higher temperature filling.

Meanwhile, Alex opened the smelter tray, letting out a wave of unendurable heat, as the hell raged inside; he let out a smile, seeing what mould Will brought – from all the possible variants the old unicorn chose the glaive blade, another one was already made by Alex.

“Here we go,” Willsmash landed the mould next to the tray.

“Well, not worse than any other, I suppose,” chuckled Alex. “It will make a perfect scythe anyway, one, which won’t wear out for ages. Quite useful, if you need to fight that thick grass,” Alex nodded towards the field, making Will shake head with a sigh. “What? I’m trying to think positive, no matter what…”

The shining blob of candent metal floated out of the smelter tray, guided by Alex’s will; he accurately lowered it into the mould, letting to spread and fill it entirely. The mould crackled and hissed, becoming almost red from the heat, but it stood intact this time; Alex smirked approvingly and welcomed Willsmash with a wide gesture.

After an hour of hard work another bladed started to shape out. Willsmash was surprised by the actual ease of the new metal in forging and sharpening. He was to pick the mould and the blank with his magic indeed, as Alex said; even the mallets were to be applied fast at first not to weld to the future blade. The blank clung, slowly taking the desired shape, letting considerably less sparkles out than regular metal before; Will was to hold it above the smelter neck to heat, as the old smithy couldn’t raise the temperature of the metal enough. The cold water went after the anvil, then grindstone took its duty. Everything froze under the deep dark sky, even the omnipresent cicadas fell silent, while the old blacksmith worked. Finally, the strange complex patterns and shapes showed up on the forged surface and sharpened edges of the dark matte blade. Alex watched the result, catching himself on the thought that it resembled him Luna’s feathers somehow.

“As expected,” Alex took a look over Will’s shoulder. “I may know something about the metals, but… the blade made by me is complete crap compared to the real master’s work.”

“For each is time, Alex, for each…” Will stopped himself and looked at Alex apologetically.

“Yeah, well… Let’s check it,” Alex looked aside, then pulled his earlier blade from the stand. “Methinks it a good use for it.”

The hit wasn’t very hard, as Willsmash felt awkward still, yet the new blade made a deep notch on the older sample; Silver Ingot squeaked excitedly and both girls stepped closer to have a better look.

“I’d like to know how you did that, son,” Willsmash slowly shook his head. “Even if I know your calculations in general…”

“Well, as I said, the process is quite simple in that case,” Alex shrugged. “Every unicorn can probably handle the smelting itself, as all you need is to ignite. The smelter, however, due to its construction can operate at higher temperature, about six-seven hundreds centi… well, Kelpigrade. I suppose it’s the same from the physical point of view. Under those conditions and with new components, unmixable in other cases, totally new steel… alloy is formed.” He took the blade, examining it, watching the ligature of complex patterns with visible pleasure. “Nopony with the existing in Equestria technology can top that, thus using that smelter at its minimal capabilities, you can compete the companies now,” Alex glanced at old Will slyly. “Even knowing the components they won’t be able to copy the process itself.”

“All you probably need is to keep overly curious snoots away from the smelter,” added he.

“That’s quite a task!” Fluttershy couldn’t hold back a short chuckle. “I mean… we’re in Ponyville…”

“That’s really fascinating! I can’t… I can never thank you enough, Alex,” the old blacksmith was unable to mask the sudden glance in his eye. “But… I have a feeling, you were going to achieve more.”

Alex couldn’t but nod barely noticeable.

“That’s what the smelter does by itself practically,” Will looked at Alex evaluatively. “I can’t believe that was the top of your hard work. Forgive my old unicorn’s curiosity, but I would like to know, what that smelter is really capable of. What was your goal, son?”

Alex hesitated, he planned to tell and show everything, but wasn’t sure if it was reasonable at that moment, considering that could be his last evening on Equus – the full smelter capabilities demanded his direct involvement. Under the curious glances of both girls he finally gave up.

“I planned to rise the smelting temperatures much more than that,” confessed Alex. “Six hundreds Kelpigrade isn’t the reachable limit, and with twice or even thrice more, we could add some elements in the alloy, which would make, for example, the armour made of it be practically impenetrable for basic magical fireballs, let alone simple projectiles.”

“The process isn’t that simple though,” added he, tenderly stroking the convex side of his construction. “Even that smelter couldn’t hold temperatures that high on its own, as approaching two thousand Kelpigrade the inner coating would start to evaporate simply. Thus my newly obtained abilities were needed to isolate the plasma co… sorry, let’s say the… core, the orb of the strongest flame and raise the pressure in it considerably, as with pressure increase we can raise the temperature easier.”

“But to achieve that, I would need to control the process constantly,” Alex looked at the stunned ponies and shrugged. “If we remove pressure fast, the core will explode. That’s totally unsafe, as you understand. I don’t know, if somepony else can do the same,” added he after a minute of strained silence. “Presumably yes, after some trials, understanding the process completely… That’s why I left all my notes.”

“You really found a common language with fire, Alex,” whispered Fluttershy. “But how?”

“If only I knew. Maybe because the flames were what I came here through,” Alex shuddered unwittingly. “Anyway, I can control all the material objects while sleepwalking, but… with fire the results are especially promising. Speaking of which I don’t know the chances of somepony doing, what I described, so…”

“We would like to see, what you worked on so hard,” softly said Silver Ingot. “Please.”

“I m-might treat that… differently before… but I’d like to know, w-what you invested so much effort and even… your soul in.”

Hearing that from Fluttershy Alex was shocked, to say the least; the one, who tried to keep him away from everything connected to that old smithy, weapons forging, Seekers, wanted to have a look at his “dangerous contrivance”. Alex looked at the girl completely anew… almost like at the moment, Fluttershy stared the enraged seekers’ victim.

“Okay…” he exhaled, realizing that he couldn’t avoid that demonstration anyway. “But… please, keep distance. Just in case… I can shield the temperature excess, but not the light… And… That’s the first time I shall try that on practice!”

He checked the tray of evenly burning smelter to be tightly shut, when Fluttershy and both unicorns took the safe place, closer to the house; nothing could probably go wrong.

Nothing should go wrong!

“Well, let’s try it,” squeezed Alex through the gritted teeth and closed his eyes, concentrating his inner view on the smelter’s inside. The hum began to grow.

“The hardest thing is to keep all the things isolated,” elaborated Alex, he spoke slowly, visibly paying most attention to the flames. “The burning core, pressurized, the materials for the alloy; they must be near the core, but not in it… as with the pressure increasing, their melting temperature increases likewise. The less air is near the alloy, the better, as under that temperature, the oxygen shalt simply burn out some components. Well…”

The smelter produced a loud sucking sound, pulling air through the upper opening.

“Don’t look directly on it!” dropped Alex, producing some inner push.

A column of light hit the sky out of the smelter neck, with the audible rustle and crackling something emerged from the humming stone construction. The unbearable light flooded the surroundings, turning the night almost into the bright day.

Three ponies were to shield their eyes with the fore hooves: the orb appearing above the smelter was hardly larger than a wagon wheel, but it was a piece of raging hell, with flames swirling and curling in the constant whirlpool, making the “surface” of the sphere constantly change its candent patterns of white, bright yellow and red. Providently standing his back to it Alex let out a small smile and opened his eyes.

“Most heat is going upwards now,” he cast a side glance at the fire orb. “Exactly as it was supposed to work.”

Despite all the shielding, the heat was barely endurable; Fluttershy squeaked and made a small step back.

“Methinks it’s enough,” Alex became serious at once, driving the flaming sphere back into the smelter belly much faster than he raised it. “Prithee, give me a couple of minutes…”

Soon the sound from inside the smelter became usual again and Alex took his breath. He quickly approached Fluttershy and kneeled to her, hugging the girl softly; Fluttershy snuggled to his chest, hiding her muzzle, but Alex saw that she wasn’t scared… overwhelmed rather.

“Apologies, if it was somewhat scary!” he glanced at the rest.

“It… could be a nice weapon… against those monsters,” pensively said Silver Ingot; Alex was surprised by that simple idea not coming into his head.

“Unfortunately, too many conditions should be met at once for it to work,” he slowly and reassuringly stroked Fluttershy’s mane, until she glanced up at him more confidently. “I used fire against them already, but never thought…”

“How… how hot it was?” the blacksmith finally regained his voice. “I mean inside that… thing.”

“One – one and a half thousand Kelpigrade approximately,” shrugged Alex casually. “I planned to raise the temperatures slowly initially, experimenting with materials. Wanted to reach three thousand at some point… maybe four. I don’t yet have the elements needing that temperature to fuse.”

“That’s probably won’t matter anyway tomorrow,” added he quietly, making Fluttershy let out a woeful sigh in his arms.

Some small birds landed on the balcony parapet and jumped back and forth along the hoofrail, chirping and chattering freely, so quiet and motionless Alex and Fluttershy sat. Some of them undoubtedly knew Fluttershy well, yet politely kept some distance not disturbing the closeness of the mare and the man, as if feeling the seriousness of the moment.

Leaning his back at the warm sunlit trunk Alex embraced his marefriend from behind and softly nuzzled her fragrant mane, making the girl squint from pleasure and almost purr in his arms. She followed him, shortly after Alex got at the upper balcony of the Library, making him company and snuggling to Alex’s chest; since then they haven’t said a single word, but neither of them considered it necessary. If they started talking, they would have touched the imminent partying sooner or later and neither Alex nor Fluttershy wanted that spoiling their probably last afternoon together.

They sat there about a couple of hours or maybe more; surprisingly Alex didn’t feel any glimpse of unease, despite that was the highest reachable point of the Golden Oak for him – the entire Ponyville lied in front of their eyes. But the town below with the herd mingling in the streets, carriages rolling, the talk, muffledly coming through the foliage, like the hum of some large beehive, was of no importance for Alex and Fluttershy. Deep in his thoughts, Alex travelled his fingers through Fluttershy’s sumptuous mane; the soft silky ear twitched, flicking his nose slightly – he must have accidentally tickled her. With a tiny smile Fluttershy looked up at Alex, he didn’t fight the desire to dive into those turquoise lakes entirely, sharing a passionate kiss with her. Even the birds shut up for a second… or so it seemed to Alex and Fluttershy, who didn’t hear anything except the hearts of each other, beating so close.

The Sun long passed the noon and moved slowly on its daily route to the western edge of the sky; its rays caressed everything they touched, telling that the last day of the Summer is not the last warm day. Everything promised the calm and relaxing evening and the end of the week for the busy, tired herd in the streets below. The oak leaves lulled, quietly whispering around Alex and Fluttershy, framing the balcony as a fluffy green and bronze cloud. Fluttershy closed her eyes, hiding the nose at Alex’s neck; inwardly he was thankful for no tears coming out of those beautiful eyes, realizing that the time for tears would inevitably come later.

Alex’s day started early, he woke from a tender kiss on his nose, when Fluttershy left his embrace early in the morning, and the Library shortly after – she hurried to see her animal friends and take care of those, who needed that, to return in time. Waking up completely Alex remembered, what he was going to undertake; he felt how his soul is ripped in halves by the wish and doubts fighting again. Thinking of it at that moment he couldn’t remember if it was his dream… well, as in the usual dream, or Luna really did come to him, while he was sleepwalking, for the second time during one night. On the one hand, he clearly spent that night, softly cuddling Fluttershy on his sofa, on the other hand, the memory of him sitting in the field, watching the stars with Luna, whose head rested on his shoulder, was too vivid to be a simple dream.

‘If I leave, will I ever see her again, at least in my dreams? Will she be able to show me Fluttershy again?’

Alex sighed and got to the routine, trying not to think, what his life would be like, if he succeeded with that portal; he had some questions, opened by his possible departure, to solve there and then exactly. The day started with a heap of letters: Alex wrote to the Canterlot Steam Company, explaining them the current work layout and Willsmash’s position as his assignee, when Alex wasn’t available; to the patent bureau and attorney – about delegating the rights to the blacksmith and his niece; to Will himself – filling him in the new order of things after own departure; to a couple of local customers, whose orders weren’t yet fulfilled; a few words for Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, whom he didn’t have a chance to see… A whole load of papers.

Gathering the rest of his notes, which could be of any use for Will’s future work and shoving them into a thick envelope, Alex thought that it would be probably a nice idea to ask Twilight rewriting at least the letters to CSC and patent bureau in ink. Involuntarily Alex flushed: when it came to the quills, he was still worse than a foal, making a total mess on the sheet of paper. Finally, he took a look around; the room was almost like when he entered it for the first time, he already transferred the minerals to the smithy. Only the armour piece, he worked on and probably was never to finish, lied in the corner and… the accurately folded ancient tapestry of the Night Crown on the small table.

“I think I’m done,” Alex caught Twilight in her study with the large tome on transportation magic; the girl masked her nerves behind refreshing in her memory, what could be useful that night. “Could you please send all those?” He placed the large stack on the table.

“You know, Alex,” this time Twilight turned to him at once, putting her fore hoof on the letters and throwing an attentive glance over him. “I will surely send them all, immediately… after you are not here, in Equestria. If you are not here…”

Alex nodded silently, then he leaned and hugged Twilight tight. “I would love to have at least one such friend in my home world, Twi! No more is necessary…”

The alicorn girl blinked fast and turned away for a second, when he let off her.

“Are… are you going to take something with you?” Twilight’s voice noticeably trembled.

“I don’t know. When I got here, all my belongings got lost,” Alex shook his head. “I will be lucky keeping my clothes, when… if I get to Earth. It would be a waste methinks…”

“Which giveth me an idea, Twilight,” Alex looked over his shoulder towards his room pensively. “The Royal Tapestry… I don’t want it to vanish. Alas, I can’t take it, but I don’t want it to gather dust for another thousand of years either. Please, givest it to Fluttershy… if she taketh it. I want them to keep being friends, no matter what, Twi…”

“As soon as you are on your way home…” Twilight shortly nodded. “What are you going to do now, Alex?”

“Simply wait, look at Equestria while I still can, trying to remember, what I like about it,” Alex shrugged with a sad, but somehow light smile. “I shall be upstairs,” he raised his eyes. “Shy promised to come early…” holding her hoof for a second in his hands, Alex exited.

Feeling the soft touch on his shoulder Alex winced and woke up from his thoughts. Twilight looked down at them both apologetically.

“It’s time, mates… The Sun is already setting and we must be at the edge of Everfree after the sunset. I promised the princesses that we wouldn’t be late. The road through the forest isn’t very short and Celestia thought it could take some effort to… open the portal.”

“Well…” Alex got up, still holding Fluttershy on his arms; her kiss burnt his neck, the girl snuggled closer into him, realizing that it could be the home straight. “I guess, it’s now or nev’r.”

‘I’m for “nev’r”, please…’ flashed in Fluttershy’s head, but she let off Alex with a tiny smile, fluttering and landing next to him.

Spike met them at the bottom of the stairs, as usual he was busy with something about the house, but interrupted his job, hearing the hoofsteps.

“I’ll stay here, if you don’t mind; no need to make the place herded,” the little dragon looked a bit confused. “Just in case… well, you know… It was a pleasure…”

“Even despite Rarity?” Alex smirked slightly.

“Even despite Rarity!” Spike nodded firmly, squeezing the palm Alex offered for the handshake. “Good luck, mate!”

“Same to you, Spike, and thanks…”

Followed by his glance, two ponies and one human exited the Golden Oak Library and headed around, to the back yard and further in the field. Alex asked the girls to get around the town through the outskirts or even the crops if possible, he didn’t want to gain useless attention to their late walk.

“I talked with everypony I needed,” explained Alex, when they reached the road from the Apples’ Farm to the railway station and headed south. “The whole town shalt find out eventually, if I leave… but not right now. I don’t want to run into anypony I know close, especially other girls…”

Twilight nodded after a momentary thinking and Fluttershy only sighed, quietly, but both Alex and Twilight could hear. She shivered slightly, maybe because some autumn-like coolness crawling from the field, and whispered.

“It’s getting colder, I think, we’ll have a foggy morning…” Fluttershy stumbled upon that word and downcasted, realizing that the morning would be different regardless to the fog.

Despite Alex’s precautions, they still ran into one familiar pony: reaching the crossroads, where the road to the farm merged with the one rounding Ponyville from the south and heading to the Clock Tower – exactly the road they needed, Alex and girls saw Big Mac examining the large apple trees at the orchard edge.

“Evening!” McIntosh greeted the girls energetically and turned to Alex, lowering his voice. “Jackie told me… So, it’s tonight… yar going to…”

Alex shortly nodded; following the direction of his gaze Big Mac elaborated. “Autumn cutting… Better planed beforehoof, mate. Well… Ah hope you’ll get, what yar lookin’ for.”

‘If only I knew, what I’m really looking for now…’ Alex squeezed a wry smile, waving Applejack’s brother a good-bye.

Passing Ponyville from the south Alex asked the girls to pace up a bit, the further part of the road, right behind the park and bridge over the river could be easily seen from Carousel Boutique; Alex didn’t want to bother Rarity once again, even knowing that she was most likely busy taking care of the ill younger sister. He turned away from the town and let the girls slightly forward, the regret pulled Alex’s heart, he didn’t say a word to the fillies; Fluttershy threw quick glances at him over the shoulder, noticing him becoming gloomier with each step. Finally, she quietly told something to Twilight and both girls slowed down to walk head to head with Alex.

The Sun slowly approached the horizon, as if letting everypony enjoy the soft colours of the sunset longer. It seemed that Celestia was especially benevolent this evening, letting her star paint the skies and gathering clouds in all the tints of pink, red and golden, even some threads of aquamarine. The sunlit cottage with its garden and surrounding trees, the openwork bridge over the stream, the water wheel (it seemed to Alex, as if he built it ages ago) looked unreally ideal, without any wrong line or curve, like cut from the satin paper and glued to the pastel grass and apples fragrant evening. A little further to the south-east the solid mass of the Clock Tower, bronze in the oblique sunlight, threw the long pitch black shadow, like some giant clock hand, pointing to the west; it blinked in the last rays of the sun with the single, survived by some miracle, glass in the high window and the dusk began taking over.

Alex, Fluttershy and Twilight reached the edge of the Everfree forest, when the sunset gave up finally and the thin pink stripe on the western edge of the sky vanished behind the trees completely; at the same time gentle silvery shine started flooding the east, rising higher and higher, highlighting the clouds – the Moon took its nightly throne.

They stopped under the first trees on the edge, unseen from the field, let alone from the town; Alex inhaled the full chest of the forest air, filled with dampness and the mix of unknown smells – there were lots of plants in Everfree blooming even in the very end of the Summer.

Twilight wanted to say something, but a bright flash made them three wince a little, revealing the large yet gracious frame of the white alicorn princess; with another flash the smaller fine chiselled figure appeared – Luna joined her sister.

“Good evening, Twilight, Fluttershy, Alex!” Celestia bowed her head slightly. Luna nodded to everypony, then stepped forward.

Completely ignoring her sister’s astounded gaze Luna approached Alex and snuggled her cheek to Alex’s face, hugging his shoulders with her fore leg. She kept like that for a while, closing her eyes, a single tear left a silver trail on her silky blue cheek; Alex swallowed a sudden lump, wrapping his arms around the swan neck, caressing her mane and feeling lavender aroma surrounding him.

Surprisingly Fluttershy didn’t say a word; she looked away, when Luna nuzzled Alex’s temple biting her lip woefully, and even the small, but passionate kiss, left by the blue lips on Alex’s neck, was met with understanding.

“Ahem…” Celestia sounded nervous, clearing her throat. “It’s time to go, if… If you decided that you are giving it a try, Alex!”

Alex opened his eyes and slowly nodded, feeling how Luna’s heart sank and skipped a beat; he looked into those dark blue eyes, forcing his own to stay dry.

“Let’s do it.”

“I suppose you don’t know the path to the Tree, Alex, do you?” Celestia looked over her shoulder, deepening into the forest, as she automatically took the lead. She headed more to the east, than the old road, which dived under and ran into the darkness between the trees; they were to walk almost straight through the forest.

Alex remembered his old dream with the Tree of Harmony; he was “transferred” somewhere near the cleft… besides, he had no idea, if it was a good moment to mention his strange acquaintance with the Tree.

“No, princess, only the road to the Old Castle,” said he under Luna’s quick glance. ‘She definitely was there and that was more than a simple dream’, thought Alex.

It happened that Luna and Fluttershy took places by Alex’s sides silently, each one avoided starting the talk, feeling the awkwardness because of the presence of another – friends and rivals by coincidence at the moment. Twilight had nothing left than join her mentor on that walk, as she didn’t want to stay in rearguard alone; walking next to Fluttershy or Luna looked the same as taking one’s side psychologically for her, which Twilight tried to avoid at any cost there. Secretly peeking over the shoulder, while trying to pace up with Celestia, whose long legs gave an unquestionable advantage on the walk, Twilight noticed the quick tensed glances both girls exchanged occasionally; they did their best to keep them unnoticed by Alex though.

Naturally, Alex was to address them both due to the same diplomatic reasons, Twilight could hear “girls”, said most neutrally; the rest of the quiet talk slipped by her ear, when the girls replied. Twilight sighed, realizing the complexity of the situation and Alex’s position at the moment, then turned to Celestia.

“Your Highness, I’m sorry, is something still bothering you? I supposed our reckoning was right and… the Tree is exactly…”

“My dear Twilight,” the princess let out a small smile, making her jaw relax a bit and her glance warmed. “Almost everything in our situation is bothering me to some extent. Our reckoning is doubtlessly correct and the Tree of Harmony is what we need, as she…” Celestia stumbled. “it brought the human to our world most likely. But… the correctness of our current deeds is what I doubt, concerned if they won’t bring us trouble in the long perspective.”

Twilight opened her mouth with a bewildered expression, listening to Celestia’s explanation.

“You see, Twilight, I’m concerned about the safety of our subjects first. And I’m still not entirely sure which aims the Tree of Harmony is pursuing in that exact case. It’s an ancient entity… much more ancient than Equestria itself, than us with Luna obviously. What is considered beneficial to Equus in general… in the universal sense, is not obligatorily beneficial for Equestria in particular. That’s a complex question, Twilight. Needless to say that I’m in doubt still… yet I agreed to try. Probably simply because I’m worried that Alex presence here may be… only “may”, but… dangerous for us. So, if we can send him back, it’s a way out…” Celestia intercepted Twilight’s look back. “And it’s not because of Luna’s… affection. Well… because of it as well,” her nose became slightly pinkish. “But the actual premise is different.”

“But how can Alex be…”

“Dangerous?” Celestia leaned to her apprentice and lowered her voice. “He is gaining more power, you won’t deny, my faithful student. But is he able to control it? Besides his connection to the Seekers isn’t entirely clear to me. And the way Alex… “consumes” them literally,” Celestia cocked her head, shaking her flowing mane. “He is practically absorbing the evil magic, Twilight. What if he can’t dispel it entirely?”

“Luna, although, sees no danger in him. She is so happy… especially when Alex reaches some new horizon,” Celestia sighed heavily. “If I didn’t have any suspicions on his account, I could have been happy for her without any deep concerns.”

Twilight fell silent, having no words to say; she didn’t want to believe that the assumption of the princess was possible, on the other hoof, the experience and wisdom of the latter… ‘That is why I decided to stay close… Besides, he is my friend!’ Twilight nodded to her thoughts.

They seemed to walk for a couple of hours already or maybe even more, with quite a good pace, as despite the wilderness, the forest was clear and easily passable. The quiet whisper of the lush crowns above was disturbed by the rare sounds of night birds and fading, then gaining the volume again as they passed screeching of the cicadas. Once a single hedgehog crossed their way, huffing and stomping in a hurry; otherwise, the forest was unusually quiet that night. Far above, separated by the green umbrella, the light rain started, making the leaves babble louder and forest smells become sharper, better pronounced in the damp air. With the gathering clouds darkness under the trees made the regal sisters light their path with magic. Four ponies and one human walked deeper and deeper into the Everfree forest.

After a short while the forest started to change subtly: the trees they passed became older and bigger, the gaps between them – naturally wider; the ground noticeably inclined in the direction they were heading. The rain slowly faded away, as modestly as it started and the bright Moon peeked through parting clouds, pouring liquid silver onto the forest.

The breeze touched the trees making their leaves whisper hastily. Alex stopped, waking from his thoughts; they didn’t talk with Luna and Fluttershy for the last half an hour already. He suddenly had the strongest feeling of déjà vu, turning his head and taking a look around, his glance filling with recognition. The thick trunks were dimly lit by the rays of moonlight, which couldn’t come through the crones entirely.

‘I definitely was here before!’

“What’s happened, Alex?” princess Celestia turned and looked at him with interest. “We need to go, we are…”

“Close,” automatically said Alex, making Celestia squint suspiciously; Luna’s muzzle, on the contrary, lit with a tiny warm smile. “Somehow I know it!” Unwittingly he made a few steps and caught up with the princess; Twilight subtly fell back, taking the strategic position between Fluttershy and Luna. “This-a-way… if ‘t be true mine memory isn’t failing me.”

His old dream was the easiest explanation, but Alex couldn’t help noticing the striking semblance of what he saw in that dream and what unrolled in front of him at the moment. Alex walked next to Celestia, listening to the cicadas concert with some night bird soloing in the distance. He didn’t need the guidance now, subtly getting ahead of the princess, who silently watched him. The grass rustled softly under his feet. The wind, which he felt on his face, brought some tart and exhilarating scent, Alex knew it, he felt it for the third time. The previous one was in his “dream”; although, Alex wasn’t sure if it wasn’t the first experience of “sleepwalking”, even if unconscious. But he still couldn’t recognize, where he felt it for the first time, so that smell becoming so familiar to him.

The ground lowered noticeably in that direction. Alex walked through the forest, stepping over the fallen trees, for a moment he forgot he wasn’t alone there. Celestia falling back and joining the rest helped creating that illusion; the four mares watched Alex, each with different feelings, but each with a certain degree of surprise.

The forest thinned meanwhile and the ground inclined more and more in the direction he was heading. Just when Alex wondered, if the distance would considerably differ between his dream and reality, the trees parted and he stepped into the wide opening brightly lit by the moon; the ponies followed close, exiting from under the tree crowns to the moonlit glade.

Alex looked over the shoulder, his eyes wide with bewilderment; nopony produced a sound, only Celestia slowly nodded, welcoming Alex to proceed.

A deep cleft started right at the edge of the forest and went further and deeper guarded by the trees on both sides and forming a natural path between its stone walls; so Alex went down that slope.

Soon the cleft became more like a canyon and Alex noticed that they got about sixty feet lower than the rest of the forest. He didn’t feel any unease about that or about the whole situation. Maybe the faint glow, coming from behind the turn of that cleft, calmed him and attracted at the same time.

Reaching the dead end, Alex saw the familiar natural chamber. Irregular in shape it was framed with the tree crones far above and lit by the Moon. But that wasn’t what made Alex’s heart skip a beat. Again.

There was a giant tree in the far end of that “chamber”, the biggest Alex saw in his life: much more than sixty feet high, its crone must be on the same level, the crones of common trees above were.

Alex stopped at some distance, taking a look over the giant crone, rather silvery than green, almost glowing, the enormous trunk and branches were of the same colour, silvery roots covered the ground. The glow seemed slowly pulsating, as if the tree had a heart. Or perhaps it was the heart itself, of the Everfree for example, or…

“The Tree of Harmony,” unnoticed, Celestia got next to him, leaning to Alex’s ear.

Alex couldn’t help but stand there with an involuntary feeling of serenity, of peace and… harmony filling him near that miracle of nature. But he wasn’t the same inexperienced about the magic Alex as before.

“I shall… better stay here, till… till the portal is ready, Tia,” whispered Alex hoarsely. “If the Tree of Harmony… agrees to let me through.”

Paying no attention to how wicked it sounded Alex watched Celestia, who approached the trunk, which looked like a silver column twelve feet in diameter. Back at home Alex was never able to stand near a really high tree and look up to the top as he immediately imagined the whole height of it… and heights and Alex didn’t come together well. It was so long ago, seemingly in another life… Alex wasn’t sure which of them was more dreamlike at that moment.

Celestia touched the trunk with the golden-shod fore hoof, leaning her head towards the Tree, almost touching the silver bark with her glowing horn. She looked, as if she was quietly talking to the “forest deity”… trying to convince of something.

Alex wasn’t surprised when the Tree audibly chimed upon Tia’s touch, but the deep sound pierced seemingly his whole self, making his heart thump loudly. Alex twitched and stepped back, he breathed heavily, but heard the light steps behind nevertheless.

Alex turned around quickly… he saw the night coloured alicorn in front of himself: the blue shades on her eyelids, the starry night mane and tail, the noble beauteous look. Alex noticed the sly sparkles in Luna’s large dark-blue eyes, when she spread her wings and granted him a smile, making her cheeks round in a familiar way, awakening to reality the image from his dream: the human figure stepping out of the shadows cast by the cleft wall, the young and graceful girl, Alex already saw in the old dream of his.

The dark-blue long noble dress, the long hair of seemingly all colours of the night sky, the blue shades on upper eyelids and the whole beautiful face with clearly delineated features. Yet when she smiled, her cheeks rounded almost childishly.

Alex shook his head, feeling like knocked out, the vision blurred and faded, leaving the real Luna in front of him. With a tender and slightly sad smile she passed Alex, flooding him with lavender aroma and joining her sister under the Tree of Harmony.

Fluttershy and Twilight approached quietly, exchanging glances with Alex; he softly hugged both girls around their shoulders, preparing to wait.

Several minutes passed in silence broken by the faint Tree chime only, Luna and Celestia stood, bowing their heads towards the giant trunk, as if mentally negotiating with the forest giant about something. The Moon peeked through another opening between the clouds and its light mixed with the silver glow of the Tree, flooding the cleft. Both girls and Alex held their breath, waiting for the result, any result, as after some time Alex started thinking, their idea wasn’t going to work and the Tree of Harmony refusing or being unable to address princesses’ request.

Suddenly a bright sparkle appeared halfway to the Tree, floating above the side of the low rooted hill, it quickly grew, turning into a spindle-like pool of flowing and flickering light. Alex’s heart skipped a beat.

‘Did they succeed forsooth?!’

“The Tree of Harmony agreed to open a portal, Alex,” softly said Celestia. “But we need to direct it better, basing on the information from your memories. Give me some time.”

Alex nodded completely dumbfounded, as if he had some other choice; meanwhile, Luna quietly joined them at the bottom of the hill.

“Teleportation magic is Tia’s fancy forsooth, I’m of little help hither.”

Alex nodded, the realization, those were his last minutes in Equestria, squeezed and tumbled his guts, leaving a cold emptiness feeling in his stomach. Did he fear that risky journey? Perhaps, just as everypony feared the unknown; although, the events of the last four months made him take things incomparably easier, than Alex just coming to Equestria did.

Celestia’s horn glowed brightly, braiding her own magic strand by strand into the shimmering portal matter; the warp grew a bit larger, flickering like the candlelight under somepony’s breath.

“Twilight!” Alex turned to the girls. “For the last few weeks… and if ‘t be true I think of that, for the whole time being hither, I met more compassion and support, than through the several years back on Earth. All that from seemingly complete strangers, who could give no damn about me… But…” he hugged the lilac alicorn girl tight. “Thank thee! Please, stay that awesome friend, for the girls, for everypony, who needeth. It shalt be nice to know that somewhere friendship is more than merely a word…”

Twilight sniffed quietly, rubbing the soft coat of her cheek against Alex’s neck, almost squeaking her wish of good luck; Alex nodded silently, stroking her mane shortly and hearing the hoofsteps behind, which meant only one thing.

“This is it,” Celestia looked at Alex seriously, finishing correcting the portal with her magic. “If you still want to leave, you must leave now. The Tree of Harmony possesses its own powerful magic, different from ours… Hopefully, it will work as we wanted. But…” the princess stumbled again. “It also has its own will and nopony can predict, how long the “door” will stay open.”

“Thank you, Tia,” Alex released Twilight softly and turned to Celestia; despite her concerns and suspicions, she agreed to help him. “And forgivest me if ‘t be true I occasionally took the liberty…”

“I may think of it,” Celestia cocked her head. “Regardless to what has been between us, don’t keep hard feelings and have a safe… road ahead. The Sun blessing is upon you.” She touched his shoulder lightly.

Alex’s heart ached, when he turned to her sister.

“Luna,” whispered Alex, suddenly his throat became totally dry and full of sandpaper. “I...”

In a dark-blue flurry she grabbed him and enveloped in her wings, wrapping her fore legs around Alex.

“I love thee!” a single tear burned Alex’s shoulder like the drop of metal from his smelter; the silky lips swept on his cheek and in a second Alex felt lavender breath mixing with his, when they locked on his mouth, like trying to remember and keep the feeling. “I shall try to reach… Beest careful, mine heart!”

Trying not to look at Celestia, whose reproachful sigh he heard a moment before, Alex turned to Fluttershy. The pegasus girl looked completely crushed, Alex kneeled to her eye level, pulling her closer, snuggling to his chest. The turquoise lakes overflowed and he was to wipe the tears trailing down her silky cheeks constantly.

“Shy! Shy, please… Dost not think bad of me.” He cupped her cheeks with both hands and looked into her incredible glistening eyes. “I’m very sorry, Fluttershy. For everything, except that wolf.” She shivered in snicker or maybe in weeping, grabbing his shoulders convulsively and kissing him deeply. The world spun around overwhelmed Alex, Celestia and Twilight looked away flushing; only Luna watched them, she nodded slowly with a serene smile, closing her eyes.

“I love you, Alex,” the yellow lips breathed in his ear, when they finally broke their kiss. “But I know, where you belong. Go, if you must… if you’re not ready to stay… I will miss you, while I breathe.”

“Shy…” whispered Alex under his breath, almost groaned, releasing small yellow pegasus from his embrace. She sank, staring at the ground, unable to raise her eyes; tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving the glowing marks on the carpet of thick leaves.

Alex straightened and stepped towards the portal; he braced himself, realizing that it might work just as well as kill him. But it was worth the risk perhaps. To reach his aim, to leave and solve all problems that easily, while still not taking anyone’s life.

“The time isn’t on your side, Alex,” reminded Celestia quietly.

Slowly Alex approached the pool of flowing quicksilver, floating in the air. From that close he could hear the faint hum, resembling Alex the chime of the Tree of Harmony.

Alex stretched his hand towards the portal, almost touching the constantly changing surface with the fingers. The portal began to change from the liquid metal semblance to the opalescent. Watching it fixedly Celestia pursed her lips with concern.

With the quick step forward, Alex reached the warp and touched it. The glowing whirlpool trembled, sparkles flowing between Alex fingers, where they touched the portal. The blinding white shine consumed his figure, making him invisible to the ponies, who watched from a distance. Completely bemused Alex felt some sort of elastic border with his fingers, which he tried to break through…

“Forgive me, Guardian, but you can’t leave now,” the soothing female voice in his head made Alex twitch, like from the electric discharge.

The Tree of Harmony glowed intensively, the light spread from the centre of the trunk to the branches, smaller twigs and leaves seemingly; the loud juicy sound of a bursting giant cord broke the silence with the warp widening and blasting with an unbearable flash. The sonic wave swept the leaves, swirling them in the air and making everypony wince back, knocking them to the ground; only Celestia managed to remain standing on all four, bowing her head to resist the gust.

The returning twilight let everypony regain their sight slowly; when colourful spots stopped floating in front of their eyes, the mares froze in disbelief. The warp disappeared, but where it was, lied Alex, curled and motionless.

The glow of the Tree faded and the chiming almost ceased; it took maybe a minute of tingling silence, before he opened the eyes and tried to make them look straight, exactly when Fluttershy and Luna were ready to dash to him, worrying about his life. With a moan of pain Alex wiped his face, kneeling and taking a bewildered look around.

“What…” wheezed he, coughing with the grimace of pain… Then something which nopony expected happened.

Something dark, deeper than the night sky above, raised behind his shoulders. Alex heard the sound of his shirt tearing apart, when two enormous wings towered from his back. He wiggled them chaotically with an expression of complete shock on his face. Alex had already noticed that he was still in Equestria, on the same spot he planned to leave from; evidently, the portal based on the Tree of Harmony magic didn’t work… Didn’t work as they expected, bestowing Alex the problem of incomparably bigger scale, it seemed: the worst thing, Alex realized through his quaking shock, was that he couldn’t control those wings well. It wasn’t even obvious how he could stand with them, but they were light enough for him not to affect his posture.

With a lost and panicking expression Alex got onto his feet, hearing the loud noise the wings unfurled with. Completely against his will they started flapping, harder and harder, producing the wind, which sent small twigs and leaves flying. With another convulsive movement they pushed Alex up in the air. Another pressure wave made the ponies crouch, peppering them with dust and leaves.

Fluttershy, whose tears dried in a second, Twilight, Luna and Celestia gazed up to see, how he flew out of the Tree of Harmony cleft, rising above the surrounding trees in a matter of seconds. The wings spread in the open air completely, overshadowing Luna’s Moon for a moment.

Twilight woke up from the stupor first.

“Hey, move! He can’t handle them yet!” she yelled, unfolding her wings and soaring after Alex.

She must have remembered, how many troubles her own wings brought her first, when she just became an alicorn. All that considering her being familiar with magic and equestrian laws of nature. At first Twilight was helpless in the air like a foal and took flight lessons from Rainbow Dash for quite a while, before she could hold in the air without sheer terror.

‘Sweet Celestia, what can happen, when he remembers about his fear of heights?!’ flashed in her head.

Fluttershy and Luna got airborne the second later and all three girls rose quickly in form of a long spear with Alex at its point. Celestia stayed on the ground, her horn glowing with magic. She was readying some powerful spell to suspend them in the air in case something went wrong.

Throwing a quick glance down and seeing Luna and Fluttershy following her close, Twilight felt more confident; nevertheless, she realized that they had only one attempt, as they were unable to catch him with magic. They could rely on their speed and strength only.

Alex stormed into the night sky with the feeling he couldn’t explain. With the portal literally failing he had nothing to celebrate, yet some new feeling nested in his chest and, to his utter surprise, it was rather some joy than sorrow. Alex couldn’t tell how that happened, most likely the wings showed their own will, as he wasn’t sure, if he was commanding them anyhow. But did the birds ever think how to use their wings exactly? They simply flew!

He raised above the forest circumfused in the moonlight, spreading the wings like two flowing sheets of night. Through the widening clearance in the clouds, to the clear night sky. From there the variety of shapes looked like hills bathing in liquid silver, flowing, changing, like dunes in the wind; the endless sea of Everfree peeked through the gaps in them, framed with the real mountains far to the west, which glaciers shone in the soft moonlight. The Moon took its throne rightfully, flooding the skies and rare thin higher clouds with the glow, making the stars visible only further at the edges of the sight. The wind ruffled the large feathers with quiet rustling.

His feathers?!!

Alex’s involuntary smile faded, then he looked down, realizing where he suddenly got…

Framed with the clouds and the green carpet of the forest, the cleft with the Tree of Harmony looked like toys. Alex could barely spot a tiny bright sparkle far-far below – Celestia.

He managed to notice three winged silhouettes: lilac, yellow and dark blue – following him by a narrowing spiral, when the ground with all objects on it tripled in his sight; Alex’s pupils narrowed, becoming pin-prick and he felt cold sweat on his forehead. He remembered Fluttershy, unable to raise in the air when scared; immediately his newly-gained wonderful wings folded tight with loud flap and Alex fell down, gaining speed.

“Merlin’s pants,” he closed his eyes, shrinking at the face of the imminent collision. “What a stupid way to die, after the portal didn’t kill me…”

But instead of the hit, he felt a strong push and his fall almost stopped. Alex opened his eyes to see three ponies catching him; Luna and Fluttershy held his shoulders, while Twilight managed to grasp around his waist. Maximum of concentration was written on her muzzle, when all three tried their best to bring him down safely.

Alex heart still beat somewhere under his throat, when they all reached the ground practically at the spot he soared from, at the roots of the Tree. In a wink Celestia reached them, materializing a wide belt instead of the supporting spell.

“We got in time!” breathed out Twilight, almost collapsing to the ground, releasing her grasp.

“Luna, Fluttershy!” Celestia raised her voice. “Girls, let him stand!”

Exchanging grumpy glances, they let go of Alex: Fluttershy with a confused squeak, Luna very unwillingly.

“Merlin’s pants!” Alex finally focused on the white alicorn princess in front of him, as if he just realized, where he was. He got up, shivering. “I… What hath befallen?” He almost fell, grabbing Luna’s shoulder to keep balance; the wings jerked menacingly.

“Hold still, please,” Celestia interrupted him sternly, wrapping the belt, which felt like a stripe of soft, elastic and durable leather, around his waist, tightly pulling his wings to the body and fixating them folded. “Here. Just in case!” Alex glanced at her thankfully.

“Can you walk?” giving them a couple of minutes to take their breath Celestia looked into Alex’s eyes, nodding with satisfaction to the return of meaningful expression in them.

“I can carry him, Tia,” Luna hugged Alex with her wing under the reproachful glare of her sister.

“It’s okay… I shall go myself,” whispered Alex, he didn’t raise his eyes, dumbfounded and confused. But he properly interpreted Celestia’s quiet huff, the human riding the alicorn was a bit much. “I’m okay, Luna, in the earnest,” he snuggled his forehead to her velvet neck for a moment.

“I ask you to do only one thing, Lulu,” Celestia quietly addressed her sister, walking next to her, when they exited the cleft and slowly headed back to Ponyville through the dark and silent forest. “Watch him please tonight, but without the… direct intervention,” she glanced at Luna meaningfully. Seeing her nodding without visible enthusiasm, Celestia elaborated, leaning to her ear.

“I don’t know what happened there… and why. But you can’t deny the obvious! He became a sleepwalker, he can control objects in that condition and… now he got wings. Granted, they aren’t much obedient yet, but that’s the question of practice, as we know. Too much semblance to the certain dream… nightmare of mine, blueberry, don’t you think?”

“Oh, sunny, dost not start again…” Luna rolled her eyes, quickly checking over her shoulder. “It was only a dream…”

“I know, it’s only a possibility,” her sister didn’t want to hear any objections. “But it’s still a possibility! I don’t like where it goes…”

Alex trudged after them mechanically, his glance was still directed inwards and his whole expression showed disbelief in the wicked things happening to him; his attention was barely enough to step over the fallen trees not to fall. Without conspiring others decided to leave him alone for a while, simply making sure he was safely moving in the proper direction; Alex was to overcome that shock first, addressing him was almost futile before that.

“I think it will be better, if you stay at home tonight, Fluttershy. No offence!” Twilight looked at her friend apologetically. “He needs to get in peace with himself and needs to do it in solitude, I believe. That’s too much of a change, dear, I simply remember myself… So…” They followed Alex, guarding him from behind, when he stumbled too obviously.

“If you can cope with everything…” Fluttershy batted her eyelashes modestly. Inwardly she was ready to jump and sing, like a foal… and to her own surprise, she wasn’t ashamed of that feeling, despite Alex’s plan failed. Well, maybe a tiny bit, but the tiny bit didn’t count! “I think it’s rational indeed. Hopefully, she understands the reasoning as well, Twi,” Fluttershy glanced meaningfully at Luna’s flowing mane and tail.

The rest of the way everypony kept silence: pensive and moody Celestia; Luna with shared sister’s concerns and happiness fighting in her soul; Twilight, trying to figure how to deal with the new problems; Fluttershy, whose heart jumped, like a carefree birdie, and she couldn’t do anything with that: ‘Didn’t work, the portal didn’t work!’

They still felt the remnants of that shock, when they saw Alex, not transferred by the Tree of Harmony; and Alex the most of them all. He raised his eyes, only when they exited the forest and faced the moonlit field with the Clock Tower and cottage in the view.

Fluttershy apologized, squeezing Alex in a hug and kissing him on the nose; she vanished behind her front door even before confusedly blinking Alex could understand, what was going on. Nevertheless, Twilight could spot the quick glances, Luna and Fluttershy threw at each other.

Luna in her turn didn’t want to release him longer, she slid her cheek against Alex’s, closing her eyes and almost purring. She kept nuzzling him, until Celestia almost jerked forward to pull her sister away. With a bright flash both princesses departed, leaving Twilight and Alex on the road to Ponyville.

Thus Alex and Twilight walked to the town together. All girl’s efforts to get Alex talking resembled watering the desert sand, he replied with interjections, insipidly, moving his legs like a clockwork doll; finally Twilight dropped that worthless ploy, simply keeping close to him just in case.

The wall clock was showing 2 am exactly, when they trudged into the Library tiredly, closing the door and leaving the cool night behind. The Golden Oak met them with silence, Spike went to bed long ago; a large envelope, most likely delivered by the evening mail, waited for them on the table – “CSC” letters stood out on the thick paper. In the dim light of the hall, flopping on the couch, Alex squeezed out more than a couple of meaning words.

“The irony!” muttered he, glimpsing the packet and covering his face. “I got the wings long after the moment I really needed them…” Twilight only sighed, understanding the route of his thoughts perfectly.

“On the other hand, there is no point in the wings, when you can’t fly anyway.”

“Actually, you can fly, Alex!” Twilight sat in front of him, she looked for his glance with slight concern. “You need to learn to control the process properly. There is a difference…”

“They can fly!” Alex jerked his head back, bearing in mind the wings. “But we can’t come to an agreement…”

“I suppose this is where I can… and must help you. You can’t keep them tied with that belt for the rest of your life. I’m not a professional flyer, Alex, but as soon as I manage to keep in the air somehow, I will teach you the same at least.”

“Thanks, Twi… Although, I don’t know if there is a chance. The mere thought of them getting free scares me… much,” Alex flinched again, when the belt creaked quietly from the unconscious wings movement.

“You will get used to them eventually,” Twilight ruffled his hair lightly. “Did I tell you, how I landed on my muzzle once, learning to fly?”

“Are you sure, she will react normally, Twi?” Alex checked the oven, then took an edge of the chair near the table; despite using the belt, given by Celestia, he still took extra caution not to knock anything down, suddenly feeling like an elephant in the china shop. Remembering Spike’s reaction, Alex smirked wryly; Twilight’s aide dropped and broke the cup, he opened and closed his mouth silently for a few minutes, then poked Alex’s folded wings a couple of time, as if trying to make sure that they were real, finally turning to Twilight with mute question in dilated eyes.

“I did my best today, nopony to see me, but… Even Sil looked strangely at me the whole day. I may say, they got used to my… strangeness, nearly as well as you did, but they seem to be unsure, what to expect next.”

“Familiar feeling,” Twilight glanced at him evaluatively across the table. “Simply give it some time, Alex. Be yourself, the wings didn’t make you another… human.”

“Oh, thanks, Twi! They make me not enough of a human perhaps…”

“You think so? Hmmm…” she tilted her head slightly. “You look the same Alex to me. Anyway, jokes aside, you have a problem… again. And Rarity is the one who can help you.”

“Yeah,” grimaced Alex. “Each time something happens, I end up with my shirt torn to pieces. That’s becoming a tradition…”

Twilight snorted. “That’s your fate in Equestria, Alex. Deal with it! Better tell, how was your first day with… the extra parts?”

“Know what, I can’t deny your Tree of Harmony some wicked sense of humour, Twi! I wanted to travel home and… I got something that was normally used for travelling… kinda… But… what’s the point of the wings, when you can’t fly, except scaring the living hell from everypony around?”

“So, my day was spent…” Alex looked through the kitchen window at the darkening sky. “Under the auspices of being as invisible as only I could.”

The last night passed completely without usual nightmares, which Alex would be happy about, if not for one reason: namely, him unable to close his eyes even for a second. Saying he was totally shocked was next to saying nothing; Alex realized that in addition to a small possibility of him being successfully transferred home there were fair chances to get something screwed. But that wasn’t that kind of “wrong” he could imagine, let alone be ready for.

Besides the wings didn’t let Alex relax and sleep normally; every pose, he tried to lie down in, he felt them and despite they were the natural part of Alex’s body, they were quite an unusual part for him. Truth be told, quite naughty one as well. Alex couldn’t control them, they constantly tried to open and trembled; he was to keep them tied with that belt, materialized by Celestia. The latter didn’t add any comfort. Needless to say that Alex tossed and turned from side to side the whole night; there was no question to sleep on his back, as nopony could probably sleep on something that felt like a pair of very restless dolphins.

However, he didn’t feel noticeably tired, the adrenaline rush of last evening wasn’t going to release Alex that easily. Thus as soon as the rectangle of the window began to brighten, Alex dropped the fruitless attempts to get asleep and jumped off his sofa, as if he never needed any rest. He pulled on his pants in a wink and already reached for the shirt, when he remembered about his “small” problem. Alex sighed heavily: last night his shirt turned into tatters in a matter of moments, he had a few spare, of course, but they would either meet the same fate or he simply couldn’t put them on, because of those two feathery troubles behind his shoulders.

With a heavy sigh, checking the belt just in case, Alex trudged to the bathroom; the whole house was sleeping yet, as it was only the glimpse of the morning, the Sun even not showed yet. Alex splashed cold water in his face, again and again, the reflection in the mirror stood the same though; watching it fixedly Alex imagined the possible reaction of ponyvillers and closed his eyes in despair. ‘Like if I wasn’t quite strange for them afore.’

Anyway, he had work to address, thus moving that early was a good idea not to attract anypony attention; Alex preferred not to think, how the blacksmith and his niece could look at him.

Even laying in his bed Alex wondered, why everything behind the window was so grey and… monochromatic. When he returned to his room and opened the frame, he was granted by the dim milky space outside; from the windowsill Alex could discern only the nearby shrubs, a few feet further everything vanished in the thick morning fog.

“Autumn is coming,” Alex inwardly twitched, imagining how that fog should feel against the bare skin, but he had no other choice – the fog would settle with the Sun rising higher, but that would mean ponies filling the streets as well.

“Merlin’s pants!” Alex got over the sill and shuddered, feeling the mist settling on his torso. “Thankfully it’s quite warm yet, even in the mornings! But soon it will be a problem…” Alex understood now, why on all the images of angels he saw they were depicted in some sort of togas – that was the only simple variant to make clothes, if one had wings. Alex tried his best to dispel the inevitable, but not less unpleasant because of that, thoughts about winter.

Carefully crossing the back yard Alex dived under the metal frame at the last moment and deepened into the field. He found the old road almost by touch, inwardly thankful for its mere existence; the fog already started settling, forming quite thick dew on the grass, thus going straight through the field would mean getting his legs wet to the bone. Besides, it was the easiest way to go astray, even if Alex walked to the smithy and back countless times – the visibility ended in a couple of yards.

Alex inhaled the full chest of damp freshness, the silence around was almost absolute; his own steps on the old road sounded muffledly in that thick mist, adding the surreal feel.

‘I’m lucky this morning,’ he quickly headed north, expecting to reach the smithy before the visibility improved. ‘Today’s fog is a perfect cover, but what should I do in the evening and the next morning, and all the other days the weather is not on my side?’

As soon as the Golden Oak and the generator windmill at the back yard vanished from his view, Alex’s world narrowed to a short part of the road under his feet, framed by two waves of grass at sides. Nothing disturbed the silence, only once some early bird shrieked loudly, flying by high above the milky mist. Alex had a feeling he is marching on one spot from time to time, so monotonous the view around was.

After about half an hour of walking, he almost bumped into the smithy fence; Alex completely missed the free space around it, occupied by his thoughts. ‘What would old Will say? I’m trying to “depart” for the second time already… But this time my return exceeds all imaginable expectations.’

Alex found the gate and got in; he could hop over the low fence at any spot, but he wanted to have at least some orientation. From the distance that close the ghostly silhouette of the house and other large constructions were slightly visible in the fog. All lights were out, the complete silence told him that the blacksmith and his niece were still in Luna’s realm.

Suddenly an idea came to Alex’s mind: he had quite a lot of free time and the thoughts of how he should move with those new parts visited him already. Peering around Alex found the stand and pulled a wooden pole out; weighing it in the hand he got into the open space not to knock something off in that murk suddenly. He gave the stick a wide swing and moved along the small circle, facing the centre and deflecting the imaginary enemy attacks; Alex tried to combine the majority of moves, they used with Willsmash during his training.

The belt, restricting his wings, immediately strained and creaked slightly; the wings reacted on every move and lunge, applying maximum effort to unfold, especially at jumps. They desired to take another flight evidently, even against the will of their owner.

‘That seems to be a bigger problem than I thought before!’ the image of his belt giving in and the wings taking freedom appeared in Alex’s inner sight. ‘Twilight is right, I need to learn to control them as soon as I can.’

The rising Sun little by little dispelled the fog, evaporating in its still summer-like warm light: first, the house and whole smithy yard became clearly visible in the retreating mist, then fresh wind from the hill on the west scattered the remaining shreds completely. Suddenly the surroundings regained the depth of view and sound: the sea of grass around, waking up Ponyville on the south with its roofs peeking among the foliage; some omnipresent birds, sounding like titmice, fluttered in the field covertly, chirping and chattering. A heavy train passed the station; distant whistle made Alex turn his head towards the sound.

Alex decided to take a rest and wait till the unicorns wake up. He found a short log and nested on it, putting it on its side, turning his back to the house and the rising Sun; the warm contrast with the sticky fog was so pleasant, making Alex relax and put the stick across his lap. He thought that the wings of that size could definitely be used in the close combat somehow; the only problem was to make them follow his orders, not trying to dictate own rules. Time passed unnoticeably, the Sun got higher and higher, drying and warming everything around.

He was pulled back from his musings by a quiet gasp from behind, followed by a girly holler; Alex turned around to notice Silver Ingot disappearing in the doorway.

“Uncle Will! Uncle, come here, quick!” she rushed upstairs, something tingled in the house, knocked over by the girl in her hurry. “You need to see that…”

Alex facepalmed with a sigh. How many reactions like that was he to get? Besides, by all means, that wasn’t the worst one. Returning back home in the evening, when everypony would be still awake, but free of their daily business already, looked like a real trouble to him, making Alex shudder.

The hoofsteps returned downstairs at double; Sil reached the doorframe and leaned on it, staring at Alex without blinking, she looked close to fainting. Willsmash made a couple of steps closer, examining Alex from head to toe; he swallowed forcedly and exhaled almost with a whistle.

“Errmmm… Alex?” there was a subtle question in old unicorn’s voice, he was obviously flabbergasted, just like his niece, simply controlled it better; Will slowly sat down on the porch.

“Yes! Merlin’s pants, it’s me…” Alex stifled rushing out nervous laughter. “And who did you expect? Celestia?”

“Well… It looks more like Luna,” taking over his shock Will noted with a slight irony. “Judging by the colour at least…”

“Oh… Come on!” Alex rolled his eyes.

“You told us that you planned to attempt transferring back to your world, with the help of the Tree of Harmony, right?” Willsmash looked at him fixedly. “But I couldn’t imagine, you were supposed to… fly home actually.” He let out a small wry smile.

“That’s the worst thing about it,” Alex snorted, raising; the wings twitched, making the belt creak again loudly. “I knew something could go wrong during the transfer attempt and agreed to that consciously. But I couldn’t predict it could go that degree of wrong, Will. And don’t even ask me to show them, they are restrained for a reason – I can’t control them… yet. Last night the first thing they did was raising me at about the mile height and… if not the girls, I would turn into an uninviting pancake on the ground in no time!”

“What’s the point of the wings, if you can’t fly?” added he sadly. “Only causing trouble.”

“So they are real, actual, working wings… Wow!” gasped Silver Ingot.

“Yeah, they are the real working part of me, Sil. And they almost killed me last night,” sighed Alex. “Come to think of it now, I was to predict something like that, considering how non-hostile, but strong magic affected me… But… It’s done already, I guess, I need to find a way to deal with it only.”

“Sorry!” Silver Ingot giggled quietly, she evidently overcame her first shock. “I simply thought… you have some sort of magic, don’t deny it… Now this… Only one detail is missing…”

“Merlin’s pants! No. Way!” dropped Alex. “That’s not funny. I’m not going to even approach to some serious magic anymore.”

“That’s easier said than done here, in Equestria,” the old blacksmith shook his head slowly.

“Well, if we finally decided, that’s the real me…” Alex took out a thick envelope. “I have news for us all. That’s the better topic for discussion than… non-working wings.”

“Oh, I’m sure that’s not some insuperable obstacle, Alex. All you need is some time and help from somepony, who can fly well!” noted Silver Ingot over her shoulder, heading back into the house.

“She is actually right, son,” the blacksmith moved aside, leaving space on the step. “Twilight wasn’t a good flyer at all, when she got wings.”

“I know, she told me,” Alex dropped next to him. “But she had acrophobia neither…”

“Anyway, the company finally sent me all the necessary blueprints, it seems,” he opened up the envelope with CSC marking and smirked. “Now we can show them, what the contract was about!”

The day passed unnoticeably, filled with work; Alex and Willsmash made the new moulds and mandrels for the ordered bearings. Despite the company complained high wearing of the casings only, they decided to make the whole bearing on their own, including the separator parts and balls, so all the details had the same durability and the whole device to have one common, maximally possible life span. Interrupting only for dinner and only because Sil insisted and practically pulled them from work, they didn’t even notice, how twilight began wrapping the smithy, the road, the field around with its soft veil.

Alex could gladly stay there till real darkness, it looked the better variant than returning, when somepony could easily notice him; news spread over Ponyville like a bonfire, but Alex wasn’t yet ready to reveal his new self to everypony around. Granted, the reaction of Willsmash and his niece was quite restrained, in comparison to what Alex expected, but the more he thought about the upcoming evening, the less optimism remained.

“At least Twilight could fold her wings tight and look almost like usual, when she needed,” thought Alex, when he finally said goodbye to the unicorns and hit the road to the town; the dusk became quite dense already, the thin stripe of light was still visible on the west, but a few brightest stars already showed themselves on the darkening sky.

“I extend mine hope I shan’t bump into anypony,” muttered Alex, hiding in the thick shrubs, under the shade of enormous Golden Oak crown; it was only a few yards distance to his window, but every inch was open for the accidental look from the broad square in front of the Library. The square looked empty at the moment, inhaling deeply the oak leaves aroma and trying his best not to startle any small birds, Alex climbed out of the shrubs and rushed to the “wall”, snuggling to the dark trunk.

‘Damn!’ His room was unlit, but the door to the main hall wasn’t shut – some light came through the open and uncurtained window, falling on the ground. Throwing another attentive glance around Alex slid to the lit opening and leaned on the windowsill.

“Mummy!” A quiet, very surprised voice made Alex twitch and quickly look back – a small foal looked at him with slowly widening eyes from the far edge of the square, they crossed with his mother right at that moment, the mare he impatiently pulled to gain attention. “Mom, look…”

Alex simply dived in the window, curling under it and falling silent, listening carefully. He could hear both voices, but couldn’t understand the exact phrases. The mare said something about Twilight and wings, apparently convincing her foal that he saw things simply, being sleepy or something along those lines…

“Well, thankfully we live at the very edge of the town, Alex,” Twilight laughed at his story. “And you didn’t come across any of our closest neighbours this evening.”

“Yeah,” Alex extinguished the oven, the kitchen filled up with the smell of baked mushrooms and some spice, making Twilight sniff the air with a content smile. “You can laugh, but it was quite a relief to hear them heading their road and nopony knocking on the front door with questions.”

“Rest assured, Alex, I was probably even more unconfident and uneasy, when I only got them,” Twilight ruffled her feathers slightly. “I sneaked through the town quickly, folding the wings tight and… you don’t need to know how clumsy my first flight attempts were.”

“I was lucky, Rainbow agreed to help me and taught me to hold in the air properly and then fly decently,” added she. “Of course, I’m not a pro flyer still and prefer teleporting, something I can do better than flights, it goes without neighing.”

“But,” she covered Alex hand with her fore hoof. “I promised to teach you… well, as nicely as I only can… and I’m not taking my words back. I think you agree with me easily that asking Dashie would be a futile attempt in advance, so I didn’t. Fluttershy was going to help us, so, I think we can solve this problem in its time. The rest is the question of your self-acceptance, Alex,” Twilight stared at him meaningfully. “The ponies may be surprised at first. What am I saying? They will be surprised, of course… But nopony treats you as a… How did you say?.. as a “mutant” here.”

“Maybe you are right,” Alex got up again, he pulled the tray out of the oven, filling the plates and returning to the table. “A bit hot yet…”

“I think I can wait,” Twilight slowly sniffed again. “Despite it’s hard to.”

“Unfortunately I have a more urgent problem at the moment – clothes. Maybe I can make the wings to pull through the pre-made openings, but for that I need to learn to control them first. And we have the winter coming…” Alex sighed with his head in his hands.

“Hmmm… You shouldn’t worry, Alex. At least the girls saw you, when you had much fewer clothes on anyway,” Twilight giggled, making Alex flush to the roots.

“Jokes aside, we are going to solve that problem tonight. I hope she can come and figure out something.”

“That’s the case, when I fear the “solution” more than the problem itself,” Alex made a face.

Somepony knocked on the front door.

Alex sighed and Twilight rushed to open. “Stay here for now, please…”

“Okay, if you say so,” Alex shrugged somberly and prepared to listen.

“Good evening, Twilight,” Rarity stepped in and stopped, puzzled by the darkness in the main hall. “You said it was urgent, darling… but I could only come because Sweetie Belle felt better, she is sleeping now.”

“Thanks, Rarity! It’s really important, well, maybe not that urgent, but it’s not getting warmer outside, so we naturally need your expertise and help,” Twilight, whose eyes accommodated to the darkness already, pulled Rarity in and walked to the couch. “Take a sit.”

“Okay… Mmmmm!...” Rarity raised her snoot and sniffed. “Smells tasty! What is it?”

“You’ll see and taste it a bit later, we’ll be glad, if you make us a company,” Twilight waved her hoof. “But now, please, tell me, can you help?”

“Oh… I don’t eat after six… Well, maybe a little bit…” Rarity fidgeted on her coach, the smell was too tempting. “Okay, back to the business,” she sighed. “What did Alex throw out this time, so he needs my help with the clothes again? I know, he couldn’t get back to his world, but… what did you mean under “feels strangely”?”

“And why on Equus it’s so dark here?” Rarity took a surprised look around. “And you moved all the furniture to the walls…” she stared at Twilight suspiciously. “What are you folks up to?”

“Wait a second. We didn’t light candles not to knock them down, but you can use your magic to light it up a bit,” Twilight lit her own horn, both girls squinted, but at least Rarity could see the room, which was emptied in the middle indeed. She raised her voice a bit. “Alex, please, come here!”

“Are you absolutely sure?” the voice from the kitchen sounded muffledly and made Rarity giggle.

“Come on, Ahlex, darling! I don’t bite…”

The girls heard some rustling and after a moment Alex, very confused, almost sideways, brought himself into the dimly lit main hall.

Rarity blinked, examining his figure in the shadows attentively. Then blinked again, squinting.

“Twilight, darling, could you give more light, as soon as you both are furnishing the main room that extravagantly…” Rarity already lit her own horn.

“O-okay… Alex, what are you waiting for? Show her… You won’t go higher than the ceiling here anyway.”

Alex sighed and untied the belt, unreeling it off himself; Rarity’s eyes started widening, in the brighter light she noticed, what wasn’t supposed to be there.

With a soft rich feathery rustle two large black wings, which towered folded behind Alex’s back before, unfurled slowly; the tips met the opposite walls with a quiet thud, a few books fell of the shelves.

“I’m sorry, Twi,” Alex threw a side glance at the wings, they trembled slightly, as if not entirely believing into their sudden freedom. “See now, why I wanted to remove all the candles…”

“It’s okay, I will tidy…” Twilight was interrupted by another, slightly louder, rustle.

She and Alex exchanged glances over Rarity, their fashionista friend simply fainted and slid to the floor.

“I told you,” Alex raised one eyebrow, folding his wings with visible effort and quickly securing them with the belt again. “Something tells me that I can regret that demonstration, when she revives.”

Twilight quietly snorted, levitating senseless Rarity back to the couch.

18. Ascension

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

19. Far-fetched plans

Boomingly spreading in the thick morning fog, the hits of the maul sounded, as if they were filling the entire field around the old smithy. But for some weird reason, at the same time it was completely impossible to tell, where the exact source was. Willsmash stopped and looked around: his house was visible behind him, the second storey protruding above the fog blanket covering the ground, and clearly denoting the smithy location; but a couple of yards further and everything dissolved in the milky veil, barely lit by the rising dawn. The blacksmith swore inwardly and tried to remember, where that large rock was relative to the house; they chose that place specifically last evening, but he wasn’t sure, if he could find it in the cold morning mist, despite the place wasn’t overly distant from his yard. In addition to that, the booming hits ceased and the white haze became silent.

“Uncle Will, are you coming?” Alex’s head, followed by the shoulders and the rest of him soon, emerged from the mist almost opposite to the direction the old unicorn was peering into. “I’m almost done here!”

“Are you absolutely sure about sacrificing your old armour for our demonstration?” asked he, when Willsmash followed him closely. “I’m asking, because I don’t know if something remains after, as I need to make the strongest impression on the princess. We could make another one or use a simple metal plate of the same characteristics.”

“Yeah, I am,” the blacksmith inhaled the cool dampness deeply, before answering that seemingly simple question; he even nodded slightly. “You’re right, it’s the last thing materially connecting me with my military past… Sometimes it makes me wonder, which miracle it survived by; I could disassemble it billion times, yet didn’t.” Will smirked to his musings. “And while it carries some brighter memories – you know, not my entire past was gloomy, son – even so, the sad memories prevail. Yes, I’m ready to give it to our experiment, even knowing about the most possible outcome… or because of that…”

“You see, it finally gives me an opportunity to get rid of that artefact of the past the most useful way,” Will shrugged, levitating the old, but finely preserved armour piece – chest plate and shoulder straps of pony size.

They stopped, observing two large rocks, revealed to their sight and forming a natural stone corner in the field: two wooden crosses were hammered into the ground at a short distance from each other, a large mallet was leaning on the rock wall, telling about the source of the recent noise. Willsmash sent the armour to the left cross, slowly hanging it over, so the pole came through the collar.

“It’s about time to begin,” Alex shuddered in the mist, ruffling and folding his wings tighter. “Celestia is rising the Sun already…”

“Isn’t it a bit early?” muttered the blacksmith. “Princesses don’t like early duties,” he chuckled. “Besides, all that fog getting into the view.”

“The earlier we start, the earlier we receive our answer,” Alex was biting his lip pensively. “The earlier we finish and the less unnecessary attention we attract. I had more than I would like to after that fire!” He took a look around. “The Sun shalt evaporate the fog shortly and… Besides, it was her, the princess, who approved the early morning demonstration for some reason.”

The sound of wings made both human and unicorn look up expectantly; however, there was only one pair of wings, not the largest one. A blurred lilac spot appeared above them and Twilight popped from the fog, landing and shaking small drops off her wings, frowning upon the weather.

“Mo-o-ohrning!” it took her some effort to stifle a yawn. “I barely found you,” Twilight looked up at Alex meaningfully. “The house roof and a few rocks in the field are the only things peeking out,” she poked her fore hoof into the haze. “The smelter evaporated it around the smithy, but the rest hides in that milky mishmash!” she shook her head. “I wonder, who gave you and Celestia that idea.”

“Is she coming?” Alex transformed his concerned expression into a tight smile.

“I told you, she agreed to have a look,” Twilight sighed; obviously, it wasn’t the first time Alex asked.

“I extend mine hope she was at least half as enthusiastic as thou made it sound!”

“Look, I know how important it is for you,” Twilight stroke his elbow lightly. “And I called for all of my eloquence, maybe more than ever before, two days ago to make Celestia believe it could be important for her as well. She decided to listen to you, as soon as she had time for that. Which makes it today. That was all I could do, now it’s up to you… and your diplomacy and her willingness to give the whole thing a try.”

“Excuse us, miss Twilight,” Willsmash let out a small smile, he checked the armour to be firmly fixed on the cross, yet listened to their talk with the edge of his ear. “We both are a bit nervous today – too much is on the stake.”

Alex nodded.

“Sorry, Twi, I really pin high hopes onto that new armour… For the number of reasons. But I don’t know if Celestia is nearly positive about it, let alone shares my enthusiasm,” sighed he. ‘Especially after that fire and the looks full of anxiety, she gave me!’ Inwardly Alex returned to the recent events…

“Thanks… for deciding in mine favour anyway!” he met Celestia’s eyes, giving her a very long understanding look.

The princess blinked, the attentive glance of her light magenta eyes slid all over the human, as she evaluated his words and stance. He couldn’t be joking, not under the given circumstances. Finally, Celestia nodded, still watching him thoughtfully.

“I’m glad nopony got hurt.”

“Well…” Alex groaned, getting up and trying to clean himself a bit; touching his side heavy-handedly made him visibly wince. “Mostly. I’ll be fine though.” However, the active movement caused another fit of cough in an attempt to clean his lungs completely. “I’m sorry…” squeezed Alex out.

“Look,” Rainbow Dash was unusually quiet, her nose started flushing again. “I regret saying… things about you… that you were hostile and… Nopony risks their life to save ones they are hostile towards.” She sneezed, making a small cloud of ash rise from her chest, and sniffed loudly. “And, you know… the other things…”

“Yeah, I’m definitely not a trampoline, regardless to what you think I’m guilty of,” muttered Alex, rubbing his ribs and looking at her fixedly. Rainbow blushed even harder, her cheeks becoming magenta.

“And… don’t you look at me like that…” she stumbled, “dare to remind me of that… kiss,” she squeaked barely audibly, then added firmer, “and I swear, I’ll hit ya…”

“Kiss? What kiss?” the pristine white ear turned to them, despite Celestia looked busy observing the ashes and a few ponies rushing to them from the herd. She kept looking towards the former school, but small rose spots appeared on princesses cheeks, while Rainbow Dash turned flaming red. Alex couldn’t hold himself from snorting.

“Ummm…” Rainbow glared at him, trying to sound casually. “It’s a very long story, Your Highness…”

“Oh, you are right,” Celestia agreed mercifully. “I have duties to attend, my filly. But we need to get back to the scene of the accident, while all the witnesses are there… And before the whole herd run here,” with a tiny smile she watched Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack galloping to the hill. “You can tell me that story some other day, perhaps.”

Rainbow gasped, then turned to Alex again.

“Anyway, don’t relax yet… I still think you’re dangerous. If not for others, then for yourself; I mean it, Alex,” she stomped her fore hoof, seeing a smile curling Alex’s lips. “One must be mental to throw out a trick like that, what if…”

“I didn’t have time to work out a better method!” Alex chuckled, seeing the usual Rainbow Dash slowly returning, but before he could add anything else, he was almost knocked over by two other girls.

Twilight squeezed him quickly, making Alex grunt again and examining him; she made sure he was in one piece still and let him go. Alex found himself in a soft feathery cuddle: Fluttershy wrapped her legs and wings around him, covering Alex’s face with fast small kisses, paying no attention even to the princess’ presence, let alone to the wet ash and dust staining her yellow coat. Alex felt her cheeks being wet even before she rubbed her muzzle on his hair and neck. He stroked her mane and shoulders awkwardly, trying not to drabble her even more and whispering soothingly into her ear.

Applejack stood on the reserved side, giving Alex a warm encouraging smile; her gratitude was rather written in the eyes, despite all the shocking revelations of the day.

“Glad you’re okay, partner!”

“So am I,” Alex wiped his forehead, suspecting that he was only making it worse, spreading the dirt. “Thanks for your efforts, Jackie. I saw how you let the school stand for a few minutes more and I can’t tell, how grateful I am for that.”

“Twilight, I’m very sorry,” Alex could finally put Fluttershy down to the ground, but she kept holding on him, as if her human could melt away suddenly. “For all the trouble it brings… and the explanations to be given now…” he shook his head.

“Yeah, definitely! Ah mean… Guardian Spell, eh?” Two sparkles lit into Applejack’s eyes, when she nudged Twilight lightly and jokingly. “Oh, come on, pal, that doesn’t make me think of ya less,” added she with a smile, when Twilight flushed to the roots. “Ah know it wasn’t yar secret. You are a great mage, Twi, we would have been dead anyway, if not yar shield.”

“Wait!” suddenly her green eyes widened, glancing at Alex in realization. “That means all that time you…”

“Yeah,” Alex downcasted. “I was practically guarding the town nightly, since… since the dam…” he fell silent, returning the strong mare her hug.

“Okay,” he changed the topic clumsily, “I think Her Highness is right, we need to check the ashes. I personally want to get some answers!”

“I’m afraid there isn’t much to examine,” sadly stated Celestia.

Getting down the hill they approached the ruin; Alex followed the princess closely, thankful for her simply walking there, so he could keep up without flying as well. However, almost feeling the tensed glances on his back he realized the futility of his attempts to avoid attention. What was done, was done and the silently watching herd clearly told him – they would ask their questions later anyway, nothing could stop them.

The sight was truly horrendous: the collapsed school turned into a heap of debris thrice lower than the former building was, yet about double human height. The smell of wet ash filled the air with its bitterness, ruling out all the other scents around and making Alex cough again; ambers hissed here and there, dying in the pools of water and producing faint trails of steam and smoke. His wings ruffled, being buried under the tons of debris didn’t appear a calming thought.

“Merlin’s pants!” he totally forgot about his footless precautions and soared in a twinkling, landing on the top of the unsteady mass with protruding wooden beams and making the wet ashes champ. He stumbled, but regained balance, keeping his wings unfolded and raised high not to drabble them.

To his surprise, Celestia followed without fear of getting her gold-shod legs dirty and landed next to him; the debris threateningly sank under their added weight, but endured.

“Hmmm… I’m sorry, but it will be problematic to distinguish anything in that mess,” she leaned her long neck over his shoulder, observing the burned ruins. “Especially if it’s at the very bottom… and managed to survive. You are looking for something specific, right?”

“Yeah… Something… was to explode that hard…” slowly and quietly said Alex, he looked under his feet perplexedly. “But I rather have another concern now, Tia. How shalt Ponyville…” he stumbled. “The school is completely ruined and… If only I could…”

“Oh! That’s the problem I can actually take care of!”

Feeling crystal in her voice Alex glanced at Celestia to notice how she smiled actually; with his best efforts he couldn’t imagine, how it could be helped or appear amusing. He opened his mouth to say something and had another fit of cough because of the strong bitter smell.

“I can revert everything, which made the school, to… ummm… its pre-fire condition,” mercifully explained Celestia, when he regained his breath. “A kind of time-spell variation, very effective. For the inanimate objects!” added she meaningfully.

“But… The Seeker…” Alex alternated between her and the debris under his feet.

“Don’t worry,” the princess interpreted his concern properly. “As I said, only the school and its equipment will be restored, nothing else.”

“It would be quite unfortunate to find that creature inside again,” muttered Alex.

“This magic doesn’t work with living creatures, fortunately or unfortunately, depends on how to look at it… On somepony’s magical creations either, as one needs to know exactly, how they operate. Thus we are totally safe.”

“So… If you please…” Celestia unfurled her wings, taking off and distancing from the ruin a bit; she looked at Alex expectantly.

“Oh… Of course…” Alex nodded confusedly; with a few powerful flaps, making the drops and ash whirl, he joined her in the air, promptly keeping behind the princess.

Celestia arched her long neck, inclining the horn in almost attacking manner; the golden aura flowed along its length and Alex felt the hair standing on the ends on his nape, he could literally sense the magic being cast next to him – she wasn’t joking, the spell must be truly powerful.

The aura enveloped the whole shapeless heap of debris below, golden sparks ran on its surface, discharges snaked all over the mass with audible zapping, making the herd instinctively step back a little. The ruin trembled, like a mirage in the heated air, sighed heavily and started moving. The steam and smoke streams ceased at once, as if being turned off; the bitter smell of burned wood faded, while the whole mass of the ruined building started to spread and straighten in height with crackling and snaps.

The wooden beams rejoined in the eyesight, lightening up and sucking in the ashes as they restored their form and colour. Planks and window frames fixed themselves and flew up, sticking to the quickly growing carcass of the building. The glass shards flocked together, fitting their places in former shine and glory of the untouched glass. The loud audible rumble from inside the school, embraced and sculpted by Celestia’s magic, signalled about all the interior remnants undergoing the same blessed changes.

Alex felt the gust of wind, swirling up his hair; the air was pushed by the restored structure, suddenly regaining its entire mass and volume. Then it blew back towards the school; the air filled the building again. Finally, the broken tiles swirled up, clicking back together and forming the shingled roof, as if nothing happened to it.

The reaction of the ponies almost deafened Alex, hooves stomping in the equestrian equivalent of applause, amazed whistles and hollers; even the students, who appreciated the possibility of tests cancellation, raved and roared cheerfully, greeting that miracle. Feeling dumbfounded Alex shook his head, risking to lose height, and threw a bewildered glance at the princess.

“I must admit, it takes quite an effort,” Celestia sighed, regaining her breath, yet allowing herself a small victorious smile. “But the result is worthy sometimes. For example, when it comes to foals and their education.”

Alex blinked several times.

“That was… impressive!” he could finally inhale the completely untainted air, nothing told that there was a fire site minutes ago, except the unrolled hose on the grass and the firefighters’ presence.

The princess bowed her head slightly, watching the human amusedly, yet accepting his clumsy appraisal. “Let’s see what’s inside then…”

Landing in front of the entrance Alex spotted that the window on the second floor was still broken, making a mental note of the time stamp being actually crucial for the freshly demonstrated to him magical spell. His hair ruffled, disturbed by the air from Celestia’s wings; the herd calmed down, letting the cautious silence take over again.

“I can’t feel anything,” Alex looked over the shoulder, noting to himself the new necessity to turn with his whole upper body, as otherwise the folded wing obstructed half of his view. “We can assume it’s safe enough… but I’ll go first anyway, sorry.”

Celestia nodded, folding her wings and watching the human intently.

The double doors barely creaked, his steps boomed in the empty hallway in silence. Alex took a look around, amazed yet another time how perfectly everything was restored, like nothing happened to the school, which he saw laying in charred ruins: specks of dust danced in the sunlight coming from behind him, a pencil, dropped by somepony in a hurry, rolled on the floor, touched by his boot. The shadow dimmed the light, Celestia slowly entered, catching up with Alex, when he stopped next to the storage door.

“Here it was,” Alex examined the handle propped by the broken frame plank. “Ahem…” he flushed lightly, throwing a glance at his alicorn companion; he caught himself on the thought that it could have hardly stopped the monster from breaking through anyway, but at that moment it looked a worthy idea. However, the princess was rather looking at him, even through him, than at something as prosaic as a broken door frame. She nodded shortly, telling him to proceed.

The first thing gaining their attention, when the door opened, was a large pile of pitch-black ash or dust right in the middle of the aisle between the high shelvings, which occupied most of the room. Alex’s feathers ruffled, the chills rushed up his spine: he knew what it was, but he could imagine the last seconds of the creature to be far from nice; then the mental image of the ponies falling from the dam overshadowed his view, making Alex grit the teeth, his jawline hardened.

“As far as I know, we never keep anything dangerous enough as a part school equipment,” Celestia squeezed through behind him. “Even studying alchemy… The school course doesn’t suppose that level of…”

“It’s nothing initially explosive hither,” Alex moved along the shelves, examining the items fluently. “At least among those things I can identify,” his quickly scanned through, pursing his lips. “I admit, some substances can explode mayhap… properly mixed in certain conditions, but…” he turned to the princess. “I don’t see something, which could blast that hard, princess!”

“Whatever it was, it must be a part of the Seeker somehow,” Celestia watched Alex kneeling over the pile of ash; he poked it lightly, making the completely inert dust flow under his fingers. “Now ruined by the explosion and fire.”

“We shan’t find out now!” Alex frowned, wiping his hands. “Was ‘t deliberate? I assume thither are some magical ingredients in this storage, correct?”

“Not too many, but yes,” Celestia nodded shortly. “You think something could react accidentally to the Seeker’s “natural” effects.”

“Methinks we have more questions than answers now,” slowly said Alex, making a wry face. “Why hither? What could these monsters look for in the peaceful town school?” The princess shook her head.

“No idea. But I think it’s safe now!” she watched him fixedly, like trying to read Alex’s rambling thoughts. “The guards will remove that,” with a tiny shadow across her muzzle Celestia pointed at the ashes.

Alex slowly nodded, thinking that currently it might be safe, but the whole story was far from being over. Meanwhile, Celestia threw a quick look over the shelves, the narrow aisle; she took a small step back, something tingled. With a sigh the princess lit her horn again, vanishing with a flash; Alex could barely cover his eyes. Having nothing better to do, he headed to the exit on foot, still trying to imagine what the Seeker could need in the building full of ponies amidst the day.

“…and the school is safe now!” Celestia’s voice sounded from outside, when Alex crossed the hallway. “I think you can return to the study routine… after the Headmaster performs the necessary examination, with the help of the guards, of course.”

“Personally, I would advise dismissing the students for today though, but it’s up to the decision of school’s directorate of course…”

Another blast of cheerful approval rolled through the herd, overshadowing the tail of Celestia’s phrase, half of the students wouldn’t mind the princess being their mentor at that moment. Alex smirked. ‘Indeed, what’s the point of keeping the foals in? Anyway, the whole town will know everything till the end of the day.’

He ran into the Headmaster in the doorway; covering his eyes from the bright sunlight Alex looked over the aged stallion huffing through his moustache. The Headmaster’s thoughts were already occupied by the school safety and work, so he winced throwing a bewildered glance up to the winged human figure.

“I’m sorry for the broken door, sir,” Alex pointed toward the storage room, making the stallion chuckle or cough, when he squeezed past Alex with a short gawky nod.

Once again Alex found himself in a warm feathery cuddle, when Fluttershy darted to him, raising onto her hind legs and squeezing him around the chest; he snuggled the girl softly, looking into her turquoise, shining wetly eyes.

“I’m okay, okay,” whispered Alex, he wanted to stroke those perky fluffy ears, but quickly reconsidered after another glance at his hands.

Celestia took Twilight for a short word, Alex saw the princess telling something quietly into the strained lilac ear. The rest of the girls surrounded him with Fluttershy, as the students didn’t need their attention anymore; many of those already guessed, when they could pick back their belongings and head home, resembling a buzzing beehive again.

“We need to take you home,” Twilight hurried to them, as soon as Celestia departed. “And quick!”

“I’m with you… if… if you don’t mind,” quietly said Fluttershy, Alex squeezed her tighter around the shoulders.

“Naturally, we all are comin’, later today, if you don’t mind,” smirked Applejack alternating between them and Twilight. “Ah’d like to get some answers, partner!” She watched Alex and Twilight exchanging glances and nodding almost synchronously.

Alex noticed the fillies making their way through the herd towards them, the ears of all three were perked, they definitely heard Applejack and planned to find out more; anything they could fish out by hook or by crook. But before Apple Bloom could even open her mouth, Applejack spoke ahead of her.

“No, no, no, girls! Not this time… You’re goin’ to the farm now and Big Mac will keep eye on you until Rarity and Dash could walk two of you home. And Ah mean it, girls,” she sounded stern and serious. “Ah suppose it’s safe for them to go, as the Seekers don’t appear one by one shortly, right?” added she in half voice, addressing Alex.

“So far they truly didn’t,” confirmed he quietly, while Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo groaned plaintively and almost synchronously, yet submitted to the mare’s request.

That evening Alex told the girls everything they didn’t yet know about his peculiarities, thus mostly about his ability to handle objects while sleepwalking and control fire almost thoroughly. He couldn’t deny, that aspect was the most crucial and, despite everything Fluttershy’s friends knew about the human, the hardest to accept… at least accept calmly. However, after the first minute of bemused silence, girls’ reaction was better than Alex expected; later he was to admit that they were already prepared finely for that last revelation.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t hold shaking her head a little after finding out those Alex’s abilities were received practically with princess Luna filing, moreover, with her approval and guidance. Evidently, she suspected this couple – for herself Dash inwardly paired them long ago – of more surprises to come. Alex saw, there was a long road to go yet, but at least she didn’t frown in his presence.

“Well… Ah think it’s somewhat natural,” Applejack took his fire-controlling the easiest, almost as given. She remembered his story. “You’ve come here by fire and storm, so Ah see nothin’ strange in you having some… special bonds with ‘em, partner.”

“Ah definitely have nothin’ to complain ‘bout!” she glanced at Alex meaningfully. “Without your “strangeness” Ah, Twi and the fillies would have been worse than dead…”

“Yeah, about the fillies…” their disappointed curious muzzles stood before Alex’s inner view.

“Don’t worry, darling!” Rarity emerged from her dreamy state for a moment and gave him a reassuring smile, Alex inwardly strained from. “We’ll try to explain them things mildly and prevent from further… ummm… investigations.” Applejack and Rainbow nodded in agreement and Alex thought that it could probably calm him down. If he didn’t know the fillies better.

“I wonder…” Pinkie rubbed her nose musingly, examining the human, as if she saw him for the first time. “We know, what happens if you are objected to magic, right? Well, more or less… And what if you get under some spell while sleepwalking…” she stared at Alex without blinking.

“No way! I don’t even want to imagine!” Alex winced from the mere thought about the possible outcome, recalling his experience at the Tree of Harmony and feeling how Fluttershy snuggled tighter to him. She spoke less that evening, but didn’t leave Alex for a minute, even sliding into the shower with him. Twilight only flushed and gave up on them, but Alex was to admit that without Fluttershy gentle help he couldn’t have properly brought his wings in order. He wrapped his arms around the pegasus girl, comforting her. “While I’m in control of the situation, I won’t dare to run such experiments definitely!”

Twilight’s nod of approval, the same Twilight, who always preferred to dig down to the roots of every phenomenon, was the best confirmation of his decision being right. She glanced up at her horn meaningfully and winked; Alex made a face, looking away.

“Well, it was natural to suppose, mate,” Pinkie shrugged with a smile. “Not that I suggested you do that.”

Other ponies were less relaxed about the incident at Ponyville school and Twilight took the duty of talking them through with all the diplomacy she was capable of. Next couple of days she calmed down the witnesses, coming to the Library with inevitable questions, and the neighbours concerned about the human’s revealed powers. Twilight preferred to use a more neutral term, making the pill easier to swallow, something like “paradoxical abilities boost during the sleep”, but Alex saw that in a few cases it didn’t quite work – some ponies looked deeper than given. Alex could swear he heard them asking at least twice, if it meant that the human could appear in their dreams as well. That was quite thought-provoking.

‘If that’s happening in their heads, while ponies tend to take things easily… What, pray tell, may Celestia suspect, given her usual concerns of the subjects’ safety?..’

“Alex. Alex!” Twilight’s loud whisper pulled him out of the concerned memories; he looked, as if he was seeking the answers in the quickly brightening sky, where Celestia’s Sun raised, evaporating the fog little by little. “Alex, do you hear me? The princess is here already…”

“Huh… Ah, yes, indeed…” Alex winced and turned around fast to face her highness in pony landing behind Twilight’s back, on the edge of the glade promptly mowed by Alex on the eve. Two usual pegasi guards followed the princess: not that she needed extra protection, Alex was sure about Celestia’s capabilities, but as the tradition of honour.

“Good morning, Your Highness!” he changed the concernedly pensive face to the best semblance of polite diplomacy, he was able to produce fast enough. Especially considering they distracted Celestia of her morning court that early. Especially seeing that vivid enthusiasm wasn’t written across the princess’ muzzle. “I’m glad, you could find time to attend our small demonstration…”

“I could,” Celestia nodded to him reservedly. “But for the obvious reasons I have about half an hour only. So, you can count on that, no more, Alex…”

Frowning inwardly, as he mentally added “the human” and was sure that Celestia did the same highly likely, Alex nodded with a barely audible sigh. He learned some of her habits well and that particular one wasn’t the good sign. Nevertheless, Alex had no choice but doing what he planned, wondering what exactly the princess could conclude basing on Twilight’s words. Actually nopony, not Twilight, not even Willsmash knew how exactly the armour was going to be tested.

“Okay… The time and place were chosen on purpose as I’d prefer to keep any foreign eyes away from it yet,” Alex noted the fog dissolving around the rocks, visibly getting thinner above the field as well. He took a deep breath, preparing to advocate his idea to the end. “We gathered hither for a little demonstration of our current work, which, I believe, may appear useful for the royal guards, if not lifesaving in certain circumstances. We aimed at increasing the personal safety of the owner during… operations and… I suppose Your Highness may find it beneficial to equip the guards with the improved armour of our making from the advanced materials instead of the common steel.”

“That’s quite interesting,” curiosity fought scepticism in Celestia’s eyes, when she approached, and Alex thought that he still had a chance for success, “but can we move straight to business, please?” She glanced at Alex unequivocally.

Instead of an answer he turned around and pointed at the wooden cross at the foot of the rock; the long sheets of fog swirled around it and the time-worn armour, slowly dissolving in the still warming up air. Twilight followed his gesture, she opened her mouth, but reconsidered, staying silent.

“Tis the most common equestrian guard’s armour,” dropped Alex over the shoulder. “It’s a zilch dated, but I believe it hardly changed drastically syne, so it shalt serve a trustful proof of the idea.”

Without further ado he raised the hand, a small clot of flame appeared in Alex’s palm, dragged from the smelter, which hummed and threw out a cloud of thicker smoke. The flame curled into a small ball, resting in human’s fingers and visibly heating up, changing its colour from bright red to almost white. That casual gesture brought palpable silence, barely broken by the grasshoppers, chirring in the drying in the bright sunlight grass. Everypony, even those unsuspicious, realized at once that Alex came there sleepwalking. A tiny shadow ran across Celestia’s muzzle.

With a short well-aimed swing Alex launched the fireball at the armour; the projectile buzzed, drawing a bright trace in the air for a moment, making everypony blink. It was absorbed by the steel plate completely, like butter on freshly baked bread, leaving a small notch and turning the metal flaming red at the small spot of contact. In a few seconds the smell of heated steel reached their noses.

“We discussed it with Willsmash and chose that place specifically,” Alex turned to the stunned princesses, the old blacksmith looked a little less surprised – he suspected the possible method of experiment. “That prevents the projectiles from ricocheting, making them break up on the rocks and dissolve anyway.”

“As you can see, the fireball affects the common armour instantly. A couple more tries can make it melt at that point methinks. And even without penetrating it, I don’t envy one, who is wearing that quickly heating thing!” Alex looked at his audience meaningfully. “Of course, this armour can stand against the majority of simple contact weapons in Equestria, arrows and spears, giving up under the heaviest of the latter only. But it’s not that well prepared for the magical impact, which isn’t a rare case hither I suppose.”

“The more powerful impact can easily provide a serious threat,” dropped he, pulling another orb of fire out of the smelter. “Let me show you.”

Even a fluid glance was enough to spot the difference: the bright candent orb slowly rotated in Alex’s palm, coating it with the glow, the flames swirled inside, impatiently throwing small protuberances between his fingers. Alex squeezed the sphere lightly, it pulsed, glowing brighter and humming audibly. Twilight felt how warm the air became, driving away the remnants of mist around them; Celestia’s eyes narrowed, she kept them on the human silently, while old Will watched the princess’ reaction with interest.

The new projectile hit the armour right in the middle of the chest plate, burning a large hole with brightly glowing edges in it, making usually reserved guards produce a couple of bewildered grunts. The metal started melting right afore the observing eyes, dripping on the ground and scorching the grass; the whole armour looked askew and the wooden cross underneath caught on fire, throwing sparks and smoke through the neck opening.

“Ugghhh… That brings certain kind of a problem,” muttered Alex in the thick silence, which filled the glade. He looked around for the buckets of water, promptly brought by him and Will to aid in that case, and levitated one, pouring it right on the fire. The wood kept smouldering even after the second bucket.

“Uncle Will,” Alex turned to the blacksmith inquiringly, making Celestia raise one brow subtly. “Can you please…”

Without hesitation the unicorn picked another armour piece from somewhere outside of their view, levitating it to the still smoking testing spot. That chest plate was visibly different: it weighed lighter, despite being of the same size and construction, darker surface shimmered with the fancy pattern of thin lines in the morning light. Willsmash placed it accurately on the second cross, making sure it hanged fixedly, and stepped back.

“We didn’t have time to recreate the typical armour completely, Your Highness,” Will shrugged almost apologetically. “So it’s merely the chest plate and shoulder straps to keep it in place, but that should be enough.”

“I have a completed piece of human size already,” confirmed Alex. “But we decided to keep the experiment as pure as we could, thus both these pieces are equal in form, size and thickness. We took the previous armour as the prototype and tried to replicate the necessary parts.”

Princesses eyes narrowed, she examined the newly brought armour fixedly, catching the details noticeable from that distance; Celestia even leaned forward, but only made a couple of steps closer. Her muzzle turned grimmer with each second she looked at that chest plate; the princess swayed her mane getting into the view. However, Alex got the anticipated permitting gesture of the gracious white head.

“By your leave, I would like to skip the first part,” Alex took a look around, noting that the remnants of fog couldn’t hide their meeting any longer. He nodded towards the armour “I can assure you that it can easily endure simpler fireballs.”

“But for the safety reasons… I’d like to ask you all keep some distance!” Alex made a few steps towards the crosses, not waiting for the reaction of the audience. “Just in case…”

Willsmash joined Twilight in the “auditorium”, leaving Alex’s shooting range clear. Celestia huffed barely audible, but stayed on her place, catching each move of the human. That time he pulled much larger fireball from the smelter, which hummed louder, constantly throwing sparkles from its neck. Alex caught it on the palm and pensively rolled for a second, as if deciding which part of the armour to aim at. Streams and stripes of flame swirled inside the orb, which seemed to be made of liquid fire. Alex squeezed the bright sphere and it flashed like a nova, equaling the daylight for a moment; the heat wave reached everypony almost instantly and it wasn’t pleasant anymore, rather barely endurable, despite he did his best to shield most of the radiation.

Alex inhaled deeply and launched the candent orb with one lightning-fast throw, it buzzed across the glade, swirling the remnants of fog in its trail and boomed into the chest plate audibly. But the armour stood intact, it didn’t even change colour, as if nothing just tried to scorch it. The fiery projectile hit the metal and split, fell to pieces, spraying the grass around and setting it on fire; even the ground seemed to be burning now.

With a tiny cringe, Alex quickly pulled all the flame into one small spot at the wooden cross base. He picked up the armour, levitating it closer to everypony, while Willsmash extinguished the flames with more water.

“As you can see, there isn’t a tiny notch on its surface,” stated Alex, welcoming all the present to see for themselves; Twilight couldn’t hold back a tiny smile upon the barely hidden pride in his voice, but the human and unicorn had full right to be proud of their work. “While the old armour piece is something colander alike now.”

Princess Celestia blinked, alternating between the human and his creation. The thin linear patterns on the dark metal fascinated almost hypnotically, but she didn’t hurry to touch the armour presented for her royal assessment. Celestia’s eyes narrowed, her nostrils trembled lightly; Alex waited patiently, when she circled slowly around him still levitating his product.

“I admit, of course, that simple arrows and even spears are much weaker than a common fireball,” he continued proving his point of view, “yet they can provide certain danger to the older armour… especially at the joints and plate seams. The enchanted weapons, let alone spells, are a completely different story, they can penetrate simpler armour at ease. I can only imitate their impact, but you could see, what happens in that case.”

“Thus I took small liberty to offer the new armour, made by us,” Alex nodded towards Willsmash, “of advanced alloys, improved and capable to stand against not only all the common Equestrian threats, but even high temperature and pressure plasma clust… ahem… fireballs, to Your Highness attention. Supposedly it can be used by the Royal Guards with benefit to both their safety and efficiency!” he finally put the chest plate to Celestia’s hooves, when she appeared in his view again.

The princess stopped, in silence everypony could hear the dying embers of the first wooden cross and the heavy thud, the old crumpled armour hit the ground with.

“Mhm…” Celestia cleared her throat and asked, picking the words carefully. “Speaking of high-temperature fireballs, how hot was that… “advanced high pressure plasma… thing?”

“Two thousands centi… ahem, kelpigrade, princess,” Alex let out a small smile explaining. “I have actually reached four inside the smelter core, but wasn’t sure that it was entirely safe, I could shield it nicely yet and… But, as you could see, the armour can take it and even a zilch more for a short time,” added he quickly. “While it’s not enough to send the guards… to the Sun conquest,” Alex chuckled. “It can perfectly protect them from the majority of hazards and threats Equestria can commonly provide and…” he slowly fell silent mid-word, raising his eyes to both alicorns. “What? Did I…”

Celestia’s left ear twitched up and down, Twilight opened her mouth and forgot what she wanted to say. Alex looked at old Will inquiringly, the unicorn’s moustache trembled from the stifled laughter.

“Who in Equestria, pray tell, will launch… how you call them… “high-temperature plasma clusters” at our guards?” There was sincere interest in her question, but Celestia seemed looking through Alex. “Errmmm… Unless you plan to do that…” she raised one eyebrow, but Alex could hear the concern behind her irony.

“I know well all the threats Equestria can provide,” the princess shook her head slowly. “We don’t have any ongoing conflicts anymore. I’m sorry to disappoint you, Alex, but I find your suggestion excessive, not reasonable, as hardly anypony…”

Alex threw a quick glance at Willsmash, who headed to the crosses and poured the last bucket of water onto the embers, taking the remnants of his armour from the pile of ash.

“Mayhap the changelings still pestering the southern borders?” asked he in half voice, but his wings flapped convulsively from badly hidden indignation.

“As I already said,” Celestia quietly shook her head again. “I have to disappoint you, but my decision stays. I doubt the need for such complex and excessive measures.” She sighed with mixed feelings.

“I take my leave upon this!” the princess soared, followed by her guards. “Twilight, Willsmash, Alex… Have a nice day!”

“Alex! Are you okay?” When the flash of the portal took the royalty away, Twilight looked up into his eyes. “I… I’m sorry it went that way! I did my best to convince her…”

“What art thou talking about, Twi?” Alex stopped examining the armour at his feet and glanced at the girl. “It’s not thy fault…” He tried to smile normally, felt that he failed drastically and waved his hand. “Mayhap I simply overdid with mine demonstration a zilch… scaring Tia as a result. She was definitely worried about something, even upon arrival. But I only tried to help…”

“I know, Alex, I know,” Twilight touched his arm lightly. “And I’m truly sorry… But, it’s not the only product you and Willsmash can offer.”

“Miss Twilight is right,” the old blacksmith joined them, he tried not to take that fiasco to heart. “Life doesn’t end on that, son. Even without that armour we have loads of work to succeed, let alone stay afloat. All thanks to you,” he glanced at the human meaningfully.

“I shall try to talk to her again,” Alex muttered dully, looking morose with shoulders drooped and feathers ruffling up. “Can’t believe, she closeth her eyes at the obvious…”

“Of course,” nodded Willsmash lightly. “And nopony will deny you tried your best. I’ll take care of this,” he picked up the new armour as well, heading to the smithy across the field heating up in the sunlight. “Miss Twilight, I would like to ask for your help with…”

“Yeah…” Twilight threw a slightly worried glance at Alex. “I… errmmm…” she faltered and fell silent.

“It’s okay, I shall be there shortly.”

Alex watched Will telling Twilight something as they reached the road, the blacksmith properly read his mood, distracting Alex’s alicorn friend, so she didn’t try to stay from the best intentions. Alex looked away, clenching his fists helplessly – the single cross symbolically towered over the pile of wet ash, shaded by the large rock. The light wind delivered a bitter smell, spreading it in the warm air.

‘What doth she fear?! Did I ev’r harm anypony? Merlin’s pants, I completely can’t understand Celestia oft!!!’ Alex thought so “loud” in the falling silence that he wondered if he didn’t shout it; he gritted his teeth. ‘Fuck it! First I am… tested, then monitored closely and yet mine credit of trust is next to non-existent! I simply wanted to lessen yet another foal’s chances to become an orphan…’

Without realizing what he was doing, Alex spread the wings and soared, making a frantic angry loop, then hovering in the air. A new flaming orb formed in his palm by itself, the smelter was at his service. Squeezing it so hard that it flashed brightly and crackled audibly, Alex tossed the fireball at the rock, putting all the frustration and fret into that throw.

The fireball bit into the cold stone, falling apart with a loud crash and a cloud of hot sparks; the rock hummed from the impact and suddenly gave up. The long crack ran across the dark burned spot on its surface.

Alex exhaled, letting the air out with a hiss. The tension released him slowly, unwillingly. At the backstage of his conscious he fancied somepony’s holler. It sounded rather surprised than fearful and Alex quickly scanned the surroundings to find the peacebreaker.

At first glance nothing disturbed the surface of the grassy sea, turning yellow already, yet still lush and soft. The sun lit seemingly every square inch of it, dispelling the morning fog completely, warming the field and evaporating remnants of the cold dew. Some small bird whistled melancholically in the distance, hiding in the grass, which came so close to the few rocks scattered across the field, that Alex thought, he could hardly see anypony hiding in the thick shade at their foot. His nostrils twitched, he definitely heard somepony; without much concern, as Alex didn’t feel anything specific he usually did near the Seekers, he flapped the wings harder, raising in the air. The entire field between clearly visible now smithy and snaking away railroad seemed deserted.

Finally, he spotted some movement, the grass at the edge of the mowed glade stirred, releasing an olive filly with a large light crimson bow in her amaranth mane. She jumped out of the foliage and sat straight on the ground, watching the human with a mixture of bewilderment and curiosity. Her pale grey and light saffron friends followed shortly, leaving their cover more cautiously though and joining the filly on the ground; they watched Alex with their heads tilt and ears curiously perking.

“Errmmm… I’m sorry about that… if I scared you. That was,” seeing their almost identical poses Alex couldn’t hold back a tiny smile, but he didn’t know, how friendly they considered him at that moment, “that was unintentional, in the earnest.”

“Morning, Alex!” even if Apple Bloom was a bit nervous, her friendly greeting sounded sincere. “So this is how… how you… command the fire.”

“Yeah, we saw it only briefly at school… that day, you know…” added Sweetie Belle a little confusedly.

“It was a total mess then,” huffed Scootaloo with a shrug. “We could hardly understand, what was going on… And had a feeling girls didn’t tell us everything later!” she squinted at Alex meaningfully. “I think we could know more…”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle quickly nodded in agreement.

“So what happened here?” Sweetie Belle glanced at the burned spot at the foot of the cracked rock.

“We couldn’t catch much,” confessed Scootaloo, trying to sound routinely. “Found you here, when princess Celestia left…” She couldn’t keep the face and flushed brightly, flattening her ears.

“First of all,” Alex landed, heavy flaps made the short straws swirl in the air; three fillies watched him with wide eyes. “I wanted to say that I won’t harm you, girls, or anypony around.”

“Of course, you won’t,” smirked Apple Bloom. “At least if you are the same Alex, I know, right?” she glanced at him, raising one brow.

“Even Rainbow Dash admitted, she was wrong about you being hostile,” added Scootaloo meaningfully. “She said that you are dangerous anyway, mostly for yourself, because of your… unpredictability…” she stumbled, then her muzzle lit with some brighter idea. “But she was smiling, telling that, so… we kinda don’t know which part she was serious about, if any. We decided to see for ourselves!” Scootaloo cocked her snoot.

“Oh, that’s possibly the best I could hope for!” Her expression made Alex laugh heartily, he bowed theatrically. “It’s already rich, coming from Dash.”

“Back to your question,” he nodded towards the sooty rock. “Princess Celestia thinks that I should… keep the less militaristic course of mine development, let’s put it like that. Obviously, I can’t understand her refusing some nice armour for the royal guards, especially at the face of the recent events, you know about. Those creatures and so on…”

“I actually want to help…”

Alex sat on the ground, crossing his legs, it was smarter to let the girls make that decision and the first steps themselves: if they considered him safe enough. After a moment Apple Bloom approached him, her two friends followed closely.

“You put your soul into that work…” slowly said Apple Bloom.

“No wonder that you are disappointed,” Sweetie Belle tried to look up into human’s eyes. “I know well, how it feels, when your best ideas aren’t accepted.”

“I should have kept myself in hands better anyway,” sighed Alex. “Sorry again, if I scared you.” He looked at the fillies.

Without saying anything else, Apple Bloom climbed onto his lap and squeezed Alex tight across his chest, butting into him softly; Alex returned the hug with relief, stroking her head.

Not falling behind her friend much, Sweetie Belle snuggled to him as well, so Alex was to wrap another arm around her shoulders. Scootaloo was more reserved: she came closer and sat at his feet with the signature independent look, Alex knew the origin of so well.

“Rarity told me, that you would have tried to save the students anyway, but both of you rushed into the school, thinking we got stuck in that basement,” Sweetie Belle blinked fast. “I’m glad… that you are fine!” She sniffed, hiding her pinkish nose on his neck.

“And didn’t Rarity tell you that you shouldn’t sneak in the cold wet grass?” smirked Alex. “You should give yourself some time since that cold.”

“Yeah, yeah, I suspected you trying to find out everything you can, ever since Twilight heard you in the field that night,” even Belle’s ears became pinkish then; Alex wrapped his wings around the fillies, causing them to squeak surprisingly, and freeing one hand. “Couldn’t tell for sure, but…”

Before she could do anything, Alex stroked Scootaloo’s short mane softly; the filly froze at first, but when the fingers started scratching behind her ears, Scootaloo squinted and the expression of extreme appeasement flooded her muzzle. That change was so amusing that Alex barely kept a serious face.

However, despite all the fence-mending, or maybe because she was twenty percent more curious than her friends, Scootaloo opened her eyes soon and looked into Alex’s demandingly, stomping her fore hooves on his lap.

“Still… we want to know, what is going on… how all this is possible!” her ears perked and the tail swept impatiently a couple of times.

“We know that the Tree of Harmony refused to send you from Equestria and… you got wings, somehow…” nodded Apple Bloom. “They told us… and we could actually see… that you can manipulate objects, moreover fire. But…” she looked sincerely confused. “But how? You can’t cast magic, right? At least that’s something we were told all the way… Of course, it’s hardly stranger than…” she glanced over the shoulder at the wing supporting her softly. “But still… how?”

“Yeah, even being friends with princess Luna doesn’t explain everything!” added Scootaloo.

“Okay!” with a sigh Alex estimated his chances and surrendered. “But that’s quite a long story…”

“Well, if you don’t want us to “sneak in the cold wet grass”, you’ll need to tell us anyway,” with a giggle Sweetie Belle batted her eyelashes the familiar way. “We have some time, if you do.”

“It’s better to start from the roots then,” Alex looked at the fillies seriously. “I’m a sleepwalker…”

‘Oh dear, it’s quite past that time I need to be at home!’ Fluttershy listened to the sounds of darkening forest: leaves whispering in the wind somewhere far above her head; cicadas screeching endlessly, while the still warm nights allowed; quiet sleepy chirping of some birds, who didn’t fly away in autumn and nested for their night in the treetops; owls, whose rollcall echoed deep in the woods. She stopped for a moment on the narrow, barely visible and known to a few ponies only overgrown path. The sky darkened fast and it was specifically noticeable there, under the lush trees of Everfree, when the narrow stripe of dusk turned from crimson into dark bloody, painting the rest of the sky into all kinds of deep blue tints, as the last ray of Sun glowed brightly from the horizon and faded, obedient to Celestia’s will.

‘Sure it must be safe enough here, but I must hurry. I don’t want to scare poor Angel,’ the pegasus girl smiled to her thoughts, inhaling full chest of sweet night air and continuing her walk in the quickly thickening darkness.

Normally she wouldn’t have come there at that time of the day, as the night forest wasn’t an entirely welcoming place for a pony even in Equestria. Especially if it was Everfree, which lived by its own laws and rules, despite being formally under the princesses’ reign. Especially as the memories of her purely accidental salvation from the nasty timberwolves were fresh enough. But when it came down to the wellbeing of her animal friends, Fluttershy’s usual cautiousness became debatable, as her priorities quickly changed in that case.

Just like that time, when she went to the fringe of Everfree, despite the coming night, simply because twilight was exactly the time she could help, not disturb, those who needed her aid. Making her way through the shrubs and ducking under lower branches, quietly huffing away leaves becoming wet from condensing dew, Fluttershy covered about the half of her way back to the field. The nest was at the fringe of the woods, but not at the very edge of it, so it took a while to make it to and from the place between the dark trees.

Suddenly some movement made her stop, backing up into the shade of the nearest large trunk, and listen carefully. Fluttershy fancied some large shadow sliding fast above the crowns, but she didn’t know about any flying beast that large in that area.

‘All the pegasi must sleep already,’ pondered she after calming down her startled at first heart. ‘Either should you!’ sarcastically noticed her small inner voice, making the girl smirk. ‘There are no dragons that far from the mountains… well, except Spike. So… either it’s a Night Watch patrol, I wonder, what they forgot in our backwoods, or…’

She kept listening, but the cicadas were still abusing their rattles mercilessly and it didn’t feel like the deadly silence fell upon the forest; the birds going silent may have fallen asleep simply and the owls kept calling in the distance. Finally, calming down completely Fluttershy decided to leave her cover and cross the small opening, but before she did, some large, darker than the starry sky figure landed at the glade with a thick feathery rustle.

Fluttershy didn’t have time to get scared, as the gust of air from two giant wings brought the faint smells of metal and machine oil, clearly telling her, she had nothing to fear.

“If I expected to see somepony here at that hour, the last one was you definitely,” barely chuckled Alex, softly folding his wings, which became smaller in some incomprehensible way as he did. “What are you doing in the woods that late, Shy, dear?” He took the girl into an embrace, when Fluttershy stood on her hind legs and put the fore hooves on his shoulders, nuzzling gently and looking up into Alex’s eyes.

“You know, I’m not a fan of night walks in the forest, love, but sometimes… things are stronger than us,” Fluttershy let out a tiny smile, resting her chin on Alex’s chest and squinting from the loving kiss on her snoot. “When my little friends need me and they can’t go without my help, I feel the urge to rethink my habits for a while. Doesn’t matter if I know them well or simply saw an animal in need.”

“There is an owl family here at the edge of the forest,” explained she in a moment. “You can call them my old friends, Alex. Of course, their nestlings grew up and are quite independent, but when they felt unwell…” she shrugged lightly, as if it explained everything without extra words. “Must have eaten something wrong, foals are foals regardless their species,” another smile lit Fluttershy’s muzzle. “So, I’m taking care of them for a while. Owls are nocturnal birds, thus I don’t disturb them at the day time naturally.”

Alex only shook his head with a smile.

“And what are you doing here?” Fluttershy glanced at him with genuine interest, when they walked side by side through the forest slowly. “I thought you were checking the town nightly and the nearest outskirts only. Your impression of Everfree was hardly the brightest as well… By the way, are you “sleepwalking” again?”

“No, not this time,” simply said Alex, he ran his fingers through her flowing mane, gently touching her head between the ears and sliding along girl’s neck; Fluttershy closed her eyes for a moment, she leaned on the human, feeling the electricity running through her skin, while her cheeks flushed. “You see, Rarity and Applejack were so concerned of that… timberwolves problem, they finally started fidgeting nervously at every thought about the woods…”

“Well, it’s natural,” Fluttershy let out another tiny smile, while they followed the path, stepping over the fallen trees and making the chirping cicadas in the grass shut shortly. “It’s autumn already, timberwolves start sneaking closer to Ponyville, as to any dwelling naturally, hoping for… easy prey.” She shuddered, but only a little, like from some small draught.

“That’s why I decided to check the nearest forest,” said Alex, stroking her shoulders lightly, making the girl relax again. “But I found nothing dangerous, either they are farther in the woods or it’s not their night… or our friends are exaggerating a bit.”

“Thankfully there was that glade, when I saw you,” Alex threw a quick glance at Fluttershy, lifting a large lush branch to let them both pass under; he picked a couple of leaves from her mane, when they came through. “I’m not that an experienced flyer yet and don’t dare to land in the dense forest usually,” he ruffled his hair confusedly. “Now I need to walk to the field, as I can’t probably soar hither. But it hath its benefits!” Alex broke into a smile. “I can walk thee home, Shy.”

“Not that I objected,” Fluttershy giggled like a school filly, bumping him playfully with her flank, which made Alex heart jump and his blood rushed momentarily. “But the rumours of this part of the forest being dangerous are really exaggerated. I heard from Zecora that venomous snakes became very rare near Ponyville for a while already… and she can’t remember last time she even heard a cockatrice here. I wonder why…”

Alex coughed, clearing his throat and examining the grassy path under his feet very fixedly, while Fluttershy added.

“I know they are dangerous, poisonous in case of the snakes, but at the same time they are still living beings,” she looked at Alex and shrugged. “They aren’t guilty of their nature. Just like timberwolves, to tell the truth… They simply live as they can, as they are able to… If only they were not that nasty sometimes,” muttered she pensively, “and persistent in their nastiness.”

“What?” she noticed that her human stopped and examined her with the deep thoughtful expression.

“That made me think about one thing,” said Alex after a long pause, when Fluttershy was ready to ask him again, concerned by his silence. “You come hither at night, because of the owls, without any second thought about the possible dangers, you still think about timberwolves and venomous critters as about someone, who deserves its corner, despite all the terrors brought to you and your friends by them…”

“That’s simply…” Fluttershy began flushing brightly again.

“I know you for quite a while, Fluttershy,” Alex came closer and kneeled to the embarrassed pegasus, taking her by the shoulders gently. “Since my first days in Equestria, right? And you still manage to impress me daily with your virtues.” Fluttershy squeaked and curtained half of her muzzle with her amazing mane, but Alex continued. “Right when I think I know everything about you, I open a new page, my love. And there aren’t many ponies, I can say the same about. Considering all you’ve done for the peace in Equestria and for your friends in particular…” he cupped her cheeks lightly, brushing away the wave of the mane and looking in the turquoise eyes. “I know that ye all are special, but… thinking of all what befell, I’d say thy capabilities are versatile forsooth. Which maketh me wonder why thou ain’t yet a…”

He couldn’t deliver the result of his reflections, Alex’s mouth turned out to be tightly locked in a passionate kiss; swaying her mane aback the girl leaned to him, wrapping her fore legs around the human’s neck and completely conquered his lips, his breath, his mind.

“Mmmffff…” tasting her tender tongue Alex felt that he was completely losing the trail of his thoughts, running his fingers deep into her mane instead and stroking Fluttershy’s neck, her sensitive ears, perking hard as steel at that moment. The floral aroma made his head spin, the heart was beating seemingly somewhere under the throat.

“Oh! Okay, okay…” Alex took a honey-filled breath, when they parted. Fluttershy’s bottomless eyes were still inches from his, their noses almost pressed together; she twitched her ear, stroking his shoulders with her fore hooves. “I shan’t touch that topic, if ‘t be true thou object that much…” The girl huffed lightly, snuggling closer to him, her lips barely touched Alex’s again. “Or, mayhap I shall on contrary…” slyly smirked Alex.

Quite surprised of not being weak in his knees upon rising, they walked for a while in complete silence. Alex thought about that incredible mare’s eyes, about the sparkles in them, when they were so close; actually, they were even closer at that moment, filling his entire view, so he rather felt than saw the path. Fluttershy smiled, she seemed to be listening to herself, but she touched Alex gently a couple of times, seeing that he was about to stumble on something on the ground. In a moment the forest became less dense, the openings between the trees revealed the dark field and the deep starry sky above it.

“Fluttershy,” Alex finally woke from his thoughts, “I’d like to know, what is your favourite gem? If you have one and if I may ask?”

“What? Why…” Fluttershy looked completely bemused by that sudden question, she laughed quietly, blinking a few times surprisedly, then looked at Alex apologetically. “I-I’m sorry… Well, I find sapphires, emeralds, diamonds very beautiful… But, I think… yes, emeralds are the prettiest…” she nodded shortly and determinedly. “Why are you asking, dear?”

“Let it be a surprise,” Alex sported a mysterious smile, his eyes aimed at something distant, most likely something he was projecting inwardly. “I will tell, when I can show!” he glanced at his puzzled marefriend.

“Listen, Alex…” after a prolonged pause Fluttershy raised her glance; the unusual determination was written in her eyes, Alex saw it even in the darkness. “I know things look and run safer the way they are currently… More appropriate.” She sighed, then looked at him with a tiny hopeful smile. “B-but… I wouldn’t mind you returning… Y-you know, to my place and…” Alex held his breath, waiting for the continuation, which followed shortly. “I… I promise I won’t try to… Squee… To babysit you again and…” she fell silent almost scared by her own resoluteness, then quickly added. “I’m not trying to put any pressure, no-no, I… just thought that…”

“Never mind,” added she after another pause. “I simply… w-wanted to know, if you’re okay with that…” girl’s ears flattened of hesitation. “Have you decided anything yet?!” blurted she out in one breath.

“Forgivest me, Shy! It’s not easy,” Alex shook his head slowly. “Each nearly acceptable variant leaveth at least somepony arrant heartbroken… The more I think of it, the less painful even the status quo looketh.” His regretful glance met Fluttershy’s; she nodded reluctantly admitting his rightness, then gave him a tiny reassuring smile, touching his arm lightly.

“It’s okay… I said, I wasn’t going to push, and I won’t!” She leaned to him, when Alex put his hand on her back, inwardly wishing this moment to last. When they continued on, both the human and the mare did their best to master their feelings.

Meanwhile, the trees parted completely, in a few more steps Alex and Fluttershy left the dark shadowy cover of Everfree, diving into the grassy sea surrounding the town with its neighbourhood. They entered a narrow open stripe of the stream bank, the creek took its beginning somewhere deep into the forest, emerged from under the green blanket further to their right and came very close to the edge of Everfree in that place. Shorter and softer grass covered the curvy bank and a single large tree spread its crown above the turn, where the creek sharply streamed into the valley, past Fluttershy’s cottage, Ponyville and to its aim in the familiar lake.

The human and pegasus stopped unwittingly, enthralled by the view opening to their eyes: the grassy surface waved slightly in the flooding moonlight, pierced here and there by the dark silhouettes of the trees, like one they stopped under; the spring snaked its dark rippled metal through the field, gleaming with occasional moon glares; the velvet of night sky full of diamonds, big and small, spread out above the land. To their right the pitch-black mass of the clock tower stood out even against the dark tints of the sky, only the very edge of it glistened in the moonlight with its cold stones covered in dew; nothing broke the solid darkness of the ancient ruin as the clock face was on the other side, hidden from Alex’s and Fluttershy’s eyes.

The cicadas went completely insane, rattling at their loudest greeting the Moon, which rose and lit the valley further, revealing apple orchards squeezing the field from both sides. Ponyville slept at the far edge of that scene, with its rare lights, moonlit roofs and houses darkening against the foliage. Halfway to the town Fluttershy’s cottage, surrounded by a larger group of trees, was visible thanks to a couple of small but bright electric lights.

“Your energy turns out awesome, when it is aimed at something peaceful!” Fluttershy threw a jocose glance at him, nodding towards the cottage; Alex fancied the distant rhythmic sound of the waterwheel in the pauses of cicadas concert.

“Well, some ideas come out as brighter and are, evidently, better accepted,” smirked Alex, sinking on the grass under the tree.

The mare approached saying nothing, Alex saw own reflection in her widely open eyes; Fluttershy’s hot breath touched his lips, when her spread wings overshadowed the Moon for him. Their lips met softly and Alex felt her fast-beating heart, running his fingers along her sides, stroking Fluttershy’s strained back and arched neck, travelling to her mane and digging deep into its fragrant silk. She let out a quiet fitful moan and leaned closer to her human; the small tender hoof slid down his chest, undoing a few buttons on the shirt as if accidentally. Alex could feel Fluttershy’s heating coat against his skin; she snuggled into him, folding her wings and nuzzling Alex between kisses. Without much effort his large wings flapped open and the girl happily submitted to the warm feathery embrace, sharing her breath with her human.

Dancing in her deep turquoise eyes the moon sparkles laughed triumphantly, when two small but suddenly very strong hooves rested against Alex’s chest, pushing him down to the grass…

“Oh dear! That must be one of the days when I feel each year of my several thousands,” princess Celestia examined herself in the large bathroom mirror. Naturally, the small wrinkles in the corners of her eyes were not denser than those of any mare, who didn’t avoid to smile, the silky coat kept its pristine whiteness, her walk didn’t become less gracious – the habit worked out by the aeons of court and galas presence, and her flowing mane still streamed softly, spreading the thin aroma of roses. Maybe only her eyes gave out fatigue from that day’s troubles. However, Celestia seemed to herself the most tired, ancient and shaggy at that moment; despite the late hour she was quite sure, she couldn’t fall asleep easily. Not after the recent events, which took so much effort and nerves of both sisters to manage. But there was nothing a good hot bubble bath wouldn’t probably fix: at the end of the day even the princess could afford the same as any common mare in similar circumstances.

Hot water ran from the tap, whipping fragrant foam and filling the tub with bubbles and room with soothing steam. The princess could only dream of her soul to fill with serenity and confidence that easily that night; the reality told her, they did less than perfect, could have avoided more harm being done. With due self-criticism Celestia admitted that they failed to react fast enough: the information reached them too late, the guards couldn’t effectively control the situation and the moment the princesses arrived their acts could hardly change the course of events, only lessen the damage a little.

They were lucky, mildly neighing… If subjecting, even if involuntarily, quite a few ponies to the numerous injuries of varying severity could be called “luck”! But Celestia knew well, things could easily go morbid, considering the tough situation they all get into. Thankfully the workers were evacuated fast enough, as there was probably no single pony in Equestria uninformed about certain mental impact, the meaning of it and urgent measures to take in that case. The princess didn’t want to imagine, what could have happened, if somepony had been left in the building. They could hardly do more for the factory personnel, being tight on time. But the guards getting fewer wounds with better protection could have been quite realistic. If only all the solutions were simple enough.

That was what differed the princess’ duty and responsibility from such of any officer, for example. The latter saw and dealt with only part of the problem, naturally seeing easier remedies. But the ruler must keep the whole image in mind, think in perspective, weigh each step and the whole multitude of consequences it might bring. Often leaving themselves under the pressure of doubts and concealed regrets regardless of the decision.

So did Celestia; she got used to thinking about the benefits of the whole Equestria first, keeping in mind the past and foreseeing the future. Simply for Equestria to have that future. Moral dilemmas became a natural part of her life; the princess saw many bright ideas turning into calamities.

Musingly watching Philomena sitting on the basin side, Celestia almost let the tub overflow, stopping the water, when the large cloud of bubbles, rainbow in the candle light, trembled above the edge. Hopping onto the tap the phoenix continued preening calmly.

“Am I overcautious? Even overreacting?” it was a rhetoric question, as the princess could hardly expect her phoenix to answer, not without Fluttershy at least.

“Que?!” asked Philomena in “pure Prench”. “Skrrrrr-chak-chak!” she unfurled her fiery tail, tilting the head and glancing at Celestia slyly. Then the phoenix caught a few last drops from the tap and scratched her beak with the paw with the most thoughtful look.

“Yeah! I’m as troubled…” chuckled Celestia.

She stepped out of her golden hoofwear, taking off the necklace and crown, leaving both beside the basin, and finally sank into the fragrant softness.

“Ahhhh!” The pleasant warmth enveloped her, getting under the coat; Celestia closed her eyes almost feeling how the hot water soaked her strain, blessedly taking it away and making her relax at least physically. ‘I would stay here for the whole night, if I could.’ The stress slowly released her, loosening its grasp and turning into thoughts, which needed their solution.

A few blissful minutes Celestia sat motionlessly, leaning on the tub edge and listening to quiet Philomena’s chirping and sough of the foam; she gave herself completely to the soothing warmth spreading all over her body, caressing her legs and wings. She dipped, leaving only her muzzle above the water, not caring about the lush flowing mane getting wet. For a moment she remembered a long lost feeling of their mother bathing little Lulu and Tia, inwardly wishing for that memory to last, before the woes of that day made it fade. ‘If only we could come earlier…’ With a heavy sigh she pursed the lips and shook her head slowly.

Preparing to its nightly rest the large city embraced most of the long gulf shore. Tall buildings watched their reflection in the calm waters; only slight ripple puckered the golden path drawn by the setting Sun from the gulf to the open ocean, where it dissolved in the distance. The air was still and clear: too late for the cacophony of sounds and flying herd of local pegasi, too early for the usual evening fog, coming from the ocean and flooding the industrial district separated from the coast by the narrow stripe of the forest. Showing exemplary and very rare in the world harmony between nature and urban, the place was considered one of the quietest in Equestria; even despite the large old prison, mostly empty those days and serving rather an architectural and historical monument of the city, than actively functioning detention facility.

The factory on the gulf edge wasn’t any different from the rest, like others it turned its lights and machinery off, preparing for the night, workers finished their daily duties. Tired talks, anticipated dinner and well deserved rest; that evening resembled all the others, nopony could predict something extraordinary to happen the next second.

A sudden strong gust from the ocean made the coast line of old overgrown elms tremble and whisper anxiously, dropping the yellowish leaves, which flew over the narrow rocky shore and fell into the water. A distant muffled bloop made them tremble, spreading small ripples around, as the air palpably fluttered. The thick brick walls of the factory made the sound unnoticed by the ponies inside, maybe only two-three of them perked their ears surprisedly at the thin tingle of glass in the large windows. Everypony shrugged that away, busy tidying their workplaces not to waste time on that the next morning.

Then came that feeling: approaching from the gulf and the coastal forest it crawled into the buildings subtly and slowly, little by little flooding them in the growing tide. First increasing fatigue, not comparable to the actual daily work, slight anxiety, similar to one somepony could experience remembering if they took the kettle off stove or not; ponies started to exchange inquiring glances, frown at the unusual feel, some asked if others felt the same and took alarm even more, getting positive answers. They began gathering near the building exit instinctively, when far doors blast opened and the warehouse workers rushed in; the latter looked on the verge of sanity.

“We locked everything,” reported one, swallowing convulsively, to the shift chief, “but it’s impossible to stay there any longer! It comes from the shore… Fast… My colts are nearly fainting!” He didn’t look any better than the others and needed no more words as the mentioned terror and despair crawled behind them into the factory building already.

A loud hoot from the outside ripped apart the following oppressive silence, making everypony wince hard. The main building doors opened, letting the alarmed guards inside.

“Evacuation! Evacuation! Leave your belongings fast and calmly proceed to the exit!” they hastened the dumbfounded workers.

It took only a couple of seconds to print in, as everypony was ready and happy to leave the suddenly becoming so terrifying place. The guards watched for no chaotic ramble, panic and inevitable in such cases jam to occur. They managed to extract most of the herd, gathering the workers on the small hill near the factory fence wall, waiting for the further orders, when the loud crash reached their ears from the warehouse area. All the ponies herded tight, realizing that they were perfectly visible against the setting Sun; long shadows stretched to the building, the air seemed to freeze and silence fell again. The mental pressure could be experienced even there, making it hard to wait for unknown.

The next moment two consequential flashes almost blinded the herd in the thickening twilight, revealing two regal alicorns to the overwhelmed ponies. The taller white one quickly stepped forward, scanning the herd for somepony.

“Commander,” Celestia focused at the senior officer, “have you finished the evacuation?!”

“Mostly, Your Highness!” the stallion saluted shortly, nodding towards the large mass of the factory building gilded by the low Sun. The last ponies hurried out, running towards the hill under the cover of remaining royal guards. “We cleared the storage area, which adjoins to the back wall of the main…”

He couldn’t finish, interrupted by the deafening explosion, which sent the warehouses airborne; the whistle of flying debris reached their ears and the ponies running up the hill neighed, stumbling and falling.

Unfurling her wings and aiming the horn, princess Luna leapt forward: the quickly spreading dark blue aura floated above the hill, the herd, the struggling below workers and guards, shielding fast the wounded and healthy with the shimmering magical dome. More bricks and wooden parts battered on the shield, reflected and inflicting no harm.

“Your belated message…” Celestia shook her head, stepping towards the factory and inclining the horn, lightening up with powerful magic.

“We were short on mages here…” muttered the officer, he and a few more guards rushed to help those ascending the hill under the debris shelling flashing and vanishing against Luna’s shield.

“Anon with that, officer!” waved it away Luna, following her sister and keeping the protective spell.

With another loud blast the closer wall of the factory collapsed, sending another wave of shrapnel towards them. Larger chunks of the wall rammed into the shield boomingly, making the Night Princess concentrate on the front edge more. The dust settled a bit, revealing three dark horse-like figures in the gaping hole, which appeared instead of the building wall. They quickly climbed on the pile of debris, another one tried to climb out of the rubble, which buried it to half.

“Lead them outside the territory!” Celestia threw a quick glance over the shoulder, her horn glowed blindingly, ready to send the spell towards the intruders.

The sudden knocking on the door pulled Celestia from her memories. Quiet and unobtrusive it none the less made the mare instinctively sink lower into the fading foam, throwing a quick glance at the bathroom entrance; Philomena stretched her neck, listening for the noise.

“It’s me, Tia,” Luna’s calm voice made her sister relax again. “May I…”

“Yes, dear, come in!” Celestia rubbed her forehead with the back of the fore hoof, driving away the sleepy lassitude.

“I wanted to know, how the big sis was feeling,” with a soft smile Luna entered the room, her mane flowed, filling the air with soothing lavender, but the Moon Princess looked tired as well, despite the young night. “Naturally, not seeing thee in thy bed with some book that late, I thought I could find thee hither…”

“It seems that every single part of me hurts. The hot tub may take away most of the bodily pain, but it takes no regrets or doubts…” Celestia slightly shrugged, looking at her sister almost apologetically, but Luna knew like no other that the necessity to be always strong was the heaviest burden; she simply nodded, showing that no explanation was necessary – she was there herself.

“Well, sunny, mayhap I could help a zilch. Sit straight, please. So I can reach the strained parts,” Luna slowly approached, placing herself behind.

Gathering all the remaining strength, which didn’t yet dissolve in the hot tub, Celestia tried to rise and sit higher. With some effort she finally emerged, the water running down her neck and chest, sweeping down the remnants of foam from the soft coat. The princess tried to stretch her wings, but reconsidered with a sigh, as the first gentle touch of her sister hoof caused almost a whimper.

“I know, I know… Be patient please,” Luna sounded lulling, massaging sister’s neck, shoulders, between the wings, very tenderly first and stronger then, her efforts slowly made the strained muscles soften and relax. “No wonder we both feel quite beaten, sunny. Today’s incident was nasty, mayhap the more because we befell less prepared than we imagined.”

“I wouldn’t have made it without you, Lulu!” quietly said Celestia, throwing a thankful glance over the shoulder.

“Like in good old times, Tia?!” Luna’s eyes shimmered in the bathroom twilight, she gave out a little smile.

“Yes, like in good old times,” repeated Celestia, huffing quietly under her sister’s careful hooves. She chuckled. “You cover, blueberry, I strike. You were always better at tactics than me… Feeling rational support does wonders indeed.”

Luna continued kneading sister’s back, absently watching the phoenix, who perked up noticeably with the new pony arrival. Melting from pleasure Celestia stretched her hind legs, rubbing one on another and making small clouds of fragrant foam float in the air; Philomena poked the rising bubbles with her beak for a while, squinting when they burst and making her master smile. Then she hopped from the tap to the basin edge and glanced slyly at Luna, who was still thinking something over.

“Mayhap we could actually lessen the damage,” pensively started Luna, but her eyes shone, “at least for the guards involved… If they had better, more durable armour… It befalleth that I know about one being… projected.”

“Hmpf!” sarcastically huffed Celestia, waking up at once and perking one ear. “No, no, it’s okay, Lulu! Go on. What did you want to suggest?”

“Well, I heard that from thee, Tia,” Luna continued tranquilly, “thither were no hurt ponies during the school incident… despite the devastating fire…” Luna’s hoof slid off Celestia’s shoulder, when the latter noticeably winced; the white alicorn downcasted confusedly.

“I mean that Alex… Art thou okay, sunny?” It took Luna the second try to gain sister’s attention, as Celestia looked frozen; finally, she rose her eyes with something strange hiding at the bottom and nodded shortly.

“There was only one Seeker in the school, blueberry!” Celestia rolled her eyes with a sigh.

“I still suppose Alex knoweth better, how to deal with them,” stated Luna carefully. “One or more of these scoundrels, he isn’t affected by the Seekers… and that doth count.” Celestia kept expectant silence and Luna added. “Methinks we could give him some trust… at least when it cometh down to these monsters. More freedom of action and some support. Dost thou think that not, Tia?”

“Oh! I gave Alex loads of trust already!” parried Celestia, noticing that Luna’s hooves suddenly became especially tender and caring. “Probably way more than necessary… I’m still undecided.”

“One thing I know for sure,” she looked directly into sister’s eyes. “He is easily the most trusted human for all the history of Equestria. Same with the support, Lulu. Anypony else can hardly brag that amount of princesses’ involvement and attention to their problems. As for the freedom of action…” Celestia fell silent for a moment, “I tend to think otherwise, and this is why. Remember that nightmare, Lulu!”

Luna listened, tilting her head, she even stopped massaging sister’s shoulders.

“Alex is already much closer to that image from my dream, than it would be safe to observe calmly!” Celestia shook her head with concern. “Following his latest ideas looks dangerous to me, dear.”

“You was there with me,” she threw a quick glance at Luna. “The pony army from that dream, they were all armour-clad… And that armour looked similar to what Alex suggested, at least visually… by the thin patterns on the metal and…” Celestia choked on words.

“Oh, Tia!” Luna sighed at her sister stubbornness. Then she wrapped her fore legs around Celestia’s wet shoulders, cuddling her tight and kissing on the cheek with a tiny smile. “How many times must I tell thee? Thine dream is not a prophecy… not necessarily one. Dreams ain’t always predictive, nor they are always the reflection of befalling events. Quite a portion of them is the reflection of thy own concerns and outlook, sunny.”

“Besides,” Luna slyly insinuated, “the portal didn’t work, recallest? Somehow Alex is needed, by the Tree of Harmony… I don’t know, but he isn’t considered a threat definitely, otherwise She would send him away.”

“I remember, dear,” Celestia’s eyes gloomed. “But what is beneficial for the whole Equus, isn’t necessarily beneficial for Equestria.”

“But we definitely could avoid many wounds today and even more in the future, who knoweth…” Luna added unequivocally.

“… and supported your “special somehuman” ideas effectively!” pouted Celestia, causing Luna’s silvery laughter.

“Mayhap!” the Night Princess batted her eyelashes, rising to the hooves. “But that’s not the main aspect… Comest on, Tia, thy bed is missing thee. It was a long day, sunny. I know, thou can make the correct decision, but that’s another day’s burden forsooth.”

Celestia looked at her with almost foalish hope, that she didn’t need to go anywhere, but could fall asleep right in the tub. But Luna was adamant.

“Tia! The water is cooling down and thou can catch a cold! Imagine, the sneezing Sun is a calamity…” she levitated a large fluffy towel.

Sitting sleepily at the edge of the tub till that moment, Philomena opened one eye, noticing one of the alicorns getting up, she quickly soared, landing on Luna’s back; there the phoenix nested with all the possible comfort, sniffing lavender scent and almost producing a satisfied smile.

“Ohhhh,” princess Celestia was still unhappy about being picked out of the warm tub. She stretched her shapely leg out of the bath foam, examining deliberately; water and bubbles ran down the white coat exposing it. “Ummm, don’t you think I need my hoofcare fixed, blueberry? It looks awful to me!”

“Comest on, Tia,” chuckled Luna. “Dost not try to trick-talk me…”

She finally managed to drag the sister out of the water, with another pleading glance Celestia emerged from the fragrant bath, stretching her legs one by one and magically tumbling her wet mane and tail, making them wetly flow again, when she stepped out of the basin.

“Excellent! Good filly,” Luna covered her sleepy sister with the large towel, drying her up, then bringing a warm bathrobe closer.

“Thy hooves look perfectly fine, thy mane doth the same, thou art in the habitual order, sis!” Stated Luna, examining Celestia, when they reached the dressing table with a big foldable mirror on it. “But dost not try to convince me thou ain’t sleepy. Thou hast forgotten something arrant!” with sly sparkles in her eyes she nodded to the reflection.

For the whole minute Celestia watched her own muzzle through half-lidded eyes, then shrugged passionlessly and picked Luna’s crown with her magic, putting it on her own head, while Luna’s aura pulled something from behind. Naturally, it appeared to be Celestia’s crown, left by her in the bathroom along with the hoofwear; raising one eyebrow Luna mounted it on herself without delay. Both sisters stared at their reflection for a while, estimating that exchange, until finally Celestia started snorting quietly, as Luna tried her best to mimic sister’s majestic expression from official events, cocking her snoot and putting on the wise and dispassionate look. Curious about the reasons of her master laughing, Philomena didn’t take long to perk and stretch, taking a look. When her puzzled reflection appeared from behind Luna’s neck, both sisters broke giggling like school fillies.

“I love thee, sunny!” Luna took her sister into feathery embrace spreading one blue wing over.

“Mutually, dear!” sleepily breathed out Celestia, leaning to Luna and nuzzling her cheek tenderly.

“…so, we’re almost there,” said Pinkie, when they turned left into a short overgrown alley; the large trees of the opposite gardens almost shared their branch-shakes. However, despite the overgrown look the houses there were perfectly kept, just like everywhere in Ponyville, owners’ love was visible through careful painting, accurate fences, flowerbeds free of weeds. Alex took a look over the house they approached, it sank in the foliage, the upper floor floated on the green waves, already tinted with yellow and red and lit by the flaring up morning.

“I promised to walk you here,” his pink guide nudged him lightly, so they steeped on the paved walkway. “But then you’re on your own, Alex, I have lots of work today. Well, you are a big colt!” Pinkie giggled. “Nopony’s going to bite you in that house. Actually, you won’t find a calmer, more reserved and punctual host in the whole town… Lily’s cousin may probably compete Twilight in meticulousness. Probably…” she winked, picking the bell string in her mouth and pulling.

The simple yet cheerful bell sounded from the depth of the house, interrupted by quick, determined hoofsteps. Alex heard a surprised huff of the light on hoof owner behind the front door.

“Good morning, Pinkie! Good morning… errrm… Alex, right?” the grey earth pony stallion with sandy mane and sealed envelope cutie mark welcomed them inside.

“Good morning, Daily Mail!” Pinkie Pie almost pranced forward impatiently, Alex barely greeted their host. “How’s it going?”

Alex let the stallion’s answer slip past his ears, observing the room; the furnishings were kept in exemplar order, each thing had its place, which, he guessed, it was returned to right after the usage. Taking a look over the shining cleanness around he unwittingly glanced at his boots – bringing some dust into this kingdom of order and purity looked like real crime. Alex thought that he could never upkeep that condition of the belongings, the amount of effort put into that must be quite impressive, unless it was the natural or professional habit of the owners.

“… we would like to see Lily-Rose, if you don’t mind.”

Alex woke, catching the tail of Pinkie’s phrase touching the aim of his visit, and nodded.

“Of course, you do!” chuckled Daily Mail. “Normally we don’t have lots of guests every day, so today’s morning looks almost herded.”

Raising one brow Pinkie forgot about hurrying to attend her business, the curiosity took over for a while.

“I’m sorry, Daily Mail,” Alex decided to test the veracity of his guess. “Are you working at Ponyville post office? Mail sorting and delivery organizing, right?”

“Absolutely!” with a smile Daily Mail followed Alex’s another glance around the room. “And I do my best for the mail always to be delivered to the addressee and in time,” the stallion winked. “Well… unless Derpy mixes something up…” however, the latter was said warmly, without a shadow of vexation and Alex thought that those two must be good friends, despite all the shenanigans of the klutz mail-mare.

“Follow me, please,” the stallion headed upstairs. “I wonder what a… tech-head like you, forgive my bluntness, could need from the born artist like my cousin?” he glanced over his shoulder, making sure Alex and Pinkie were right behind.

“The same as her other visitors and customers,” simply said Alex, “her art. I saw Lily drafting and wanted to see other works.”

“She drafted a portrait of Alex,” smirked Pinkie playfully.

“Yeah,” Alex rubbed his nose, feeling the flush. “In a few strokes, but with great semblance. Naturally, I was impressed. But how...”

“It’s easy,” chuckled Daily Mail. “Most of the time I see your name near Canterlot Steam Company logo on the envelope and… you are the only human in Ponyville,” he shrugged, then stopped and turned to his visitors. “Errmmm… as you both came here… I wanted to ask anyway. What exactly happened at the town school last week?”

“An unfortunate accident,” Pinkie put in quickly, alternating from hoof to hoof. “It’s really a miracle that princess Celestia was able to intervene fast and patch things up, really-really!”

“It was one of those creatures, the authorities warned about,” Alex met the attentive glance of stallion’s eyes. “The school itself had nothing to do with it. And, as Pinkie said, thankfully the princess could fix everything perfectly.”

“My son goes to school next year,” explained Lily’s cousin. “And… You know…” he finally moved on. “It’s the first time in my memory, when the school,” Daily Mail paused with emphasis, “in our quiet town is burnt down completely.”

“Not because of the school staff themselves!” said Alex and Pinkie simultaneously; Alex let out a small smile, adding soothingly. “The evacuation was done almost perfectly in the circumstances they got.”

“Hmm… I was told differently, but…” Daily Mail raised his glance at the human as they passed a couple of doors in the long, neat as the rest of the house, corridor and stopped at the last one. “They say, you put your… hand to the rescue as well,” he took an evaluating look over Alex’s wings.

“A little bit,” Alex kept the poker face; Pinkie snorted quietly behind his back.

“You and Rainbow Dash… Well…” the stallion knocked the door, making two muffled voices in the room fade. “Lily! More guests coming to you, hun!”

“Then let them come in, bro!” the door opened, enveloped in the azure aura and letting out the smells of paper, canvas and paints. The surprised expression of Lily-Rose transformed into a smile. “Oh! You decided to come. Good morning, Alex, Pinkie!” she waved her mane energetically. Alex noticed Lyra behind her back, examining some papers in the sunlight coming through the large window; every free spot in the room, as he could judge, was occupied with paintings, drafts, graphics and different tools. Lily-Rose definitely was a productive artist.

“If you excuse me… Need to go, loads of work as usual and I don’t want to run late,” letting the guests forward the cousin nuzzled Lily-Rose tenderly. “Have a nice day, you all!”

“So, you wanted to take your portrait, Alex,” Lily-Rose turned to them, when her relative left. “Or maybe you let me turn it into something… less schematic,” she chuckled with audible self-irony. “It won’t be a problem, especially now, when I need more practice.”

“And what do we have here?” before Alex could answer, Pinkie sang out, appearing behind Lyra’s shoulder and trying to peek into her papers. “Tell Lyra, what our history and naturalist mare is plotting.”

“It’s not ready yet,” Lyra quickly rolled the sheets with her aura, leaving Pinkie’s curiosity dissatisfied. “I asked Lily-Rose about a few illustrations for my work… a scientific project, if you want. But it’s a secret yet, while it’s not completed.”

“Scientific project?!” Pinkie snorted, staring at Lyra. “Let me guess…”

“Hi, Alex!” waving away from Pinkie, Lyra glanced at the human with a bright smile, which slowly faded as her glance slid along his large black wings. “Woah… I heard about them,” she slowly squeezed out, “but the rumours don’t give you due…”

“Yeah,” Alex shrugged clumsily, his wings ruffled slightly. Trying his best to make less unnecessary moves not to knock something over, he noted inwardly that they definitely shrunk, when he entered the room. “I’m still in the process of telling them, who’s the boss, Lyra.”

At the word “boss” Pinkie’s sneering expression, she examined Lyra with, turned to concerned one, her eyes rounded.

“Oops!” cotton candy mane seemed to puff even more, while pink ears flattened. “I totally forgot… The Cakes will burn for sure! Sorry, mates!!!” the last phrase sounded, when Pinkie’s silhouette faded in the doorway.

Alex blinked a few times, driving away the impression that Pinkie simply teleported upon remembering about her own work at Sugarcube Corner. Both Lyra and Lily-Rose giggled.

“So… Hmpfff… Sorry. Back to your portrait,” Lily-Rose leaned to her table, when they stopped snorting. She sought through her papers, looking for the proper draft. “You can surely take it as it is… or let me add some detail, if you have some time and don’t mind.”

“Thanks, Lily-Rose,” Alex watched her azure aura shuffling the papers. “I would like to see your other works, if you don’t mind of course…”

“Ahhh, here it is!” the unicorn artist straightened levitating Alex’s graphical portrait, making the original wonder the great level of detail and semblance again.

“Hmmm,” Lyra dived under his wing and threw a glance at the sketch. “You know, Alex, she is right. Why let it be the head only? Maybe you can turn it into the whole torso, Lily? Show the wings and maybe… hands!” Alex snickered. “What?!”

“Of course, you can, Alex. Feel free to take a look!” Lily-Rose let out a smile, levitating the paper to the easel and clipping it on, going to invest some more work into the portrait.

“Won’t you need me to stay still though?” wondered Alex.

“It’s okay, if you move and look,” the girl swayed her mane, making the pendant swing and her glowing strands shimmer. “Let me throw myself a little challenge – we’ll see how many details I can add out of the memory.”

Alex nodded and moved along the walls of her room, examining the drawings and paintings on them, while Lyra subtly took the place behind Lily, tilting her head and watching the work.

The collection was quite impressive: Alex even came across a couple of foal’s drawings, Lily didn’t scruple to exhibit; he wondered how accurate and vivid were the images, despite the foalish strokes. Some artworks were hanging on the walls, those obviously found their residence at Lily cousin’s house; the others stood leaned on the walls – current work of Alex’s new artistic acquaintance. He noticed that everything ponies said about Lily was true, the level of detail and realism was stunning, making him walk from painting to painting slowly, admiring the quality. The portraits looked photo-like: there were foals caught at the peculiar natural moments, playing and laughing; a few young mares, light, ethereal and dreamy, some in their party dresses and hats, some at work, gardening, dragging carriages. Alex spotted a portrait of miss Cheerilee at the blackboard, explaining something to the class. Stallions caught at their work: delivery workers, builders, a fisher with his rods, guards at their posts. A happy married couple, nuzzling each other. Alex couldn’t hold back a smile, seeing that collection of totally unknown ponies’ memories fixed on paper and canvas.

He was to admit that many older portraits, while being almost photorealistic, looked like vignette – their background, simple and pastel, blended out into the canvas. However, Lily-Rose worked on that diligently, newer samples offered complex backgrounds with visible effort and mastery invested. Alex examined a few landscapes for quite a while, recognizing one view from the lake they met at the first time. One more unfinished work depicted two mares on their walk through the park, still in the draft, they strongly reminded Alex of Luna and Fluttershy somehow; he let out a quiet sigh.

The table was hiding under the heap of drafts. Alex dug out a folder with graphics and dived in, one sheet caught his attention at once, making come closer to the large window, framed in juicy foliage from outside, and peer into the image under the brightening sunlight. It was a grayscale draft of a large ruined tower, peeking like a tooth from the remnants of the wall amidst the wild forest.

“Errmmm… Apologies, Lily-Rose…” Alex cleared his throat. “Is it the Sister’s Old Castle? Looketh very familiar to me,” he showed her the opened folder.

“This. Oh, no, that’s not the Old Castle,” Lily-Rose interrupted her work, coming closer and picking the folder from his hands. “It seems I draw that ages ago,” a smile lit her muzzle. “I was sketching on the wooded hills, north-west to Canterlot. There are some fort ruins at the mountain foothills, so…”

“There is not only one ruin in Equestria, Alex,” sounded Lyra from her place near the easel; she glanced at him with mentor look. “Many old fortresses are scattered across the land, gnawed by time and falling apart. Those monuments of old, less peaceful age…” she fell silent for a minute. Lyra’s next phrase made Alex shudder from the memories. “Remember the Clock Tower, Alex? It’s a part of an old bastion. Well, we don’t need buildings as large and fortified anymore!” Lyra let out a bright smile.

Willsmash and Sil stood in front of Alex’s inner view, the blurred image of a Seeker, the unicorn stallion in Canterlot medical facility.

“That’s debatable methinks!”

Both girls stared at him in confusion…

Approaching Canterlot Alex threw a quick glance at the Sun, automatically noticing its position in the sky: among the things, which ceased to follow him through the portal to Equestria, he probably missed the hand watch the most. Spending about half a year there he didn’t yet bother to get any replacement, despite, Alex knew it for sure, some ponies used hand, or better say leg watches; to perform some strap fitting was a matter of minutes. However, being almost constantly occupied with other sorts of fitting, solving, accommodating, he didn’t ever keep that thought for long, even if it struck him from time to time, using the common clock at home and resorting to quite ancient time definition methods when outside.

The life-giving celestial body had passed zenith already, but was high enough to warm up the mountain side – it was yet far from sunset. The contrast with the humid forest below was palpable and Alex’s wings subconsciously ruffled, drying in the sunlight. Alex got washed by the rain covering the last span after the nearest to Canterlot small station. He wasn’t yet overly sure in his flying abilities, thus despite it would be immensely easier to navigate by simply flying higher and following a beeline to the capital, he preferred to stay closer to the ground, following the railway not to get lost – the mountain wasn’t clearly visible everywhere due to low clouds. Naturally, Alex was to follow each turn and run of the rails, spending more time and enjoying each type of weather on his nearly four-hour road to Canterlot. Thankfully he could easily reach the express speed at that moment, thus it didn’t take him much more time.

The road was quiet, except a few passing and opposite trains, Alex did his best to avoid the larger cities and towns on his way, staying near the tracks the rest of time and rising above the clouds rarely, when he needed to check the proper direction at the forks. At the foothills following the rails became an uneasy task as the road started tacking between the cliffs, diving into the tunnels; that and the large industrial zone at the mountain foot, Alex spotted approaching the stone mass, made him leave the tracks and pierce the grey clouds, breaking into the tender sun rays.

Alex enjoyed that opportunity, he felt like dipping into a hot tub at once, leaving the autumn chill down in the forest. Shielded by the clouds from the accidental eye, he crossed the last mile and started ascending along the scarp, habitually trying not to look back.

After a few minutes of determined racing along the mountain side, Alex reached the edge of Canterlot, its living part. Once again he couldn’t but admire laconic, elegant and noble beauty of the city; he saw it several times and each time certain comparison came to mind at the sight of the mighty white walls, high thin towers, colourful roofs and streets bathing in verdure. Exactly the complex architecture and also the ponies herding the streets at that hour made Alex take a breath and rise higher. He couldn’t find his way to the castle from the ground, in the circular web of the large and small streets, despite it was his fourth visit; conscious visit at least. Besides, that way he could avoid unnecessary attention from below, even if somepony noticed a fast passing shadow, the human was far away the moment they looked into the sky.

Making a mental note of the large waterfall, shimmering with billions of diamonds in the sunlight, the adjacent railway station (trains from Ponyville usually arrived to) behind the city wall, Alex aimed directly at the white shiny walls of the castle, speeding up even more. Finally, he could probably say that he began enjoying that new method of travel to a certain extent.

Easing the duty of the royal guards at the castle courtyard entrance by soaring higher and buzzing above the outer wall, which surrounded the large gardens and the rest of the castle territory, Alex passed the gates unseen. Fluently noticing, how the pegasi guards fought their boredom and sleep with alternating success – it had to be the long day shift before night guards taking their posts – he inwardly smirked.

‘Old Will must have been right – the long period of relative peace weakened at least their vigilance,’ Alex rolled his eyes, deliberately looking away from the white three-storey building subtly peeking from the foliage to his right. ‘Let’s hope it didn’t affect their efficiency much… I have a bad feeling, we will need all the resources soon!’

He thought that applying some sort of the sentinel magic, some shield, which can keep the unknown intruders away, could have been handy; however, judging by him entering “the castle airspace” at ease, either there wasn’t any, or it didn’t affect him… unless it was supposed to simply warn the guards about the intruders. Anyway, no ground activity had to be seen yet.

Next moment, seeing the approaching castle wall with pylons and high arched windows, Alex made a vertical loop, dropping the speed significantly and heading to the actual castle entrance at the top of the high wide stairs. He hoped that at least the castle guards were warned about his arrival, so he wouldn’t waste much time stomping at the front doors.

“Sweet Celestia! It seems endless,” one of the armoured ponies alternated from hoof to hoof, using that chance, free of the officer’s attention, to dispel his sleepiness. “A few hours more, till the Night Watch batties step up, and my head is already like a bee-hive…”

“It’s raining down there,” noticed another one, with a shrug of utter boredom. “No wonder it is. Be thankful, it’s washing the factory districts, not us here. And don’t break the charter too obviously, pal! I don’t want to catch a penal duty because of your shenanigans.”

The wide yawn swallowed his partner attempt to retort, causing the guard to chuckle involuntarily; suddenly the large shadow covered the upper landing of the castle stairs. One guard choked on his chuckle, another slammed his mouth early almost with the sound of some shutting chest, risking to dislocate his jaw. “What the!..”

The large dark figure appeared out of nowhere, huge wings overshadowed the Sun for a short moment; Alex landed, too hard maybe, lowering on one knee to quench speed. The dense wave of air poured over the guards, then another one, when the human shook and folded tightly his wings. In a moment, forcedly coping with their shock, both unicorns stepped forward, barring his way with their spears with the most determined expression they were capable of at the face of given circumstances. The guards’ eyes narrowed, scanning the human figure for the possible sign of threat; one of them visibly swallowed, but both looked quite ready to reflect an attack if necessary.

Stepping towards them first Alex stopped then in bewilderment, something didn’t compute in his head: he negotiated about that audience with the princess and got an official invitation, it was logical to think the guards should be at least informed about his arrival, let alone let him in at the designated time. Then Alex took a look down over himself and almost laughed out loud in relief, he would have slapped his forehead even, if not the light, but very durable steel glove on his hand, so that slap would have come out palpably unpleasant.

‘The armour!’

His new armour, what he managed to complete till that moment; Alex spent almost an hour putting everything on and fixing it properly, even without the helmet it was quite the task. Obviously, it would take him twice more, if it was even possible to finish, without the help of Willsmash and Sil. That was the weak spot of his creation yet. However, the planned pony version would become naturally easier to handle, due to pony physiology and supposed help of magic, he was sure guards would turn to, equipping it in the future. ‘If Tia allows the production!..’ Alex reminded himself.

He put on his own armour merely for demonstration purpose, didn’t take any weapon with him: the latter wasn’t necessary, besides, his glaive wasn’t entirely ready and being unsatisfied with the current result Alex, frankly speaking, was slightly ashamed to show it yet. Naturally, the necessity to notify the guards about his armour slipped out of Alex’s mind completely, the result of that he was to deal with at the moment.

Alex sighed, he could imagine how he appeared before the royal guards: the clawed boot parts looked one with greaves, thanks to flexible joints hidden under the outer plating, spiky knee-shields went into the plated thighs – it was a proper armoured suit, not some Greek skirt, serious business! The chest part was flexibly attached to the plates protecting human’s sides, pelvis and crotch. All flexible seams were promptly covered with extra plating, leaving a small chance of penetration, even if the owner was standing still in his armour against the attacker. Heavy looking scapulars protected the shoulders, the upper arm and forearm parts connected perfectly tight, providing necessary flexibility at the same time. The finely made gloves ended with claws as well and the guards kept constant eye at them. Some sort of very dense mail covered the narrow stripe of Alex’s neck, visible above the scapular parts; the same mail formed all the hidden flexible seams and the inside of his gloves. The huge wings protruded through the narrow gaps on the backplate, the rest of which was rock solid shell. They were to double their span to cope with additional weight and even then Alex trained for a while before taking that trip to Canterlot; no wonder they overshadowed the view of poor guards, when he landed.

Highlighted subtly, the dark metal of the armour snaked fancifully with the pattern of thin lines and curves, it seemed to flow slowly in the light of the setting Sun. The whole shape was unusual for Equestria: the plates were rather represented by flat faces and almost sharp edges, than some rounded surfaces. But the main thing was the spikes, they covered the shoulder plates, formed thorny ribs along the arms, nested on the knees, ran along the middle edge of chest plate; the most impressive row stood along the spine, thorns long enough for some foal to use them as a ladder, climbing onto the human’s shoulders.

Trying to look over himself with the guards’ eyes Alex was to admit that having no helmet wasn’t a bad idea: at least they knew, whom they faced, although, that didn’t add to his credit seemingly. They surely knew about the human, were possibly informed about his arrival, but definitely doubted, the figure dropping almost on their heads was trustful enough to let into the castle. Alex started thinking up some alternative ways already; he just pondered the rationality of soaring to one of the windows, even maybe to the upper gallery (despite that would take him a long way down to the throne hall), when the rattle of quick hoofsteps sounded, approaching the doors from inside the castle.

The appearing Night Watch officer in the face of extremely sleepy bat-pony served the long-awaited life-saviour, right in time.

“Ah, here he is…” the newcomer did his best to suppress the yawn tearing out. He addressed the dumbfounded unicorns. “Let him through now. The human must be escorted to the throne hall. Order of the Night Crown… And the Day Crown as well!” added the officer meaningfully, predicting certain wry muzzles. Some, mostly harmless, level of competition between Day guards and Night Watch was already a tradition, which managed to outlive even the Sisters reunion.

With a light grunt both unicorns obeyed, the Highest Order was delivered by somepony of higher rank, despite what they may personally think of it and the visitor. They pulled back the spears, freeing the way.

“Sorry, guys!” Alex accurately squeezed between the guards, not to scratch anypony, and headed after his guide, who immediately turned around and trotted inside the cool shade of the castle, yawning openly as no keeping face in front of the privates was necessary.

“An important guest, eh?” squinted he at Alex over the shoulder with a faint grin, it sounded rather friendly though.

Nearly half a year in Equestria, but it was the first bat-pony Alex ever saw. Of course, he heard from the corner of his ear something about some of the Night Watch guards being… slightly different, but seeing that with his own eyes was another thing. Alex used the moment to examine his collocutor subtly, but as thoroughly as possible while following a pony busily trotting in front of you. The main and striking difference was obviously his wings: leathery, with a claw at the upper joint, they grew from their owner back exactly where the common pegasi have them, but otherwise these wings were obviously of bat origin. If one could imagine a bat that large naturally! Alex noticed the eyes were different from ones of common ponies as well, showing the nocturnal nature of the guard. Hardly it was a fitting moment to interest if the guard could easily hang upside down on the ceiling, despite Alex felt very curious about that. Meanwhile, the guide elaborated his assumption.

“Normally our duty is about 4 hours later, and the daytime is resting time for the Night Watch,” the guard shrugged casually with his folded wings, while they crossed the narrow hall. “But today Her Highness, princess Luna woke some of us personally, ordering to keep eye on your arrival. I guess, predicting certain… rust of Celestia’s guards. Well, Her Highness was right… I wonder…” the officer smirked to his thoughts, but didn’t reveal the assumption – they reached another large door.

The familiar spacious hall appeared behind the opened doors, Alex noticed the double thrones on the elevation at the far end of it, when his guide left him alone, vanishing subtly and soundlessly in the shadows of the columns lining up along the walls.

‘I wonder if Luna put her hoof to that audience success majorly…’ Alex inwardly voiced his version of the night guard idea; he fancied a distant talk in a second.

“… and I haven’t yet decided finally, if we should give him the open road for this,” the deeper quiet voice sounded from shadows of the opposite part of the hall.

Alex sniffed the air slowly, the mix of roses and lavender reached his nostrils; hoping it wouldn’t be a breach of some etiquette, Alex headed closer to the thrones.

“Oh, Tia! Why don’t thou believest him still?” another cheerful silvery voice followed. “If not his good will, listen to mine reasons then… Thou knowest, the majority of these recent injuries could be avoided, if ‘t be true our folks were better protected. And if he findeth the way to shield them mentally, wouldn’t that be wondrous, sunny!”

Alex’s face lit with a warm smile. ‘Surely, it’s mostly her, who convinced Celestia to listen and see the real profit of my idea. Never understood, what Tia was so cautious about.’

“Well, Lulu, while seeing the benefits of some advanced armour,” Celestia showed amidst the far row of the columns, looking over her shoulder, “one shouldn’t forget about dangers of somepony being armoured… too advanced!” meaningfully stated she. “Besides, it’s still the question of influence…”

“Comest on, Tia! We discussed that numerous times already and thou finally saw the correctness of the idea!” exclaimed Luna pleadingly and at the same time persistently, catching up with her sister. “Dost not backtrack halfway for Harmony’s sake…”

“Ahem…” Alex reached the centre of the hall already, he paced up a bit to reach the princesses, before Celestia let her doubts occupy too much of her mind.

Seeing the smile on Luna’s muzzle, Celestia threw a glance into the hall and froze at the spot facing the visitor, Alex was in a few steps from the elevation and clearly seen in the sloping sunrays, coming through the high windows.

“Sweet Ce… errmmm… me…” trying to return her eyes to usual shape, Celestia cleared her throat. “What is that, pray tell? Alex, for Harmony’s…”

Alex watched how her dilated eyes travelled along his figure, reflecting the deeply hidden concerns; unconsciously he ruffled his wings, somehow empathizing her uneasiness, maybe because it was drawn on princess’ muzzle with hard visible strokes. Celestia’s ear twitched.

‘Please, dost not tell, thou reconsidered!..’ he braced himself before long explanation. From the corner of his eye he noticed, how Luna lowered her head, concealing the smile caused by the sister’s reaction. That gave some hope, everything wasn’t that bad, but it took Alex some effort to keep the diplomatic face.

“Your Highness, princess Celestia, princess Luna!” he bowed slightly, as much as the armour allowed. “Good… evening,” he threw a quick glance through the window. “I extend mine hope I’m not late for the audience. Of course, I can explain everything…”

“Yes, please, do us a favour!” the older princess recovered from the first expression, making a welcoming gesture with her fore hoof. With a momentary hesitation she approached, examining Alex closer. Meanwhile, Luna took her throne at ease, producing a muffled snort, when her sister slowly moved around Alex counterclockwise, habitually pondering on the go. Alex sighed, the analogy with great white shark circling its prey remained, despite Celestia’s warmth and fluffiness.

“In the face of recent events… I mean the Seekers, especially them coming in the material form, I came to the conclusion that I needed to protect myself. Regardless of the royal decision about the armour production…” Alex shrugged slightly. “Regeneration or not, receiving extra holes on thy body is far from being pleasant.”

“I thought that it would be a natural and nice chance to demonstrate our production in details and actual working conditions. So, I combined mine armour… errmmm… field testing and that demonstration into one.”

Celestia huffed behind his back.

“Mayhap it wasn’t the best idea not to warn anypony about me bringing it with… let alone on myself,” Alex suppressed the strong wish to look over the shoulder, standing still, until the large white silhouette appeared in the corner of his right eye. “Mine apologies for that small disturbance. Your guards showed commendable vigilance stopping me, despite agreed audience and me being unarmed, princess!”

“However, nopony noticed or intercepted you, until the very castle entrance…” Celestia huffed again, rather pensively than with reproach. She kept thinking aloud. “Maybe I should attach more importance to the training of my guards… something Lulu always keeps telling me about.” Finally, she turned to Alex. “The armour you made looks quite bulky…”

“This one isn’t the final and best version, Your Highness,” Alex afforded a tiny smile, Luna nodded on her throne with visible satisfaction. “I can assure you that it’s lighter than it looks like, besides we look for the ways to improve constantly. The pony version shalt be even lighter and easier to handle…”

Celestia finished her second circle around him, watching Alex appraisingly.

“Not to be light-worded…” Alex stretched his hand and pulled off the metal glove. “You can see for yourself, Ti… princess. Tis the only part easily detachable.” He smirked apologetically.

“Hmmm…” Celestia weighed the glove on her hoof. “Indeed. That’s impressive, I thought, it would be much heavier. But…” she raised the glance on the human again. “The shape. All those edges and… thorns. It looks rather strange, unusual… if not to say intimidating.”

“Well, making the armour pleasant for potential enemy’s eyes wasn’t mine aim, in the earnest,” Alex raised his brows at the obviousness of the answer. “Besides, this armour is some sort of weapon at the same time.” Seeing the lack of understanding in Celestia’s eyes he elaborated. “I can easily cope with my usual enemies hither by simply touching them. For the first Seekers it was enough… But they started to change, materialize. Thus some aren’t so easy to take down, in addition to their increased dangerousness. I need to wound them physically to make the contact with so-called Dark Mist forming them possible. Spiky armour maketh that achievable and… they shall “think” twice, afore trying to perform the first attack.”

Celestia nodded, admitting the rational core of that idea; she finally stopped circling Alex, which he was endlessly happy about – it might be princess’ favourite way of thinking about some problem, but sometimes it brought a feeling of her distrust into the collocutor’s soul.

“And the shapes designed specifically to interfere possible enemy’s weapons,” Alex alternated from one foot to another. “Everything made to cut or hit shalt meet the sharp edges and slide along the angled plates off, not doing much harm. While bumping into any part of the armour shalt bring certain pain to the attacker. So, yeah… that’s both the protection and weapon.”

“And what about the actual weapon, Alex? Dost thou have any?” Luna’s eyes lit with interest, Celestia threw a quick glance at her sister. “Thou came unarmed.”

“I work at something indeed, but…” Alex’s obvious cringe attracted both princesses’ attention. “It’s yet too far from the desired condition, mildly speaking. Not something I could proudly show others yet,” Alex chuckled sarcastically. He elaborated, seeing the two pairs of inquiring eyes still set on him. “It’s a glaive. A double blade glaive. Something that must be familiar to you, as you definitely have… had simple glaives, not only spears and swords, as I could have noticed, judging by the statues in the Old Castle.”

“We stopped on that variant, as it fits what I remember of fighting the best,” he shrugged simply, but seeing Luna’s bright smile added. “We are improving it, but I couldn’t find enough impudence to show myself afore royal eyes with that shameful prototype yet!” Catching a moment without Celestia’s attention, Alex winked at Luna jokingly. “Besides, I just saw that coming to the castle with some weapon wouldn’t be a smart deed anyway; I would waste too much of your time, trying to convince the guards it wasn’t some fraud.”

“Thou said about thy armour being both protection and weapon,” Luna leaned forward with a content smile. “Dost thou think not that leaving thy head uncovered can easily undermine the very idea of it?”

“That naturally came into my mind, my… princess!” Alex quickly evaded with a vague gesture; seeing Celestia quickly alternating to Luna made him inwardly chuckle. It took Luna some effort to nod with the straight face to continue. “There is a certain problem with delivering a decent level of protection and at the same time unobstructed view from the named helmet, regardless of how banal it sounds.”

Luna and Celestia exchanged glances.

“You see, in our world we use glass-like transparent materials for the face shields, but durable enough to stop a bullet,” Alex tried to explain his idea the simplest way. “Plastic composites… Well, nev’r mind. The problem is – in mine case a direct hit to the head or face practically nullifies all the advantages of mine regeneration ability, thus needs to be solved urgently.” Luna nodded quickly and Alex continued stifling a smile.

“In your guards’ case, I’m afraid, it’s even worse. I’m not affected mentally by the Seekers, unlike all of your kin are to various degrees. Protecting the guards from that influence is a must, princess,” Alex threw a serious glance at Celestia, who even stopped trotting left and right. “For the moment I have no idea how to protect their heads physically, protect them from direct visual contact with such enemies like the Seekers… and still make them able to see, what goes around them. So, it’s globally a question to answer yet.”

Watching her reaction Alex noticed from the corner of his eye, how Luna’s muzzle lit with some brainfoal, and the familiar bright, enthusiastic and withal sly sparkles.

“I see…” slowly stated Celestia, staring at Alex intently. “And I see, you took the problem quite seriously.”

“It would be impossible to achieve without the guidance and help of uncle… mister Steel, Your Highness.”

“How did you get to Canterlot, Alex?” suddenly asked she, princess’ eyes examined the multitude of spikes on the armour. “I hope travelling was hassle-free for you; your armour hardly made you a subtle travel-companion for others.”

“Oh, I simply flew here, Your Highness! I needed some practice anyway, as it’s the only fast enough means of travel I can use,” the question and her concern amused Alex greatly, unconsciously he unfurled the wings, totally forgetting that they adjusted themselves to the increased weight; they towered behind his back, stretching to the ceiling. “I did my best to avoid unnecessary evidence…”

Celestia took a couple of steps back to take a complete look over him, a shadow of unease ran across her muzzle, lingering for a moment longer in the widened eyes. Luna, on the contrary, let out a silvery laughter, not paying much attention to sister’s concern.

“Apologies!” Alex became confused, he definitely said or did too much. ‘What if she reconsiders now!!!’

“And apologies for… I have heard the tail of your talk, princess…” Alex spoke hotly. “Some new incident must have befallen… Am I correct? I only want to protect your folks, Tia! The victims of mine lingering to react, I had them enough for life. Please, allowest me…”

“Enough, Alex,” Celestia waved her fore hoof in the air. “I’m not saying “no”, mind that,” added she, nesting on her throne finally. “But I need some time to think. I hope you can occupy yourself for a little longer, be our guest…”

Wondering how Celestia didn’t object the accidental “Tia” slipping from his tongue, Alex watched Luna raising from her seat with a bright smile.

“By thy leave, sister, I shall take him for a talk,” she threw a spear glance at Alex, who was gunned before the actual shot. “Comest on, Alex, I have something to show thee!” She graciously headed back to the gallery behind the thrones.

With a sigh Alex followed, feeling the fixed glance of Celestia with his entire back, even though it was heavily armoured. However, he forgot about it in a wink, as soon as his eyes fell on Luna, catching her glance over the shoulder. They entered the long gallery running behind the throne hall and lit with the torches to dispel deep shadows, as the high narrow windows couldn’t cope with that task even at day time – the wall opposite to the throne hall faced the mountain.

A cool draught ran past Alex’s legs, the gallery was insanely long, with numerous turns and forks it snaked through the entire castle – he didn’t know that part of the castle well and was to rely on the mischievous dark-blue guide. However, that wasn’t a task hard or unpleasant to accomplish; Alex caught himself upon staring at Luna’s hypnotisingly swaying flanks and barely held from stroking them gently.

Passing the narrow window and the beam of dim light with rare motes dancing in it, the ancient painting in the partition, thick stone column, Alex felt strong déjà vu; subconscious memories of their last meeting there during the gala made his heart beat and blood run faster despite the chill of the dark gallery.

“Thither is one serious disadvantage, I see in thy armour, Alex!” Apparently, he wasn’t single in those thoughts; when they distanced into the gallery enough not to be heard from the throne hall, Luna suddenly stopped and turned to him with a gamine look of the half-lidded eyes. “All those thorns… They don’t allow me to do what I want…”

“… pounce thee and snuggle tight!” She slowly approached him and placed a tender and at the same time very passionate kiss, stretching her neck and accurately avoiding all Alex’s steel precautionary measures.

“I missed thee quite, mine love!”

Alex sighed, inwardly wishing that kiss to last longer, even if it resulted in his dizziness and distraction.

“So did I, Luna… but… This armour, I was to showcase it and…” Alex let out another sigh, pulling off one glove and touching Luna’s cheek lightly. “…it will take quite some time to take off and, alas, probably twice more to put back on. Even with magic.”

Luna closed her eyes and instead of an answer Alex felt another touch of her soft lips, making him almost regret equipping that armour instead of simply visiting the castle under some made-up excuse; as foalish as it was.

“What did you want to show me, my love?” Alex tried to switch from regret with that casual question, calling all the remnants of his prudence not to hug his marvellous princess, as it was definitely not safe for her.

“Patience, lief!” Luna made a visible effort to part. “I don’t yet know if ‘t be true it worketh as I planned, but… Thou needst to see it.” She nodded him to follow.

“I must admit that I’m intrigued,” chuckled Alex. “A bit. As you are already here, Luna, I can hardly get a brighter experience.”

“Flatterer!” the princess huffed, but waving her starry tail with visible pleasure, while they passed seemingly endless columns, windows and torches.

The next turn revealed a shorter part of the gallery attached to a round tower containing the spiral stairs; Alex stopped for a moment, shaking away the unpleasant semblance with his experience of towers and stairs of that kind. This one was brightly lit and so wide it could fit a few alicorns climbing up simultaneously; Alex smirked unwittingly – that castle was definitely built not taking armed conflicts into consideration. The majority of spiral stairwells he knew from his past life (distantly, as his acrophobia allowed) were narrow and couldn’t fit more than a couple of ascenders.

“I supposed, thou art dealing with that effectively,” noticing him stopped Luna turned and glanced with empathy over Alex.

“I am… But thou can’t get rid of that arrant, not that fast, mine love! I’m still having them frequently, those nightmares…” Alex swallowed and squeezed out a smile. “I’m okay, Luna. That was rather an uncalled memory.”

“I know well, what thou art talking about. Mayhap better than anypony,” Luna nodded, then swayed her mane, dispelling the gloomy thoughts energetically. Her smile seemingly lit the gallery around them even brighter. “But we can’t get to mine room otherwise… unless thou wantest to go back and fly up to the balcony instead.”

“No, no, I’m fine with it as it is. Lead the way!”

Unexpectedly for him Luna giggled like a filly and rushed upstairs; stunned by her trick Alex froze and lost a few seconds. He woke up only seeing her flowing tail disappearing behind the central trunk of the tower.

‘What?! She is plain teasing me!’ Alex huffed and rushed after the girl, his unpleasant memories and associative threads torn to small pieces at once. Their steps boomingly echoed in the tower, weaned of these sounds long ago.

Right the moment Alex was about to catch up with that fluffy mockingbird named Luna, his right foot lost the support all of a sudden. Frantically flapping his wings not to fall and roll down the stairs, thankfully the wide stairs allowed him spread them, Alex put out a couple of torches, but managed to regain balance.

“Merlin’s pants!” he regained his breath, holding on the nearest wall, his ruffled wings slowly smoothing. “What was that?”

“Oh, apologies,” Luna returned a few steps down, offering her shoulder for support. “I arrant forgot that these stairs can be quite mischievous at times… calling for extra attention, beest thou on two legs or four regardless. Art thou fine, mine love?”

“Yes, it was… just… unexpected. Yeah,” Alex chuckled. “I almost fell…”

“Well, anyway… what do you want me to see, Luna, seriously?” asked Alex, when they calmly covered a few flights more and exited to the new gallery; this one brightly sunlit was considerably higher by his perception. “I’m sure, you don’t simply want to tease Tia a little more…”

“Of course not!” Luna huffed theatrically, playfully luring him right into the gallery. “But for each is own time.”

Turning right and facing the long hallway (the farther end blurred in distance) with columns, chandeliers and banners Alex finally recognized the place, flushing lightly upon the memories – it was the gallery he sneaked through, looking for the way to redeem afore Luna’s eyes, in other words for Celestia’s roses. Alex coughed bemusedly, recalling his shenanigans, and made Luna giggle-snort quietly, throwing a quick glance at him. In a few steps more they reached the familiar, night-coloured large double doors, watched over by two armoured guards; the nearest chandelier across still carried the signs of those adventures, slightly bent it made Alex feel the blood rush to his face again.

The guards saluted the Night Princess, but Alex appearance took them by surprise. On the one hoof, seeing him as Luna’s company they were to let him through, on the other hoof, a large heavily armoured figure appearing in the twilight of the gallery (the doors of princess’ room faced the solid wall with the banner) didn’t inspire much confidence. Alex noticed how both stallions subconsciously leaned forward, ready to make a living barrier between him and the princess, to stop him; his eyes narrowed and the large wings flapped open, outspreading to the arched ceiling and making the banner sway in the gust of air they produced. Watching the guards Luna was having much fun, they didn’t look so sure about the outcome of potential confrontation.

Confused by that sudden problem Alex alternated between her and the guards; he could easily “knead” both guards for some pies, but that was hardly the effect he desired. Noticing his inquiring glance, Luna stopped giggling into her fore hoof finally, with a regal head move she commanded the guards to let him in and almost pranced into her room.

“Surprisingly, I saw more vigilance and readiness in Tia’s guards, than I could have expected,” dropped she over the shoulder, when the doors closed behind them; Alex noticed that there were the Day Guards on duty indeed. “Recallest their muzzles, at which hour they saw thy wings fully open! Tis the view I shan’t trade for anything,” she let out another loud snort, turning to Alex and presenting him an extremely joyful glance.

Unwittingly Alex broke into a wide smile as well. He took a look around her room, heartily greeting the bookshelves, the large hearth, the large mirror and princess’ study, which shared some memories connected. It breathed Luna in spirit and literally, full of lavender scent, the long curtains fluttered in the light breeze coming from the unclosed window, leaving the room in mild twilight, dispelled by a few candles; if Alex could take off his armour boots, his feet would drown in the soft thick carpet. He felt some clumsiness in his steel shell, as if not completely fitting there, but the feeling ceased, when Luna waved to him to come closer.

“So, about thy armour, Alex,” she seemed to intercept his look over himself. “As we concluded it wasn’t arrant complete with thy precious head being unprotected.” Prancingly she approached him and nuzzled his cheek, making Alex inhale deeply the short moment his face bathed in her lavender mane. He stood still amidst the noble furniture, suddenly realizing his inability to simply sit without completely ruining something; inwardly Alex sighed, well, that was the price of being properly armoured.

“Alas, my princess,” Alex shrugged with a tiny smile. “That appeared to be more of a problem than I hoped. As I said I can’t reach the necessary combination of durability and transparency of the helmet yet.”

“Methinks thither is a solution!” Love, pride and some faint sadness mysteriously mixed in Luna’s voice. “I have a present for thee, Alex. Hopefully it worketh the correct way…”

Alex stared at her, guessing what could sort seemingly the unsolvable problem.

“Hast a closer look, thither on the dressing table…” princess’ voice trembled, when she turned away as if deliberately watching something through the window. “That’s… mine father last… last work, Alex. And I suppose it is exactly what thou needst, mine love!” added she firmly, regaining her composure.

Coming closer to the dresser Alex could observe something he recognized as a pony helmet indeed: specifically shaped to let the ears and horn through, it looked quite similar to what Alex could remember Nightmare Moon wearing in the movie, making him inwardly smirk at the paradoxical irony of life. Different in colour though, it almost tingled, making Alex feel at once – that thing wasn’t as simple as it looked.

“Luna!” with a heartwarming smile Alex turned to the princess, trying to find proper words. “I’m… I’m touched, in the earnest… That’s… But the magic, how can I use it?” he blinked in bewilderment. “Not mentioning that I can hardly fit a helmet obviously made for an alicorn.”

“Alex, Alex, didn’t I say that the helmet was made by our father?” Luna took a look over the human with strangely shimmering eyes, yet with a victorious smile. “And that is exactly why it hath certain features and it simply must work for thee.”

“Tis an artefact of exceptional power forsooth,” she started explaining, seeing that Alex subconsciously kept fair distance from the helmet. “Without false modesty I can say, mine father didn’t make any others! But…” she emphasized. “It’s arrant safe for thee as it hath only so-called passive magic. It shan’t try putting some spell on thee,” elaborated Luna, as Alex looked doubtful, examining the armour piece.

“About these features,” insensibly she appeared next to him, quietly persuading. “First of all it… well, I don’t know how to explain simpler… listens to its owner. It kenth the owner, shaping itself to its… understanding of one. Conforming to the owner, if ‘t be true thou like it better put that way. Moreover, nopony can take it from thee forcedly or command ‘t, unless thou pass it by thy free will!” Luna let out a little smile, enjoying Alex’s stunned face in the mirror. “Yes, mine love, thou heard well – command, as ‘t can be worn subtly and come in hoofy in combat at which hour necessary.”

“One more thing, quite important methinks,” feeling that the pause might drag on Luna continued. “The helmet can “feel” the evil intentions and denieth any of such, it can’t be used to fulfil malice. I… I couldn’t use it, at which hour Shadow ruled mine deeds, despite how much I desired,” her nose became pinkish, while she quietly said. “So, I know, what I’m talking about.”

“Mayhap it is capable of more, it must depend on how ye both manage to negotiate… But the main thing,” she shook her mane, sounding more enthusiastically, “it is arrant safe for thee to use, rest assured.”

“But… Luna…” Alex cleared his throat and tried again. “Luna, I’m not sure I can and I must accept it… Thy father’s last work… What if…”

“Shhh…” Luna accurately covered his mouth. “I couldn’t find the strength to try is as a filly,” her eyes shone treacherously again, “I couldn’t use it as Nightmare Moon… for the obvious reasons. But now I feel that it can serve thee much better than it could ever do in mine case. I want thee to take it, Alex! For it to keep thee safe, at which hour I can’t!” finished she emphatically.

“Obviously, I must officially entrust, hoof it to thee!” added she casually with a smile, taking a couple of steps back.

Completely abashed, unwittingly red as a carrot, as he didn’t feel that he earned such a gesture, Alex turned around, trying not to knock something down with his wings, and kneeled afore Luna, when her blue aura enveloped the helmet, lifting it from the dresser. In a moment it floated right above his head and a seditious thought flashed in Alex’s mind. ‘What if that magical helmet denies the new ownership now?’

As if dispelling his doubts, silvery shimmering helmet started changing upon approaching Alex; the latter didn’t feel a specific connection, but apparently there was some – the shape, repeating the pony head first, transformed, turning into a thin argent circlet, firmly resting on Alex’s head. Alex caught himself on feeling no additional weight or tension, the supposed new part of his armour fit as a glove; at the same time he definitely felt some presence, like one could feel an encouraging hand, or a hoof in this case, on their shoulder. With a smile Luna nodded and stepped back.

In the mirror Alex saw his still surprised face and a silvery thin metal band around his forehead, glowing in the candle light and slightly going down to his bridge with an arrow-like shape. It reminded him the cord, blacksmiths used to prevent their hair from falling into the view.

“So, this is how thy peaceful form looketh. Hmmm…” with a smile stated Luna. She answered the mute question in Alex’s eyes. “The helmet can change with time, as I said, it tryeth fitting thee the best way it can.”

“With all respect, mine love… Don’t get me wrong, I…” Alex examined himself in the mirror. “But how is the circlet supposed to protect me, being a… passive artefact, as you said?”

“Oh, Alex!” Luna’s reflection behind his back facehoofed jokingly. “Thy disbelief is incorrigible oft!”

“Exactly as I said, it listens to thee…” patiently, like to the foal, explained she once again. “Simply ask it to… well, to protect. To prepare for the battle! It’s thy task to find the common tongue with it now!”

Feeling that the task didn’t become easier after her explanation Alex tried to imagine, how one can address the “encouraging hoof” and ask it about something. Trying to concentrate on the circlet, to imagine himself in some trouble, to cause that sense of danger which called the adrenaline rush, Alex turned to Luna after a few minutes, shrugging with the most puzzled expression.

“I feel nothing…”

As usually, it occurred all of a sudden, Alex mostly felt, how the circlet started flowing, as if becoming ductile. Something definitely was happening over his head: he quickly turned to the mirror to observe, how the circlet began to change. At first it shimmered, as if was thinking over the best form, then the metal started darkening, resembling the rest of his armour in a moment. The thin peculiar pattern of lines flowed, spreading on the transforming artifact. It grew sharp leaf-like plates which raised above Alex’s brows, embracing his head and going down at his face sides, forming a proper closed helmet. Meanwhile, the nasal plate stretched forward and widened, eager to provide the protective visor: for a few seconds, which seemed the eternity to him, Alex struggled with that panicking feel of drowning, realizing that the effect spread to his face. When he risked inhaling, his relief was almost palpable: whatever the construction was, it allowed air get under it freely. Alex had to guess about the protective value of the helmet, looking at Luna through the barely visible film, like from inside of the giant soap bubble or as if there was some slightly refracting glass in front of his eyes.

“Hmmm… Fascinating!” Luna raised one eyebrow, her ears perked from curiosity. “But I must admit, it fits thee quite… Correlates with what we know of thy reaction to magic.”

“What?” own voice sounded a bit strange to Alex, like coming from the barrel, so he concluded that the helmet indeed covered his entire head and face.

“See for thyself!”

Bracing himself inwardly Alex turned to the mirror again. The helmet transformed entirely, from the thin circlet into a proper headpiece, flexibly attaching itself to the steel mail on Alex’s neck. The sharp spikes protruded from both sides and on top of the head, forming there a semblance of long, stretching back horns or some menacing crown. But the faceplate was something Alex expected the least: the endless surreal tunnel stared at him from the large mirror – the surface was smooth and glassy, made of the perfectly polished reflective material.

“Merlin’s pants!” squinting involuntarily Alex poked himself lightly into the cheek with his steel glove – the spikes slid off with the thin shivers-provoking sound, not leaving a single notch on that strange “glass”.

“I may say, thou makest the enemy taste their own dish aplenty, if ‘t be true I properly read that allegory.”

Turning around Alex saw Luna, comfortably nesting in the armchair and watching him with genuine interest.

“Well, let’s see if everything goes that cheerfully in the battle as it paints,” Alex pointed to his head.

“Comest closer, lief! Yes, aeons did nothing to exquisite work!” exclaimed the princess, adding quietly aside. “Thank you, father…”

“Thou knowest,” Luna tilted her head, “it’s so strange to talk to “myself”. Last time I did it over a thousand years afore… within much less peaceful circumstances,” she smirked.

“It’s, no doubt, awesome,” Alex shook his head. “But what if I want to… see my own face again.”

“As simple as afore!” Luna rolled eyes at her own reflection with a sigh. “Simply command it to open.”

The second time it went easier indeed, but with totally unpredictable nuance. The rainbow veil slid out of Alex’s sight, he felt the circlet nesting on his head again and… at the same time the unusual lightness throughout his entire body. With a sense of irreparable Alex took a look over himself; thankfully he put on a decent shirt and pants – the entire armour set was gone, like non-existent. The only thing remaining was the damned circlet on his head. With widened eyes he examined his arms, bringing the hands closer to the face in disbelief.

“What the flying…” Alex started in shock, but Luna raised with a triumphant smile.

“Now command it to prepare for the battle again, Alex!” she stated in a resolute voice, not giving him time to realize what happened or protest the sudden deprivation.

Alex threw a venomous glance at her; nevertheless, the shock of evident losing the result of a few months of hard work was so strong, he followed her advice doomedly, not hoping for anything remarkable. He closed his eyes and asked for that incident was his imagination, for all the armour to return, not seeing his body enveloped in the silvery glow again.

The higher was his amazement, when the armour returned, in all its weight, hardness and glory, accompanied with the weird spiky helmet; Alex froze on spot and Luna jumped joyfully, sparkles danced in her eyes.

“I heard of it having more features!” she looked like a filly finding more presents under the Hearth-warming tree than she expected and even her next phrase couldn’t spoil the joy of her discovery. “Father didn’t have time to tell us the details…”

“It’s so wondrous that we found out about them in such prodigious circumstances!” Alex retorted with sarcasm. “I admit, losing some armour is, no question, better than losing the head, but what if…”

“Alex!” groaned Luna. “When dost thou learn to trust me? If I said it was safe, it was safe…” she blew a raspberry. “I didn’t simply expect it to have such advantages.”

“But thou suspected… Confess ‘t!” dropped Alex jokingly grumpy. “Oh, I so adore others experimenting on me…”

“I’m sorry, Alex…” Luna downcasted. “I should have remembered…” started she apologetically, when the trumpeting sound from under the helmet made her stop; Alex simply laughed.

“Thou! Incorrigible mocker, thou…” Luna stomped her hoof, realizing that grabbing and squeezing Alex wouldn’t be smart, while he was in his armour. “Well, I shan’t deny, I suspected something… spectacular…” She let out a teasing smile, then added simply. “Tryest to remove the helmet only, mine love!”

It worked easier with each iteration and in a second Alex stood as he was at the beginning of their talk – in his armour and with the familiar now circlet on the head.

“Knowest what,” musingly said Luna after a moment of silence. “Tryest to remove the armour now… I saw the notable marks on thy shoulders, lief! Whatever thou may tell, that armour is heavy enough…”

“I can’t do anything yet,” shrugged Alex, after another glow wave running over him and taking away the steel, so he stayed in his usual pants and sleeveless shirt. “It’s still hard for me to use common shirts with my wings,” he glanced shortly at the reddened skin on his arms, where armour pressed too hard. “I need to adapt, the sooner the better. You simplified my life greatly, my love, if I don’t need to spend hours to pack myself, it’s just awesome! But… what if I need to change or replace some armour piece?”

“Oh! Methinks it can be done easily,” with a laughter Luna joined him in front of the mirror. “Simply bring on the armour, then take off or replace what thou needst. The armour isn’t a part of the helmet, it only hideth the armour for thee, at which hour necessary.” She nuzzled Alex’s hair gently.

“I can’t thank you enough, Luna!” Alex shook his head, squinting from the warm lavender breath tickling his neck.

“Dost not thank me but mine father, lief!” said Luna lightly, like a silver bell rang. “And I… I shall be happy seeing his work living and doing its job, as he desired.”

“What will Tia say about that, I wonder?” watching their reflection Alex fell into deep thoughts. “Sometimes it seems, she fears me, no matter how fantastic it sounds. Sometimes – what I may become probably… She will feel uneasy at the very least with anything adding to my capabilities.”

“I heard about… the school, Alex,” added Luna quietly. “And thou shan’t deny, Tia is on thy side after all. She may have her concerns, but that doth not prevent her from treating thee adequately.”

“But…” Alex stumbled, throwing a quick glance at her eyes he said. “Yes, you’re right, my love!”

“Thou shan’t take it onto thy account only, Alex,” Luna cuddled him from behind softly, the warm embrace comforted, promised relaxation. “Methinks that’s not only and mostly thee, whom, as thou tellest, Tia feareth,” added she mysteriously, then added, foreseeing Alex’s question. “Me neither, despite the thoughts of the past and that I can “play up as the older sister”,” she chuckled at that idea, “definitely visited her cute head. Well, the latter was reconsidered since the gala!” Luna in the mirror glanced at her human slyly. Alex was about to melt in her cuddle, almost lulled, when she decided to elaborate.

“But it’s not us bothering her, even now. Methinks she is feareth to not prevent, not notice something, she should notice no matter what… as she is convinced by the popular neigh. The failure itself, making a mistake, which can backfire, while being easy to avoid if noticed in time,” Luna met Alex’s glance in the mirror. “Ruling the whole country, even more than that, thinking about thy folk daily, without holidays or vacations, that’s nev’r an easy job.”

“Shalt she succeed or fail… Only the consequences can show,” added Luna pensively. “But regardless of what others can say, to what befalleth, she always hath one more judge, the strictest one – herself!”

“Constantly under the pressing of that possible mistake, not because of the consequences, but simply because she “could have done better”… And considering the past…” she sighed. “Thou appeared as the perfect occasion for that mistake to befall. Tis not the only reason, but a quite strong one, mindst that, Alex.”

“Yeah, I don’t envy her…” slowly said Alex, throwing a mischievous glance at Luna. “Ruling the country brings some stress definitely, but on top of that… Having a sister, who sees a bit deeper than desired, knows all the dark corners of yourself… better than you at times. That must be quite a life experience!”

“Well…” Luna blinked modestly. “I have no idea…”

Alex burst out laughing, making the mirror quiver, but the next moment choked on it, Luna’s lips touched behind Alex’s ear slowly travelling down his neck to the shoulder, turning him breathless at once.

“Thou knowest, what’s the best advantage I value…” breathed she out. “This!” not waiting for an answer Luna squeezed him tighter, snuggling into Alex and wrapping her fore legs around his chest. “As long as thy armour isn’t an obstacle anymore…” she almost purred, playfully biting his ear.

Feeling her heating touch Alex wanted to say something, but the next Luna’s move tore a meaningless whimper off his mouth – slowly and tenderly the alicorn girl started preening his wings margins, slyly watching his reaction in the mirror. Luna’s eyes shone, while Alex melted in her embrace, subconsciously half-spreading the wings and biting his lip at each her caress.

“Now thou knowest, what I was talking about!” giggled she in joking revenge, watching cross-eyed Alex arching his back in chills, as she nuzzled and rubbed his wings again. “What?” Alex breathed out something, almost moaned, Luna could only make out “temptress”.

“Wantest me to use that polymorph magic again, like at the Gala, mine love?” she breathed into his ear, snuggling into Alex.

“No,” by titanic willpower Alex managed to turn around in her fore legs and focus on Luna’s shimmering eyes. “I love you as you are!” whispered he, before the princess covered his lips with a fervent kiss, pulling with her…

“Ah, here you both are. Finally! You gave me more than enough time to think!” Celestia turned and glanced meaningfully at Luna and Alex entering the throne hall behind her back. “Ahem…” The mixture of concern, slight reproach and at the same time carefully yet unsuccessfully concealed understanding amusement in her eyes seemed funny to Alex, but he made the maximum effort not to break out; Luna kept modest silence arching one eyebrow and rendered Alex’s effort twice harder.

Princess’ eyes stopped at him in the casual clothes instead of the armour, almost making Celestia drop a little scroll she held with her magic. The Sun Princess alternated blankly between her sister and the human, when she finally noticed another, significantly more important detail about the latter. She peered fixedly into something dimly glowing on Alex’s head – the thin silvery “circlet”; Celestia’s eyes widened, ears flattened and her mouth turned into a classic surprised “o” for a second, when recognition made her aura fade for a wink and the scroll fell, rolling down the steps.

“LUNA!”

The blue alicorn girl cocked her head with an expression of polite and keen interest in her slyly shimmering eyes; the flowing lavender mane drew an “?” sign in the air for a moment.

“Did… did you give him the…” Celestia seemingly dealt with herself, yet still stumbled on words a bit. “Do you know…”

“Naturally!” calmly stated Luna, heading towards the thrones and nodding Alex to follow. “And of course I know, sunny!” she chuckled, throwing a meaningful glance at her sister. Alex prudently stopped in front of the elevated steps, while Luna placed a pacifying kiss on sisters cheek, nuzzling her lightly to calm.

“First of all, it’s mine heritage, Tia, and I know what the artefact is capable of…”

‘Now even better!’ inwardly smirked Alex, watching the sisters.

“… and it’s mine choice – whom to gift it with,” added Luna softly, but nopony could deny adamant confidence of her words. “But, answering the rest of thy questions, I can explain,” she presented Celestia with a bright smile.

“Methinks thou shan’t deny that it can solve Alex’s problem perfectly. Well… at least for now,” Luna subtly winked at Alex, “until he starteth making pony helmets. Besides, I find it wondrous that something gathering dust for over a thousand years finally findeth its use.”

Celestia opened and closed her mouth, still unable to believe her eyes; her sister wasn’t a filly, but that looked an act of pure emotions, whenever Celestia tried to find another explanation to the deed.

“And to dispel thy doubts arrantly…” Luna glanced at her sister meaningfully. “I suppose thou recallest the main feature of that helmet, correct?” Celestia nodded shortly and Luna continued. “The mere fact that the helmet accepteth Alex as its owner telleth us that… that thy worries are exaggerated and far-fetched, to neigh the least, sunny!”

Instead of an answer Celestia let out a deep sigh, but her magenta eyes returned to their usual size and shape and her ears didn’t express the extreme anxiety anymore. She looked at Luna, then shifted to Alex watching him for a few long minutes fixedly, while Alex did his best to look an epitome of peacefulness and safety (inwardly fearing that he failed drastically at that anyway), then at Luna again…

“Okay!” inwardly bracing herself the princess picked up the scroll with her aura again. “I admit that those Seekers started providing some serious threat lately rather than some accidental damage. Making us all overly nervous and suspicious at times and…” Celestia pursed her lips at the decision. “And must be confronted by capable and correspondingly equipped soldiers and mages. Your invention indeed can provide necessary protection for them, especially if you invent some protection from the mental influence of the monsters either. Hopefully, your armour can save some lives.”

‘And I hope it will be used for that only…’ added she inwardly.

“So…” Celestia fell silent for a moment, then continued with a little sigh, levitating the scroll to the human. “By the Royal Word…”

With a sinking heart Alex broke the seal and unrolled the short document, brushing through quickly. ‘By that Sun and Moon duarchs… Celestia… Luna Selena… permit… Permit!!!’ Alex’s eyes shone, he let the scroll roll back and bowed to the princesses.

“Thanks! Your Highness… you shan’t regret that decision, in the earnest! I… We shall do our best! Old Willsmash…” he choked on words with feelings.

“Yes, Will… Surprisingly, you managed to do something I failed for many years!” with a tiny smile Celestia waved her fore hoof in the air permissively, while Alex stepped forward catching it and holding for a second, making the pristine white cheeks flush.

“Thanks, Tia!..” he dropped passionately, then stumbled unsure about the reaction, but Celestia quickly nodded, flushing a bit more and subtly pulling her hoof, visibly relaxing, when he let it go.

“Ahem…” Celestia’s nose funnily twitched, when she tried to keep the straight face under the smiling glance of her sister.

“I must apologize, but I need to get back to Ponyville,” Alex looked at the windows meaningfully, the Sun almost reached their level, shining into the hall directly and painting everything into various tints of gold and bronze. “Before the sunset preferably, as I usually check the surroundings…”

“Thou dost not have very much time for that, lief!” Luna passed her sister graciously, approaching the human with a smile. “Art thou sure…”

“Pretty much. Now the road… the flight back will be even easier. Thanks to your gift, mine… princess!” Alex broke into a smile as well, then glanced at Luna slyly. “I bet I’ll be there, before you raise your light, Luna!”

“We shall see,” with a silvery laughter Luna sat in front of him, putting her head on Alex’s shoulder and nuzzling his neck softly; she wrapped her fore leg around him tight, while Alex stroked her shoulders lightly.

Celestia quietly coughed, looking aside and doing her best not to let the eyes return to her sister and Alex sharing a tender kiss. Instead of that, she kept pretending of watching her Sun with exaggerated interest, right until the quick steps told her the human finally left. She almost winced of surprise, when Luna’s soft wing held her in the warm hug.

“Thou shall see, thou didst correctly,” murmured Luna, snuggling to the sister and nuzzling her cheek.

“I would like to be as positive about all that as you are, Lulu…” Celestia slowly shook her head. “Are you absolutely sure that the helmet’s… “intuition” can always be trusted?”

Luna smiled, somehow regret and lightness mixed into her expression.

“I am, Tia, for I have reasons. It didn’t let me use it, while being Nightmare Moon… nev’r… no matter how sincerely I believed that mine reign would be beneficial for the whole Equestria!”

‘There must be something connecting all these events, something common…’ That question occupied Alex’s mind for the last couple of days; when he wasn’t occupied otherwise, Alex inwardly returned to summarizing the Seekers incidents, or tried to. Admittedly, information at his disposal wasn’t enough to conclude something confidently. Given they knew that the Seekers were literally searching for something, it was natural to assume their aim should have been that common motive sewing all the cases in one logical array. Recalling them Alex had the old mill incident, the one he dropped amidst and was to improvise fast, the warehouse – when he at least knew what to do with the intruders (despite them starting to materialize provided a big surprise for him). Then he was to follow Twilight to save the fillies in the Apples’ orchard, then the dam… Alex inwardly shuddered at that memory, it never ceased to haunt him, fresh as if it happened yesterday, not over a month ago. The last one, Alex witnessed personally was the Seeker at Ponyville school causing the fire. At the same time he knew about a few incidents from princesses words and assumed there were more minor occasions, unmentioned due to commonness.

‘Commonness…’ Alex wryly smirked to his thoughts. ‘That’s not the routine everypony would wish for Equestria. Alas, I must admit it becomes regrettably common indeed. Common, even if arrant abnormal!’ Another thought bothered him. ‘How many Seekers may roam Equestria at the moment, unnoticed if arriving in some inhabited area?’

Deep in his thought he slowly mingled with the herd at the market, grateful for his, wholeheartedly approved by Twilight, habit to make a shopping list. Otherwise his bucket would be a complete mess, as Alex hardly watched carefully its contents, automatically following his own program of purchases. However, he had a faint suspicion that he stopped at the same stall twice already, considering by the strange glance of the vendor – the stallion served him with an unspoken question in the eyes.

It was an early morning, the Sun lazily lit the treetops and roofs, leaving the ground and stalls in a light shade; the time was chosen by Alex specifically as he supposed the market place would be mildly herded giving him space and time to proceed calmly. Unfortunately, it looked like half of Ponyville assumed the same, filling the square, yawning and cringing lightly from the morning chill, the breeze unequivocally reminded of approaching October. With a sigh Alex once again checked his list, trying to build the optimal path across not to jostle with the herd more than absolutely necessary.

Apparently, his absent-mindedness played a bad joke on him and he failed his task, passing the same row of stalls again. However, Alex had more important things to concern about.

‘…The first registered incident happened not in Equestria at all, but in the Crystal Empire,’ Alex hunched over his thoughts, his wings almost touched the ground, his speed halved. “I’m sorry…” muttered he to the mare he touched lightly with his bucket. ‘I must ask Tia for details, I know almost nothing about the initial events there… then that case leaving the… “mind-flushed” unicorn, the last occasion making Celestia change her mind about the armour. I’m sure there were more and I know nothing about them…’

‘Assumingly, considering what I know about those bastards, magic or some certain kind of it could attract them. What else could the magically created drones look for in the land permeated with magic in every living aspect?’ he scratched his nape. ‘But that doesn’t compute then… What brought them to the orchard or school in that case?’

“Hey, move on, you overgrown pegasus!” a light nudge in the back, softened by his wings, returned Alex to the reality. The grumpy voice wasn’t hostile, but it appeared that Alex stopped in the narrow passage between the stalls, completely blocking it for the mid-age stallion and his wife. Obviously, they didn’t plan to keep watching the large black wings for the rest of the morning, seeing that their owner not buying anything.

“Excuse you?” Alex turned around, not hearing the surprised whoop; his absent glance slid over the ponies’ heads there, where the familiar cerise coat and light mane near the grocery stalls attracted his attention at once. Muttering an apology Alex squeezed past the dumbfounded earth ponies and rushed, as much as the herded place allowed, towards the mare; thankfully it wasn’t hard to keep her in sight from his height. Crossing the square he did his best to keep the wings tightly folded, thinking that his rush gained too much attention already.

“Excuse me, Miss Cheerilee!” catching up with her finally Alex took his breath and hid his excitement behind the neutral polite mien; he hoped for his voice not jumping an octave. “Good morning!”

“Oh… Good morning!” startled of surprise first the mare relaxed, when her recognizing glance stopped at his face, bringing a kind smile on her muzzle. “How can I help you,.. Alex?”

Giving her time to pay for her purchase and turn, devoting him all the attention, Alex asked the question, which bothered him lately, but the most subtle way not to draw the attention to what yet remained his unproven theory.

“You probably can indeed, miss Cheerilee,” Alex leaned closer to her ear, lowering the tone – the word dropped at the market could spread across the town like a bonfire. “You see... I am partially guilty of what befell at the school methinks. Well… locking that creature in the storage room, etcetera…”

The mare let out another smile, rolling her eyes jokingly, as if asking the human not to fixate on such conventionalities, but Alex wasn’t going to give up easily.

“Of course, princess Celestia… errmmm… restored everything to its usual state,” he shrugged, as they slowly walked through the square. “But if anything’s gone missing during the incident… I would like to compensate for the loss, I unwittingly brought. So, I thought you may know, what was lost during the fire… If you do, of course.”

Miss Cheerilee blinked, not catching the thread of his thoughts completely; amused by Alex’s suggestion she gave a heartily laugh.

“Oh, you shouldn’t worry that much indeed!” she shook her head, looking up at the human. “The storage held pretty common things, I assure you. Nothing particularly crucial or irretrievable, Alex. Besides, as you properly mentioned, Her Highness was so kind to restore everything that suffered from the fire…” miss Cheerilee faintly shuddered from that memory. “Of course, I know approximately what was there… Thank you, by the way, for concerning…”

“Yet anyway…” Alex was softly insistent.

“Okay…” the mare sighed humorously and hoofed her chin remembering. “Let me see then… different sorts of educational supplies mostly. Well, microscopes and lancets, different vessels for biology and alchemy classes…” she started enumerating, jokingly meticulously, still puzzled by Alex’s question, providing him a long list of quite common things for every school, but Alex caught and paid attention to every word, causing another smile on miss Cheerilee’s muzzle.

“… loads of alchemic ingredients… I hope I don’t need to remember the exact list,” she chuckled softly. “Obviously, we store everything which can easily react separately. Old maps and atlases. Maybe a couple of mops… and… Yes, that’s pretty much it. Everything is back obviously. But…”

Alex shook his head, nothing from her list rang the bell for him yet. ‘We know that the Seekers don’t attack ponies on purpose, their effects are mere… byproduct, in the case they can’t avoid the contact. So, that one hardly was attracted by the students’ herd there. It should have been something else…’

“Oh, there was one more thing,” suddenly remembered miss Cheerilee, making Alex wake and prick up his ears. “We got a party of magic crystals for the practical experiments shortly before the accident. You know, they are used as energy sources and so on. Well, those have gone missing indeed. Don’t know why, but princess Celestia couldn’t restore them with the rest of the things. And… it’s unusual indeed, if you ask. So, we need to wait for the replacement.”

“But you shouldn’t worry, Alex,” repeated she. “The school has already ordered everything necessary. We should thank you and Rainbow Dash for help, not expect any compensation!” she slowly shook her head.

‘The crystals… That must be them… If Tia couldn’t restore… then they must have… reacted with the Seeker somehow… I don’t see any other explanation. But how doth that correlate with all the other cases?..’ Alex inhaled deeply, mentally counting to ten while trying to calm down his heart and breath.

“Well, anyway…” Alex shrugged, masking his excitement behind a smile.

“Then you need to talk to the Headmaster,” miss Cheerilee rolled her eyes jokingly.

“That was the plan actually,” Alex made a wide indefinite gesture. “And… ordered? Are they a problem to obtain. I thought they should be common here, in Equestria.”

“…and discuss with him the details. If you insist that much… Yes, we have a few places they are produced, but somehow our usual manufacturer apologized for the delay this time. Don’t know why…” she glanced at him puzzledly. “But that’s such a trivia. The main thing is – everypony’s safe!”

“I extend mine hope, all the students are fine, specifically from your class, miss Cheerilee. That experience should appear quite traumatic.” Nodded Alex; together they slowly passed the stalls and as both completed their shopping lists, insensibly left the market place.

“Oh, surprisingly yes,” miss Cheerilee exhaled with sincere relief. “I thought the whole incident would affect a few of them more… but, they were rather high about the delayed test. You know those school-foals,” she smirked, but without any reproach for the hay-heads.

Involuntarily Alex remembered his own first teacher, inwardly admitting, that was exactly the ideal image of one for the younger classes: she was vivid, cheerful, young and kind, not bored by her profession, always ready to discover something new and share it with her class – right like miss Cheerilee. Both easily conformed the task of being kids’ and respectively foals’ second moms at school; that rare luck lit only some children’s life.

However his thoughts quickly slid down the habitual for the last few days route: Alex came to the conclusion, he needed more information about all the incidents, especially those he didn’t take part in. At least more information about the places they happened – the idea there must be something common for all the cases was too unconstrained to avoid his mind. Alex totally missed that fact, they were walking in complete silence for quite a while; he was deep in his inward research and miss Cheerilee simply kept quiet politely, noticing the human’s concerns.

“Well… I’m sorry, but I really need to hurry…” miss Cheerilee cleared her throat unobtrusively, throwing a quick glance at the Clock Tower. “It was a pleasure, but the studies won’t wait. And, thank you again, Alex! Alex?..”

He finally woke, realizing that they reached the western edge of the town already. ‘How long did I keep silent? Oh, the awkwardness…’

“It’s there to the school for me from here and… supposedly north to the Library for you,” the mare smiled understandingly. “Have a nice day, Alex. And… don’t take that incident close to the heart, you really did what you could.”

Alex returned the smile apologetically, waving her goodbye. Miss Cheerilee crossed the bridge, heading towards the grove on the other side hiding the school from the direct sight; Alex watched her automatically, while his thoughts circled the usual things: the school, the dam, the apple orchard, other places amidst he had no idea where… the crystals…

‘Maybe… I should check the places from the geological point of view…’ the sudden idea seemed so beguiling it made his wings unfurl; Alex broke into a smile. ‘I know, where I need to be at that moment!’

Without losing a minute more he rushed north up the street, holding his bags tight and paying no attention to the surprised looks of the ponies, who turned after him seeing off his receding wings, which no doubt slowed down their owner’s run.

The letter caught Alex in the evening: when everypony paid due attention to their dinner, Twilight levitated an envelope across the table. Even through her aura Alex was able to notice the familiar logo from the first sight. He wondered what Steam Company could need, with Will they managed to complete their job in time and current problems were sorted. The envelope looked relatively thin though, Alex tore the flap, extracted the folded message and ran the text through.

“It’s cool that he is using the common methods of delivery,” casually dropped Spike, throwing a sly glance at Twilight. “The last but one letter looked quite large and thick to me…”

“Oh, come one, Alex doesn’t send or receive too much mail anyway!” Twilight couldn’t stifle a laughter, properly reading her dragon aide insinuation.

“Well, of course, nopony can top you, Twi, in using letters,” chuckled Spike. “No chance! Still I’m glad to be free of burping blueprints. Lots of them!”

The muffled snicker made them both turn to the human, but Alex didn’t hear them, being ears deep in the message.

“What do they write?” Twilight’s voice became wary, she leaned forward a bit. “Everything is okay, I hope…”

“Yeah, definitely!” Alex emerged from reading, but his eyes looked through the girl and his expression seemed strange, a mixture of surprise, light shock and… Twilight wasn’t sure what else it was. “Canterlot Steam Company offers me a job officially. They want me to work for them directly, suggesting to take a whole metalwork department… and further a separate factory,” finally explained Alex with a nervous chuckle. ‘That must be one of the guards. Damn!’ swore him inwardly. ‘Somepony let out the information, to the wife, close friend… and as a result it reached the corporate fluffy ears finally,’ Alex sighed. “There is one aspect though…”

That factory wasn’t different, compared to any other situated in the industrial area of Canterlot at the northern mountain foothills, so the accidental smoke or another emission wouldn’t reach the living district high on the mountain face. Owned by Canterlot Steam Company or any other, they all were similar, some even like twins, as the main purpose was the utility, not the visual appeal – so, one may find out which one they got into by the signboard at factory entrance only.

The only noticeable difference was, when all other facilities in the area finished their daily work, that one only started its shift, due to some strange reasons, ponies from the nearby facilities got accustomed too very soon. Despite the natural curiosity, nopony aspired to find out why, as the object was classified. The only thing citizens knew – the foundry produced advanced materials for the Steam Company since the day one of its opening.

Thus when other plants opened their gates in the evening, spilling out the tired, satisfied or not, work pony masses, this one only prepared to let in its nightly crew. They worked in a few shifts, as it was quite hard for ponies to go without the sunlight for a long while.

Last rays of Sun shone softly on the brick walls of the giant building, swept almost lovingly its closed territory with auxiliary facilities behind the high fence wall and faded in all the tints of golden, pink and crimson at the west edge of the sky, denoting the end of Celestia’s daily court. Slowly falling evening chill suppressed the persistent smells of oil, coal and heated metal, which filled the area during the day so densely, that one could probably hang an axe on them. Waiting for the twilight only, thick evening fog leisurely slid from the mountain to be evaporated by the heat as soon as the factory started working at full power.

The bright electric lights turned on, flooding the whole territory around the main building, welcoming the coming through the main gates stream of ponies. The latter resembled Luna’s Night Watch: mostly stallions, having a good sleep at day time, rested, they lively talked, diverging to their workplaces.

Greeting the next shift like giant guards, the blast furnaces and rolling-mills lined the walls of the huge long hall, so large that its far wall faded in the view, when one stood at the entrance. Everything was lit like by daylight, offering the perfect conditions for production; machinery ready to go, tools in exemplar order – that was the natural rule for the previous shift, otherwise the chief (work ponies said that word with unplayed respect) “could be upset”. However, they all waited for something or somepony, not starting their duties; furnaces remained barely ignited, the mode they were kept all day long not to cool them down completely.

Some noise reached everypony’s ears from outside, the loud wings flapping changed by the steps on yard gravel, all the heads of workers turned to the entrance unwittingly. The large double doors flew open, revealing the dark against outside lamps bipedal figure. It stepped into the lit hall, folding the black wings seemingly more than of six yards spread.

His heavy steps boomed in the long building as the human passed the machinery by; he was clad in some kind of armour, made from dark metal with wavy patterns all over its surface. All by themselves the double doors closed. However, the workers greeted the newcomer cheerfully, no fear or concern was caused by that arrival. He nodded to everypony in his turn, pacing up and heading to the far end of the hall.

The first pair of furnaces passed by that human huffed softly, but sonorously, and started heating up, entering the working state. Ponies picked up their tools and got ready to process the metal, while the endless bands of conveyors under the high ceiling jerked and ran, speeding little by little, yet idle, but preparing to deliver ore components.

Each machinery the human passed started working, heating up and gaining momentum; out of place tools slid to their destination, loosely closed tray of one furnace shut tight with a loud clank.

The hall ended with a stepped elevation and a semblance of specifically durable armchair on top of it. Reaching that platform the human turned to the facility and, throwing one more evaluating glance around the foundry, took his seat. The wings spread a bit not to get cramped in that “throne”. As if obeying some unvoiced order blast furnaces hummed juicily, throwing out beams of light – the work night started.

He had little time, before he would be addressed with different work questions, Alex sighed and rested his chin on the fist, watching his domain.

“Ughhh!” Alex shook his head, dispelling the vision, then noticed Twilight addressing him. “What? Sorry, Twi!”

“I asked, if you were going to accept their offer,” repeated Twilight, her eyes scanned him with curiosity and specific attention. “Are you okay, Alex? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Nearly,” Alex exhaled. “I just imagined something… No way, I’m perfectly fine as I am. Not mentioning that it would be extremely unfair towards Willsmash, simply treacherous… I’m not going to trade his… our smithy for being the chief and at the same time the engine of their facility. Huh, “King of the Factory”?! What do they even think about?” Alex’s huff was an epitome of frustration, he turned the letter over, ready to write his answer immediately.

Twilight’s concern vanished, making the way for a warm smile.

Author's Note

Cookies to those who guess whither the attacked factory was situated (which equestrian city) :pinkiehappy:

20. Nightmare Knight

Author's Note

20. Nightmare Knight

The loud dry crash woke Fluttershy, pulling her from the deep sleep and warm comfy bed at once. Pushing away the blanket, she sat and stared in front of her for a few moments trying to understand, if the sound disturbing her was real or simply a part of her dream. Which, frankly speaking, she forgot already. The room was flooded with darkness and no light came through the curtains from outside.

Fluttershy listened carefully: the rattle of rain on the windowsill and roof, plaintive cries of the wind and rare distant blasts of thunder told her that the latest forecast was correct. They said it was going to be a thunderstorm that night, but nopony warned it would be so strong. The pegasus girl checked Angel curling next to her on the blanket and hiding his nose under the paw. Seeking protection and comfort the rabbit sneaked to his master and slept, anxiously twitching his ear from time to time when sounds of thunder reached through the house walls.

With a tiny smile, Fluttershy covered him with the edge of the blanket and slid to the floor; she approached the window, not lighting the lamp, and tried her best to see anything through the gap between the curtains. Nothing, except the wall of rain, a few leaves flying by behind the glass and chaotic waving of the twigs of the nearest tree, which can be seen through the night, not even lit by the Moon, which hid behind the dense, fast running clouds. Unable to disperse the darkness, frantically swaying electric light was the only tiny sparkle in the back yard. The wind raged like an unleashed beast, forcedly hitting the glass at times and adding strained creaking of the trees to the night sounds.

Not finding the source of the noise waking her, Fluttershy returned to bed and tried to fall asleep again. It became a harder task, as she couldn’t help but thinking about her animal friends, living outside, for example, the hens in the coop. Realizing that they must be protected by the solid well-made shed, both from the chilling wind and the harm the raging elements can inflict, she couldn’t make herself stop worrying nevertheless. Fluttershy was to remind herself that all her little friends were safe, otherwise, she would have felt something already; finally, she managed to plunge into the restless sleep again, curling under the blanket and pulling peacefully sniffing Angel closer.

The next morning was a perfect example of strange randomness of the weather in Autumn, in October specifically; when one day seemed like the heaven aqueducts split opened and all the elements in the world broke loose, while on another the weather could hardly be finer making it hard to distinguish if it was still Autumn or Spring began already. That morning was one of the latter: skies cleared up and the rising sun quickly dispelled autumn chillness, warming up the valley, the fields and sneaking between the remaining leaves into Fluttershy’s window.

Fluttershy woke up when the first rays reached through the curtains, which she forgot to shut tightly last night, and warmly tickled her nose. The room miraculously changed, not provoking gloomy thoughts anymore; the girl stayed in the bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, brightly lit, so even the brown wooden beams looked completely different, lighter and homely. She tried to remember what disturbed her amidst the night. While she pondered if it was only in her dream or she actually got up, trying to see something in the back yard, Angel stretched and yawned widely, getting out of his blanket nest; he twitched his pink nose funnily and made a Victory sign with his ears, glancing at puzzled Fluttershy inquiringly.

“Oh, Angel, you must be hungry, dear!” she finally paid attention to him impatiently tapping with his hind paw. “Just a moment longer…”

Fluttershy jumped out of the bed, guided out of the bedroom and downstairs by the sudden idea; the rabbit blinked twice then rushed after her. To his surprise that run didn’t end in the kitchen, but rather continued out of the front door; Fluttershy stopped in the garden, under her bedroom window and tried to imagine vividly her midnight awakening. Finally, stepping accurately on the fallen leaves and avoiding the open ground, still wet and slippery, she headed deeper amidst the trees with a heavy foreboding, followed closely by Angel, who couldn’t understand why the so important breakfast became suddenly delayed.

The image opening to their sight brought tears to the girl’s eyes and even the usually unflappable rabbit turned up his head, staring with flattened ears – the large maple tree, one Fluttershy loved to sit under so much, probably the oldest and largest tree in her garden, was severely hurt by the overnight storm. Thankfully the rain was so strong that the tree didn’t catch on fire, but an unfortunate lightning bolt hit the maple in the middle of its fork so hard, the long crack ran down the trunk separating it into two thinner halves almost to the ground. Fluttershy could reach the end of the crack standing on her hind legs and stretching. Angel sat and watched it silently with opened mouth, impressed beyond imaginable.

Granted the trunk halves were strong enough to keep standing, but the mass of the branches from both sides made their task harder; upcoming stronger winds and snow could easily break one or even both of the parts, destroying the arboreal giant completely. Tears streamed down the yellow cheeks, Fluttershy couldn’t and wasn’t going to hold them: that tree was more than her friend, as long as she remembered herself, that old maple was there. Fluttershy loved to spend evenings under that tree, despite the sunsets were not visible from that spot, and watch the far-flung east orchard peacefully waving its crowns behind the field. They had picnics there when other girls visited her and… somehow their short dates with Alex, when he circled the town and surroundings nightly, happened in its vast shade as well. Of course, Fluttershy didn’t grow the maple from the small seed, watching it flourish and mature, but that didn’t make her feel less for the wounded tree.

“Calamity! What can I do…” sinking to the ground and staring helplessly at the wide, cracked trunk Fluttershy didn’t notice herself asking that aloud, neither she noticed at once Angel lightly tapping her side with his paw. “Oh! What, Angel?”

The rabbit poked with his fluffy paw somewhere behind his shoulder then he pretended to take off an imaginary hat and dusting it off by smacking on his hip, finally, he perked the ears, glancing at the girl expectantly.

“A-Applejack?” Fluttershy thought that she recognized his pantomime. “Yes… She must know what to do in that case, you’re right Angel. Thank you, dear!” And, placing a small kiss on his snoot, she stormed away in a wink.

Flushed and flattered Angel could only sigh and roll his eyes, watching the lush pink tail flashing between the trees; apparently, the breakfast was delayed even more than he could have expected.

Promptly avoiding the cold and humid field, where the remnants of fog slowly but inevitably gave up positions to the gaining sunlight, Fluttershy rushed down the road to Ponyville. In a matter of minutes, she passed the old white barn, then cut sharply to the left, when the grassy field was replaced by the sparse strip of the forest – the west orchard buffer grove neighboured the town there. Pushing through the bushes and diving under the low branches, Fluttershy ran, paying no attention to the small twigs pulling her mane and dropping leaves on her. The tears dried out in the wind; biting her lip, the girl thought about the tree. What if they couldn’t do anything in time? She crossed a couple of streams over narrow wooden bridges and entered another road separating the apple trees from the grove; Sweet Apple Acres was already visible on the edge of the orchard, which extended as far as the eye could see.

Feeling her sides aching from the mad gallop – she probably set her personal record reaching the farm in less than half an hour – Fluttershy took her breath and headed to the buildings. The sun already dried shorter grass there and the wind was bringing the warm smell of hay, making Fluttershy calm down a bit.

‘If there is anypony knowing everything about trees in Ponyville, that must be Applejack, she knows how to heal the tree wounds… anything that can be healed at least.’

Passing the windmill lazily stirring the morning air, she noticed that the doors of the large red barn were unlocked; the noise coming from inside told Fluttershy that Apples already woke, starting their workday. With loud barking Winona sprung out and started jumping around Fluttershy joyfully, recognizing their guest at once. The girl was to stop for a moment and pat the dog on her head, before approaching the barn, which seemed dark inside after the bright morning. The motes and hay blades danced in the light coming through half-open doors; the hay covered floor at the entrance was slightly wet. A bit further numerous haystacks piled up in two large stalls, going into the dark depths of the long barn.

“Morning, Fluttershy!” Applejack waved her fore hoof, then grabbed the rope with her teeth, pulled forcedly and threw the bale of hay onto her back. “We left a few stacks right behind the doors yesterday,” explained she, disappearing in the shadows; with a light grunt, she put her burden into the pile. “Thank Celestia, none of ‘em got wet during the storm!”

“Hey, pal, what’s happened?” appearing in the sight again Applejack finally noticed ruffled and heavily breathing Fluttershy. “Ah haven’t seen you that worried for ages.” She came closer and looked into her friend’s eyes with concern, then called for order the tail-wagging dog. “Calm down, Winona!”

“That… storm…” Fluttershy took her breath. “Applejack, the large maple tree in my garden… I-I don’t know, maybe it was the wind… or maybe the lightning struck it. It’s almost broken in half!” she sniffed and looked at her friend almost pleadingly. “I thought that you might help. I mean… if anypony knows how to treat tree wounds, that must be you, Jackie…”

“Oh, Ah see…” Applejack let out a tiny smile. “Of course, partner, Ah’m coming with ya, if it is so important. Give me a minute…”

With a short thankful nod, Fluttershy watched Applejack carrying and throwing into the stack two remaining bales, closing the barn doors and telling Winona to stay at the farm to some displeasure of the dog.

“Okay, I’m ready!” Applejack dusted off her stetson with such a familiar move, which would make Fluttershy smile under different circumstances.

“You look like you ran all the way to the farm, mate…” noticed she, when they passed the gate and hit the road to the town. “Did you really?” seeing Fluttershy shrugging exclaimed Applejack. “Why didn’t you simply fly?”

“I guess, it was stronger than me…” quietly said Fluttershy and flushed to the roots. “As usual in such cases.”

“Hmm, it must be serious,” Applejack shook the head; Fluttershy kept silence, trotting forward intently so she made her friend even pace up a bit.

“I don’t know…” finally dropped she, looking at Applejack with hope. “That’s why I called you, only you can tell. It does look serious to me.”

“Well… We use tar to patch up the small wounds and cracks,” said Applejack, when they crossed the grove, leaving Ponyville on their left. “But something tells me it’s not yar case, right?”

Fluttershy only sighed heavily.

“You see, normally trees can heal pretty well,” explained Applejack, trying to cheer up her upset friend a bit. “The main thing is, how fast you can close the wound and pull the parts together tightly… before the crack edges dry up completely.”

“That’s what I feared the most,” whispered Fluttershy when they cut the road through the grove again. “I seriously don’t know how you manage to help, as the main trunk is almost slit in halves, but I am to try at least.”

“Let me see it first, then Ah can tell,” Applejack followed Fluttershy trotting between the trees in a calmer manner; bringing over friend’s support the girl seemed to relax but only a little. Applejack preferred the practical approach to the emotional one. “There are two main enemies in yar case, partner: the worst is anythin’ that can get into the crack – water, dirt, vermin, anything foreign to the tree, got it? And another is tree’s, well, its parts’ own weight – strong winds can make the damage worse.”

“When you tell it that way, it makes me desperate…” Fluttershy ripped another sigh.

“Just bein’ realist, sugar cube,” the sandy mare shrugged apologetically, “if the trunk is that large, yar say, it’ll be hard to impossible to cover the crack, let alone keep it that way. Hey,” suddenly she glimpsed an idea, “why don’t ya ask yar Alex as well. He looks technically savvy enough to come up with somethin’…”

“Umm… Let’s start with him being not mine that much as you imply,” Fluttershy glanced at her friend with visible regret in her voice.

“As much as Ah can notice, he isn’t staying in Canterlot either!” Applejack noticed meaningfully.

The girls stopped and looked up when some large shadow passed above the treetops making the sunbeams on the ground flicker and thrash about; it was too big for an accidental pegasus, so the girls exited the grove a little cautiously. However, the answer was predictable.

“Mornin’, Alex!” smirked Applejack, when making a small loop, ruffled and tired, Alex almost slammed next to them, sending the dust and blades of grass fly, as he folded his wings. “What ya doin’?” Fluttershy let out a tiny smile and waved her fore hoof, her thoughts were too busy with the accident.

“Morning, girls!” Alex breathed heavily, visibly strained and sweating, he wiped his forehead. “What made you run back and forth so early?”

“That’s unfair! We asked first,” Applejack raised one eyebrow puzzledly examining Alex from head to toe.

“Okay, okay,” he paced with them on the road taking a breath, apparently, that walk was easier than anything he was up to before. “Don’t laugh only.”

Applejack shrugged imperturbably as if saying that she got used to almost anything already, and Fluttershy expressed a glimpse of interest, showing Alex that he was safe to tell.

“I realized that my wings were the only reliable fast way to get anywhere in Equestria,” elaborated Alex with an undefined gesture when they passed the old white barn with last humble shreds of fog hiding in its shade. “Unable to use magic, I either use them or have to stick to the trains and carriages, balloons aren’t the fastest transport as well. Besides, it’s plain stupid – not to use what is given so providently; these wings have yet undisclosed potential, so… I was training while the sun was still low. Trying to find out what they are capable of, you know.”

“I guess, telling you to be careful is… well, excessive,” Fluttershy glanced at him with a faint smile. “Just be, okay? I-I mean you’ve mastered them only recently…”

“I am prudence embodied,” laughed Alex. “But if you don’t try, you’ll never know. It appeared that I needed to be taken by the scruff and thrown into the situation to get over it… Acrophobia included.”

“Actually, I planned to try taking the sonic barrier using them, in case I need to get somewhere really fast,” whispered he in Applejack’s ear. “Don’t tell Shy yet, she looks sad and burdened enough without extra worries. What’s up with that look of hers by the way?”

“That’s exactly what we are goin’ to see, partner!” emphatically exclaimed she, noticing Fluttershy’s perked ear. “Ya need to have a look, too, Alex.”

“If Ah were you, Ah’d have worried more that Dashie wouldn’t find out,” dropped Applejack from the corner of her mouth. “You stopped kicking each other on sight not long ago, Alex. Ah have no idea how she may react on such plans though…”

“Well, the more reasons for me to force up my training if I may need to flee fast enough soon,” chuckled Alex. They were already approaching the turn to the clump of trees surrounding Fluttershy’s cottage in the field. Remembering girl’s anxiety, Alex scanned the landscape and the house itself but noticed nothing that looked unusual or might cause his yellow friend concern.

“It’s in the garden, on the opposite side of the house,” Fluttershy read it in his attentively seeking eyes, opening the gate and letting Alex and Applejack through.

Alex noticed a few relatively small branches broken by the night storm, but the rest looked normal to him: the shutters were in their places, the roof – undamaged, seeing that the house at least was safe made him take a breath. In a minute they crossed the front garden and walked around the house, then he understood the reason for Fluttershy’s distress.

“Yeah…” slowly uttered Applejack lifting her head and knocking the stetson to her nape, “that’s worse than Ah thought…”

The large maple tree looked quite bad even for Alex’s casual eye. According to his experience, each tree with such wounds started to ail sooner or later, naturally attracting harmful insects and diseases, rotting or withering, if only the strong winds or damp snow didn’t knock it down under its own weight, ending its suffering earlier. He didn’t need to look at Fluttershy to realize, that wasn’t the kind of answer she was looking for.

“Well,” meanwhile, Applejack made a funny face, pondering and scratching her nape, “even that one can be helped… in theory, as Twilight could say. But only if,” she glanced at her friends meaningfully, “we manage to bring and fix both parts of the trunk together. Ah’d say today or next morning in the worst case… The best time would have been a couple of hours ago, to be honest,” she shrugged as if apologizing for the inevitable trouble. “And Ah mean squeezin’ both parts together really tight under “fixing”!” added Applejack. “Mah guess it’ll take lots of effort to do, the more to keep it staying that way – the tree is too old and large.”

‘Obviously, if ya don’t consider dropping that darn hard to carry out idea,’ read in her doubting eyes but the mare kept it to herself.

“Listen, Jackie,” Alex walked around the tree examining the detriment. “I’m not a gardener, but methinks this case calls for technical approach. I mean the whole “bring and hold together” aspect. The live tree can’t be soldered… alas,” added he, running his fingers on the bark compassionately.

“We use tar to patch up the tree wounds,” nodded Applejack, “but this one is too large…” Alex was to admit as well that the chances of success were illusive.

Fluttershy alternated between friends with so much hope written in her eyes, that he gave up finally. Cupping Fluttershy’s woeful muzzle in his hands, Alex wiped her welling tears.

“I’ll ask Willsmash, maybe he could come up with some idea how to hold that thing as a whole,” he shook his head, embracing the pegasus girl softly and planting a kiss on her nose. “See you in the evening,” he turned to contentedly watching them Applejack, “if we invent something; we’ll need Mac’s help… or even more folks to lend a hoof.”

Next morning Fluttershy woke up to the voices and various mechanical noises under her window. The wall clock told her that it was very early and the girl yawned and stretched in her bed for a short while. Apparently, the concerns stressed her to the point Fluttershy dropped senseless into the sleep on the eve. Concerns! She remembered at once what was bothering her the whole day before and sat on the bed momentarily, throwing back the thin blanket.

Making sure that her flurry didn’t wake Angel, Fluttershy rushed to the window and flung opened it: her garden was full of ponies and mechanisms at that early hour, making the girl cease her yawn at once at risk of dislocating the jaw.

The grass around the ill-fated maple tree was quite trampled down already by the numerous hooves, but Fluttershy admitted that she could easily forgive that, if only the tree got all the necessary aid; besides, the grass could easily manage itself after an occasional accident, while the tree didn’t.

Completely awoke, Fluttershy saw the old blacksmith and Alex drawing the rope through some wooden blocks, which formed a complex construction around the injured maple. A couple more stallions, whom she could probably see in the market, were stretching nearby – apparently, Alex had enlisted some support, not relying completely on their with Willsmash limited forces. Four large thick poles were planted deeply into the ground in two pairs on both sides of the tree and a mammoth-size, by the pony standards, sledgehammer rested next to one of them. Fluttershy remembered the booming sound reaching her ears through the deep sleep and most likely waking her initially. The named wooden blocks were attached to the metal-bound poles and some of them to each other, within the pattern and purpose Fluttershy was only going to understand.

The girl fancied metal noise and Applejack entered her view with a large bucket, clattering its handle; she placed the bucket to the row of the similar ones, each filled with something dark brown as Fluttershy could notice.

“Hey, good morning, sugar cube!” Applejack spotted her friend awoke and waved her fore leg greetingly. “Ah’m sorry for bringin’ ya some noise and mess today.”

“Eeyup!” sounded a bit muffledly. Appearing from the bushes behind, Big Mac carried another bucket in his mouth and a couple more on the back. “This should be enough,” he placed his burden near the rest and smiled at Fluttershy. “Mornin’!”

Muttering some hurried greeting, the pegasus girl rushed to the bathroom to splash a few hooffuls of cold water onto her muzzle and completely drive the Sandpony away. In a minute more she stood in the garden with Applejack and her brother, gazing amazedly at the whole bunch of blocks and the web of ropes surrounding the tree.

“Like that, partner?” smirked Applejack chewing a straw. “The tree is huge and that’s all the help we have managed getting’ that early,” she nodded towards the stallions. “Seems, mister Steel foresaw that and suggested a system of blocks to aid our force from the very beginning. And the whole way of holdin’ the darn trunk together is also his idea. Well, those two will explain better… Ah underestimated the old fogey, even after all they with yar Alex did,” Applejack shook her head, pretending to not notice Fluttershy’s weak protest against the “yar Alex” term.

As if in the answer to her words, the old unicorn finally noticed the proprietress’ arrival and head to their small group with a greeting smile.

“I apologize for that early noise and all the stuff we brought with us,” he poked at the mechanism.

“Oh, no worries, truly. Everything is okay!” Fluttershy started persuading him ardently that she had no objections as long as her tree had a chance to be healed. “Anyway, that’s me who called for help!”

“Then, let me explain what we are going to do,” Willsmash smiled softly. “Mmm, to be sure it’s okay for you.”

“As you can see, we plan to use a system of blocks to amplify our efforts and bring the trunk parts together. We wrapped the clamps with some cloth to minimize the possible damage to the bark,” Willsmash meant two large wooden things attached to the tree halves from opposite sides, the ropes started at them before coming through the multitude of blocks. “Thus we pull into one direction and the parts are supposed to… squeeze together.”

“But how would it hold that way?” the concern gave way to the genuine interest in Fluttershy’s eyes.

“Well, that’s the most interesting part,” winked the blacksmith. “A happy idea came into my mind that we had enough new metal of Alex’s making to use it freely, where it looked the most suitable. So, we made a few very durable and separable hoops to rivet around the trunk and make it hold.”

“Don’t worry miss,” added the unicorn seeing the question in girls’ eyes. “The hoops are right of the size and we wrapped them as well to play as safe as we could…”

“Morning, Shy!” completing the final checks, Alex joined them. He let out a small smile at the girl’s glowing glance and elaborated. “The thing is, that metal is completely inert, it won’t harm the tree anyway. We had two methods in mind: the first is letting the tree to grow around the hoops. It will do it at ease and, as I said, no harm would be done to the maple itself,” added he under the doubtful expression of his marefriend. “But, naturally, the metal hoops will stay inside of the trunk that way…”

“And the second?” quickly asked Fluttershy making both Alex and Willsmash smile instantly.

“Well, we consider leaving enough space between the hoops, to make and place new ones, of the slightly bigger size, each year, taking off the old,” Alex shrugged, inwardly smiling to his assumption about Fluttershy’s reaction turning out correct. “Obviously, these poles will need to stay here in that case,” he pointed over his shoulder.

“I like the second method better!” categorically stated the yellow pegasus girl, making everypony break into an understanding smile.

“Then we’re going to start! If everypony is ready?” after the approval nod from Alex, Willsmash waved to somepony else. “Silver, filly, will you give me a hoof?”

Unnoticed by Fluttershy before, another member of the rescue team – the tall unicorn filly approached them, greeting her timidly.

“Yes, uncle Will, when you need.”

The thick ropes creaked in the ensuing silence broken only by the rustle of the leaves and strained breathing; being pulled through the old blocks, they were giving up slow and hardly. Ponies’ hooves ploughed the ground when Applejack, Big Mac and a couple of stallions joined Alex in their joint attempt to bring the trunk halves together. Naturally, unable to use a common harness, Alex was to make a large loop on his part of the rope and put it on one shoulder, across his chest adding a leather stripe underneath. All five strained their muscles at maximum and Fluttershy could see that a few months of work at the smithy left the noticeable trace; she could guess, who used that huge sledgehammer she spotted before.

Little by little, with the barely audible creaking, the parts of the large tree started returning to their initial position; it became a bit easier to pull, as they got the halves moving. The blocks began to rotate and a few containing the ratchet locks started clicking slowly, fixing the progress of the rescuers and not letting the ropes pull back.

“Could you please take a closer look if we pull the right direction, miss?” watching the blocks and correcting their position with his magic, Willsmash addressed Fluttershy. “As the only one here capable to fly and not pulling…” added he with a smile.

“Oh, of course!” the girl jerked one ear funnily and soared, making a few loops around the wounded tree and examining the crack closely. “I think you doing it right,” she returned to them after a minute.

“Not that we expected to combine the part ideally, right as they were,” noticed the unicorn, “but the closer the better!”

“Okay, enough with resting, let’s try once again,” exhaled Alex, his muscles strained resembling some twisted cables, as he forcedly pulled his loop. He and Mac took the very end of the rope providing the main thrust, but the closer the trunk part came to each other, the harder it was to move them some more. Fighting with some structural changes which happened with the trunk, they did their best: McIntosh and Alex pulled bringing the tree parts closer, then Applejack and the stallions held their progress in addition to the blocks, letting the guys move a bit further before jerking the rope forcedly again.

“Urrghhh!” Applejack clenched the teeth, her and stallions’ giant effort made the ratchets produce several clicks more letting Big Mac and Alex gain a few more steps. The tree parts were very close to each other, but the hooves started sliding on the damp grass and ground already.

Alex had it the worst – his boots slid on the grass the most, telling him that their soles’ resource wasn’t endless and the problem of sooner replacement approached as never before.

“H-hold it, Jackie!” breathed he out, hearing another click of the ratchet. “It seems we won’t go any further that way.” Accurately releasing the loop, Alex checked the trunk; the crack almost closed at the lower third and it was about a palm-thick gap at the top. However, looking at two deep ruts he managed to scratch into the soil, completely tearing away the grass, Alex was to admit, he could hardly be of any help that way.

“Let’s try differently…” sitting on the grass, he started unlacing the shoes; the quick glance on the soles told him they were almost smooth, no wonder the boots slid under the load that heavy. “Okay, the final dash!” Alex returned to his improvised horse-collar.

The next few minutes of forceful pulling and huffing showed that their task was going to be much harder than everypony planned. Granted that Alex’s bare feet slipped less, they pressed into the soil, but at least gave him stable support. The ponies plunged their hooves hard into the ground to gain and keep every inch. But when the ratchets fixed their progress and Alex and Big Mac almost sank down breathing heavily, there still was a tiny but noticeable gap between the trunk parts.

“Ah thought mah biceps would pop…” uttered Applejack dropping on the grass next to Alex and leaning on his shoulder. “Isn’t lookin’ that we gonna pull the darn thing any tighter!”

“Eeyup!” her brother wiped the glistening forehead throwing an evaluating glance at the maple tree.

Both stallions breathed heavily and showed with all their look complete agreement. On that note, everypony present looked slightly depressed and the hope, which had once lit in Fluttershy’s eyes, faded.

“Maybe we can clamp it that way?” the blacksmith wasn’t going to give up though. “We could probably still pull the hoops’ ends together and lock them…”

“The lower ones will definitely fit,” noticed Silver Ingot, she walked around the tree, checking the crack.

“No-no, this won’t cut it!” Applejack smirked sadly. “We need to close the gap completely and seal with tar for it to heal with time, otherwise…” she shrugged meaningfully.

“I feel that we lack just a bit more impulse,” frowned Alex. “The gap is thinner than a dime already!”

First, he wanted to try using wings to the aid, but quickly reconsidered that idea: right above the ground Alex’s huge wings would be useless for that task, likely sending dirt flying or hurting somepony instead of the help.

The flapping above sounded almost like a long-anticipated sign.

“Hey, folks! Whatcha all doing here?!” the familiar cocky voice reached their ears; throwing their heads up, the rescuers could observe the cyan ruffled mare hovering over the tree.

“And what’s with all those ropes and stuff?” Rainbow Dash circled the whole scene twice, then quickly landed. “Some technical mumbo-jumbo! I could guess…” she squinted at the human. “Hey, Alex…” suddenly she noticed the depressed and miserable look on Fluttershy’s face, rushing to her friend in a wink and giving her a wing hug.

“What’s going on?” Rainbow alternated between those present, then turned to Fluttershy again. “And why such sour faces, y’all?”

Alex sighed only; truth be told, that was exactly the chance and free hoof they needed, but he was unsure yet if it was okay to ask her and about Rainbow’s reaction on him doing that. Meanwhile, Fluttershy shortly explained to her friend everything.

“And that’s all!” snorted Rainbow Dash finally. “Know what, you should call me right from the start, pal!” she patted Fluttershy on the shoulder lightly, then soared hovering low over the grass. “Now, back to work everypony. Let’s do it!” the mare sported a cheerful grin.

However, when they took their clamps and handles again, it turned out that there was nothing to grab on the rough and dirty rope for her. Rainbow gaze at the rope with doubt, visibly denying the idea of picking it with her teeth.

“Fine!” the cyan ruffian wasn’t somepony easy to discourage. “You pull and I’ll push… somepony, to help!” Dash took a quick look over the company.

“You!” she pointed at Alex unambiguously. “Your back is wide enough to place my hooves on it firmly. I’ll show you how to push!”

“Just don’t push with flying…” Alex muttered feigningly grumpy, estimating the bruises small girl’s hooves could leave.

“Spoilsport!” grinned Dash. “That was an awesome idea…”

Once again, Alex felt how seemingly every muscle in his body strained when the rope stretched, looking aside her saw that everypony else was pushing their limits; next moment he felt Rainbow’s fore hooves between his shoulder blades. The pegasus mare started flapping her wings with insane speed causing the noticeable wind. Suddenly, Alex felt easier to pull, a power reserve appeared; pulling hard, he made a step, then another one hearing how the blocks started turning again.

A click!

One more!

With a quiet crunch, the trunk halves finally touched; the ponies and human pulled a little more, for another click of the ratchets.

“Quickly! The hoops!” exclaimed the blacksmith.

“Already here, uncle Will!” Silver Ingot fixed with cotter pins of the same metal each hoop the old unicorn placed on the trunk.

In five minutes the work was done, a number of wide shiny metal rings embraced the maple on about the foot distance one from another. Fluttershy whisked to the cottage returning in a moment with the jar of water and glasses and offering them to the exhausted company, who dropped on the grass nearby.

“Well… The Moment of Truth!” smirked Willsmash when he and Alex started releasing the ratchets one by one, very slowly and accurately. The ropes gave slack and finally fell, but the tree stood as if nothing happened not giving out a creak.

“Woohoo!” Rainbow Dash jumped and threw her fore hooves in the air.

“Yay!” Fluttershy sighed quietly but wholeheartedly.

“One more thing, girls!” the old blacksmith interrupted their elation. “Would you be so kind to patch the whole crack with that tar?” he pointed towards the row of buckets. “Of course, we’ll help you with lifting.” Silver Ingot nodded in agreement.

“So, what are the chances?” sitting on the ground and watching Fluttershy and Rainbow flittering around the fixed tree, Alex hugged Applejack and Big Mac around their shoulders. “What would you say, Jackie?”

“Ah’d say quite high!” Applejack habitually pushed her stetson to the nape examining the huge tree crown. “If nothin’ got into the crack…”

“Eeyup!” confirmed the stallion, a smile from well-done job shone on his usually unflappable muzzle.

“Yeah… If only the “anti-Seekers” helmet could be constructed that simply…” muttered Alex. “Never mind!” He waved casually under the puzzled glance of the Apple siblings. “Just my inner technical… or maybe even creative troubles!”

Soon the last inch of the crack was properly sealed with tar and tired but satisfied girls returned the sticky buckets to the ground. Alex, Will and Silver Ingot were reeling the ropes and gathering the blocks into the cart they brought them on. High into the sky, the sun shone almost like in Summer, making Alex reconsider putting on his shirt, as he didn’t want to stain it.

“Thank you so much, friends!” bringing her fore hooves together, Fluttershy hovered like a balloon filled with joy, she squinted and a happy smile curled her lips. “Jackie, Mac, mister Steel, Silver Ingot and Dashie, of course! Everypony! I have no words to tell how grateful I am for all, what you’ve done! Squee!”

“Yeah, uncle Will, Sil, thanks for saving the day!” throwing the sledgehammer into the cart with some effort, Alex sported a wide smile. “Frankly speaking, yesterday I had no idea how to help, so… If not you, then…” he spread his arms. The next moment Alex was to catch and hold the yellow projectile jumping on him and cuddling.

“Thank you, so much, my love!” whispered Fluttershy in his ear, nuzzling Alex’s hair and snuggling to him, completely ignoring the fact that seven ponies were watching, including two barely familiar stallions. “If you didn’t tell, I wouldn’t have probably asked anypony but Applejack about that tree…”

“Well, well, don’t exaggerate, Shy,” Alex stroked the pink mane; wanting to put the girl back on the ground, he felt something strange happening – Fluttershy couldn’t release him that easily.

The pegasus girl pulled her legs, twitched, then squeaked surprisedly and bashfully – her small hooves, most likely drabbled in the tar, stuck to Alex’s heated skin firmly. Fluttershy flushed to the roots of her lush mane, hiding her face on human’s chest.

“Heh, you both need to wash that tar away now!” smirked Rainbow Dash slyly, she inwardly praised herself for abstaining patting Alex on the back with some comment, as her own hooves would no doubt do the same. At the very thought girl’s nose turned pinkish and pupils narrowed from that mental image.

“Ehhh…” Alex grunted, unsure if to laugh over the situation or flush like his marefriend.

“Well… We must go,” passionlessly noticed Willsmash, his eyes laughed though; the blacksmith nudged lightly his niece, who turned pinkish as well. “Come on, girl, we have lots of work at the smithy.” Partially that was the case indeed, at the same time the old unicorn noticed how Silver Ingot stared at Alex and Fluttershy, despite the embarrassment.

“Yeah… And… I’ll bring the instruments later, uncle Will,” muttered Alex.

“It’s okay, son!” the blacksmith winked. “Your friends already offered their help,” he nodded towards the stallions, who harnessed themselves to the cart already. “Don’t worry about that, you have your own “problem” to address!”

Rainbow and Silver Ingot giggled, blushing desperately, and even Applejack coughed hiding her smile.

From the bird’s-eye view Everfree looked like a green fuzzy constantly swaying carpet; amazingly, but the deeper into the forest, the less the presence of Autumn felt. There, farther from the fringe, yellow and red colours were still rare guests, most of the crowns being freshly green. Maybe because it was warmer deeper in the woods and the inhabitants didn’t feel Autumn approach that sharply, or maybe because it was Everfree – living on its own, often very strange laws.

The floral ocean spread everywhere, as broad as one’s eye could see, reaching the horizon and beyond on the south, no matter how high one tried to fly. Comparing to the entire forest size, the Old Castle was on the edge of it, but that “edge” was still over the mountain, the swamp, a few rivers and a canyon. However, what once took Alex the whole day on foot, was a matter of a few hours for a flyer. Alex didn’t consider himself a skilled one, let alone the best – he had one hell of a road to progress yet – but he was most confident about reaching the Castle in about three hours maximum. The same time the flight to Canterlot took at his current speed; trying to take the sonic barrier over the unknown area wouldn’t be the smartest idea.

With a few powerful flaps the human raised higher, where no shadow could obstruct the warm sunlight heating the black feathers despite the oncoming cool air. Sincerely unable to imagine himself doing that only recently, Alex finally started finding pleasure in flying, as soon as he entirely felt the wings as an integral part. However, he still preferred to look forward than right down below. Thankful for the clear weather, otherwise he couldn’t either see the forest because of the clouds or warm himself, Alex looked for the familiar landmarks he remembered from his first ever journey in Equestria.

The first landmark Alex spotted was something new he didn’t pass by on his arrival; the large glade in the woods was a bit aside from his path back then. Some dark monument towered in the centre of the grassy opening; he fancied a winged pony figure on the large rectangle block, but Alex didn’t have time for the sightseeing, simply noting the place mentally for the further occasion. He could say that he knew the nearest edge of Everfree on few miles deep decently enough, but didn’t remember coming across something alike yet.

The first actually familiar landmark was the huge mountain, Alex once was to cross over on the narrow shelf belting it. At the view of the closer mountainside with its numerous terraces forming the giant natural stairs, overgrown with the shrubs and crooked undersized trees, Alex couldn’t hold back a smile. That was the place where his actual equestrian adventures started, changing his life the way it became.

‘I don’t want to imagine, what could have happened if I hadn’t come to the right place and time!’ Alex was to admit almost feeling the touch of the soft yellow feathers on his skin again. Last time, after patching up the cracked maple tree, they were to wash off that sticky tar indeed, ending together with Fluttershy in the shower and…

Occupied by these thoughts, Alex even lost height a little; catching himself on that in time, he soared higher not to crash into the mountain and laughing inwardly at himself. The rocky mass slid underneath him in a matter of minutes and nothing blocked the tremendous view from his eyes anymore. Far-far away at the south Alex could discern the canyon, looking like a thin dark thread from that distance, and a tiny dull spark deeper in the woods – those were the survived roofs of the ancient castle, he headed to. So, Alex had a beeline to his destination; he sped up, planning to reach the castle till noon if the weather conditions kept being benevolent.

‘Alas, I had no chance to undertake a trial sortie,’ Alex was musingly gliding above the far mountainside which was the giant clay slide ending in the overgrown swamp. ‘Back then I had the only aim to get outside of the ruins and reach some civilization. Thus I have no idea how the Old Castle territory looks.’

‘There wasn’t any garden in front of the entrance as far as I can remember,’ noticed Alex to himself, “so it must be on the other side, which I haven’t seen at all. Granted, there must be at least one pond as she said… But what if there are many? Ugh!”

Realizing that he knew very approximately what to look for, Alex inwardly praised the idea to hit the sky early in the morning. Nopony knew how long would he search and he still had a busy day laying ahead, most of which he was to spend on the wing. About three hours of flight between Ponyville and the Old Castle and the same amount between the town and his final aim gave him a few hours to search, almost no time to rest, and even considering all that, Alex would have returned home after the midnight most likely. Hard enough, but on the other hand that promised one hell of the training, Alex was preparing for quite a while for.

The changing landscape was flying past underneath, during the last couple of hours Alex had time to estimate the necessary speeds if he wanted to reach faster the castle, Canterlot, the eastern coast of Equestria, for example (he had the approximate map in his memory at that time). It turned out that he had to triple the speed of sound at least to be able to reach distant regions in reasonable time, especially if that involved reacting on Seekers’ attacks. That called for the certain effort and was a matter of perspective yet. Then Alex tried to imagine how migratory birds could sleep during their flight and still keep the height and course. The latter was the most difficult thing to lay into his mind, as Alex himself occasionally checked the direction to the constantly growing in size thread of the canyon and the noticeable spot of the castle behind.

He almost started yawning, cheered up by the amusing occasion. Flying by, Alex frightened away a large flock of crane-like birds, gathering before their seasonal journey south-wise and digging out something at the shallows of one of the forest rivers. The large white-grey birds started gazing into the skies cautiously when his shadow slid across the bank, then the whole flock took wing flying slowly further down the stream, where the thick tree crowns almost covered the whole river width.

‘These… cranes must have seen only accidental pegasi here in the wild,’ smirked Alex inwardly. ‘Which makes me probably the largest threat in the sky…’

‘…after the dragons,’ remembered he, taking a look around just in case.

Soon enough, the landscape occupied by the large thick trees started narrowing and shifted to the right, giving way to the more rocky ground, which raised steadily towards his goal. The last rows of trees turned up squeezed in the narrow valley and Alex saw the old barely visible road emerging from under the crowns and going down to the narrow part of the canyon. The latter suddenly appeared from behind the high cliffs the landscape under him turned into. Aiming straight at the stone mass of the Old Castle, Alex threw a look at the broken bridge far below to his right and involuntarily swallowed a lump at the memory of his horrible rencontre. Only the ropes fastened together by a few planks remained above the abyss filled with the swirling non-ceasing fog hiding there from the warm sunlight. Damply glistening, the cliffs looked as unfriendly as half a year before, with occasionally falling small stones blown off the walls by the wind squeezed between them; roots and crooked bushes protruded from the stony surface here and there as if peeking into the darkening depth with the distant river roaring below.

After the narrow bare stripe of ground on the opposite side of the canyon, the road dived under the foliage again occasionally revealing itself and hiding under the tree crowns – about a mile of last straight part of it to the castle entrance.

‘I wonder if there still are no large predators here, especially after the manticore left this area…’ Alex didn’t take any weapon with him, fairly supposing it would interfere with his plans for that day and relying on his speed and armour mostly, mentally praising Luna’s idea with the helmet once again. Coming into its rights, Autumn could be the reason for the surrounding silence, rarely broken by the birds, but Alex flew lower, preferring to keep an eye and listen just in case.

Emerging from behind the last trees, the Old Castle appeared in his sight in its entire time-injured glory: the walls towered, looking blindly with their dark window holes and embrasures, partially collapsed towers still guarded the area and the wide stairs, withstanding the stone-shattering time, was running to the large double doors, one leaf of which lied on the stone floor, torn from the hinges.

Having limited time for his quest, Alex reconsidered the idea to enter them and have another look at the throne hall where he spent his first ever night in Equestria. Instead of that, he soared higher raising above the chipped walls and galleries, flying over the inner yard and heading to the large park area, which he could already spot from there. The garden occupied many acres of land behind the castle; in some places between the overgrown trees, the ancient crumbling wall protruded, naturally unnoticed by him during his first visit. The paths and alleys were barely guessed among the verdure, run wild aeons ago; Alex fancied several garden sculptures in a few moss-covered stone moulds and once carefully trimmed but growing completely unruly since then trees.

‘Yeah, discerning anything in that mess would be one hell of a task… If there is anything to discern,’ sighed Alex.

It took him a few rounds of flying low above the trees to find what he was looking for. Some glades looked like they could once be the garden ponds, but the time was merciless to them; shoaling and swamping during the last thousand years of oblivion, they slowly gone covered with grass and became solid ground or even worse, miry spots on the once glorious face of the garden. Finally, the glow of light on the water surface attracted human’s attention and Alex rushed to the farther, most overgrown part of the castle garden.

This water body survived by some miracle, likely because it was erstwhile the whole lake, wide and deep; even a few centuries were not enough to wipe it from the face of Equus. Alex accurately landed on the edge of the large glade being slowly conquered by the trees and bushes, guessing that the lake must have been taking the place entirely when the castle was new. At present, the actual lake took barely one-third of its former bounds: water still shimmered behind the stripe of lakeside vegetation.

Coming closer to water, Alex noticed that the lake surface was covered here and there with the familiar large leathery leaves, swaying on the light ripples caused by the breeze. Near the centre of the lake where it kept considerable depth, the leaves were almost twice the size of the rest, each easily as large as human’s torso.

‘They are that huge indeed! Fascinating!’ Alex caught himself staring at those green “rafts” in awe, he knew about some tropical flowers having such leaves, but never actually saw one before. For his luck, the leaves stood till the first cold, that seriously simplified Alex’s task; however, he was to admit that with the flowers it would be much easier.

Pondering how cold the water could be in this small lake, Alex quickly took off his clothes leaving them on the grassy shore accurately folded and jumped into the water. Thankfully it appeared to be warmer than he expected, easily explained by the stillness, any running water would be chilling this time of the year. That turned out an underestimated first convenience, as the actual task took him more time and effort than Alex calculated preparing for his trip.

Inwardly praising himself for finding in Twilight’s library the book on rare equestrian plants and studying thoroughly the corresponding section, Alex dived into the lake time after time, determined to pick up his prize no matter what. It took him more than two hours, despite he finally started following the stems coming down from the large leaves, as the water appeared to be considerably muddy near the bottom. Needless to say, it was getting worse after each unlucky attempt; this and the mere limit of air in his lungs, made him perform a seemingly endless number of dives, resting on the surface shortly.

It was approaching noon when Alex, tired and chilled, finally emerged from the stirred up waters and swam to the shore; exiting the lake he was ready to flop, but first he took and stretched the providently taken cloth-bag. Taking out a sheet of fabric, Alex soaked it with water and wrapped something resembling three oblong lumps of solid mud into the cloth. Hiding his trophy back into the bag, he placed the whole thing into the shade of a small shrub and sprawled on the sunlit grass spreading his wings.

The sun poured its gentle warmth over the human watching small clouds floating across the sky, the light breeze waved the grass and leaves making them whisper lullingly and bringing the faint smell of the overgrown lake. If he wasn’t to head back shortly, Alex would gladly fall asleep under that natural lullaby and rested for a while, but this part was barely half of his plans. Besides, resting in an unknown place having only a thin metal band on his head of all the clothes wasn’t the smartest idea. This being said, there Alex made another discovery – despite his numerous dives into the cool lake, the circlet remained warm on his head.

In about an hour, when the sun warmed and dried him, Alex cleaned the remaining algae from his skin and got dressed. He nicely soaked the bag again, preparing for the return. The large wings spread sending the grass and leaves into the air, Alex threw one last glance at the water surface below.

‘Maybe I return here someday… This lake deserves the second chance!’

Flying above the garden and Old Castle grounds, Alex was going to head back home, when something stopped him, making land in front of the entrance. He couldn’t deny himself of taking another look at the giant throne hall, the place where, he was to admit that, his conscious equestrian life started.

Getting up the wide stone stairs, Alex entered the broken doors, finding himself again in the high arched hall with long lancet windows and tiled floor. He didn’t run or rush this time, approaching the stepped elevation slowly, watching the dust specs dancing in the inclined sun rays coming through the windows. Two thrones were on their place, naturally.

Alex went up the steps and stroked the armrest of the left one lightly, his contemplative glance stopped on the wall behind the thrones. The left holder was empty, as the night-blue royal tapestry adorned the wall of his room in the Golden Oak Library, folded twice, as it covered the floor otherwise. The right holder still supported the golden-white Day Crown tapestry. Following the sudden impulse, Alex soared with a smile; approaching the holder, he accurately detached it from the wall and brought the cloth stripe down.

‘Why not?’ he thought, carefully folding the tapestry tightly. ‘This one may return to its owner as well…’

A sudden feel made him wince and almost drop the tapestry; clenching his teeth, the human looked back at the castle doors. That feel was impossible to confuse with something – the proximity of the appearing Seeker made Alex gloom and sent goosebumps up his back. However, he finished folding the white tapestry without any rush, taking it under his arm.

‘Here nothing can hold me from taking the bastard out when and how I want!’ Alex crossed half of the throne hall at accelerating pace when the unambiguous feeling vanished as abruptly as it came.

‘Hmm… That’s really strange! And suspicious…’ Alex reconsidered and ran to the doors. ‘What’s going on hither?!’

He almost jumped out of the double doors, rushing down the stairs and mentally ordering to bring on the armour. The human figure lit with silvery glow and, clanking with his metal apparel, Alex stopped amidst the open space in the castle front throwing a piercing gaze around.

At first nothing happened at all, but Alex wasn’t going to be easily persuaded: never before he came across a Seeker who “arrived” and completely vanished a few seconds later. Alex was one hundred per cent sure that he would have felt the monster if it was there still.

‘The silence is deafening!’

Remembering it then, Alex never noticed the animals reacting the Seekers’ presence anyhow. In the schoolyard and nearby and in Apples’ orchard – everywhere he heard the birds and insects, even when the Seekers appeared the next moment. The complete absence of birds’ voices signalled about some large predator presence rather than his usual enemy. Alex thought that leaving the glaive at home might be a bad idea.

The familiar roar, sounding from the dense foliage on the opposite edge of the large natural square in front of the castle entrance, solved the question at once making Alex frown and clench his fists protected by the metal spiked gloves.

‘Damn! Like if I was missing your presence here!..’

With huffing and muffled sneezing of a large beast, the bushes across parted, revealing Alex’s old “acquaintance” – manticore! The human had no doubt it was the same one “greeting” him when Alex had just arrived: the large lion-like monster limped noticeably and its left paw and side of the muzzle were decorated with a few relatively fresh scars.

The manticore leaned closer to the ground and let out another earsplitting sneeze, rubbing its muzzle with the paw and shaking its large head. Alex noticed that the beast looked grizzled, but taking a better look he was to admit, the reason of it wasn’t the age; monster’s head, shoulders and fore paws looked powdered, covered in some dark-greyish dust. It looked as if the manticore huffed into the almost burned-out fireplace, but at the same time wasn’t funny at all.

Meanwhile, the master of the forest sniffed the air noisily and stopped; the slit-like pupils narrowed and the yellow eyes flashed – the manticore spotted the intruder. Making a few more steps towards Alex, the beast scratched the ground with his claws unambiguously and let out a roar, making a few birds escape the nearest tree in a hurry. Then the deafening silence fell for a few long seconds allowing to clearly hear the rustling of the leaves in the faint wind.

It wasn’t clear if the animal recognized its former enemy, which in addition caused it to fail so painfully and ignominiously once. Alex was unsure if the manticores possessed of complex intellect, in that case the monster would have probably attacked him already. The prey looked no doubt differently for the manticore: ironclad and visibly… barbed, it looked larger, darker and definitely more formidable.

Watching the puzzled and hesitant manticore, Alex remembered how the wild birds ruffled on purpose, trying to look larger and more threatening to turn the conflicts to their advantage. Now he could use that method easily.

With a loud flap the huge wings unfurled throwing a broad shadow, the dark feathers dimly gleamed in the sunlight slightly ruffled by the wind on the margins. Without the second thought, Alex struck his steel gloves together, clanking the spikes and causing a few sparks to fall on the ground. That turned out to be a proper move: he caught out of the corner of his eye the barely noticeable retreating impulse of the beast.

The evil yellow eyes scanned the human from head to toe or, better say, from the top of the wings to the steel spiky boots; the monster growled dully, to rather keep face than actually threatening. Regardless to its intellect level, it registered at once that prey had visibly thick skin, sharp claws and vast wings. The manticore, whose ancestors’ rudimental wings became rather a decoration long ago, realized that it had nothing to oppose the powerful aerial attack. Besides, Alex kept looking directly into the beast’s eyes, confident to show that sign of threat and challenge common for the animals.

Still growling like a diesel engine running on idle, the monster preferred to recede slowly; deliberately demonstrating its spite and keeping the eyes on the human, the manticore backed away to the forest not to show its back shamefully.

With an ironic snort, Alex pulled up his bag and soared; removing the armour in the air, he made a wide loop over the castle, followed by the grumpy growling from under the trees.

‘Interesting, what was that powder-thing covering its muzzle?’ Alex returned to his thoughts, taking the return course. The sudden guess was thunder-like. ‘The Seeker! I felt one before exiting the Old Castle… Then it suddenly vanished.’

‘The manticore must have killed it! That is why the beast growled – the “prey” dematerialized as soon as it received crucial wounds, as they always do when defeated,’ Alex chuckled thinking about his sudden discovery, unsure if it was of the useful kind though. ‘So, the Seekers can affect only ponies with their powers?! The most sentient beings supposedly inhabiting these lands… That definitely adds to the whole image of those attacks as being purposely planned. But not flawlessly as we can see!’

Knowing the Seekers, Alex was sure, that one was taken by surprise by the manticore, otherwise the battle could last much longer; he noticed the tendency of them appearing larger and larger, both in mass and quantity. At least the good news was that the black abominations were vulnerable for the attacks of the natural large predators; it allowed to assume that the forests could confront that threat on their own to the certain extent. With those inspiring thoughts, Alex headed back north: the most outrageous part of his plan still awaited.

Twilight was covering the land, but the night was still young; rather the late evening when the colours turned dull, yet everything becoming so clear and perfectly visible in the soft slowly fading light. Princess Celestia lingered on the balcony of her room, enjoying the tranquillity and freshness. She lowered the Sun moments before and was watching the show of interchanging colours at the western edge of the sky.

‘…these two must be planning something for the upcoming holiday,’ the princess inhaled the cool air descending from the snowy mountain top, with autumn slowly gaining it felt stronger and stronger each evening, despite them being quite warm yet. Continuing her thought, she watched the shadows slowly flooding the castle garden below, becoming almost solid in its distant corners. ‘It’s less than a month but I can clearly tell when they see each other – Lulu is shining the next morning and smiles slyly,’ Celestia sighed. ‘I hope they don’t throw out something overly eccentric.’

“Woe me, She brought you here for my burdens…” muttered she under the breath. “Now I don’t know what to expect the next day!”

As if correlating with princess’ thoughts, something started happening in the castle garden. Squinting, Celestia watched the torch lights crossing the condensing shadows far below, she fancied the shouts of the guards and hasty commands.

‘What again?!’ inwardly groaned Celestia jumping over the balcony railing and gliding on the spread wings. She landed closer to the castle wall and leisurely headed towards the source of ado. The rare birds fell silent, scared by the scurrying guards and only the omnipresent cicadas screeched in the thickening darkness occasionally pierced by the torches.

“Did they bother thee likewise, sunny?” the cheerful silvery voice made Celestia wince from surprise – the shadows under the alley trees parted, revealing the dark blue winged silhouette, whose large eyes flashed reflecting the fires. “I must confess, they puzzled me. I was going to attend mine nightly duties, Tia, at which hour all that fuss started to befall. Let’s go and find out, sister!”

“I was going to suggest the same…” two alicorns headed along the alley to the largest congestion of the guards. “Do you have any idea, what that might be?” the Day Princess glanced at her sister.

“Non the slightest,” the Night embodied trotted forward determinedly, watching the ponies with amusement; sparks danced in Luna’s eyes and her mane and tail seemed to continue endlessly into the stars filled sky. “Methinks somepony sneaked into the garden… again,” added she with a tiny laughter.

“Your Highness!” the guard shift commander emerged like magic when the princesses entered the small round square between the flowerbeds and trimmed shrubs; he bowed to Celestia and Luna, reporting. “We noticed some movement in the park! I sent the guys to check, but they couldn’t catch anypony. But a few saw the intruder definitely, it moved quickly and smoothly, like a shadow.”

“No, it’s not a Seeker, Your Highness!” added the stallion under the grumpy glance of Celestia. “But something comparably large.”

Princess Celestia threw a meaningful gaze at her sister: the Seekers were something everypony present could easily feel, the rest of the options for some “large intruder” were truly limited.

“Hmmm… I don’t know what to say…” Luna smiled mysteriously, catching the course of sister’s thoughts at once. “Thou knowest, sunny, I can easily feel the presence of our subjects, but not this time…”

The loud distant splash deeper in the garden interrupted her. It sounded as if something large entered the water smoothly but still noisily due to its size.

“That’s from the pond…” Celestia raised one ear and her eyebrow simultaneously.

“Your Highness! Princess Celestia, Princess Luna!” the officer bowed apologetically, then he began shouting the commands into the darkness, gathering his guards and directing them.

In a doubled flash, both alicorns disappeared, teleporting right to the supposed place of the incident. The princesses outrun the guards noticeably, materializing at the bank of the large water body and peering into the opening view.

It was brighter there, as the pond or better say a lake was quite large, with a wide grassy shore separating the water from the last line of trees. In the shadows of the latter, both Luna and Celestia froze silently trying to get any glimpse of the foreign presence. Everything was quiet: the evening breeze barely moved the sedge and reeds here and there, some distant bird whistled twice shortly and the silence reigned again. The dark mirror of the lake kept rippling faintly, but that even disturbance could be easily explained by the wind, it wasn’t possible to determine some other single source of it. Numerous stars lit on the dark blue sky completely replacing the daylight by their soft glow.

“I can see nothing forsooth,” whispered Luna from the corner of her mouth, her eyes scanned the lake surface reflecting the starlight.

“What can we say about me then…” muttered Celestia, she all turned into hearing trying to catch the faintest sound. “I don’t have the night sight nearly equal.”

Suddenly a tiny splash reached their hearing; the sisters noticed slightly stronger ripples coming in widening circles towards the shore.

With a short huff, Luna soared spreading her wings, her horn lit brightly and in a few moments the light started flooding the area – far beyond the park, the Moon arose in the dark blue sky painting everything around in silver and making the circles coming from the centre of the lake clearly visible. However, there was no sign of any presence except them when Princess Luna landed softly, observing the finally lit water.

“Tell me frankly, blueberry,” Celestia squinted, “could that be him?”

“Oh, Tia, that could be anypony, literally,” Luna shrugged indefinitely batting her long eyelashes; her whole figure shimmered in the moonlight, making only stronger the impression that the night sky was the continuation of her mane. “I can feel Alex, if ‘t be true he is sleepwalking,” mercifully added she finally. “Obviously, it’s not that case, dear. But I can’t… errmmm… detect him in his usual condition. Why would he have ventured sneaking hither in the first place?”

“Isn’t it a question to you two rather?” Celestia made a face. “Anyway, it’s quiet now…” she changed the topic as the first guards with their torches started appearing among the trees.

Despite all of the precautions, the guards managed to notice him and Alex was to waste some time messing with them in the darkening garden, trying to disorient and leave behind. Just as planned, nopony disturbed him when he approached the large lake, at the grassy bank of which he and Luna met once. Inwardly regretting that he wasn’t some duck, Alex dived into the water; he could do nothing about the splash and realized that it could attract unnecessary attention. At least the lake was large enough, so he had a fair chance to retreat on the opposite side if somepony appeared. The first thing bothering him at that moment was the volume of his lungs, supposed to allow Alex to accomplish what he started in one go – it became too herded around.

He was to admit his luck: when Alex accurately emerged, he could quickly spot some movement on the lakeshore – two large silhouettes under the trees, a bigger and lighter one and a smaller night-coloured one.

‘Damn! What could I expect with all the fuss…’ Alex threw a glance around, noticing a large fallen tree bathing its crown in the lake; fortunately for him, it must have fallen that day and whoever responsible for that didn’t have time to remove it. Filling his lungs with air, the human silently dived again heading towards that overgrown shore. He did his best to reach the aim underwater but his lungs were burning mercilessly when Alex dared to accurately emerge behind the sunken trunk. There, in the dense foliage, he could be not afraid of being easily spotted. However, Alex didn’t hurry to climb out of the water: first of all, he decided to watch and listen, but he couldn’t discern the words of the princesses quiet talk. Besides, Alex found out too late that the shore he hit was overgrown and wild, without a decent path to the water and quite muddy.

The darker silhouette soared and in a moment the Moon poured its light on the surroundings shining on his hiding spot brightly. Muttering damnations under his breath, Alex snuggled closer to the trunk of the fallen tree, making sure that only his head showed above the water between the thicker branches. Fortunately, the tree kept its foliage mass almost entirely, not even withered yet, being partially submerged in the lake.

Spreading his wings to keep them under the water surface, Alex stopped moving completely when the arriving guards rushed to search the lake shores; he tried to breathe once in a while, not to reveal his position by an accidental splash or movement.

“Nopony here! Here either!” holding their torches high, the guards ran back and forth in a few yards distance, making Alex dive lower keeping only his eyes above the surface. “Where did they vanish?!”

Having brushed the area around the lake several times, the guards gave up on the elusive visitors finally; by that moment his wings palpably soaked in seemingly half of the lake water, not to mention that Alex started freezing a little. He preferred not to think of the flying with wet wings, having no time or place to dry at least partially, let alone about bathing at nights in October being far from healthy, despite it was relatively warm still.

At last, all the noises faded leaving Alex in the company of screeching cicadas only; he watched the lights receding between the trees on the opposite bank but stood motionless for a good few minutes more, just in case of some very meticulous pony trying to ambush the relaxed intruder. However, everything was quiet and Alex headed to the lakeshore doing his best not to slap the wet wings against water.

It was overgrown there by the most modest standards, no wonder the guards couldn’t notice him even passing closely; Alex found himself soiled and covered in wet leaves and grass stems when he finally crawled onto the dry land.

‘Great!’ he thought rattling his teeth and feeling the goosebumps conquering half of his body. ‘Would I trade a cold for the surprise for my love?’

Deciding that it was worth the trouble anyway, Alex flapped the wings strongly while staying on the ground to dry and clean them a little at least; drops and dirt filled the air but at least he warmed up with intensive movement. Soaring like that was unusually hard, despite Alex had an experience of flying with his armour on already.

‘Doesn’t matter, it helps me warm myself,’ Alex smirked contentedly. ‘Hmpf! I did it anyway!’ With a few heavy flaps, he raised above the castle grounds heading home finally. ‘I’d kill for a hot tub now!’

When the guards found nothing, even if they visibly tried hard, Princess Celestia ordered them to return to their posts and continue the service as usual. The sisters headed back to the castle and Celestia did her best to take no notice of Luna’s sly mien; deep inside the older sister admitted that the irony was rightful, but admitting it openly was a totally different thing.

“I really need to pay more personal attention to the guards training,” squeezed she out finally with a sigh, pursing her lips with concern. “When Shining held everything in his hooves, it was incomparably better! But now they have their own domain to supervise… and the guards relaxed noticeably indeed.”

The Night Princess kept the polite silence trotting along with her sibling and pretending to be entirely occupied by the pleasures of their night walk in the garden.

“Okay, okay, I admit it – you told me that long ago, blueberry!” one fluffy white ear twitched. “But… you know, I despise conflicts greatly… only as the last resort…”

“I know,” softly said Luna raising her starry eyes at the sister. “But something is coming… If ‘t be true we don’t want the conflict, we must not let it ignite… and this calleth for vigilance and readiness.” She let out an understanding smile. “Well, on the bright side of the Moon, allowest me to take thee to bed, Tia. Thou had a busy day.”

The sisters soared above the park with its flowerbeds and gravel paths, hedges and benches, heading towards the large lit balcony high on the castle wall.

Another surprise waited for them upon landing: at the line of light coming through the half-curtained doors of the bedroom, there was some sort of parcel. Appearing to be the tightly folded thick white fabric, it made the princesses exchange glances. The cloth rustled softly, unrolling in the golden aura of Celestia’s magic, as the princess took the package and raised it to examine. The Day Crown royal tapestry from the Old Castle opened to sisters’ sight.

“Ahem!..” Celestia squinted meaningfully at daintily smiling Luna as if saying ‘Now tell me it wasn’t him!’

During the breakfast Twilight kept thoughtful silence smiling faintly from time to time; she watched Alex fixedly as if trying to decipher what was on his mind. In his turn, Alex did his best to imitate the blissful ignorance almost sincerely surprised by his friend musings.

“Did something happened, Twi?” barely keeping the poker face, Alex inquired reaching for another toast. “Thou art unusually quiet today…” He realized that he slipped only noticing Twilight’s victorious glance and sighed faintly.

“Mmmm… Nothing in particular yet, but I wonder…” with a wry smile, Twilight watched him over the cup she levitated. “I stayed awake late last night… got absorbed in a book,” she shrugged when Alex coughed masking a giggle, “but that didn’t prevent me from listening.”

“And?” this time Alex showed the polite perplexity, trying to guess how seriously his lilac hostess was “absorbed in her book”.

“You appeared shortly before midnight,” purple eyes kept watching him fixedly but with amusement. “And rambled about the ground floor without the lights…”

“I simply didn’t want to wake up anypony that late!” actually, he expected everypony to be sleeping upon his a bit messy arrival.

“Well, you didn’t… Anyway, I listened to you moving things and rustling with something, rubbing and scouring… then filling the tub.”

Alex sighed: seemingly, all his nocturnal escapade was monitored by her curious ears in details and he was to be thankful that she didn’t come down in person to inquire, what he was fidgeting there with.

“You were impressively accurate, Alex, judging by only a couple of mud prints I was able to spot in the bathroom this morning. I can imagine how much you would need to wipe, missing only these two in the dark.”

“Sorry, Twi…”

“Oh, don’t worry, considering how long you soaked in the tub, thanks for cleaning the rest,” Twilight put down her cup and smiled, looking into Alex’s eyes. “Actually, I fell asleep before hearing you going to bed and worried in the morning if I wouldn’t find you sleeping in the cold tub.”

“How did you manage to clean these wings?” added she suddenly. “I was considering even offering you some help… but realized it w-wouldn’t be… entirely decent,” the alicorn filly blushed and hid behind her cup making the human nearly choke on his coffee.

“Ahem… Somehow…” clearing his throat, muttered Alex. “Thanks for the concern anyway!” Knowing about men and women taking the bath together in some cultures, he still shook his head dispelling the image of Twilight rubbing his back and wings. ‘Be grateful it’s not Rarity…’ the inner voice mercilessly reminded him.

Alex gazed at the girl, her utter embarrassment told him that Twilight’s words rather manifested some friendly mutual assistance – ultimately, that was the same girl who helped to patch him up when he was completely unconscious – that made Alex relax.

“What are you plotting, mate?” after a minute of awkward silence, the girl decided to change topic returning to her guess-game. “Ooze and coastal mud, Alex, the stains even smelled of some pond or lake.” Alex downcasted and Twilight continued pondering aloud. “It took you a whole day, it means that water body must be at least Canterlot-far, right?”

“I can’t tell, yet,” Alex braced himself returning her glance. “That may completely ruin the meticulously prepared surprise. Moreover, the surprise, which is dear to me to turn out well,” confessed he.

“I’m most definitely sure that you and Princess Luna are planning something for the upcoming holiday,” slowly said Twilight. “And I don’t want you to get in trouble. Both of you actually… That’s why asking.”

“Oh, don’t you worry, Twi,” Alex let out a laughter. “What we plan for the Nightmare Night is completely innocent… Isn’t that holiday made specifically for jokes and pranks, both on Earth and Equus?”

“And what did you do last night?..” she gazed at him slyly. “You know me, I won’t spill to anypony, including those involved. Even without the Pinky Promise…”

“As I never told anypony about the reasons making you and Harry ramble about the surrounding Ponyville forests at least twice a week… and that frying pan, you are hiding in your room for me and Spike not to accidentally use for regular cooking…” suddenly added she with a strange but undoubtedly humorous expression.

“Errmmm…” Alex stared at Twilight, unable to squeeze a word.

“Don’t worry,” the girl waved her fore hoof nonchalantly. “I realize perfectly that humans are omnivores, like for example bears. And I admire your efforts greatly. Not to mention that I personally won’t complain about poisonous snakes population decrease around the town,” Twilight shuddered a little. “But Fluttershy is better to stay uninformed, naturally. So, Alex, you see that I can keep secrets…”

“How?..” overcoming the initial shock, Alex unfroze. “I mean…”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Twilight smiled and started gathering the dishes with her magic. “I visit Zecora regularly… You know about Zecora, Alex? So, she saw you both brushing the woods a few times… and was naturally surprised, what a human and a bear could scout out together. Also, she told me about noticeable snake populace decrease. The rest… Well, logic is my friend, Alex!” the girl glanced at him meaningfully.

“By the way,” added she, “knowing and walking through a quite large area, Zecora didn’t come across any cockatrice for quite a while. The latter even she is happy about…”

Alex chuckled then turned very pensive freezing with a plate in his hands.

“Twilight,” started he slowly, “I suddenly thought… that zebra, Zecora… she lives at the edge of Everfree all alone and wanders the whole nearby woods…”

“So what?” hearing Alex’s concern, Twilight put down the dishes and looked at him inquiringly.

“How come, she isn’t afraid of these cockatrices exactly? If they are so dangerous for the ponies… I mean nopony can expect, what runs into you next moment in the thicket!”

“Oh, that’s what you’re about…” Twilight smiled. “Zecora has an ancient tribal mask, she wears in the woods, especially in the less known parts of Everfree.” Seeing that Alex wasn’t comprehending still, the girl elaborated. “The main secret of the mask is that it allows the owner not to look on the object directly… Some trick with mirrors or something… I would like to examine that mask, but Zecora treats it too carefully to let somepony mess with it, let alone dis…assem…ble…” Twilight’s eyes began widening, as Alex, sitting still up to that moment, as if he was frozen, suddenly jumped to his feet nearly breaking the plate he held.

“Of course!!!” he cried out making Twilight jump on her seat. “Arrrghhh… I was such an idiot! Not looking directly…” Alex grabbed his temples groaning. “Of course… That may work! Perseus fought Medusa Gorgo looking at her reflection in the shield!..”

Twilight kept watching him with the mixed expression: somehow admiration and shock of witnessing a madman combined in her look.

“Twilight! You’re a genius!!!” Alex jumped up to the girl lifting her in a hug. “Pure genius!”

“But who in the healthy mind agrees to test that hypothesis?..” he stopped swirling the alicorn filly and pondered.

“Errmmm… Alex…” with the blushing nose, Twilight touched his shoulder lightly reminding of herself still hanging in Alex’s arms.

Alex woke up and opened his eyes, a moment ago he had a very strong feeling that somepony called him; it could probably be a part of his dream, but the sensation didn’t vanish after awakening. Besides, he learned well that dreams and reality were connected to a greater extent than it was customary to think. Moreover, Alex simply knew what he needed to do and where he was to be at that moment. Thus, even if he was called in his dream, it wasn’t a reason to ignore that or think it was his imagination only.

The wall clock showed a few minutes before one am, a rare case of him sleeping already at that time, instead of engineering something or taking a route around the town. Alex took a listen: the rest of the Golden Oak was quiet; wearied by the daily chores, its inhabitants saw the tenth dream already, even Twilight with her wont to read in bed. Forcefully rubbing his face a few times and waking up completely, Alex put on his clothes; habitually, he opened the window and got over the sill leaving the frame unlocked. He did that every time not wanting to wake anypony at the Library by turning on the lights in the main hall and using the front doors.

He quietly swore and started to tuck the edges of his pant-legs into his boots – the grass under the window was cold and humid from the gathered dew and it seemed that Alex landed right in the middle of the wettest place. Promptly avoiding the shrubs belting the Library there not to take a chilling shower that early, Alex jumped over the flowerbed and took his way around the huge trunk to the front door. The square in front of the Library was completely empty at that hour, the suppressive number of ponyvillers were totally not nocturnal ponies. The human took a look around, over the dimly lit Ponyville streets meeting there, with their houses sleeping under the shelter of the trees; colourful in the faint light of the nearest light posts, they turned completely grey deeper in his field of view, where the ordinary pony eye could discern nothing.

Alex inhaled the night freshness, swallowing lightly when the wind brought to him the smell of the mushroom stew with herbs made by Spike; thankfully, so he didn’t feel the immediate urge to return, they three gave it due attention last evening. Twilight decided to shut the kitchen door tightly, for the delicious smell not to imbue the rest of the Library, yet nothing prevented it to come outside making the passing ponies sniff the air and turn heads throughout the rest of the day. However, the same wind got under Alex’s shirt and ran along his ribs making the human shiver lightly and reminding that it went deeper and deeper into the Autumn.

Feeling the accidentally brought that way surge of cheerfulness, Alex turned right, north-west and ran lightly across the square to warm himself up; it looked like a long walk awaited. Following the non-leaving him guiding sensation, he chose the narrow path snaking from the square among the trees and quickly leaving the town boundaries heading to the school. The night was dark, no Moon granting the skies its benevolent presence, but at the same time clear and Alex could see the dark blue carpet incrusted with thousands of stars in the gaps between the tree crowns. The omnipresent cicadas and the joining to them further in the field grasshoppers kept rasping, breaking the surrounding silence and making Alex think with a smile that the whole Equestria needed to freeze over for those stubborn insects to stop their nightly concerts and seek shelter for the coming Winter.

Exiting from under the foliage roof, the path turned sharply to the south-west, directly to the school on the sloping hills; Alex’s direction was still north-west, across the field, which no doubt would make him wet head to toe, and the thread of the railroad. Not losing time for useless pondering, Alex soared spreading the wings widely and feeling the wind playing with the feathers and his ruffled uncombed hair.

Making a loop under the star-woven sky and feeling the singular sharpness in thoughts and senses, Alex crossed the field leaving the rusty but still waving softly in the breeze sea of grass below. Across the rails, the station and warehouses never ended their bustle, only slowing it a bit during the night. Brightly lit in the necessary areas, they told that the Ponyville dam generators started working in full force; that woke a bittersweet feeling in him. Automatically, Alex listened to his senses, but everything seemed to be calm below and his spontaneous trip that night had another, completely peaceful purpose.

Leaving the railway station on his right, Alex headed further towards the large lake surrounded by the old willows; the one where he learned to fly with the girls. Some inner feeling told him that it was his destination that night and the curiosity took the lead making Alex fly around the large water body first, trying to detect the source of his urge for that late walk.

Like some black ink spilt on the reddened tablecloth, the lake stood out with its blackness even on the dark in that moonless night field. Shielded along its perimeter by various vegetation, the mirror of the water surface was completely motionless, undisturbed by the wind. Alex did one wide circle, then another, seeing no motion except his reflection in that shred of sky, which brought myriads of stars to the ground. Bathing their long drooping green braids, the large willows guarded the banks. He always wondered how those trees could keep their summer dress when others started to surrender to autumn painting; then suddenly drop their entire crown at once during one day.

Alex finally landed near the place they started each day of his flight practice finding nopony on the wooden gangway either. Standing on the planks for a while, Alex listened to the screechy concert of the cicadas, catching no other sounds except his heartbeat and inhaling the damp, smelling of grass and alga air. Somewhere afar an owl uttered a hoot and fell silent. The stars blinked in the still water among the flat round leaves of water lilies.

Returning on the bank after a few minutes of his futile vigil, Alex was about to confess his sudden night voyage stupid but he decided to wait for a while longer instead, as the feeling of him being needed there persisted. He walked back and forth, then turned to the lake putting his face to the light breeze; Alex froze on the spot crossing his arms on the chest. It looked as if he stood submerged in his deep musings but contrary to that Alex listened to the faintest sound attentively.

Thereby he was able to register the lightest hoofstep on the grassy shore behind, a second before his nose told him who it was, as the wind faded for a while. Smiling already, Alex decided to act his role till the end, thus remained motionless inhaling the surrounding him lavender and guessing what to expect.

“Finally! I thought thou would nev’r come…” the light warm breath touched Alex’s hair and in a moment he felt a tender loving bite on his ear. “Dost thou know it’s indecent to make thy mare wait, lief?” a tiny silvery laughter was followed by another passionate bite making the human realize – the last period they were separated with the princess came out too long for her patience to endure.

Truth be told, being nuzzled by her on the hair, Alex felt that he was starting to boil as well when mare’s fore legs and wings wrapped around him. He turned in her embrace slowly to be met by Luna’s deep shimmering eyes.

“The more you wait, the better the greeting is, my love!” his fingers travelled through her coat on the shoulders reaching the shoulder blades and stroking along and about; Alex wasn’t going to stop feeling how alicorn girl’s muscles strained under the silky skin and slight trembling went through her body. Being cuddled that way, he wasn’t able to reach her wings but, apparently, it wasn’t necessary that night, as even that touch seated Luna on the grass at once making her almost purr.

“Thou!” groaned Luna squeezing him tighter. “Thou knowest that I missed…” she dug a kiss on his lips instead of the words.

‘So soft… And tender…’ the single thought floated in Alex’s head, while the man and the mare shared their breath snuggling closer and closer. Luna’s lips were gentle but demanding and Alex felt losing to them – his hands rubbed girl’s shoulders and back more and more chaotically. However, when she released him for a while, equally exhausted by that passion wave, Alex noticed, gathering his thoughts, that Luna looked as cross-eyed and melted as he did.

“Wait a minute! Lu…” his voice drowned into another kiss, Alex tried to reason muffledly but soon gave up, returning her caresses with doubled ardency. Running his palms through the amazingly soft mane, he reached her sensitive ears and scratched behind lightly, making Luna moan and tremble again.

“We demand more!” breathed out the Night Princess into his ear between attacks of her thirsty lips and seeking tongue, locking Alex in the feathery cocoon and surrounding with lavender aroma. Snuggled to her fluffy heating chest and stormed with kisses, Alex felt girl’s racing heart and decided to wait till this tide subsided. Indeed, after a few minutes of sweet madness, Luna calmed down a bit giving Alex some space; he cuddled her softly, kissing girl’s neck and stroking her soothingly.

“Apologies!” Luna snuggled her nose to Alex’s forehead, trying to even out her rapid breathing. “I got… a zilch… carried away, mine love. Even if the princess must say that not, as Tia would say,” she giggled closing her eyes, while Alex stroked her cheeks lovingly, “I missed thee. Besides, with approaching celebration… and our idea. Whom am I trying to palaver?! I got excited, Alex. Nothing was befalling for quite a while…”

“Hmm… I wouldn’t say so…” resting his head on Luna’s shoulder, Alex remembered his own latest events starting from the fire at the school and ending with his recent visit to Canterlot.

“…except one thing mayhap,” Luna glanced at him slyly. “Thou knowest, somepony sneaked into the castle grounds a few days afore, played hide and seek with the guards in the garden startling them nicely. Oh, that was quite a sight!” she let out a joyful laughter. “Or… mayhap that was somehuman,” inquired she looking into Alex’s eyes; he could see the sparks of amusement and curiosity in these dark-blue lakes, “as we found another Royal Tapestry at Tia’s balcony anon. Soundeth familiar, lief, doth it not?”

“Errmmm… I thought it would be a natural polite gesture to return another one to its owner likewise!” Alex pursed his lips with the most diplomatic expression. “Took a look around the Old Castle anyway, as I… wasn’t in the mood to appreciate its glory the last time…”

“Oh, yeah! And the sightseeing trip ended arrant near our garden’s lake!” chuckled Luna nuzzling him again. “Something telleth me, it wasn’t that simple… Thou didn’t even visit me…” she pouted jokingly.

“Believest me, I wasn’t quite prepared for that…” Alex clearly didn’t expect the talk going along that route. “Let’s say, not suitable for thy visual pleasure, mine love.”

“Nonsense! That was nev’r a problem…” huffed Luna. “Thou art definitely hiding something…” she examined the human fixedly, then brought nose to nose with Alex. “Should I use… love torture to find out? Mayhap tickle thee till thou confess…”

“Fat chance!” smirked Alex, staring into her eyes and putting his palms on Luna’s chest softly. “You know well you are way more ticklish than me, Luna. I’ll win that game flat. Better tell me what you planned for the celebration.”

She watched him for a minute, half-heartedly admitting that Alex was most likely right about the outcome of the mutual tickling.

“Okay. Why don’t we have a trot?..” decided Luna mercifully, adding aside and causing another smile on Alex’s face. “Methinks I need to cool down a zilch anyway…”

They slowly walked along around the dark lake, followed by the cicada’s rasping; Luna leaned to Alex’s ear whispering something, occasionally letting out a giggle like a school-filly.

“Isn’t it a bit much though?” Alex shook his head with a smile when Luna finished and waited for his reaction. “I mean we all had a few unnerving incidents already…”

“Mmmm, hardly!” Luna shone with optimism. “First, it’s only a… how is it called now… prank?” after his nod she continued. “Second, it’s all the same each year. Granted, the foals love me, they love at which time I act as Nightmare Moon at the celebration. But what I realized since the first year back to Equestria, nice Nightmare Night fun calleth for a quality scare, so… it’s about time we bring some novelty, lief.”

“Besides, Tia’s concerns gave me that wondrous idea!” the Night Princess broke into a sly smile. “Mayhap it even helpeth ease her tension, if ‘t be true she sees it’s a joke only. Who knoweth… Alex?” she peeked into his face, seeing that he slowed down noticeably, pondering about something. “What’s bothering thee, mine love?”

“Different things, Luna, many different things…” muttered Alex; he stopped then as if waking from his thoughts. “Sorry, love!” he wrapped his arms around the alicorn girl. “Now when you mentioned armour and stuff… that led me to our current problems directly.”

“The Seekers?” Luna nodded semi-affirmatively.

“Exactly! You won’t deny them being a part of something bigger and more sinister,” Alex sighed, “but we are blindfolded still. Yet the dangers they deliver are more than enough for now to consider.”

Seeing that he gained her keen interest, Alex started to tell about his recent troubles regarding the pony armour: in particular the helmet part of it, his hopes to shield the ponies from the Seekers mind-crushing effect and attempts to keep the protection practically usable in the battle. Luna listened to him not interrupting, nodding occasionally; she had already seen the victims, dealt with the monsters, and realized the complexity of the task.

“…Twilight gave me an idea recently, by pure accident,” Alex let out a small smile, “but that was a lucky accident methinks. She mentioned Zecora’s tribal mask… which serves her protection against a random cockatrice in Everfree. I thought, what if breaking the direct visual contact would be enough to get rid of the devastating effect.”

“So I’m working on it… when I have time,” he added after a moment of silence. “But I came to a natural problem: I can make a prototype which carries out the idea, but… That’s only an experiment, which can succeed or fail, yet the price of failure is too high. I can’t imagine somepony ready to try it themselves…”

“I understand,” Luna nodded slowly. “’tis double trouble, Alex. And finding a so-called volunteer isn’t the main part of it, correct? Thy choice to allow somepony to take risks is rather.”

“Yeah,” Alex frowned. “Even if somepony claims they are willing to, can I decide not knowing about the outcome?” he rubbed his temples.

“Dost thou even sleep, Alex?” Luna examined him appraisingly.

“Thanks to you, my love, I can rest physically at least. It’s not always sleeping, as we know it,” Alex shrugged with shoulders and wings simultaneously. “I ramble around Ponyville while sleepwalking often, still it’s better than nothing.”

“Truth be told,” confessed he embarrassedly, “I still have occasional nightmares, when I sleep normally. I guess, some experience needs more time to wind out and some will never fade completely.”

“Carest to share?” asked Luna, when after a minute of silence they moved on along the bank watching the scattered pearls above. She was to wait, watching the pensive human and once even pulling him away from the particularly dense bushes Alex almost bumped into.

“Various things,” uttered Alex finally. “Mostly those you know already. The Dam,” Alex cringed visibly, “don’t know if I get rid of that ever, it returns once in a while… Sometimes I see my parents, whom I won’t see in reality ever again most likely. I see them aged and helpless, which maketh mine heart shrink and ache… or attacked by some robbers… or something else… alike. I see that but can’t help even in the dream,” he gritted the teeth making an audible sound. “Even saw my ex-girlfriend a few times…”

Alex noticed the quickly perked blue ear and preferred to change the topic, rightfully thinking that there was nothing fascinating in his vision of Elen dating another man in his dream; he realized that maybe not right at that moment but within the following year it would be only natural. Instead of that, Alex remembered another dream, not entirely sure himself if that could be called a nightmare.

‘Probably yes,’ concluded he inwardly, ‘considering all the given circumstances and my inability to sort things out simply.’

“How would you like that one?” smirked Alex glancing at Luna. “We three,” she nodded slightly showing her understanding who that “three” meant, “are sitting in the room… some room, that doesn’t really matter. As if we were in the middle of some talk but then a sudden uncalled pause emerged spoiling the atmosphere completely.” He stopped under the large willow and turned to the princess with the unvoiced question in his eyes. “In that dream I have no idea what the talk was about or what caused the cooling silence. You both look at me and I feel the urge to say something, but I can’t… Can’t find the words and… The mere thought that words may be worse than silence… I usually wake at that moment,” dropped he cutting it short.

“Still undecided?” Luna came closer touching his shoulder lightly; to his surprise, Alex couldn’t see any frustration in her beautiful eyes, some understanding rather. “I’d say it might be better that way but… we have all the time of this world…”

“Which can’t be said about her,” quietly added Alex, he glanced at Luna seriously.

“Besides, all the time of this world can turn out limited,” Alex followed the willow leaf, which dropped from the tree and slowly floated down; swirling and swaying, it finally touched the water surface, waking the ripples and making the stars flicker in the dark mirror of the lake. “With all the recent…”

“Thou hast seen something else, correct?” Luna seemed to peek into the very depths of his soul. “Not a regular dream… More like a…”

“…vision? Maybe,” Alex nodded slowly. “I don’t know what to make out of it yet…” He fell silent for a while, elaborating then. “I saw the Tree of Harmony again, Luna! Moreover, I heard it, like… like it was when the portal didn’t work. This time it wasn’t the single glimpse… It’s hard to explain forsooth!”

“Mayhap thou shall show me instead then,” Luna watched him sympathetically. Before Alex could ask the stupid question “How?”, she moved closer to him, embracing with her soft wings.

“Simply relax, lief. Relax and tryest to recall thy vision in details,” her eyes filled his entire view reflecting the stars; Alex started falling in the dark-blue velvet well.

The ground under his boots, the cliff walls, the roots and ivy stalks entwining them – everything was emitting the soft silvery light telling Alex that it was most likely a dream, as even in Equestria common rocks didn’t glow all by themselves. He looked up, seeing the trees far above peeking over the edge of the cleft; they beamed with the same silvery glow. Everything around him stood out strikingly against the completely dark sky, where nothing could actually produce that light the landscape bathed in, convincing Alex it was happening in his mind rather. However, as he already learned, even if it was in his head, that didn’t mean it wasn’t real.

Alex looked over himself: apparently, he was the only one keeping his natural colours there, like an actor, put among masterfully and lovingly prepared but still extremely surreal decorations. At least he certainly knew where he found himself; Alex walked, followed by the loud echo of his steps and small stones rolling from under his feet along the path inclined forward, deeper into the canyon and round its turn, where the turning blindingly bright glow came from. He couldn’t help but notice that the silvery glow was the main if not the only motive of that vision – as he decided for himself it was exactly the one. The surroundings were undisturbed by any other sensual stimuli: his ears couldn’t register any sound except that he produced, despite the foliage galore around and above, which should definitely rustle from the slightest wind. Come to think of it, Alex couldn’t feel any wind, the air was completely still. The same referred to the smells – there were simply none, except maybe something faint, yet very familiar to him, intensifying as Alex proceeded.

Exiting the canyon to the broad cleft, the human was to shield his eyes with the palm of his hand first, so bright was the glow of the large tree at its far end. It looked exactly the same way as that one time Alex saw it in reality. The twelve-foot in diameter trunk bearing the enormous crown of silvery branches and leaves, the latter resembled maple ones being larger and thicker though – the Tree of Harmony. The tart scent filled the air, exhilarating, tuning to the cheerful mood despite ones will; the silvery glow faded slightly as Alex’s eyes accommodated and its slow strong pulse became visible. The Forest Deity breathed with life. Netting the low hill, the silver roots, large and small, covered the ground almost entirely. Bright sparks of the same silver light floated in the crown, all over it; looking like some large fireflies, they most likely were the part of the tree or its magic, as Alex concluded.

He stopped: remembering how his single real contact with the Tree of Harmony ended, Alex preferred to keep as much distance from it as he only could.

‘Some miracles are better to watch from afar!’ decided he noticing how the pulse of the glow got in sync with his heartbeat; at the same time, Alex caught himself on hearing the quiet but discernible chiming of the giant tree.

“Greetings, Guardian!” the deep soothing female voice sounded in his head; Alex was inwardly prepared for something like that and it didn’t make him wince like the first time. “Come closer! Don’t worry, it’s entirely safe,” added the voice with a tint of amusement.

“I wouldn’t say it was so the last time!” Alex wasn’t inspired to agree with “her”, whoever it was. He shrugged with his wings meaningfully. Nevertheless, he approached a bit more; Alex’s head was full of questions and wasting the sudden chance to ask them would be simply stupid… if he already was there, be it his dream or not. Trying the surface with his foot, like a swimmer tried the water, Alex finally dared to stomp on the roots-covered ground, causing a barely noticeable change in the tone of chiming.

‘Is she having fun?’ He remembered how the princesses, mostly Celestia referred the Tree of Harmony, becoming more puzzled only. ‘Why “she” by the way?’ But the questions Alex started with were different.

“What’s with that “guardian” stuff? Why the guardian? Why me, pray tell? I’m a simple human…” Alex stopped short, the feathers on his wings’ margins ruffled. “Okay! Scratch that… Not a simple human now, but still… I’m Alex, that’s all methinks…”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple now!” the human could easily imagine, how the owner of that voice was smiling daintily. “Patience, Guardian Alex… As for the why part, it’s up to you to decide… if you doubt the already known reasons still.”

“Is that a dream of mine?” interrupted Alex adding inwardly. ‘Or I am dragged somewhere against mine will again!’

“That’s my way to contact you, Guardian,” the entity seemingly didn’t take offence by his little lack of tact, elaborating a bit more. “You can call it a dream if you want though.”

“It’s utterly strange…” muttered Alex, automatically coming closer and looking at the Tree of Harmony.

“It’s because I limited the perception purposely,” “she” sounded surprised by his question. “That is why you see, feel or hear less of distracting things. For now, I wanted to tell you one story, Guardian,” added the voice meaningfully.

“Apologies?! A story?..” Alex shook his head and raised both hands in a shielding gesture. “I’m afraid I don’t arrantly receive… Is thither a supposed connection to our current problems?”

“If I’m not mistaken, I mentioned patience already, no?” the voice audibly chuckled that time. “Simply believe, you need to hear that for your further… decisions, Guardian.”

‘What’s with that “guardian” kink every time?’ Alex nodded doomedly. “Okay, I’m all ears,” he said dryly, pondering if to seat was a good idea in case the story turned out to be long enough; however, he decided to keep standing so far to limit the contact with the silvery roots, just in case.

“Excellent!” The glow of the Tree faded a bit more, preparing for the better storytelling atmosphere, as Alex decided for himself with a smirk; he was sceptical still.

“There was a distant planet,” the voice was seemingly going to start from afar and Alex inwardly rolled his eyes, while doing his best to keep the diplomatic mien. “Well, it still is obviously, but our story refers to the ancient times… ancient for you, Guardian.”

Listening to “her” with one ear, Alex was pondering if it was the right time to insist on calling him simply “Alex” or at least not calling him “guardian” all the time. He was genuinely irked every time called that way; as far as Alex knew, all of his attempts to help somepony while staying in Equestria were dictated by momentarily impulses of compassion, selfless mutual assistance, not some virtual duty feeling. He would do the same absolutely while staying in his world; where exactly, until the recent times, he aspired, only recently coming to terms with the thought that most likely he would never get that chance. He even admitted the positive aspects of staying in Equestria. But being assigned an uncalled position without even giving complete crucial information… That really looked like a flout.

‘How am I supposed to confront something I have no idea about?’ Alex cringed. ‘Thou either trust thy “employees”… or not but in the latter case dost not expect the due dedication.’

“The inhabitants, since the moment of gaining sentience, lived in harmony with nature and, what’s more important, magic,” the Tree of Harmony made a dramatic pause but the polite quandary was written across Alex’s face, while inwardly his condition could be rather described by the phrase: ‘What the hay I’m going to hear?!’ Nevertheless, that couldn’t put out of countenance his telepathic collocutor. “Yes, there was magic on that planet… and still is. But we’ll return to that moment a little later.”

“The main thing is,” the soft voice continued, “while there were different times and, wars and conflicts or periods of undisturbed prosperity, they always felt themselves as a part of that planet’s life, never forgetting about being her children.”

“Her?..” Alex thought that the personification came out very deliberate.

“Love was more than a beautiful word. Duty, trust and honour were valued unconditionally,” “she” kept elaborating, as if not hearing his concern. “Friendship could not be bought or broken easily. And magic… Magic simply existed, recognized by all. Alongside with science, naturally, as two means of knowledge coexist without interfering or denying each other.”

“In brief, life, bright feelings and harmony were really valued. Valued the most!” the female voice in Alex’s head stated feelingly.

“But life, friendship and magic are the favourite bait for those, who can’t understand them entirely, secretly fear and hate, but most important crave to devour, annihilate, while still feeding on these positive emanations,” “she” audibly sank; the silvery glow faded even more in unison with the sad things the Tree of Harmony mentioned.

“Happiness can’t be eternal or continuously long…” uttered Alex musingly.

“Right you are, Guardian!” the wave of glow travelled from the roots of the Tree to its crown.

“…but that’s the way we can distinguish it… and enjoy while it lasts.”

A long pause hung in the air, in the silence undisturbed by the wind or leaves rustle and only the faint chime of the Tree of Harmony accompanied the thoughts of both.

“There are and always were… and unfortunately always will be the powers which try to devour the life and magic in every world they exist or at least corrupt, turn them into something not burning these powers from inside by the mere fact of their existence,” the voice suddenly continued. “That planet didn’t become an exclusion, couldn’t avoid that fate.”

‘It’s always the same,’ Alex slowly shook his head in understanding, ‘there are always some, who can’t stand if the others don’t suffer…’

“Feeling united with their home world,” the Tree of Harmony stated solemnly, “the inhabitants confronted the global threat and prevented the tragedy, which seemed imminent.”

“Good for them, I guess!” smirked Alex. “But still… how is that connected to our current circumstances, pray tell?”

“The most direct way!” exclaimed the voice showing the glimpse of frustration for the first time; the whole Tree of Harmony flashed brighter for a second. “Your impulsiveness and restlessness, Guardian! They may turn out very detrimental for the task… or may not. It’s indiscernible yet…” “she” calmed down as suddenly as became agitated before. “The same fate awaits Equus if nobody interferes…”

“However, despite the defenders managed to win a battle, they lost the war,” concluded the voice sadly. “Not entirely yet, but evil… The Evil, if you want to know,” added “she” meaningfully, “spreads and takes root everywhere it can.”

“How come?” Alex gazed up at his magical collocutor. “If the… “inhabitants” averted the tragedy…”

“Alas, all the attempts to destroy that evil completely have failed. The possibility of such is unknown.”

‘Great!’ huffed Alex inwardly. ‘It turns out there were more cases, which I won’t be told about most likely. And on top of that pie, we are going to face an invulnerable enemy. Merlin’s pants! Great at double!’

“Where it failed with force, the evil succeeded with trickery and villainy!” Alex could almost imagine how the ethereal female silhouette could bow her head in grief. “Alas, along with the noble defenders, there turned out to be enough of the eager onhangers. Enlisting their support the evil corrupts the mere life on that planet till today!”

“Magic fell as the first victim!” elaborated “she” sadly. “Little by little, it became possible to make the natives forget about its mere existence, believe they never knew or used any, deem any mention of it as lunacy. The science was slowly turned into the rival, instead of the faithful ally, completely denying what was once supporting and completing it. At the same time, while it seemed completely impossible in that situation, the multitude of false beliefs and prejudices only widened. While some genuinely aspired to the reign of rationality and reason over the feelings – we’ll leave aside the advisability of that, they at least wanted the best – others abused that intention.”

“Next, the common and natural values started being questioned. Love, trust, honour… Friendship finally!” the glow began to flare up again. “They were substituted, the most stealthily, by the cult of power and wealth.”

“Tell me, Alex,” inquired the Tree of Harmony addressing the human by his name probably for the first time. “Even dealing with the commercial companies here, in Equestria, have you ever seen that money had such overwhelming power over your neighbours?”

Alex could only shake his head slowly; never and nowhere in Equestria he could witness that. His own deal with Canterlot Steam Company, dictated to him by the most honourable motives at that moment, for a single short moment seemed something… not entirely deserved by this land.

“Eventually,” softly concluded the voice, as if his collocutor could watch Alex’s torments, “the mere life started being depreciated.”

“Was…” Alex raised his eyes at the Tree voicing his sudden wild guess. “Is that planet… Earth?”

“Yes, Guardian, it is…” the Tree chimed louder in approval. “And it’s still struggling, ever since that battle was won and the whole war turned undercover.”

“There was a powerful mage,” added the soft deep voice, “the one among those, who confronted the usurper.”

“I can easily believe that some legends were developed,” Alex let out a smile, this time not an ironic but rather a tired one. “I always thought, and regretted, truth be told, that my home world had no magic. A minute ago I was told that all mine previous assumptions in that sphere were wrong. I’m at a loss forsooth…” he shrugged. “But thither always were historical persons, whom the folk started to ascribe magical powers over time. As a tribute to something they wished to exist but saw no signs of.”

“Naturally!” this time “her” voice definitely chuckled. “But in that case it wasn’t ascribing only. He was a great mage of his time. Really was, mind that, Guardian. Really a mage! In that part and regarding his deeds, the legends don’t lie a iota. But the whole theory about his downfall from the charms of some… Lady is pure misconception…”

“Do you know that every living planet has a spirit?” the voice dropped all the joviality, suddenly becoming entirely serious. “The soul, if you want to put it that way, the embodiment of the power of life they carry… Some may call it powers of nature or Mother Nature or even… Gaia, right? Is it the term still occasionally used in your home world?”

Alex’s thoughts stumbled. He could easily accept the poetical naming of natural forces, he came to the admittance of magical forces beyond his former imagination limits (like the immortal princesses ruling the celestial bodies), but to confess that the whole planet might possess the consciousness… that was a bit much.

‘On the other hand, how is it less possible than the whole concept of noosphere?!’ glimpsed in Alex’s mind; still, he tried to find suitable words but failed.

“The nature of that spirit never changes regardless of the name given by the locals,” with Alex’s “silent agreement”, the voice continued. “So, in a way, he indeed met the Lady… but it wasn’t his bane, Guardian! It was his vocation. The acceptance and realization of which made him a different person in a way. All he did before was a matter of public domain; all he did after was a bit more concealed from public eye… Perhaps that was a mistake, which eased the efforts of the attackers later.”

“The mage was among those few who won this battle… delaying the fate of your home world!” that sounded like a thunder strike in Alex’s consciousness. “Becoming the last Earth’s Guardian!”

“Wait!!!” hundred of questions swarmed in Alex’s head; so far everything he was told was truly vague. Perhaps, he had an idea about who that mage in question could be… but that guess was even wilder than the one he already made, despite last time he hit the target perfectly. However, before Alex could even think of and word out the most important for him, the silvery glow started brightening. It spread and flooded his vision, filling the surroundings with the dense silvery mist, so the Tree, the cleft, the surrounding forest, even the sky above dissolved in that milky haze. Alex couldn’t even see his own hand brought closer to the eyes. Apparently, that was the end of the audience.

Alex winced and emerged from his vision. When he managed to focus, like waking from the deep sleep, he could see only the shimmering stars far above – he found himself resting on something soft and silky, looking into the sky. The stridulation of insects served the uniform background for the otherwise soundless night, the wind brought damp freshness from the lake; Alex thought that it was too late in the Autumn to lie on the ground, but amazingly, he was feeling warm.

“Tis interesting and… quite ambiguous. Even for Her,” sounded near his right ear, weaving into his lazy thoughts – Alex didn’t yet recover from that sudden vision pulling him right amidst his recent dream. “Still provideth the ground for some analysis, lief.”

Alex rallied and raised himself carefully leaning on the elbows, the soft and silky something he was lying on turned out to be Luna’s shoulder – the alicorn girl rested on her side on the grass, providing him support and sharing her warmth, when Alex was unconscious during his vision. It was the first time he came across that extravagant method of familiarizing with someone’s memories, no wonder the human felt slightly disoriented first.

Finding himself practically wrapped in her starry mane, Alex smiled carelessly for a moment enjoying the lightest touch on his cheek, when Luna nuzzled him tenderly. He turned and wanted to give her a short kiss, but as soon as their lips met, the large blue wing covered Alex’s shoulders holding him in the place for a while longer. Truth be told for a lot longer than he planned.

“Call me dumb, my love, but I didn’t get much out of that,” Alex made a sarcastic face when he was given back the ability to rest his head on Luna’s shoulder. “Except a vague and very superficial story about some powers changing the way of life on my native planet in ancient times. I get that there is a suspicion… or even confidence that the same powers made Equus their aim. But the rest still blooms with questions…”

“Methinks we may safely conclude, we have the same enemy as thy home world met aeons ere,” the princess was more categorical in her judgments. “At least the Tree of Harmony presumeth that. I tend to believe her insight in the aspects alike!”

“The Seekers truly don’t look like some powers going to corrupt the mere essence of life,” chuckled Alex. “Like somepony’s minions – maybe, their main purpose is to literally seek for something – okay, we know that as well. But isn’t it simply, I don’t know… stupid to send something so unreliable and, let’s be frank, dumb across the space to search.”

“We don’t know what was used as the… first wave in the case with thy world, Alex,” Luna shrugged with wings, lightly ruffling his hair.

“I still have mostly nothing but questions as the result of that story,” muttered Alex a bit grumpily.

“Mayhap that was the exact purpose of even telling thee something, mine love,” Luna started nuzzling Alex’s hair and neck softly, occasionally planting a small kiss and quickly taking his frustration about the strange vision away. “She is responsible for bringing thee hither, and ev’r since, that was her chosen method – to make thee ask questions and seek answers thyself.”

“Maybe…” Alex caught himself on absently stroking Luna’s fore leg as he melted from her gentle touch. Suddenly he perked up, returning to his favourite question. “By the way, Luna, why She? Does that mean that the Tree of Harmony is actually Equus… Gaia?! Because, I simply can’t imagine another magical… entity that powerful…”

“She is!” the princess simply nodded. “The spirit of our planet. The Tree is her material embodiment. Something we can communicate with… when She wanteth that, of course.”

“That doesn’t explain the strange fact that… She is informed about things happening on Earth in the days of yore!” Alex made a face. “And if we suppose that She knows more than tells… How’s that even possible?”

“Alex!” Luna stared at him in surprise, the stars in her deep blue eyes shone brighter. “Apologies, but that… noosphere was a theory of thine! I guess it that Earth’s Gaia is still unharmed, even if ‘t be true the ranks of her allies thinned. Mayhap the ability of these spirits to communicate is exactly the part of that noosphere, dost thou think otherwise?”

“Besides, at which hour She needed, She could pick thee from thy home world and bring hither at ease,” Luna let out a sly smile.

“Fair point,” Alex was to admit; he stroked her cheek tenderly admiring Luna’s muzzle when she smiled. Remembering his first vision, where Luna appeared in his dream as a human female, he was to admit that he adored that expression regardless of the form. The pony version was even more enjoyable having the advantage of being unexpectedly cute.

“The spirits of our planets must be really similar,” Alex started pondering aloud. “Considering the similarity of the conditions, the life itself… Why not indeed, maybe they are siblings in some way. It’s natural for sisters to have a heart-to-heart talk occasionally, right, Luna?” he glanced at her jokingly.

“Hey! Are all such spirits… female sorta?!” it suddenly came to his mind.

“In all the seriousness, I have no tiniest idea, Alex,” Luna raised one eyebrow at him. “Why don’t thou ask Her next time She wanteth to talk? And all the other questions thou hast… Mindst that I don’t guarantee getting the answers, but still worth trying methinks!” Alex saw the smile in her eyes; like a school filly, Luna was teasing him again.

“Questions…” sighed Alex. “The same about that mage the Tree of Harmony mentioned… By the way, Luna, does the spirit of Equus have some actual name? I mean that addressing the powerful spirit, moreover a lady as the Tree… is a bit… strange to say the least…”

“I don’t know either!” Luna shook her head with light regret. “She nev’r objected that name or being referenced as She, Her, etcetera likewise. So, what’s about that mage, Alex?”

“I simply thought,” Alex turned to his side to see her better and looked into Luna’s eyes, “that magical abilities could be crucial for becoming that… guardian-thing.” He cringed a bit at that word. “I don’t like to guess what is expected from me… I wasn’t asking for that… honour,” Alex smirked wryly. “Even so, didn’t it render the whole idea futile? To bring someone who has below zero understanding of magic. Why me again?”

“I guess that wasn’t the determining factor when choosing a human,” retorted Luna, raising a bit. “How many humans who know anything about magic currently dost thou know, Alex? Hmmm… Methinks the point was to get a human exactly… The rest of the motives though… Well, those were her estimations. Again, why not ask Her then… along with her name? As long as thou hast already established a relationship with the lady…”

“If I can be sure in something in that world,” uttered Alex jokingly dry, “it is that you never cease teasing me, you mockingbird, you…”

Not giving her time to reply, Alex pushed the alicorn girl back to the grass leaning over her and enjoying the excitement appearing in her widening eyes. The willow-tree kept shedding its leaves on the man and mare melting together in a kiss.

Spreading far in the cooling evening air, the sounds of mallet chopped the silence, otherwise broken by gusts of wind and the monotonous hum of the smelter. The latter worked in its regular mode, prepared for the ordinary job. The smell of heated metal mixed with the scents of dry grass and soil from the field, divided into rectangle sectors and ploughed along the contours, so it wouldn’t catch and spread fire in the still dry weather.

‘Autumn took completely over,’ Alex watched from under his palm the distant thread of the train pulling its smoke plume and cutting the rusted field in halves. ‘Why do I have a feeling that everything is going to heat up only?’

The majority of songbirds left, some headed to the south, some simply moved to warmer Everfree from the emptying field, their place taken by the omnipresent sparrows, titmice and crows. Occasionally, the wind dragged by the colourful leaves from a couple of trees at the smithy yard, reminding about the time order. But the Sun shone bright and the skies were still clear inspiring positive thoughts. Alex shook his head dispelling the memories of his recent vision with all its allusions.

‘Right now we have some issues of the day to address instead of guess-games regarding our future!’

Since noon he was busy with an urgent order: the directing rails for metalworking machines were not the most complex but meticulous job, as they needed to be precisely made from the metal durable to a wide range of effects, especially considerable loads under the high temperatures. Thus Alex spent half of the day on something looking for the uninformed eye like a bunch of simple rails, yet demanding attention and accuracy in the work. Not to mention that moving each was quite a tough (should we say weighty) task and Alex had time to regret he didn’t come to the smithy sleepwalking that day.

The old blacksmith, on the contrary, hid in the house after lunch and most definitely worked on something new; Alex could occasionally hear metal noise and clanking sounding from the half-open window. He even fancied some strange cloud of violet fog or smoke leaving the window a couple of times. Uncle Will didn’t tell him yet what he was going to make, offering with a sly smile to have a look at the final product.

“If I manage to make it play out well,” ambiguously said the old unicorn making Alex even more intrigued. Especially considering that he noticed how, in addition to the regular casts, Willsmash filled some prepared forms with the most durable metal the last time Alex was operating the smelter as the sleepwalker.

Alex had some suspicions that it might be related to the glaive, as they finally come to a suitable constructive decision. The prototype was already made, stored in Will’s house not to bring it each time for training – the weapon came out huge by the pony standards and quite unhandy to simply carry around while not in the battle. They worked at the possible solutions for that problem, but till that day stumbled upon certain technical difficulties, not least related to Alex inability to contact with any foreign magic. Foreign because those who knew the human decided that his wings, sleepwalking and everything related were still magic, but different, mostly like Princess Luna’s inborn ability to reign others’ dreams.

Thus, the second half of Alex’s day consisted of routine hard work, when the heavy mallet came up and down hitting the steel bars almost automatically as if becoming the natural continuation of his hand, and the attempts to guess what was made behind the curtains. A simple weapon could be assembled in less than an hour, considering Willsmash had all the parts prepared beforehoof; Alex assumed it involved something more complex than some plain mechanic.

Finally, he was about to call it a day, with considerable effort moving the last metal rail under the canopy: the order was to be taken and transported on the next day. Scooping from the rainwater barrel, Alex was already washing the hands and cooling his face and shoulders when Silver Ingot suddenly ran onto the porch; taking a look over the yard and spotting Alex, she quickly waved at him to come.

“Uncle Will wanted to show you something…” she started with a cryptic expression but Alex’s shirtless view made the unicorn filly blush habitually; with a smile Alex realized that noises from the window ceased a while ago indeed.

“Okay, Sil, I’m coming,” he picked up his shirt and nodded towards the instruments. “Just a minute… I’ll tidy up here a bit.”

“No worries! I’ll do…” with a smile the filly headed towards the “creative mess” enveloping the pliers in her aura.

“Thanks, Sil! Just… be careful with the sledgehammer or don’t move it at all, I’ll bring it in later…” Alex hurried inside.

In the dim light of the room – only the table in the middle was brightly lit – Willsmash met him, extremely pleased by his own technical achievement. Something oval or rather fusiform, about two foot in length rested in the middle covered with the thick fabric.

“I finally managed to solve the problem!” the blacksmith pointed towards the mysterious object. “Come on, Alex, have a look. And a swing, of course!” the unicorn winked his uninjured eye.

“It’s quite compact…” Alex involuntarily started smiling; his hand froze reverently over the cloth. “Uncle Will, don’t say it is the…”

“See yourself!” the old unicorn nudged him lightly closer to the table.

Holding his breath, Alex removed the fabric. What was underneath mostly resembled an elongated double edge war axe blade of unusual shape and without the actual handle: the middle part was a metal cylinder of the human’s grip-handy diameter, spindle-like with the nested sections visible on the narrowing ends, two double edge crescent-shaped blades were movably attached to the opposite tips, going towards each other on both sides of the middle part. The central shape had a visible ring near the convex round window shimmering with all tints of violet. The metal surfaces were snaking with the familiar peculiar pattern of lines, distinctive to their famous highly durable metal. When Alex reached for the object, it appeared strangely warm, making Alex glance at Willsmash in bewilderment.

“I used our blueprints and drafts to make the details and the whole mechanism,” explained the blacksmith with a content smile, “but it would be dead if not one idea – I finally managed to put a magic crystal inside of the construction.”

“And it actually works now!” added he proudly. “So, yes, it’s a glaive… as you meant it to be. Don’t worry, the crystal is isolated from the direct touch, remembering your uneasy relationship with magic,” mister Steel let out a tiny smile.

Unable to believe his eyes, Alex picked up the unusual weapon weighing it in the hand.

“It’s still quite heavy,” nodded the unicorn noticing that. “But at least it became handier to carry and use…”

“And how do I…” Alex kept staring at the metalwork masterpiece in his hand.

“Stretch your hand and turn that ring in the middle,” suggested the blacksmith. “I tested it already and it works fine, simply be careful not to pierce or knock over something with it. The ring is a bit tight,” noticed he, “and locks with a click in both positions. But it made to be easily operated with a single hand if necessary.”

Following blacksmith’s directions, Alex outstretched the right arm with the glaive and turned the ring with his index and thumb fingers with a tiny effort; it went smoothly stopping with a dry audible click, the round eye glowed brighter. Then a miracle started happening: with a faint sizzle, the central part began to unfold section by section, turning into a nearly six-foot length handle. Each couple of sections from both sides turned a bit upon coming out, locking in position, as Alex guessed. Finally, both blades turned opening at thirty degrees angle and locked forming the bevelled tips of the deadly weapon. The glow faded.

“It locks itself both after folding and unfolding, not wasting the crystal energy,” Willsmash started explaining the process, while Alex took the glaive with both hands bringing closer and examining it amazedly. “Thus it will stand any hit, which it would stand if made of the solid metal. Besides, if the crystal discharges completely after opening the glaive, it won’t accidentally fold until recharged.”

“The eyelet gives you an opportunity to check the crystal condition,” added the unicorn. “If the normal shimmering fades visibly, it must be replaced. I’m still thinking of the ways for you to do it yourself,” confessed he, “meanwhile, somepony will need to do it for you and recharge the crystals. But don’t worry, Alex, one crystal can easily withstand many cycles.”

“Now give it a swing!” with a smile, Willsmash moved the table aside with his aura, freeing more space in the middle of the room.

Carefully, not to hit anything, Alex swayed the glaive; heavy on the first touch, it spun in his arm surprisingly easy, circling him in honed movement, obedient just like the still version was. Stepping back, the old unicorn watched Alex rotating their creation faster and faster with the enthusiasm of a foal trying the new toy. First carefully, as such exercises better were performed outside than in the room, even the biggest one in the house, then to the point when a glowing dome shielded the human who put to the use everything they trained. That wasn’t some wooden pole already but an impenetrable wall of steel for the possible attackers to take into account. Finally, Alex slowed down the weapon swing and took the glaive vertically, freezing on the spot for a moment and saluting to the master.

“Thank you, uncle Will!” he looked at the smiling blacksmith with the deepest gratitude. “It’s wondrous forsooth!”

Instead of an answer, Willsmash picked the cloth, which covered the glaive, with his aura and threw it to the ceiling towards the human; the stripe of fabric started falling freely but didn’t reach the floor, cut midway by a single aimed strike like it was thin air, not the thick linen.

“When you need it compact, simply turn the ring back to the click,” casually noticed Willsmash, nevertheless extremely pleased by the effect. Needless to say, Alex immediately tried to fold the glaive watching the backwards process like enthralled. Then he unfolded the weapon once again, getting used to it.

“Apologies, if ‘t be true I look like a foal with the new toy!” properly guessing the impression he made, Alex looked over his shoulder with a wide happy grin, giving the glaive another wide swing and picking it under his arm. “Uncle Will, may I…”

“Tomorrow, okay?” Willsmash chuckled into his beard. “I need to adjust a few things yet.”

“Not sure now if I can sleep well,” laughed Alex folding the glaive and returning it on the table.

“Uncle Will!” reached their ears from outside through the open window. “Uncle Will, here they came regarding the job!”

“So, you did it, Alex,” not believing his ears, the blacksmith shook his head with a smile. “And what’s more surprising – somepony actually reacted that call…”

“What’s so strange about it?” Alex raised one eyebrow slyly. “We thought long ago that we could only benefit from a few helping hooves. And sending a vacancy ad in the local newspaper was natural. I was sure that it would work… and it did.”

“Try to look at the life more optimistically, uncle Will,” added he with a smile, “ponies don’t necessary think bad about you, they rather got used to that being some… common practice here. Calls for changing methinks. Besides, sometimes pe… ponies simply need a job, not too dangerous – we surely care about safety – and without any crime.”

“I’ll better check who it is…” still barely believing in that, Willsmash hurried outside; Alex lingered over the glaive, excitedly examining the blades, which seemed to glow in the dimly light.

“There, that colt asked for the job vacancy we had,” Silver Ingot nodded towards the gate when her uncle showed up on the porch. “He is quite young but looks strong enough…” added she in half-voice.

“Alex is also quite young,” shortly chuckled Willsmash. “Let’s see what this one has on his mind and what he is worth.”

Lit by the low sun, leaning his fore hooves on the fence from the side of the road, a unicorn colt waited for the smithy owner; even if he was nervous, he did his best not to show that and so far coped decently, except maybe some stiffness in the pose, which he tried to make laid-back. Silver Ingot said “colt”, but he could be equally called a stallion; quite young and slim, but visibly muscular. Apparently, he wasn’t avoiding the hard work and had plenty of to practice. Waving the withered grass in the field, the cool evening wind played with colt’s mane and tail making a small muscle on his shoulder twitch lightly.

“Good evening, mister! How can I help you?” the blacksmith approached examining the newcomer with the piercing look of his attentive eye.

“Good evening, sir! Mister Steel, right? I’m Diamond Chisel,” the colt withstood the glance with entire seriousness. “I heard the smithy sent a vacancy ad, even saw it in the newspaper… So, you need more workers. They say the smithy is fully operational again, so… I think I’m exactly the pony you need!” concluded he with a small smile.

“Hmmm… I like the spirit,” nodded Willsmash. “But I hope it’s understandable if I ask some questions.”

“Well, I have… nothing to hide,” the colt waved his fore leg in a sincere gesture.

“Did you have any experience with metalwork, Diamond Chisel?” the old unicorn proceeded right to the matter of things. “Which exactly, if yes?”

“I’m afraid I have nothing to boast about here,” shrugged the colt. “Till today I have worked with metal in the form of finished tools and objects only. But I’m ready to learn everything I need to know and do…”

The old blacksmith nodded at his words smiling; so far the newcomer made a good impression. Besides, they had nothing to choose from yet, frankly speaking, getting this one applicant looked a miracle to mister Steel.

“Where have you worked before?” asked Willsmash pondering which position one could willingly change to the dubious smithy job. Deep inside he still wasn’t sure of citizens acceptance, despite the recent episode with Fluttershy, clearly showing that more ponies, than he supposed, were ready to deal with the blacksmith.

“Formally I’m still working at the building site,” chuckled the colt a bit sadly. “You know, the construction at the north-east of Ponyville, but this job is coming to the natural end and…”

“Formally? Sorry,” Willsmash blinked a couple of times, not completely understanding the problem.

“Well,” sighed the unicorn colt, “I don’t feel myself a part of the crew anymore… Became a… white crow, since the time I parted some views with the rest of the team.”

“Was that exactly what made you look for the different job?” the blacksmith stared at him puzzledly and the colt was to elaborate.

“I reconsidered my attitude towards the foreigners… and that seemed to rub badly with the others. So,” he smirked wryly, “I nearly became one myself. Besides, as I said the construction is almost completed and I decided to try myself on the different field. But, yes, the former is the main reason.”

“Uncle Will,” listening to them till that moment, Silver Ingot headed back to the house, “if you don’t need me, I’ll address the dinner.”

“Yes, dear, if you please!”

“Alex won’t stay for the dinner this time again, right?” asked the filly picking the door with her aura already. After the affirmative nod of her uncle, the girl sighed and disappeared into the house.

“So it’s true,” half-inquiringly stated the colt, with some tension in his voice. “They said the human was working at the smithy… and it turns out correct.”

“Yes,” Willsmash raised the eyebrow. “Alex is an equal partner here, so, naturally, he works at the smithy. Is there any problem? With the humans in particular…”

“N-no, sir. Of course not!” however, the colt’s smile was a bit stiff. The next moment he glanced at the house behind Willsmash and strained.

“Uncle Will!” sounded from the porch, Alex came down smiling. “That’s some real magic! I hope you finish with tuning tomorrow, am dying from the wish to try its full capabilities.”

Willsmash looked over the shoulder: Alex shone like a polished horseshoe, apparently, the impression, given by the new glaive, exceeded all blacksmith’s expectations. Then Alex’s eyes stopped at the newcomer, the human blinked a few time and they widened, going from recognition to surprise and then to genuine interest. Quickly gazing back at Diamond, the old unicorn spotted a faint shadow, which slid across the colts muzzle, and a barely noticeable retreat impulse. However, the colt coped with himself and kept face.

“So, this is our job applicant?” Alex showed nothing except hospitality. “Good evening!”

“Mhm…” the blacksmith alternated between them with growing interest. “I’ve asked about the experience already. But even without it, the guy seems fine for our needs, as long as he is willing to learn.”

‘Yeah, especially that we have nopony else to come yet…’ chuckled Alex inwardly. Then he spread his arms. “Well, as long as the gentlecolt is entirely confident that he wants to try and isn’t afraid of hard work… I see no reasons to object either.”

“Feel free to come on the morrow, sir!” Alex addressed Diamond, who stood with round eyes like thunderstruck. “And… welcome!”

At first Diamond Chisel looked completely frozen and Alex inwardly had a moment of foalish fun, imagining how Pinkie would surely have waved in front of his eyes or tried to wake him loudly. Coping with the feelings, their new workpony squeezed out words of gratitude and said goodbye crumpledly.

“Was that one of the stallions, you came to blows with in the bar in spring?” Willsmash Steel followed the receding figure of the extremely puzzled colt when the latter finally left.

“Yup! Uncle Will, don’t tell Sil about that, okay?” answering the inquiring glance of the blacksmith, Alex shrugged. “If he came here willingly, I want the guy to have a completely clean start. Our… racial dispute is water under the bridge.”

“Hmmm… Fine!” the unicorn smiled into his beard. “Otherwise, he has fair chances to be morally executed daily… If only morally!”

“Is everything okay, Lulu?” Princess Celestia glanced across the table at her sister. “You are smiling quietly for the whole day… I know it’s your rightful holiday, but still… a bit unusual, blueberry…”

Luna indeed was mysteriously cheerful: in the morning, when she entrusted the Court to Celestia with that tiny smile, and then later in the evening, right after getting up, preparing for her nightly duties, which included the special holiday activities on that day – all the time she was subtly enjoying some idea. Even knowing sister’s love for the Nightmare Night – the day when pranks were officially encouraged – Princess Celestia looked puzzled; she couldn’t remember her regal sister being so inspired the last year for example.

“Simply anticipating,” Luna daintily sipped her usual coffee with the most innocent look, but the sparkles dancing in her deep blue eyes told her sister at once, there was anything but simple in Luna’s expectations. “I have so many plans for this night, so many places to visit. It’s always exciting, even more because of befalling once a year, sunny!”

“Like every year, dear, when you try to cover all the significant places of Equestria,” noticed Celestia casually. “Do you plan to visit Ponyville again?”

“Yes, Tia, like the good old tradition,” smirked Luna, putting her cup away. “Alas, only Ponyville is getting the special treatment tonight…” she sighed with a tint of disappointment. “It would be quite difficult to bring this trick to every place…”

“Don’t overdo it… you two,” Celestia looked at her fixedly, while Luna was musingly observing the darkening sky behind the arched windows.

“What? Oh… thou knowest us, sister, we are prudence embodied,” the big blue filly pretended to just wake up from her thoughts and shrugged. “No casualties!”

“We?” with a wry smile the Solar Princess rolled her eyes, shuddering slightly at the word “casualties”; sometimes her sister’s humour was borderline scary. “Does “we” mean you – Luna Selena of Equestria… or is my primary assumption correct?”

“Either way is valid, sunny!” Luna only smiled, wishing puzzled Celestia a good night.

That day finally came; shorter than every previous one, while the nights fell darker and longer each. The air, misty and humid at night, was crystal clear in the daylight, subtly bringing the chillness of upcoming season. Managing to survive the Running of the Leaves, the golden and red foliage fluttered in the light wind from the western mountains.

The spirit of general anticipation filled the air: the foals were given no homework for that weekend, thus having that Saturday completely free of celebration unrelated affairs. The adults in their turn were preparing to deliver them a long-awaited holiday and, truth be told, to enjoy the process as well, remembering their own adventures during Nightmare Nights. Thus Ponyville reminded some noisy beehive long before the actual celebration started. The activity was noticeably centripetal and reached its maximum at the Town Hall square – the largest open place of the town, where the majority of Ponyville-wide celebrations were usually held. Mayor Mare was extremely supportive of the event, even taking a significant role in it; her only stipulation was to aim pumpkin-catapults away from the actual Town Hall. The latter was easily affordable, aiming them towards the creek, skirting Ponyville from the south, so, the aquatic friends of Fluttershy could have personal part of Nightmare Night feast when an accidental projectile missed the targets and smacked into the waters instead. However, Mayor Mare never got tired to repeat each October 31st – “No pumpkin stains on the Town Hall, okay!!!”

Applejack was to hire a few stallions to help with the loaded wagons, otherwise she and Big Mac would never manage to deliver in time all the treats Apple Farm usually supplied for the celebration. Harnessed like the others, she pulled the next overloaded cart, huffing tiredly. Her head was occupied by the dilemma: to put on her Nightmare Night costume meant to reveal it beforehoof and probably bedraggle on the road, but lingering with that could lead to having no time to put it on or forgetting something important. Applejack secretly regretted not following brother’s advice; Big Mac already had a word with Rarity, whose boutique was almost next to the Town Hall, and brought his packed costume, leaving it at unicorn fashionista’s home. Not doing that herself now looked even more stupid to Applejack, as the last stroke of her own disguise needed Rarity’s help anyway.

Big Mac pulled his burden almost relaxedly and looked content, chewing a straw in the corner of his light smile. Applejack threw a glance at him; perhaps he thought about the better ways to set up the holiday attractions, he was going to help with after delivering the goods. Or, and Applejack had a strong suspicion of that, McIntosh heard out of the corner of his ear about the most likely being prepared surprise part of the party… But trying to pull a word about that out of his mouth was like watering the sand in Appleloosa desert.

“Where are the fillies, Ah’d want to know?” Applejack pushed her stetson to the nape and wiped her forehead.

“At the clubhouse,” shrugged Big Mac, still in his thoughts. “Last time Ah saw them there, with Babs. Making final touch to their costumes…”

“Ah certainly hope they know, what they’re doin’!” smirked Applejack.

Babs, Apple Bloom’s cousin, came to visit Apples on the holiday. Applejack was still unsure if the fillies were entirely safe with their older friend… or not, as that mischievous short-maned filly could equally keep the girls in hooves or serve exactly as a detonator for their TNT pack. But apparently, it was either sending them four to the clubhouse or putting all the watching after the colourful hurricane (plus Winona naturally adding to the rush) sweeping around the farm on the shoulders of Granny Smith.

“Hmmm… Ra-ra, I still don’t see the point in the costume being quite alike the dresses you usually make,” Pinkie’s voice sounded muffled because of her own Nightmare Night disguise; she stepped back and looked evaluatively over Rarity’s long dress. “Maybe a bit more extravagant than usual… The bow and the whole length of it… Are you sure, you can walk normally? I mean, this should definitely get under your hooves.”

“Besides,” she snorted quietly. “Nopony will probably doubt that it is you, knowing your artistic tastes…”

“Oh, stop it, Pinkie, and help me tighten the belt properly!” Rarity rolled her eyes, batting the carefully outlined eyelashes: the whole dark and red makeup advantageously contrasted against her pale coat and she cocked her head graciously, boasting the high complex manedo her hair was constructed into. “You should educate yourself better, daarin’. That’s not “one of my extravagant dresses”! I’m the neighponese geisha assassin, dangerous mare fatale…”

“Fotefeff! Ff fu fure, fu fan freaff fine fif ffat?”

“What, sorry?” Rarity was too busy estimating the result in the large mirror.

“I said, are you sure you can breathe fine with that?” Pinkie let go off the belt, when Rarity nodded contentedly, tightening her already shapely waist and letting Rarity fix the rest with her aura. “And… What if you need to run… I doubt you can in such a long dress…”

“Hmpf!” huffed Rarity, she opened the hem cut and stretched her hind leg out, demonstrating a pack of throwing knives strapped to her thigh instead of the answer. “I’m not going to run from anypony! They should run,” glanced she at Pinkie with emphasis. “…and more of those are placed instead of the hairpins, yes.” Rarity winked. “By the way, with all due respect, I doubt I can see something creepier than your costume tonight… Unless you plan to throw the same trick as three years ago, daarin’. But I’m sure everypony is prepared.”

“You know that was a mistake,” Pinkie Pie pouted jokingly. “And… scaring the hay out of others is the point of Nightmare Night, isn’t it?”

“One of the points…” corrected her Rarity.

“Another is to GET MORE CANDY!” exclaimed Pinkie, at that moment the large sundew-like floral maw slammed shut, making her owner sound muffled again. With a little effort, Pinkie opened the large raptorial plant flower mounted around her head and giggled, making the numerous green tentacles and leaves on her neck and shoulders shake; Rarity watched that scene with the mix of reproach and carefully hidden shiver. “I decided that dressing as chickens and stuff was irrational, when it came down to candy,” Pinkie raised one brow. “Omnivorous monster-plant is way better for that purpose! With that I can gather tons of it literally with little to none effort,” she sported a wide grin.

“I’m sure you will,” muttered Rarity aside. “Would like to see a suicide refusing to pay that thing off.”

“Knock-knock!” Rainbow tried the front door with a feeling of knocking on the fortress entrance. The shutters were closed on the ground floor, upper floor windows were curtained tight; no sound came out of the cottage and the whole yard looked as if prepared to stand an assault.

The opening door revealed a small part of Fluttershy’s muzzle and her turquoise eye cautiously focused on Rainbow Dash. Obviously, the yellow pegasus girl expected somepony else and a certain dose of anxiety added to recognition and reserved joy in her glance.

“Oh… Th-this is you, Dash,” Fluttershy opened the door a bit wider and Rainbow almost saw, how her friend scanned the landscape behind Dash’s back carefully. Angel’s pink nose peeked funnily from her sumptuous mane between Fluttershy’s perked ears; it was so funny, Rainbow couldn’t hold a snort.

“Of course, it’s me, pal! Who did you expect – hurricane?”

“Is there a difference?” Fluttershy let out a tiny smile. “Slip in!” she slammed the door shut the second after Rainbow Dash squeezed through.

“Heh! You can brisk nevertheless, mate… That’s not bad!” she hugged Fluttershy tight, making Angel leave his cover and hop into the living room. “What’s going on though?”

“Oh, you know,” Fluttershy rolled her eyes tiredly, welcoming her guest to follow the bunny; automatically Rainbow noticed the unusual silence in the cottage. “I thought it’s already started… l-like each year.”

“I thought you have grown over this fear, Flutters, and wanted to bring you back to the herd tonight,” chuckled Rainbow Dash, flopping into one of the armchairs and glancing at the hostess slyly. “Especially since you are friends with… booooo!” she made scary eyes and waved her fore hooves in the air, “Princess Luna… Oops!”

“Sorry, mate!” Rainbow cupped her mouth with the fore hoof, throwing a guilty glance at Fluttershy.

“Oh, that’s okay, Dashie,” with a more relaxed smile Fluttershy brushed away sudden awkwardness. “We are friends with her, no matter what.”

“Then why not have some fun indeed?” after a momentary thinking Rainbow cheered up again. She examined Fluttershy’s mane with interest. “You know, Flutters… We could… Really, we could paint you into Chrysalis! What?”

“If I didn’t know you, I’d have thought you were joking…” Fluttershy stared at her friend bemusedly. “But this is a bit… much, Dash, don’t you think?” She picked up Angel and nested in another armchair, keeping him on her knees and shaking her head.

“Why not?!” Rainbow seemed quite inspired by her idea. “You have mane and tail long enough, you can fly… better than you think,” she squinted at Fluttershy, “don’t deny it. And you can be quite… persuasive if you want. And that would bring a fresh breath into the celebration, if you ask me, scaring the whole town shitless!” Dash sported a wide grin.

“Thanks!” Fluttershy wasn’t sure the idea was that bright. “I can’t… hiss like her. Yeah, definitely!”

Rainbow Dash burst laughing, making both Fluttershy and Angel jump on the spot.

“Hiss! Aha-ha-ha! Hiss… Seriously, Shy, you keep underestimating yourself!” Rainbow watched her friend admiringly. “With the proper disguise that wouldn’t be necessary! Telling ya!..” she kept snorting for a while. “Anyway, that’d be super awesome…”

“Who are you going as?” Fluttershy interested politely, stroking Angel behind his ears soothingly.

“Oh!” Rainbow Dash puffed proudly, clearly telling that Fluttershy’s method worked. “I think it won’t hurt if I tell you… especially as you’re not going to tell everypony,” she made a face and shrugged. “I’m going as Meteor-Mare. Kinda suits, right?” the cyan pegasus smirked.

“I’m absolutely positively not going to tell anypony,” assured her Fluttershy with a kind smile. “Especially as I’m not going. But…” added she, not letting her friend object, “could the superhero start helping those in need already?”

With those words Fluttershy pulled a huge and seemingly quite heavy bag from behind her armchair, pushing it towards silent Rainbow.

“Can you place that next to the garden entrance, please. And that note on the gate, Dash?” Fluttershy smiled apologetically. “I’m afraid we’re under siege tonight…”

Dumbfounded Rainbow Dash picked the announcement, written on the hard carton sheet.

“PLEASE

- take the treats you need (from the bag)

- don’t forget others may need as well

- the main request: do not disturb the animals

Thank you very much and enjoy the holiday!”

She still chuckled, shaking her head, while nailing the note to the gate.

“Well, daarin’, if you don’t rush and dash, they will sit like a glove, properly spread and holding vertically,” Rarity bucked aside her long hem and stepped back to estimate the work done. Judging by her proud huff, she was quite satisfied. Especially that she needed to fix everything in a hurry, especially while being a bit restrained in her moves due to her own extravagant costume. Not to mention that she was to reveal her costume beforehoof to at least two of her friends, which Rarity did very reluctantly.

“They look very natural if you ask me. Like a part of you, Jackie!” the unicorn fashionista pulled lightly with her magic the medium size manticore wings attached to Applejack’s back under the grey-sandy velvet overalls, quite similar to real lion coat, and nodded contently.

“If you say so, sugarcube!” Applejack stepped back cautiously, not to knock over something in that kingdom of exemplar order, as her generous friend managed to tidy up the ribbons, pins and all the other accessories after Pinkie helped her to dress. The mare threw a glance over herself in the large mirror; the pleasure of realistically looking costume mixed with a tint of incertitude in her green eyes. “Ah’m worried if Ah don’t get too hot under that,” muttered she, seemingly not the first time as Rarity rolled her carefully outlined eyes. “Maybe fixing the wings with some belts would be easier… Ah’m almost of the manticore colour anyway…”

“You think so, daarin’?! Remember. Three. Rules. Of Rarity!” uttered separately her friend. “I’m not going to trade any of them for ease,” the unicorn girl huffed. “Besides, where would you hide your cutiemark then, tell me? That’s not mentioning the ugly belts visible around your body. No, no, no! You won’t need to run like mad, Jackie. For once relax, daarin’! You already did everything you could to make it great, now simply enjoy the celebration…”

She cocked up her head, flaunting the dark and bright-red makeup on her glowingly white skin, confidently shaking her high manedo; when it came to fashion-related questions, Rarity was steadfast like a rock. Applejack took a look over the Neighponese assassin: her appraisingly squinted eyes, fore hoof musingly cupping her chin, the throwing knives, as if by chance they shone behind the garter glimpsing in the high cut of Rarity’s long white dress. Naturally, the mare preferred not to argue over the insignificant things.

“Well… as we have come to the agreement on this…” Rarity let out a victorious smile and began to pull a long leathery-looking hose over her friend’s braided tail.

“Ouch!” Applejack alternated from hoof to hoof, Rarity probably pulled a bit hard.

“Stand still, daarin’! One more pull…” the unicorn girl made one last effort and the manticore tail firmly nested over the natural one. “And be careful with it. The tip is quite heavy, don’t hit somepony with it.”

With her aura Rarity levitated a large hairbrush from somewhere and addressed the lush fluffy mane made of false fur and attached together with the round brown ears to Applejack’s head over her own gathered and hidden mane. Gently holding the desperately flushing friend under her chin, Rarity started brushing future manticore’s mane through murmuring something under her breath. The whole image of the dangerously looking girl in a flowing white dress grooming the predator was quite picturesque and, apparently, there was at least one thankful beholder to admire it.

“Eeyup!” sounded from the door to another room. Fully equipped in his costume, Big Mac was standing there for a while already, leaning on the door frame and enjoying the sight with an impassive expression but a smile written in his eyes.

“What?” both girls inquired simultaneously; Rarity stopped brushing Applejack’s false mane and flushed a little as well. With her Nightmare Night costume and makeup it turned out surprisingly cute.

Under sister’s glare, the stallion winked then pulled lower his wide tricorn with cuts for the ears and long shabby feather; he made an absent face, his sight glazed, eyes staring into one point.

“Uuurghhhh!” uttered Big Mac and walked across the room with a staggering unsteady gait. His beautifully tailored camisole and pants were artificially worn out, made threadbare and torn in artistically selected places. The same treatment was delivered to his knee-high boots, which looked like they spent their long and glorious life in the multitude of raids and battles but still managed to hold together by some magic. His wooden sword was painted to look rusty and notched and an ancient pistol shoved behind the belt made an impression that it rusted in a single chunk ages ago.

Deliberately stomping on one spot for a while as if he was troubled with choosing the direction, Big Mac turned to check the impression he made and glanced at the girls slyly.

“Confess, Macky, you’ve chosen the role with fewer words on purpose, so this costume,” joking, Rarity nevertheless couldn’t hold back a shudder looking at his makeup, despite she herself painted all those scars, bruises and old wounds. In the dim light, the result of her mastery looked specifically believable: it seemed that pieces of flesh were really torn out here and there, a fake broken bone protruded from the ripped sleeve, carefully attached to appear realistic.

“Eeyup!” McIntosh sported a wide grin, which came out both cheerful and, truth be told, intimidating, considering his current look. “Besides, this won’t prevent me from helping with the attractions.”

“Just be careful not to scare away the foals, bro!” Applejack smirked watching him enjoying the costume as if her brother returned to the foalhood for this evening.

“He is doing it too realistically, what a strike of inspiration!” the girls exchanged glances and Rarity nodded determinedly. “It was a good idea to go without the eyepatch…”

“Look, daarin’, I think we must tidy up here as well!” With these words, Rarity began brushing the mane again.

“Ah’m sorry, partner!” Applejack downcasted a little. “Ah should bring my stuff here beforehoof, not to detain everypony… just like Macky did. He is prepped and kickin’ already.”

“Urrghhh!” behind their backs, the stallion swayed in front of the mirror, rolling his eyes in a terrifying manner.

“Oh, come on! Stop it Mac!” giggled both mares. “You’re getting a tiny bit too much believable!”

“Spike!” Twilight puzzledly examined the dark second level of the Library hall, there was no light in any of the rooms and only a few candles burned dimly on the ground floor. She checked the empty bathroom and the kitchen, also pitch dark – there was nopony in both. Alex’s door was closed but a stripe of light was peeking from underneath, showing that he was probably working even on the holiday eve. As he asked to stay undisturbed that evening, the alicorn girl concluded that hardly the human and her dragon aide would have some technical dispute, thus Spike couldn’t be there either.

“Spike!” another call remained unanswered and only the even rows of books stared at her from the endless shelves around the darkening room as the last rays of sunlight slowly faded in the windows on both sides of the front door. ‘Where did this little imp go?’

“Pffft…” Twilight spat out and removed with her aura the false fangs, which frankly speaking were making her shouts sound quite muffled as the girl didn’t get used to them yet, despite they were one of the main parts of her tonight’s costume. “Spiiiiike!!!” she flushed a bit feeling a tiny prick of guilt; some rustle followed by a sigh sounded from behind Alex’s door when Twilight’s voice rolled across the Golden Oak Library without let or hindrance. “We’re running late! Where are you lingering?” added she less sonorously.

With a well-discernible yawn sound, something fluffy if not say shaggy trudged from the darkness of the upper floor and started descending, muffledly yawning each next step of the stairs. Twilight watched the phenomenon silently with question and amusement mixed.

“Well… yawn… to have a nap… be-e-e-yawn-fore the holiday was a nice thought,” muttered the fluffy creature, “the only… yawn… problem is to wake completely. Arrrghhh!” it bucked up a bit, ruffling even more.

“Spike?!” Twilight stifled a smile; her eyes unwittingly rounded.

“Yeah! Who else that could be, Twi?” the creature threw back the shaggy hood of the faux-fur cape revealing the sleepy but content muzzle of the little dragon. The next second Spike stumbled and bewilderment started filling his quickly waking eyes.

“Whom is your costume supposed to present, for Celestia’s sake?” He still couldn’t hold another yawn, examining Twilight with wide-open eyes. “And why it’s so dark here anyway?”

“That’s more atmospheric!” Twilight winked jokingly; the lack of light was indeed unusual for this place of knowledge even in the evenings. The few candles couldn’t dispel the shadows gathering in far corners of the large hall surrounded by the high bookcases, thus the room began looking a little creepy, quite suitable for the Nightmare Night though.

“As for the costume… this time I chose something more in the spirit of the night,” Twilight put back the false fangs and cocked her nose. “I’m Count Dracula! Quiver you mortals!.. So, does it sound earnestly?” she stretched her old-fashioned tux and snow-white shirt with lush jabot, wrapping herself in the pitch-black cape with high collar and red lining. “That’s a powerful vampire from human mythology, based on the real historical figure by the way,” the girl squinted meaningfully.

“The problem is, probably nopony knows a bit about him,” chuckled Spike. “Although I must confess, it looks intimidating anyway. So, I guess that you must be fine.”

“Of course, I must be fine!” snorted Twilight quite proud of her effort; she shook her mane, which the filly gathered into a flat knot on her nape, pulling her bangs back as well and leaving only two strands to hang on both sides of her face – thus the manedo came out looking short and manly, yet antique to the extreme. “And what’s your costume representing, pray tell?”

“I’m a weredragon!” proudly puffed Spike. “The weredragon! The one and only in Equestria! Rawr!” he stood on all four, putting the hood back on his head and puffing, so his cape looked even more fluffy and his tail, disguised as the wolf’s one, bristled. Spike giggled and raised back to his feet. “That’s was easy to make, Twi. Besides, I have my own fangs,” he grinned. “I like the result and must admit it wasn’t a bad idea.”

“Well, certain progress since the year you dressed as a… dragon,” Twilight couldn’t hold back and sprinkled a laughter almost making her false fangs fly out of her mouth and causing another quiet rustle from behind Alex’s closed door.

“At the very least it a better idea than your suggestion to dress me as a Neighponese ghost-filly from the well, with long black mane and in a white nightgown!” huffed Spike, he squinted at Twilight then at the door. “I guess where these ideas are coming from! But that one would be too much…”

“Japanese, Spike. It’s called Japanese there,” Twilight let out a smile. “Don’t be a bore… That looks so unfamiliar and frighteningly eerie for our everyday life, you would certainly scare the hay out of everypony.”

“But thanks!” retorted Spike with a dry mien. “I’ll let you both play with human mythology if you want. To dress me in a girly nightgown…” he snorted loudly.

“Speaking of which,” the small dragon nodded at Alex’s door. “Is he not going to celebrate? Especially as they have a similar holiday at their home world…”

“He said, he needed some quiet time for work,” Twilight shrugged, meticulously extinguishing the candles with her aura, so the large hall becoming completely dark with the faintest light coming only through the two windows and the gap under Alex’s door, “and would come later.” She wrinkled her nose and waved the hoof as the last candle went out with the dense smoke.

“But I think he is plotting something for the celebration. Some surprise, maybe with somepony else,” Twilight leaned closer whispering in Spike’s ear almost hidden behind the fluffy hood. “He didn’t tell exactly, but I clearly saw Alex being slightly nervous,” she winked slyly, adding louder while trotting to the front door. “Come on, Spike! We’re late already and I don’t want to miss something interesting!”

The square in front of the Golden Oak and the streets falling in were half-lit compared to usual Ponyville nights; maybe for the atmosphere or maybe to deliver more resources to light the Town Hall square, where the main herd gathered. One way or another, thick dusk made the costumes of scurrying here and there foals look winningly realistic, which was highly welcomed by the latter. Besides, it was the night among a few during the year when the foals were allowed to have fun around the town without constant parental supervision, so the youngsters did their best to use the chance to the fullest. For the whole evening, Twilight was to open the front door countless times for the next portion of costumed candy hunters, laughing and letting everypony go with some prize. The foals were still rather afraid to knock on Alex’s half-open window, despite the gamine wish to do that clearly read on their muzzles. The human in his turn supposed that he took enough part in the holiday bringing two large baskets of various confection from the market that morning, thus providing those proverbial treats.

At that moment the numbers of the foals in the streets thinned and the general movement became visibly centripetal: everypony headed to the southern square, from where the breeze brought the variety of tasty scents and hum of the large herd. Wrapping up in the luxurious cape and closely followed by the Weredragon, count Dracula – also known as Twilight in common life – headed towards Carousel Boutique, the shortest path to the Town Hall from the Library.

The closer to the Town Hall the more ponies filled the town streets; some foals still roamed about and tried their luck at the neighbourhood doors but the majority of the ponyvillers gathered at the “central” square already enjoying the treats, attractions and each other costumes. The main event of the Nightmare Night was also highly anticipated as a yearly tradition, as since her return, Princess Luna never failed to shed her attention on Ponyville on that holiday.

Numerous ponies, foals and adults, outran Twilight and Spike; many of them glanced at the strange couple: some with interest, some with a smile, a few with genuine shuddering – Twilight’s costume was quite impressive. Even if the majority of ponyvillers didn’t have an idea about count Dracula, they caught the general vampire motive; besides, with the generous help of Rarity, Twilight evidently put her soul into the costume making it atmospheric. Thus when she decided to jokingly throw a grim glance and reveal a fang through a wry smile to a group of high school fillies, dressed as fairies, ghosts and mermares, the latter first squeaked in exaggerated fright, then sped up, running forward, laughing and nudging each other, looking back at the pale “stallion” with unnaturally red lips and his strange follower. Needless to say, that a fluffy dragon with a wolf-like tail was a view unusual enough for many of the passers to pay their attention to; Spike was completely satisfied with the effect as in general he preferred the sweets-and-candy aspect of Nightmare Night to the prank-and-scare one.

“Well, it seems that this year everything is going to run smoothly again,” noticed Twilight when they passed the Bouncing Barrels bar and turned left on the corner to cut the path through some alleys. “Without the major incidents, I hope… We haven’t seen some undoubtedly prepared pranks yet, of course, but…” The sight of the bar sign and showcase made Twilight smile remembering the actual incident between Alex and Rainbow there and the talks it woke; she looked back at her friend and aide. “Don’t you think so, Spike?”

“If you say so…” a bit muffledly sounded he crunching with something; Spike miraculously managed to get hold of some sweets already, completely unnoticed by Twilight. “Don’t forget about possible Alex’s plans, we know nothing about,” he reminded meaningfully. “And if that’s not enough… we always have Pinkie to the rescue. Hey, want some candy?”

“Hmmm… Not now, maybe later…” muttered Twilight, clearly realizing that later it might be nothing to talk about when it came down to candies and Spike. His words made her pondering; while believing in the decent level of prudence of the human, the girl remembered that random foals threw out a wild trick yearly. Till that moment it got along without any accidents. ‘May it keep that way…’

A few more minutes of trotting, another sharp turn of the narrow alley, and the Town Hall square revealed itself to the friends’ view. Brightly lit by the multitude of torches and colourful lamps on the posts and ropes stretched in various directions, it seemed to hospitably accommodate the whole town. Costumed ponies were everywhere: along the stalls with different treats outlining the square, around the attractions where foals and their parents waited for their turn, mingling and chattering joyfully at the free part of the square, despite calling it “free” would be quite optimistic. However, surprisingly there was enough room for everypony to have fun and enjoy the Nightmare Night celebration, nopony felt constrained or unwelcome.

‘Almost nopony…’ corrected herself Twilight; scanning the vast square from her vantage point before they both entered the seething sea of ponyvillers, she couldn’t find at least one family anywhere – Steels. Apparently, Willsmash and his niece didn’t feel confident enough yet to join the celebration, preferring to watch it from the distance or simply not attending at all. Twilight couldn’t hold back a sigh of sadness imagining that.

Otherwise, whoever only was there: foals and adults dressed as wizards, zombies and ghosts, based on their fantasy, time and effort devoted for their costumes. It didn’t matter that some characters repeated: Twilight could count a few different skeleton costumes, a couple of astronauts in round transparent helmets (she was almost sure that one colt simply put a round fish tank onto his head), pirates of different seas and cultures, mermares – mostly high-school fillies preferred that type of costume. One could easily form a whole assault squad from the ghosts of various sizes and forms to storm a small fort if necessary.

Of course, there were a lot of unique and original ones: beasts and monsters, a few historical figures, Twilight even spotted one timberwolf and frowned lightly remembering the rumours of them coming quite close to the town that Autumn. A filly dressed as Princess Celestia glimpsed in the herd, making Twilight blink a few times first, questioning her vision of the mentor suddenly visiting Nightmare Night celebration.

“Aha! Here you are!” something green and rainbow-tailed flashed past wincing from surprise Twilight and Rainbow Dash landed near them for a second only to grab her and Spike, pulling them through the slowly mingling herd towards the opposite edge of the square, closer to the attractions. “Come on, pals! Stop lingering there like unwelcome!”

Twilight noticed that Rainbow had time to pay tribute to her love of the whole life – apple cider – and energy gushed over the edge of the already speedy and adventurous filly. Finding her path between the strolling and communicating ponies by some miracle, Dash pulled them past the large scene with completely occupied rows of seats: Mayor Mare declaimed something for the engrossed in narrative foals and a number of colts and fillies of a bit older age – that was a story of Nightmare Night origins and the tradition most likely. This year the mare dressed as a weeping ghost, quite veracious at sight, even mixing in the scary and attractive aspects. Twilight chuckled inwardly: Spike’s complaints about Mayor Mare’s totally unfitting and atmosphere destroying attempt to dress as a clown two years before didn’t fell on deaf ears. Be it a killer-clown not some regular hilariously clumsy one, that would have been a different story.

“I flew past you, mates, two times before I spotted Spike in the herd!” Rainbow Dash stopped only when she brought them near the attractions and stalls with Apples’ treats, joining the rest of the friends there. “First I thought it was some unknown stallion,” giggled she, examining Twilight from head to hoof. “But there is only one dragon in Ponyville… even if dressed so… unusually!”

“What’s the character, by the way?!” the cyan girl pulled Twilight by her cape lightly; her friend watched Big Mac trotting on the treadmill and spinning the carousel to the great pleasure of the riding and waiting for their turn foals. Twilight could appreciate the effort invested in his costume. Meeting her glance, McIntosh let out a small smile then made a scary face and grunted making the foals squeak and burst in a whoop of laughter.

“Huh? What, sorry?” Twilight asked Rainbow to repeat her question. “Oh. Tonight I’m Count Dracula, the great and…” she stumbled and coughed remembering some associative link, “the terrifying vampire lord!”

“That’s from human mythology…” inputted Spike glancing at Rainbow with self-explanatory mien.

“Oh, I see!” meaningfully huffed the mare. “And you must be…” she looked fixedly at him examining, “… a weredragon, right?”

“How did you guess?!” Spike stared at Dash.

“Hmmm…” the Meteor-Mare sported a wide grin. “First, I’m the smartest mare alive… after Twilight,” added she. “And second, you definitely share my love for timberwolves imitation, so a pure guess… or maybe your tail suggested that!”

The mention of timberwolves made Twilight fall into thoughts again until she was pulled out by approaching Applejack.

“Roar!” she let out a slightly tired smile, demonstratively waggling her scorpion tail. “What a night! Ah have no spare minute…” despite she involved a few mares and stallions to help with the stalls and attractions, Applejack was quite busy, wiping the forehead with the lion paw of her costume.

“Ah think we need to expand next year,” she said taking a look over overherded place with all the stalls and the row of catapults occupying the river bank part of the opening. “It becomes ‘bit tight ‘ere with all the stuff, sugarcubes!”

Twilight nodded. She didn’t know absolutely all the ponyvillers like Pinkie, but watching the herd even she could spot a few new muzzles here and there; foals and their parents coming for the holiday from distant farms and mining villages, naturally they gravitated to the nearby bigger towns for entertainment.

“And where are the rest?” as if reading her thoughts, inquired Spike taking a seeking glance over the closest part of the square. With a smile Twilight guessed whom he was looking for.

“Pinkie?” Applejack shrugged. “She was feeling kinda tight ‘ere. Ah guess she is scurryin’ around the town on her candy hunt.” She chuckled watching the new ponies approaching the stalls and attractions, nopony left unsatisfied. “If Ah’m not mistaken, Pinkie wanted to check on Flutters also… even maybe try to talk her through to visit the celebration,” the girls sighed. “Ya know, each year is the same but she still hopes to persuade her one day.”

“Mhm…” Rainbow Dash coughed strangely, she shook her head at girls’ inquiring glance and kept to herself that she suggested Fluttershy dress up as Chrysalis a few hours ago. “Must be cider coming up my nose…” muttered she embarrassedly.

“Daarin’, I told her, that was a bad idea… considering her costume!” lazily spoke the familiar voice from behind making Twilight and Spike turn their heads. “But that’s Pinkie for you. Good evening, friends!”

Their eyes stopped on the almost glowing figure behind making both count Dracula and Weredragon admit, that night Rarity probably topped her list of spectacular appearances. Her white coat looked as if the girl used some makeup to turn it ghostly glowing, competing with the colour of her long neighponese dress with thin bright red and black trim. Raising on her hind legs, Rarity leaned casually on the nearby stall; with a spark of reflected light, the throwing knives glimpsed behind the black garter on her confidently outstretched leg showing in the high cut of her flowing dress. Picking with her aura a hairpin, which turned out to be a narrow stiletto blade, Rarity threw a glance of the half-lidded lovingly outlined eyes over the company and began polishing her fore hoof examining it as if nothing else could interest her more.

“I mean, Pinkie’s costume is outright scary… I don’t envy Shy seeing that in her yard probably,” uttered she blowing aside one of a few strands, which fell on her face escaping Rarity’s high manedo and fashioning her look somewhat relaxed but at the same time extremely tough.

“Ummm… Errmmm… What?” Twilight opened and closed her mouth for a while causing Applejack and Rainbow giggles behind; the girls already saw Rarity and have some time to accommodate to her outstanding look, recovering from the initial amazement. Spike in his turn looked as if all of neighponese assassin’s knives bulleted through him, in other words, he was shot on the spot yet evidently enjoyed it immensely.

Satisfied by the effect, Rarity let out a smile mercifully approaching and hugging Twilight, who still blinked slightly dumbfounded. But when the mare-fatale leaned and planted a kiss onto Spike’s nose, the girls thought that they nearly saw the heart-shaped scarlet bubbles coming out of weredragon’s mouth, ears and nostrils; Spike was on the verge of turning into a boiling puddle.

“So, what do you think, Twi?” still chuckling, Applejack returned to her idea, while Spike was hanging limp in Rarity’s cuddle like a rag doll. “Ah’d say we’re moving the catapults and the whole shootin’ range behind the stream next year and freeing quite some space for the herd,” she poked her hoof at the row of pumpkin-launching mechanisms facing the field prepared for the game. “Thus Mayor Mare will finally calm down about the Town Hall safety once and forever!”

Her suggestion made everypony turn to the outer border of the circle drawn by the light flooding the place. The latter provided perfect visibility for the ponies entertaining themselves on the Town Hall square but at the same time rendered everything behind that limited area of bright light pitch black for their eyes. The bridge and the opposite bank of the stream barely peeked from the darkness, the rest was veiled by the night stealthily seizing power. Raising from the stream, it mixed with the star-encrusted night sky, slightly diluted by their silvery light up there.

“I begin worrying,” muttered Twilight; wrapping into her cape and pulling the collar higher, she stared into the night with concern, “like every year.” Unwittingly she came closer to the stream as if trying to see something on the other side.

“You see, the entire town is gathered here… even the ponies from nearby farms and villages came,” elaborated she turning to the friends following her. “Everypony is having fun and nopony usually thinks there are distant places, which keep functioning despite the celebration. But while the station and hospital are occupied by professionals trained to react to every incident properly, there are ponies who stay alone, singled out… and unprotected if something happens. You know whom I mean…”

“Hey! Why the sad faces?” she was pulled from her thoughts by some cheerful ringing voices behind the friends’ backs. “It’s Nightmare Night – time to have fun and stuff. What are ye mournin’ about?”

“I thought about Fluttershy always staying alone and separated from the rest of us during that holiday, her and Steels,” sighed out Twilight slowly turning to the sound; in a second she froze on the spot shutting her mouth with an audible clank of false fangs, the girl was sure that the rest of her friends shared her sentiments.

Right in front of them, on the grassy bank, sat four little abominations, one a bit taller than the other three. Granted these were simply costumed fillies, but… Without the exclusion, the costumes made count Dracula, Weredragon, Manticore, Meteor-Mare and even the Neighponese Assassin, who already saw Pinkie’s costume and seemingly couldn’t be surprised by anything, swallow nervously.

Thin, in the grey-black tight fit tricots, painted carefully to look like bony yet tendinous bodies, in strange wide shabby cloaks, the four monsters grinned pleasedly with the wide toothy maws of their large skull-like papier-mache heads, coloured with fluorescent paint. The night breeze played with long hoary ruffled false manes, bringing chills into the souls of the beholders; Twilight heard a hiccup leaving Rainbow’s mouth.

“We saw the light in Fluttershy’s cottage when leaving the orchard,” shrugged one of the monsters, tilting her head. “Ah guess that she must be okay with her animals.”

“Do you like the costumes, sis?” asked another, sporting a horn on her head. “We spent the whole day preparing…”

“Yay! Look at them!” giggled the third, the cloak on her back fluttered revealing the excited batting of the small wings. “We are the Four Wendigos of Ponepocalypse!” proclaimed she happily.

“Ummm…” the larger creature timidly picked the ground with her hoof, glancing at Manticore. “The girls asked so much to think out something unusual… So, I came up with that… Don’t be mad with me, big cousin, okay…”

“Babs!” breathed out Applejack. “How could Ah have not guessed?”

“Of course, Ah’m not mad,” smiled she widely. “You were busy, didn’t get into trouble and… easily managed to make one of the best disguises for tonight, girls. Ah think that’s a win!”

“Yeah! Even got me for a second…” half-heartedly confessed Rainbow Dash; she already started the cheerful fuss with the fillies when they began reeling around her with happy squeaking, so contrasting with their looks. Twilight and Rarity watched the scene with mixed feelings, as the girls’ costumes were truly impressive; Applejack was simply happy that Cutie Mark Crusaders didn’t get into a story.

Spike… was a special case, ogling Rarity with almost heart-shaped eyes and not noticing anything around, even letting slide the fact that the fillies relieved him of a portion of sweets. He had time to regret not dressing as neighponese ghost, that way they would look quite fitting with Rarity.

As if ordered, the full moon emerged from behind the eastern hills and hurried up from the horizon; the Night Princess prepared for her visits across Equestria. The silver light softly spread across the valley partially dispersing the thick darkness and flooding the distant fields up to the Everfree edge with ghostly glow, as the fog was already gathering above the cooling grassy plain. Floating above the mist, the rare trees looked like boats on the silvery sea surface. Far on the south, the friends noticed a small spark of light surrounded by the trees: Fluttershy’s cottage apparently was lit, warm and safe making them all breathe out with relief.

“Yeah, let’s move the catapult range to the other bank next year,” stated Twilight when the whole company headed towards the celebrating herd, “and bring more lights here.” She cringed slightly in the cooling air.

“The Nightmare Night is coming!!! Prepare your fright everypony!!!” chanted the herd on the Town Hall square; the moonrise cheered up the foals and adults unambiguously telling that their Princess was with them, mentally at that moment and in pony in the nearest future, visiting the town traditionally. The tall silhouette of the Weeping Ghost scoured among the holiday-makers; Mayor Mare gathered the foals before Zecora’s arrival and the usual trip to the old monument to Nightmare Moon on the edge of Everfree.

“Relax, sugarcube!” Applejack hugged Twilight tickling her with the false lion mane. “Ah suppose yar fears are groundless tonight, everything is goin’ to slide smoothly like a plough on the dry soil.”

“Yeah, Jackie, it seems I can relax only when I…”

A sudden gust rushed through the square, making flames of the torches quiver noisily and the garlands of small colourful flags tremble frantically as if they were ready to tear from the ropes and go with the wind like the leaves from the nearby trees. Stopping for a moment and looking at each other with surprise the ponies turned their eyes to the dark, yet almost cloudless sky: nice weather was promised by pegasi and stars – the brightest of them – weaved the giant galaxy map on the dark blue canvas.

One more bright star lit above Ponyville, dazzling and flaring up for a few seconds before fading away and everypony saw a small dark dot, darker than the skies around, which grew quickly approaching the town. In a couple of minutes, a large winged silhouette could be seen; the dim metallic gloss showed it wasn’t an ordinary pegasus. Lower and lower; the familiar chest plate and hoofwear glared in the moonlight, making everypony duck instinctively (despite they knew, they had nothing to fear in fact) when the tall dark blue alicorn hovered above the Town Hall square. Her mane and tail seemed endless, shimmering with stars and dissolving into the night sky, becoming a part of it as they waved in the insensible wind. The intimidating visitor inclined her head in the smooth round helmet, slit to let her ears and lush mane through; her eyes shone brightly, taking a look over the medley gathering below.

“CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE!!!” the deafening voice rolled over the town and spread across the valley as an unstoppable avalanche, fading at the edge of Everfree and making the trees tremble anxiously. “THE MASTER OF THE NIGHT GREETS YOU! MAY THE NIGHTMARE NIGHT REIGN OVER EQUESTRIA!!!”

The giant figure landed quite gracefully, yet everypony felt the light quiver of the ground under their hooves; all the ponies bowed low, throwing cautious glances at the newcomer.

“P-princess… Luna?” a colt wrapped in the bandages, he represented a mummy obviously, sounded with a mixture of hope and concern. Naturally, as the princess usually arrived in her normal form.

“Of course, foals!” “Nightmare Moon” chuckled quietly. “And who did ye expect? Starswirl?” She glanced slyly over the herd, which visibly relaxed at those words of their princess, despite her unusual arrival. Even the first Nightmare Night after her return Luna came to Ponyville as herself, accompanied by the Night Watch guards; the same was the next year celebration. She played Nightmare Moon for the thrill and entertainment of the young colts and fillies, but usually later through the celebration when the foals headed to the monument in the Everfree forest to present the treats gathered by them to the Master of the Night. Thus her appearing without any escort and under the Nightmare Moon disguise right away was a surprise.

Catching the familiar soothing tones in the deep voice of the princess, which echoed even when she didn’t use the Royal Canterlot variant of it, the ponies, adults and foals, allowed themselves to smile timidly. The foals though quickly gathered around their beloved princess, which towered above them, as in her nightmarish form she easily competed with Celestia. Rarity forgot that a moment ago she understood Fluttershy, who was avoiding Nightmare Night celebrations. Applejack threw a quick glance at Big Mac, who smirked too obviously, clearly showing that he knew something about the holiday, which others didn’t. Even the air seemed to warm up a bit and the hum of the herd quickly filled the spacious square again.

“Your Highness! It’s such an honour… Have a taste of our finest bakery, please!” Applejack made a wide welcoming gesture, suggesting to pay attention to the stalls with Apple family products offering a great choice of the bakery, fruits, bakery with fruit filling and drinks. Her voice sounded a bit tense, despite all the girls knew the princess well; her unusual appearance puzzled everypony present.

Choosing a piece of the famous apple pie, or even Apples’ Pie if giving it the due honour, “Nightmare Moon” gave it a dainty bite. With a toothy smile, she watched the foals competing in fishing large ripe apples out of the water barrel, using only their mouths, of course; however, Twilight could notice a couple of quick expectant gazes in the direction of the southern fields, thus her suspicions about something being plotted for the celebration turned into assurance.

Meanwhile, the herd continued enjoying themselves: adults joining the foals at the attractions, remembering their own foalhood and having much fun, ponies paying due attention to the treats and bringing content smiles on the muzzles of Applejack and Big Mac, foals of all ages gathering around Luna. Those stared at “Nightmare Moon” with the full of love shining eyes, thrilled with their own bravery of coming close to their favourite princess; the ones getting a nuzzle or a mane ruffle from her, looked at the rest like somepony who successfully dared to take a celebrity autograph.

The princess herself visibly felt much more confident than during her first Nightmare Night celebration after the return; she even took part in quite a few attractions including the “apple-bucking contest”, despite it wasn’t a sport she was really keen of. Luna was rather attracted by some aim involving entertainments like tossing the toy velcro spiders into the silky net. But her chosen sport was still pumpkin-shooting, no wonder that after a while “Nightmare Moon” ended at the catapult shooting range absorbedly examining that year device changes.

Somehow, while staying with the girls generally, Twilight kept watching the princess, feeling more and more convinced that anticipation of something glimpsed in her eyes occasionally. The filly started to realize the reasons making Alex stay at home that night, but the actual plot intrigued her; while others evidently suspect nothing, Twilight noticed one more pony throwing similar glances towards “Nightmare Moon” – McIntosh probably had a chance to hear something at the market or from the human directly even if accidentally, as those two became good friends. With a smile the lilac girl admitted that the majority of neighbours often underestimated Big Mac’s watchfulness.

“Calamity!” the first large pumpkin launched by “Nightmare Moon” missed the target by nearly a foot, smacking aside on the bank. The princess frowned but less than could have been expected in a similar situation. Luna missing the target was a shock for the herd, but Twilight saw that the princess watched the fields behind the stream with more attention than she paid to the actual aim; “Nightmare Moon” definitely expected something to happen momently.

The anticipated events didn’t linger to start. First, another strong windflaw swept from the south over the herded square; it felt exactly like the one prevenient to the thunderstorm, making the torches flicker and the flags flap loudly, gaining everypony’s attention. Raising from beyond Everfree, the dark clouds stained the lit by the Moon skies; they impended at visible pace, but strangely kept over the valley thus leaving the night light unobstructed, so the misty scene was still nicely lit. One or two distant forked lightning bolts flashed the clouded sky and after a few seconds the sound of thunder reached the ears of ponyvillers.

A strange hopping figure showed up on the road through the fields, approaching the town. Twilight and other girls watched it with a mixture of perplexity and concern. Finally, it reached the bridge over the stream and crossed it in a few familiar hops. However, the looks of that figure caused a few frightened screams in the herd, despite all of the ponies saw that persona already.

“Now you understand why I said that her costume was probably the scariest, don’t you, daarin’?” Rarity appeared behind like a ghost making Twilight wince a little, the outlined eyes watched their mutual friend. “Made me shudder even when I helped her to dress!”

The rest of the girls were to admit – Rarity told the truth: the large plant-shaped maw clapped with every hop, overshadowing her view and delivering Pinkie much trouble to keep the course, artificial leaves and green tendrils around her neck frantically waved in the air, giving her semblance with some extraequestrial monster. Some ponies from the herd already prepared to flee till the newcomer reached the circle of brighter light and they saw that it was Pinkie Pie – broadly known party-pony and confectioner.

Her hooves braked on gravel with an audible screech, the fake sundew slammed shut again causing the frustrated grunt of its owner. With some effort, Pinkie opened that green maw huffing and breathing heavily.

“Celebrating?!” loudly inquired she inhaling deeply and started jabbering at machine-gun pace. “Better look what is going behind my back, folks! I went to check upon Fluttershy, how she was doing alone in her cottage, maybe to convince her to finally join us or at least cheer up a bit on that festive night…” she took a deep breath.

“Is she okay?” at the same time asked Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

“… she is, but that’s not the point, girls. She is fine with her animal friends in their volunteered solitude… as usual, but…” Pinkie rounded her eyes. “When I left her, I saw something exiting the woods.”

“What the...” uttered Spike, he even refrained from unwrapping the next candy. “Not again, Pinkie!”

The pink girl glared at him deadly serious, making others catch her anxiety.

“Something?” Applejack raised one eyebrow. “Ah don’t understand. Can ya be more specific, sugarcube?”

Twilight gazed at “Nightmare Moon” – the princess watched the scene with relaxed interest but the sparks of amusement danced deep in her eyes.

“I don’t know…” exhaled Pinkie still taking her breath. “I only noticed it was something bipedal and large. When it entered the moonlight, I thought I’d better be here telling you about that. As I ran off, it didn’t approach the cottage but followed me instead…”

The holler of fright interrupted her as somepony from the herd actually spotted something in the moonlit sea of fog.

“Look!” Pinkie turned back and poked with her fore hoof towards the valley behind the stream. “Just look there!”

Quiet at first, the herd started to grumble concernedly as more and more ponyvillers noticed what she meant. A large dark figure moved across the field heavily wandering above the floating milky surface. As Pinkie said, the creature looked bipedal, stripes of mist curled and swirled around its legs as it slowly but persistently strolled towards Ponyville with the pace of the approaching storm front. The clouds already moved closer, flashed and ripped by a few more bolts of lightning; the delayed thunder was rolling its loaded train cars across the sky.

With the wind getting stronger, the fog reached the far bank of the stream and started to flow down to the water, separate sheets of it wreathing around the bridge railings already. The herd fell silent, unable to get their eyes away from the opening view. The figure looked huge to them, maybe because it really was, or maybe the silvery light, the haze and the large deep shadow it cast were to blame. Coming closer it appeared to shine metallically with its dark spiked carapace or armour; the armoured legs agitated the clouding mist as if the creature was wading in shallow water. It had two arms carrying some long object, which glimmered dimly in the silvery moonlight; what looked like a black hunch behind its back turned out to be a couple of folded wings.

First ponies began to leave the square with the muffled hollers of terror when the intruder got into the bright spot and revealed its spiked head having no face or muzzle – the front surface was smooth and mirror-like, reflecting the glints of light. The first shreds of fog already snaked into the lit area on the near bank, flooding the bridge with the milky haze completely.

With a loud flap, the creature unfurled its pitch-black wings turning out to be vast and soared making the mist around curl and follow it forming a ghostly column in the air. Coming into the moonlight it appeared to have two legs and two arms covered entirely with the same darkly gleaming spiked armour. It took a few powerful heavy wing-beats to cover half of the distance separating it from the square; the thick clouds drifted closer and closer to the town, overshadowing the starry sky almost completely. The wind blew stronger, but the frightened ponyvillers thought they were feeling the gust born by the giant wings.

The herd finally unfroze leaving the square with scared neighing and cries; bustling in the squash they almost turned over the stalls, which kept standing only by some miracle, and began hiding in the alleys, thick bushes of nearby gardens, behind the porches of nearest houses. In a wink, the entire square became deserted with empty stopped attractions, a few flags laying on the ground and accidentally dropped food. But the cautious and at the same time curious eyes watched from every nook and cranny, how the events were supposed to unroll further.

It turned out that only the girls and a few ponies, whose curiosity took over the fright, remained at the brightly lit square. Twilight – almost sure that it was some prank prepared by Luna and Alex, even if she started having doubts in the last few seconds. Spike silently clinging to her leg, his furry cloak and false tail looked bristled while he stared at the intruder. Rarity already holding the throwing knife with her aura – she seemed to immerse in her role overly that night.

Naturally, Rainbow simply couldn’t flee spoiling her “the most daring mare” reputation and Applejack couldn’t leave her stalls unattended, especially considering that four “Wendigos of Ponepocalypse” peeked curiously from under one of them. Besides, Applejack was genuinely curious as well, as she thought she knew only one resident looking very alike the creature approaching. And, of course, she couldn’t show a weak spot in front of Rainbow, whom Applejack raced to “the most daring mare” title usually.

Pinkie hid behind Big Mac, who watched the scene calmly; a smile of amusement curled the corner of his mouth as Twilight could notice in bewilderment. He definitely was better informed about the circumstances than the others.

Staying to the right of Twilight, “Nightmare Moon” watched the whole scene with a dainty content smile, her mere sight convinced the girl that there was nothing to fear, despite the impressive scene unrolling before Twilight’s eyes.

In a few more flaps, the armoured figure crossed the stream landing right after the bridge so heavily, everypony fancied the ground trembling under their hooves. Keeping the giant wings unfurled, so they overshadowed half of the ponies’ view, the newcomer stuck the object he carried into the ground; the latter turned out to be the long shining weapon, resembling two scythe blades put on both handle ends under an unusual angle. The next moment with the earsplitting sound of thunder, a lightning bolt dropped from the clouds swirling above the figure in the sky; it hit the weapon making it shine and soaking into the ground the second after accompanied by the joint scream of terror sounding from the surrounding the square darkness.

The Nightmare Knight (how Twilight already called the monster) spread his arms, the spiked gloves squeezed the air with their clawed fingers predatorily. Everypony felt the push of air as if it was jerked towards the creature and the next moment all the torches and lanterns on the square went out – the flames flowed towards the hands gathering and curling into two large fireballs around the palms.

“CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE…” started the intruder sonorously; the voice boomed from the closed helmet making the glass in Town Hall windows tingle. The fog swirled under his feet already; two fireballs reflected in the smooth mirror of the helmet, making it look like two flaming eyes were under its transparent surface. “Nightmare Moon” headed towards him majestically and greeted the Nightmare Knight with a light nod, sporting a content toothy grin.

The next second Twilight, and frankly speaking the rest of the ponies present, started blinking puzzledly, as what they could never expect such a situation happening. The armoured figure started shaking visibly and the muffled trumpeting, which sounded from under the helmet, resembled most closely… a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

The Nightmare Knight released the flames, which immediately flew to their original places and in a second the square was lit by the warm light of torches and colourful lanterns again. Nopony noticed how the heavy clouds vanished revealing the star-woven skies again and the fog crawled back to the field.

The spiked glossy helmet shone brightly and the next moment only a thin metal band glimmered on the head of its owner. Alex folded almost in half, laughing till tears trailed from his eyes; he wanted to wipe them, reconsidered and took off the armoured glove first.

“Just look at them!” he leaned to smiling “Nightmare Moon” nodding towards the curious eyes shining at the edge of the lit area and muzzles, which started peeking timidly out of the hiding spots. “Yet, they didn’t run away arrant…” impressed, he even stopped laughing for a second, then seeing the expressions of approaching girls, started snorting again.

“Alex!!!” Twilight tried to glare at him reproachfully, but unwittingly she was smiling already; partially because it turned out to be an innocent prank, even if scary enough at first. The girl was to admit that the recent events made them all suspect the worst, unfortunately; she would be the first greeting the return of careless days.

“Of course, it’s me!” Alex cracked a wide joyful smile. “Not some… Grim Reaper?!”

“Ah thought the Seekers started coming in the new form…” Applejack squinted at him jokingly suspicious.

“Ahhlex!” Rarity batted her spear-long eyelashes; she put the throwing knife behind her garter demonstratively outstretching her leg through the dress cut. “I almost threw that at you, daarin!” the unicorn girl produced a flirty smile.

“Ahem… I guess it was smart to come armoured then,” winked Alex. “Now, when I’m safe… Am I? Excellent! It’s time to remove it to avoid accidents,” said he wrapping in the same silvery shine. The next second it faded revealing the familiar Alex in his usual pants and free-fit shirt to the gathering ponies, as the rest of the herd started entering the square timidly seeing that the danger was imaginary. His wings shrunk, enough for the human to be able to fold them properly.

“Right in time, pal!” Rainbow Dash huffed with a tint of self-reproach; she was to admit believing in the play among the others and receiving some scare indeed. “I thought that Nightmare Moon returned again and… got herself a Nightmare Knight already.”

The girls moved closer as the atmosphere became defused, but they all were outstripped by a flurry of little grey-mane monsters. Three of them rushed to the human and began running around him with cheerful and militant wails, then hung on Alex laughing, while the fourth sat at the safe distance still looking at the human slightly wary.

“What’s with that… apocalyptical motive?” squinted Alex hugging Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, while Sweetie Belle almost climbed on his shoulders. “And you must be Apple Bloom and Jackie’s cousin… Babs, right?” he turned to the fourth filly with a smile, causing the girl to blush and shrug muttering something.

“Ah’m asking myself the same question the whole night…” chuckled Applejack. “Even both of them, partner!”

“I fell for that… Again…” sighed Pinkie Pie, finally approaching and nudging Alex, she pouted. “But you scared the hay out of me and the others with all that horrible camouflage of yours! Don’t even deny that!”

“Says who?” Alex felt that laughter started raising up his chest again. “Have you seen yourself in the mirror recently, mate? I must say, I hurried to Ponyville when I saw some monster with tentacles rolling down the road towards the town.”

Forgetting about her pouting, Pinkie already snorted at the mental image of herself rushing through the foggy field and admitting there was a reason in Alex’s words.

“Eeyup!” sounded behind the girls’ backs. Big Mac watched the scene with an overly satisfied look.

“Thanks, mate!” Alex showed him a thumb up, heartily grateful for keeping the “conspiracy”. “For not sharing what you might have glimpsed in my words. Otherwise, that would probably ruin the effect.”

“Always welcome!” the stallion winked. “Secrets are grave with me, you know.”

“In a way, I managed to… hmmm… “get myself the Nightmare Knight” forsooth!” Alex suddenly felt the warm feathery cuddle on his shoulders, when the fillies finally released him rejoining with Babs and watching him and the princess excitedly. The ponies hummed when “Nightmare Moon” leaned to the human and nuzzled him tenderly. Automatically Alex wrapped his arm around princess’ neck planting a kiss on her cheek and snuggling his forehead to her soft flowing mane much to the delight of the herd. And registered a flash even through his closed eyelids that very moment.

Alex knew, there were photo cameras in Equestria, even if he didn’t come across any so far, yet one turned out to be nearby at the most unfitting moment possible.

‘Great! I hope the photo won’t hit the press… “Nightmare Moon and the human” – Tia will skin me alive; she is occasionally squinting at me already since the gala!’

“But how was it even possible?!” inquired Twilight loudly seeing that the herd was catching each move, while “Nightmare Moon” was still cuddling Alex.

“Oh, that’s a rather simple trick,” smirked Alex feeling Luna’s shoulder heating his own. “I was sleepwalking all the time,” he lowered his tone, “actually I am now.” With those words, he outstretched the hand and caught an apple, which rushed towards him from one of the stalls with bullet speed. “Sometimes it can be “abused” for pure fun!”

“And I took the burden of the rest of… special effects, weather and lightning,” “Nightmare Moon” shone like a school filly. “We caught ye all off guard, isn’t it wondrous?!”

Right at the moment when Alex relaxed, enjoying the successful joke and planning to address the party by joining the rest of the herd with the girls, he fancied some faint noise from behind.

“Help!” a weak exhausted voice sounded from the hat of mist above the water. “Please, help!”

With the sinking heart, Alex turned on the spot instantly: two fillies, limping tiredly, crossed the bridge, showing from the dense fog.

“Help!” repeated one of them; another simply slid down the railing to the ground losing all the strength.

Reaching them first, to his utter relief, Alex found out that they were safe at least, exhausted to the extreme but not visibly wounded. The unicorn and earth fillies were a little younger than “Wendigos” who reached them second after Alex, curiously perking their ears but staying aside to give him space. Scratched and ruffled all over, both of them looked as if they wandered the forest for quite a while and covered considerable distance: small twigs and leaves got stuck in their manes and tails, dust-covered their coats turning into wet dirt on the legs, as the girls waded the last miles through the damp foggy field. They even smelled of dust and leaves, as Alex realized lifting the unicorn filly from the ground and heading with her to the rest of the herd; the earth filly followed supported by Babs and the girls.

“Now, can… you tell what… happened?” he turned to the earth filly who seemed to be overcoming their compelled trip better when her unicorn friend was placed on Twilight’s cloak and Rarity already bustled around her with the brought by somepony medkit. “I haven’t seen anything serious, but… are you both wounded?”

“No… sir,” the filly took some effort to whisper hoarsely; Apple Bloom whisked away and returned with some water and after a few sips the girl could continue. “We are just so tired… And the legs… ache… But we don’t know what’s with…” she choked on words and tears sprayed from her closed eyes.

“Thither was somepony else with you two?” Alex felt the chills along the spine.

“Calm down, lief, and tellest us everything!” Princess Luna approached insensibly and leaned over kneeled Alex examining the filly. “Tryest to be brief please!” The contrast between the appearance of “Nightmare Moon” and the soothing voice was so striking that the filly opened her eyes and looked at the princess and the human completely normal, the tears dried out as fast as they flowed.

“I’m so sorry… Princess!” with an intermittent sigh started the girl barely audibly. “We wanted to prank you…”

“Prank me?” “Nightmare Moon” sounded genuinely surprised and Alex shared her feeling.

‘To prank the prankster… How did they ev’r come to that idea? Moreover, hoped to succeed…’

“We thought… that we might… that we could probably… scare you, Princess. Or at least catch by a surprise…” the earth filly let out a weak smile but then squinted again from the upcoming tears. “It was our joint idea… Nopony is… Err… We are all guilty, all three of us. Only find him please…”

“Whom, pray tell?” “Nightmare Moon” touched her softly with the wing comforting. “Dost not cry, dear.” Alex turned all ears prepared to catch every word.

“Pipsqueak…” breathed out the filly. “We planned to… hide near the monument, wait till the rest of the foals arrive… and Your Highness as well, obviously. To check “Nightmare Moon’s” nerves! Sorry-y-y!!!” she couldn’t hold any longer and burst into tears.

“Pipsqueak…” sighed “Nightmare Moon”. “Of course, how didn’t I guess ere!” she cuddled the filly softly with her wings, lifting with the aura and bringing closer to her friend; Alex followed, exchanging glances with Twilight who looked inwardly panicking.

“We thought that we knew the road well,” added the unicorn filly quietly; she came to her senses with the help of Rarity and Applejack and picked herself to a sit. “But the forest looks… so different at night. We lost the road…” she sighed woefully. “Walked for a while with no direction… Pip claimed that he knew the path.”

“I guess when he confessed of feeling as lost as we were, it was too late already,” added she slowly after a pause.

“We were so scared…” cried her earth pony friend. “Then… these sounds and fog came… and we got separated with him in the dark. He must be there still… in the fore-e-e-est!!!”

“So much for coming to the unknown woods without a pegasus…” muttered Alex so only Twilight and Rainbow, standing behind, could hear him. “How did you manage to find the way then?” asked he genuinely puzzled.

“We didn’t… by ourselves I mean…” the unicorn filly downcasted blushing.

“We… simply… saw somepony with wings in the darkness,” her friend sniffed and took the breath, “… and followed them quietly.”

That could probably make Alex laugh under different circumstances – the girls noticed him on the fringe of Everfree and followed. He realized that they were so close to the fields at that moment that could find the town direction themselves, but darkness and fright prevented them from thinking straight. Yet they kept enough sense to savvy the way out.

“Good girls!” he let out a small smile getting up. ‘Fortunately that was me, not something else with wings… don’t know what else you have here except dragons and manticores…’

“Methinks I know the rest,” Alex took a look over the herd, which made the quietly talking ring around them. “We must look for him immediately – the forest is dangerous at this time.”

What happened next simply made everypony, except Princess Luna, freeze in bewilderment – the human simply dissolved in the thin air. In a matter of seconds, his figure turned more and more transparent finally disappearing to the silent thrill of the herd; the majority of ponyvillers simply dropped the jaws, their eyes popping of surprise.

“What… the…” started Rainbow Dash frowning. “Aren’t we supposed to search?”

“Wait!” Twilight held her easy jumping to conclusions friend. “I think I know what he is up to…”

Indeed, after a couple of minutes of deafening puzzled silence, they all heard the approaching loud sound of the large wings, somepony did their best to reach the Town Hall square as fast as possible. In a second, sending dust and straws flying, Alex landed abruptly among the ponies.

“Okay, now I’m ready,” he took the breath, squeezing something, which resembled a double-edge axe without a handle. “I’m going immediately!”

“Shouldn’t we all…” started Rainbow, “Nightmare Moon” nodded.

“No!” retorted Alex glancing at the girls seriously. “I need all the strong ponies hither to keep the citizens and the town watched after. Besides, it’s not safe thither, I heard the wolves earlier…”

“Luna,” he turned to the disguised princess. “Zecora must come shortly, when she doth, join me in search, please. Methinks we can cope. Twilight, you, the girls, Zecora and Mayor Mare are more than enough to keep everypony organized and safe. I extend mine hope we’re not late…”

“You don’t know where to start…” Twilight glanced at him with concern.

“The monument,” simply shrugged Alex. “Isn’t it the statue on the large black block?” getting the confirming nod he added. “I’ll start from thither in spiral…”

“Be careful!”

“Beest careful, lief!”

‘I’ll better be fast!’ Followed by princesses’ parting wishes, with a powerful flap, Alex rushed into the dark sky, wrapping into his armour on the fly and unfolding the glaive.

Contrary to what they got accustomed to during their scholar excursions to Everfree, the night forest appeared completely different: dark, ruffling, almost alive, damp from the fog and vapour, it unwelcoming and borderline scary to the colt. In fairness, he was to admit that all of their trips were rather superficial, barely scratching the fringe of the enormous forest; they never went deep, as the teachers preferred prudence to dubious experience. Maybe it was their fault he found himself there completely unprepared or… maybe he shouldn’t come there at all.

However, he always thought that he remembered the road to the Nightmare Moon monument well. It would be probably true, if there was more light, natural or artificial, just as it was during his first Nightmare Night trip to the monument with Zecora. Hoping that he could orient from his memories, the colt was to witness, how progressively different every forest became with ceasing light.

He was roaming for about two hours already if counting from the moment he confessed to the girls that he lost the path; more – from the moment he actually lost it but feared to admit his suspicions looking too feasible to ignore. Eventually, it turned out to be his idea to make a joke ambush on Princess Luna near the Nightmare Moon monument trying to scare or at least surprise her. He was simply very convincing, infecting two classmates with that plan, so the girls started to think it was mutual. So it had ripened into the gnawing guilt – he couldn’t hear them anymore, despite how carefully he listened. But the foal could hear enough at the same time, all the kinds of nightly noises which affect one’s imagination so much. The forest breathed, it creaked and rustled constantly and occasional wails of nocturnal birds didn’t make these sounds easier to accept; even without the rain, something dripped coldly every now and then onto his scruff, sending chills along his spine. He was fancying shadows in the dark thicket and that urged the poor colt to move, as staying on the one spot was even scarier.

Maybe the same reasons made them three panic an hour ago and lead to girls and him losing each other in the woods. It happened as if by some wicked magic: one moment they trotted together stepping over the fallen trees, one by one on the narrow path, which rather glimpsed among the verdure, but as soon as the girls and he got distracted by something, it appeared that they couldn’t see each other, let alone reach.

First they tried to call each other and gather orienting by voice, but for some strange reason, the foals only distanced more with each moment, finally getting completely disoriented in the quickly darkening forest. He tried to yell for a while longer but quickly fell silent after he couldn’t hear the fillies anymore. The colt remembered about the wild animals and wholeheartedly hoped that the girls did too, dropping the futile attempts to give him an audible sign. It could equally be a welcoming sign for the hungry timberwolves, who were known to come closer to the settlements in the colder season.

The thought about these abominations made his head spin, or maybe that was the stuffy air filled with fumes. The colt snuggled his forehead to the wetly smelling pine and almost cried. From his current position, their idea stopped looking that bright and promising.

‘Shut it, Pip!’ in a minute he clenched the teeth listening to the rustling darkness around. ‘You need to get out of the forest and find help…’ With some effort he left his tar-smelling halt and moved on.

‘The road was visible back then! It couldn’t overgrow that much in two years…’ he tried to convince himself, groping onto that saving thought. ‘If the girls get out to the monument, they can probably return to the town without problems…’ The colt deliberately drove away the memory that they easily lost that path before.

Besides, he couldn’t find the monument himself, no matter how hard he tried. Finally, the chilling thought that he was walking in circles, wider or narrower but still circles every time, visited Pipsqueak.

“Sweet Celestia! How scary it is…” whispered he, simply to hear some voice, even if it was his own.

The distant sound resembling howling almost made colt’s heart jump out of his throat, so fast and unevenly it started beating; it darkened in his eyes and Pip rushed headlong not seeing the way.

Suddenly, some light glimpsed among the trees not far from him. The colt changed direction, dashing towards that clearance in the woods reaching it in a matter of seconds. Jumping out to a large glade, he took a breath.

There was no monument, nothing familiar in general; Pip found another completely random glade nopony-knew-where in Everfree. Not giving him time to think about his situation, the howling sounded from somewhere very close that time.

Pip took a look around: with ominous rustling the surrounding bushes parted letting out the timberwolves. One by one they entered the glade staring at the frozen on the spot colt with the evil glowing sparks of their green eyes.

Looking for a single foal in the depths of Everfree seemed to be a desperately futile task, but Alex did his best to dispel those thoughts and concentrate on his search instead. He quickly reached the Nightmare Moon monument; able to distinguish the familiar silhouette from a lower height, he didn’t lose time for landing at the large glade but slowly flew on widening spiral scanning the thicket below.

Extremely grateful to Luna for that favour – the Moon quickly reached zenith pouring all the light on the scene – Alex peered into the mishmash of swaying shadows and brighter stripes to the ache in his eyes. He wholeheartedly hoped for the foal to keep some intent to survive still and move, realizing that it was next to impossible to notice a motionless creature in such circumstances, even at daylight, let alone in the darkness, despite all the night vision capabilities one might have. Till that moment Alex was able to spot only a couple of owls seeking for prey in the dense carpet of the Everfree; they quickly hid in the thicker foliage as soon as his shadow slid in their field of view.

The trees were giving way to bushes and the latter to the trees again, there were a few tiny openings in the overgrown forest, but nothing resembling a pony yet to be found. Alex circled and circled, scanning the landscape below, soaring higher and lowering again to see the terrain from different angles; he tried his best to shove the growing feeling of despair deeper, realizing that the task was getting harder with every next minute of fruitless search.

‘I did correct!’ he was convincing himself. ‘One winged rescuer can do more than a herd of roaming in the dark woods ponies…’ Of course, he could ask pegasi, but actually he needed only one pony instead – Luna; she could see in the darkness as well as Alex, what couldn’t be said about the majority of ponies, pegasi or not. Besides, he didn’t have a squad of well armoured and trained guards at hand and putting the citizens at risks wasn’t his aim. ‘No, thanks! Enough…’ Gritting his teeth Alex continued gliding over Everfree.

Suddenly, almost on the border of his vision, Alex spotted some cautious movement. Realizing that a frightened foal would hardly sneak insidiously, he took a better look nevertheless. The dark shadows threading through the undergrowth were noticeably larger than an average pony and the whole manner of moving was different.

On the one hand, Alex was glad they were not Seekers, the latter he would have sensed yet approaching the edge of the forest. On the other hand, the familiar green glow of narrow-cut eyes told him – those were timberwolves; Alex’s heart sank at the thought they could already have had their feast.

‘Merlin’s pants! May he still be unnoticed by these freaks!’

Trying to keep on the leeward side and doing his best to produce less noise possible, Alex approached the sneaking pack. New and new beasts entered his sight from the thicket.

‘One, two, three…’ when Alex reached a dozen, he was close to panic at the thought that the wolves finding the colt earlier than him; they had no wings thankfully, but they saw perfectly in the darkness and had numerical advantage and speed.

At that moment one timberwolf stopped and started sniffing, followed then by a few others; they inhaled the wind greedily, then one of the beasts raised its head and let out a not very loud but blood-chilling howl. The whole pack turned and headed somewhere deeper in the woods speeding up on the go.

Now, when they all started running, Alex could see all of them; to his surprise there was more than he thought, two dozens of beasts at the very least. Betting everything on that chance, as the coincidence looked very suspicious, Alex decided to follow – the wolves spotted something, which they took for easy prey.

A large glade, which Alex didn’t notice earlier, opened to his eyes; from the bird’s eye view, Alex could see the small figure entering the glade and freezing at a loss. He finally found the missing foal but so the timberwolves did, the first of them already reached the surrounding the glade shrubs and entered the clearing.

There was no time to keep silence, Alex rushed to the glade at full speed, so the wings produced audible swish.

Having nowhere to run when the first timberwolf crouched with low-pitch grumble preparing to pounce, Pipsqueak closed the eyes. He couldn’t hold back the squeal, realizing that it was the last thing he could ever do in his short life. Unable to move, the foal heard a hard blow but strangely felt nothing except the gust of wind on his muzzle; some shadow covered him.

He dared to peek slightly in the very moment to see how the giant black wing hit the timberwolf mid-jump, swiping it away and sending in the air. The wolf smashed its back into the nearest tree and collapsed like a rag. Pip was about to faint: some creature, seeming huge to the frightened foal, landed right above him gleaming metallically. The multitude of spikes strewed the armour, made of dark metal with thin linear pattern, the sharp-clawed fore paws squeezed some strange long weapon; Pipsqueak squinted aside spotting how the spiked leg scratched the ground seeking for a better stance and leaving deep furrows, the wings had lowered shielding him from the sides. The new monster looked at him from above and freezing from terror, the colt saw his own miserable and deadly scared reflection in the smooth mirror-like face of the faceted helmet.

The rest of the wolves growled viciously, unambiguously stating their intents. Pip’s first impulse was to flee as fast as he could, but on the edge of sanity, he realized that the arrived creature was addressing him.

“Dost not run if thou wantest to live!” the winged nightmare roared out muffledly like from the barrel. “They shall tear thee apart given the chance!”

“Hie, climb on mine back!” one wing lowered to give the colt a lift; with the remaining strength Pip jumped and hung on it. In bewilderment, he saw that the row of long spear-sharp spikes went along the armour spine, they were so long that he could climb on them as on a ladder. Which Pip did, clambering on the shoulders of his unexpected saviour; he realized only then – that “monster” was the human, Pip saw numerous times in the town.

“… but dost not step on the wings, for thou may fall!” another wing flapped out dartingly hitting two more approaching timberwolves, knocking them down and sending them rolling shamefully on the ground. It was clearly showing that the previous strike wasn’t only a lucky coincidence. Pip shrunk into a ball clinging to the spikes with the last bit of strength and keeping away from the vast wings, which folded again preparing for the battle.

Furious at failure, the timberwolves howled and the nearest forest replied them in chorus: more and more beasts sprung out to the glade. Alex saw that the whole pack gathered to take them down, no less than two dozens. He grinned louringly under his helmet and grabbed the glaive for the better swing.

‘Come on, you rotten logs!’ But inevitably, Alex was to admit there were too many of them, strong, quick and determined; more than he would have expected for the one person to cope with.

‘They can easily exhaust me if the battle takes too long. I need to take down as fast and as many of them as I can, while I still can move fluently!’

Eager to overcome the unexpected, stubborn hindrance or somehow reach the foal and tear him apart, the timberwolves tried to go head-on; the three most impatient beasts pounced at him at once anticipating the easy victory as they most likely thought. The glaive swished in its wide swing and one silvery gleaming blade met the head with the yawping maw, cutting it off at once like a piece of soft cheese. Totally unusual for the battle smell of tar and fresh wood spread into the air and Alex thought that sharpening the blade to perfection wasn’t futile.

The rest two wolves evidently hoped to dive under enemy’s arm and the slightly lagging behind wing, thus clinging and dropping him to the ground, but another blade met them flat at the end of the hard blow, crushing into their muzzles, striking out teeth and breaking the jaws. The glaive justified its purpose entirely and the following wing strike bumped the wounded and squealing wolves one into another, sweeping them aside. The human was to make a u-turn to fade the impulse and meet the beasts in the face again, simultaneously demonstrating the row of sharp spikes on the back.

Realizing that the enemy turned out to be way more mobile and dangerous than they expected, the timberwolves rushed in front of him at the clearing, looking for a weak spot and advantageous moment for the next attack. They snarled angrily, the green glowing eyes glared at the human with wild malice but to his surprise, Alex noticed that all the beasts behaved nearly equally. There was no visible leader in that pack or at least Alex was unable to distinguish one at that moment.

‘Tis becoming complicated!’ glimpsed in his mind. ‘Killing the leader would have seriously shaken their confidence.’ The hive-mind behaviour could be probably explained by the peculiar nature of his enemy, being the wildest mix of plant and animal, but Alex had no time for biological research. Raising the glaive, he began to rotate it like a heavy nearly six-foot diameter propeller, placing the gleaming impenetrable shield between them and the wolves.

The timberwolves became annoyed to the extreme: wherever the vile creatures tried to squeeze, thereto went the silver sizzling death, blocking their most dodgy attempts to attack. One, the most impatient or hungry, or maybe both simultaneously, pounced for the sheer luck into the seeming opening… only to be met by the whirlpool of steel. Ripped to shreds, the beast peppered the glade with its small wooden pieces, like a dry branch caught in a fan.

That discouraged the attackers but only for a second at most; the wolves rushed at Alex with doubled persistence yet hardly more cautiously. The necessity to constantly think about the foal curled behind his shoulders made Alex’s position worse. He couldn’t move as fast as he would like to, fearing that the colt might fall to the ground; in that case his fate would have been sealed in a matter of seconds. In dispersing wolves, especially timberwolves, some fire could appear of invaluable help… but Alex realized that the reasons making him refrain from sleepwalking there were incomparably more crucial.

Strike!

One more strike!

Sawdust and small leaves fanned into the air when another timberwolf was thrown away with a long torn wound on its side.

‘Damned wretches, when do you get it?!’

Angry roaring followed by a hard blow or sizzling cut was turning into the sound of flying away or heavily collapsing body. Alex did his best to keep the wolves up front, constantly turning and dancing on the glade; the wings were folding and stretching again, delivering the knocking the enemy strikes and sweeping the beasts which tried to attack from flanks.

In an attempt to restrain the irritating foe, one timberwolf gripped the tip of the wing with its teeth. Folding momentarily, the wing pulled the dazed beast closer and impaled it on the promptly offered blade, making the attacker go limp at once when the turning glaive tore it almost in halves.

Roaring and howling, the timberwolves became mad with rage as their attempts brought them more and more fails. Their behaviour turned chaotic and thus even more dangerous. Despite all his efforts and due to the inevitable fatigue, they started to get around the human, glaring at the unreachable for them so far foal. They couldn’t do anything with the armoured human, even if they would have succeeded at exhausting him and knocking down to the ground, but they showed unambiguously what was their real aim. Alex fought soundlessly if not taking the hardening breath into account: he was to fight not for a show or sport, but for one defenceless life, as he realized well that all the predators needed was to pull the colt off his back.

‘I need to train more!’ Alex began to feel all the armour on him clearly. ‘These are not Seekers, who crumble at the first direct touch… And the armour makes things tougher…’

“Look out! Behind!!!”

“Get down!” without the second thought, folding his wings tight, Alex made the glaive draw a full circle above himself.

Barely crouching in time, Pipsqueak couldn’t avoid glancing back at the right moment to see, how the wheezing shiny crescent dash cut the air and chopped away the grinning head of timberwolf and the very tip of Pip’s tail almost in the beast’s mouth. The claws creaked on the smooth metal surface of the armour and wolf’s body collapsed to the ground.

Alex swung the glaive stopping it sharply aside and shaking off tar from the heated blade. He jumped back to keep all the wolves in sight again, using the momentarily pause to take the breath and plan further tactics. All over it turned out that he needed to take down the absolute majority of the pack for them with the foal to be left alone – inscrutably, the beasts kept ignoring their own casualties. Thus all other variants were extremely dangerous for his “passenger”.

Apparently, the beasts decided to wear the human down and receive their prey at all costs. But there was absolutely no valour in their persistence. Granted they attacked the armed enemy without hesitation, but their initial intent – as long as Alex knew them – was always to outnumber and run down somepony weaker. Remembering his first acquaintance with them, Alex roared into the helmet muffledly, his eyes darkened.

Dash – Strike! Dash – Strike! He did his best to catch the wolves at the end of their pounces, dodging them and bringing inescapable retribution whenever possible.

Going into pure defence, Alex spun the weapon, constantly moving not to give them another chance to come around him and delivering only perfectly aimed hits back and forth, left and right, not wasting energy for enemies’ provocations.

More and more timberwolves remained on the tar stained grass motionless or crawled away severely crippled, but many of them remained, beaten and wounded lightly and therefore extremely wrought-up. Flying away could look a feasible way out, but Alex was to admit, soaring from the flat ground with extra weight would have taken a few precious seconds, when his attention would have been dispersed. Perfect chance for the wooden bastards to use it to their advantage and drag the foal away.

The roars and loud clanking of steel woke up the entire Everfree on a couple of miles radius and the forest froze in terror, waiting for the outcome of that brutal fight.

‘Fucking logs! What do you need to stop?!’ Alex retreated, making the sawdust fly with every hit he delivered to the timberwolves and occasionally squinting over the shoulder to ensure that Pipsqueak was still there, at the verge of fainting but still holding on. He missed one pounce, forced to change hand and smash the beast’s muzzle with the steel spiked glove. A few wolves regrouped already and were preparing to take on the human up front again, not giving him any breath.

“ENOUGH!!!” the thunder-like voice rolled over the forest. Something overshadowed the moonlight and a blue glowing fireball of magic bolted into the ground in front of the attacking timberwolves; exploding like a good grenade, it blinded everypony for a few moments. It looked as if some giant hand brushed the remaining beasts away to the thicket like paper cranes – only their scared shameful squealing was reaching Alex’s ears from the darkness.

“The saviour of the… night…” Alex exhaled resting one end of his glaive on the ground; he leaned on it, breathing heavily. “Thanks! They almost succeeded in getting us.”

“Princess!..” at the sight of the large winged silhouette hovering above them, Pip squeaked with relief, still hanging on Alex’s shoulders.

“Evening, young mister!” it was so strange to hear the familiar silvery voice coming from “Nightmare Moon” that Alex unwittingly smiled; she sounded jokingly, but the glance of the alicorn princess was serious. “We shall touch the reasons and lessons of this incident sometime anon…” promisingly stated she making the colt downcast in shame.

The princess landed folding her broad wings. When moonlight could fall freely onto the glade, the eyes of “Nightmare Moon” widened. Parts of the beasts and a few wooden bodies were scattered all over the surface.

“They were only wild animals…” started she with an audible tint of reproach. “Couldn’t thou simply have flown away taking the foal with thee? Instead of that… slaughter…”

“Apologies, lief… I had no chance to take off risking him being dragged off mine back or simply falling!” retorted Alex looking right into her deep dark blue eyes with vertical slits of the pupils. “Barely finding him moments afore he was going to become their supper, I picked up the colt a fraction of second afore they pounced. Preferred not to risk…” Enveloping in a bright glow, his helmet dissolved leaving only a thin metal band on human’s head and making Pipsqueak nearly fall from his back from surprise.

“Besides, they had no hesitations at which hour almost killing Fluttershy half a year ere!” added Alex meaningfully, pressing something on the glaive handle, so with light sizzle the whole weapon started folding and took its compact form in a few seconds allowing to attach it to the belt.

She took another look at the glade, at Alex still catching his breath, at Pipsqueak barely holding onto human’s shoulders only because the spiked armour gave him a grip.

“I… I’m sorry!” after a few seconds of thinking, softly said “Nightmare Moon”. “I could think better… Thou had no choice forsooth, lief!”

The next moment she did something that made Pipsqueak release his hold in amazement; he would undoubtedly fall if the princess didn’t catch him up with her magic promptly.

“Nightmare Moon” approached the human and gave him a long tender kiss.

“Were they not supposed to return already, if everything went fine?” Pinkie peered into the star-woven sky.

Despite the celebration turned out crumpled, nopony left the square and many did the same thing as Pinkie, watching the night sky and asking themselves one uneasy question. Somepony ran to find and bring there Pipsqueak’s mother and the earth mare sobbed quietly, consoled by a few neighbours. She didn’t know for sure, but the unknown was worse than any news.

“Calm down, Pinkie…” Twilight asked softly, inwardly being reeled into a clot of tight nerves. “They have the whole Everfree fringe to search through…” at these words the sobs became more audible. “At the end of the day, the princess is with them and… Alex is worth something when it comes down to a fight, don’t you think?” Twilight added confusedly.

“Exactly! And I am worried about them all!” Pinkie fidgeted on the spot impatiently.

Rarity did her best to hold together, squeezing Spike and Sweetie Belle in her hug, but girl’s eyes were pinprick from deeply hidden terror. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Babs gathered around Applejack, who leaned on brother’s shoulder staring at one point, stressed and upset. Rainbow nervously flew back and forth in front of the falling quiet herd.

“If they don’t show up for five minutes more, I’m going to join the search! Nopony can stop me…” she stated unobjectionably. “Who’s with me?!”

The rolling over the herd hum showed that there were quite a few pegasi sharing Dash’s enthusiasm. So far, Twilight, Zecora (she just came to uphold the Nightmare Night tradition), Mayor Mare and a humble number of guards managed to keep the ponyvillers adequate and listening to the voice of common sense, but empathy could take over at any moment, making the situation only worse.

“Shhh… Listen!” Twilight suddenly hushed, raising her eyes to the sky and trying to hear something.

After a minute of tensed listening, they fancied the approaching sounds of wings cutting the cool night air. Highlighted by the Moon, two bright metallically glimmering dots appeared in the night sky. The silhouettes grew with each second, gaining the attention of all eyes of the herd; one moved fluently, another flew lower, heavily flapping its giant black wings.

“Nightmare Moon” landed first, gracefully as every self-respecting princess usually did. Alex almost flopped to the ground, landing hard on one knee and keeping the wings raised almost vertically not to knock down anypony on the square. The herd tensely froze in silence.

An embarrassed pony muzzle emerged from behind Alex’s shoulder, peeking through his ruffled hair. Resting his palm on the ground, Alex leaned lower letting the colt slide off his back; after a momentary hesitation, Pipsqueak darted through the parting herd towards his tear-stained mother. Even if the mare wanted to explain her son the impropriety of his deed, she forgot about that at once grabbing and squeezing the foal, kissing him frantically and weeping but from happiness already.

The herd roared in delight and relief making the glass in Town Hall’s windows tingle and both Pip and his mom crouch.

Alex barely had time to remove his sharp-edged armour before a white and greyish brown flurry grabbed him into a hug Harry-bear would envy, filling his vision with curly vanilla smelling mane.

“You saved him!.. You saved my boy…” the mare wept hanging on human’s neck; Alex’s shirt was quickly getting soaked in the collar area. “Thank you! Thank you! I can’t… Thank you…”

“It’s okay ma-am,” diplomatically started Alex, supporting himself with both hands not to fall forward on the ground – he couldn’t even get up before she grabbed him. “I found him… but… it’s the princess who saved us both, so…” he made an effort to get up, staggering when Pipsqueak’s mother released him.

She darted to the sitting next to Alex and smiling “Nightmare Moon” and without second thought hugged her tight as well, somewhere around the chest, where the earth pony could reach, muttering the words of gratitude and sobbing. “Nightmare Moon’s” eyes rounded, she raised her fore hoof unconfidently and was stroking the mare on the mane and shoulders softly. In a moment the mare realized that something unusual was happening and stepped back a little, freezing confusedly: the situation, her own actions and princess’ appearance combined put Pip’s mom into cognitive dissonance for a while.

“Oh… Your Highness! Forgive me please my…”

“No-no, tis fine forsooth,” the princess chuckled lightly, then turned to the human with a sly anticipating smile.

“Finally, thou art without these edges and thorns, lief!” before Alex could realize, he was captured in another very soft and feathery lavender fragrant embrace. He shook his head dispelling the silly and completely random thought about Luna smelling of lavender even in her disguise and guesses about Nightmare Moon’s native “flavour”. He was to admit, the warm cuddle was awesome, considering Alex felt quite beaten up and tired after the fight. In exchange for support and tenderness, Alex could come to terms with the fact that the entire herd was staring at him and “Nightmare Moon”, who rested her head on top of his with a blissful expression.

However, Luna wasn’t going to stop at that; shielding them with her wing, she leaned closer and gave him a sweet passionate kiss. Tasting her lips, Alex was to throw back his head and wrap his arms around “Nightmare Moon’s” neck not to fall. Flushing at once, he noticed how purring from pleasure princess lost her guard for a second lowering her wing; a camera glimpsed in the whistling and cheering herd almost momentarily.

‘Merlin’s pants! They took a picture of that… Well… To hell with that…’ Alex turned in Luna’s embrace and cuddled her properly, brushing the fingers through her flowing mane and making the herd hoot even louder.

“Alas… I need to continue mine voyage,” sighed “Nightmare Moon” still holding him with her wings. “But I’m not saying goodbye for tonight,” exhaled she in Alex’s ear quietly.

“Have a very scary Nightmare Night, mine beloved ponies!” declared the princess, releasing her human and soaring into the night. “The Night Crown’s blessing is upon you!” she departed in a bright flash of the magical teleport.

Sunday lied ahead and the common decision of ponyvillers was to continue the celebration by joining Pip’s miraculous rescue to the main event. Discussing the surprisingly lucky outcome of school-foals failed joke, ponies began mingling about the square again. The extinguished lanterns were lit, the torches changed where necessary, the attractions – wound up and Applejack already gathered volunteers to send to the farm for the additional snacks. Only an occasional curious glance thrown by somepony at Alex (as he was the single remaining participant – Pip’s mother took the colt home as it was too much of a shock for both) reminded about the incident.

‘All well that ends well…’ Alex was pondering if simply sitting down on the hoofworn grass on the bank was okay, as his whole body started aching from the strain. However, it could become only worse after resting on the ground. He also wondered inwardly, where the camera disappeared and how many copies of the photo would hit the public the next day.

“One thing she is right about, daarin!” Alex almost jumped on the spot, so quietly Rarity approached him, entirely justifying her Nightmare Night character. “You aren’t bristling with thorns now, Ahhhlex! So nice for…” murmured she raising on her hind legs and taking his arm. Rarity snuggled to the human so tightly, Alex could feel every inch of her silky stylish dress and girl’s pacing up heartbeat.

Too tired to resist, Alex sighed quietly and wrapped his arm around Rarity’s shoulders; the unicorn girl’s face took the expression, which usually appeared on Opal’s muzzle when Rarity’s cat was given sour cream to her heart’s content. As the result, melting Rarity squeezed him around the waist, snuggling even closer, almost nuzzling on the chest.

“Looking good, you two,” chuckled Twilight, approaching them. “The Nightmare Knight and Neighponese Assassin!” dusting off her black-red cape and wrapping herself into it, she sported a wide grin, demonstrating the gleam of her false fangs. “Nightmare Knight…” repeated she, “that may stick!”

“Look, I’ve long wanted to ask,” seeing that Rarity wasn’t reacting, Twilight raised closer to Alex’s ear. “Why didn’t you go after Pipsqueak while sleepwalking? That looked reasonable, as you have more capabilities that way… besides, less risky for you…”

“It’s how it is on the first sight,” nodded Alex. “But actually it’s a bit more complex. Just imagine somepony waking the real me up during the fight… Yes,” he added seeing the girl paled suddenly, “I would have vanished amidst the fight – instant death to one I was going to rescue in that case. I preferred to take one risk than another…”

“Hey! Why are you three sticking out here, aside from the fun?” Rainbow Dash popped seemingly out of the ground, pulling Twilight and Alex to the square with the rest of the herd. “It happens once a year and is going to be over this time soon!”

“Sorry, girls. I feel a bit wrung out. Besides, I had different plans…” Alex shook his head entrusting softened and slightly cross-eyed Rarity to Twilight and Rainbow. “I’m going to check if everything is fine with Shy… and then, I think I visit Steels – I saw the lights being on at their place, so I won’t be an annoyance.”

“I’ll be fine Twi. Not going to stay awake till morning anyway,” added he with a bit tired smile. “Don’t make too much noise when you and Spike return home.”

The cottage was surrounded by such an overwhelming and completely unnatural for that time of the day silence that Alex became suspicious at the moment approaching it; at the opposite side of the stream, even before crossing the small bridge, his surprise turned into concern and shortly after – anxiety. The mere fact that Fluttershy’s yard wasn’t occupied by some noisy and fidgety little critters was a sign of something truly outstanding happening there or… already happened. Alex involuntarily sped up, even if he trudged as a turtle before, having certain reasons for pensiveness and hesitancy.

The latter could be easily explained by his aim leading Alex to Fluttershy’s cottage that day: he wanted to bring some clarity into their relationship. Or better say in the relationship connecting him, Fluttershy and Princess Luna. So far, things kept being complicated and clarity was rather a figure of speech, as Alex was to admit reluctantly. On the other hand, the current circumstances were far from being ideal either, at least without the “declaration of intent” from one or all of the sides. Currently, the girls were rather bearing each other’s presence and gathering them both around Alex was dangerously explosive; even despite their inborn sense of tact and dignity, let alone the known friendship between Princess Luna and Fluttershy, an occasional thunderbolt flashed in their mutual glances in such case.

Putting his hand on the gate, Alex marvelled, how loud its creak came out in the surrounding him in the cool air silence. Granted, Autumn came to its decline and it was the second of November, so the majority of the small animals entered their hibernation already or were on the verge of, while the songbirds long left. However, not hearing the hens and not seeing any movement at the yard was unprecedented for that household. The whole place looked and sounded (or better say stood mute) like it was outwaiting non less than some carpet bombing.

‘Merlin’s pants! What hath befallen hither?!’ The human caught himself upon crossing the garden path almost on his toes, unwittingly conforming to the stressful atmosphere. The front door was unlocked, it wasn’t unusual or worrying per se as in general doors were never locked in Ponyville at daytime, which still didn’t cease to surprise Alex, accustomed to the “human society”. The mere fact that it wasn’t even properly shut drove him into the deeper anxiety.

Trying to produce no sound, Alex opened the door and infiltrated into the hall leaving the entrance unblocked just in case. A quick glance around told him that all the things from the furniture to small trinkets were seemingly on their places, yet he couldn’t be absolutely sure, as he didn’t cross that threshold for quite a while. The cottage met Alex with the same silence; Fluttershy was never noisy, but silence accompanied by deserted outside only emphasized the impression of wrong.

Not knowing what could be happening there, Alex decided to accurately check all the rooms himself. Naturally, he started from the kitchen – the next to the hall considerably large room. A fleeting glance from the doorstep didn’t reveal anything outstanding, except maybe a used cup neither removed from the table nor washed. Something crunched under his feet when Alex entered the room. Shifting his sight down, he froze on the spot like thunderstruck: shards of the broken porcelain plate glimmered dimly on the floor. There was nothing else except the plate parts and it didn’t look as if it was dropped accidentally. Alex thought that he was fancying some faint scent in the air but it was so thin making it hard to recognize.

Suppressing the wish to shout her name, Alex clenched his fists; if any stranger was still in the house, they were to be found and treated accordingly.

‘Kicked in the ass for trespassing!’ Alex gritted his teeth audibly making two lumps on his cheeks twitch.

Fancying some faint sound from the hall, he stormed back and threw another wild glance around the large room trying to locate the source. Another rustle came from under the large armchair right in front of him and in a second the casually thrown plaid moved slightly revealing the rabbit head, very unconfident and wiggling the ears warily. In a second Angel emerged from his hideout entirely and sat watching the human with the mix of embarrassment, anxiety and grumpiness, which could look funny under different circumstances. He threw a cautious look around and put a paw to his mouth calling for silence.

“Heigh, Angel!” Alex quietly squatted down not to tower over Fluttershy’s little friend; he made an effort to relax his rope-strained nerves and smile as casually as possible. “Dost me a favour, tellest what hath befallen hither? What’s about all that silence, pray tell?”

The rabbit stared up at him raising one eyebrow and placing his ears parallel to the floor in complete bewilderment.

“Ahem…” Alex braced himself with a sigh leaning closer and whispering. “Can you… tell me what’s… happened here? The whole place looks as if… the air-raid warning was issued.”

Angel sighed and facepalmed with the soft paw with a quite miserable look.

“Did somepony come here before me?” Alex realized that without some basic knowledge of interspecies communication, which was foals’ game for his yellow pegasus friend but Chinese language for him, it went down to some guess-game. “Are they still here?”

The rabbit nodded energetically, so even his ears waggled. Then Angel scratched his nape and decided to demonstrate graphically. He marched back and forth putting on an overly confident look, then sat again looking up to Alex inquiringly.

“Guards?” Alex blinked a few times. “What guards could forget here?”

Angel stomped his hind paw and shook the head quickly showing that Alex totally failed following his pantomime. With a sigh he repeated the show, now with exaggeratedly cheerful and proud yet at the same time gamine look.

“Discord…” muttered Alex more to himself. “But he wouldn’t render the place that deserted…”

Another facepalm almost made the rabbit fall flat; with an impatient squeak, Angel hopped closer to Alex and pulled the edge of his wing, jerking it a few times insinuatingly and making the human ponder for a second.

“A princess?!” finally savvied Alex, his heart sank upon the next guess. “Princess Luna?”

Angel nodded very quickly then crouched with his head in his fore paws.

“They quarrelled?!”

The rabbit threw such a glance up at him that Alex could almost read ‘You can’t even imagine how!!!’ in it.

‘So that’s what made all the animals hide!’ Alex could easily imagine Luna resorting to the Royal Canterlot Voice in the heated argument, but for what it’s worth, Fluttershy didn’t fit that image at all. Nevertheless, Alex was one hundred per cent sure, Luna would have never made some damage for the mere sake of the argument. ‘It comes out that Fluttershy broke the plate during the quarrel!’ His eyes rounded involuntarily. ‘It’s definitely time to interfere… even if it starts looking downright scary.’

Meanwhile, Angel pointed with his glance at the stairs unequivocally and made a desperate face.

“They are both upstairs?!” breathed out Alex. “And it’s silent for a while already… What could be going on there?..”

The rabbit nodded very fast, then rolled his eyes – ‘Well, what did you expect me to do anyway?’

“Ooookay…” Alex rose with a sigh turning towards the stairs. Feeling the sudden pull, he looked back to notice bemusedly how Angel pulled the tip of the wing and shook his head. “I must…”

Angel only shrugged and waved his paw – ‘I warned you, but if you’re suicidal…’

“You know, the idea doesn’t look safe to me either…” smirked Alex. “Thanks, bro…” He headed upstairs trying to tread lightly – some wooden steps creaked audibly, while Angel followed his receding back and, just in case, hid under the armchair again.

The bedroom door turned out to be slightly open throwing a narrow stripe of light into the darker corridor, but Alex couldn’t catch a sound from inside. For that he needed to come close and listen. Even without that he knew that both girls were inside: the honey-floral and strong lavender scents mixed were reaching him; now Alex realized what was that familiar faint aroma downstairs. Lavender simply had time to wind out considerably, since Luna left the ground floor.

Feeling somehow that knocking would appear completely dumb, Alex swallowed and grabbed the knob; bracing himself, he flung the door open and made the first step into the bedroom.

Made a step and was staggered; the sight opening to his eyes made Alex freeze on the spot feeling how his jaw was inevitably dropping. The room was exactly as he remembered it: with the bathroom door and the bed at the left wall and the hearth and the dresser at the right, the armchair and the bookcase near the large window – laconic and comfortable at the same time. The lights were out, the wind coming through loosely closed window played with the curtains slightly; soft evening light seeped into the room making the large wooden beams, crossing the white ceiling, cast deep shadows. Lavender and honey embraced Alex welcoming him like a long-anticipated guest; he realized why the aroma came in waves, trying to comprehend what he saw.

Luna and Fluttershy were both sitting on Fluttershy’s bed: Luna deeper with Fluttershy nesting in front of her. Enveloping the large hairbrush with her blue aura, the princess was musingly combing pegasus girl’s long splendid mane. Ruffling like a bird, with her eyes closed dreamingly, Fluttershy faintly wiggled her shoulders from pleasure, almost purring and bringing a smile on Luna’s face. Girl’s lush pink tail probably waiting for its turn to be brushed interlaced with princess’ mane and tail, which covered almost the entire bed, flowing softly and shimmering in the slanting rays of light. Quick Luna’s glance she threw at Alex told him that the girls most likely were waiting for him since the moment Alex entered the cottage. However, the whole scene wasn’t artificial, as it would take considerable time and effort to brush Fluttershy’s sumptuous mane making it exquisitely smooth and silky – thus it wasn’t a play for his eyes exclusively; somehow the girls managed to find common ground.

“Finally, thou art hither,” stated the princess wrapping her fore leg around Fluttershy; she buried her muzzle in girl’s hair and watched the human while peeking slyly from the soft cloud of the pink mane. Fluttershy opened up one eye focusing on Alex with some effort, then leaned on her friend’s shoulder, enjoying the cuddle.

Under any other circumstances Alex would have found the whole scene utterly amusing, but that day he was extremely serious about his wish to sort things out. Yet at the same time, he couldn’t deny that the sight was quite arousing. Clearing his throat, the human made another step releasing the door handle.

“How come…” started Alex noticing from the corner of his eye, how the bedroom door closed slowly enveloped in the blue aura. Without even looking back he knew that it stood under Luna’s magic, thus locked and promptly cutting all the escape ways. “Ahem… I mean what art thou doing hither, Luna?”

“Well… I thought that ladies in friendship didn’t need special reasons to visit each other for some talk and quality time!” Luna shrugged with her wings in feigned surprise. “Am I correct, Fluttershy?”

“Mhmm…” the pegasus girl murmured in agreement, snuggling closer to her bigger friend.

“Seriously though,” the princess put away the hairbrush, “I came hither with the same aim as thou didst, Alex – to clarify our complex relationship. And… I must admit, the beginning of the talk was far from being relaxed or diplomatically discreet.”

“Errmmm… Alex, stop playing shy at last,” Fluttershy looked at him lovingly but strictly. “Why don’t you come closer?.. We don’t bite!” both girls smiled daintily watching the human expectantly.

Throwing one last glance over his shoulder, Alex made sure that the door was indeed wrapped in Luna’s magic; bracing himself, he approached the girls finally treating each other like real friends should. Seeing his doubts, Fluttershy patted the bed cover in front of her, letting out another encouraging smile.

“What has happened here?” Alex sank at the bed edge. “The whole place looked… overrun…”

“Luna came here about an hour before you,” Fluttershy started elaborating while Luna quietly snorted at Alex’s association, “ to talk about… us three. And…” Alex noticed her fidgeting in embarrassment. “And I lost my temper.”

“Umm… I’m not quite…” Alex blinked.

“I-I mean I’m not proud of it,” muttered Fluttershy, the flush started flooding her muzzle. “T-to tell the truth… I’m rather a-ashamed of that momentary impulse…”

“That was quite a scene,” chuckled Luna softly. “I nev’r expected the talk to be easy, but…” Meanwhile, Fluttershy kept getting brighter and brighter in her flush. “Thou knowest that I resort to the Canterlot Royal Voice oft… Let’s say at which hour the situation demandeth,” the princess cocked her eyebrows meaningfully.

“But… Methinks I didn’t yet come across somepony shouting back at me so fiercely!”

To his surprise, Alex noticed that Luna cracked an almost content smile; he shook his head inwardly confessing that he couldn’t understand the girls at the moment.

“Squee!” Fluttershy sat red as a carrot. “Please, Luna… I… I’m already…”

Alex moved closer on the bed, finally sitting himself properly and taking Fluttershy’s fore hoof in his hands; he looked into her eyes.

“We shan’t repeat all the words we have spoken about each other… Or mention the certain plate…” Luna decided mercifully, squeezing Fluttershy in her cuddle and nuzzling her mane intensively. “Tis history… of no relevance to our matter of importance forsooth.”

“Are you both okay?” Alex watched the girls fixedly, trying to imagine the scene between them and admitting that he lacked fantasy to fancy it as large as life. Both nodded, Fluttershy relaxed a bit slowly returning to her natural colour. “Did you Sta…”

“No! But I was close to that…” whispered Fluttershy bashfully.

“Not that it would necessarily work on me,” smirked Luna slyly. “But the realization that we are friends appeared of greater value at the end of the day! Even if stimulated in such a way…”

‘Thither shan’t be a better moment!’ Alex braced himself. ‘Merlin’s pants! Head, why art thou so empty?..’

“It’s great, because…” uttered he finally, “I wanted… I…”

“Afore thou say anything…” Luna stopped him softly, releasing Fluttershy from her embrace. “We didn’t tell thee the final point – the result of our talk.” The girls exchanged glances in the gesture of almost visible mental agreement.

“So, we both are confident in our feelings…” Luna let out a dainty smile moving a bit on the bed. “Nothing hath changed over time or events…”

“…and we admit that nopony should take losses!” added Fluttershy raising her glance at Alex. “But at the same time we don’t want you to feel as if you hurt any of us… or feel forced and tormented either.”

“As two adult mares,” concluded Luna, “we decided that the best way would be to… share thee!” Her smile shone brightly and the princess looked extremely pleased with their with Fluttershy mutual solution.

“Errmmm…” Alex wasn’t sure if he understood her properly. “What, sorry?”

“Practically the same what we did all that time already,” said Fluttershy taking his hand. “B-but with… mutual consent. Squee! I-I mean between me and Luna… that is…” she downcasted confusedly.

“Exactly!”

‘I wonder what they are up to?!’ Alex noticed the joyful sparks dancing in Luna’s eyes; Fluttershy slid closer to him.

“Exactly as it soundeth!” Luna whispered in his ear but perfectly audible for everypony present. “Share thee… in all the meanings of that word… in turn or… simultaneously if ‘t be true that cometh in agreement with situation and desires.”

“Yes… Even that way!” Fluttershy began to flush rapidly; with a relief, Alex saw that it was still his Fluttershy, whose decision took her quite a nerve and effort but at the same time her voice was extremely confident at that moment.

“So… What didst thou want to say?” Luna breathed into his ear making the hair stand on ends on Alex’s nape and causing crowds of goosebumps; he realized that the alicorn princess ended up behind him, while he watched Fluttershy’s struggles.

“It… doesn’t matter… now…” squeezed out Alex feeling her nuzzling his hair while Fluttershy leaned closer putting her fore hooves on Alex’s shoulders.

“All that mattereth now is… us!” Luna let out a happy silvery laughter while he melted from her short hot kisses on the neck.

Alex reached back with his fingers meeting the silky coat on Luna’s hip and making her sigh excitedly; he hugged Fluttershy with another arm watching the turquoise eyes moving closer and closer till they filled his entire soul.

21. There are no other ponies' foals

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22. Truths and Dares

The Sun already got high enough when one specifically stubborn ray finally sneaked between the curtains and started brushing across the sleepy muzzles of Storm and Aurora, making them squint and grimace amusingly while still in their sleep. For a few minutes, the colt did his best to evade the mischievous sun glare, turning away diligently, but the light slowly and relentlessly followed. Besides, Storm caught a faint wave of some delicious smell, most likely of the breakfast cooked – for a long moment, a mirthful smile was lighting his sleep. Then the sunlight caught up to his face again; a quiet giggle reached colt’s ears through his undoubtedly very interesting dream.

“Oh, come on, sis!” sleepily drawled Storm Sunflower, frowning a little and funnily twitching his nose as the stubborn sun ray persistently flickered behind his tightly shut eyelids. “Stop toying with the mirror, okay?! I was having such a nice dream and you’re waking me, hay-head!”

Another tiny girly giggle followed and the sun spot moved a bit. The colt groaned; almost jerked out of his sleep, he was determined to linger in the soft comfort for at least several minutes longer.

“Hey, that’s unfair!” the thin sleepy voice sounded unexpectedly close from his left and a small hoof nudged Storm in his side lightly. “You woke first,” muttered Aurora plaintively, “went for a mirror to send sun glares in my muzzle. Don’t deny, I heard the door opening! And now blaming me for that?! Cheeky brother…” And she nudged him again, sniffing resentfully into Storm’s shoulder.

At this moment, the colt remembered that he heard the door being opened and closed indeed; Storm thought that the sound, just like the following faint rustle, was a part of his dream he didn’t recall well, unfortunately. But…

‘Wait! If Aurora was sleeping next to me all that time …’

‘Hmm… I definitely nudged my brother; I could hear him and feel his shoulder…’

One more quiet but audibly joyful laughter reached foal’s ears, accompanied by the faint lavender aroma finally trailing up their nostrils.

‘There must be somepony else in the room!!!’ both foals jumped up in the bed as if being bitten by a mosquito. “Squee!..”

They froze immediately, unable to say anything in surprise, only letting out a loud squeak of amazement.

Right in front of them, placing an armchair behind the footrest of the large bed, there sat an alicorn mare smiling and having a lot of fun. The sparkling blue aura, her long horn glowed with, enveloped the edge of the thick curtain, pulling it slightly aside and letting a beam of sunlight enter the room and reach Sunflower siblings’ muzzles – Storm and Aurora were to thank her for their “bright” awakening. Sly sparks glowed in the dark blue eyes of the night-coloured alicorn while she watched their abashed muzzles with entertainment. Flowing softly over her shoulders, armrests and edges of the armchair, the waterfall of the mare’s dark, shiny mane and tail reached the floor. It covered seemingly half of the room with its silky lushness, constantly wavering like a lake of liquid night starry sky.

Completely dumbfounded, Storm and Aurora blinked, rubbing their eyes – events of the previous day flashed in front of them – unable to realize at the first moment where they found themselves. Shock, grief, hope, then humble joy and finally, tranquillity raced across the foals’ muzzles in a second, as they remembered the eve, their house ruined by the Seekers, their parents suffering, the trip to Canterlot and the place they ended up at finally. Smiles returned to the muzzles of the foals for a while, then they returned to the present, remembering they were not alone.

The horn, the vast tightly folded at the moment soft wings, the night-blue coat told them whom Storm and Aurora Sunflowers were facing. A tiny glare of another sunray on the small black diadem crowning the mare’s lush mane behind the helical horn confirmed their guess, just as the big crescent moon cutie marks on her flanks. The relaxing lavender flooded the foals when the alicorn tilted her head, glancing at them with another smile.

“Y-Your Highness!” both foals exclaimed simultaneously, staring at their company with widened eyes and bated breathing. Aurora faintly nudged her brother again, as if asking him to confirm that she wasn’t sleeping still, and cleared the throat.

“Ehmm… P-princess L-Luna? Squee…” she squeezed out under her breath.

“Yes, mine lief! And whom didst thou expect? The Hearthwarming Spirit?” the sparkles in dark blue eyes were laughing.

Storm and Aurora exchanged bewildered glances. ‘I shouldn’t be probably surprised already, after yesterday’s scene in Canterlot, but I still am…’ read in colt’s one. ‘Well, we saw two princesses as close as we can see each other, then why not the third one?’ blinked Aurora with a tiny shrug.

“Your Highness!” suddenly remembered both, trying to make a decent bow while still sitting on the bed.

“Yeah, yeah, I received that ye recognized me. Nice to meet you, little Sunflowers, likewise!” chuckled the Princess waving her fore hoof.

The foals had flushed confusedly but suddenly brightened, watching their royal visitor with interest; their vision of the Night Princess underwent another shift, already changing after the last Nightmare Night celebration. However, back then they couldn’t see her that close and talk with her that simply.

‘It seems it’s not that terrifying, especially with that exactly alicorn…’ flashed in Storm’s mind and he returned the smile timidly.

“Aahhmmm…” Princess Luna yawned reservedly, daintily cupping her mouth. “Apologies! The night was busy forsooth…”

Aurora was catching each of the princess’ words; she listened to her tilting the head aside then nodded to some of her thoughts with a tiny chuckle.

“By the way,” the Night Princess glanced at them slyly, “I put mine hoof into your dreams to be peaceful last night specifically. Methinks you both deserved that like nopony else…”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Storm bowed again in gratitude. “But… How? The princess… here…”

“I wanted to check if ‘t be true everything was alright,” the Princess laughed as if a silver bell rang. “Mine dearest regal sister was so kind to tell me your story and… specifically what befell in the throne hall a day ere!” she couldn’t hold back another dainty giggle making both foals involuntarily smile as well. “ Thus as soon as mine night duty came to an end, I travelled hither.”

“So, Your Highness and the human are good friends indeed…” Storm blinked, waking completely and mentally scolding himself for clumsiness. ‘Of course, they are… you even shouldn’t have asked after the last Nightmare Night celebration!’ Seemingly his sister thought about the same replaying that scene mentally, as both young Sunflowers blushed lightly.

“May we…” Aurora started timidly. “Your Highness, may we ask, please?”

“Oh, of course, ye may. I extend mine hope I am capable to fulfill your curiosity then,” Luna waved her fore hoof nonchalantly. “And… Hither informally… ye may call me Luna or even… auntie Luna, if ‘t be true ye like,” the alicorn princess winked playfully, once again making the foals gawk at her in bewilderment.

‘They are somewhat alike with their ease of communication!’ flashed in Storm’s mind. ‘For all that I knew about her story, Princess Luna worked really hard on herself. It looks that with the considerable influence of Princess Twilight…’ smiled he inwardly.

Meanwhile, his sister dared to ask what bothered her.

“Princess Luna, are all the humans like this? Because… you seem to know him well enough… errmmm…” the filly stumbled confusedly.

“My filly, I know him as a person rather, as for humans in general…” the princess fell into thinking. “Mine knowledge is limited forsooth – I knew only two humans throughout mine life, Alex included,” elaborated the princess. “Answering your question, Aurora… correct? So, answering it, he wasn’t the same Alex ye can see today at which hour he arrived in Equestria.”

“You mean the wings, the… armour, which appears and vanishes on demand and so on,” nodded Storm.

“Yes, kids, these were results of his… equestrian residence. However, I shan’t say that he didn’t contribute to them arrant,” Luna glanced at them mysteriously. “Character-wise, forsooth, Alex was alike from the very start… mayhap a little more light-headed at first,” chuckled she heartily. “But all humans differ I suppose, just like ponies. They simply turn out to be more flexible at which hour it cometh to rapidly changing circumstances.”

Storm nodded understandingly; he already managed to witness that rapid accommodation to some extent; Aurora delved into some thoughts. It wasn’t clear if she believed in Princess Luna’s vision of the humans’ nature, having personal conclusions.

“Oh, for that matter, you’d better ask somepony else hither in the town,” Luna sported a dainty smile as if guessing about girl’s doubts. “Ye may have heard about one girl – Lyra Heartstrings – she is, I shan’t avoid this term, obsessed with the humans, in the earnest. The entire species I guess…” On reflection, the princess added. “However, she may tell a zilch more that the foals should receive, yes…”

“Okay, foals!” the princess suddenly remembered. “Alex sent me to wake you both and we are lingering hither in conversation. He seemeth to have some plans for your day…”

“Yeah! I probably should have gone myself rather,” before the foals froze at the thought of somepony actually sending the Princess with some task, the bedroom door opened, revealing Alex himself. “Come on, the breakfast is long ready,” the light grumpiness in his tone was obviously of a joking nature.

“Get up, sleepyheads!” with a smile, Alex clapped his hands. “Wash up and get downstairs. If I don’t have something to make your day interesting, I really don’t know kids at all.” He put his hands on Luna’s shoulders, gently stroking the soft blue coat, making her purr from pleasure.

“Aye-yawn, sir! We’re… yawn… going, sir!” Sliding from the bed Aurora and Storm watched with wide-opened eyes how the human wrapped his arms around the shoulders of the sitting Princess, kissing Luna on the neck. Mare’s wings ruffled; being nuzzled tenderly on her flowing mane, Luna squinted, tilting her head slightly and receiving another kiss on the tip of her perked fluffy ear.

Quietly giggling, the foals whisked to the bathroom as told to do; Storm closed the door with an unambiguous face.

“Close friends, yeah,” he glanced at Aurora meaningfully. “Last time I saw mom looking exactly alike was when dad asked her gently to hurry up, so we didn’t get late to the celebration in Ponyville. Yeah…”

The memory of the brighter days made Storm sigh too heavily for a colt; heading to the sink, he turned on the water and began washing the remnants of sleep off his muzzle. Waiting for her turn, Aurora didn’t waste time, leaning to the closed bathroom door and snuggling the curious ear to its surface.

“What are you…” Storm turned to the sister, going to stop the water, but she waved him to leave it running.

“Shhh…” Aurora cupped her mouth with the fore hoof signalling Storm to keep silent; rolling his eyes, the colt leaned to the door next to her. Both foals held their breath, trying to catch every sound from the room.

“…stay for breakfast, dear?”

“Thanks, lief! But I suppose ye both don’t need me falling asleep amidst…” a silvery giggle was interrupted with a tiny yawn. “Apologies! The night was quite a burden.”

“I had it with Tia actually,” elaborated the princess; the pleasure of being cuddled was evident in her murmuring voice. “Surprisingly, she was an early bird this morning! I mean, even earlier than it was necessary to raise her Sun, so I have myself filled and thus became twice sleepier. Don’t want to slow thee down with thy morning plans.”

This was followed by the audible kiss and murmuring; the foals exchanged the mischievous glances behind the door, feeling the flush rushing up their cheeks.

“Thou art planning to… take them to the smithy, am I correct?” Luna’s voice was dreamy, breath – fitful.

“Yeah, don’t want them to stay bored at home. Shy will be busy and providing her with more concerns isn’t in my plans. Be it summer, I’d stay calm about the kids being occupied and engaged much – they would love the animals…” the human chuckled. “Now though I need to find some other… educational entertainment. Not that I could take them with me…” lowering the voice, Alex said something to the princess; both pairs of curious ears couldn’t catch a word no matter how hard they tried.

“Tis reasonable,” the princess’ words were followed by intense feathery rustle.

Washing up any longer would look strange, so young Sunflowers finally decided to leave the bathroom; before doing that, Storm rushed to stop the water, but first, he made the flow even stronger for a second. Aurora cleared her throat deliberately, holding back giggles.

Their precautions were futile: upon entering the room, the foals witnessed Alex with a dreamy look, nesting in the armchair princess Luna occupied before; human’s eyes wandered somewhere else.

“Ah, here you are!” sporting a smile, he bucked up, launching himself out of the seat energetically. “Come on, kids! Breakfast awaits!”

“Don’t you say that the princess visits you that simply,” Storm sounded as if he was about to believe just anything. He and his sister noticed that Luna was nowhere to be found already – the regal alicorn must have teleported away when they lingered tactfully.

“Mhm… She is a princess, after all, does what she wants,” following the foals downstairs, Alex answered cagily; however, his warm smile was self-explanatory.

The image of Fluttershy flitting about the roomy sunlit kitchen made Storm and Aurora freeze admiringly for a second. Tenderly humming something sweet, the pegasus girl looked like a gracious ethereal fairy with her wings shining golden in the inclined sun rays and with her lush, heavy mane and tail, which she braided that morning. Looking back at Alex, Storm noticed the human watching the scene with content. The colt glanced at his sister and made a face, to which she replied with an understanding mien and a tiny giggle.

“And… why aren’t you eating anything? The breakfast is awesome!!!” exclaimed Storm, when everypony nested behind the large table and had a bite. Everypony, except Alex, who was leaning his back on the kitchen sink with his arms crossed and a mirthful expression on his face. “Thanks, Fluttershy!”

“Yeah, why?” quietly repeated Aurora, raising her eyes at Alex as well – she had noticed as well but shied out of asking him directly.

Fluttershy threw a glance at the human; a tiny mysterious smile curled the mare’s lips. Both foals alternated puzzledly from her to the human.

“Mmmm… Let’s say, in that condition, I don’t need any food,” smiled Alex. “Amusing, but I never thought about tasting something while sleepwalking before. Obviously, my real body needs food as usual… and it will have some as soon as it wakes…” added he, leaving the foals even more dumbfounded.

“Sleepwalking? Real body?..” asked Storm and Aurora almost in unison. They even froze in the middle of the next bite. “Isn’t what we see a…”

“Oh, I haven’t told you indeed. Well, how can I put it easier?.. When I fall asleep, I can consciously make a… some sort of projection of myself, which is material enough to interact with the world around,” with these words, Alex lightly knocked his finger on the sink behind. “As I found out, I can affect things a bit differently at the same time. It’s better to show you,” he threw a quick look around the kitchen. “This will fit!”

In front of the foal’s bewildered eyes, a large apple, lying calmly on the windowsill before, rose in the air and slowly floated towards the table. It made a small loop around Storm, who felt completely spellbound, then touched lightly one of his perked ears, then another, then sat for a second on the tip of his nose, making Aurora giggle nervously. Finally, the apple reached the table and cracked itself in halves, placed in front of them both.

“Wow! Aura…less magic!” Storm woke up first; he swallowed and stared at Alex amazedly. “You told that you couldn’t do magic…”

“Well, that’s not actual magic… Or… I don’t know…” Alex pondered how to explain. “I can affect the material world around me… somehow… while sleepwalking. But my actual body can’t! It’s complicated, kids…”

“Isn’t it…” Storm fidgeted a little. “Isn’t it something that Princess Luna practically does?”

“Luna can affect your dreams, changing the reality through them,” said Alex. “This is a bit different thing, but… I suppose, of the similar nature.”

“If this is not your real body, then how do you look material enough?.. I don’t understand,” barely whispered Aurora, supported by Storm’s quick nodding.

“My real body is sleeping tight at the other edge of the town at that moment,” chuckled Alex. “And this… well… as I said, this is merely a projection. Something which bears the features, traits and consciousness of me. So, technically speaking, it’s me!” Storm and Aurora shook their heads as if they were shaking off bathwater.

“Don’t worry, kids,” added Alex, seeing their bewildered gazes. “I don’t entirely understand how it works either; I never tried to analyze it, to be frank! But if you promise to behave,” he made a mysterious face, “later today, we can go and see me sleeping separately on the sofa!”

Storm felt how his eyes rounded even more, despite the thought that they already reached their limit seconds before. Looking at the sister, he concluded that she thought nearly the same. Their faces entertained the human.

“Come on, Alex! Don’t tease them,” interfered Fluttershy, but her eyes were smiling. “The foals need to eat properly! You’re going to take them for the whole day… I’m not doubting Silver Ingot’s hospitality, but… dinner time is going to be late enough.”

“Yeah, Fluttershy is right!” Alex turned serious at once. “There is a long day ahead. So, fill yourself, kids!”

“And where are we going?” only asked Storm when they dug into their meals obediently. Both Sunflowers were deadly curious about the plans for that day, especially considering it was starting that interesting. ‘Even magically!’ Storm inwardly smiled at their morning experience.

“To the smithy!” articulated Alex, then made the strict eyes. “So, come on, eat!”

The rest of the day flew in front of the foals’ eyes in one breath. Raised on the farm, Storm and Aurora got used to their days being fairly busy. But that was a totally different kind of busy now, all new and interesting for them. By the end of the day, Storm could bet that it was equally exciting for Aurora, even if she found the collective work of the human and the old blacksmith, mister Steel, a bit less fascinating than the jeweller mastery of the unicorn girl – Silver Ingot – whom Alex introduced them to.

Everything started from the relatively long road from Fluttershy’s cottage to the north, where the town of Ponyville could be seen through the crowns of the trees, which were losing the remnants of their foliage by those late autumn days. The road ran almost straight between the broad fields, where the small freshly-green grass was hiding from the upcoming frosts under the weakly waving carpet of the old and wilted summer one. Squeezed between the fruit orchards from both sides, these fields dragged monotonously to the river, with only a few separate trees scattered here and there on their surface and the only memorable landmark being the old white barn left to the road, midway to the town. The road ran into the peculiar woodwork bridge over the stream, entering Ponyville on the other bank, passing the large square and the Town Hall and flowing right into the pretty, even in November, town streets.

However, the human usually turned sharply left in front of that bridge to the narrower, less visible path snaking around the town outside of its boundaries. Alex always said that they did it to avoid unnecessary attention and chatter in the town, thus reaching the smithy faster. But the eloquent glances he used to throw at the colourful exquisite round building, further along the street than the Town Hall, told Storm Sunflower that the actual reasons were a bit more complicated than that. Exchanging understanding looks with Aurora, they never asked.

The named path wasn’t harder to trot on than the main road, especially when passing it with the friendly chatter and jokes. It quickly ran up and down a couple of hills, opening into another, spreading as far north as their eyes could see, grass field. The railroad ran its threads far away on the left; from the hill tops, the foals could occasionally see the steel snakes of trains arriving to and leaving the hidden behind the trees Ponyville railway station. Not far from the northern border of the town, there was a single house in the middle of the field. Every morning, it met them with the dense plume of smoke, coming from the neck of the large outside smelter – as the human called it; Storm was sure that the device had been never completely shut down or extinguished. It spread the warmth, drying everything around on a wconsiderable part of the smithy yard and making the foals feel that they were entering the hot tub after the windy road around Ponyville.

The blacksmith – old but husky single-eyed unicorn – turned out to be a welcoming and humorous pony, despite his tough life-beaten look. His niece, Silver Ingot, was at the beginning of the list of the sweetest and kindest girls, as Storm decided, unable to hold back a smile each time she met them. Corresponding to her name, she shone vividly and could brighten everypony’s day effortlessly. Another stallion working at the smithy, Diamond Chisel, always showed politely restrained involvement as well. By some sixth sense, Storm realized that all of them knew everything about the events on the farm, but prudently never touched that topic themselves. Frankly speaking, Storm was thankful for that, on behalf of his younger sister either: despite all the attempts to brighten their life, his heart shrank every time Storm’s thoughts returned to their parents’ condition.

Each day, shortly after their arrival, the work at the smithy started. Thanks to Alex’s and Uncle Will’s (so everypony called the old blacksmith) habit to leave the tools and materials in the exemplar order at the end of the current day, and plan and prepare meticulously for the next one, they always dived hooves over head right into the matter of the problem they were solving. There was always a place for both of the foals as well. Concerned about their safety only, Alex never forbid Storm and Aurora to try what they could cope with. Thankful for that, the foals did their best to follow the instructions literally, thus being of accurate help, not some trouble. To hold, fix some small detail in place, to bring a tool, to serve an extra pair of eyes, quite sharp and observant – neither brother nor sister had time for boredom. Engrossed by the new experience, the foals absorbed every grain of information given to them. As the result, by the end of the first week, Storm was more than confident about him being able to describe the sword making process in the tiniest details and, with a bit of help in force-demanding operations, probably make a decent one suitable for his size. Aurora gravitated to Silver Ingot’s craft more: when the foals got tired or simply hid in the house from the weather, the tall graceful unicorn girl showed and explained to them the secrets of her delicate but impressive work.

During their first day at the smithy, Storm saw by his own eyes the purpose and usefulness of so-called sleepwalking for that work. He already guessed that in such a condition Alex could control and operate way more tools than he could do using only a pair of hands. The chunks of metal, cold and heated, mallets, pincers, rulers and blueprints slid and floated here and there, each appearing at the exact spot they were needed at. But there was another use for that ability.

The smelter, which turned out of Alex’s own making and which attracted foals’ attention from the first glance, could operate in conditions nopony present could normally control. But these conditions exactly were necessary for it to produce the lion’s share of new advantageous materials the smithy became – as Storm and Aurora found out – famous for. There were days when both Uncle Will, Diamond and Alex worked in the sweat of their brows, making only the blanks for the advanced armour and weapons. Tons of the blanks as it seemed to the Sunflowers. Those days Alex came for them in that sleepwalking condition, letting him to operating the specific modes of the smelter later. In those days, Storm and Aurora cautiously avoided approaching the large stone beast, as they fancied a small sun tossing and turning and bubbling inside of the humming structure. The heat of the smelter went stronger, evaporating the morning fog at once and keeping a considerable spot around it dry when the rain or snow fell.

Sometimes Alex and Willsmash used the break for Alex’s continuous training: Silver Ingot asked Diamond Chisel to keep an eye on the foals, or even pulled Storm and Aurora closer to the porch, just in case. The foals didn’t protest as long as they could freely watch and Storm noticed that Alex never trained while sleepwalking.

“Why so?” he asked once, while Alex and Willsmash were taking a breath after a long fight, where nothing could be discerned in the mess of the flying clubs, blades and flashes of the glaive. “I can imagine what an advantage over the enemy it can give!”

“There were a couple of times,” Alex let out a small smile, ruffling Storm’s mane. “But I prefer to engage the enemy personally. You see, I don’t have all the conditions to guarantee I won’t be awakened by anypony accidentally…” Alex raised one eyebrow. “That would mean to leave the fight instantly if you were sleepwalking…”

“And which consequences it could bring to ones you’re trying to protect… better not imagine!” added he after a moment of silence. Storm only nodded shortly, pulling Aurora closer and hugging.

‘It’s better without any sleepwalking,’ agreed he inwardly. ‘I would like to know I don’t vanish when my sister needs me!’

That morning turned out a bit colder than all the previous; preparing the foals for their morning walk, Fluttershy gave both Storm and Aurora nice, warm scarves. They were from her own clothes, thus a bit long for the kids, but so soft and cuddly to wear that both foals immediately wrapped them around their necks as many times as it was necessary not to stomp on the ends, finally looking like two sparrows peeking out from their nests.

Leaving home very early, Storm and Aurora trotted next to the human on the barely visible road – it was too dark yet. The browned grass of the surrounding fields drooped wetly to the ground: the cold rain washed it overnight and, if not for the specifically poured thick layer of gravel, the road would turn into impassable dirt. The rare deciduous trees in the field – ones they could discern in the foggy twilight – threw up their bony branches to the sky. Storm was to admit that it would be creepy to travel the long path in that eerie hour alone with Aurora. With Alex, it was another story: both foals could afford to tease and joke on each other, not paying much attention to the shrill screams of some late to bed, nocturnal bird in the distance.

Thankfully, Celestia didn’t linger with her Sun much longer; the first rays already danced on the once red but now almost brown and shabby roof of the old white barn, which seemed floating on the waves of morning fog as some time-beaten steamboat. The sunlight started fighting with and quickly defeated if not the chillness then the darkness and fog at least, so when they reached the southern edge of the town, the landscape looked completely different, more welcoming. It even became easier to trot the road: the feeling Storm and Aurora eagerly greeted, pacing up cheerfully and following Alex on the usual route around Ponyville.

The hills were entirely lit by the rising sun, making it even warmer there when they reached them. Sporting a bright smile, Storm sniffed deeply; the wind brought there the familiar smells from the smithy: smoky coal, heavy scent of heated metal, oil. He twitched his nose funnily once more – a tint of coffee, undoubtedly made by Silver Ingot, told that everything was prepared there for the anticipated workday as well.

The colt looked back and winked to Aurora, but filly’s attention was chained to something other than the distant house in the field. Following her glance, Storm noticed three figures approaching them along the crossing road from the town. Their spacious saddle bags told that they were heading to the nearby school. The latter was situated most likely behind the large grove on the west, exactly where the crossing road ran down the hill. Noticing their company, those three noticeably sped up; in his turn, Alex stopped and watched them with a smile. Storm and Aurora shielded their eyes from the low sun; shining into the backs of the newcomers, it made them look like the black indiscernible silhouettes.

Upon the closer look, three figures turned into lively and cheerful fillies, slightly older than Sunflowers: an earth filly, a unicorn and a pegasus brisk like a ball of quicksilver. Letting out an anticipating squeak, the olive filly with large light crimson bows in her amaranth mane and tail took the lead and almost leapt into Alex’s promptly spread arms, making her scarf wave like a flag.

“Squeee! Ah haven’t seen ya for ages, Alex!” she nuzzled his neck, wrapping her legs around the human. “What’s the deal? You’re almost not showing up lately… well, at least during the daytime,” giggled the filly when Alex returned the hug and tickled her lightly, pretending that he wanted to toss her up in the air jokingly.

“That’s because I had loads of work, Little Apple,” Alex nuzzled the filly and kneeled to the road as two of her friends were catching up. “You know where to find me – at the smithy. I suppose you have lots on your plates either, as you don’t sneak around to find out what we are doing there,” laughed he.

Storm and Aurora alternated from one hoof to another and exchanged glances: the fillies looked extremely friendly, even if overly noisy at first, that dispelled foals’ shyness a bit.

“Yeah, the studies aren’t turning easier each year,” the pale grey, almost white unicorn filly with pink and lilac mane let out a tiny smile; she leaned to Alex to hug him as well and nuzzled the human on the cheek. In addition to the scarf – the unicorn filly wrapped in it tightly, looking similar to the brother and sister Sunflowers, even if the scarf was of her size – she sported a fancy pair of fluffy ear-warmers.

“To the smithy again, mate?!” the light saffron pegasus with the pink and purple mane and tail greeted Alex more reservedly than her friends did. Yet she hugged him tightly, bumping her forehead into his chest and squinting pretty, when Alex ruffled her short mane, releasing the earth filly. “Morning, fellas!” she winked to the Sunflowers joyfully. Even if the ruffled fluff on her chest told that she felt the autumn chillness, the little pegasus didn’t show any discomfort.

“On our daily route,” Alex nodded with confirmation; Storm noticed how he kept cuddling the pegasus filly for a while longer, warming her subtly. “Hey, girls, let me introduce!” with his free hand, Alex gestured the foals to come closer. “Storm and Aurora Sunflowers! They…” Alex stumbled. “I and Fluttershy are… Eh… They are living with us now,” he crumpled the phrase.

“We know… about the farm,” quietly said the redhead filly, batting her eyelashes. She and her pale-grey friend approached the foals with warm and encouraging smiles. Comforted by them, Aurora visibly relaxed and returned the smile, waving to the girls. Storm, however, suddenly flushed and felt fidgety, placed eye-to-eye with the two young ladies a couple of heads higher than himself.

“Kids,” Alex addressed Sunflowers, introducing the girls in the order of appearance. “These are my friends: Apple Bloom – you probably saw her older sister Applejack coming to the smithy; Sweetie Belle – her sister Rarity owns the Carousel Boutique in Ponyville, and Scootaloo,” Alex nodded towards the tomboy pegasus in his hug, “I bet her… sister Rainbow Dash doesn’t need any introduction,” he reminded the foals about the noisy gamine friend of Fluttershy, visiting them one evening, “being the famous Ponyville… boom-maker and weather-pegasus.”

Scootaloo threw a quick, suddenly warming glance at the human, her nose turning pinkish.

“Weather-pegasus? You mean like your friend, Rainstorm?” exclaimed Storm. “Cool!”

“Yeah, kinda,” Alex ruffled Storms mane, hiding the shadow of pensiveness behind a smile.

“You know,” Scootaloo reached Alex’s ear, almost touching it with her nose, “I start wondering, why you and Fluttershy aren’t planning any foals of your own still,” whispered she slyly, leaving Alex nearly thunderstruck by her innuendo.

Not hearing her words in entirety, both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle couldn’t help snorting because of the expression suddenly appearing on Alex’s flushing face, and even foals let out humble smiles.

“Eh… Well…” Alex felt how his ears started flaming under the fixed glance of the sly saffron fluff-ball. “It… turns out more complicated than it seems, due to the certain genetic differences… Oh!..” he stumbled, realizing what he had just said, while Scootaloo kept giggling under his arm. “Come on, girls! Weren’t you getting late to school?!”

“Frankly speaking, yes!” admitted Sweetie Belle seriously. “We need to hurry if we don’t want to disappoint Miss Cheerilee.”

“Have a nice day, kids!” she and then Apple Bloom hugged Aurora. “See ya, Alex!”

When two older girls nuzzled him in both cheeks, Storm fancied that he knew how a steam-boiler should feel, turning red as a carrot under the quiet accompaniment of Aurora’s giggling. That made him wonder what Scootaloo said to Alex, causing a similar reaction.

“Bye, kids! Bye, Alex!” flushing desperately, the pegasus filly quickly pecked Alex, making him blink confusedly. “Think of it…” she hopped down the hill, catching up with her friends. The girls headed to the school, looking back a couple of times and discussing something.

‘And what pray tell it was?’ asked Alex mentally, looking at dumbfounded Storm.

‘No idea!’ was seemingly written in the colt’s eyes.

“Come one, kids! We’re running late!” throwing a quick glance at the column of smoke, raising welcomingly above the smithy yard, Alex grabbed both foals under his arms, unfurling his wings. “Let’s take a shortcut!” exclaimed he, accompanied with two excited squeaks.

As if trying to prove its reputation of being fickle, the weather changed before they managed to reach the smithy. Suddenly starting to blow from the north, the wind quickly brought a string of grey clouds, then another one. The very moment they landed at the Steels’ yard, the sky became veiled, making the sun barely shine through the cloud curtain and effectively shifting the day gamma to dull and washed out. Thankfully, no signs of upcoming rain or snow could be observed.

However, that wasn’t a problem at the smithy yard – always warm, lit brightly and full of movement those days. The foals fluffed cosily, asking Silver Ingot to help them with their scarves, which she did with the kind laughter – the girl could appreciate their sparrow-like look.

The rest of the day went in the usual order: Willsmash, Alex and Diamond formed a living conveyor, assembling the parts they prepared, into the new guards’ armour. Perhaps Alex was a little absent and pensive, as Storm and Aurora could notice while helping each one of them when necessary. He seemed to be thinking something over and over: a part of his mind struggled with some dilemma, while the rest kept working automatically. He even missed the moment everything around turned silent for a second, continuing his meticulous work.

“Hmmm… Methinks the chunk hath cooled down considerably. Wouldn’t it shape faster if ‘t be true thou heat it again, lief?!” the silvery, mischievous voice made Alex’s heart skip a beat. “I thought thou knew better how to forge,” another chuckle followed; everypony present blinked fast at the unusual sight.

“Princess!” both foals jumped at the spot; Aurora and Storm were undoubtedly glad to see the surprise visitor, happiness glimpsed in their eyes.

“Kids!” the night-coloured alicorn glanced at them with a tiny bow of recognition and a dainty smile, making the foals fluff inwardly. “Mister Steel, Silver… Ingot,” trotting a loop around Alex and estimating his work with extremely gamine expression, the princess greeted the owners of the place.

Storm and Aurora watched princess Luna with wide-open eyes, feeling that the latter must absolutely have devised something, judging by what they knew about the Night Princess and saw at the recent Nightmare Night celebration; the foals didn’t want to miss any move or word. The chill November afternoon, warmed only by the flames in close vicinity, froze in silence for a moment, the only sound being the low hum of the working smelter and Alex’s precise, measured beating on the shaped chunk of metal on the anvil.

Throwing a glance at his niece, her uncomprehending puzzled look, Willsmash squinted expectantly; his eyes lit with barely sparkling amusement. The princess’ wish to tease the human slightly was so clear that the old blacksmith felt some foalish excitement to find out what would follow. He shook his head, answering the girl’s silent question, suggesting Silver Ingot to play along.

Feeling the soft nuzzle behind the ear and the touch of lavender breath on his neck, Alex stopped hammering the steel piece; with a tiny smile, he watched the flowing mane and the sensitive lips entering the edge of his view. Having a look at his work from all possible angles, Luna placed her head on Alex’s shoulder, snuggling to him from behind lightly. The blue, silky cheek slid on Alex’s; the innocently batting eyelashes tickled him, making his entire body strain from the mix of surprise and anticipation.

“I heard that some training befell hither occasionally, lief…” Luna’s voice was soft and, at the same time, extremely insinuating.

Willsmash chuckled; throwing a smiling glance at the blacksmith, the Princess could notice that the old unicorn had approximately guessed about her plans.

“At first, I wanted to have a look, as, alas, I missed… almost all the action during the Nightmare Night,” winking barely noticeable, Luna turned to Alex again.

‘Some diversity won’t hurt the guy! He becomes too pensive, not to say concerned lately. Can’t blame him, still…’ upon that glance, Willsmash was absolutely sure what the dark-blue prankster was plotting.

“But… what could be better than watching, thought I anon…” continued the Princess nonchalantly, snuggling her face closer to Alex’s and raising one eyebrow. “Taking a part in one, correct!”

‘She must have been bored as well – nothing happened since the Nightmare Night events, except the farm…’ Willsmash inwardly smirked, intercepting another bewildered gaze from Silver Ingot. ‘No wonder, the big filly needs some release.’

“Hmmm…” meanwhile, the Princess stepped back with a feigned brooding expression. “I haven’t done anything alike for aeons seemingly…”

Alex threw an inquiring glance at Willsmash. The old blacksmith only nodded shortly; he was levitating the glaive already.

“Soooo… I challenge thee to a duel, lief! A friendly sword match! What dost thou say, Alex?” the swan neck arched as Luna cocked her head; the dark lakes with sly sparkles inside splashed him with playful joy. “Shan’t hurt me either to flex mine rusted martial practice!” The gust of cold wind fanned her mane, making it float around the mare’s head like a broad sparkly halo.

“Fine!” smirked Alex, returning the glance with a surplus of mischief. “If that counts as a sword though…” the folded glaive, thrown by the blacksmith, laid in human’s hand obediently. ‘The girl wants to play? Okay then!’

“I see, you ain’t sleepwalking,” continued Luna. “Fair game! No magic… well, except me holding the sword,” she shrugged a little apologetically, “no tricks. Only speed… and steel!” With those words, her horn lit, forming a pool of blue aura near the princess. With a habitual movement, Luna started pulling something dark from that pocket dimension of hers.

‘This may become tougher than it seemed…’ with the widened eyes, Alex watched the monstrous sword of dimly glowing steel coming into the daylight. Dark-blue, going into black, the long narrow blade had undulated, sharply glowing edges. Inwardly shuddering, Alex couldn’t hold back, openly admiring the view. ‘Need to admit – the flamberge suits her!’

“Dost not worry, lief, I shall try to be gentle!”

“Errmmm… Wait!” Silver Ingot looked as if she just switched on. In a wink, the unicorn filly ran down the porch, grabbing both foals and pulling them back to the protection of the house. Neither Storm nor Aurora uttered a word during the last few minutes; both watched the unfolding scene with the glowing of excitement and anticipation eyes. Fortunately for them, the dumbfounded unicorn girl didn’t pull them further back than the porch.

“Not that I called much for…” squinted Alex. With a thin sizzle, the glaive unfolded in his hand; he stepped aside from the anvil. Enveloped in Diamond’s aura, the detail already floated away to the smelter.

“Well, youth, try not to blow the place apart, okay!” Willsmash watched them with nearly the same degree of interest as the foals did.

“Rest assured!” the Night Princess produced a wide grin, soaring into the air. “No casualties! Till prudent surrender?!”

“Fine! Till prudent surrender!” with a strong push, Alex rushed after her, unfolding the wings and raising above the smithy, the smoke, the dry grass anxiously waving under the wind.

“Now…” started Silver Ingot, throwing a concerned glance at the foals in her protection.

“But can we have a look?!” Storm looked up to the unicorn girl almost pleadingly; Aurora nodded quickly, her eyes chained to the figures receding up into the sky.

“Y-Yeah…” unconfidently drawled Silver Ingot, giving up under their puppy glances. “Just promise me to stay close…”

The fresh wind ruffling his feathers and brushing through the hair brought a smile to Alex’s face. Gazing down, he saw the smithy served on the ground like a colourful dish; the silhouettes of the ponies left below became barely discernible. The air was fresh up there, not tainted with anything routine. Even the sunlight seemed brighter, despite the mildly cloudy sky, there – far from the daily burdens.

‘Maybe that’s what I lack from time to time!’ Alex inhaled the full chest of late autumn freshness. His sight fell at his hands on the weapon: thinking of which, they were probably the weakest spot when unarmoured. Without the second thought, the thin metal band on his hand glowed, enveloping his palms with the armour gloves – now it was up to his reaction and speed to provide the untampered defence.

‘Thinking of tactics drives the daily problems away for a while, at least!’ he scanned the nearest clouds.

Luna had a small advantage; soaring earlier, she had time to look around and plan. Alex snorted inwardly: judging by the last mischievous look she gave, the big filly wasn’t going to make things easy for him. He braced himself, getting ready for any sort of surprise; however, he barely managed to react to her first move.

The large dark sword appeared across his course as if cast from the air, but Alex knew it wasn’t the case. Luna would never break her own words, using some magic to her advantage; the princess was naturally that quick. It wasn’t a strike, to be honest, the flamberge was simply put there, blocking his flight; Alex was to change direction sharply not to collide. He dodged aside, reflecting the sword with the oblique motion of his glaive – blades met with blood-chilling skirring sound.

“Wake up, lief!” giggled silvery from above.

‘Great! I’m perfectly confident in our steel…’ glimpsed in Alex’s head. ‘Let’s hope it wouldn’t damage the ancient sword; that would be very unfortunate. I bet anything, Lulu values it immensely!’

“Dost not worry, mine love!” somehow, she managed to read Alex’s thoughts off his face. “The sword was made by mine father forsooth. And that is the reason it needeth much more than that to give up!”

“That’s reassuring!” Alex rotated the glaive, bumping the flamberge back with another powerful blow. He rushed up, finally levelling with Luna so he could notice her movements and intentions in their entirety.

She started testing his defence, performing a series of direct attacks and using the sword on its initial purpose – swords always were rather piercing than cutting weapons. Hovering in the air in a relaxed manner, the princess literally tried to poke Alex with her night-coloured monstrous sword. Each time, even before approaching the effective hit area, the flamberge tip was met with the short fast strike of one of the glaive crescent blades, changing the direction and averting the sting. Causing the silvery giggle and another attempt!

Reflecting it, Alex rolled his eyes with a sigh: that alicorn school-filly was simply teasing him. He swirled the glaive, speeding it up and rotating around himself. In a second, the entire human body, except the wings keeping him in the air, was surrounded by the thin yet impenetrable shield of shimmering, sizzling steel. There wasn’t a chance for a simple direct strike to get through now.

“Hmmm… The timber-cutter move!” Luna raised one eyebrow, clearly hinting at Alex’s fight with the Everfree monsters.

Deciding that it was time for the attack, testing her defence instead, Alex suddenly rushed forward. The oncoming air made his ears pop from the speed. The blades met in a hard blow, spilling the bright sparks around and making Luna instinctively retreat a bit. The dark sword sounded like a large bell, sending the acoustic wave around.

“Nice, nice!” the princess was laughing, but her eyes squinted respectfully.

Down on the ground, all the present ponies stared up, trying to understand what was going on. The booming sound spread, reaching undoubtedly the town and far beyond. The foals pulled Silver Ingot from under the porch roof, following Willsmash, who watched the scene in the sky, hiding the smile in his beard. Diamond Chisel leaned on the anvil and only shrugged, answering the girl’s bewildered glance.

Drawing a vertical circle with her sword as if checking its integrity, Luna attacked with an unimaginable speed. Spinning in the dangerous dance, the duelists parted and approached again in the sky, each time followed with the bunches of sparks bursting around the meeting blades. The spectators couldn’t see the glowing eyes, the clenched in determined smiles teeth, the spread wings. From the ground, it looked as if two short spears – dark-blue and black – distanced and approached, colliding with the clanging of steel. Flashes lit the clouds, scaredly bustling around.

“Do they remember – that supposed to be a friendly training?” Silver Ingot realized that she asked a rather rhetoric question.

“I guess… for them it still is!” Diamond Chisel smirked as the next extremely bright cloud of sparks flashed the sky, followed shortly with a boom.

Alex was to admit that the princess was a tough rival, even harder to stand against than the old and battle-hardened blacksmith… even in a training round. Being able to hold the sword only with magic was never a weakness of hers: she could naturally stay out of his effective damage range, while still taking part in the fight technically – the flamberge always kept the human on his tiptoes. Capable of flying, Luna was twice more dangerous, attacking from any direction desired. If she could use any other magic, except holding her blade, she had been very hard to impossible to even keep up with, let alone defeat. For those using no magic in return, of course.

Watching for the huge sword in the chilly grey autumn sky, Alex was to stay in short-range defence mostly, blocking again and again with his glaive. Just like with the timberwolves, that couldn’t continue endlessly: the more forces he spent on deflecting her strikes, the less would remain at his disposal at a chance of the burst attack.

Instead of answering with the hard blow, Alex dodged the next strike. Making a loop in the air and letting the flamberge whizz by below, he quickly found the night-coloured silhouette against the background of flowing clouds.

‘Time to change the disposition a bit!’ folding his wings like an arrow, he rushed to attack, rotating the glaive. The clouds smudged around; Alex’s ears felt full of sizzling speed again.

The dark sword aimed right at the centre of the silvery propeller, Alex’s glaive turned in. But shifting aside at the very last moment, he caught the point of the blade slightly off the centre of his improvised shield. The glaive handle tingled, meeting the sword flat and momentarily luring it along its own circular trajectory.

With satisfaction, Alex could notice a glimpse of bewilderment in Luna’s widened eyes – the manoeuvre turned out entirely unexpected for her, making her lose focus for a fraction of a second. What was more important: she lost the grip as well. Whistling in the sky, the flamberge followed the glaive, then started falling due to its considerable weight and inertia. Alex smirked, dashing forward and shortening the distance.

Naturally, it would be strange to expect that her confusion lasted long; in a second, Luna dived in the sky, leaving Alex’s line of attack and catching the falling sword with ease. Turning around the next moment, Alex saw the alicorn mare on the opposite edge of the mentally drawn between them circle. Armed and ready to fight as if nothing happened.

With loud girly laughter, Luna dived again and jetted away from Alex, moving sideways and following that imaginary circle. Alex guessed that she planned to distract and finally get behind him.

‘Okay, you mocking bird, hold on!’ He rushed after her on the same trajectory, doing his best to keep the distance constant for that moment and the Princess in sight. Somehow Luna’s joy passed on to him.

‘Catch up with her… Catch… her! Prove myself and make her surrender!!!’

They pierced the low clouds and started ascending on a widening in the sky spiral, laughing and exchanging strikes, each blow harder than the previous.

“Good afternoon, mister Steel! Hello everypony…” the lilac figure with stripy mane appeared on the old road, hurrying to the smithy. Another, yellow, with the wings spread from anxiety, followed closely.

“What’s going on here, mister Steel?” Twilight approached the gate, entering the smithy yard and circling the present ponies with a puzzled look; she had to raise her voice to gain attention from them being enthralled by something above. Her eyes went from the smoking smelter and the empty anvil to smiling Diamond Chisel, who nodded to her and peered into the sky again. Then to Willsmash and Silver Ingot; the latter held the young Sunflowers close – all watched something above, greeting the newcomers short.

“Ummm…” Fluttershy peeked from behind Twilight’s shoulder, throwing an extremely puzzled glance at the scene. “Good morning, folks!”

“Good morning, miss Twilight, miss Fluttershy! Errmmm… a training… Yeah, a training!” the old unicorn was hiding a smile behind his moustache.

“A training?” Twilight asked again; Fluttershy kept looking around, evidently searching for somepony. “I was reading near the ajar window when I heard a loud… bloop. As if a huge and tight string broke.”

“So did I,” nodded Fluttershy. “I mean… that strange sound. I was at the market, and many ponies were startled by it, looking around.”

“I saw the flashes in the sky,” continued Twilight. “Above the smithy!” emphasized she meaningfully. “And when I went outside, there was a small herd of ponyvillers, already gathering at the square and the edge of the town.”

“You see…” Silver Ingot drawled somewhat strangely.

“Storm, Aurora! Thank Harmony, you’re alright!” interrupting the unicorn filly, Fluttershy cuddled the foals, only then noticing their excitement they watched the skies with. “I was concerned about you and… Alex. Where…”

“They were guessing, what was the reason of Steels launching fireworks… when it wasn’t even near to Hearthwarming…” Twilight let out a tiny unconfident smile, “and doubled in numbers, while I and Flutters were deciding what to do. I won’t lie if I say that half of the town will… shortly…” slowly added the girl, looking up like everypony did.

Now her attention was chained to the grey clouds, which swirled as if a tornado was about to be born above the smithy. From time to time, the bright lights flashed through them, followed by the far and distorted sounds of colliding steel.

“Oh, dear!” Fluttershy cupped her mouth with the hoof when another loud strike pierced the sky and a lightning flash ripped the condensing clouds with its whip.

It became obvious that Luna was abusing the ranged attacks. Tactically or out of purely foalish wish to tease him – Alex had no idea. But she constantly kept the distance while they spiralled, exchanging the strikes. Of course, Alex realized that the flamberge needed some space to move and provide effective attack and, what was more important, defence. ‘But not that much of the space, right?!’

He needed to get closer at any cost, where Luna’s large sword would have lost its effectiveness without the proper swing… yet his glaive could still serve a convincing argument. That was the intended feature of the glaive, they with Willsmash made foldable – to provide at least some support at close distances.

Spreading his wings, Alex slowed down a bit, then suddenly rushed to the ground, making Luna follow, trying to guess what he suddenly got on his mind. The clouds stirred by two pairs of vast wings lingered for a second then slowly dragged down after them.

The ponies on the ground opened their mouths, when first the black arrow darted down, emerging from the cloudy whirlpool, then the dark-blue followed shortly.

“What…” with widening eyes, Twilight almost repeated the question she started with; Fluttershy simply sank on the ground watching the scene above in bewilderment. “A… friendly… training? Here from, it looks like some local cataclysm!” noticed she. The silhouettes in the sky continued spinning around some imaginary common centre, where they occasionally approached, making their shining weapons collide with clang and sparks gushing.

The clouds above them kept condensing, herding and pushing one another, like the sheep, scared by some predator and bunching together for protection. It seemed that their friction made the thunderstorm imminent – a couple more flashes illuminated the grey flocks from inside. The smell of ozone started spreading around, reaching the nostrils of the spectators on the ground.

‘Well, okay!’ Egged on by Luna’s constant teasing, Alex gritted his teeth, distancing from her after another easily reflected attack; the silvery laughter of that night-coloured girl was a pure provocation. Flying on a receding arc, Alex looked pensive as if estimating his next move and weighing the tactical chances. Pursing his lips, he squinted at Luna; she was juggling her monstrous sword nonchalantly… With a sudden thrust, the human dashed towards her! The sword she put to block his course whizzed by; Alex barely leaned aside in the air. Folding his wings, he sped up even more, seemingly focused on his aim only.

Seeing the seriousness of intents, the princess was to pull back her flamberge and prepare for defence. Not a frequent case that day! She was completely confident in her position, smiling at Alex’s daredevil attempt to change the balance. But…

There was no human at the spot, which Luna thought she was perfectly controlling! Her sword could meet nothing, where the speeding silhouette with black wings was a fraction of a second before. That made her blink confusedly for the first time. Instead of her sparring partner, she managed to notice some dark gust flashing by; a wave of air pushed her balance, so Luna was to level with a strong flap of her wings. The thick juicy sound reached everypony’s ears a second later as if some large string broke in the sky with a loud brass boom. It was the same bloop Fluttershy and Twilight heard being at the edge of the town before.

“He… did it again!” dropped Fluttershy, almost stunned at the spot. “Or his wings did… Topped the speed of the sound, I mean…” she gazed at Twilight in bewilderment. “I was sure he did when he followed us to Canterlot… and now again…”

“Topped considerably, I must say, judging by the sound of it and the timing!” Twilight watched the human with pure scientific interest slightly peppered with amazement. “Interesting, how…” drawled she pensively, cupping her mouth; apparently, the lilac girl was already calculating something inwardly.

‘Merlin’s pants! My lungs… almost ripped apart!’ Alex slowed down and turned around in the air, taking a breath painfully. ‘What was it? Way faster than the last time! I need to analyze that and… be more careful in future!’ However, he had no time to waste – that lightning-like roundabout manoeuvre bought him a couple of seconds before Luna could realize what happened. Smirking inwardly, Alex rushed forward; he was to do his best to use the lucky advantage.

She could block his blazing attack accidentally only, as later Luna was to admit. Rather instinctively than consciously sending the sword to rotate protectively behind her, the princess was still guessing where Alex disappeared to. Noticing from the corner of her eye some shadow, Luna fended off with her flamberge at the last moment exactly when Alex already slowed down his glaive, going to stop it as it was still a training match. Thus the blow came out not nearly as strong as the rest.

But it clearly showed what it was worth otherwise! With eyes widening with surprise and increasing respect, Luna turned around in the sky. She quickly dashed back, restoring the attack distance as soon as possible: with one tactical dash, Alex could approach where her sword had no space to move freely, yet his glaive was still a serious threat. The disposition was restored; however, crossing her weapon with Alex, now Luna had to be on constant guard, seeing that he was simply taking time to prepare and try another attempt.

Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged wild glances. Even Diamond Chisel looked more concerned than entertained now.

“Shouldn’t we stop them,” Fluttershy reverted her glance to the sky, “before something goes…” her voice died down to the barely audible whisper.

“I wonder, how could we?!” with more practical interest, Twilight watched Luna and Alex, who increased the speed with each move. “I could probably teleport their weapons somewhere… But… I’m sure Luna’s is protected from such an inelaborate trick,” she shook her stripy mane. “And Alex… well, it would be quite hard and dangerous to perform that on him.”

“That’s something I was telling you about…” Willsmash turned to his niece – holding the foals closer, the unicorn filly watched the fight with her mouth slightly open, not uttering a word still. This time the glance of his healthy eye was serious, without the foalish sparkles of amusement floating inside. Reverting her glance with an effort from the human and the Night Princess, Silver Ingot looked a bit lost and stared at her uncle inquiringly. The old unicorn returned the meaningful look and nodded towards Luna and Alex; he slowly shook his head silently. Willsmash didn’t say anything else, but the filly was sure she understood him properly, even if that was neither she wanted nor sincerely accepted.

It seemed that both Luna and Alex spend the lion share of their energy during this fierce fight, but neither of them looked as if they were going to admit that, let alone give up. By the look of bright gazes they threw at each other, of smiles which didn’t cease despite the hardness of the blows those two exchanged, it seemed that the entire fight could linger on for much longer. Teased by Luna, Alex was full of determination to make that blue laughing girl lose a bit of her self-confidence excess; spurred by his agility and endurance, Luna was all too eager to prove the value of her experience. Besides, at times it looked like a natural, exciting rivalry between a woman and a man. Anyway, Willsmash was right about one thing at least: to interfere at that moment would have been an extremely dangerous act.

The strikes rained down, spreading the metal clanking in the cold air. With each successful move, both Alex and Luna burst laughing now, as the training seemed to turn into entertainment for them long ago. Alex did his best to shorten the distance and make Luna use her sword as an ordinary warrior would do; in her turn, the Princess let him approach… but that tiny bit less than enough for making his plan successful. Needless to say, she had much fun in the process.

‘Fortunately, Princess Celestia has no look of that,’ flashed in Twilight’s head; the girl closed her eyes for a moment, thrilled by the mental image. ‘I so hope that won’t reach her ears otherwise! Could hardly make her more relaxed about the whole thing…’

Meanwhile, with one lucky strike, Alex managed to blow the night-coloured flamberge far enough. With a thin sizzle, the glaive in his hand started folding quickly; obedient to human’s will, it shortened as section went in after section. The crescent blades had turned in opposite directions and the whole thing resembled at that moment a double-edged battle-axe on an extremely short handle, held on its middle by Alex.

Him, folding his weapon at that crucial moment, distracted Luna for a short instant – evidently, the girl expected anything but that – it turned out enough for the human to appear next to the Night Princess with another lightning-like dash. In a wink, stopping at the eye-to-eye distance with Luna, Alex rested the folded glaive on the blue, fluffy shoulder and let out a smile.

“I guess that’s an end of the match… technically, my love!” his eyes shone triumphantly. There was no chance that Luna could parry the next move in the actual fight.

The Princess, whose mouth took a shape of the surprised “o” for a second, recomposed already.

“Hmmm… Methinks, thou shouldn’t relax that early!” she threw a shimmering, sly and at the same time enticing gaze at him from under the spear-long eyelashes and shrugged lightly. “Dost not count thy cockatrices afore they hatch, lief!”

To his sheer surprise, Alex could feel the ever so slight sting between his strained shoulder blades. Luna had already turned her monstrous flamberge over – at that moment, the tip of the sword was directed right at the human, making it hard to tell who became the actual winner.

One coal-black eyebrow arched; Luna’s eyes laughed, sparkling with excitement.

Her light-blue lips were so close…

Going all-in, Alex leaned closer and covered them with a tender yet overwhelming kiss, feeling how the pointed blade went away at once. He could probably celebrate the victory, smiling inwardly, but instead, Alex preferred to taste every tiny bit of their kiss, feeling the princess’ lips deeper and deeper.

“Mmffff! Mmmmm…” Luna still tried to fight back with her sensitive tongue, but she almost dropped her sword, melting on Alex’s lips instead. She wrapped her fore legs around him, nuzzling the human when they parted and gifting him with a slightly beclouded look. Not giving Alex a tiny respite, Luna went on to the second round with passion.

With their wings batting slower, the interwoven human and alicorn sank in the air significantly, greeted by the encouraging whoops of Storm and Aurora: even if Silver Ingot planned to cover the foals’ eyes from that outrageous scene, she forgot about that, staring instead in bewilderment.

Witnessing that from the ground, Fluttershy squeaked indignantly; the girl jumped in the air, soaring and quickly levelling with the couple. Not ready to let Luna get all the fun for herself, the pegasus mare pushed the sword away crossly and snuggled to Alex’s back, wrapping all her four legs around him with yearning desire, nuzzling his neck from behind.

That was the last straw, making even Twilight’s jaw drop. Entangled between two girls, Alex could barely keep the height, holding in the air. Nevertheless, all three were going down steadily. The huge flamberge fell first, stuck into the dust of the smithy yard and closely followed by Alex’s glaive.

Alex’s feet met the ground slightly unconfidently; both mares kept snuggling to him, so he didn’t fall only thanks to Luna. Stealing another ardent kiss, the alicorn princess let him go; somehow, she looked overly satisfied, despite the indistinct result of their training round.

To the common bewilderment, the next thing Luna did was a tender nuzzle she gave Fluttershy, who peeked from behind Alex’s shoulder, still holding on to him.

“Thou seest! It all cometh down to the allies at the end of the day!” she addressed the human, raising one eyebrow with a gamine smile.

Alex couldn’t hold back laughing; letting Fluttershy get around him and hold on to his chest instead of back, he cuddled both girls softly. Storm and Aurora already started hopping around dumbfounded Silver Ingot; the foals’ eyes shone brightly with the memories of the scene. The stallions chuckled, even Twilight allowed herself a tiny smile despite all the confusion.

“Oh?!” Picking up her sword, Luna stared at the edge in bewilderment – a few noticeable indents appeared on the ancient blade, probably for the first time for aeons. “Tis… unexpected!” she blinked at Alex.

“That’s the problem we can easily help against!” chuckled Alex, planting a kiss on Fluttershy’s immediately flushing nose and standing the girl on the ground.

“And we! We too!” eagerly exclaimed Aurora and Storm Sunflower. “Errr… We… could spin the sharpening wheel at least!”

Despite the thick silence of the library, the long-awaited sleep lingered to embrace Alex for quite a while already. His night vision let him see the interior perfectly, completely ignoring the darkness and letting the human examine the multitude of book spines filling the circumferencing his room tall bookcases. Fidgeting restlessly on the sofa, Alex already read all the nearest ones several times, currently trying to calculate the height and width of the shelving, based on the average book size. He inwardly facepalmed at the inevitable next step – counting the entire quantity of them in his room with desperate meticulousness, trying to bore himself to sleep, which lingered to come.

The fireplace burnt out, leaving the faint bitter smell of some peculiar firewood. Perhaps it was to blame for Alex’s strange cheerfulness in that late hour. Or, perhaps, it was the simple fact that he spent all the day working his butt off at the smithy. Due to the specific needs, Alex was to work while sleepwalking – they had a load of blanks for the new pony armour to make. Finally, the smelter almost glowed white and Alex felt as if he was going to follow suit. The sleepwalking phenomenon sometimes created a funny paradox: even if less strained physically, Alex still spent a lot of energy as it called for concentration and certain mental input. While technically sleeping, some part of his conscious was undoubtedly awake; so at the end of the day, finishing all the work at the smithy and waking in his room at the library, the human had a strange feeling of his personal timeline being somewhat warped or as if the day suddenly doubled for him. Alex was to admit that prolonged sleepwalking delivered a few troubles along with the advantages.

Thus spending the entire day alternating between the almost candent smelter and the workbenches, Alex simply “woke” up in his room in the Golden Oak Library at the end of that blacksmith rush… yet feeling nearly exhausted due to the mental strain. Even working with the prepared blanks shaping them, tempering, then proceeding to assembly, he was to keep one hundred per cent of constant control over the smelter, pushing it to the limits of the work mode. Addressing the armour making process with two arms, four hooves and two horns, Alex, Will and Diamond were to admit that it still would be a lengthy process due to the scale of their job. On the other hoof, disappointing Celestia and failing her hard-won trust (well, some semblance of it, as Alex always mentally corrected himself with a smile) was not an option.

Besides, Alex worked with the new armour, bearing the constant thought about pegasi suitable variant of it, keeping in mind his recent contract with Rainstorm. Having the hopefully live solution to protect her mind, the mare needed the lightest yet, at the same time, the most durable body armour they could produce. Alex still cringed lightly every time, remembering about the experiment they decided to carry out. In pursuit of technical perfection, he was seriously going to top everything done before; the smelter looked as if it was going to substitute the hidden behind the clouds sun on that gloomy November day, filling the surroundings with unbearable heat and smell of candent metal and stone.

‘Adding another layer of protection and steadiness outside wouldn’t be an excess!’ came to his mind when, with due apology, Alex delegated both foals entirely under the caring supervision of Silver Ingot. However, Storm and Aurora visibly limited their natural curiosity, keeping the proper distance and preferring some jeweller lecture to the proximity of the potentially dangerous device.

No wonder that despite he looked technically sleeping to the foreign observer, Alex felt a bit tumbled at the end of his workday. Yet his organism resisted the natural urge to rest, fairly supposing it had enough of it already. Inwardly anathematizing that inconvenient paradox of his changed nature, the human trudged to help with the dinner. Surprisingly, he didn’t mess anything up in that condition. Together with Spike, they managed to prepare a quite tasty let alone eatable meal.

Having himself filled, Alex returned to his room and attacked the blueprints with doomed determination – the anticipated sleep lingered to come. The rest of the evening passed like that until Alex caught himself repeating the same calculations over and over. Thankfully, he wasn’t getting different results each time yet, but the signal was clear – it was the time to call it a day and take some rest in the face of the approaching busy tomorrow.

‘To hell with that!..’

Feeling that the still air and silence were pressing, Alex thought that better his ass would freeze a bit than he spent the entire night bustling restlessly. Sliding from under the plaid, he parted the blackout curtains slightly and unlocked the window frame.

‘Sorry, Twilight,’ he shook his head remembering, how the girl sighed each time, coming across his habit to leave his windows open regardless of the season. Using the window instead of the front door became common practice for Alex, but at that time he made only a small gap, hoping that he wouldn’t cool down the room too much. ‘Yes, that would do it!’

Sending inside the thin stream of late autumn chillness, the ajar frame let in the usual nightly sounds. With a sense of accomplishment and a content smile, Alex returned to his sofa, curling into the plaid again and listening to the long-anticipated nocturnal concerto, which seemed the only thing he lacked to achieve harmony. The sound palette appeared more humble than in summer with its leaves whispering, birds singing and insects rasping. Yet the voice of wind groping its way through the tree branches, rare dogs in the town and the barely audible distant whistle of the train finally made Alex relax. Greeting the real sleep, he closed his eyes, and his vision slowly started to fill with the misty images of the first dream.

The light, appearing at first as a small shiny spark in the distance, slowly spread in his view as if Alex was approaching its source little by little.

‘Is it a star or something alike?’ he had no idea but noted that the movement towards sped up.

At the closer look, it started to seem as if Alex was travelling through some pitch-black tunnel into the unknown. The edges of that light were too sharp for a star, so the closer he got, the clearer he saw – the light wasn’t homogeneous, having some faintly guessable forms and contours inside. The human started wondering if that was how his arrival to Equestria must have looked to him… if he had time to focus on the view, so abrupt and speedy the extraction was.

The light occupied his entire sight; turning his head fast in surprise, Alex noticed that the darkness he travelled through ceased – the same milky haze filled everything around. Basing on his experience, Alex was almost sure that it was a dream. The condition physically accepted by his body and mind, not some sleepwalking moment when he was able to control the circumstances. His first assumption was another vision of the Tree of Harmony as it looked a bit similar; however, contrary to the latter, Alex felt some stiffness when trying to move. When his eyes accommodated or the brightness of the light faded slightly, he realized that something different was happening. Anyway, no sense of danger or anxiety touched Alex upon listening to himself, so he concluded that there was nothing to fear in that situation and decided to watch what was offered to his eyes.

As the white mist thinned a bit, Alex started to discern some contours in his close vicinity, recognizing the furniture edges. Evidently, it wasn’t going to be another talk with equestrian Gaia or whatever they called the spirit of Equus; she never accepted her visitors in some office-like placement. In a moment, Alex could see the surface of the long broad table running somewhere into the milky space and surrounded by the chairs. Those few, he could clearly see, appeared high-class comfy seating; the chairs and the table itself were made of natural dark wood, carved laconically yet stylishly and polished, allowing the human to suppose that it wasn’t some ordinary lair of bureaucracy. Fidgeting on the spot: all the motions still felt strained; as if Alex was pushing through water or even some denser matter. Looking around was surprisingly easy at the same time – he noticed the springy softness of the thick carpet under his feet, which only confirmed his assumption.

Something was strange about the furniture; only after a few moments, Alex realized what looked off to him. The chairs and the table, but mostly the chairs, while being comfy, were too high for those he got used to seeing in Equestria. For the last few months, lower armchairs corresponding to ponies’ physique were the usual view for Alex. Those though looked more like the human counterparts, seemingly from his former life. Trying to touch the backrest of the nearest chair, Alex realized that it could have taken a few minutes, at the very least, simply to raise his arm there.

With his vision clearing more, Alex saw that the table was indeed running long and meeting another desk under the right angle, reminding him of some supervisor’s office or a briefing room. Noticing the bookshelves occupying the right wall brought a tiny smile to his face. However, compared to Alex’s room in the Golden Oak Library, that office was considerably larger. Containing that large and long desk with all the chairs, the multitude of bookcases and supposedly more, the room was lit by three large windows at least. Uncurtained, they stood out in the milky haze as three brighter rectangles throwing the inclined rays of light inside. All three looked closed; through even denser misty stuff outside, Alex couldn’t see or hear a glimpse of what was behind them. Turning to the bookcases instead, he made notice of the wide variety of topics covered even on a couple of the nearest shelves he could clearly see; with another smile, Alex thought of his lilac friend and hostess first.

‘To think of it, it still reminds the visions She showed me,’ Alex listened to the ringing silence flooding the room. Unable to hear even his own breath, he tried to click the fingers but either failed to do that or didn’t produce any sound as well. ‘Except that motion stiffness! Why?’

The human caught himself feeling the distinct smell instead: warm wood of the rich, sunlit furniture, old but not dusty books providing a rather pleasant tint and… something very subtle, but yet persistent. Something Alex was unable to recognize yet but would compare to exquisite female perfume. He turned around in search of the source of it; the strange fog thinned too slowly for his liking.

Suddenly some intermittent hum appeared on the edge of Alex’s hearing. It gained strength as if somepony was increasing the volume of a radio-set, turning soon into separate phrases. They came indiscernibly, but Alex could tell there were two female voices in the process of slow talk. Or at least one was; another audibly younger voice sounded eagerly and impatiently, even if it tried to hold back.

Finally, the thinning mist revealed a glimpse of two silhouettes standing at the farthest window. The human strained his eyes to catch more but couldn’t see anything except the unclear contours. Sighing inwardly, Alex prepared to wait till the surroundings evinced themselves better. Meanwhile, both voices gained volume and legibility, increasing his impression of being slowly tuned in the visible and audible aspects of that reality his dream turned out to drag him in. If only his motion had “tuned in” with the same pace; truth be told, those restraints subconsciously began to irk Alex more and more with each second.

‘Now that’s something new!’ Alex forgot about frustration at once, distracted by the surprise of revealing persons – something natural for one accustomed to see a human in a mirror only for quite a while. Both seemed to stand their backs to him, watching something through the window – two dark silhouettes against its light rectangle. However, Alex was unsure if, in his current state, he could be spotted even looked directly at. The shapely woman with long wavy hair crossed her arms pensively; the contours revealed the slightly old-fashioned dress, the hem of which hid behind the obstructing desk. Contrasting to that, her voice left an impression that its owner was of the same age as Alex or even younger. She appeared very tall, so, dressed into something resembling the high school uniform, the girl next to her barely reached her chest level. Alex realized that both looked like a mentor and an apprentice, a momentary image of certain princesses glimpsing in his mind.

The girl threw back her long straight hair, glancing up at the woman and asking her some concerning question. The next phrase sounded discernible for their silent visitor as the volume finally “tuned in” for Alex.

“… the knowledge was always with me. Why? It’s still the question to answer. Anyway, I was only to realize and arrange all the parts for the streamline method,” the woman chuckled quietly. “Although, it took ages to bring the puzzle together the right way.”

“So… you really can summon it here?” from the back, it looked as if the girl even brought her hand to the mouth in awe.

“The so-called… ritual is complete, maybe not polished to perfection yet,” nodded her older collocutor after a moment of silence. “It’s complex and without any of the steps the entire array of them won’t work. I even came through it yesterday, verifying everything once again…”

“Without the final step, obviously!” added the woman at the silent shocked gaze of the girl. “As if completed, it has no retreat… for the time it works at least.”

Alex thought he even saw how the girl exhaled with relief. Nevertheless, she asked immediately.

“But… if that helps to stop the malevolent… Scherben?!”

“I’m afraid of that turning out as inevitability,” quietly dropped the woman with a tiny nod. “That knowledge being a… part of me can’t be a coincidence. What... if… I fear that it may recognize me and how exactly it recognizes me.”

“Fear?.. You?!” the girl stared at her in disbelief.

Alex froze, catching every word, feeling that he was about to hear something important; even the sensation of being restrained seemingly stopped bothering him at that moment. Stumbling upon an unvoiced phrase, the woman cocked her head as if bothered by something she suddenly fancied. Perhaps it was that familiar to everypony feeling of being watched as she started turning slowly, looking over her shoulder.

Unsure what could happen next, as supposedly those two finally noticed his presence, Alex made a desperate attempt to rush forward, to try and catch at least a clearer glimpse of the mysterious collocutors. He was sure he never saw or heard them before, thus their appearance in his dream was utterly strange. Needless to say, since his arrival to Equestria, he only saw a few people in the dreams in general, their number limited by Alex’s parents and ex-girlfriend.

To his frustration, he could barely move his arms still; every movement took as much effort as if he was pushing his body not even through water but through the cooling down molten metal rather. In his turn, Alex felt the glance of the woman sweeping across his frame. Unable to tell if she actually saw him, Alex gritted his teeth – both the woman and the girl remained dark silhouettes for him in the counter light coming from the window.

‘Did she just twitch, raising the hand to her mouth?’ Alex had no time to analyze, shocked by the palpable touch on his chest.

The vision began to recede, dissolving in the white haze, or Alex was forcedly pulled out of his dream. Returning to reality, he felt the chillness; the sounds came back presented by some strange rustling.

“Mmmm…” muttered Alex; he realized that the touch on his bare chest wasn’t a part of the dream. The first thing he came up to, emerging from his sleep, was a pair of very concerned and widened mild-violet eyes right above his face. Holding back the first natural urge to jump up, Alex inhaled noisily, moderating his racing heart, thrilled by the strange dream and non less strange awakening.

The eyes blinked and backed up, revealing Twilight’s concerned muzzle in its entirety and the candle she levitated; the reflections of the latter danced in them, making them seem even larger, glistening brightly.

“Oh…” The flush started flooding her face quickly; sitting on the edge of his sofa, Twilight squeezed the collar of her night gown on her neck, another hoof was resting on Alex’s chest, before she pulled it back. “Are… Are you okay?” the girl straightened up, giving him more space. “I mean… you were bustling in your sleep, Alex.”

“I’m fine… I think… Just had another strange dream, Twi,” Alex blinked away the remnants of sleep, waking completely. “And… What’s going on?”

“I thought I heard some noise…” quickly said Twilight; looking aside, the girl tried to overcome the confusion caused by the realization of how she was leaning over Alex moments ago. “You did something strange… moved your arms as if… as if trying to pull apart some curtains,” she glanced at him pensively. “Or swim… I don’t know, Alex. It didn’t look like something I saw before, so I hurried to check if you were alright.”

“Thanks, Twi. I’m fine,” repeated Alex, raising onto his elbow. “I can’t even tell if that dream was a bad one… very strange – yes… Anyway, a rather pleasant change from the nightmares I habitually see.”

“And what it was?” Twilight managed to brace herself already and the girl’s natural curiosity got ahead of her as usual.

“I don’t remember much…” drawled Alex; he preferred not to worry his friend with something, he didn’t figure out himself yet. Not at the face of everything they came across recently. “There were some… people… I haven’t seen them afore…”

“People?” the girl looked at him fixedly. “You mean… humans, Alex? You didn’t see many humans in your dreams lately, right?”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, rubbing his face. “A woman, and a girl… Complete strangers I think. However… No, nothing… I can’t remember the details,” he let out a tiny smile. “Still better than…”

“You are still seeing occasionally… the dam,” under her breath uttered Twilight, glancing at the human apologetically.

“Yeah,” Alex sat on his sofa. The black wing hugged the girl’s shoulders softly. “Though, I must say, less frequently. Maybe because I finally managed to accept the inevitable,” he shrugged, thinking. ‘Or maybe because the talk with Rainstorm helped me to patch up a bit.’

“I’m glad!” simply but wholeheartedly said Twilight, flushing again slightly.

“Thanks for your constant care!”

“Speaking of which…” raising to her hooves from under Alex’s wing, the girl threw a glance over her shoulder at the opened window. The November night did its best to sneak in, playing with the curtains and making them flutter lightly in the cool air flowing inside.

“I don’t know how you can survive here, Alex!” Twilight shook her head puzzledly; levitating the candle to the low table, she headed to the window with full intent to stop that disgrace. She suppressed a shiver, fidgeting with the curtains. “I would freeze my plot off in that chill. It’s not May outside, you know,” she glanced back at him with a smile.

Alex leaned back on his pillow; resignedly allowing her to close the window, he nested more comfortably, still thinking of something.

“By the way, Twilight…” he raised his eyes at her, when the girl already picked up the candle with her aura on the way to the door, making the alicorn filly return and look at him inquiringly.

“Have you heard… Do you know, what… errmmm… “Scherben” means?”

“Scherben?” Twilight rolled her eyes, remembering. “Scherben… That’s from Germane,” finally smiled she. “That means “shards” as far as I remember, sharp-edged parts of something once integral… Why suddenly… Where did you get that from, Alex?” the girl stared at him at a loss.

“A part of my dream, methinks…” muttered Alex pensively. “I guess I heard that word in it, Twi. Thus wanted to find out what it was. Thanks again!” he looked at her with a soothing smile.

‘That doesn’t explain though, how the shards can be “malevolent”!’ gloomed Alex inwardly.

“Strange as said. It doesn’t really matter perhaps…” shrugged he under Twilight’s puzzled glance. “Just a dream… I’m sorry for waking you up again!” Alex smiled apologetically. Feeling that his body demanded the proper rest, he almost drifted into sleep again.

“Hey! What’s going on… here?” Spike’s face showed up in the doorway; taking a quick look around, Twilight’s aide dropped his tone, noticing her with the candle over the almost sleeping again human. “I saw the light and went down to check if everything was fine,” added he quieter.

“Shhhh…” Twilight shook her head. “Nothing. Alex simply had one of his nightmares,” the girl shrugged, levitating her candle and guiding Spike in front of her out of the room. “Scherben… scherben…” muttered she, crossing the threshold and closing the door behind.

“Come on, man! These carrots are way too expensive for what they look like…” Alex pulled up the large basket, showing sarcastic doubt. “I’d better buy some from Apples. Definitely, would be of better quality for a fairer price!”

“As you wish,” the marketer stallion chuckled, glaring at him sharply. However, he had nothing to impute for the human was polite enough to voice his indignation in a low tone, not informing the nearest market of the presumable problem. “Nopony insists; it’s buy or pass!”

“Where did they come from?” inquired Alex, throwing another glance at the presented goods.

The stallion grunted something indistinctly into his beard; Alex only waved his hand, rejecting the dubious deal. Frankly speaking, he asked the price only seeing the new muzzle; the seller and the goods made him suspicious. Alex squinted.

‘I probably need to ask if somepony in the town or nearby lost a part of their harvest…’

Forcing his way through to the less herded place, he put his basket on the ground for a minute and checked the list – quite a long one. Smiling inwardly, Alex inhaled the cold air mixed with the various tasty smells galore. The autumn wind brought little snowflakes and swirled them above the square and the heads of the pony herd; it needed the new toy as it had blown off the leaves from the surrounding trees completely. The low sun barely pierced the thin but solid layer of the grey clouds, lighting the stalls, the wooden crates with their contents, the mingling ponies. Even in November morning with its snow dancing in the air, it didn’t feel cold in the middle of the market square throng.

‘I’d better move,’ Alex ran with his eyes through the list once more and adjusted the collar of his warm, newly-knit sweater – that was the case when Rarity’s attention was very welcome. Picking the basket, he wanted to dive into the market stir again but heard somepony addressing him.

“Ahem, excuse me! Alex?!”

The human looked over his shoulder and a sincere smile lit his face: a cerise mare waved her fore hoof above the heads of the nearest ponies; the seeking look of her light-green eyes stopped at him as she started making her way through the herd.

“Good morning, Miss Cheerilee!” Alex put his basket back down with a cheerful nod and readiness to listen.

“Good morning, Alex!” the mare swayed her striped pale-rose mane aside from her muzzle and glanced back at the herd, taking a breath. “Phew! I saw you at the edge of the square, but… pulling myself through turned out a harder task than I planned!” she chuckled softly and Alex noticed two spacious saddlebags at her sides. “May I have a couple of minutes of your time?”

“You can have as much as you need, ma’am!” with another smile, Alex nodded towards the basket at his feet. “I have a long shopping list and if, presumably, you have just started yours, we can brush through the market together and talk. If that’s okay…”

He personally met Miss Cheerilee – one of the school teachers – only once, during the fire at Ponyville school, but that experience confirmed all the respectful stories Alex heard about her from the fillies. Naturally, that caring, motherly mare was on the list of ponies Alex would aid anytime! However, at that moment, Miss Cheerilee, usually frank and straightforward, looked strangely hesitating. Letting out an encouraging smile, Alex thought that he had properly guessed the topic she considered delicate; thus he nodded, gesturing Miss Cheerilee to tell freely what was bothering her.

“Errmmm… That’s about the foals,” Miss Cheerilee stumbled, her nose turning pinkish; in the other time that could look amusing, but the question was undoubtedly serious. “I… We all know what happened at Sunflowers’ farm…” she shrugged almost apologetically. “Their foals you and miss Fluttershy took custody of… for a while already. They don’t attend school so far. Excuse me, Alex, but that can turn into a problem… they can miss a considerable chunk of the program. And catching up would be troublesome.” With her entire look, the cerise teacher-mare expressed the hope that her appeal wasn’t intrusive, genuinely concerned rather. Before Alex could open his mouth, Miss Cheerilee added in a convincing tone. “Don’t worry, we all understand the situation, and there won’t be any bureaucratic problems – we’ll just put them into the age-suitable class for now. Besides, I know that the girls, I mean Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, would gladly take patronage and help young Sunflowers with studies.”

“That problem’s nature is different a bit, Miss Cheerilee,” Alex picked up his basket and they started drifting across the market slowly. He offered help with the saddlebags as well, but the mare shook her head with a smile, telling that she was okay with them. “It’s not the real… custody,” Alex downcasted, “we’re simply looking after Storm and Aurora temporarily before their own aunt arrives from Crystal Empire. She’ll be the real caretaker while their parents are recovering.”

“Oh…” Miss Cheerilee nodded understandingly; although, she saw the tint of regret in Alex’s eyes.

“You know, it was a question of sending them to an orphanage for the period necessary to find her, for her to sort out her own business and arrive,” Alex glanced at Cheerilee meaningfully. “I couldn’t allow that, be it a couple of days or weeks, regardless!”

“I see,” she patted his arm reassuringly. “And nopony knows how soon she may come…”

“Exactly!” said Alex as they slowly moved along the stalls, stopping from time to time according to their lists. “I’m surprised it took that long already, but I can imagine the trouble – she has her own business there…”

“I mean that letting them go to school here in Ponyville, giving them new friends and interests… barely diving in, then having it taken from them away…” Alex stumbled and cringed. “I would have hated that as a kid. No reasons to suspect Storm and Aurora think differently.”

“I suppose Crystal Chime has no plans to stay in Ponyville,” quietly added Alex when they stopped at the next stall. “So, the foals will attend school in Crystal Empire for now…” Miss Cheerilee nodded accordingly.

“But while they are here, we both do our best to make their experience as cloudless as possible,” shrugged Alex, looking into the light-green eyes. “Personally, I wouldn’t mind to…”

“Of course,” the mare let out a tiny smile, understanding the unspoken. “That is why I thought that the fillies could help. You know, the girls were overly enthusiastic about that lately,” added Cheerilee in half-voice, leaning closer to Alex. “Perhaps they thought that you would take the responsibility for the entire time necessary.”

“If only I could offer less trouble,” chuckled Alex. “Sometimes only trouble!” he stepped aside to let a busily hurrying ponyviller through. “Sorry!”

“But thanks for caring and the offer, Miss Cheerilee!” he glanced at her warmly, as they continued their meandering route across the market square. “I promise to contact you if… if anything changes and they linger here for a longer while.”

“By the way, how’s the school doing after… after everything?”

“Well, I must say that everypony came over that easier than I expected,” Miss Cheerilee smiled heartily. “Everything was fully restored, thanks to princess attention. And thanks to you and miss Dash, nopony has got hurt!” added she with emphasis.

“I was surprised how the foals took things much easier than the adults… the staff, I mean,” the mare shrugged amusedly. “For many of them, even for my class, everything looked more like an adventure than the serious danger it actually was. Kids!”

“Well… It’s better that way!” said Alex confidently.

“I wanted to ask you of one favour, Alex,” remembered Miss Cheerilee, as they stopped, letting Alex take the turning heavier basket into another hand. “We’re going to have a so-called accident prevention day at school, with thematic lessons and so on… Could you please attend the fire prevention lecture? I’m sure, the students would love it and probably take more out of it, paying more attention naturally.”

“I…” Alex was a bit dumbfounded by that sudden request; he scratched his nape. “I’ll see if I can come, miss…”

“Hey, hey! Alex!..” interrupting him, somepony’s call reached their ears through the hum of the mingling herd. Alex noticed a couple of familiar manes making their way towards them with Cheerilee.

“Morning, girls!” Alex waved to approaching Applejack and Pinkie when they finally squeezed through the most overherded place. “Mind if we step aside a bit before we are getting stomped on?” chuckled he, then turned to Cheerilee. “You have a few spare minutes, Miss Cheerilee, don’t you?”

“Morning, partner! Morning, Miss Cheerilee!” Applejack looked over him and his spacious basket with a bit of surprise. “Ah thought Ah saw you here yesterday…” noticed she with a smile. “And the basket was hardly smaller…”

“That time was for Twilight,” shrugged Alex, “and today Fluttershy asked to help with the shopping. We have doubled numbers now!” winked he. “So, I’m trying to take as much load from her as possible.”

Together, they four found a small space unoccupied by the goods between the two neighbourhood stalls, so nopony could run into them.

“You know, Alex, you could come to the bakery with your… with the foals someday! I’m super-duper-one-hundred-per cent sure they will like it!!!” Jumping on the spot, Pinkie habitually took the bull by the horns right away. As far as Alex could notice, that was the well-known Pinkie Pie back, not some mare becoming pensive when it came down to him and his troubles. He could be guessing, but most likely it meant that some information had slipped out; Alex inwardly sighed, while the pink quicksilver ball continued. “What’s the fun for the kids to stick at the old smithy all day, every day?! I could teach them to bake pies instead… And we’d have much fun for sure!”

“It looks like a nice idea indeed…” carefully started Alex; from the corner of his eye, he saw how Miss Cheerilee nodded in approval.

“By the way,” Pinkie wasn’t going to let him word out his thought in entirety, but at least Alex got the confirmation for his assumptions, “your solution was kinda surprising for me… for us all. I mean the girl’s idea… to share you,” she lowered her tone, so only them four could hear, and nudged Alex with a sly mien. “Never thought that Flutters and princess Luna could come to something like that, not Flutters at least, but… As soon as everypony is happy and back into the friendly mode, I’m satisfied!” She glanced at him meaningfully.

“Come on, Pinkie… Hush down please,” pleaded Alex, seeing the shocked expression freezing on Miss Cheerilee’s muzzle. “Merlin’s pants! How many ponies are informed in detail already? I… I mean that we don’t make it the secret behind seven seals, but not advertising it at every corner either!”

To her honour, miss Cheerilee regained her composure fast enough.

“Well, it’s not my field to judge…” she shook her head, blinking fast and producing a tiny polite smile. “As long as everypony involved is fine with that, as miss Pie said.”

“Yeah, ya three are going to rock some minds, bet on that, partner,” giggled Applejack, winking to Alex. “Ah can imagine the face of princess Celestia, when…” she snorted again.

“Somehow, I doubt that she is uninformed,” Alex said with empasized dryness, which only amused both girls even more. “Still then?” he turned to Pinkie.

“Well, me and Jackie, as you see…” Pinkie rolled her eyes remembering, or maybe surprised that Alex was bothered by such trivia. “I’m sure, Shy mentioned it to Dash… or Rainbow stuck to her, seeing the change of mood. If you think Celestia knows everything, then I’m sure that Twilight does as well… or you told her already – you two book-heads getting along that nicely,” she raised an eyebrow.

“Come on, Alex! Why are you so jumpy about that? Everypony will know… sooner or later,” Pinkie blew a raspberry, surprised by his sudden slow-wittedness.

Alex could only grunt dumbfoundedly; miss Cheerilee either coughed or chuckled.

“What Ah know,” uttered Applejack with a wide grin, “is that Rarity will be beside herself because of that decision! When the situation was in limbo, she could try to plough her own garden bed; now though, her chances became below minimal. Right, partner?”

‘Let’s start from her chances never were higher than minimal,’ thought Alex and muttered. “I bet that won’t stop that Rarity I know…”

The thought about the inevitable maintenance job for Rarity’s generator – at the face of approaching winter, a complex of preserving operations was necessary – now looked more of a minefield.

“Hey, Ah left my stall onto Big Mac to catch you specifically,” as if reading Alex’s mind, Applejack remembered suddenly. “Wanted to ask ya for a favour. You can guess, sugarcube – the windmills, generators and all yar technical mumbo-jumbo need some maintenance before the real frost comes. As for the anti-fruit bat buzzers, Ah think we can simply stop them completely, till the next season, right?”

“Know what?” Alex’s face brightened with the salvatory idea. “I’d rather start with your request, Jackie!”

‘That gives me time to form a strategy much needed for dealing with our overly inspired fashionista,’ lit in his mind.

“Maybe even tomorro-OH!”

Somepony almost bumped into Alex’s back. With a perplexed expression, he started turning – they specifically got away from most ponies path and, except a couple of old mares, nopony grumbled about their company blocking the road. The look of the familiar minty fluffball quickly turned it into a smile.

“Lyra!”

“Hmmm… Surrounded by some mares as usual…” not losing her breath at all, Lyra Heartstrings noticed casually, almost as if for herself solely, bemusing Alex again. As colour slowly gained his cheeks up to his nose, Pinkie and Applejack started giggling and even miss Cheerilee let out a little smile.

“I have a message for you, Alex,” not confused a iota, Lyra continued as if nothing happened. “I passed the Library and… looked in on Twilight’s light and…”

“And… Wow, man, that pony helmet looks dreadful and… awesome at the same time,” the sparks of excitement and almost maniacal inspiration lit in Lyra’s eyes so suddenly, that Alex even stepped back a bit. Others simply blinked at that unsuspected change of the subject. “I was at the Oceanarium in Manehattan once… Well, that thing reminded me of the Hammerhead shark’s head. You and Rainstorm, what are you guys plotting?!”

“Ahem…” Alex patted the minty mare on the shoulder cautiously. “Methinks we started that thou had some message for me…”

“Oh… Well… You’ll tell me later then, right?!” looking as if she was pulled out of the dream sequence, Lyra glanced at him more meaningfully. “Well… Yeah… When I was there,” another sparkle ran through her sight shortly, “Twilight got a letter regarding the foals – young Sunflowers you and Fluttershy took temporary custody of…”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m listening,” freezing inwardly from the foreseen reply, Alex impatiently pulled Lyra away from the mental images of his work he didn’t hide away again shortsightedly. “What about them?”

“In brief, they have contacted Sunflowers’ aunt,” gave up Lyra. “As far as I remember, she is rounding up with her business and plans to come with the nearest Crystal Express to take the foals with her. So, Twilight asked me to find you and tell that…”

‘And what else did you expect?’ Despite he was inwardly preparing himself for something alike, Alex’s face turned to stone. Lyra kept telling something, but he looked detached. The rest of the mares turned sympathetically silent.

Alex woke up from a light touch on his arm, seeing miss Cheerilee leaning to him, stroking his hand lightly with her fore hoof.

“If you don’t mind an advice,” she said quietly, so only Alex could hear. “If I were you, I would have started doing everything you planned for them, losing no time. I mean, visit the bakery and so on…”

Swallowing a lump, Alex quickly nodded.

“Something is bothering you, Alex, right?” the unicorn blacksmith sank on the porch step quietly. Seeing that the human barely nodded while his eyes were still watching something in the nearest galaxy, Willsmash continued. “You were always vivid and positive, optimistic when it failed the rest of us… And the last few days you look… lost, yeah, lost is the word. Doing your work well, concentrated on it as usual, but some spark is visibly missing. While the movements are perfect to automatism, you look somewhere inside most of the time. May I know what’s the trouble?”

For a while, Alex kept watching the gloomy low skies, as if he missed the question asked on a couple of foot distance from his ear. Changing their colours from the light-grey (very few spots were of that one, to be honest) to the various sorts of dark steel, soil, raven-wing black and so on, the heavy clouds slowly drawled along. Overloaded with rain or maybe even snow already and definitely armed with some stormy charges, they didn’t hurry to deliver their freight. As if they knew that nothing and nopony (even the weather pegasi didn’t interfere into that seasonal process) would prevent their slow cruising from seemingly the Frozen North itself directly towards the broad fields and orchards of Appleloosa, the cloudy ridges of Las Pegasus, the rainforests and swamps of Thumpa. Or maybe they realized the futility of their mission at least then in November when the great forest of Everfree still stood at their way with its impenetrable barrier of warmer air. Everfree lived by its own rules and made the cold, cloudy fronts split or go around it till early winter.

The rare snowflakes, swept by the wind from the slowly rolling cloudy freight cars, danced, swirling slowly in the cool air. They avoided entering only the wide column of the hot air, visibly flowing and flickering over the neck of lazily breathing smelter on stand-by – igniting and heating up the device every morning was harder than keeping it constantly at the low fire. The never-ceasing now scent of heated metal and oil was interrupted by the smell of autumn even at the smithy yard. The slight wind only brought it there, unable to drive away the natural smithy breath or bother noticeably the withered browned grass, which forcelessly leaned to the ground, sending a grass blade or two fly away from time to time.

“And I still think that it’s not the weather!” noticed Willsmash.

“Yeah, Uncle Will,” finally Alex emerged from his thoughts, glancing at the blacksmith over the shoulder. “There is a problem! A certain puzzle I’m unable to solve, no matter how I try…”

“Well, I’m all ears if you’re ready to tell…” the old blacksmith squinted his eye slyly. “They neigh that the problem becomes twice lighter if shared between two.”

“For now, it’s more like boring complaints,” chuckled Alex. “But anyway, as we have finished our work for today. Thanks, Uncle Will!”

“I guess the problem is not of technical nature, otherwise, you would have already solved it, Alex… or addressed me,” Willsmash looked at him completely seriously.

“It’s hard to tell,” Alex shrugged almost guiltily; everything told that the problem was pestering him. “I believe it is at least partially technical… while it looks… Well, you’ll see yourself,” he shook his head. “After the accident on the farm, I was to follow the foals, Fluttershy and the guards to Canterlot on my own. They all were utterly surprised to see me that soon, as they teleported there in several… hops. So, we counted the timing and it turned out I travelled about three hundred miles in twenty minutes!”

“Oh…” mister Steel even grunted unwittingly.

“Yeah… A few of us couldn’t have been mistaken the same way. So, that meant that I crossed…”

“…the sonic barrier!” Willsmash finished for him with a smile.

“Or, better say… the wings did,” Alex rolled his eyes. “I’d have thought that it was total nonsense, but was to give up to the evidence.”

“Later, several days ago, the same thing happened during our with Luna training duel,” Alex added after a long pause – he was watching the waltzing snowflakes reaching the ground and ceasing, melting and sinking into the soil. “I… they…” he shrugged with his shoulders and wings both (the gesture, which earth ponies and unicorns always found amusing). “They rather. They did it again and I was able to go around or approach her faster than Luna was capable to notice. Even if the result was dubious, I practically finished the duel that way.”

“So?” Willsmash thought that he guessed the roots of Alex’s problem, but preferred to get everything from the first hands.

“To cut things short,” Alex cupped his chin musingly, staring into the distance again, “I can’t get the same result during the usual flying. No matter how hard I try… Even during the hardest training, I fly maybe a bit faster than I usually did.”

“In that duel… I thought my lungs would rip apart when I darted past Luna. By that sign, I’d say the speed of sound was topped considerably. Nothing alike during my attempts to repeat that,” added he regretfully. The old unicorn nodded.

“You see, Uncle Will, that would be a wonderful advantage. Flying is the only fast enough method of travelling across Equestria for me,” elaborated Alex. “The faster, the better, as I found out myself that the ends here are far between each other.”

“And judging by the increasing numbers of the Seekers related incidents, soon I will need every advantage possible,” muttered Alex after a second.

“So, you think you need to get full control over that ability…” Willsmash ruffled from the specifically cool gust of wind, then glanced at Alex pensively. “For now, it looks as if the wings decide for you both whether you need to move faster or not. Hmmm… Interesting,” he smirked at some idea. “It turns out that you can… boost up when the reason is crucial and urgent. Be it your own subconscious or, as you consider it to be, your wings “separate will”!”

“Yeah, exactly when I thought that we agreed to act accordingly with them, for we are the single creature, at the end of the day,” Alex let out a short laughter, his eyes still sadly searched for something at the horizon, “they decided to act on their own again.”

“Even if! You are the head still!” Willsmash ruffled his moustache; seeing that Alex lingers to catch up, he elaborated. “That will probably work exactly that way if you envision it that way; doesn’t matter if the result is as desired. All you need, son, perhaps is to… believe that your case is urgent and thus “convince” your wings to contribute.”

“Hmmm… It’s not unexpected, but is eccentric enough… that it may actually work!” Alex let out a smile. “Everything is in my head, you say?!”

“More or less,” nodded the blacksmith seriously. “The power of belief, moreover, conviction isn’t to be neglected. I found it out myself… the hard way,” he gloomed for a moment, then shook away the thought, adding softly.

“Something tells me that it’s not the only thing burdening you,” Willsmash threw a studying gaze at the looking absently human. “It is a mere temporary inconvenience while you are concerned by something deeper, son. Right?”

“You’re quite observant, Uncle Will… As usual!” Alex downcasted. “There is… one more… thing.” He scratched his nape with a heavy sigh, then said with a wry smile. “Auntie Crystal” is arriving in a couple of days…”

Incomprehension turned into realization on the unicorn’s muzzle as the blacksmith savvied, whom Alex was talking about. Willsmash bit his lip understandingly.

“Yeah,” grimaced Alex. “Not that I didn’t know that it would happen eventually. And it’s the correct thing to do, de jure and de facto – Storm and Aurora will be better with their own aunt. But… de facto, something feels wrong… empty about all that.”

“As you might have guessed, Uncle Will, I didn’t take the foals with me today not because of the weather!” with a sad smile, Alex turned to Willsmash. “I thought about letting them spend more time with Shy, as otherwise she sees them mostly after the sunset…”

“Crystal Chime will most likely take them to the Crystal Empire…” he said simply. “An obvious way out methinks. Their parents’ condition is far from acceptable to be observed by the foals, let alone enjoyable. The prognosis is positive, but still… Storm and Aurora better spend some time with their aunt, to return home when… when there is home for them here again.” At these words, Alex pursed his lips tightly.

‘Liar! There was home for them here as much as we could provide…’ but he stifled that inside, adding instead.

“Alas, we both got attached to the foals much… We’re not the best example of… Nah! Anyway… I can’t tell, what the morrow would bring most of the time, so…”

“Of course, I try not to show them my thoughts…” Alex squeezed out a smile.

The blacksmith listened to him silently, crossing his fore legs on his chest; he looked submerged into some memories of his own. Willsmash’s breath curled into the small clouds of steam in the chilly November air.

“I may sound banal,” finally started he quietly, “but so be it, I don’t care. Sometimes, Alex, the circumstances are way stronger than us. But, life taught me that not all of them need to be fought against ruthlessly.”

“Let’s take the wars for example,” elaborated Willsmash. “When I attended the army, the possibility of a war was obvious. But, like many ponies, I took it exactly as possible – somewhere, someday – not imminent.”

Alex nodded, following the course of the unicorn’s thoughts.

“When it comes,” Willsmash shrugged casually, “one can do nothing about that fact. You simply choose your side and fight for what you see worth. I want to talk about the consequences rather.”

“You know, son, because of that war I lost more than an eye… or the reputation…” the old blacksmith’s eye squinted into the distance, seemingly disparately longer than the seen horizon. ‘The totally different future for me, I miss and at the same time let go easily, looking at Silver Ingot now!’ thought he.

“The latter, I believe, can be restored in entirety!” ardently inserted Alex. Willsmash Steel let out a small smile.

“Even if not, that’s not the most important thing in my life. When I think about Silver Ingot, I bless the way things had gone. Dreading to simply think, what could have happened to her, if we didn’t cross at the right moment.”

“Moreover, I would have probably changed something about my life if I could… only a year ago,” added Willsmash. “But I wouldn’t now, Alex. I’m more than thankful for what we have right now and here. How would it be otherwise? Well, I don’t want to speculate on that, honestly.”

The blacksmith fell silent: they both thought of something personal, of the inevitability of possibilities. The first meeting with Fluttershy rolled over again and again in Alex’s head.

“Sometimes… things need to get worse to get better finally!” uttered Willsmash with a sigh. The old blacksmith looked weighing an idea to share something; Alex held his breath – that was going to be something inmost.

The cold rain fell and fell; starting in the early morning, it watered the mountain gorge, changing only its intensity, not ceasing completely for a minute. It seemed that the skies ripped open and were going to flood the land below mercilessly. Wherever the gaze reached, the grey clouds spewed the torrents of grey water – it was likely the same higher in the mountains, considering the high and sharp peaks were perfectly able to pierce the cloudy cisterns. Thus the shallow stony stream, squeezed tightly by the cliffs at the gorge bottom, quickly turned into the roaring flow, which picked and dragged even the large stones with it. The elements on the ground refused to stand behind the heavenly ones and raged endlessly in that competition. To the afternoon, the stream occupied hardly less than one-third of the canyon depth; a bit higher, and the suddenly gone rabid, stone crushing water would provide visible danger to the high metal openwork bridge, connecting the edges of that huge ground wrinkle and the crucially important road above.

That road was the only one strategic transport artery for the many miles around between those mountains and the further desert; dashing between the dunes and cactuses, straight as an arrow, it lead directly to cultivated fields and fruitful gardens of Appleloosa. No wonder that it was an aim and the desired prize for the advancing army of Changelings: once again, their queen Chrysalis decided to claim more land, more riches of Equestria and more cheerful, happy, loving ponies to let her coldhearted minions feast upon. The main forces were still far behind, but a small scout party of mica-winged, cheese-legged pony-bugs was sent to take the bridge over the cliffy canyon and keep it under control until the entire horde arrived.

Realizing that the Changelings just had to get over that single narrow crossing to widely spread across the entire plateau like the flow of omnivorous locusts, the Equestrian command took the only feasible in the given circumstances decision. Thankfully, the small population of the borderlands was providently evacuated as soon as the first intelligence about planned irruption had come. A small but well-prepared squad of equestrian guards was sent towards the metalwork bridge for the tactical strike. Otherwise, it would become immensely more problematic to suppress the spreading invaders and the losses would be incomparably larger.

The squad reached their destination point on the eve night. Entrenching on their edge of the canyon, they planned to perform a sortie to the other side in the morning. The latter turned out a fatal decision. The coal-dark moonless night passed peacefully, without any surprises, thus at the crack of the dawn, the guards moved out to encamp on the far edge and start their work from the far end of the bridge. According to the intelligence, the changelings were in the two-day-march distance. The dense fog raised from the bottom of the gorge, born by the cold waters running below; clouds curtained the entire sky, hiding the sun from the view and pouring the endless dull rain – the visibility constantly degraded as the new and new watering echelons arrived. The very moment the pony squad crossed the bridge, the changelings struck!

“Small” always differed for the equestrian and changelings’ sides: the bug-butts scout party they encountered was four times more numerous than the pony squad, even by the most humble evaluation. The fight was fierce but short! For a few minutes, the shouts and magical flashes, followed by explosions flooded the canyon, countlessly reflecting on its sharp cliffs and stone caves and slowly dying far away in the grey haze. Everything came to an end very shortly under the overwhelming enemy force. Only the whisper of the rain and the distant noise of the water below were disturbing the dead silence falling on the cliffs again.

The changelings acted more cautiously: discouraged by the visibility tending to zero or by the sudden enemy squad (they had no idea how many of the pony guards might be on the other side nearby), they decided to entrench and hold by any means possible their edge of the gorge, waiting for the main forces to arrive and taking down anypony entering the bridge from the equestrian side. Quickly dragging away the bodies and cleaning the area in front of the crossing, the bug-butts set up a camp, hiding from the chill and rioting elements.

As if lamenting the violent act, which took place between those mountains, the streams of rain showered persistently the mossy stones and ground. Probably after the noon – it was hard to tell, due to the entire sky veiled and the sun looking only a lighter spot on the cloudy surface when it was turning thinner for a short while – the trickles of water reached the bottom of the shallow pit filled with the bodies of the defeated pony guards.

‘Am I dead?’ lit in the head of the unicorn stallion coming to senses. ‘Then… Why is Tartarus so cold… and moist… And cramped!’

It was also too dark for Tartarus according to his conception of that eternal place of rejected souls’ confinement. Finally, the unicorn could feel his entire body, happily concluding that it seemed intact, but utterly surprised by the fact he still had any. That and the mere sensation that he could barely move any extremity due to the constant feel of the pressure around made the unicorn suspect that he was probably still in the land of the living.

The surmise that he could have been buried alive, taking as perished by some horrible mistake, made the young soldier shudder in terror. The unicorn jerked, doing his best to try and feel something around to find out, where exactly he got. Little by little, he could free one of his fore legs and cautiously palpate the stifling void in front of him. The next feeling almost made him faint again in the fit of horror, as his conscious was yet weak enough for the experiences alike: under his seeking touch, the darkness took shape of the hoof, followed by the ice-cold leg, then metal plating. The latter was recognized by the unicorn as the Guard armour. Freezing for a moment to calm down the heart quivering somewhere near his throat, the stallion made another attempt of reconnaissance – nearly the same was everywhere his fore hoof could reach. The only feasible explanation was that he ended in the one pit with his squad-mates dead bodies, but turned out to be still alive by some miraculous luck.

‘Was it luck indeed?!’ glimpsed in his mind at the edge of insanity.

‘The last thing I can remember,’ the stallion forced himself to hold back the shivers, which tried to shake him uncontrollably for a moment, ‘was the blinding-bright flash hitting the ground nearby.’

Upon the second thought, he decided that it was some spell turning misaimed when one of his fellow unicorns was taken down by the attackers. The darkness dusked upon the stallion right after that flash; most likely, he was contused by the close impact, thus perceived as dead by the changelings and moved away with the rest of the bodies.

On the one hoof, that was some sheer luck that he could breathe still. On the other hoof, nopony knew what waited for him above. With another shudder, he preferred to hope that it wasn’t a thick layer of the ground covering the improvised grave. However…

‘I can still breathe!’ beamed in his mind. ‘And could breathe for probably a long while, before the rain trailed down to wake me. That unfortunate gutter I fell into couldn’t be very deep…’

The smells of soil, water and wet moss took over the fumes and blood; they finally persuaded the unicorn that he was alive and therefore not ready to be buried. The nearest aim was to climb out that pit by every means possible, then…

‘Then I’ll look,’ decided he, one by one pulling his legs out of the blood-chilling captivity and trying to position himself vertically at least. ‘Need to be extremely careful – I don’t want to reveal myself to the bug-butts!’

Fighting the lump, choking him and forcedly stifling the tears – he knew well each of those silent corpses obstructing his path to freedom when they were his still breathing companions and friends – the unicorn inched to the surface. It seemed an hour to pass before the muffled sounds of rain and rare thunder strikes reached his hearing; the drops of rain trailed down his muzzle in thin cold streams. The last part appeared to be the hardest: climbing outside was very risky and the stallion prayed for the pit to be far enough from the camping changelings.

First his fore hooves, then the horn finally felt the chill humidity. The dim, rain-veiled light blinded the unicorn for a moment; the air outside seemed enravishing and sweet, despite it smelled of mossy stones and water only. The lucky guard froze for a while; pretending to be an integral part of this horrid slaughter for occasional foreign eye, he took a breath and cautiously peered into the dense fog flooding the area. The wind was bringing the quiet distant voices: thankfully, the changelings entrenched far enough to spot at once one of their victims turning to life and escaping.

‘I need to hide somewhere before they feel my presence!’ the stallion jerked faster, freeing the rest of him from that crude mass grave. ‘Bastards!’ he made an effort not to say that aloud when he took a look over the entire scene.

To his luck, the snide enemies didn’t even burden themselves to properly cover the bodies with ground or stones: they did not care, going to pass that place like a devastating hurricane. Nevertheless, to continue surviving, the unicorn was to cross that pile of his former fellows anyway.

‘Tartarus!..’ the heart jumped when his glance stopped on the cold, lifeless eyes of another guard, stumbling on that last empty, distant gaze. The unicorn lingered for a second to close those eyes – that was as much as could be done. Later he could never imagine how he could have crawled a couple of yards over the dead mates. Finally rolling to the ground, the stallion felt completely forceless as if his legs suddenly turned limp and jellylike; it took him a couple more minutes to recompose and think straight.

However, he needed to get out of sight quickly. The sound of roaring water told him the direction where the edge of the canyon was; staying on the open ground was dangerous even in the fog that dense – the changelings could feel a living pony nearby. Flattening on the stones, the stallion proceeded to the water noise source, listening to the occasional voices every moment; thankfully, nopony even thought to approach – the bug-butts forgot long ago about the enemies they dumped so flippantly. The fog and rain, which probably were among the main reasons his squad got ambushed, now were his main blessing, covering the unicorn’s escape.

‘Sweet Harmony!’ upon reaching the canyon, the stallion was to take a minute: his head started spinning involuntarily at the face of grey space, looking filled with some cotton but actually hiding the considerable depth and sharp uneven cliffs on the bottom. The roar of water overshadowed the rest of the sounds there; the stallion imagined for a second the raging flow scrapping the canyon walls below. ‘What am I supposed to do next?! They would have been nuts if they didn’t secure the bridge entrance from this side!’

His perplexity was rational: even under the cover of the darkest night, it was nearly impossible to sneak past the awake changeling, as the scoundrels easily felt all the bright feelings of the pony folk, feeding on them exactly. The only way, which at least seemed possible, was to try to sneak past the sentries from within the canyon, hoping that the weather, the stone wall and the seeming impossibility of that manoeuvre (for every sane creature at least) would provide temporary protection.

The stallion remembered about a narrow maintenance tunnel – they saw on the eve, examining the bridge from another side – more like reliable scaffolding at some parts. Supposedly, it came under the entire bridge from one canyon edge to another. That was his only chance to cross unnoticed. If only he could get down the canyon wall a little and crawl to the nearest bridge support. However, the omnipresent humidity made that plan quite dangerous – large and small mossy stones became quite slippery.

“Celestia! I’m not some mountain-goat…” he even whispered aloud, looking over the edge, the danger of falling off a cliff was at that moment incomparably more palpable than the chance to be heard by the enemy. ‘How am I even supposed to hold on to that with my hooves?!’

For his sheer luck, the gorge sides were not that smooth with rock strata revealed by wind, numerous gullies and potholes, rare crooked bushes and roots protruding from the wall and snaking on its surface. Nevertheless, the unicorn’s heart was beating somewhere between his ears when he carefully rolled over the edge and started slowly descending, probing each point he was going to rest his hoof at twice or even thrice.

‘Damn it!’ inwardly swore the stallion; he was to move slowly, doing his best to control the hardening breath and trying not to think how his manoeuvre could look for the foreign eye. A pony sprawled on the steep, slippery rock wall, creeping sideways like some insane bat! That should even look hilarious if it wasn’t that deadly. ‘Every sound can kill me… if the wet cliffs don’t do it earlier!’ the stallion listened to the crackling of the rock, forced to scrape off the moss sometimes to be able to step further. So far, the sounds following his risky endeavour fell into the gamma, one could hear in the mountains on a day with the weather that nasty.

Protruding from the wall a few feet below, a narrow stony ledge looked for him the celestial blessing: rock stratum went into the mist as far as the eye could pick and was to reach the bridge supposedly. At least the guard, who started feeling each of his muscles to that moment, wanted to hope so. As thin and slippery as it was, that natural perch still gave minimal support for his strained hind legs. Deciding that he had descended enough to stay unnoticed, the unicorn began to move along the wall horizontally, as soon as he made sure that the ledge could bear his weight. Even so, he moved only one leg at a time, placing his hind legs widely apart and carefully checking the spot before shifting his weight to that support.

‘That won’t play out well!’ thought the stallion, taking a minute rest – the muffled voices sounded closer and closer; he was approaching the bridge even if he couldn’t see it because of the fog. ‘I need to undertake something for the bug-butts to overlook my escape…’ Remembering that the changelings felt the rest of the ponies mostly by their bright feelings presence, the unicorn shuddered inwardly at the thought of what possibly could make him pass the patrols unnoticed.

‘It’s only theory, but… suppressing all these may turn me invisible for their senses,’ beamed in his mind. ‘For that though… Oh, Celestia! How can I manage that and still not fall?..’ he closed his eyes for a moment, realizing that his only chance was to drive all the bright feelings away, imagine something so unnerving to make himself almost desperate. Therefore his last question was as relevant as possible.

Shivering at the necessity to torture himself so mercilessly, the unicorn tried to imagine himself failing his task. ‘There his dead crumpled body lying limp on the bottom cliffs, the changelings’ army arrives and marches across the bridge, widely spreading on the other side and taking the road to Appleloosa… and then city by city, town by town, village by village – to Canterlot!’ At that image, his back turned burning hot immediately and the cold sweat covered his forehead. The speed of advance decreased by half; the only other thought was to keep himself on the narrow ledge and still moving. Slowly, clumsily, as if he suddenly turned a couple of hundred years older, but still moving.

The view of the bridge openwork constructions emerging from the foggy veil was so shockingly hopeful, that the stallion closed his eyes, diligently visualizing the sharp cliffs washed by raging waters to dispel any encouraging thought. It wasn’t the right time for them! Making his task easier, the rocky strata he was limping along ended right near the edge of the support, not under its salvatory shadow. The stallion hardly needed to fake the despair now – climbing up on the unreliable gorge side, almost in the open view of the changelings above, seemed an impossible mission.

The ascent felt as if it was taking an eternity for the soldier; his every muscle, probably every cell of his body ached to the end of it, trying not to utter a single crackle, not to kick a single stone off the wall. The stallion felt like a time-worn rag when his fore hooves finally reached the long-awaited metal of the openwork constructions. By the time he could climb on them, he mentally added another hundred years to his perceived age and seemed as if not having any feelings at all.

The stallion already saw the hatch leading to the maintenance tunnel from this side of the bridge, trying to not thank the universe for that, as it would be undoubtedly a bright impulse, when one of his strained legs met the metalwork with a distinct sound of a hoof on the metal. The guard froze that very moment, holding on to the constructions with the remaining strength and listening while dying inwardly.

“Hey! You heard that?” expectedly reached his ears from above. A quiet, almost hissing voice dropped silent, as the guarding the bridge changelings tried to catch anything else. In the silence, disturbed only by waters and wind in the canyon, the phrase sounded as if the speaker was next to the hiding guard. “Swear on my head, it was a metal clank!”

“Let’s check the bridge,” replied another voice with the same hissing tones. “Maybe some of the fluff-heads remained and tries to sneak on us from the other side. Or maybe it was the bridge crackling from the weather…” added it with a tint of boredom.

The goddess of luck, if there ever was such, definitely favoured the unicorn that day. Keeping quiet as a mouse, he heard, how the slow cautious hoofsteps approached the bridge above his head and stomped on its echoing surface. After a short pause, while the sentries above tried to hear some other sound and the unicorn below did his best to pretend to be just another of the bridge constructions, the changelings moved forward.

With his trembling fore legs – he didn’t dare to use magic so close to the sensitive enemy – the stallion was opening the hatch, trying to move it in the unison with clanking steps above. He fixed it open and almost fell inside the maintenance tunnel. The body immediately turned into some sort of strange pony jelly; he lay completely senseless for a while, not finding strength even for trembling as the overworked extremities seemed to be made of lead suitable for the forge only.

After the indefinite period of time, by the monstrous urge of will, he made himself raise the head and move forward. The rest of the path took him almost half an hour, as the stallion was to belly crawl in the complete darkness, cautiously feeling the surface in front of him and stopping from time to time to listen if nopony was chasing him. The farther the muffled sounds remained, the easier his way became.

He almost bumped into the closed hatch on the other side.

“Please, let it be unlocked! Oh! Thank Celestia…” it was a feeling stronger than him; the unicorn gave no damn about being noticed when he prayed. The metal cover gave up and opened, letting in the fresh air and light; the latter blinded the stallion for the second time that day, but he was out of his mind from happiness. Flopping out of the tunnel on the sloping mountain side, the stallion snuggled to the rock wall like to the mother’s chest; tears of mixed relief and sorrow trailed from his eyes unwittingly.

‘Escaped!.. Escaped?! Finally escaped! Sweet Harmony!!!’

Recomposing after a while, the stallion climbed out of the canyon and leaned on the large roadside rock, taking a breath. The road to Appleloosa was straight ahead; squeezed between the mountains, it exited to the desert a few miles away. He didn’t feel the additional hundreds of years anymore. But…

The stallion looked over the shoulder. The bridge barely fancied through the fog. Judging by the light, as much as there was, a few hours still remained till the sunset. The lonely unicorn guard took thought.

Except for his dead body on the canyon rocks, all the horrific images he painted in the mind to pass the changelings unnoticed we still possible in the nearest future. Battles, losses, devastated villages, death…

‘Well! We will see then!’ the stallion smirked. ‘I’m still a part of my squad!’ squinted he meaningfully.

As such, he knew where the hidden stash of explosives they promptly left before the sortie was.

As a blacksmith in his civilian life, he knew the weak spots, the strain vectors, the points of load concentration… the places to position the charges for the maximum damage!

Trotting faster and faster, the unicorn hurried up the mountain side towards the small cave.

The next several hours were the hardest for him. As exhausted and psychologically devastated as he was, the stallion was to stand probably the most important battle since his birth – staying awake till the nightfall was crucial for him.

‘Let yourself close your eyes for a second and you’re screwed!’ repeated he inwardly. ‘There won’t be any way back or another chance, mate!’

The nasty dull rain fell and fell. Unable to spoil the charges carefully hidden in the small dry cave, it was trying its worse to lull the unicorn. To stay awake, the guard gathered a load of small and large sharp stones and paved himself the most uncomfortable and hardest bed he could imagine. Laying on it, even in a dry place and relative warmth, was extremely unpleasant, but at least each time his head made an attempt to nod in, it cocked up immediately, unable to find a feasible spot to rest. His only concern was to keep enough strength in his tired muscles to complete his mission, as his current position didn’t provide any relaxation.

There was nothing else he could do – returning to the bridge during the daylight, let alone doing something with it involving magic, wasn’t the smartest thing to undertake. The first thing he did, returning to the cave, was taking his armour off. With all the seeming irrationality of that, it was the smartest choice: being spotted by the prevailing enemy, the stallion wouldn’t benefit from the armour, otherwise carrying any excessive weight was futile, considering what he planned to do.

‘It’ll be another story when the night falls,’ thought the unicorn. ‘Most of the changelings will fall asleep, the rest won’t be very sharp either!’ he remembered the strange trait of those bug-ponies to become stiff when darkness and especially chill fell – there was a reason they stuck to the south, despite the Badlands were less than a fancy place to live. ‘If I keep as low and discreet as I can, this may play out as intended…’

Nothing changed after the sunset: the rain kept falling, increasing the humidity to the perceptible level; the clouds overshadowed the sky seemingly in two or three layers at once. Thus no moon lit the path of a single pony cautiously heading back to the bridge, carrying the heavy saddle bags of some load.

‘Thank Celestia, it’s quite warm still,’ the stallion glanced at the fog forming the drops of water, settling as tiny silvery spheres on his coat. ‘But the temperature is decreasing! If I succeed… Drop it, soldier! When I succeed, I need to be moving fast, not to freeze till morning.’

Barely discernible in the falling darkness, the bridge was empty and silent. Only its far end was faintly lit by the distant campfire. The changelings reacted the chill and humidity worse and, staying for the night, were to seek the means of keeping at least some warmth. The unicorn strained his eyes: a couple of smudged shadows sleepily moved in the circle of light; the crossing itself was practically unguarded. With a wry grin, he started descending accurately under the bridge leaf – the later his actions were spotted, the better.

‘The best – if not spotted at all… before it’s too late!’ thought the compelled saboteur, looking for a flat spot on the mountain side.

‘Okay!’ the stallion inhaled, levitating the heavy bags down to the stony platform and taking a look over the dark constructions. ‘Don’t know how I manage it alone, but…’

To his sheer luck, the falling temperature made most of the fog in the gorge condense by this hour. Safely hidden in the wide shadow of the bridge, the unicorn started implementing his plan. The first oblong charge floated to the desired place: the aura holding the object was the weakest possible, not to be spotted by an occasional observer; however, the light it gave was enough to see the nearest metalwork. Thus the guard perfectly knew where to place his gift.

That was the moment his former knowledge came to the full application again. Each new charge was placed at the crucial place: beam conjunctions, where three or more of them were fixed with multiple bolts, several points across the arcs supporting the bridge leaf, a couple of charges right under the far edge of the crossing, to reliably cut it off the canyon wall. The mines were relatively small but weighty. The stallion could avoid skimping them – there was nothing he could apply the explosives to anyway – each one would do its job perfectly when going off.

Realizing that he could never manage to set the chain interconnection of the planted charges singlehornedly, the stallion was to go with the separate cord for each one. He cut the cords short enough, not to give the enemy time to undertake anything, still within the certain plan. Thus the farthest charges had the longest cords, the closer – the shorter. Ideally, that would let him set all of them off almost simultaneously and still gave about two minutes of time to leave the impact zone safely.

With all the precaution and pauses, when he froze, making the next charge stop floating in the damp air, to listen if nopony was patrolling the bridge, it took him a few hours to position all the explosives properly. A couple of times, the stallion thought that he was about to get caught by the changelings: once the charge met the beam with an audible clank, amplified by the night gorge and hardly muffled by the stream raging below, the next time something clipped off the construction and fell when he fixed the charge in place. Most likely a nut rusted off and fell from its junction point – the stallion shook his head in reproach.

It was way past midnight when the job was finally done. Unnoticed and undisturbed by the enemy, the stallion sat on the emptied now saddle bags and took a breath, observing the work of his magic and hooves. Listening to the night, he was surprised by the sudden silence: even the waters at the bottom of the bridge sounded distant, not so standing out. The night seemed to be freezing in anticipation. In anticipation and fear of what should follow shortly.

‘Well… The moment of truth!’ the stallion inhaled the full chest of the smelling of water and moss darkness.

Seconds later the series of magical sparks floated to the placed charges one by one: first to the further ones, then closer and closer to the place he was hiding. The unicorn used the promptly made difference in cord length. Ensuring that all the crucial points lit throwing around small sparkles with the quiet fizz, he hurried up the mountain side, leaving his cover.

Maybe they heard the cords burning, maybe some sixth sense alerted the changelings, but some concerned activity started at the other end of the bridge. A few worried shouts echoed in the distance; somepony already trotted on the bridge, clanking on its metal surface. The unicorn didn’t even look back – he was sure that nopony spotted him; besides the time was extremely short. Almost galloping, with his remaining strength, the stallion reached the road side and rolled over the large overhanging rock, hiding under its protection right at the moment the night became bright as the day.

He could be proud of his work – the charges set off almost simultaneously. The darkness blasted into thousands of shards! The bridge, enveloped in the several roaring globes of fire, ceased to exist in less than a second, taking those who tried to cross it. The rocks boomed, echoing the explosion and making the unicorn crouch lower, as the blood-chilling rain of sharp debris showered the road and the mountains in front of his view – his cover turned very useful for one not wanting to become a metal stake impaled stew.

When the shockwave passed, the unicorn climbed out from that nook and trotted along the road, away from that place. The canyon still flickered brightly behind. A single glance over the shoulder told him that the remaining bridge constructions were blazing like a bunch of dry matches in the flames of the special highly effective thermite additive, containing in the used charges. A few dark shadows helplessly bustled at the other side of the gorge, looking smudged against the giant fire.

The unicorn smirked and, with the last bit of strength, hurried along the road between the mountains, while the night still crackled and hissed, burning out behind. It took him two hours more to reach the desert. In the face of the vast, sandy with rare and mostly thorny vegetation surface, which started being painted pink by the rising sun, he let out an exhausted smile. Almost falling off hooves, unable to see well from the colourful spots floating in his eyes, the young guard of Equestrian army, Willsmash Steel limped to the roadside and almost fell in the shadow of the large rock, leaning to its western side. Even before touching it, he drifted into the dreamless sleep resembling more the fainting of exhaustion.

“It appeared that I slept for more than a day, son,” chuckled Willsmash, throwing a glance at silent Alex. “I have no idea how I wasn’t found by any of the predators common for that area. Guess that was another example of unimaginable luck. That way exactly, I was found by the arriving main forces of the Equestrian army.”

“So… That’s not when you… When…” Alex stumbled, barely nodding and gesturing with his glance towards mister Steel’s muzzle. “Sorry, Uncle Will…”

“No, that’s another story,” the blacksmith shrugged with a tiny smile. “However, not very distant from the first one. A month later, when I fully recovered and returned back to duty, we were sent northwest along the border. To another of a few places the enemy army could use to infiltrate Equestrian territory effectively.”

“You know,” added Willsmash, “contrary to popular belief, not all the changelings – I’d rather say less than one-fourth of them can really fly. Thus for them, the mountains always were as much of an obstacle as for most of the ponies. And magic is a complex thing anyway, so…”

Seeing that Alex kept sitting silently and expectantly, the old blacksmith sighed and continued sadly.

“The next episode wasn’t nearly exciting. Although, we can call any of it exciting only sitting here in safety…”

Alex nodded, thinking gloomily about something.

“…that was the one I left the army after,” said Willsmash. “Not much to tell about indeed.”

“In brief, I was to trade off a few lives to save a few thousand,” he gave up after a silent minute. “But that didn’t make the choice easier or… nobler. I was leading a unit already,” the old unicorn let out another sigh. “The command decided that the previous operation was a success, despite the losses from our side. Huh! It was a miracle only in terms that I survived. The rest though…” Willsmash pursed his lips.

“How on Equus…” started Alex; he stumbled confusedly. “The command was reasonable, evaluating your acts, Uncle Will… But…”

“You mean, why the public opinion of me became so low, Alex?” smirked Willsmash. “I suppose, some still can’t reconcile with the mere fact that I survived… when many didn’t. You see, the common opinion, among the civilians at least, was that I traded to spare my life somehow… Considering there were minimal casualties from the changelings’ side in that episode… maybe they have some weird reasons to think so, I don’t know. The second episode was only one extra reason to strengthen their speculations.”

“A month later – I finally recovered and tried to catch up with the daily duties – we were transferred northwest along the border. To support the troops holding another pathway from Badlands to Equestria… The same mountains, same chilly winds, same morning fog, just a little further to the north, thus a bit colder and more deserted. You know, Alex, that’s the part of the continent where the mountains not only cut between our lands but go almost directly from north to south deep into the Badlands – the area not overherded even by Badlands’ standards, not only by Equestrian,” the images of distant past unfolded in front of the old blacksmith’s inner sight as he was telling his story. “It was ten times harder to cross the ridges there than in that bridge area, even for the winged creatures… Even if there was a more or less usable pass.”

“I guess, Chrysalis’ plans for that area were based exactly on those supposedly thoughts of the Equestrian command!” Willsmash chuckled sarcastically. “That if the pass was hardly crossable, then it shouldn’t have been guarded heavily… Well, it was almost right! Almost…”

“Don’t say that such an obvious hole was underestimated!” Alex rolled his eyes, recognizing some similarities with their current situation.

“I don’t know, son,” the unicorn shook his head slowly. “When we arrived, they already blew up and blocked the main passage. But the changelings pushed and pushed. By that moment, there were more wounded – more or less severe – than those capable to fight from our side.”

“But it wasn’t the worst thing…” continued Willsmash after a pensive pause. “Civilians! Many of them were in the settlement right below the mountain pass exit. Those who provided garrison supplement and simple farmers, their families…” he grimaced from inward pain and continued. “We reported the situation right upon the arrival, but it would take some time to replenish the ponypower even in the best scenario.”

“It was my decision and my responsibility,” added the blacksmith. “Thankfully, the open encounter was impossible. What could sixty guards probably do in that case against the prevailing enemy except die? And I didn’t count the locals at all, my stallions only. The changelings tried to conquer the narrow path in the cliffs remaining there at that moment…”

Willsmash fell silent and seemed submerged in his memories to the unfathomable depth, so Alex even wanted to gain his attention politely but the unicorn suddenly continued his story.

“I decided to trade a few lives against several thousand… and I have no regrets. Would do that again, as many times as necessary. Yes, Alex, the settlement was that large,” the blacksmith raised the suddenly getting tired glance at the human. “Ten guards remained, including me, to defend that narrow cleft in the rocks. I chose each one myself and… would probably choose the same ones again.”

“The rest,” Willsmash let out a tiny smile, “took the wounded and retreated to the town. They were to organize the immediate departure of the civilians.”

“But…” Alex wanted to say that slowly retreating farmers would be easy prey for the breaking through changelings anyway.

“That is why we were to hold the pass for twenty-four hours at least, more if we were lucky,” Willsmash guessed Alex’s next question. “Twenty four hours was more than enough to prevent the enemy from catching up with them. We knew that reinforcement was on the way, so it wasn’t the act of complete despair… Almost!” half-coughed, half-chuckled the blacksmith.

“We held for two days,” simply stated Willsmash. “I witnessed the death of my guys with my own eyes, one by one… With my eye by the end of the first day,” corrected he with a wry face. “By some strange luck, I was the one who survived again… The avant-garde of the advancing reinforcement pulled the detonator from my weakening aura when I was nearly delusional, as they told me later.”

“Don’t thou say, Uncle Will, that those two episodes – with their outcome as it was – were exactly the reason for your continuous alienation?” Alex almost shouted, catching himself in time upon that and lowering the tone. “I… I can’t even…” he choked on words.

“I’m afraid they were,” simply said Willsmash. “Don’t forget son, those who judged back then didn’t have all the details behind their sight as we do. They had several dead soldiers, one survivor… Twice. The first time, the enemy casualties were minimal… They started suspecting…”

“Both times the strategic goal was achieved!” Alex interrupted him. “Both times thy decisions and acts helped to save many more lives than were lost during the missions!”

“That’s what we can conclude… seeing the events in their historical perspective,” shrugged the old unicorn. “I suppose for them things looked differently. And the rest… You know, Alex, I’m not even sure that all the ponyvillers know what exactly they “must avoid the Steels” for,” added he with a sad and almost apologetic smile.

“That’s exactly it!” Alex inserted ardently. “They don’t know why, but they must avoid you because some no more brains than stone pony said it was the proper thing to do. That thing hath the same roots as the reason making the builders call me an ape… with the only exception that in thy case that madness hath more massive nature.”

“I still fail to see thy fault in thine survival, Uncle Will!” added he. “Methinks one extra death wouldn’t make the situation less tragic, on the contrary rather…”

“Perhaps, they would have had nopony to blame then,” shrugged Willsmash. “I see your reasons, son, but… try to explain them to the families of the killed in action.”

“Personally, I regretted my survival either,” confessed the old blacksmith. “Knowing that it wouldn’t return my ponies, I still preferred to join them… before I found out about my brother and his family, about Silver Ingot… Since the day I started looking after her, seeing her grew from the tiny foal into the pretty girl you know, I never regretted that lucky survival, not any single time again.”

“Frankly speaking, I was always sure that I depleted my limit of personal luck for those three cases,” chuckled Willsmash, glancing at Alex slyly. “Survived two times and found out about Silver Ingot, taking custody of her. But shortly after we saw you at our smithy gate, I started thinking that there was a little bit more left.”

“Seeing where we are at the moment and how things are playing up for us, I wasn’t wrong!” he winked to the still pondering human.

“Methinks the society could have manifested more understanding!” Alex slowly shook his head. “Until recently, your reputation consisted mostly of the rumours they invented themselves about you both… What did Sil do to deserve that, pray tell? Well, I guess this is the vision of those who never sacrificed their lives,” added he scowlingly.

“I wasn’t sure if I needed to fight the public opinion,” sighed Willsmash. “Especially as we managed to make it through. Besides, I really felt scratching the bottom of my own luck.”

“I extend mine hope we can change things completely anon!” Alex even clenched his fists, infuriated by the ponies stubborn in their speculations. For him, it was enough of a sign that, by the words of Twilight herself, half of the town gathered, guessing about the “fireworks” – their training with Luna – but nopony approached the smithy except Twilight and Fluttershy. Even after many of them cautiously resumed placing orders there.

“For each its time!” smirked Willsmash; the old unicorn sat staring into the condensing darkness slightly dispelled by the warm glow – Silver Ingot started turning on the lights in the house. “We can’t predict all the turns, but everything done has its purpose!” He threw a meaningful glance at Alex. “I think you need to be somewhere else already, son. Could bet on them waiting for you back earlier tonight…”

“Yeah, Uncle Will, I guess so…” Alex let out a smile, returning to more positive thoughts at the mention of Fluttershy and the foals. He threw a glance at the house behind with its warmly lit windows. “Wish Silver Ingot goodnight for me!”

“And… thanks again, Uncle Will!” That came from the darkening skies already, accompanied by the sound of receding wings.

“Here. We. Go!” Alex breathed out, forcing the wrench a bit further down with each word. The bolt gave in a tiny bit and turned with an audible short dry sound, reaching its complete stop. “Solid as a rock!”

He removed the wrench and took a critical look over the base of one of the windmill props: one of the four places where the openwork metal frame connected to its counterparts concreted deeply into the ground. Performing the prophylactic maintenance for Rarity’s generator, as he promised, Alex started with checking all the joints and bolts fixing them, examining the entire construction for the possible signs of rust and generally brushing off the dust and fallen leaves from the large frame of the windmill. To do that, he was to fly around, occasionally clinging to the metal frame like a bat and paying each nut and bolt some attention.

That level of precaution wasn’t unnecessary, as the windmill was placed amidst the glade in the garden behind Rarity’s house, so its rotor couldn’t catch the twigs and branches of the nearby trees and at the same time was opened to all the winds reaching that place. Naturally, the winds were expected to be strong during the approaching winter, straining the entire construction considerably. Each loose joint became a source of vibration and increasing vibration would yank and loosen the weak bolts more, making the entire construction dangerous. Dust and dirt were simply unwelcome, capable to clog up the moving parts, so was the rust.

“Now it’s ready to withstand all the winter surprises,” Alex put away the large wrench. “We need to repaint a couple of spots, there and there!” He pointed at the top of the frame, under the rotor part. “Otherwise, it’s in perfect condition.”

Saying that, Alex pondered: the windmill was high enough to peek from between the lush garden trees, thus reaching the top of the frame was a non-trivial task even for a unicorn. With a sigh, he was to admit – he either needed to do it himself or ask one of the pegasi for help.

“As you say, darling!” batting her long eyelashes, Rarity cooed sweetly. “I know nothing about your technical stuff, so I trust your judgment as it is, Ahlex!”

Sporting two pairs of her best fashionable boots, a short warm jacket with a fluffy collar and a pair of comfy ear-warmers, the white unicorn mare bustled around the working human since morning. Sweetie Belle was at school with her friends, so Rarity could devote all her attention to the one, who, frankly speaking, would prefer to have less of it for his inner tranquillity. To her credit, the glamorous fashionista was of some help either, not only circling around Alex and entertaining him with nonchalant chatter. Unexpectedly, she volunteered to hand him the various wrenches, picking them with her aura from the tool set and levitating to Alex, while he examined the metal frame. That, of course, freed him of the necessity to descend numerously, but at the same time impressed Alex beyond imaginable. He fancied that level of cooperation in the so-called dirty work to be rather suspicious.

‘While much easier physically,’ said Alex to himself, remembering how he performed similar procedure for Applejack with her several generators, water pumps and anti-fruit bat buzzers, ‘the same work hither is evidently more psychologically straining… considering the… working conditions!’ He threw a glance back at watching him with a content smile Rarity. There, in the middle of her garden, practically hidden from the foreign eyes even in late autumn and without possible support of Sweetie Belle (who could restrain Rarity’s ardour at least by her mere presence), he was to keep a constant eye on the girl. The latter already locked at him like a homing missile and looked as if she was only choosing, which side to approach from. Spending quite a long time with him, but technically out of reach – while Alex was examining the frame and Rarity could only watch from the ground – wasn’t making his task easier.

Rarely for late November, the sun was shining through the bare garden trees, sending the sun glares dance on the metal surfaces. The snowflakes swirled in the already frosty air; however, piercing the rare thin clouds, the sun rays warmed pleasantly everypony ready to expose to them. The town sounds reached the back garden muffled, incapable to break the almost mirthful mood of the place… which kept Alex on pins and needles!

‘It was more intimate in the SPA back then only! Ughhh!’

Checking the transmission shaft, Alex disconnected it from the gearbox and reached for the proper wrench from the tool kit unfolded on the barely touched by hoarfrost grass. His sight met one already enveloped in the sapphire aura and levitating midair.

“Mmm… Not that one, the next smaller please,” he squeezed out a smile, intercepting the girl’s half-lidded glance. “Thanks, Rarity!”

Opening the casing, Alex felt her scorching attention with his entire back. The peculiar heavy viscous smell of the greasing filled the air. To prepare the gears for winter, it was to be changed for the denser, more cold-resisting one. But before that, he needed to remove the remnants of the old; gathering it into the can and wiping everything he could reach, Alex heard how Rarity moved closer.

“Ewww! It’s sticky by its mere look, darling!” drawled she. However, the voice Alex heard was quite cheerful and even musing, not nearly as loathing as could be expected towards the substances alike.

Throwing a glance over the shoulder, the human noticed how the unicorn girl was watching his hands cleaning the mechanism; with a dreamy face, Rarity was biting her lip. In her glazed eyes, Alex clearly saw the readiness to drabble in that oil all over, if only he would be the one rubbing her back under the hot shower later. Alex shuddered, so vividly he imagined the entire scene as if he was able to read Rarity’s mind at the moment. At the latest Sisterhooves Social festival, the girl already found out that getting dirty wasn’t deadly at all, especially if that was called for better understanding between the sisters. Here though, the possible prize looked even more promising. Weighing the chances, Rarity was going to use the tiniest one most determinedly if that could bring the achievement closer. Alex already planned the retreat ways, hearing the excited intermittent breath behind his ear.

The salvation came at a moment and in a way least expected – right from the clear sky literally. Some shadow fell on the windmill base, obstructing the sunlight for Alex and Rarity; a dash of grey with long show-white stripes almost fell from above and jetted around the windmill, around the dazed human and unicorn. Almost whistling with the strong oncoming wind, the smudged silhouette made two or three full circles, making the remaining dry leaves rise in the air and swirl like a small hurricane.

The newcomer turned out a tall cloudy grey pegasus mare with snow-white mane and tail; she drop-landed right next to Alex, inhaling the air noisily.

“Oh, dear! What a ruffianism!” startled by that flashy appearance, Rarity even jumped back a little. Overcoming the initial fright, she threw a reproachful gaze at the mare. “What’s the urge for such a noisy rush?!”

“Rainstorm?!” Alex blinked, he just dropped the wrench and the can; oil trailed down his fingers.

“The Seeker! At the Winsome Falls! Come on, Alex! We should hurry!” Before anypony could utter anything else, Rainstorm, who already regained her breath, blurted with the speed of a machine-gun, completely ignoring the incoming glares from Rarity. “If we want to… if we want to intercept it… before it runs away or… Alex?!” she shook him on the shoulder impatiently.

“Sorry, Rainstorm. What again?” Alex looked as if he was splashed with the cold water; seconds ago he feverishly sought for the means to dodge the next Rarity’s desire tide – the transition became too abrupt for him.

“Yeah,” noticed Rarity a bit grumpily. “Personally, I didn’t understand a thing…”

Sending an electric-blue spear from her wide-open eyes into Rarity, Rainstorm took a deep breath.

“The weather pegasi,” rolling her eyes, she started anew, that time slower, more measured, “spotted something large, dark and hideous near Winsome Falls. When I heard that, I flew there to check myself… And, of course, I saw that… monster wandering among the trees. So I dashed to the smithy, then to the Library, where Twilight told me that I could find you here,” she took another impatient look around, circling “here” with her eyes. “Please, Alex! We need to go fast before the Seeker runs away or hurts somepony or… does anything else as awful. Especially if we want to… you know… test that thing!” her electric-blue eyes addressed Alex, turning from scornful to almost pleading.

“Fine!” catching her eager glance, Alex accepted the inevitable. “But we need to suit you up for that and…”

“Exactly!” Rainstorm jumped on the spot. “The shorter is the time! I did what I could…” she waved her tail; Alex and Rarity noticed that she already braided it and her long wavy mane tightly. “But I need some help with the rest!”

“…and I need to fix that in place first,” Alex returned the gearbox cover on its place and started screwing in the bolts by hand.

“I heard that name – Winsome Falls, but have no idea where the area is,” he glanced at Rainstorm, who alternated from hoof to hoof, ruffling her wings impatiently. “You’ll need to show.”

“Ahlex, dear!” Rarity levitated a piece of clean cloth for him to wipe machine oil off the hands. “It’s a precious picturesque place we like to go camping to with the girls!” She realized those two being serious about confronting the Seeker on sight. Approximately knowing how exactly they could do it, she looked up at Alex. “I mean… Try not to… demolish the place completely, please! It would be awful to lose such a beauty!”

Rainstorm huffed quietly; Alex checked the transmission shaft once again and locked it in the unattached position.

“Apologies! I shall return anon and finish with it,” he turned to Rarity with a forced smile. “Please, dost not touch anything till then!”

“Of course, darling!” that was said already into the backs of two winged figures, soaring up with a swirl of leaves from her lawn. “Like if I would…” watching the receding black wings and still levitating the cloth, Rarity added quietly with a sigh. ‘Yet another chance lost!’ could be read in her resigned look.

“I trained to fly in it all the time since you gave it!” confessed Rainstorm under Alex’s surprised glance, when they darted from her house twenty minutes later. “It’s unusual for the start… The worst is the helmet – it limits the view indeed, but…”

‘But I have an aim!’ added she inwardly, raising higher with a few powerful flaps and heading north-east of the town instantly. Alex followed Rainstorm, watching her moves with involuntary admiration: the mare managed to get accustomed to the weight of the armour and all the additional clumsiness unbelievably fast, making her flight look almost unaffected.

“Rainbow Dash helped me with the weather job, while I was training!” said Rainstorm. “Actually, she took my shift a few times,” added she with a mixture of gratitude and awkwardness.

Most of the preparation time, they spent putting all the armour on Rainstorm, not to mention that Alex checked each clasp and buckle twice. Heavy on the first sight – it covered the entire frame of the pegasus mare – that armour was the lightest Alex and Willsmash could make, while still keeping it effective protection. The only piece, still unattached for the reasons mentioned, was the helmet, strapped at Rainstorm’s hip. That exactly set of armour was made specifically for her, by the mare’s precise measurements, and had a couple of secret features. The entire shape, while staying as aerodynamic as possible, was made angular and sharp. Not only to reflect possible projectiles but to rip and cut the potential enemy flesh upon collision, thus playing on the natural advantages of the lightning-fast pegasus and practically turning Rainstorm into a light flying tank. Remembering Alex’s stories about human history, Twilight once said that he definitely took some inspiration from the combat helicopter shapes when projecting that armour.

But the most significant was another secret feature, Alex and Willsmash tried to implement for the first time. When its owner was in the most natural pony resting pose – sitting on the ground – the armour parts came into contact with each other that way the weight of the upper details was distributed to the lower ones, so the entire construction practically held itself without much strain to the owner. They planned to use that method in all the future versions of guard armour, but decided to test it first.

However, despite all of the advantages, Alex wanted to be personally sure that everything would go without a hiccup, thus checking and tightening everything again and again, while Rainstorm already asked him to hurry.

“Art thou sure thou can cope with that?” he nodded towards the short spear-like weapon Rainstorm carried; together they decided that due to the Seekers’ usual size and bulkiness, testing their durability and stamina wasn’t Rainstorm’s aim, especially for her first try. Her best chance would be to break the monster’s integrity with one fast strike, for which Alex had one more unvoiced yet plan.

“It seems that you are even more concerned and jumpy about the entire thing than I should be!” instead of an answer, Rainstorm let out a tiny smile, pulling the weapon closer to herself. “I’m fine!”

Alex muttered something anxiously on the fly. Sliding by under them, the town was left behind; fields and orchards started flashing by. The entire landscape went constantly uphill and the first rock formations appeared, protruding on both sides of an old dirt road they used as the landmark. The low mountain slope appeared as if popping from under the ground; Rainstorm darted up and Alex was to follow her, while the road snaked below, meandering up the mountain side.

The human and the pegasus mare emerged from behind the mountain plateau… and Alex couldn’t help opening his mouth, stunned by the revealed sight for a second. There lay a woodland valley, squeezed by the mountain shelves from west and east. Coming over the plateau edge, the road entered it and headed north, becoming overgrown little by little and turning into a forest path, then gradually dissolving between the trees completely. The forest wasn’t very thick there, denser at the edges of the valley and looser in the middle, where it was cut by the joyfully running stream. The latter threaded through the entire valley from the north, becoming more and more affluent and then turning east, out of their view; coming from the distance, the loud noise of the large waterfall hinted of where the entire water mass went. Alex was to admit that with its natural terraces and variform deciduous forest the valley was a very picturesque corner of Equestria, even in those late autumn days.

But that wasn’t the main peculiarity of that place. Shimmering in the bright sunlight with all the colours of the rainbow, numerous waterfalls, large and small, were cascading from both mountain shelves into the valley. Mixing and merging there, they formed that stream in the middle. Alex astonishment was easily explicable: all colours of the rainbow wasn’t just a figure of speech, called by the play of the falling water in the rays of the afternoon sun. Each of those waterfalls was of its own colour, juicy and bright; together they formed and repeated over and over the liquid flowing rainbow, covering the mountain slopes. Alex thought that the reason for that natural phenomenon was in some minerals coming to the surface and forming the streambeds, specific for each waterfall, as coming together on the flat they merged into an unbelievably crystal, yet simply transparent water, like all colours of the rainbow form the white colour when mixed.

“Winsome Falls!” stated Rainstorm, throwing an amused glance at the dumbfounded human; then the mare turned serious. “Let’s find that abomination before it reaches some dwelling!”

“Wait a second!” gesturing for her to follow, Alex landed on the dirt road at the valley entrance.

“Before you run into the Seeker…” when the mare landed next to him, Alex took the helmet from her hip. “Here goes,” he put it on Rainstorm’s head, gathering her snow-white braided mane inside and ensuring that the head piece was properly fixed.

“One last thing!” before Rainstorm could say anything, Alex pulled her short spear and squeezed the pike in his hand, cutting the skin on his palm. He quickly covered the blade with his blood, before the visibly healing wound patched up completely.

“You’ll need one good hit! Stick it right into that bastard, girl!” he looked into her widened eyes.

Scanning the woodland below, they slowly progressed north. Oaks and beeches slid by under the spread wings, spreading their branches as wide as the space allowed; interspersed between them, smaller aspens fluttered their remaining almost brown leaves in the wind. Long threads of the darkened from the cold air moss trailed from the older trees almost reaching the ground. Tall slender birch trees stood separately in small groups, like some shy fillies at the ball; dropping their summer dresses completely, they looked into the cold unusually clear sky wistfully. The thick, moderately dry soil was densely speckled by some deciduous, thus already bare, and by the frost-hardy juniper-like shrubs; the latter were flaunting their juicy, almost untouched attire. All the water in the valley quickly gathered in the multitude of streams and springs created by the shiny colourful waterfalls, to gather finally in the main flow. Thankfully the forest wasn’t very dense; easy to look through without most of its foliage, it couldn’t effectively hide a large enough, moving creature.

Alex felt the presence of that malicious creature as soon as they reached the valley. The sensation was quite weak at first, making him hope that the Seeker, which could feel the human as well, wouldn’t be repelled by it instantly. He threw a quick glance at Rainstorm: unable to see the mare’s muzzle because of the helmet, Alex still noticed, how ruffled her wings became, being the clear sign of uneasiness and anxiety bothering her.

“If that’s what these monsters make one feel,” the voice sounded muffled, like from the steel barrel, “then, I suppose, this-a-way!” hovering in the air, Rainstorm poked with her fore hoof somewhere north-east. Inwardly praising the mare for listening and remembering everything he told her about the Seekers, Alex confirmed Rainstorm’s reasoning.

“Lead the way then,” he nodded with a light smile, appreciating the easiness she dived and sped up with towards the source of the mental disturbance.

They descended a little, flying now barely above the highest tree tops. Alex knew that the monster couldn’t see in the usual sense of that term, but he preferred not to risk anything. It was the first encounter for Rainstorm, besides, practically an experiment – he wanted to keep the conditions as close to ideal as possible.

She lead them almost in the beeline, despite Alex thought that locating the creature would take more effort for the beginner. Perhaps her purposefulness and determination had sharpened the mare’s senses; nothing could distract Rainstorm from her aim. Only once, she turned back, missing the maximum of the Seeker-induced effect, but quickly realizing her mistake when the tension started to fade.

The mare and the human slowed down, proceeding with even more caution and spotting their enemy almost simultaneously. Gliding in the air, Rainstorm slid closer to Alex and silently gestured towards the eastern mountain side, where the forest became denser. Alex nodded; hovering with the slow, strong flaps, he already saw the dark spot moving through the thicket.

Even a single glance was enough to tell that the Seeker tried its best to sneak along its path as stealthily as the large bulky carcass could only allow. Keeping under the large trees where possible and quickly crossing the open glades, it wasn’t wandering but clearly headed to some, known only to its master, aim.

‘Even if their method of orientation isn’t some vision literally, it still must be quite effective to compete with such!’ Alex watched, how the dark abomination traversed the forest, avoiding the obstacles with ease of a sighted creature. By the movements, visible weight and density of it, he concluded that the Seeker was fully materialized. It was trotting through the thicket, stopping for a moment, as if the monster was sniffing out something, even turning back and making a small slow loop occasionally – feeling Alex’s presence, it was alerted but couldn’t determine the proper direction yet. However, despite the disturbed movements, the Seeker kept its general direction south-wise.

“This one, surprisingly, wants to stay unnoticed from the very beginning!” noticed Alex, gesturing to get lower between the trees. He remembered that previously the Seekers never tried to sneak or hide on purpose unless being chased by something threatening them.

“If it keeps that way, it reaches the Winsome Falls edge in no time,” Rainstorm voice became worried. “And if it prefers to stay unnoticed… except the old road, there is a covert path along the large waterfall. The monster can reach the north-eastern wing of Everfree… or Ponyville from the east if it needs,” added she meaningfully.

‘Everfree… Again Everfree’ feeling that he was overlooking something important, Alex squinted – compared to the nearby vegetation, the beast looked at least four times larger than the pegasus mare. He glanced at his companion: despite the closed steel helmet, Alex could almost see her nearly pleading eyes. He was to admit that they had no other chance; besides, Rainstorm was right – nopony knew where the monster could head, exiting the valley. Alex pursed his lips.

“That Seeker is fully materialized,” whispered he to the listening mare, “thou needst to pierce its skin… whatev’r it hath, hard enough with thy spear.”

“One last time, Rainstorm, art thou confident about thy acts?”

Weighing her weapon instead of an answer, the mare darted towards the Seeker. Alex could only follow her: far enough not to interfere the fight, which was going to rage in a moment, yet close enough to come to Rainstorm’s aid if anything went unruly.

As if confirming Alex’s concerns, the Seeker entered the open bank of the nearby stream and stopped; the monster almost looked lost. But the reason was different: the Seeker heard the approaching threat – seeing the abhorrent enemy in a stone’s throw, Rainstorm couldn’t hide the whiz of the steel, caused by her daring dash. The beast turned around; in a moment, its red glowing “eye” stared right at the attacking pegasus.

Time stopped! Like enthralled, Alex watched the reared up Seeker and dashing Rainstorm, who turned into the aimed strung spear herself. However, his consciousness already relaxed as if telling him that somehow everything turned out exactly as they planned it to do.

Reaching her maximum speed in that reckless dash, Rainstorm couldn’t avert her trajectory fast, even if she wanted. She looked as if she was going to pierce the enemy with her entire self, literally going through the Seeker. Amazedly, Alex had to admit that a blow that hard would have undoubtedly crumpled the monster, despite its advantage in size and mass – it was as dangerous for the mare herself though.

Raising its fore hooves to deflect the blazing attack, the Seeker miraculously dodged at the very last moment. Rainstorm whizzed by, for a short moment meeting with the enemy “face-to-face”. Nothing happened! Slowing down with the visible effort, the mare turned around and hovered in the air, regaining her breath.

‘It worked! The helmet worked against the Seeker!’ beat in her head constantly; unwittingly Rainstorm shouted that aloud with elation, making Alex nod with a tiny smile. However, it was early to triumph.

Encouraged by the armour effectiveness – even the general psychological pressure caused by the creature stopped bothering her noticeably – Rainstorm undertook a series of fast dashing attacks on the Seeker, dancing in the air around the hopping beast and trying to find a weak spot in its defence. On the one hoof, she could handle the situation perfectly – the overwhelming feeling visited her for the first time after that unholy day on the dam deprived her of the family. On the other hoof, the Seeker wasn’t going to become a clay pigeon either: the beast was fully aware of the threat that strangely durable and immune to its impact pegasus mare provided. Besides, Alex couldn’t keep enough distance to eliminate his own influence completely, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to watch and come to aid in time. Thus the monster, feeling his presence, was trying its best to evade the fight and start escaping the valley.

Trying to keep both Rainstorm and Alex in front of itself, the Seeker started darting around, squatting on hind legs and retreating. It was to turn and react fast, as the infuriated by the fight mare gave it no time to relax. However, the Seeker kept using its fore hooves to its defence quite effectively: every branch, every large enough stone on the ground became tossed into the air and launched towards the enemy with bullet speed. A few quite palpable hits screeched on the angled armour, thankfully doing no harm: the slanted surfaces did their job deflecting the projectiles and quenching their energy.

One thing though made Alex squint in concern and grit his teeth: those monsters never tried that before – the sheets and tendrils of the Dark Mist shrouding the Seeker condensed suddenly. Swaying in the air in front of the beast, they formed another frontier, distracting the attacker and preventing the well-aimed critical hit. In addition to that, some of them began grabbing various wooden trash from the ground, launching it into Rainstorm as well. In a moment, the mare faced the already doubled or even tripled defensive action.

Alex cursed inwardly and unwittingly slid closer: the Seeker started jerking and flouncing about like rabid, feverishly seeking for an escape.

“No! Please! I can manage it!” Rainstorm’s voice sounded weary to Alex, despite it still was full of enthusiasm. She kept circling around the enemy like the angry steel wasp eager to sting with her blood-covered spear. Reluctantly, Alex was to soar higher, returning to the previous distance.

Regardless of her agility and speed of the experienced weather-pegasus, Rainstorm was to be careful: her wings – her greatest advantage over the enemy – were also her weak spot, forcedly left uncovered by the armour. Besides, she realized that letting the Seeker kick her spear away from her would be the worst mistake: picking it up during the fight was very problematic to impossible for her. Alex saw that concerned about her weapon integrity the mare couldn’t perform the proper strike – fast and powerful enough to penetrate the Seeker’s carcass. He was to admit that the dark abomination was surprisingly quick; wherever Rainstorm directed her hit, speeding up with the spear, there exactly the rock-solid hooves appeared, striking in the air and making her avert the sharp tip. Fanned from the small open glade by the circling rivals, the dry leaves and dust swirled up and clouded the fight; the clank of steel and the clatter of the heavy hooves overshadowed the sound of the nearby waterfall.

‘Why doesn’t she try to strike it into those tendrils?!’ flashed in Alex’s head. ‘That would be easier than trying to reach the body and my blood would still do the job!’ However, he realized that any advice could help or turn fatal equally easy, distracting Rainstorm in the heat of the battle.

Right in that moment of doubt, the unfolding tendril met the attacking pegasus in the air, hitting her side like the unrolling whip directed by an experienced herdsman. The strike was accidental, it came out not overly hard either, but it still appeared enough to make Rainstorm lose momentum, knocking her to the ground. For a second, the armoured silhouette disappeared in the dusty cloud; Alex’s heart sank.

Thankfully, the mare’s fall was directed away from the seeker: Rainstorm managed to fold her wings before hitting the ground and rolled to the edge of the glade with the clink of metal, losing some feathers. While she was stunned, the Seeker chose between the chance to attack and the ability to escape. Clumsily hopping on its hind legs, it turned on the spot and dashed away, seeking cover in the thicket and aiming to the valley exit.

“Rainstorm!” not giving a cockatrice ass about the escaping monster, Alex rushed to the mare; from his sight, hitting the ground was hard enough to wound her. But Rainstorm was getting up on her hooves already, shaking her head as if she got slightly contused.

“I… I’m okay! It’s just a few feathers!” she looked up at Alex and picked up the spear. “I can continue, but don’t let it escape!”

After a moment of hesitation, Alex nodded. The monster didn’t have time to get far. Gritting his teeth from anger, Alex darted after the Seeker. The air sizzled in his ears, muffling everything around except his own heartbeat. The ground below him, the trees and shrubs around, smudged into motley mishmash; several waterfalls on the mountain side merged into the proper rainbow sheet in his sight for a second.

Alex caught up with the Seeker on the riverbank. Outracing the beast, he turned around and hovered low above the ground, cutting its escape route. Dust, small twigs and leaves shot up into the air, directed by the powerful flaps of the vast wings. The Seeker braked sharply, almost furrowing the ground, then turned around and took off away from the blinding wall of forest trash and the pursuing sense of danger. It undertook a few attempts to hide under the vegetation and run around Alex, but the latter followed the creature closely, blocking its way each time and forcedly driving the Seeker back to the battle site.

Finally, the Seeker ran into the nearby waterfall edge, having no other way than intended. Herded along the bank, it jumped out back at the glade. With relief, Alex noticed that Rainstorm had already recomposed; with a light metal tingle, she soared, ready to deliver more punishment to the monster.

The battle returned to square one. Startled by the certain death coming on it from behind, the Seeker preferred to face the enemy, which it had chances to defeat. Going to fight to the last for its existence, moreover, for its task completion as Alex suspected, it ran directly to the mare. The opponents clashed again, exchanging the blows of hooves, steel and everything that came into their reach. The sun hid behind the sudden oncoming cloud and a draught of wind tossed again already settled dust and leaves.

‘Calamity! She taketh it harder, in the earnest!’ thought Alex. ‘It’s almost like mine encounter with the Timberwolves – she is simply losing time and strength that way!’ The Seeker already started pressing Rainstorm to the edge of the pond formed by the colourful waterfall.

‘It’s of no good!’ Rainstorm breathed heavily. ‘I can’t reach that bastard upfront!’ thought she, during another attempt to come around the turning to face her creature. Her sight fell on the monster’s plot the Seeker constantly kept away from the fight. ‘If only I could poke the monster in its fat ass, which it keeps low to the ground!’ She realized that with each passing minute her chances to outspeed the two-core carcass wilted out.

Before Rainstorm could do anything else, another strike of unwinding tentacle sent her directly into the pond.

Alex roared and unfolded the glaive, but before he rushed to help, the mare already surfaced the water. Thankfully, the waterfall basin was quite shallow. With the loud tingle of steel, Rainstorm shook herself like a dog, sending the drops fly; she was angry like a devil. The unfurled wings couldn’t lift her back into the sky; they were soaked through with water, becoming heavy and useless at once. Realizing that the monster wouldn’t give her a second chance to climb out, Rainstorm dashed to the shore, loudly splashing the water around.

She barely climbed onto the low bank, when the creature – stunned by the sudden vanishing of the enemy – came into motion again. Sensing her again, the Seeker rushed at the mare with the speed of an express. Something overshadowed the light for her; glancing up, the mare saw the unfurled wings occupying half of her sight and the glare on the unfolding glaive. Unable to fly with the wet wings, Rainstorm decided to go all-in: holding the short spear closer, she desperately rushed directly into the attacking beast.

It appeared almost next to her; raising on its hind legs, the Seeker was going to crush the mare once and for good. The red spark on its torso glowed viciously!

Putting all the remaining strength into that hit, Rainstorm dived under the attacking monster, using their size difference to reach what was previously unreachable. In a foolhardy dash, she thrust her weapon into the creature’s belly, opened to her for a second… and rolled aside in the last moment.

Already aiming a blow, Alex stopped and hovered in the air. The wound received by the Seeker wasn’t that severe itself; the spear tip barely entered the body. But as soon as it penetrated the skin, Alex’s blood came into play – clutching into the monster and eating away at its “flesh” like acid, tearing apart the very essence and the magical bonds holding the Seeker into one. The dull groan rolled across Winsome Falls valley, fading in the forest – shrouded by the falling apart and dissolving Dark Mist, the creature collapsed on the ground in convulsions. Escaping its disintegrating carcass in dishevelled threads and sheets, the magical essence started trailing towards the landed human, being absorbed by him and ceasing.

“This is it!” Rainstorm got up; spreading the wings, the mare shook the dust off them, then slowly approached the defeated enemy – little remained of it. “And stay down!” exclaimed she feelingly, stomping the steel-shod hoof onto the place the Seeker hit the ground and scattering the remnants of the Dark Mist. Caught by the strengthening wind, they were carried away and dissolved tracelessly among the trees.

Grabbing that single cloud overshadowing the sun, the wind started herding it away: the bright rays pierced the grey veil and fell into Winsome Falls valley, flooding the glade surrounded by the old spreading trees. Standing on the single untouched spot on the bank of the nearest waterfall basin – the rest of the glade looked as if it was ploughed by a dozen of road scrappers – the mare and the human raised their eyes at the flowing water. Dark green in the shadow, the narrow water sheet shimmered in the sunlight like a flow of liquid emerald, sending the bright glares to play everywhere its waters reached as drops and mist. The dusty steel of Rainstorm’s armour, the mirror-polished surface of the heavy, long helmet, her wet wings – everything shone with the multitude of joyful sparks. Hundreds of bright emerald eyes glared sharply from the spread cloud-grey feathers as if promising peril to the potential enemies.

Letting out a sound, which could only be interpreted as an overly satisfied huff, Rainstorm was fidgeting with the clasps; after a moment of struggling, she tore the helmet off brashly, closing her eyes for a second and inhaling the tart forest chillness.

‘That’s the retribution I couldn’t ever dream of!!!’

The strengthened wind was unbraiding and fanning up her long snow-white mane; it kept catching more and more fallen leaves, swirling them and giving birth to a small tornado around Rainstorm and Alex. Going through the waving branches, the sunrays threw the flickering light spots on the ground. A mysterious smile lit the mare’s muzzle, making Alex glance at his pegasus companion inquiringly.

“I have something to say!” the electric-blue eyes shone, raising to the clearing sky; faltering first, her voice suddenly deepened. “That’s not a spontaneous decision, the idea was hatching for a while… And now I’ve got the best approval of it! So, please, listen…”

Puzzled by her gravely tone accompanied by such a mysterious start, Alex could only nod.

“As the one who not only can clear these monsters from our world for good, but make others capable of that…”

“Rainstorm?!”

The mare shook her head impatiently, calling for his attention.

“… please accept… my service to the master! Henceforth and till the end…” Rainstorm bowed her head; the white mane veiled her face, but Alex felt how tensely she looked for the answer. It seemed that the whole forest around fell silent for a second; even the wind quieted down, paying respect for the waiting.

“I… I can’t accept the sacrifice so great, Rainstorm. I’m not some… sovereign or a… warlord,” the hand rested on her shoulder. Before the sparks of hopeful inspiration could fade, Alex kneeled to the mare and looked into her eyes. “But… help of the faithful friend is another story!!!”

The slanted rays of the late autumn sun were illuminating the large gallery, casting very long shadows of everything they passed by. It wasn’t that early in the morning, but given it was late November the day star was still quite low over the horizon, peeking into the high castle windows and playing with the stained-glass mosaic. Mixing with the light of the torches, it provided the colourful flickering under the high arcs and between tall columns; otherwise, the place would look gloomy during that season. Going along the hallway, under the mildly puzzled looks of the Day Guards, Alex and Fluttershy kept guessing what happened, making princess Celestia need them so urgently. The letter from her was business-like short and didn’t explain anything, except telling that she needed them for some case of high secrecy and importance.

Naturally capable to add two and two, keeping in mind what type of case Celestia could need them both at the same time, Alex supposed that they would need some adequate protection during their endeavour. While his own was always within, thanks to the magical helmet – Luna’s generous gift, Fluttershy would obviously need her own means to overcome various hazards; Alex strongly suspected that the latter would mostly be of the Seekers origins.

Fortunately, planning and undertaking the experiment with Rainstorm, Alex paid extra attention to that aspect. He cautiously discussed that problem with Rarity – Alex found out that challenging her with the matters of her trade was unimaginably safer than with his mere proximity – pulled by the right strings, inspiration flooded the enthusiastic unicorn mare, making her even safe to work side by side. Even if she still kept producing all sorts of affectionate sounds when Alex accidentally touched her, the work, especially unusual and sophisticated, was in the first place for Rarity. Thus for the last couple of weeks, they managed to bring Fluttershy’s famous spec-ops suit as close to the proper armour as it was only possible during the period that short.

Leaving the durable but thin inner tight-fit layer, Alex and Rarity enhanced the suit protection by adding the metal armour plates in the crucial points and the same chain-mail-like fabric Alex used in his own armour in the joints, which needed to stay flexible and durable at the same time. Remaining easy to use and nice to wear, the suit became equally tough by its nature as it was by its looks.

Following Alex through the long castle gallery, Fluttershy sported exactly that suit at the moment and felt mildly concerned; her wings, unfurling occasionally from anxiety, were quite indicative. They arrived at the castle a few minutes ago. For that, they were to wake up at the crack of dawn – Alex was to prepare on the eve and then snake out of the library, not waking anypony in the morning, all that solely to help Fluttershy suit up. Hitting the railway station in half an hour, they took the first train to Canterlot and spent the nearly four-hour ride in fruitless attempts to guess what princess Celestia could need them for exactly. That’s not mentioning the necessity to help Fluttershy suit up once again during the ride…

“Why fully armour-clad?” the guard at the castle entrance measured them with suspense, which looked naturally but was obviously played up. He and his colleagues were informed about their arrival and most likely instructed to let through or guide Alex and Fluttershy to the princess’ study.

Flying without any delay, right from the station to the castle, the human and the pegasus mare decided to enter the latter the usual way, as the regular guests or solicitors would do, even if they both could get right to the Princess with ease. Out of pure courtesy, both landed at the castle gate and made the entire way to the entrance, walking the most civilly, throwing a few glances at the long gallery windows and balconies, which opened to the façade. No wonder that Alex grimaced at that ostentatious security enforcement attempt.

The other reason was plainer, simpler and more obvious. Just a couple of days before, Crystal Chime – the aunt of Storm and Aurora Sunflower – arrived in Ponyville by the Canterlot Express and came to Fluttershy’s cottage. Twilight met miss Chime at the station and came with her. Most likely, that was also Twilight who arranged the trip, so, Crystal Chime arrived in the morning; they appeared at the doorstep when both Fluttershy and Alex were with the foals.

Crystal Chime was almost a copy of her sister Willow: the same stance, attractive muzzle, the kind and loving glance of the sparkly golden eyes. The latter though had more of the red tint, like the red gold; the tiny laughing threads, which could be seen from the close distance in the corners of her eyes, told that Crystal was slightly older. Unlike her sister, she was cutting her soft curly light coral mane shorter. Her light-greyish emerald coat kept that crystal faceted shine, making Alex stumble in surprise – he saw a crystal pony for the first time in his life. Seeing the saviours of her family in person, the mare flushed to the roots of her mane from confusion – she couldn’t find the proper words and those she could have been preparing jetted out of her mind in a second. With her cheeks sparkling and playing with the gradients of pink and light-emerald, like some may bug elytra, she rushed forward and squeezed tight first Alex and then Fluttershy. Tears sprinkled from the red-golden eyes when Crystal started nuzzling and cuddling the foals as if trying to make sure they were there indeed, not ashamed of that inevitable awkwardness.

Of course, both little Sunflowers were happy to see their auntie, the only family member they could freely stay with at the moment. However, their eyes were on the wet spot when the foals were to say goodbye to the pegasus girl and her human: Storm and Aurora got really attached to them for the last couple of weeks. Leaving Crystal Chime for a minute, the foals hung on Alex, pulling Fluttershy closer, thus staying in that collective hug for a while.

“If you come to Crystal Empire, visit us any time you want!” Crystal shook her shoulder-cut mane determinedly. “Miss Sparkle has my address. You’re always welcome…” her voice faltered and the mare sniffed. “Sorry!”

“Yeah, promise to come!” Storm and Aurora supported her wholeheartedly, making Alex give his word. Seeing them leaving with Twilight and Crystal Chime, Alex swallowed a lump; he hugged Fluttershy, whose eyes were glistening with tears as he could notice.

Alex sighed; it was natural that he still had the right to keep some residual grumpiness and a low tolerance for the stupid bureaucracy.

“Her Highness’ message supposed some… trouble…” dropped the human, scanning the entrance hall behind the guards’ backs. “That was only a natural choice!”

“Hmmm…” muttered the leader guard. “We were warned indeed of the importance…”

‘Then why the hay you’re lingering hither?!’ Alex inwardly facepalmed with the strength which could knock a manticore down.

“…you may go, but leave your luggage here at the entrance,” meanwhile, the guard continued, glancing at their “luggage”, humbly presented by two bags – the larger backpack was Alex’s. “You may take it upon leaving wherever Her Highness needs you to.”

“Excuse me?!” Alex wondered if he had misheard them. “Leave our bags hither? For the morning fog and general chillness to make our clothes as unpleasant to use as possible? Methinks I haven’t heard about a rule alike…”

Unbeknown to him, Alex’s wings unfurled of frustration, stretching up behind his spiky armoured shoulders; Fluttershy looked slightly absent – the girl alternated from hoof to hoof, throwing glances at the gallery above.

“Arghhh… Very well, we’ll bring them under the roof. Are you satisfied now?” groaned the guard commander, rolling his eyes in annoyance. After his slight gesture, one of his stallions pulled the bags inside, behind the first pair of castle doors. “You will find them in the entrance hall when you need them.”

“Well… I guess that’s the best we could hope for!” smirked Alex ironically. “Let’s go, Shy. I think Ti… princess Celestia is expecting us for a while already!”

“If you need direction, the guards in the castle can guide you!” huffed the commander – he knew that one of the visitors would be problematic.

“That won’t be necessary, thanks!” Alex coughed, stifling a laugh – he knew perfectly where they needed to be. The gallery leading to princesses’ rooms was accessible from the façade; with a short glance up, Alex soared, making everypony crouch from the wind the unfurling wings made. Fluttershy flew right behind him.

Followed by the bewildered looks from the castle doors, Alex quickly chose the closest to the left end of the gallery balcony and headed there. In a minute, a couple of armoured boots and two pairs of elegant hooves clanked on the open broad stone platform surrounded by the pony-chest-high railing. Throwing a quick look behind, Alex shrugged; the castle yard lay like a dish with cloudy edges, while the rest of the mountain side, Canterlot and the valley far below were hidden in the cold mist. Without saying a word, he and Fluttershy ruffled and shook their wings, shaking the small drops away; that simple thing made them share a sparkle of laughter.

Still smiling, they entered the high archway of the long gallery, greeted by the slightly bewildered guards, which even jerked towards the sudden intruders first, then relaxed upon recognition, throwing a couple of reproachful glances at the extravagantly appearing guests.

Looking at the edge of the hallway, where it turned to the tower stairwell, Alex headed left confidently. One thing he knew, smirking inwardly – he couldn’t get lost here for sure. Even if he hadn’t been there for a few months, Alex perfectly remembered which rooms and where located at this gallery. Winking at Fluttershy to dispel her tension, he hugged the girl’s fluffy shoulders lightly, beaconing to follow. Passing the high ornate double doors to Celestia’s bedroom, Alex and Fluttershy stopped in front of the next guarded ones. Taking a thorough appraising look over the visitors, one of the guards opened the door for them.

“Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia is waiting for you!”

Inhaling deeper, Alex moved aside the woven curtains behind the doors, making way for Fluttershy and himself. The large room under the high ceiling was decorated in light colours. The walls were almost entirely covered by the bookcases; with the déjà vu feeling, Alex noted for himself again that Celestia chose a perfectly fitting apprentice. The high window let the dim November light into the room and make the noble furniture and some books’ spines send humble sun flares. Reflecting in thousands of pendants of the large, single chandelier hanging from the centre of the ceiling, the light of several additional torch lamps helped keep the summer warmth there. The heavy table could easily compete with a billiard one; the high armchair behind it completed Celestia’s workplace. This time it was already occupied by Her Highness self; Alex and Fluttershy took a few steps further on the shin-deep carpet, approaching.

The princess’ eyes were still chained to some documents on her desk; she kept studying them pensively – the only sign that Celestia recognized their arrival was a noticeable greeting nod, while her expression oscillated somewhere between gloomy and concerned. Both human and pegasus mare stopped a few steps before the broad polished tabletop. Alex threw a glance at the papers, guessing if they were connected to the problem the princess needed them to help with. Fluttershy still looked a bit nervous, her movements became slightly sharp compared to the usual tender pony girl posture. The improved helmet, strapped to her side while unused, clanked shortly on the armour plate on the girl’s hip.

The large, pale-magenta eyes blinked at that sound and turned to Alex and Fluttershy, widening even more and rounding in a second. For a whole long minute, Princess Celestia stared inquisitively at her visitors.

“Sweet Harmony!” her habitual restraint let her down for a moment and princess Celestia openly facehoofed with a sigh. “I didn’t deserve all this, did I?” muttered she as if talking with herself, then added a bit louder. “Are you two complete hay-heads, Alex? Just look at you both…” she shook her head, refusing to believe her eyes. “I could expect something like that from my dearest sister… but you, Fluttershy… I admit it was a surprise to neigh the least!”

“Ahem!” Alex made a politely puzzled face, while Fluttershy seemed genuinely off guard, not catching up on what was causing the princess’ reaction. “And what’s wrong, Your Highness?”

“I would suppose something preventing your good hearing, Alex, if you were in your helmet…” said Celestia dryly. “As I said, have you seen yourselves? Wasn’t the secrecy one of the aspects I mentioned in my message?..”

With a shrug, Alex paid some attention to their with Fluttershy reflection in the large mirror next to Celestia’s study – according to him, it showed nothing overly extravagant. Fluttershy in the reflection looked up at the mirrored Alex and alternated from hoof to hoof with a quiet metal clanking of the armour.

“How do you plan to maintain secrecy with that look?” the Princess raised one eyebrow ironically. “What would the ponies say, noticing you both at the railway station dressed… should I better say armoured like that. You both looking as if you were going on a war!”

“Isn’t it already?!” before Fluttershy could say a word, Alex quietly articulated.

“Excuse me?” arching her neck like a swan, Princess Celestia turned to him.

“Isn’t it already a war?” repeated Alex clearly; his eyes narrowed ever so lightly. “Already with its casualties, damage and… almost – if your guards had been a tiny bit more cautious – orphans?” added he poisonously. “The war isn’t always as loud and overwhelming as we get used to reading in the books! It starting subtly doth not mean it is not starting at all…”

“For a claim that severe, you need some evidence more serious than several incidents, Alex!” calmly retorted Celestia, but the air in the room seemed to start electrifying. “You won’t deny that the Seekers don’t attack anypony, except you, on purpose.”

“They are literally seeking for something. Which for lest I know, alas… But methinks I’m close to the right guess,” Alex cocked his head with a challenge. “Not for ponies – yes, not for some commonly accepted wealth… yet that doth not mean their search is anyhow beneficial for us,” the human emphasized that last word. “Neither is their hypothetic master’s will, rest assured!”

“Believest me, Tia! It’s a war!” he drew the line confidently.

“Even if…” Celestia let out a stifled smile. “That doesn’t mean you need to reveal your current aims to everypony. I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t have your… armour, Alex, Fluttershy. But marching in it like that isn’t what we need for your task, believe me!”

“For the last half a year, you went a long road, Alex,” quietly sighed she, “but sometimes… I can clearly recognize the guy, sneaking along the castle galleries at night, knocking down chandeliers and setting the royal banners on fire to distract the guards!”

Alex snorted shortly, relaxing a bit, while Fluttershy asked something more significant.

“Railway station?!” the pegasus girl blinked in confusion. “Excuse me, Princess, but we just arrived here by train and… nopony was concerned too much about our looks…”

“I meant, in your further journey!” smiled Celestia diplomatically. “I doubt we need excessive attention to the simple fact that the designated Seeker fighters leaving full-clad for Crystal Empire. At least for the sake of not revealing that we leave our area less protected…”

“Crystal Empire?!” now both Fluttershy and Alex couldn’t help exclaiming in bewilderment.

“Yes! Crystal Empire,” Celestia tilted her head and glanced at them both imperturbably; enveloped in the light-golden aura, two rectangles of thick paper with shiny embossment floated to Alex and Fluttershy together with the aroma of roses, as the princess’ mane kept flowing even in the still air of the study. “Here are your tickets for the Crystal Express, departing,” she glanced at the large clock at the opposite wall, “in about an hour, from Canterlot railway station.”

“Apologies, but…”

“I hope, you’ve read the rest of my letter more attentively, Alex,” Celestia’s ironic look was unbearably confident as if the mere departure was already a solved question, “and packed some warm clothes, for the Frozen North isn’t called so for no reason.”

“I packed warm clothes anyway, for the winter is coming!” said Alex with frustration. “So did Fluttershy. But… Crystal Empire… Now?! What’s the race for if ‘t be true I may inquire?”

“Yeah…” drawled Fluttershy, throwing a quick concerned gaze up at Alex. “It was… a bit…” she stumbled, noticeably looking for a more polite word, “unexpected. We didn't have much time to…”

‘Thanks to Harmony, I asked Jackie and Rainbow to take care of my animals!’ jetted in her head. ‘Those which aren’t hibernating anyway… And Angel stays with Twilight for a while – they seemed to find common ground with Spike, so, I can be calm at least about that. And…’

‘Merlin’s pants!’ Alex inwardly praised himself for prudency: he had mixed feelings about vague Celestia’s letter from the very start and decided to take some necessary precautions. ‘I managed to notify Twilight what to do in the emergency cases; the rest will think we stopped in Canterlot for a while. But more importantly, I gave complete instructions to Rainstorm!’ Alex sighed at the thought of that premature, thus unwanted but inevitable choice. ‘Alas, in mine absence, she is the only one capable of confronting and defeating at least a single Seeker.’

‘Please! May it be calm there for a week…’ pleaded he inwardly. ‘Or… Damn, I have no idea for how long we are going into that!’

“I wouldn’t ask you both if the situation didn’t demand,” firmly stated Celestia, pointing at the papers in front of her. “Crystal Empire needs help against the Seekers! It sounds as if they are having a major breakout there…”

Alex groaned, rubbing his temples; the Princess noticed how he instinctively jerked in an urge to undertake something.

“…for the time being, they manage to distract the monsters and keep it without major harm or destruction, let alone casualties,” added Celestia more soothingly. “But these are Seekers and…”

“… you can’t predict what they would play out the next moment!” Alex finished for her grumpily.

“That’s what Shining wrote in the letter exactly! And that’s why I thought your help may become in demand there, dear!” Celestia alternated to the pegasus girl; Fluttershy simply nodded seriously, making Alex admire her capability to brace herself in a wink when it was gravely necessary.

“Okay!” Alex closed his eyes for a second. “What else should we know, Tia?” he already resigned inwardly with the inevitability of that journey’s evil.

“The letter was vague in that part,” Celestia’s voice turned genuinely regretful. “As you know, approaching the Seekers is fraught with consequences for the absolute majority of us. So… the information isn’t perfectly accurate and systematic.”

Alex smiled inwardly, hearing the familiar judicious tones: not earlier than that morning, Twilight did her best to calm him down regarding the sudden journey. Meanwhile, Celestia went on.

“They can’t tell the exact numbers, but…” she squinted, “there is a general feeling that the numbers are different each time, even if the Seekers move in a single… well, herd, mostly.”

“How is that…” Fluttershy looked confused.

“That’s why we suspect a major breakout, my filly. Mind that the numbers change not only into the increase side, but vice versa,” the Princess raised a meaningful glance from the letter. “So, I didn’t embellish the situation calling it utterly strange.”

“There is something strange in the Seekers behaviour and movement as well,” added Celestia. “But the general tendency is towards the Crystal city,” ended she with emphasis.

“Yes,” nodded the Day Princess, seeing Alex’s expression. “No matter how hard Shining’s guys try to distract the monsters, they seem to find the course. Singling out one or two of the Seekers for an elimination attempt didn’t give anything either. Especially considering that they can only try burning the monsters, which in the Frozen North conditions is quite problematic. Now you understand…” she ended abruptly.

A long pause hung, finally broken by the metal tingle when Fluttershy and Alex exchanged meaningful glances.

“The train is chosen as, unfortunately, we have no other means to deliver you both faster,” added Celestia with regret. “And flying there isn’t an option obviously. If not because of weather, then because of the distance – the Crystal Express covers it in about two days, and it’s quite a fast transport.”

Alex grimaced, imagining the possible length of their absence.

“Exactly! That’s why we don’t need to inform everypony about that journey openly!” Celestia looked into his eyes fixedly. “We’ll do our best to keep things in hooves here meanwhile!” she watched him for the signs of bitter irony, which according to the Princess were inevitable, but this time Alex said or expressed nothing alike. To Celestia’s surprise, he only uttered.

“Please, do your best!”

‘…Crystal Chime was to take the foals to the Crystal Empire as well! Merlin’s pants! Wouldn’t they be safer hither in that case?!’ flashed in his mind; at the same time, the very resembling Princess Celestia voice in his head scolded Alex at once. ‘Would you really expect Storm and Aurora staying with you two forever?!’

“Okay!” Alex inhaled noisily in a minute, making a decision after glancing at Fluttershy and getting a tiny nod from her; somehow, Alex felt that their thoughts were very similar at that moment. “We’re in, Tia! Anything else?”

“I sure hope you can find out more at the spot and… rule out the situation,” the Princess said softly. “If you need any supplies, we can provide almost anything. Although, don’t overload yourself as you can get the same in Crystal city. Shining will provide military support, but… you know…”

“The fewer amnesiacs, the better!” shortly nodded Alex. “Yes, we understand.”

“There was nothing we could do, Alex!” said Fluttershy, nuzzling him softly, when they waited for the train on the platform half an hour later. “How many of the monsters could they probably take out? And judging by the princess’ words, there are more than a dozen. Even the princesses can confront only one or two without major harm to themselves,” she dropped silent for a moment, then added. “And I’m not sure that Twilight or Cadence are in that group… There in the Apples’ Orchard, judging by what you told, Twi could only shield from them for a short while, I suppose…”

“That is why I hate doing that, Shy,” drawled Alex submerged in gloomy thoughts, despite the floral fragrant cuddle. “Leaving Ponyville and the nearest area almost unprotected, leaving Rainstorm to take on the burden… Nah!”

“Alex, you couldn’t cover the entire Equestria in a second anyway,” the small hoof stroked his arm. “I sure hope that princess Celestia puts her guards to better use than before, as she promised. But…”

“But?..” Alex looked into the girl’s eyes with interest; Fluttershy’s expression was unusually sly at that moment.

“Well, while you were busy, discussing the possible precautions with Twilight,” the filly raised one brow, “I managed to write a short letter to Luna. She must have already gotten it, as Twi promised to deliver it immediately.”

“Regardless of how Celestia sees our… mission,” continued Fluttershy, while Alex stared at her in surprise, “I asked Luna to keep an extra eye on the situation. Supposedly, her Night Watch can provide a valuable addition to the protection… definitely, the more determined one. Even in the daytime, I’m sure.” She shook her mane, bathing them in another wave of floral-honey aroma.

“Errmmm…” only could utter Alex. ‘I hope she doesn’t give up to the urge to help us more actively at our destination area!’ instead of any words he leaned in, finding the girl’s soft lips and giving her a kiss.

The platform was quite herded even at that early hour. The passing ponies threw mildly surprised glances at the waiting aside human and the pegasus mare on her hind legs, hugging him and resting her head on the human’s chest. But as both Alex and Fluttershy were without their armour already – Alex prudently helped the girl change in the castle – the attention was nearly moderate, letting them both hope that they fitted Celestia’s expectations.

A series of distant whistles sounded, approaching the station; Alex looked at the bags at his feet – with the third added, containing the girl’s armour – and hugged Fluttershy’s shoulders tighter.

23. On rail

Iridescent with colours from sky-blue to aquamarine, so it looked made of a single chunk of some crystal, the large locomotive rolled along the boarding platform, pulling the long sheets of fog from the depot and the neighbouring waterfall and startling the birds from the tracks with another loud whistle. Water drops shimmered in the rays of the rising sun, quickly evaporating on the shining machine-hull of the slowing down loco. The rays lit the train cars from behind, falling through the gaps and forming the visible slanted areas of light and shadow. They coloured everything on the station into the pastel gamma, turning the entire image into some surreal oil painting with the help of the fog. The latter burst onto the platform, mixing with the smoke, pressing it to the ground with its damp, cold streams; the misty sheets trailed and curled around the light posts, curved metalwork benches and large trunks of the trees behind the platform railing.

The platform came into motion with the awaiting ponies looking for their appropriate carriages, yawning, shivering off the damp morning chillness and stirring the fog with their legs while taking the seats according to the bought tickets. Contrary to the expectations, the Crystal Express was only half-booked from Canterlot, but those passengers were enough to herd the platform considerably.

‘Well, it’s the end of November, too early for the Hearthwarming visits and stuff,’ smirked Alex inwardly. “Nopony here wants to go where it is already colder unless absolutely needs to. Otherwise, the train would be full from here on… I bet it will be in a couple of weeks.”

“Hmm… The first car!” Alex peeked into their tickets and chuckled in surprise. “Tia literally wants us to get to the point as soon as possible…”

“Huh?” one fluffy yellow ear perked, turning to him; Fluttershy seemed a bit drifted into her own thoughts. “What did you say, dear?” She wanted to follow the boarding ponies, but Alex held her back gently.

“Wait, Shy! Why don’t we let them forward?” Alex threw a glance at the station clock, covering his eyes from the sun; the clock hands send bright golden and red glares. “The herd isn’t that large, but let’s not hustle within. We have time to linger.”

Fluttershy was to admit the reasons: staying behind, they managed to catch only a couple of interested glances – the majority of the ponies were too sleepy or occupied with their road plans to pay attention. In his turn, Alex was casually scanning the passengers, especially those boarding their train car. His glance slid across everypony passing by, not stopping on each for too long, yet making some mental list.

A few business ponies with their thin cases and futile attempt to push the serious look through the sleepiness. A loving couple, perhaps just married, considering the hot adoring glances they threw at each other. Fluttershy wrapped her fore legs around him and nuzzled his chest, making Alex smile. Several mid-aged mares, travelling no doubt together, climbed into the train car one by one; the aunties – how Alex inwardly called them – restlessly chattered, complaining of the morning chillness and humidity and wrapping into their shawls. Judging by the humble to fate mien of the trainpony stallion, the latter already foresaw all the problems he received with that pack, including the iterating requests to tinker with the car heating.

‘Yeah, nopony would take your place gladly now, pal!’ smirked Alex, exchanging meaningful glances with Fluttershy. ‘Those few can deliver more headache than a full carriage of royal guards, going on vacation.’

Another mid-aged stallion cheerfully trotted by, burdened with a small saddle bag only – a seasoned traveller, pushing his light-brown cowboy hat to the nape and throwing a glance at the station clock before entering. The sun emerged from behind the train car roof, hitting into Alex’s eyes and making him shield with the palm: a mare with two foals, seemingly a colt and a filly, glimpsed in his sun-blinded sight.

“Let’s move, gradually,” Alex pulled up both large bags; he wanted to grab the third one as well, but Fluttershy nodded towards her back unambiguously. Slowly, they followed the queue of the passengers, planning to enter the car the last.

Two more couples passed their view, one of which attracted Alex’s attention by the overly pompous and cocky look of the pegasus stallion, looking around as if they were some royals amidst the market square. His marefriend smiled around a bit apologetically – for the pretentious companion she loved no matter what.

Rolling onto the platform in the last few minutes before departure, a group of noisy, lively fillies and colts hopped to the car, joking and chattering like wound up. Most likely some students, perhaps of some artistic sphere, judging by their large sketch holders and folding easels, the company rushed into the train car by twos, jostling and laughing, making even the serious trainpony let out a smile. The unicorn filly, getting in the last, shot a sparkly gaze back at them, flushed and giggled when Alex helped Fluttershy into the car, then zoomed up the stairs with his heavy bags. The filly caught up with her mates, quickly whispered something to them on the go; as a result, a couple of students more glanced over their shoulders.

“Are you the last ones?” In response to Alex’s nod, the trainpony stallion followed them into the vestibule, raising the ramp and closing the car door. “We set off in a minute!” he saluted habitually. “Please, take your seats – the train may jolt while we pass the switches and tunnels.”

When they finally entered, the passageway was already empty: taking the seats as advised, the passengers had occupied their compartments, closing the doors and placing the luggage, preparing for a two-day ride. Reminding Alex of the large bees, the humming muffledly reached the corridor from behind of several doors. Just as the entire express, their car turned out half-occupied indeed. The bursts of laughter clearly showed the few sequent compartments the students settled in. With a smirk, Alex let Fluttershy forward and followed her to their stateroom.

Sliding aside, the door revealed a compartment, quite similar to the ones Alex already had a chance to use, travelling from Ponyville to Canterlot and back. With the only exception of it being larger and visibly more comfortable; apparently, that one aimed to make the long, otherwise tiresome journey more pleasant to the passengers. To Alex’s surprise, it appeared that a two-seats luxury was booked by the princess’ order; the compartments they passed were four-seats as Alex could notice through the ajar door of one. The richer trimming called to deliver more comfort to the eyes during the several days of railroad boredom: the wooden details were of different, yet soft and non-contrasting colours, forming a fitting ensemble together. The folding table was wider, more solid in construction, so were the sleeping berths – visibly softer and cosier. The compartment window took more space on the outer wall but had forced triple glazing, unequivocally showing that the car was made specifically for the cold regions travels. Suitable for prolonged storing, the luggage shelves could be closed and even locked, compared to ones on shuttles and short-distance trains. Appraising Celestia’s foresight in his own way, Alex chuckled, raising one eyebrow.

As they entered, the train car barely trembled; the loco started smoothly and slowly, boasting the well-maintained machinery and mastery of the motorpony. It moved on speeding up gradually: the bleary behind the condensing fog and steam silhouettes of the trees, lighting posts and station building started pulling back. The lamps floated behind the hazy glass like some jellyfishes; small drops smudged on the window surface as the Crystal Express gained speed. Despite all the accuracy, the car jerked noticeably on the first switch, making Alex catch Fluttershy around the shoulders, grabbing the table edge with his free hand.

“Why do I have a feeling that Tia’s secrecy wouldn’t meet its aim,” muttered he, burying his face into the girl’s fragrant hair and inhaling, then exhaling slowly and warmly at her nape. “Besides…”

Fluttershy cooed and shrugged in Alex’s embrace, snuggling into him and perking her ears from pleasure. The girl threw her face up, looking into his eyes, which pensively scanned the city landscape passing by in the window.

“What’s bothering you, Alex?” her fore legs reached to wrap around his neck, and before Alex could reply, his lips were covered with Fluttershy’s kiss. Drowning in its sweet, long tenderness, Alex ran his fingers through the soft yellow coat and thought that it was easy to lose all the constructive thoughts during that gentle yet electrifying his entire body trip.

“Mmm… The general ambiguity of the reports and Tia’s explanations…” Alex was to make a visible effort to tune in when their lips parted. “Of course, I can’t blame her, my love – she builds upon what she gets, but… The tickets booked by the royalty,” he chuckled, “and the trainmaster must be informed, naturally. Besides,” he looked down into Fluttershy’s turquoise eyes and stroked her shoulders, “I doubt that only one or two ponies know about the… “mission” there in Crystal Empire. The whole thing looks somewhat strange and…”

Alex threw another look through the window: the train long left the station, and the car floor perceptibly tilted towards the movement direction, showing that they were descending the mountainside. The city buildings and streets were distancing from the tracks; leaving the wide buffer zone, they slid by faster and faster. The train passed residential areas as the number of floors decreased from the centre to the outskirts with the private building.

“And?” the girl blinked, her eyes chained to Alex’s pensive face.

“Have you seen the mare boarding that train? The mare with two foals…” Alex looked back at Fluttershy.

“After that stallion in a hat? Probably… but not sure if I saw the details. The sun… umm… shone right into my eyes at that moment.”

“Same thing,” chuckled Alex. “They reminded me of Sunflowers. And then I thought that they were going to leave for Crystal Empire as well… There from exactly the problems grow… Let’s say, I’m cautiously expecting more troubles from that trip than it seemed from the comfort of Tia’s study.”

“Since when you’re being cautious?” Fluttershy glanced slyly; pulling up she planted another small kiss.

“Every time, my love,” Alex squeezed her lightly, making the girl almost purr, “whenever I am responsible not only for my own troublemaking self!”

Some growing echoing noise reached their ears from the left; jumping on another switch, the train entered the first mountain tunnel of the numerous. With whistling and sizzling and roaring, multiplied and amplified by the stone walls, it quickly pulled into the dark maw of the mountainside, making Fluttershy shortly squeak from the suddenly falling darkness. In a second, the bright train lamps turned on, changing the dark rocks behind the window to the mirrored view of their compartment. Alex looked into the sea-green eyes of his mirrored self, hugging the pegasus mare. For a second a strong déjà vu feeling visited him with the mental image of the very similar reflection but with Rarity in it; the mirror Alex shook his head like a wet dog, dispelling that image.

“Well, as for the mare and foals,” said Fluttershy with a tiny smile, “we can see all the passengers soon, I suppose. Don’t worry about the rest beforehand, please.” She lightly stroked his palm on her chest.

“By the way, have you seen that… pompous pegasus?” giggled the girl in a second, remembering.

“Yeah,” Alex made a wry mien, making Fluttershy laugh. “The one whose mere look screams troubles when it comes down to cooperation.”

The train emerged from the tunnel, but the lamps remained on: the motorpony properly decided that it would be a better economy not to jerk them on and off numerous times, as more tunnels were expected. The centre area of Canterlot was left behind, but the express constantly entered and left the living areas, which once were towns and settlements, but now turned into the districts of the spread across the mountain capital city. Diving into the echoing tunnels and emerging again, the train sewed its path around the mountain – as Alex could notice by the changing position of the sun – going down in the widening spiral. The purely mountainous landscape slowly changed, more trees started to appear between artificially greened districts. The forest was slowly taking over the stone, as the landscape was steadily descending: a few more miles and tunnels left before the express leaving the mountain.

“Excuse me!” The trainpony unicorn coughed and knocked on the half-closed door of the compartment, peeking in when Alex and Fluttershy responded permittingly. “Sir, ma’am, your bed-change!” he was levitating a stack of folded bed linen.

“Thanks!” Alex pulled the door wider, letting the stallion in; remembering about their luggage, he lifted and shoved two heavy bags into the luggage shelf and closed it, freeing more space of the compartment. Fluttershy put her saddle bag on the berth.

“Would you like the lunch delivered here, or have it in the dining car?” The trainpony glanced at them, pulling the special drawer with his aura.

“We probably take a walk a bit later indeed!” Alex and Fluttershy exchanged glances.

“Excellent! I’ll leave these here,” the unicorn began to put the linen into the drawer accurately, “just call me if you need an extra change. The lunch menu changes to the dinner one at three pm in the restaurant. But if you need some tea or coffee,” he nodded towards the car passageway, “we have everything necessary, including hot water, right here in the car.”

The train slowed down again, rumbling over the numerous switches and passing something resembling the freight depot. Under casual glance of the human and the mare, another district slid by. The living blocks interspersed bizarrely with industrial buildings and warehouses, framed by the usual vegetation. The large nameplate on the station building slowly entered Alex’s sight – the express was passing the area without a complete stop.

“Canterton… Canterton…” muttered Alex, unwittingly loud enough to be heard. “I heard that title somewhere, or…”

“You probably remember it from the sadly famous urban legend, sir,” the unicorn turned closing the bedding drawer shut and letting out a tiny smile. “About the long-closed Canterton high school and the ghost of one of the teachers inhabiting its walls. They neigh, the artist was brutally murdered by her ex. Sorry, ma’am!” added he, as Fluttershy shuddered visibly.

“I’m sure that isn’t the context I can connect the title with,” noticed Alex dryly, pulling the girl closer. “I would have remembered otherwise!”

“Well, eh… I hope you’ll enjoy the trip on the board of Crystal Express,” the trainpony saluted with his uniform cap, heading to the compartment door. “And don’t hesitate to call for any help necessary!”

“He probably took us for the less problematic from all of the passengers, judging by our boarding and stuff,” chuckled Alex, cuddling Fluttershy when the door closed. “Hmmm… Maybe Tia wasn’t entirely wrong about that secrecy thing…”

“You mean, he wouldn’t be so hospitable if we had tumbled into the car full armour-clad?” smiled Fluttershy.

“Who knows…”

Alex threw another look through the window: the landscape kept steadily descending, trees grew right next to the tracks here. It became noticeably darker as the train entered the properly forested area. Canterlot was left behind completely but the mountains. At first, it seemed that they were heading back to Ponyville instead, as the tracks reached the mountain foot exactly where tracks from their town approached it. For a short while, the express was even moving south on the plateau, then slowly turned north, running away from another line.

Hugging the soft, warm shoulders from behind, Alex watched the passing by trees, the overgrown area. Their train was leaving the mountains, but it needed to cross the woods before running into the valley, a nice view of which they had from the height. Squeezed between the forest on the south – where exactly the Crystal Express was rushing through – and the hills on the north, the rest of the valley looked like some colourful patchwork of fields with single houses and farms scattered here and there. Darker near the mountain and lighter, almost like dusked gold, further to the west (the soil everywhere was already ploughed for winter); it was lit by the rising sun, which painted the clouds above the horizon with all tints of pink, yellow and golden.

From here, they couldn’t see the sun, even if the compartment window was directed to the east, but the treetops looked candent, thus telling them that Celestia’s star rose high enough above the horizon. The November day was lighting up. It became colder here at the foothills, windier; the forest trees saw the passing train off with light bows of respect.

Observing the highlighted woods, rare road posts, glades with wilted and browned grass passing by behind the glass, Alex let himself dissolve in the sensations delivered by canoodling Fluttershy – the tension was releasing him slowly. Giving him another short kiss, the girl slid out of Alex’s arms and headed to the compartment door.

Watching the landscape with feigned equanimity, Alex heard how the door slid slightly open – Fluttershy checked the passageway – then closed with an audible click of the lock. The touch on his strained back, even if he expected it, sent a thousand volts of electric discharge along Alex’s spine. Rising on her hind legs the girl snuggled to the human softly. Her fore hooves travelled across Alex’s shoulders, then slid to his chest, as Fluttershy squeezed him tighter, resting her cheek between his folded wings. The latter already trembled excitedly; the quiet, tender sigh only strained them more.

Turning in Fluttershy’s cuddle slowly, Alex saw the promising desire in her shimmering eyes, in her half-open moist lips. The turquoise lakes seemed vast; chained to his face, they called, dragged away seemingly his very soul.

“Finally!” whispered Fluttershy; her voice was a bit hoarse with passion and a sense of her own courage. “I could barely wait…”

Instead of an answer, Alex cuddled her tighter; he lifted the girl, sitting her on the table and inwardly praising its increased durability. Not bothering to curtain the compartment window behind her back, Fluttershy let out a tiny happy laughter and closed her eyes, pulling Alex’s head closer to her excitedly fluffed chest. The yellow wings flapped open when the fingers travelled tenderly through her coat, making the girl tremble.

The Day Court trudged like an old bullock cart in the scorching-hot afternoon, except it was crispy November morning instead. At least behind the high arched windows of the throne hall, the columns and walls of which, no matter how graceful they were, started to oppress the Princess psychologically. The visitors were few; however, it seemed to Celestia that she had spent an unimaginable amount of time sorting the problems they came with. No wonder that closer to afternoon, she felt completely wrung out; the thoughts floated as if in some haze, and the faint, deeply hidden feeling of anxiety didn’t want to leave her.

Sneaking through the stained glass, the sunlight sent colourful glares playing on the polished to the mirror finish stone plates of the castle floor. The joyful spots of light brought a tiny tired smile on Celestia’s muzzle right the moment, she was about to think that sometimes she hated her job. Well, except the sun management maybe. The break wasn’t long – with a tiny cough, the day guard commander appeared in front of the Princess’ raised sight.

‘Sweet Harmony, the daily report!’ Celestia facehoofed inwardly, rolling her eyes subtly. ‘Okay! You just need to get over it as inevitable…’

Her mind was still far away from the throne hall in Canterlot, somewhere on the road to the Crystal Empire. The monotonous mumbling of the guard commander was seemingly entering one of the Princess’ perked ears, leaving her mind through another one like some telegraph tape. Without the noticeable processing at that moment. Thus the silvery voice addressing her was unable to gain the Princess’ attention at once.

“Thou can’t be everywhere at once, Sunny!” softly repeated Princess Luna, appearing in Celestia’s field of view from the right.

“Sorry, dear? Oh!..” Once again, the Day Princess caught herself upon the thought that her sister read her mind like an open book occasionally. ‘Perhaps it was written on my face too clearly!’ Celestia waved her fore hoof lightly, dismissing the bemused guard. Apparently, she heard enough of his report to conclude that the day guards could deal with everything without her direct intervention.

“Shalt thou send them thither if ‘t be true thou wasn’t confident of their ability to rule out the situation?” with a sly smile, the big blue filly slid for a moment onto the edge of her throne, to the right of Celestia’s one. “Methinks they can perfectly cope!”

‘Not that I didn’t worry,’ added Luna inwardly, ‘but it’s another story!’

“Besides, how many Seekers can we take out at once, lief?” added she instead. “I’m not arrant sure… personally, mayhap one. Thou, Sunny – two-three at once maximum. ‘Tis doubtfully enough.”

“Don’t diminish your virtues, Lulu!” with a tiny smile, Celestia leaned closer, nuzzling her sister behind the fluffy ear. Luna’s words made her relax a little.

“It’s unusual to see you up that early… or maybe it’s better to say late into the day, Blueberry! Is everything alright?” noticed Celestia, referring to Luna being still awake, moreover, without visible signs of sleepiness. The Night Princess was heading somewhere and stopped for a moment, noticing her sister in the need of mental support.

“Oh, that’s a planned meeting,” Luna stifled a tiny yawn, musingly watching the sun glares slowly crawling across the hall floor, “It couldn’t fit into mine nightly duties, due to all of the burdens. A few of the Night Watch commanders expressed their wilt to ask that valorous mare – Rainstorm – some questions. About dealing with the dark abominations methinks, but I preferred to find out the details afore,” she glanced at her sister.

“You know already, Lulu?” Celestia stared at the bright sparkles dancing in big Luna’s eyes. “I got the letter a day ago and… haven’t yet told anypony. Including you, dear, as far as I can remember.”

“Oh!” Luna let out a sincere laughter. “I guess that some rumours must have been spreading through the so-called “pegasi-mail” quite fast and… allowest me to put it that way, reaching Canterlot unofficially. Or, mayhap, dear Twilight was overburdened… or… That’s not the only matter she reporteth about, correct?”

“Mail problems aside, I was quite impressed by the mere fact that a simple pony can not only confront a Seeker but defeat it. After such a short preparation period, I suppose!” Once again amazed by Luna’s ability to read between the lines, Celestia was to admit. “That’s an outstanding achievement!”

“Well…” Luna nodded with a thoughtful gesture of her fore hoof. “I’d say that it was rather one of the best weather-pegasi… after Rainbow Dash, than a simple pony. As far as I know, she is a capable and strong flyer… The fighting skills are receivable. Besides, she hath the advanced armour protection, as I was told. Besides, she wasn’t alone throughout that fight methinks…” She drew a line under her mental list. “Otherwise, thou art correct, lief – it was quite an achievement!”

“I suppose,” added she meaningfully, “we are to recall, who else contributed to that, dearest sister! By the way, if ‘t be true I understood them correctly, mine guards – some of them – were quite interested about that mentioned advanced armour and tactics, thinking, no doubt, that it would better be prepared.”

“So, they practically wanted Rainstorm to… teach them…” Celestia threw a glance at her.

“Mayhap rather share some observations,” dropped Luna casually. “Of course, they want to take a look at the armour likewise.”

“I extend mine hope they learn everything they can!” added she brightly. “Those who want to, at least. And if ‘t be true they express their wilt to have similar equipment, even despite their new armour is good enough, I shan’t object either.”

“They want to form some sort of Seekers Prediction, Elimination And Recon unit, don’t they?” Celestia looked dumbfounded; she blinked, leaning forward; even her wings unwittingly ruffled a little.

“Methinks some of the day guards are hatching the ideas alike,” Luna drawled with a smile. “Mayhap they don’t yet know how to approach thee with ‘t. Thou probably shan’t deny – the more capable… seeker fighters we have, the better. Considering the creatures began to increase their ranks.”

“Mmm… Whom that anti-seeker unit will be subordinate to then?” The Day Princess raised one eyebrow.

“If ‘t be true thou art not confident about Alex still, why hast thou sent him to sort the Crystal Empire problems then?” Luna inquired insinuatingly. Whatever she was going to say, Princess Celestia clearly saw in her sister’s eyes the answer to her question.

“Oh! Believe me, Blueberry, ever since Ponyville freight yard I am completely confident about Alex when it comes down to dealing with the Seekers,” uttered Celestia with a sigh. “I’m not entirely confident about him dealing with himself though!”

“Therefore Fluttershy?” it was now Luna’s turn to raise an eyebrow sarcastically.

“Well… The girl may provide unimaginable help if the monsters still manage to inflict some damage,” Celestia tried to sound casual, but the tip of her nose gained colour visibly. “Besides, Alex will be twice more effective having somepony he values the most to protect! And accurate!”

“Thou art talking like a politic now, Tia,” chuckled Luna; her eyes flashed shortly.

“Aren’t we both, Lulu?” parried Celestia.

“Hmmm… Methinks I would be twice more effective in that role,” muttered Luna, averting her look, “considering that promise Alex made…” She straightened, stretching on her throne. “The way thou art putting it, Sunny, maketh me keep an eye on them, in case some help shalt be urgent!”

“I still wonder,” shuddering inwardly at the thought of what these three might have thrown out if brought together, Celestia preferred to change the subject, “how did he manage to convince Rainstorm to stay in Ponyville and control the situation, instead of following him into the thick of it?”

“I know that type of ponies – loyal till death! She hath left the weather service to devote herself to the fight against the Seekers, and would nev’r stay away of her aim by choice,” pensively said Luna. “He must have convinced Rainstorm of the importance and urgency of protecting the town in his absence.”

“But the Seekers re-appear after some period of time only… However, times change… Maybe he suspects there could have been more arriving,” the Day Princess glanced at her sister puzzledly.

“I recognize Alex!” Luna let out a silvery laughter in realization. “Knowing about that respite, he prudently left Rainstorm in Ponyville. Dost thou see not?” she glanced at her sister joyfully. “The… successful novice syndrome!”

“What, sorry?”

“I’m not that fusty, outdated piece of alicorn as somepony hither may bethink!” chuckled Luna, catching Celestia’s bewildered glance. “I heard that Rainstorm was so set on her mettle the last few days, as she nev’r was ere, since her family perished. Alex simply didn’t want that to hit her on the head, Tia, so, the girl shan’t do a horrendous mistake in her high spirits. Methinks that unwittingly he treats the Crystal Empire problem as more severe than it’s known to be.”

“Hmm… Maybe you are right, sis…” drawled Celestia, then suddenly remembered. “You were right about Twilight mentioning more than that incident in her letter.” Seeing that Luna perked her ears in anticipation, the princess continued. “She thinks that it is important – and truth be told I share that confidence – to inform me about all the oddities in Alex’s dreams,” Celestia looked at Luna meaningfully. “Ever since the dam tragedy, it was nearly the same. But lately, there was a quite curious one. Not the sleepwalking, not some nasty nightmare, but a very strange vision, I’d say.” Briefly, she started retelling Alex’s dream involving the strangers.

“Dost thou mean the human mares… errmmm… women?” this time Luna’s surprise was genuine.

“Well, they looked like those, according to Twilight,” Celestia looked least bothered by that. “But I’m more interested in another fact! He mentioned hearing about some… Scherben,” added she pensively. “Are you familiar with the term, Lulu?”

“That’s… Germane,” the Night Princess wrinkled her forehead slightly. “Meaneth… shards if ‘t be true I’m correct.”

“Yeah, Twilight explained the same to Alex. Namely, that scherben meant shards, parts of something once integral,” quickly said Celestia. “I keep wondering if that’s connected with the Seekers somehow, or their… source.”

“By Twilight’s words, as the human put it, it seemed to be a specific term, a name for some phenomenon, not just a word from his dream,” added she pensively.

“Relax, Tia! Dost not try to jump over the shrubs before they have grown!” Heading to her meeting, the night-blue alicorn already rose from her throne, then planted a small kiss on her sister’s cheek. “Oh, I have an idea… Why dost not ask Welta about that? Mayhap our niece knoweth about some particular meaning of that term.”

The next couple of hours, they rolled steadily, heading to the north on the straight as an arrow path through the patchwork valley of fields, farms and smaller settlements. Escaping the forested foothills, the train gained its cruise speed. Dragged by the crystal-looking loco, it whizzed past the small villages, not dropping the pace and occasionally rocking on the rail joints. The November sun reached its maximum, generously pouring around the so valued yet scarce in late autumn golden warmth. Lying on the berth relaxedly, Alex watched the rare alternating patches of light and shade, sliding across the opposite wall of the compartment accordingly to their cloudy counterparts on the sunlit sky, and the thicker shadows occasionally thrown by the large trees and posts they passed by. His fingers lazily brushed through the pink, fragrant hair of the girl resting on his arm. Snuggling her back into him softly, Fluttershy was breathing lightly and tranquilly; for a moment, Alex even thought that the girl had fallen asleep. It made him smile and plant a tiny kiss behind the warm fluffy ear. The ear twitched, perking at once. His eyes met the awoken, turquoise glance: Fluttershy looked over her shoulder, reaching him for a tender kiss.

“What are you thinking about, my love?” the deep lakes peeked into him caringly; the filly turned to Alex, wrapping her legs around him and fondling her cheek against his chest.

“About us… about… different things,” with all the elusiveness, Alex’s answer was to the point enough – right at that moment, he suddenly remembered about the recent talk with Cutie Mark Crusaders when Scootaloo bemused him with a single question. Feeling the echo of that, Alex still fancied the heat behind his ears. The girl murmured, snuggling tighter into him.

“And you?”

“I keep wondering,” slowly said Fluttershy after a moment of silence; the girl looked up into Alex’s eyes, “what could have happened in the Crystal Empire that the princess decided to send us… you… there.” The small hoof kept drawing the musing patterns on the human’s chest. “Even if I didn’t know that, I could suppose that these monsters appeared not only near Ponyville. But so far, the regions of Equestria seemed to manage the troubles on their own. Does it mean that the problem is expanding? More of the Seekers coming?”

“Probably…” said Alex and then corrected himself. “Most likely, Shy. I told Tia – it was a war flaring up slowly.” He sighed. “Will it be as slow further on? We don’t have a regular living enemy to predict. Maybe, it’ll be a war of the one crucial battle, who knoweth…” added he gloomily. Fluttershy shuddered, and Alex pulled her warm body closer. “For the rest, I don’t know, seriously. And I don’t like the entire situation and our current mission in particular. Things are getting worse for sure.”

“Do you think the other regions are having similar problems? I mean abroad…” Fluttershy bit her lip thoughtfully.

“That depends on what the intruders need,” shrugged Alex. ‘I have only one person in mind I could probably ask about “abroad”!’ Brushing through her mane, he travelled his hand across the girl’s cheek and jawline, making Fluttershy squint from pleasure. “I have some assumptions… If they are correct – I’d prefer otherwise – it may turn ugly for us all. All other… countries included, I suppose. Not at that moment perhaps, but… We’re on the same… Equus at the end of the day.”

Alex cringed: upon the second thought and considering the circumstances, the last phrase sounded out too grim, even for his liking.

“Even that severely…” Fluttershy’s voice sank; the girl hid her nose on Alex’s chest. He huffed vaguely, then uttered with more enthusiasm.

“We’ll see what the Crystal Empire is going to offer… Then, I think I’ll ask Tia a couple of questions more, which are bothering me for quite a while… Hey!” Alex let out a smile, trying to dispel the moody tone. “Let’s check the restaurant and try the vaunted lunch!”

He held the girl tighter, getting seated on the berth with Fluttershy on his lap. Enjoying Fluttershy’s tender kiss on his lips, Alex gazed from the corner of his eye, reaching for his shirt carelessly thrown on the table.

Exiting into the passageway, Alex noticed that it became quieter: the students – as he called the group of fillies and colts – must have settled down finally. All the compartment doors they passed were closed, except the trainpony’s; the ajar door revealed that the unicorn was reading a newspaper under the measured clatter of wheels, putting his uniform cap on the table. Most likely, the stallion wanted to hear what was going on on his accountable territory.

‘The rest must be having their lunch already, or resting,’ Alex thought with a smile, following Fluttershy to the next car. ‘We’ll be the last probably,’ he glanced at the wall clock handily placed at the train car exit.

They passed several, swaying as the train moved. Going through a broad forest belt where the trees stood very close to the railway mound, the express slowed down a bit; it turned darker at once, as the fir-trees overshadowed the sun, spreading the smell of their needles and tar. The distant whistle of the loco reached their ears even through the closed car windows – the motorpony wanted to scare away the wild animals, which could be crossing the tracks.

From a technical point of view, the dining car wasn’t much different from its human counterpart: getting into that car accidentally, Alex would easily have recognized the purpose of it by the mere look and inner placement of the parts. Coming through the typical for all cars small vestibule with two locked outside doors, they got into a larger hallway with a couple of doors leading to the washing rooms. Spending a couple of minutes to use one on its purpose, Alex and Fluttershy went further, past the quietly humming locked doors of some refrigerators, most likely, and right into the long dining salon. The latter even blinded Alex for a second after the relative twilight of the intercar passage, making the human shield his eyes instinctively. Despite the daytime, the broad room was brightly lit by the multitude of lamps spreading the warm light and cosy feel everywhere: on the dark wood-decorated walls, the soft comfy seats, the rich curtains on the wider than in the rest of the cars windows and the accurately served tables with the glowing-white tablecloths.

That was practically explicable: first of all, the food always looked better in the warm light while the cold, especially blue one could make it look stale and unpleasant; the brightness in its turn was reaching two aims at once. It contrasted beneficially the overall darker and calmer gamma of the car trim for the dining salon not to look gloomy; besides, the Crystal Railroad was proud to confirm the quality and freshness of the products they offered in their trips.

By the relatively narrow central passage, the salon was divided into two-seats dining zones on the left and four-seats – on the right for the passengers’ comfort and optimized placement. The soft wine-coloured backrests of the comfy couch-like seats were quite high, effectively forming some screen semblance and turning the dining zones into some sort of separate booths, so the travellers could enjoy their meal and talk, not bothering their neighbours much. The large windows were half-curtained, and the overall look of each placement could make you forget about travelling by train, if not for the measured wheel clatter and the landscape soundlessly flying by behind the clean-washed glass.

Most of the passengers of their car were there, except for the students, who finished most likely or had their meal in the compartments. A few ponies more – various public, travelling alone or with companions – were the unfamiliar muzzles from the rest of the train. Noticing a few of the “aunties” sitting separately from the rest, closer to the buffet zone, made Alex smile inwardly.

‘These will probably be the last to start communicating with the fellow passengers, even if they are chatty within their own company.’

However, the quiet hum of the voices was yet subtle in the entire dining car: the journey had just started and most of the passengers were still to overcome the usual initial awkwardness to talk with the strangers.

Not planning to cruise along the entire salon, Alex spotted a free two-seats “booth” on the left and gestured to Fluttershy welcomingly. The girl fluttered to her seat lightly, but the human was immediately reminded of relatively different pony furniture. There, where despite the preserved comfort, the placement was aimed to be more compact, Alex spent some time and quite an effort to place his limbs comfy enough, yet not obstructing the way for the rest at the same time. The wings, which stubbornly refused to reduce any more at that moment, and the legs, Alex couldn’t bend without trouble, delivered him a few tense minutes. Fluttershy watched him with visible sympathy. Still, Alex was inwardly against taking the four-seat zone for only two of them.

“Why don’t you stretch them under the table?” the girl softly patted him on the hand. “There is plenty of space under my seat, you won’t disturb me, my love.”

“Thanks, dear!”

Grateful for that solution, Alex stretched his legs towards Fluttershy’s seat, not resembling himself some grasshopper finally. Instead, he felt a soft, warm touch on his ankles when the girl squeezed his legs with hers lightly. The wings were still a problem – Alex was to keep them slightly open, not to get them under himself.

“Tia was right,” said he in half-voice, “about being as subtle as we could. We probably gained too much attention already.” Alex spotted an interested, amused glance of the stallion and the mare in the four-seat booth ahead. They quietly said something to their company, invisible to him behind the backrest. Alex brushed off the thought about inevitable side glances and curiosity – he was occupied by the more intriguing one.

‘Interesting, what would Celestia’s journey be like… if she travelled by train,’ Alex smirked, imagining all the trouble no doubt caused by the alicorn size.

The waiter approached, freezing next to their table with the look of polite anticipation; Fluttershy and Alex spent some time deciding. Both finally picked the light variant of the lunch dishes; Alex still felt a bit anxious about the aim of their journey and suspected that Fluttershy had similar feelings. Besides, his choice was naturally limited, compared to hers, due to different food preferences. The railroad company, obviously, aimed towards ponies, forming their menu; the list of neutral suitable dishes was shorter than at home, where Alex could amend, cooking himself and reaching compromise.

Waiting for their order, Alex took another look over the dining salon as far as his sight allowed; sitting his back to the entrance and due to his height, he could easily see other passengers over the booth screens. Those at least sitting their muzzles to him.

‘As usual, you can see the wide variety of characters during a prolonged travel in company,’ Alex’s sight lazily slid from one “booth” to another, watching the ponies minding their own business. However, the first impression was often wrong; Alex examined the travellers carefully, especially those he remembered to be boarding their carriage. Bothered by the subtle yet persistent foresight, he wanted to know, whom would he be forced to deal with in case anything went wrong. ‘When it comes down to the Seekers, things can go haywire any time,’ Alex thought with a deadpan. ‘If Tia started treating things seriously… some really weird crap must be happening there.’

Several business ponies were seemingly occupied by their work and the supposedly anticipated deals only. However, a few of them already started to show tiny signs of attention towards a couple of single mares travelling without companions. The natural communicativeness of the ponies started taking over the initial awkwardness. ‘These won’t pay attention, even if the land cracks in front of them and a dragon flies out… unless it’s beneficial for their business!’ smirked Alex inwardly. ‘They and the… “aunties” are the most troublesome groups, when things roll to Tartarus,’ he threw a glance at the small group of mid-aged mares at the far end of the dining salon. ‘Fixation or absentmindedness multiplied by exaggerated self-confidence… and in the latter case by the tendency to make much fuss over things as well,’ he shook his head at that thought.

“Something’s bothering you, dear,” Fluttershy leaned forward, looking into his eyes inquiringly.

“Just looking, with whom we are locked in the fast-riding metal barrel for the next couple of days, Shy,” Alex squeezed out a tiny smile. “Observations… What else can we do while we have no other information?”

The girl tilted her head, raising one eyebrow sarcastically.

“Okay, okay,” Alex finally gave up under her meaningful glance. “You know that I don’t like…” Alex stumbled, “the idea behind this trip.” He chose another word, because saying that he didn’t enjoy the trip itself would mean prevaricating. “Tia said nothing concrete because Shining Armour wrote nothing concrete. That doesn’t make it easier for us. A… pack of Seekers is pestering the Crystal Empire, that’s given! But there is nothing new; I mean we know that pestering is the only thing these freaks can do towards the ponies.”

“You wouldn’t look anxious if there was nothing new,” said Fluttershy.

“They know nothing exact about these Seekers, not even the exact number. But something isn’t just right to the extent it makes everypony worry and Tia go for preventive measures,” Alex’s facial expression was self-explanatory. “We’re going to travel across the almost wild territory, half of which covered with snow. I guess these two things are making me anxious, Shy. I can’t help but feel responsible for all the herd,” he took a look around the salon, “who have no idea about what is going on behind those walls. So, I’ll exhale only when we safely reach the Crystal City.”

With their lunch delivered, Alex and Fluttershy got distracted a bit by the meals. However, even giving due to the finely prepared food, Alex kept watching the fellow travellers appraisingly. The married couples looked as if they were coming through another honeymoon, as he noted for himself with a smile. Unaffected by daily routines, mares and stallions showed their affection openly, probably stronger than during the regular busy days. Most of them obviously had pleasant expectations of that trip; even if it wasn’t pure entertainment for them, the mere place they were heading to was non-trivial enough to be promising. ‘It would hurt to ruin it for them!’ Alex glanced at the nearest couple: the mare and the stallion were quietly talking, leaning their heads to each other – they look absolutely happy. Alex’s hand reached and covered Fluttershy’s fore hoof.

“Let’s hope nothing happens during the trip at least,” Fluttershy sighed. “I saw your entire fight with the Seekers at the Sunflowers’ farm. The trouble you had trying to keep the innocent victims unhurt…” she looked into Alex’s eyes.

“Yeah… That’s always the worst thing…” nodded he, with an effort dispelling the mental image of the huge boiling spillway. “Speaking of Sunflowers… That mare with the foals,” Alex threw another glance at the far end of the dining car, but the wider load-bearing bulkhead in the middle obstructed the view. “Let’s go check when we finish!”

Fluttershy nodded with a smile; the girl would gladly accept any reason to distract him from the stressful thoughts.

As Alex could notice, the stallion he mentally named “traveller” was also there. Facing the train direction – and most likely watching the passing by landscape as Alex jokingly assumed – he was invisible to the human behind the high backrest. But the familiar brown hat rested on the table edge. ‘That must be among a few ones really prepared for anything. One who can provide some help instead of panic in a tight situation!’

There was another circumstance, which presence worried Alex even more than abstracted business ponies or “aunties” – namely, that couple of the white pegasus and his marefriend. Or, better say, the brash, bulky stallion part of the couple. The mare looked like a titmouse against his background. With the only exception, she was the background in their case. The couple occupied a four-seat “booth”, yet the stallion sat next to his marefriend. However, not to help her with the dishes or something else etiquette-dictated, as Alex saw. It was probably more comfortable that way. More comfortable to deliver his priceless thoughts to the mare: the white pegasus was constantly ranting about something. Louder than the other passengers, to be frank. Perhaps that placement allowed him to keep within the volume, not totally disturbing the neighbours. However, the mare didn’t look overly oppressed; throwing occasional loving glances at her partner, she managed to ignore his defiant and often openly annoying behaviour.

The stallion already gazed disapprovingly several times at the human, which was standing out against the general herd too much. Apparently, he wasn’t of high opinion of aliens or anypony too different from him and kept throwing spiky glances at that weird, in his opinion, couple.

‘Your problem!’ remembering the incident with Upper Crust at the gala, Alex chuckled. That infuriated the “brute” even more to Alex’s vengeful satisfaction.

At that moment, the foals at the far end of the salon got carried away with their antics a bit, showing up from behind the seat backrest. Not very stern, but definitely admonishing voice of the mare returned them to the ground, but the looks of the unusual mane colours – gradient of moon yellow-golden to coral pink of the filly and to steel-blue of the colt – turned Alex’s suspicions into the confidence. He and Fluttershy finished their lunch; nothing prevented them from checking.

“Let’s go pay a visit, my love!” Alex nodded towards the depth of the dining salon, seeing that Fluttershy dabbed her lips with the napkin after the last dainty sip of tea. He smiled. “I doubt, that’s a coincidence: there can’t be many foals with such manes in Equestria.”

It made him some effort to untangle from behind the table, but Alex was endlessly grateful to Fluttershy for the idea – his legs didn’t feel numb at least. Letting the girl lead the way, Alex folded his wings in such a way, not to knock off anything or disturb the rest of the passengers.

Following Fluttershy along the central passage, Alex held on the backrests; the train went smoothly, but sweeping off somepony’s table wouldn’t be a nice thing to do. The wings trembled subtly as if ready to unfurl – he inwardly commanded himself to relax.

The “traveller” was there, indeed, sitting alone in the two-seats “booth”. The light-grey earth pony stallion was already done with his lunch and fixed his gaze over the half-empty cup of coffee right into the picturesque far away behind the window. He watched the passing by fields and groves, the approaching from the west forest edge with a mirthful dreamy look as if seeing something not available for the casual eye. Unambiguously telling about the enthusiastic nature of the stallion’s thoughts, his ears perked from the sandy mane, and a wistful smile was coming through in his hazel eyes.

‘His regular journeys must be less cosy than Crystal Express ride. Perhaps, harder and more dangerous,’ Alex unwittingly followed the stallion’s gaze direction. ‘The guy is fully enjoying the rare case of travelling in such a level of comfort!’

Trotting lightly, Fluttershy slid like a pink-yellow floral cloud, waking the “traveller” from his thoughts. He glanced up at the passing by human, estimating his height and large folded wings with a single look. The reaction was surprising for Alex – with a friendly, understanding smile, the stallion reached with his fore hoof and shifted the wide-brim, light-brown hat further from the table edge. Glowing like a tiny spark, with the hat movement, the small crescent-moon shaped pin on the hatband caught Alex’s attention for a second, causing a smile of pleasant memories on his face.

The next one was the “booth” occupied by the contrasting couple. The petite pale-saffron mare followed Fluttershy with a smiling expression, then alternated at the human and her chocolate eyes rounded; still, from surprise rather than from concern. The bulky pegasus’ sight slid across passing by Fluttershy indifferently but then he perked at once. Stopping at the human, his eyes squinted; quickly digging in his undoubtedly rich collection of displeased expressions, the “brute” fished out the most contemptuous one, presenting a mocking, defiant glance to Alex.

Inwardly frowning, as the white pegasus kept examining him like some rare insect, Alex replied with an empty bored gaze of a fish, staring through the racist git as if there was an empty seat, then heading his way. That, no doubt, didn’t rub the disgruntled stallion well – he was quick to comment the situation to his marefriend, but Alex wasn’t listening to them already.

Fluttershy looked over her shoulder at him; seeing who occupied the “booth” behind the bulkhead was unnecessary to confirm Alex’s assumption – the girl’s smile turned out self-explanatory. Noticing the approaching mare, both foals first froze for a second, then squeaked quite loud. Their eyes widened at recognition; Storm and Aurora Sunflowers almost jumped on their seats, so even the cups tingled on the table. Their caretaker tried reasoning with the foals but the next moment Crystal Chime saw, who caused that reaction, she broke into a smile instead.

“Fluttershy! Squee!!!”

“Easy, kids, easy!” the eyes of red gold glanced at the foals not as strict as they probably should, then alternated to the visitors. “Miss Fluttershy, good afternoon! Glad to see you!”

Storm and Aurora kept bobbing impatiently on their seats like two little mice in the nest. The next moment, another visitor appeared in the bulkhead opening, overshadowing the passage and causing another loud squeak from the foals. The “aunties” in the far end of the salon began to romp anxiously.

“Good afternoon, mister…” Crystal stumbled in subtle confusion, letting out another smile.

“Alex. Simply Alex,” the human squeezed through with the quiet feather rustle. “They are a bit unruly today,” he smirked, nodding at the wings. “Glad to see you, miss Chime. Hi, kids!” he waved to the fidgeting foals.

“Can you sit with us for a while?” Storm looked up at Alex, then turned to Crystal Chime almost pleadingly. “Auntie Crystal…”

“If you both have time and don’t mind,” the mare nodded, gesturing at the free seat next to her.

“Come on, sis! Now if you move your tail…” Storm quickly slid onto Aurora’s place, taking the filly on his lap. “Don’t cavort on me, right!” he grunted lightly.

“Boo, I’m not that heavy!” drawled Aurora half-indignantly, half-jokingly, making both Crystal and Fluttershy chuckle.

Noticing that the waiter, who already finished serving the “aunties” and proceeded further through the dining salon, was waiting placidly till the passage became unoccupied again, Alex quickly landed at the vacated seat. He did his best to compact himself, so his legs didn’t stick out too much; Fluttershy settled next to Crystal Chime.

“It was a surprise indeed!” the mare alternated between her and Alex. “Are you travelling to the end of the line, to the Crystal City, I mean?”

“I suppose - yes, miss Chime,” Alex nodded, then inwardly scolded himself for that strange-sounding phrase. Crystal blinked a couple of times at the vagueness of his answer; she threw another glance at him and Fluttershy and let out a tiny understanding smile. Guessing the direction of her thoughts, Alex coughed. ‘In the earnest, how else could I say if we still have no further instructions. Supposedly, Twilight’s brother can tell us something. But that’s not to be revealed anyway!’

“Cool!” Storm seemed to miss the curious detail. “You are travelling by the same train with us!” One could tell by the foals’ look that the journey must have turned twice more exciting for them at once.

“Moreover, in the same car, as it turns out!” with a smile, Alex ruffled their manes lightly. “I’ve noticed you, folks, boarding at the Canterlot station, but the sun glare distracted me.”

“Squee!!!” the eyes of both foals rounded; Storm and Aurora quickly exchanged glances.

“Then… Then maybe…” started Storm unconfidently. He gazed at the sister, receiving meaningful face in return, and made up his mind. “Maybe we can visit you. If you don’t mind?” Aurora quickly nodded, glancing at Fluttershy and Alex.

“Oh…” Crystal Chime shook her head. “My dears, please, excuse us for… for the slight intrusiveness! I can understand that the toy-making process isn’t so exciting as armour, fighting and so on,” with a dainty smile in the red-golden eyes, the mare looked at the foals embarrassedly. “Kids, really… Miss Fluttershy and… they can have their own plans, so give them some space…”

“Of course, we don’t mind!” exchanging glances, Alex and Fluttershy said almost simultaneously. “You can come, kids. Compartment six,” the girl shook her lush mane determinedly.

“It’s okay, miss Chime,” said Alex, smiling to the lightly flushing mare. “We really don’t mind them peeking in for a while, you either if you want. Let’s cheer up the trip for everypony present.”

“Thank you!” Crystal Chime looked at him gratefully. “You both are too kind! I still think that we keep being a major nuisance for you…”

“Not at all!” retorted Fluttershy ardently; Alex nodded.

“Have you decided where you stop in the Crystal City?” Aurora asked, looking with the foalish directness at the human and the mare. Alex bit his lip not to smile: seeing how Crystal flushed to the roots, he could tell that she definitely predicted the possible further question.

‘We can’t say it plain, that the local royalty would take the placement,’ he had no idea how to react. However, Fluttershy was fast to save the situation.

“We’ll stay at the friends’ place,” she stated with an unperturbed expression. “They planned to take that responsibility. But, of course, we can visit you, if you are okay with that,” added she cheerfully. “And when you all settle as well!”

“I hope you’ll enjoy the Crystal Empire! The not-iced part of it at least,” with a sigh of relief, Crystal Chime threw a grateful glance at Fluttershy. “The Crystal City and the surroundings are covered by the magical dome, keeping it warm and nice to inhabit. Well, you’ll see for yourselves!”

“I guess. Anyway, I’m enjoying the trip very much already,” throwing a glance at Fluttershy, who returned it from under her long semi-dropped eyelashes, Alex returned to the landscape flowing by behind the large train car window.

The railroad ran through the fields, but contrary to previously seen, those were either abandoned or undergoing a prolonged “soil rest” period. The wild grass took over the vastness; large rocks protruded here and there from its now browned surface. The dirt roads, dividing the fields into the huge, almost regular squares, acquired the fluffy collars of bushes and small trees, which swayed their branches in the strengthening wind. A wild deer slowly moved through the nearest edge of the field: diving its muzzle into the wilted grass, it was looking for something almost parallel to the tracks and raised its head at the noise of passing train. The deer followed them with the casual, not nearly startled look, squinting in the scarce November sunlight, then returned to its interrupted business, making Alex conclude that the undisturbed animals there got used to the limited civilization presence.

A dark patch along the far line of the horizon, the big city was flowing by, followed by the stripe of the forest, growing higher and closer; without the map of Equestria, Alex couldn’t tell where exactly they were travelling at the moment. About five-six hundred miles to the north from Canterlot, as he could figure out. There, at its northern edge, the sky was turning darker and heavier – seen from their position like the distant, grey, slanting veil, the cold rain was showering the land. Brought by the wind, a few drops fell on the window glass and raced down, leaving wet diagonal tracks.

Alex’s sight fell on something he hadn’t noticed before: hiding behind the empty plates and cups, almost next to the window, a small clay figure stood, rocking slightly to the beat of the train. At the closer look of his surprised eyes, the toy appeared very familiar to the human. Two legs, two arms, half-spread wings… And, which was more important, moreover, astonishing for Alex, the facial traits of the figure were quite precise, not letting any room for mistake – the clay toy was his fairly reliable copy.

Mildly confused by that sign of recognition and endlessly impressed by the level of precision – Crystal Chime managed to make such exact portrait in a few days, seeing him only once before – Alex turned his bewildered eyes to the mare.

“Aurora asked for a soft plush toy…” explained Crystal Chime, letting out a slightly embarrassed smile; however, she could be rightfully proud of her masterful work. “But I thought that I didn’t have enough time and facilities to make a believable replica in such a complex and inflexible form as soft stuffed plush.”

“So, this is merely the prototype,” Crystal waved her fore hoof while Alex blinked, feeling how his ears started getting ablush. Fluttershy watched the scene with a barely noticeable glimpse of amusement. Thankfully, the foals were distracted from the talk by some quiet romp they undertook.

‘What did I expect?’ thought he, remembering Crystal’s vocation. ‘I guess, she is very dedicated to her job!’

“But it turned out that Aurora loved that variant much as well,” added the mare. “He… You…” she shrugged lightly, “are protecting the filly when she sleeps.” Crystal nodded towards the figure and Alex met the serious, determined glance of his miniature copy. “Aurora takes him with her everywhere and… I suppose I’ll have a hard time taking the model back even for a while when I need it!”

The vision of another toy, half a year distance from that day, stood in front of his mind’s eye, making Alex inwardly cringe a little. On the other hand, what else could he expect? If people had toy ponies, ponies might have toy humans equally.

“Ahem…” the human cleared his throat, catching another smiling glance from Fluttershy. “Miss Chime, I’m, of course, very flattered by such attention but… I have a small request if you don’t mind me asking.” Alex leaned forward a bit, lowering the voice not to catch foals’ attention. “Whatever you do, please, don’t launch it into a series just yet!”

“Ooooohhhh!..” groaned Apple Bloom in a martyr’s voice, launching her bag into the deep comfy armchair in the corner. The filly trudged in the same direction across the soft violet carpet, which resembled some large flower with a spiral ornament in its centre. “It seems, they plan to squeeze the entire year program into our poor heads before holidays! For real!” She tiredly sank next to her bag, flattening in the armchair like a big rag doll – for a moment, the girl’s muzzle took an absolutely inscrutable expression of complete relaxation and pleasure, making her friends snort quietly.

“Ah want to become a plaice...” muttered Apple Bloom; then she noticed her giggling friends and rolled her eyes, blowing a raspberry. “What? Don’t ya tell, yar enjoying it.” Then the girl remembered about the matter gathering them – the remaining homework, both girls asked Sweetie Belle to help them with – and her ears dropped again.

“I think that my inner Twilight is about to give up…” Scootaloo let her bag down on the floor and simply flopped across the neatly made dark-green bed under the mauve patterned cover; her small wings weakly flattened on both sides. She took a floating look around the familiar room: the dark wooden panels, belting it to the shoulder height, the light-saffron wallpaper with a light-cerise pattern of curls and hearts, the mustard curtains on the window frame of the same dark wood. Trying to make a volitional effort over herself, Scootaloo said flatly. “Anyway, we should do what we planned, mates. I think if I lie down a little longer… you’ll need a couple of bulls to drag me off that bed!”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle closed the door of her room accurately. Levitating her bag across the room, she put it onto the closed cover of the large toy chest, then tiredly nested on the edge of her bed, next to Scootaloo. “The teachers indeed seem to turn a little too… enthusiastic, making our load very heavy.”

Both other girls could only snort at that politely cautious expression of educational disaster they had been having the last few weeks.

“If you say so, partner,” chuckled Apple Bloom, finding the strength to raise her head and shake it, “that means something already. You, who is hooves down better than us in all subjects…”

“…except Alchemy,” amended Scootaloo, rising her fore hoof in an edifying manner. That gesture made all three fillies burst laughing despite the fatigue.

“And Housecraft,” laughed Sweetie Belle, “don’t forget about Housecraft! Cooking especially. However, the last time miss Cheerilee said that,” she pretended to be remembering, “yeah, that “my undoubted progress turned the food of my making less dangerous but… she was probably going to order a set of blast-proof cookware anyway.”

“Well! Nothing actually exploded that time at least!” the unicorn girl clopped her fore hooves together with an encouraging expression. Her friends reclined back, groaning, unable to laugh anymore.

“Belle, please stop! Have mercy!” squeezed out Scootaloo, hanging limply from the bed.

“Ah seriously think that there is a connection,” taking her breath, Apple Bloom said pensively. “Between Alchemy and Cooking progress, I mean.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Sweetie Belle cupped her chin. “Still, my last experiment reproducing in school one of the potions Zecora taught us… filled the class with strange colourful fumes…”

“Yeah, we all kept hiccupping the rest of the day,” squinted Scootaloo. “Just confess, it was a hiccup potion of your own making!”

“Okay, okay, I admit that I need to cover the entire topic with Zecora once again, more diligently this time,” Sweetie Belle broke into a wide smile while the girls kept giggling. “I hope she can afford to repeat and you,” the unicorn filly launched a small pillow into having fun Apple Bloom, “can help me as well, mocker!”

“Aha!!!”

In a second, the air was filled with the soft flying projectiles of varied speed and lethality.

To their surprise, the girls felt that the short but intensive romp full of action and laughter served them as the daily dozen rather, cheering them up enough to keep kicking.

“Girls, let’s not forget, what we gathered for!” Levitating the entire heap of pillows onto the bed, Sweetie Belle lit the green lamp under the colourful ceiling of multiple tints of yellow – the light coming from outside wasn’t enough for studying already.

“Okay, peace for now!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo exchanged glances; the earth filly huffed away a small feather, which was floating in the air and landed on her nose. Even without the kinetic magic both fillies were seasoned professionals when it came to the pillow fights.

“Back to the boring stuff,” sighed Scootaloo, diving under the bed for her bag, which got shoved there in the heat of the battle.

Quite unusual for that place, the silence enveloped the room for the next couple of hours. The silence was occasionally broken by paper rustle or a sigh of diligent effort, not compensated by the anticipated result though. But that was exactly what they gathered there for – assistance and advice. Thus, quickly finishing with her own task, Sweetie Belle moved about her room, leaning to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in rotation and explaining to them what her friends still failed to understand from the teacher’s words. Diving into the sky maps and reference books, both fillies even stuck their tongues out from their zeal to catch up.

Peeking through the half-curtained window, the daylight faded little by little, as the lazy November sun hurried to finish the day early and roll in for rest. It looked like a dull yellow spot through the slowly flowing grey veil of thin clouds covering the entire sky. The shadows became longer and denser, but dispelled by the lamplight, they stood unnoticed by the busy fillies. Closer to the evening, out of nowhere, the thick soft snow started falling; in less than ten minutes – it stopped as suddenly as it started – almost the entire valley, the town, the surrounding fields, the roads got covered with a thin yet fluffy blanket. Everything said about that first snow would hardly survive the next day, but it clearly manifested what the calendars in every house were ready to state – winter came to Ponyville.

The girls’ work took considerably longer than Sweetie Belle spent to achieve the same result, or even better, clearly suggesting that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo yet had goals to aspire to. But at least they coped with their job, and this time both were sure that it was worth the effort.

“Phew!” Scootaloo caught herself thoughtlessly poking her pencil into the page for the last couple of minutes. “I think my head is incapable to accommodate any more information in one go, mates.”

“Yeah, partner! But at least this time we really completed the task,” noticed Apple Bloom, slowly pushing the star map away from herself. “All thanks to you, pal!” she glanced at the unicorn filly with meaning and gratitude.

“Yo! Hats off to Belle!” with a smile, Scootaloo stretched like a cat, arching her back and spreading the wings. “Mhhmmm!”

“Oh, come on, girls!” Sweetie Belle dropped her eyes; her nose gained colour a little. “You could easily get the same result if you convinced yourself better that you need that,” she glanced at her friends slyly.

“Frankly speaking, Astronomy is better to study with practical examples, not only theory,” added Sweetie Belle, gathering her books and papers and levitating them to the appropriate places. “But with the sky like that…” she slowly shook her head.

“We could probably ask Twilight,” noticed Apple Bloom. “She has a powerful telescope… so, when the sky clears a bit…”

“Good idea!” stretching as well, Sweetie Belle headed to the window. “Besides, she can share her knowledge, would be useful… Oh! Look! Girls!” squeaked she, throwing a glance outside.

Attracted by her exclamation, the girls hurried to look, what brought their friend to such high spirits.

Sparkling in the last rays of the setting sun, the snow-covered landscape behind the glass looked like the contents of a snow globe toy. For the first couple of seconds, the girls simply watched it with bated breath, forgetting to blink. The sun hid behind the horizon, leaving the scene to the shadows, which immediately took over, spreading and merging, enveloping everything in thickening darkness.

The girls exchanged glances, probably thinking about the same. The winter was right on the doorstep. And with it, the holidays were approaching. Hearthwarming – family time, time of unity and wholehearted support, presents and fun. But…

“Ah wonder, what Hearthwarming will look like this year,” Apple Bloom voiced the mutual thought, looking through the darkened window pensively. She glanced at the friends. “Ah mean if we can have at least part of the fun we do yearly… With all the stuff going around and…”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo scratched behind the ear. “I heard a theory… by pure accident,” with a shrug, she returned the quick glance of the girls, “that these monsters, the Seekers… they may have no effective thermo… thermoregulation. I guess it means that…”

“…if you get cold, you can’t get warmer by your own efforts,” nodded Apple Bloom. “We got it. So?”

“Well,” with another shrug, Scootaloo looked outside, at the cold darkness dispelled by the random town lights, “they probably should appear rarer in winter in that case. Who knows…”

“That’d be awesome!” said Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. “I can’t imagine winter without proper Hearthwarming, even because of those beasts!”

The sound of hoofsteps in the corridor made all three fillies turn; somepony knocked on the door.

“Sweetie Belle, have the girls already…” Slightly concerned, Rarity peeked in. Her concern was dissolving as her eyes shifted from one girl to another – full set! “Oh…” enveloping the fancy glasses, the sapphire aura moved them to the mare’s forehead.

“What’s going on, sis?” pulling the door open with her magic, Sweetie Belle approached Rarity and nuzzled her gently. “You look… a bit…”

“Thank Celestia, you all are still here!” When she spoke again, the relief in Rarity’s voice was almost tangible. Her glance travelled around the room, softly lit by the lamp, the girls’ half-packed bags and maps and pencils still remaining on the floor; with little effort, the unicorn girl made herself continue less anxiously with a smile. “Not hearing you, I was worried that your friends left already, darling.” Rarity returned the sisterly nuzzle.

“Is everything okay?” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo hurried to come closer, looking into her still widened azure eyes.

“No. I mean, yes,” letting out a little nervous chuckle, Rarity exhaled. “It’s a bit late, girls. Too dark outside for the young ladies like you to roam around. Apple Bloom furthermore would need to cover quite a road through the fields and orchard to get home…”

“Come on, Rarity! We’re not foals,” Scootaloo blinked, facing that sudden overprotective (from her point of view) position. “Besides, we always…”

“I’m sorry, dear, but it’s not “always” now,” softly but firmly said Rarity, touching the filly’s shoulder. “The neighbourhood isn’t entirely safe at the dark time now. Previously we were protected, but for an uncertain while… We don’t have anything more reliable than an overly confident pegasus thinking that she can defend Ponyville alone.”

The three fillies exchanged glances; it seemed each one came to the same conclusion, subtly rolling her eyes with a sigh.

‘Not another problem!’

Not giving them time to open their mouths, Rarity took her breath and stated in an objection-intolerant voice.

“Everypony is willing to act as they find appropriate, it’s about their lives and families. But we are responsible for you. Yesterday, we discussed the situation and all the girls agreed…”

The fillies froze, assuming the continuation.

“Agreed that you must not stay outside till darkness!” Saying that, Rarity shrugged with a tint of regret, telling that she would prefer not to appear the herald of those compulsory limitations. “At least for the time, we are generally unprotected.”

“But, Rarity!.. We don’t need a foalsitter! We know the surroundings like our four hooves… there is no place around Ponyville where you won’t see at least one pony in five minutes!” The girls started buzzing altogether. “Sis, Rainstorm must be capable enough if she was trusted to take that duty…”

“Having no other variants at all…” Rarity managed to input dryly.

“Rarity, we heard that she took out a Seeker on her own. Besides, they aren’t roaming the place in packs,” Apple Bloom looked up at Rarity insinuatingly. “Ah suppose it’s safe when it’s technically a day. Last time…”

“It’s dark outside… technically,” Rarity raised one eyebrow. The girl let out a tired smile and shook her head. “Last time you were simply lucky not to be in the middle of the events. And the last but one,” she shuddered visibly, “you were lucky, Twilight and Jackie found you before the Seeker did.”

“Apple Bloom, seeing you developing the same confidence as your sister is heartwarming,” Rarity hugged the filly’s shoulders softly. “If only it was supported by an ability to withstand the impact of these monsters…”

“No, girls, it’s final,” she looked around the fillies. “We all decided: if you stay late in or close to one of our houses, you spend the night in the nearest one, not to roam outside after dark.”

Wanting to retort at first, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged glances; one idea fundamentally changing the matter flared up in their eyes slowly. From that point of view, the limitations stopped looking so oppressing to them.

‘A spontaneous sleepover!!!’

“Well…” drawled Apple Bloom. “Ah think everything isn’t that bad. Right, partner?” she nudged Scootaloo lightly.

“Yeah, sure thing!” the pegasus filly woke up, while Sweetie Belle sported a cheerful smile. “If it’s necessary for our safety…”

“Awesome!” concluded Rarity a bit cautiously as she managed to intercept the glances the fillies exchanged. “I’ll make dinner. Something that you all like, girls. I admit it probably won’t be as delicious as Applejack can offer…”

“…still incomparably better than my snacks attempts!” muttered Sweetie Belle jokingly. “The idea looks prudent indeed. Thanks, sis!”

“One more thing, darling!” Rarity looked at the unicorn filly and her friends very closely. “Try not to be overly loud, okay? I have tons of work, girls, tons of work!” she rolled her eyes in a theatric manner. However, Sweetie Belle knew that it wasn’t a figure of speech this time.

“Anythin’ fancy?!” Apple Bloom asked with a smile, rightfully deciding that some creative thoughts might distract Rarity from possible suspicions.

“Upcoming holidays, darling!” Rarity sighed. “I have a collection to finish. In three weeks, simply imagine! And a few personal orders won’t make themselves…” she cocked her nose, putting the glasses back in place. “There is a new dress for Babs, put on hold for nopony-knows-how-long! Sweet Celestia!” Rarity shook her head, turning to the door.

“Thankfully, that one is for the next year, so there is no stress… Probably… I would like to make something special for your cousin,” she threw a bright glance at Apple Bloom. “You know, it’ll be Babs’ first Gala!”

“Yeah!” the earth filly broke into a wide smile. “Half of her last letter was devoted to that! It was even strange to imagine Babs interested by such things…” Apple Bloom giggled.

“Oh, one more thing…” Rarity turned in the doorway. “If I were you, girls, I’d keep my both eyes open even at daytime. Not to say bad about her personally, I don’t think Rainstorm understands all the seriousness of her current position. In her high spirits…” The girl shook her sapphire mane negatively. “She was the weather pegasus her whole life, one of the best, I admit. That doesn’t make her a reliable Seeker-hunter instantly; neither does the single fight she won.”

“Right… What was I at? Dinner, dinner…” and Rarity flitted out of the room, murmuring under her breath.

“The rules of Rarity, guaranteed quality
This I can assure…”

“I bet she is saying that because Rainstorm almost dragged Alex from her grasp that last time,” chuckled Scootaloo when Rarity’s hoofsteps faded on the stairs. “Is this what it looked like, Belle?”

“She was pouting for the rest of the day!” Sweetie Belle snorted, nodding quickly. “I even reconsidered teasing her about that.”

“Although, I must admit, she is rather busy…” noticed the pegasus filly.

“… and naturally jumpy, as usual.” Finished for her Apple Bloom.

“Oh, that’s another story,” Sweetie Belle jolted her mane; notes of sympathy clearly read in the girl’s voice. “Frankly speaking, when the old sewing machine was mechanized… and then the new one shortly after… I thought that Rarity would have more free time finally.”

“But instead, she increased the speed and amount of daily work only,” the unicorn filly raised a meaningful glance at her friends. “When it comes to fashion, she is incorrigible!”

“On the other hoof,” added Sweetie Belle a bit pensively. “Perhaps, that load of work will give Alex a breath.”

The fillies burst laughing, but Sweetie Belle put her fore hoof to her mouth, signalling down with her eyes and a meaningful face.

Sounding almost lulling, the clatter of the wheels became monotonous, turning into a low pitch hum. The Crystal Express left another noticeable stop about half an hour ago and gained its cruise speed; it was going to jet nearly through the entire night before reaching the next large station for refuelling and checkup. The snow-covered plain spread out behind the slightly iced glass as far as the eye could catch. The occasional distant groves, rocks, rare separate buildings slowly floated by, dissolving in the thickening twilight; the actual speed turned visible only when the railroad posts or trees approaching the tracks wheezed past as smudged spots. As the train was approaching the Frozen North territory, the motorpony providently increased the heating; it made the small room a bit too stuffy for Alex’s liking. Without further hesitation, he pressed the round handle amidst the upper edge and pulled the unlocked frame down a little, letting the stream of frosty air inside. Bringing the faint bitter smell from the loco pipe – hit by the oncoming wind, the smoke plume was smeared along the train, trailing along the car roofs and slowly dissolving – it was still better than the stifling heat.

The setting sun already hid behind the heavy clouds, delivering no light into the eastern windows. Alex lit the lamp – the landscape behind the glass “turned off” immediately, changing to the reflection of him turning the tap. Splashing a few handfuls of cold water into his face, Alex raised his glance at the mirror over the sink.

‘Hmmm… It has grown long again,’ he remarked musingly, examining himself and brushing his wet palms through the hair to smooth it down. The perspective of gathering it into a ponytail after returning from the Crystal Empire was unwanted yet real. Somehow Alex was sure that he would have little to no time for himself there. At the thought of visiting Rarity to acquire her hairdresser services again, Alex shuddered inwardly and woke up. In due time, he managed to notice the gazes she threw at Rainstorm; the latter nearly pulled the human out of the unicorn fashionista’s anticipating grasp. No doubt, Rarity had been plotting something for him back then. For them both!

‘Yeah, that’s a problem!’ Alex rubbed his face. ‘But I can’t walk around like some mope-headed girl… Maybe I should ask Fluttershy for help?’ he remembered that his marefriend shared some of Rarity’s virtues. ‘If she is perfectly capable of making a dress, then maybe… Of course, I could probably ask Twilight, but something tells me that she isn’t very keen on doing that with simple scissors… and magic is not an option. Besides, knowing her desire for experiments…’ he chuckled, shaking his head.

“Okay! I’ll think about it tomorrow,” concluded Alex, brushing through his hair once again. Then, after a second thought, he closed the window – the next visitor could be less appreciative of the winter chillness. Turning off the light, Alex slid aside the restroom door and stepped into the passageway.

To reach their two-seats luxury in the middle of the long, steadily rocking car, Alex was to pass several compartments, trying to drift apart with anypony he might run into in the moderately narrow corridor. Two doors in a row were locked: the auxiliary room and trainpony compartment – the first was usually locked unless needed and the trainpony was somewhere on his business. The thin scent of unfamiliar perfume reached Alex’s nose: as far as he could remember, he never felt that in their car. Before he could turn, puzzled by that, the train car jerked passing a junction or a switch; Alex was to grab the nearest window frame for balance. At that very moment, the next door on his right opened and somepony vivid and nimble, hurrying out from the unlit compartment, bumped into the human.

“Oh! Excuse me!” A mauve unicorn filly with the fluffy violet mane resembling a big stack of wavy noodles glanced up at Alex. Before he could utter a word, the girl giggled and whisked into the next compartment like a drop of quicksilver, flashing with her eyes and smile. Through the ajar door, Alex could notice the “students” company herding the compartment and singing to the accompaniment of a guitar and harmonica. By the most humble standards, there seemed to be more passengers than seats in both compartments occupied by them; Alex chuckled, remembering that he heard the muffled noise when he passed their door before, wondering what the source was. Some colt’s voice greeted the belated one and her reply drowned in the burst of laughter before the door closed. Still smirking, Alex turned to continue his way and almost ran face-to-face into the trainpony.

“Evening, sir!” the stallion saluted shortly, making a step back. Following Alex’s amused glance, the unicorn let out a concerned sigh.

“Students!” the trainpony rolled his eyes meaningfully. “I sure hope they calm down on their own before they start bothering the rest of the passengers and messing with their sleep schedule. So I won’t need to talk them into order. Sorry, sir…”

“It’s okay,” Alex shook his head with another smile. “As for me, they are just funny and… quite numerous!”

‘Me and Fluttershy aren’t always quiet either,’ jokingly glimpsed in his mind, ‘so…’

“There are no economy-class cars on the Crystal Express,” the trainpony explained, feeling the unvoiced question. “So it’s quite usual for the companies of youth to travel that way, students specifically. Thankfully, nopony complained today! Now, if you excuse me, sir…” with these words, the stallion adjusted his uniform cap with his aura and squeezed past Alex on the way to his room.

“Good luck with the shift, I guess,” said Alex after him.

The next two compartments were closed and quiet. Remembering that one of them belonged to the company of mid-aged mares, Alex tiptoed by, inwardly giggling and praising the decent soundproofing of the Express cars. It was surprising indeed that none of the “aunties” yet bothered the trainpony about the noisy neighbourhood, separated from it by one compartment only.

Next to another luxury door, one of the business ponies was quietly talking with a young mare; her shortly cut accurate mane was sending into the air that faint scent Alex caught the trails of before. In the dim light of the passageway lamps, the heads of the stallion and the mare leaned close together; their soft talk, barely overshadowing the wheel clatter, definitely was not intended for the stranger’s ears. Recognizing one of the single mares, he saw boarding the Express in Canterlot, Alex knowingly shrugged and subtly cleared his throat, accurately declaring his presence.

“Excuse me!” With the light feather rustle, he slid past the couple, leaning against the outer wall and replying to their slightly abashed glance with an apologetic smile. However, showing no reproach, both nodded understandingly to the human, then disappeared into the compartment, likely deciding to continue their interrupted talk in its privacy.

Reaching their with Fluttershy room, Alex already put his hand on the sliding door handle, but a glance thrown into the window made him linger for a while. Timely guided by Celestia, the sun already hid behind the distant western mountains, leaving the valley flooded in the deep shadow. Manifesting their proximity to the Frozen North, the snow covered everything, even the trees standing separately or in small groves. At some places, the white blanket was so thick, it bent the large branches to the ground and made the fir-trees look like pyramids in winter camouflage. Enthralled by the scene, Alex stepped closer to the glass rectangle with a thin frozen frame. The soft hallway lighting took over the look outside – to see the landscape clearly, one should almost snuggle to the window. Alex did exactly that, using his wings to shield from the artificial light and letting the winter reveal itself in all the beauty in front of his admiring eyes. One by one, the stars began to show through on the mazarine velvet of the darkening sky, weaving the familiar and unfamiliar constellations little by little. First, the largest ones, then the tiny specks of dimmer or farther stars hurried to attend their nightly duty.

Fighting the strong wish to open the window and enjoy the unobstructed panorama – which would have been immediately protested by some of the passengers most likely – Alex heard a couple of reserved hoofsteps and realized that he wasn’t alone in the car passageway. A short glance to his right told Alex that, moreover, he wasn’t alone admiring the view – the stallion, they with Fluttershy mutually defined as the “traveller”, was also staring into the window, pushing the unchanging hat to his nape. The human lit with realization, whom that stallion reminded him of by the hat, the checkered neckerchief, the general expression – Indiana Jones; the clean-shaved, well-rested version of at least. That thought made Alex giggle inwardly. Suddenly, a subtle yet expressively mirthful smile lit the traveller’s muzzle, which looked anticipating, as far as Alex could tell.

The smooth sound of the door sliding open made them both turn back. With a slightly concerned look, Fluttershy peeked out of compartment number six. However, the girl’s expression changed to the relieved one when her glance stopped on Alex right behind the door.

“You’re here! I started worrying a bit…”

“The road back took slightly longer,” Alex couldn’t hold back a smile. “I wasn’t the only one who decided to stretch the legs tonight,” he pointed with his thumb back at the aisle, where a couple of students whisked forth and back between the compartments again.

“Oh, I see! Good evening, sir,” noticing the stallion, Fluttershy greeted him with a friendly smile, getting the same in return.

“Good evening, miss!” the “traveller” raised his fore hoof to his hat.

“Well… Won’t bother you,” with an understanding glance, alternating between him and Alex, Fluttershy returned to the compartment.

Exchanging the belated greetings, both Alex and the stallion addressed the interrupted stargazing again. Staring through the window at the flowing landscape, Alex kept guessing; his thoughts were occasionally circling around the crescent pin on the hat of his involuntary silent collocutor, but asking directly seemed too awkward to him. While he was absently reflecting like that, the picture behind the glass changed – rising from behind the train, the bright silvery light flooded the surroundings, making the cars throw long dark shadows on the snow-covered railway mound. The shadows rushed to catch up with their material counterparts in the futile race, becoming shorter and denser as the light rose in the sky. The entire valley sparkled with myriads of tiny diamonds when the moonlight played on the snowy fields, rocks and occasional trees. Yet invisible to them, the Night Beacon was slowly ascending, turning the blue colour of the sky lighter, hiding the smaller stars behind its silvery shine and leaving only the largest ones visible in their eternal pattern.

“Amazing...”

“Hmm?” Alex was pulled out of his thoughts by the quiet exclamation of admiration.

“Isn’t it absolutely amazing?” the “traveller” looked at him, nodding towards the view outside. “Simple, yet magical.”

“Most definitely!” Alex let out a dainty smile. “The masterpiece… and the artist herself.”

“I’d say you are an admirer of moonlit landscapes as well,” seeing the stallion’s understanding smile, Alex glanced at the crescent pin on his hat.

“Yes, kinda!” his collocutor gave a laugh. “But with a good reason, sir, rest assured.”

“You see,” elaborated the stallion, leaning against the window frame, “I always had a habit to address the invisible yet omnipresent… eye in the sky for the guidance and oversight, especially during the most difficult night trips.”

Throwing a glance at the moonlit valley, where seemingly every occasional rock and snowy shrub became revealed like at the bright day, Alex nodded.

“First, unwittingly as if I simply needed some inward sign of support,” continued the stallion, adjusting the hat; the pin shimmered brightly in the light of car lamps. “Imagine my surprise when I once was honoured with the personal confirmation of that guidance. Even if I always knew that occasional watching over me was a tiny part of her duties – our Night Princess, naturally. Moreover, I got the material sign of that guidance and, may I call it, friendship, the keepsake of a kind,” added he after a moment of silence, pointing with his hoof at the hatband pin. Emerging from his thoughts, he raised his glance at the human. “I hope, I haven’t bored you with my memories.”

“No, not at all! Do tell please,” Alex expressed genuine interest.

“Oh, nothing too fascinating in the story in general,” smiled the stallion, but his smile told about him truly treasuring that memory, “except the actual visit from Her Highness, Princess Luna. I was on the routine trip to Oatlahoma – quite a long yet familiar road, I could probably follow with my eyes closed,” he let out a chuckle. “Knowing that I was going to wander into the night, I addressed inwardly the one who might easily provide the safety and guidance, if not physical then mental. Believe me, it’s as important, if not more.”

“Oh, I understand. And can easily relate,” Alex nodded, returning in his thoughts into his early days in Equestria.

“So, I barely hit the road when the Night Princess appeared on my way,” shrugged the “traveller” as if still not entirely believing his luck. “Her Highness was quite interested, why I kept starting each of my travels with the prayers to her, even if holding sway over the night was always her duty, thus putting me under her oversight naturally. She even blessed me by her company for a while,” the stallion let out a humble smile, “while I was explaining the nature of my usual requests being purely a source of my inner serenity and confidence. How honoured I was, told that my little prayers didn’t fall on the deaf ears, but rather gained some vivid interest from the one I never dreamed to see in pony lest alone talk freely.”

“That’s so like her,” said Alex; his glance froze for a moment, directed seemingly in the distant space. “She may look unattainable at times, yet always ready to support those who need and deserve. Methinks she receives tides of prayers regularly; however, she singled out yours… it must be coming wholeheartedly forsooth.”

“So it was,” confirmed the stallion, throwing another glance at the passing by shimmering plain. “I assured Her Highness of the purity of mine intentions as considering myself her friend was a matter of great happiness for me. And… got that token, I keep close ever since.”

“Sometimes I strongly suspect,” the stallion leaned closer to Alex, lowering his voice, “that this small souvenir is imbued with the same featherweight spell, Princess Luna applied to my cargo wagon that night… Or maybe the warm feeling of protection causes that effect on me.”

“I wouldn’t wonder if it is,” Alex broke into a smile, “if we’re thinking about the same Luna.”

“You look… and sound like one knowing Her Highness well enough,” the “traveller” tilted his head inquiringly.

“I’m here, in Equestria for about half a year only,” said Alex. “But yes, we are… very close. That was an unimaginable gift of luck in my case, I guess…”

The Moon rose high, making the shadows short and the entire landscape passing behind the glass – crispy contrast. Turning all the tints of blue, the deep clear velvet, spreading above the valley and the train cutting it, was barely stained; however, the moonlight revealed the dark stripe of heavy clouds along the northern edge of the sky. Rare snowflakes swirled in the air, pulled with the hurrying train and agitated by the smoke, erupting from the pipe of the loco. As the first ambassadors, they were reminding the passengers about the frozen lands still lying ahead.

“If you don’t mind an advice from a stranger,” noticed the stallion when they both returned to contemplation. “Cherish that relationship no matter what, sir! Princess Luna is that special kind of a treasure-person, rare and difficult to find nowadays.”

“I know,” simply said Alex.

“Longhaul Hoofer, by the way,” his collocutor turned to him with an appraising glance. “Simply Longhaul for the friends.”

“Alex…” Alex stumbled upon almost adding “the human” but held himself in time, properly assuming that he would sound unnecessarily official. ‘Celestially official!’ inwardly chuckled he, adding instead. “Simply Alex without any stipulations… as there is hardly another one here anyway. Nice to meet you!”

“Mutually!” smirked Longhaul. “Hmmm, I know about a princess who introduces herself alike…”

“Yeah…” It dawned on Alex that mister Hoofer was talking about Twilight, but he was captured by another question. “By the way, it seems that we were right. We with Fluttershy were guessing if you were some kind of a traveller,” elaborated Alex, nodding towards the compartment door. “Apologies if we took too much liberty accidentally,” added he with a guilty smile.

“It’s okay,” Longhaul gave a laugh. “Especially as your guess was truly bull’s eye. Not that I ever was concealing it much. However, my travels were of a bit different, more prosaic nature than it is considered usually: I’ve been delivering cargo for my entire conscious life, and, daring to say that, have been almost all over Equestria with my cargo wagon.”

“I see. So, while it was still travelling, it was kinda far from pure entertainment!” said Alex through a sympathetic smile.

“Yes and no at the same time,” Longhaul stared through the night landscape; his hazel eyes turned to the events of his past. “Believe me, it was rarely boring, even occasionally entertaining… up to thrilling and some degree of dangerous sometimes. But hardly restful… Well, like every job, I suppose, even the favourite one. For which it is called a job exactly,” he gave out a smile.

“So now…”

“… I am in the middle of a different kind of travel. More refreshing to be exact. It’s nice to be carried once in a while instead of carrying. For a change!” chuckled Longhaul; his philosophical outlook made Alex break into a smile as well.

“Thus, I’m using my free time to visit the places I missed during my cargo trips,” continued Longhaul, pushing the hat to his nape. “Some sights, more time to enjoy them rather than dashing by. Crystal Empire is one of such places I had no time to visit to my shame.”

“Although, considering the possible weather there,” the stallion threw a meaningful glance at the strengthening snowfall behind the window – the sky wasn’t cloudless already; in the bright moonlight, the shadows were running across the valley like giant shaggy dogs, “something tells me that the next place I visit for leisure will be somewhere at the eastern coast, likely south-east.”

“Can’t deny it’s reasonable!” chuckled Alex, watching the dance of the large snowflakes, which swirled in the wind wrapping around the train. “I haven’t yet seen the equestrian ocean likewise…”

‘Otherwise than in a dream,’ added he inwardly. ‘But that doesn’t count I suppose.’

“Supposedly, it isn’t too different from the ones in my homeworld, but still…” Alex caught a mental glimpse of his old dream, including him, Fluttershy and Luna somewhere on the shore.

“I guess it is a natural wish,” Longhaul shrugged, “for a mid-aged stallion, who managed to earn enough to afford a small house somewhere warm and serene. Especially after the last few years, which were more than eventful and made me almost live on the road with my wagon,” added he confidentially.

Alex wanted to say something when they were interrupted by the sound of quick, light hoofsteps; he remembered fancying a door sliding open subtly a while ago.

“I extend mine hope we didn’t bother anypony by our talk…” muttered Alex turning to the approaching steps. At that exact moment, somepony small almost bumped into him, hugging above the knees.

“Wow! Somepony said about their home world! By the way, you never told us anything about it, Alex! Why?!” Aurora’s eyes were shining with curiosity when she glanced up at him inquiringly.

“We heard somepony talking in the corridor…” Storm was following her close; he was making a visible effort to hold back his enthusiasm, but it was obvious that the colt shared his sister’s interest. “And it turned out to be you, so… I hope we’re not bothering much, sorry!”

“Good evening, sir! Please excuse us,” he greeted Longhaul a bit confusedly; getting a reassuring nod from the stallion, the colt let out a little smile.

“It’s okay, kids… as long as you aren’t compromising your sleep,” with a chuckle, Alex picked up Aurora into his arms.

“Storm… Aurora…” Miss Chime appeared in the hallway following the foals. Seeing a concerned expression on her muzzle, Alex nodded, greeting her and showing that it wasn’t much of a burden for everypony. Longhaul was watching the scene with kind humour in his eyes.

“And how you got to Equestria also!” added Aurora, nesting with all possible comfort.

“Good evening, gentlecolts!” Crystal Chime approached, still looking slightly unconfidently at the foals clinging to the human. “Excuse me! I hope that…”

“Not at all! Don’t worry, ma’am,” Longhaul’s eyes were smiling. “I suppose they brought a fresh stream into our musings. It’s probably me who is interfering now.”

“By no means, sir!” Alex shook his head, supported by everypony present. “Stay if you wish and if our company hasn’t become too noisy for your liking.”

“Oh! It’s a full-time meeting! Mind if I join?” The door slid open behind Alex’s back, letting out a trail of floral aroma; with a smile, Fluttershy took a look around the small herd. Alex leaned in and planted a kiss at her immediately flushing nose instead of an answer.

“Come on, Alex! Spill the beans,” Aurora nudged him lightly but impatiently, reminding the human of her question. Noticing the same urge in Storm’s eyes, Alex let out a feigned sigh and gave up.

“Okay, kids. How can I put it simpler?” he pondered, how to depict his arrival in a less gruesome way than it originally looked. “Let’s say, I rode a thunderbolt,” Alex chuckled, trying to sound as jokingly as it was possible. “The heavy rainstorm started when I… departed. The oncoming car… errmmm, sort of automatic carriage, we use – it lost control and crashed, doors jammed. So, I was to help the other people,” shrugged he. “I got inside their car and then a lightning struck into it… somehow carrying me to your world!” finished he in a bit crumpled way.

“I can’t explain better,” added Alex after a second of impressed silence, “as I still can only suppose, how it exactly worked.”

“Maybe it’s for the best,” quietly said Fluttershy, throwing a meaningful glance at the human. Crystal Chime watched the suddenly hushed foals with a surprised smile as if seeing them for the first time ever.

“Well, on the bright side of the Moon, nopony got hurt!” Alex drew the line cheerfully; the mood slowly passed on to the foals – Storm and Aurora gave smiles again. “I hope we don’t interfere with somepony’s plans at that hour,” Alex sat down cross-legged on the train car floor, pulling the foals closer, thus blocking half of the passage. With his eyes chained to the darkening sky behind the large window, Alex pointed at one group of the stars. “There, kids, is one of the phenomena I still can’t comprehend! See that constellation?”

“It’s Ursa Major!” squeaked Aurora, excited to show her knowledge. “Mom usually tells us about the night sky…”

“Right!” Alex hurried to distract the filly before she had time to get sulky. “And those three bright stars over there, rising over the horizon? That’s part of Orion. Now to the phenomenon,” added he mysteriously. “These two constellations are well known to me; we have them as well in my home world.”

“Moreover,” continued Alex while the foals and, frankly speaking, everypony present tried to digest the meaning of that statement, “they both are a part of exactly winter sky on Earth, in the northern hemisphere. Where we are now on Equus either,” he said meaningfully.

Crystal Chime blinked wonderingly – she started getting the course of human thoughts. Longhaul’s glance was still drawn to the night sky, but he clearly listened to the talk from the corner of his perked ear. Only Fluttershy, already familiar with Alex’s explanation of his travel and possible interposition of Earth and Equus in time and space, wasn’t surprised a iota. With a light smile, the girl kept listening, wondering how the human was going to explain the latter to the foals.

“That could mean that Earth exists in its own dimension at the same spot where Equus exists in its one,” said Alex with an expression of residual disbelief.

“How’s that even possible?” whispered Storm, following the human’s glance across the starry sky with the named constellations.

“Believe me, half a year ago I would say this was nonsense as well,” chuckled Alex, ruffling their manes while his wings supported foals’ backs. “Just like about the multitude of other things, including… well… never mind. Back to the topic though. I don’t know half of the common constellations here. So,” he raised his finger, “how can our planets share the part of constellations and their positions while not being the same planet, and at the same time differ regarding the rest?”

“I didn’t understand half of what you said, Alex!” Aurora nudged him with her nose and pouted jokingly, making everypony around smile. “Why don’t you simply tell about your home planet instead? Without much scientific stuff…”

Alex looked through the window at the flying snowflakes – swirling and dancing, more and more of them competed with the stars in the night sky decoration, shimmering in the silvery moonlight. At the north, the gloomy stripe of the clouds became wider and wider, threatening to flood the entire scene with darkness.

“Okay,” Alex gave up with a smile. “Not a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”

Lit by a multitude of magical crystals, the large hall was so quiet that one could probably hear the strained hum of the uneasy thoughts of the light-grey unicorn. The latter measured the room with his steps from one wall to another, from the large doors to the wide window of stained glass. The silence got broken occasionally when the stallion paced up pensively, so his hoofsteps echoed under the high, randomly faceted ceiling. The setting autumn sun was unable to dispel neither the twilight, gathering in the far corners, nor his anxious reflections. Coming through the stained glass, its light could only send the faint colourful rays full of dancing dust specks into the room. The tightly shut window among other precautions was explicable: even managed exclusively by the weather pegasi under the magical dome, the weather fluctuations could disturb the proper work of the magical device of great importance and sensitive precision placed in that room.

Once in a while, the concerned unicorn raced past the window: the long dense shadow cut the sunrays and fell on the giant table in the centre of the hall, running over the peculiarly made map of the lands. The Crystal Castle, towering in the middle of the city, the streets and buildings, big and small, the surrounding lands, spreading like the colourful patchwork blanket with the fields and groves, forests and lakes, rivers and roads, cutting that pie of land in different directions – everything was presented on that incredible miniature copy of the domain. The magical dome of the smaller scale than the real one covered the entire inhabited land representation. Faintly shimmering on the perimeter like some giant rainbow soap bubble, it was rising over the tiny landscape elements and became invisible in the air. The miniature low, dark clouds slowly flowed, wrapping and swirling around the ethereal yet impenetrable barrier. Contrasting with the inner one, the outer land looked hostile, whitened with the eternal snow and shining ice, peppered with rocks, only tinted here and there with patches of grim dense fir-wood; small settlements of industrial purpose like mining were scattered through the frozen grounds.

The actual magical dome was exactly the same as its imitation depicted – the only reliable barrier between the heart of the Crystal Empire and the kingdom of winter around, the Frozen North. Mostly invisible, it protected the inner space from natural hazards and known hostile intrusions. One of the miraculous manifestations of the Crystal Heart – the magical artefact of the immense power, having the almost symbiotic bonds with the crystal ponies – the barrier allowed the inhabitants of the Crystal Empire to live and work safely, as the conditions inside were similar to Equestria. Moreover, it allowed the weather-pegasi to maintain the weather nearly perfect. Any jobs outside of the dome were well compensated; besides, the workers spent only limited periods of time in the “white lands”, in a rotational manner, so nopony stressed themselves excessively.

However, as with everything in the endless Universe, the barrier had its flaws. Impenetrable from outside for the known threats – nopony could clearly tell how that process of recognition by the Crystal Heart worked – it could oppose nothing against the totally unknown menace or the attack from inside, by the threat already seeping in somehow. That had happened twice already – both times, only the unprecedented actions from the defenders saved the Crystal Empire from the seemingly imminent danger. Thus not being ideal, the magical dome still demanded constant vigilance from the Empire inhabitants and especially from the rulers of the domain.

Yet again as many times that evening, the unicorn stallion stopped near the live map and stared fixedly at the motion playing up in front of his light cerulean eyes. Pursing his lips, he watched the small coloured flags, crawling on the landscape model as some bright bugs. A couple of them was moving inside the dome at its southern border; much more though were scouting the frozen lands outside along the south quarter of the rainbow hemisphere. Judging by the measured scanning movement of the marks, one could suppose that nothing unsetting was happening yet. Still, the eyes of the unicorn seemingly penetrated the distance, trying to see what hid behind the moving signs: he leaned forward, the sapphire with cerulean and phthalo-blue streaks mane fell on his progressively glooming muzzle.

‘Waiting is the worst thing possible!’ the stallion looked away from the magical map, which currently was unable to provide him with any new fuel for pondering. ‘But waiting helplessly for what the new day may bring is a crime!’ meeting the tired and stern glance of his dim reflection in the crystal wall, he clenched jaws – the lumps on his cheeks jumped up and down. ‘I don’t want to put everything at risk ever again…’

The hoofsteps drumming through the hallway made the unicorn turn to the sound expectantly. Slowing down, not to burst in like a hurricane, the guards’ commander appeared in the opening doors, stopping a few steps in with a salutation. With a tired nod, the unicorn welcomed the visitor to report without ceremony.

“Your Highness!” Understandingly, the commander turned right to business. “Two news…” he cleared his throat subtly, “…both bad more or less, I assume.”

“It’s easy to choose then!” chuckled the unicorn ironically; lately, the bad news was more usual than good. “Go on, commander!”

“The weather outside of the dome is getting progressively worse,” the guard approached the map. “We expect the strong snowfall to begin in the next few hours.”

“I’m afraid the pegasi can do nothing this time, except freezing in the sky,” he replied the inquiring glance of the unicorn. “Flowing around the barrier, two cloud fronts collide at the southern border; with the increasing wind, it already resembles a thresher up there.”

“Well, we’re amidst the Frozen North,” dropped his collocutor; however, a shadow of anxiety slid across the stallion’s muzzle. “Snowfalls are usual for this time of the year.”

“With all respect…” with the light clanking of the armour, the guard alternated from hoof to hoof. “Your Highness, this one is going to be massive by all the signs, threatening to block the roads outside of the dome. Railway tracks included,” added he after a second of strained silence.

“Now, that’s unacceptable!” the unicorn’s muzzle gloomed, then he remembered. “And the other thing?”

“The Seekers were lost of sight in the starting blizzard! The groups keep searching, but with no result so far,” the commander nodded towards the slowly moving flags on the map. The small magical clouds indeed herded at the southern border of the dome, getting gradually denser and darker.

Judging by the unicorn’s expression, that was the most unwanted news to receive.

“Any changes to their numbers?” he hurried to the map. “Where were they seen last time?”

“Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to eliminate any of the creatures again,” responded the guard. “As for the location…” he stepped forward; a part of the burning up shining aura of his horn detached and floated to the giant table. The tiny light ball chose a spot on the map and settled like a glowing mark on the toy landscape. “The last information about the pack was there-about.”

The unicorn stared at the spark sitting at the edge of a large stony valley, frozen and squeezed between two stripes of the forest. Searching for a moving target during the strong blizzard was a bad and futile idea there. But that wasn’t what made the stallion’s muzzle darken. With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes for a second – straight like a guitar string, the railroad from Canterlot was cutting the valley in halves.

“What about the Express?” the unicorn shook his sapphire mane, glancing at the reporting guard gravely.

“It is moving according to the schedule, Your Highness!” Even if the guard could ease the concerns of the unicorn, it wasn’t enough to dispel them completely. “Passing the Crystalshard mine, it didn’t yet enter the zone of possible snowdrifts.”

‘The question is, will it arrive before the full blockade?’ for the long silent minute, the light-grey unicorn fell into deep thoughts, alternating between the map and the patiently waiting commander.

“Don’t waste the ponypower in the upcoming snowstorm!” He finally made the decision. “Send several groups to circle the valley, cover from the blizzard and wait for the further orders. Stay sharp!”

“Even if it is fitting the schedule now…” the stallion glanced at the fading away sun behind the stained glass; his eyes narrowed. “We must get ready for the worst type scenario, commander. Prepare the Icebreaker!”

“Your Highness!” the guard saluted.

“That’s all, commander. Dismissed!” the unicorn nodded with permission.

Meeting somepony in the doorway, the leaving guard stepped back with a bow, giving way to an alicorn mare, then hurried to deliver the orders.

“Is everything okay, Shining?” the light-greyish cerise princess lightly trotted to the unicorn; swaying back her long wavy violet mane with rose and pale gold streaks, she looked into his eyes. “That dusk look on your face…”

“More or less like every day lately, Cady,” Shining Armour forced out a smile, trying his best for it to look more natural. “But it may turn worse anytime soon…” he hugged the girl’s shoulders apologetically, being unable to tell the brighter news.

“But… auntie Celestia promised to send help, didn’t she?” incrusted with a violet gem, the peculiar golden crown trembled lightly as the girl tilted her head. The light purple eyes looked inquisitively, then widened. “You are talking not about these monsters, right, my love? What then?”

With a deep sigh, the stallion adjusted an out of place strand of her mane with his light rose aura.

“Considering how the situation is developing, those sent by Princess Celestia may need our help instead, sweetheart!” His glance was tensely serious. “The blizzard is approaching the southern border; there is a high chance that snowdrifts will block the railway… It may turn out that we’ll need to save them from the snow captivity instead. The train was last reported here,” the tiny light of his aura marked the spot at the edge of the map. “By the time they approach the outskirts of the barrier, the road may become blocked already.”

“Oh…” The princess looked at the glowing mark, at the tiny but menacingly dark clouds, gathering between it and the magical dome. “They have nothing to oppose the elements, I assume. It made me wonder, why auntie Celestia refused to arrive herself…”

“I suppose she has matters keeping her tied to Canterlot at the moment,” Shining Armour decided that telling Cadence about Princess Celestia being unsure in her ability to take down the multiple Seekers… without mass destruction measures wasn’t the best idea. “Besides, if she has fewer problems dealing with the monsters than the rest of us, that doesn’t mean she has none. So, she sent somepony unaffected by the Seekers mental impact.”

“But not the dangers of the Frozen North…” Cadence shook her head. “Still strange. I know Fluttershy. With all her undoubted virtues, she is not a traveller. Neither a fighter. What about that… human, right?”

“All I know about them is – they exist. At least one does. Only my sister could give you a detailed answer, Cady,” Shining Armour chuckled, although not very cheerfully. “As I could understand from Princess Celestia letter, he is big, keen in mechanics and weapons, has a difficult character… and can easily take down the Seekers. Nothing about him being frost resistant was told, so I assume…”

“As you put, it sounded nearly scary,” the alicorn mare let out a tiny smile.

“We’ll see, sweetheart, we’ll see,” the light cerulean eyes promised loving protection. “With the creatures clearly aiming to reach the Crystal City while we may only guess about their intentions… we shouldn’t refuse any help offered.”

“We had it close twice already!” uttered he after a moment of silence. “I’m not going to waste a possible chance or to risk putting our folk in danger and our protection to be compromised. Not any more!”

“Hmm… You managed to slip out with your story nicely, my love!” Fluttershy nuzzled Alex tenderly. “I’d bet everypony listened to it, not only foals. I did for sure.”

A minute ago, everypony left, wishing each other a good night. Miss Chime took the yawning and almost nodding into the sleep foals with her. Longhaul, who stayed with the company till the end, listened to Alex’s story with a genuine interest of the traveller – even if realizing that his chances to visit the described lands were more than ephemeral. Nodding goodbye, the stallion lifted the hat before heading to his door, making Alex instantly regret that a handshake wasn’t an option with everypony in Equestria except Spike.

Getting back into their compartment, Fluttershy and Alex just managed to sit on the berth facing the train direction. The dimmed lights made the swirling snow outside mix with the faint room reflection on the dark screen of the glass. Throwing a glance at the linen drawer, Alex was seriously pondering to make a bed first or simply fall asleep.

“Yeah,” he said a bit hoarsely, feeling his throat asking for mercy after talking for so long. “The last thing Storm and Aurora need to know now is the supposed reasons and details of my arrival. As well as the rest relating to the monsters invading Equestria. I’d like to hope they’ll have no more Seekers in their life, but it’s out of my powers to guarantee that. They aren’t that small to not understand many alarming things happening, yet I’d better tell them a fairy tale, than that.”

“Merlin’s pants, my mouth is a desert!” he reached for the half-full glass of water on the table and downed it at once; however, there was a strong feeling that it half-helped only.

“That we can remedy, I guess!” before he could say a word, Alex found his lips covered by Fluttershy’s. The girl wrapped her fore legs around his neck; her fragrant mane surrounded the human, his view taken by the smiling desirously turquoise eyes, faintly glistening in the twilight of their compartment, like two deep lakes. “Don’t talk, Alex. Just feel!”

In a second, Alex found himself melting in the soft fluffy cuddle while Fluttershy’s lips kept experimenting, making Alex’s head spin from pleasure. Sending his hands to travel across the girl’s back, shoulders and wings, he made Fluttershy murmur something through their kiss. No matter how persistent Alex’s palms were, stroking the heating coat, his mare wasn’t going to give up, even if her wings already trembled excitedly, barely held from unfurling ecstatically.

“Mhhhh…” emerging from the seemingly endless kiss, Fluttershy took a breath. “Oh, it seems to be less fatigue in your eyes now!” she pressed her nose against Alex’s; the girl’s cheeks started gaining colour, but playful sparkles were dancing in her eyes. Distracted by another short kiss, Alex felt the soft touch of the girl’s fore hooves pushing him on the berth with sudden strength and determination.

“As if I could argue now…” diving headlong into these deep turquoise lakes, he brushed his fingers through the girl’s flowing mane as Fluttershy leaned over him, inhaling excitedly. Before their lips merged again, Alex caught a glimpse of familiar sly expression, he used to see on another beloved face.

The sequence of jolts when the train braked, then started to speed up, then slowed again, crossing over the track junctions, finally pulled Alex out of his sleep. Opening his eyes, he was laying for about a minute, waking up completely. The train reached its cruise speed again; except for the occasional wheel clatter, only Fluttershy’s even breath was breaking the silence of the compartment – her head rested on Alex’s chest, hair tickling him lightly when the girl moved in her sleep. The room was still dark, making him think it was too early in the morning; however, throwing a glance in the window, Alex saw the sunlight falling on the passing by landscape slightly veiled by the snow. That made him stumble for a moment; absently stroking Fluttershy’s mane, Alex was lying, overwhelmed by the feeling that something wasn’t just right.

‘Yesterday, we, our berth was facing the train direction, now though…’ the answer even made him jerk of surprise. Indeed, the car was rolling Alex’s back forward.

“What the…” muttered Alex, waking up momentarily. “It can’t be that we are going back!”

“What’s up… my lo-ove?..” Fluttershy raised her head slightly, bathing him in the floral wave of her hair scent; the girl’s eyes were closed – she didn’t even really wake, only slightly disturbed by Alex’s motion. That little sleep last night definitely was not enough for her.

“It’s okay, Shy,” Alex couldn’t hold back a smile, watching her mirthful sleepy face; still in Lunaland, the girl dropped her head again, planting a small kiss on his chest. She was about to nest, snuggling tighter and wrapping her legs around him, but Alex was full of determination to find out what bad joke was going to be played on them. “I’ll go check for a minute…” he uttered crumpledly, trying his best to get up without bothering the sleeping mare.

‘Did Tia make some mistake? As far as I know, she never travels by train, not needing it…’ little by little, he managed to slip from the girl’s embrace, gently leaving her under the covers and unwrapping himself. Nevertheless, Fluttershy muttered something through her sleep, pulling his pillow closer and nuzzling into it. Alex leaned closer and kissed the long, slightly trembling eyelashes; the girl made a faint attempt to reach for him, twitching her nose funnily, but the sleep took over, making Fluttershy drop her head on the pillow and snooze.

Dressing quickly, Alex slid the door open and peeked into the empty passageway, then approached the opposing window. There was no doubt that their car was running backwards. Alex blinked several times with a feeling of something completely crazy going on. The sound of an opening door made him turn.

“Good morning, miss Chime! Dost thou know…” he rushed towards the mare exiting the compartment like a drowning human towards the lifebuoy, even making her wince first, “…what is befalling hither?” Alex caught himself and lowered the voice, remembering that the foals could be sleeping still.

“Good morning, Alex!” Crystal Chime smiled; the eyes of red gold looked up at the human. “You’ve startled me a bit…”

“Apologies,” muttered Alex. “Still…”

“You mean the cars going “backwards”, right?” the mare kept smiling, making Alex hope that maybe everything wasn’t that severe as he thought – he nodded resignedly.

“We have passed Trottsburgh. The city is not particularly large; which can’t be said about its station and transport hub,” stated miss Chime as if it was to explain everything. Watching the human blinking bemusedly, she realized. “Oh, I’m sorry, Alex. You might know not… The cars of most of the trains are reattached to the locomotives oppositely, due to the peculiarities of Trottsburgh station layout and sorting process. The Crystal Express is not an exception,” explained the mare with an apologetic smile. “Nothing bad happened, we’re still going north, it just seems that the cars go backwards.”

“I knowingly take tickets to the first car,” added Crystal, “as it becomes the last one for the second half of the trip, allowing us to rest from the loco noise and smoke before boarding off.”

“Merlin’s pants! It was that simple, yet gave me a few stressful minutes,” exhaled Alex, shaking from the silent laughter. Another glance through the window told him that he could probably notice that they were still going north by the Sun position. If he wasn’t startled by the seeming weirdness of the situation. “So, Tia still made a mistake. Slightly different one, but…”

“We were supposed to arrive in the first car,” feeling a load off his mind, Alex elaborated to confused Crystal. “But she never travels by train, so…”

“Well, what’s done – done for good. If we had gone as she planned, then we wouldn’t have boarded the same train car with you, miss Chime!” Alex broke into a cheerful smile.

“Indeed, I take that coincidence as the happy one,” nodded the mare. “Besides, it made the trip a lot easier!”

“You both are coming along with the foals awesomely,” she explained. “Thanks a lot for helping them to fixate on the problems not. Not to mention that they became suddenly obedient,” added Crystal amusedly. “Makes me wonder, if I had looked like a human mare, maybe they would have obeyed a bit more out of impression in my case as well.”

“I have nothing to complain of with Storm and Aurora, but… I simply can’t be stern with the foals and sometimes they feel that too well,” Crystal Chime shrugged. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing though.”

“Don’t ever change, ma’am!” Alex shook his head. “Not with the kids, at least. They need you as you are, especially now.”

Returning to the compartment, Alex was seriously considering the advantage of diving under the covers, into the warm embrace of Fluttershy again. The majority of the passengers seemed to share Alex’s sentiments about the early rise as the only one he met was miss Chime; the rest were still sleeping. Quite a reasonable decision if you were travelling a few days through the frosted land and the only foreseeable entertainment would be the breakfast, which, furthermore, was served in the dining-car till eleven. The train was proceeding steadily; nothing could seemingly interfere with its unshakable run. However, nopony would doubt the direction of their travel as Alex could confirm now: the landscape behind the window turned more and more untouched with each mile. The settlements, even the mere signs of civilization became rarer; as for the large cities, Alex suspected that Trottsburgh was the last they passed that day.

Patches of the forest started to come across rarer as well; denser and gloomier, they looked like the regiments of tall, hard-faced soldiers in the rifle-green overcoats with snow-covered shoulders. Separated by vast fields of whitened, frozen land with the iced rocks scattered across, those regiments were not going to wait for the stragglers – the occasional separate trees on the plains looked bent down, crooked by adversities and unhappy. Apparently, strong winds were common for that land. Indeed, Alex could easily see the elements raging as the snow became denser: the gusts of wind raced the plains, wrapping their semi-transparent sheets of dusty snow around the obstacles. Winter reigned there most of the year and its presence clearly felt even in the safety and warmth of the train car, behind the thick triple glass of the window.

No animals could be spotted by the cursory glance, except a few of large birds, rising from the woodland and diving back into the safety of the forest after a loop or two, making it easy to presume that it was too cold yet. Or even simply quite cold; the temperature didn’t rush up with the rising sun, judging by the wide frame of ice on the window glass.

With loud noise and clatter, the train jetted over an openwork bridge above the sudden deep ravine. Far below, squeezed between the sharp rock shelves and chained in ice, a river was lying like a snaking band of hardened grey tin. Half of a year ago, that image solely would make Alex’s heart drop into his stomach or even lower; now though, he watched the landscape, slowly lightening by the rising sun through the cloudy veil, with the growing concern. Even without a map, by the look outside, he was going to suppose that they had already crossed the boundary of Crystal Empire.

‘Somehow I doubt that the ponies, willingly living here, are easy to discompose,’ concluded Alex darkly. ‘Yet some circumstances made them ask for help.’

While he was pondering, the train slowed down noticeably, making Alex wake, looking for the reason for that. The latter appeared after a short while in the form of some station, even rather an observation post next to the railroad. A few snowbound buildings surrounded by the fence slowly passed by in front of his eyes. The older and the bigger one was accompanied by the newly built, enforced windmill stirring the air with its rotor blades. Flaunting behind the flowing snow veil, the big, polished steel letters “CSC” were attached to the metalwork frame. Apparently, his generator found its use there as well, in that Celestia-forsaken corner, making Alex smile involuntarily.

“Well, smart decision,” muttered Alex while the Crystal Express started to speed up again. “Especially as winds blow here three hundred sixty-four days a year, except one when they have a day off!”

“Mmhmm… Good morning, dear!”

Before Alex turned to the quiet rustle behind, two fore legs wrapped around his chest lovingly; he cupped the gentle hooves with his hands, feeling the softness of the lush mane and the girl’s warm cheek, snuggling between his shoulder blades.

The last early sunset of that autumn painted the fields around the smithy light orange and pink, casting long thin shadows of the lonely standing trees and large rocks scattered around. They stretched out their clock hands south-east, almost corresponding to the real four hours past noon. As planned by the weather pegasi, the snow kept covering everything around with the thin plaid; judging by its persistence, there was no doubt that the plaid was going to turn into the proper blanket by the next morning. The wilted grass was drooping to the ground under the increasing load, covering securely the young green blades from the upcoming frosts. Passing these folds, the sunlight painted the pink-orange sea rippled with darker waves, over the fresh white snow, making the long shadows look like some kraken tentacles endeavouring to reach the smithy from the north-west. Steels’ house and yard seemed the only serene and warmed island – not the least because of the candent smelter – before the calm harbour of Ponyville.

Leaning at the fence, Diamond Chisel kept staring at the field ahead, submerged into the thoughts known to him only. They decided to finish earlier that day, due to all the routine work being done, common orders completed. Alex’s departure made unexpected changes to their work schedule. Fortunately, they managed to produce quite a lot of blanks for the new armour, technically loading the smithy with assembly work for a while. However, with the finally increasing interest of the royalty, Diamond Chisel suspected that with the current production pace the stash could dry out faster than expected. For the first time in a while, they started feeling the labour shortage again. Alex promised to have a word with Princess Celestia about enforcing the smithy with some of the royal guards’ armourers. But nopony knew if he had time to do that – they left in a rush with Fluttershy, making most of the acquaintances guess, what could have happened in Canterlot.

Yet, that wasn’t the main reason for the unicorn’s concern. Diamond Chisel started feeling some uneasiness a while ago; something he couldn’t even explain to himself, something of foreboding nature. Remembering the effects, the Seekers could cause, the stallion started watching the fields and his colleagues. But Steels looked calm and concentrated, the fields could be seen far through and little by little Diamond Chisel convinced himself that it was some trick, played on him by his conscious. Normally, he would have left the smithy after the work day, heading to his home at the eastern edge of the town. However, that day, the stallion lingered, unwittingly obeying his sudden gut feeling. Meticulously gathering the tools, Diamond Chisel checked everything twice, if not thrice, cleaning the work zone and levitating all the remaining stuff to the appropriate places. Even when Willsmash headed into the house after discussing tomorrow plans shortly, he stayed on the smithy yard as if waiting for something and thus watching the field subconsciously now, letting the snowflakes slowly settle down on his mane and coat.

“It’s getting colder here!” the quiet voice made the stallion turn. “Even despite the working smelter.”

“Yeah, perhaps it is. Look at that red sunset, well, what’s left of it – it’s going to get frosty tomorrow. I think this snow is going to stay,” Diamond Chisel let out a strained smile, not wanting to pass his anxiety. His glance nolens volens returned to the snowy field behind the fence and road.

Trotting lightly from the porch, Silver Ingot approached him. Following the stallion’s concerned glance, the unicorn girl took a long studying gaze across the fields. The wind played in her golden fluttering mane and tail, making Diamond Chisel throw an admiring side look.

“Are you okay?” Silver Ingot eyes scanned him attentively. “You’ll have a long road ahead. Why don’t you come in for a cup of hot tea?” the girl nodded towards the house with its welcoming, warmly lit windows. “Wait! It’s not the cold, right? You look…”

Her bright glance slid across his muzzle, then turned to the field again; noticing nothing unusual, Silver Ingot looked at Diamond Chisel inquiringly.

“Don’t you feel it?” the stallion looked at the filly fixedly, trying to read something in her expression. “Something… I… I can’t explain. Something uneasy, so to speak!”

“Probably,” Silver Ingot blinked, not quite understanding. “We are a bit overloaded. Not sure if we have enough metal and details to keep producing till…” she bit her lip pensively. “And something happened in Canterlot, I suppose, otherwise…”

“But these are the problems we can do nothing about at the moment,” Silver Ingot looked up at him with a faint smile. “Even if we worry naturally.”

“No, it’s another… thing,” uttered Diamond Chisel. “I thought about all these, but understood – that feeling must have different nature. Perhaps with the same reasoning as you, Silver Ingot,” the stallion kept watching the field from the corner of his eye. Suddenly, his muzzle twitched, noticed by the girl, finally passing the anxiety to her. “Wait! What was it there? Just…”

Diamond Chisel was absolutely sure that it wasn’t his imagination, despite he spent half an hour staring in the distance – one of the large dark rocks far in the field just made a move in the rays of the setting sun. His concern finally passed on to Silver Ingot entirely – now, the girl watched the strange object fixedly; a small muscle trembled under the coat on her shoulder. Hardly because of the cold wind.

“Go inside, please! Quickly!” Diamond looked into her widened eyes. Silver Ingot definitely felt something, she couldn’t explain easily like before. “It’s approaching…”

“It may be an animal…” the filly said not very confidently; her eyes were still chained to the dark silhouette, which – as they both saw clearly – was moving behind the veil of falling snow.

“Oh, come on, Sil!” groaned the stallion, out of concern addressing the girl as only her uncle and the human did. “An animal that large, seriously?”

“It’s winter now. What could it be, except some bear?” explained he, answering her bemused glance. “Isn’t a bear enough of a reason to get out of its road anyway? Especially in winter! But I’m sure it’s not a bear, not at all!” Diamond Chisel looked at Silver Ingot almost pleadingly. Meanwhile, the dark spot in the field paced up.

“Maybe it’ll wander by…” muttered the girl as if seeking confirmation of her words from Diamond Chisel. “It’s quite far…”

“It won’t!” stated the stallion doomedly. “Don’t you see? There is nothing in the field except us. In that direction at least.” He pushed away from the fence, politely but persistently trying to direct Silver Ingot towards the porch.

“Wait! What about you?” her eyes reverted from the approaching creature – both of them could make up the distinctive features already – and stopped at Diamond’s muzzle. “You don’t have time…”

“I’m not going anywhere,” uttered the stallion gloomily. “Here, I have everything necessary to confront the monster… if used properly.”

“But…” the girl’s eyes dilated from the understanding of what he was going to undertake.

“Wait, Sil,” interrupted her Diamond. “If we all simply hide inside the house, it’ll be only a matter of time for the monster to find a way in. Then we’re worse than dead, right?! Remember, what two of them did to the farm of Sunflowers!”

With those words, Diamond Chisel pulled one of the unicorn-fitted helmets from under the canopy. Mounting it over his head, he fidgeted with the clasps for a couple of seconds, blindly trying to direct them with his aura. Silver Ingot rushed to help, but the stallion recoiled, waving his fore hoof and finally fixing the armour piece in place.

“It’s not fitted for you!” squeaked Silver Ingot. “You won’t be able to see properly…”

“Not the best visibility,” smirked Diamond Chisel under the steel. “But I can see enough!” Levitating a heavy pan of bolts, nuts and small metal clutter, he jetted to the smelter, opening the delivery tray and wincing back from the heat bursting out. Under Silver Ingot’s bewildered glance, he smacked the pan down in front of the tray, just far enough not to melt it with all the contents yet making it heat up almost immediately.

“I’ll be fine!” the bulky metal head looked over the shoulder, catching Silver Ingot into the view. ‘I’d like to believe!’ added Diamond Chisel inwardly, cringing from the approaching wave of anxiety. “Hopefully, somepony else from the town noticed… everything!”

“Behind that snow?!” Silver Ingot still lingered.

“Now go!” almost shouted the stallion. “Tell Willsmash and don’t show up outside, till… Till it’s safe to!” He kept waving her off with his fore hoof until the girl finally ran up the porch, disappearing behind the front door after another desperate glance at him.

The Seeker – nopony would now doubt the origins of the approaching creature – already covered half of the distance separating them and sped up even more. Through the narrow visor, left for him by the unfitted helmet, Diamond Chisel could clearly see the four thick legs supporting the equine-like body and torso attached to its front, the swirling stripes of dark substance around the beast, the menacingly glowing red “eye”.

‘Come on, freak!’ Diamond Chisel grinned wryly, throwing a glance at the crackling pan full of candent metal junk. He took another moment to find and pull closer another one with the same load, prudently deciding that later he might have no time for that. ‘Let’s see how you can stomach some spicy stuff!’

The last dozen of yards before the old road, the Seeker turned to almost galloping, not giving any doubts regarding its intentions. The monster was ploughing the snowy field with its legs, leaving a wide stripe of disturbed, spread wilted grass where it passed. Jumping out on the road, the Seeker suddenly stopped to Diamond’s sheer surprise. The stallion was sure that the beast could at least feel his presence, perhaps, both Steels in the house as well. Rushing to the smithy wasn’t accidental – even if the Seeker was simply wandering before, it clearly aimed at the blacksmith’s house when Diamond Chisel spotted it fortunately.

However, at that moment it looked as if the monster suddenly lost its confidence of fast attack, feeling that the pony in front of it not only wasn’t turning into a motiveless rag doll, but didn’t even plan to flee, somehow ignoring the Seeker’s mental impact. The potential victim was on direct “eye contact” distance, yet kept obstructing the creature’s path.

Giving the beast no chance to react, the sparkling aura enveloped several bolts from the red-hot, almost skewing pan, forcefully launching them at the enemy. The metal parts drew shiny, slightly spreading arcs in the cold air of the grey frosty evening; not having time to cool, most of them hit the motionless target directly. To Diamond’s joy, the Seeker made an unconfident step back, shiver travelled across its huge frame. Hissing at the impact, the candent details penetrated the monster’s body deeply, falling out slowly and unwillingly, leaving noticeable holes in its skin. There was expectantly no blood, but the Dark Mist trailed faintly from each of the small wounds.

Diamond Chisel had no idea if those abominations could feel any physical pain, as he had very little knowledge of their nature, mostly limited to the information told in the official warning several months ago and random things the human used to tell. However, one thing was clearly visible – the nearly molten metal wasn’t digested well by the monster, no matter how much alive it technically was. The Seeker reared up, lifting its torso and fore legs with heavy hooves. Diamond suddenly realized how huge his enemy was – at least thrice his size, husky and durable at the mere sight, but that rather made the stallion angry. Blood rushed into Diamond Chisel’s head, muffling all the feelings except contempt towards that chunk of flesh attacking the innocent.

The Seeker made a step back as if losing balance but the unicorn was sure the monster did that to gain more momentum, as Diamond Chisel already foresaw the next move. The rock-solid hooves rushed down driven by the entire creature’s mass, smashing into the frosted ground and making it palpably shake under the unicorn’s legs. The cooling down metal details slipped out of the monster’s body, their glow dying out in the snow. The Seeker’s move was an intimidation and self-remedy act simultaneously.

‘Huh! Don’t like it!’ scoffed Diamond Chisel under his helmet. Yet it was too early to celebrate: the creature moved forward again, full of determination to reach the stinging foe, which turned out suddenly annoying despite the size. The long swaying tendrils of the Dark Mist snaked out of the Seekers body; gaining mass and density before the eyes, they possessed even more threat than the column-like legs of the monster.

Diamond Chisel had no time to linger – one or two black tentacles were already wrapping around the fence planks, going to clear the way even if the Seeker was large enough to simply step over the obstacle. Scooping another portion of hot metal parts with his aura, the stallion threw it at the monster, aiming higher in an attempt to smite the torso-like part of it or even the red orifice, habitually taking it for an eye of the creature. The latter was glowing brightly in the condensing twilight; with grim satisfaction, Diamond Chisel noticed that the helmet was actually working. The heat of the fight did the rest – the unicorn felt almost calm now, even if he suspected it to be some hopeless tranquillity. He didn’t hit the “eye” of the Seeker, but a good portion of almost liquefying metal hit the large carcass again, making it wince back and buck to shake the burning projectiles off. The tendrils pulled away, swaying in the air chaotically.

‘Please, let the monster be dumb and straightforward enough!’ glimpsed in Diamond’s head. ‘That will help me gain us more time.’ Reaching for the next candent load, he was constantly thinking of another fearsome possibility. If the Seeker decided to retreat and go around the smithy, attacking it from the sides or the northern edge, farthest from the smelter, that would seriously complicate Diamond’s task. The unicorn couldn’t dash back and forth, picking the new portions of heated scrap and hoping wholeheartedly that the Seeker wasn’t ramming into the house the next moment.

Throwing a desperate glance at the armour stand, Diamond Chisel was to admit regretfully that taking any melee weapon wouldn’t tip the scales for him – sword and spear combat wasn’t his turf. His best chance would still be keeping the Seeker on the distance, dodging its tendrils and constantly peppering the monster with the sizzling hot details.

Meanwhile, the Seeker rushed to attack again. Jumping over the snaking tendril, which tried to knock him off his legs, Diamond Chisel picked up the entire tray, deciding to give his enemy a bath worth of Tartarus. Risking to scorch himself as well, the unicorn launched the tray over the attacking Seeker – the shimmering rain showered the black creature, highlighting the space in the several yards radius.

‘Somepony, please, notice that!’ flashed in Diamond’s head when he yanked another tray of bolts and nuts closer to the smelter maw, realizing that chances to keep the monster distracted that way were melting as fast as the trampled and ploughed snow around. The mental wave rolled over the stallion, making him stumble and cringe. If the Seeker couldn’t roar or groan aloud in a common way, it definitely felt and reacted to the impact. Feeling as if he was bucked hard into his chest, Diamond Chisel straightened with visible effort, watching the monster prancing and stomping behind the smithy fence in the attempt to get rid of the scalding treat.

‘Anypony!’ Diamond Chisel was about to grasp the closest to him spear with a thin, wide, razor-sharp leaf-like blade – plenty of those dully shone under the canopy; it was only a matter of seconds for the monster to recompose and try to outpace its enemy, looking for another weak spot in the spontaneous smithy defence.

The new tray had no time to heat to the maximum temperature. The stallion already was reaching for the spear, ready to exchange his sanity or even life on a higher price. In the limited sight of his helmet – Diamond Chisel already blessed the device numerously – he watched the Seeker shaking off the remaining shrapnel and already aiming to go around the smithy, attacking it from the “cooler spot”.

“Watch out!!!” sounded seemingly from the gathering clouds. Something flashed in the evening sky, making Diamond Chisel throw his head up in the last hope.

Glinting dully in the firelight, the steel silhouette folded its wings and screwed in between the swaying tendrils of the Dark Mist on an absolutely crazy trajectory… cutting against the monster’s left fore leg. The hit was tangential and visibly not very hard; however, the Seeker collapsed on that knee as if it was shot through.

Encouraged by that sudden help, Diamond Chisel grabbed the weapon with his aura and levelled it for the better aim. With all his anger gathered in one strike, the blade sizzled in the cold air, hitting another fore leg of the monster, making it kneel down helplessly. Watching in awe the shimmering silhouette, which spread its wings going for another vertical loop, the stallion noticed from the corner of his eye that the monster’s left leg was turned completely inoperable, almost turning into some sort of jelly right before the sight. The Seeker still jerked, trying to get up and continue the fight or maybe flee, but the defeat was obvious.

Reaching the highest point of the loop, the winged figure turned around and darted to the ground, making it almost impossible to follow its flight because of the speed. Something detached from it, cutting the air and penetrating the Seeker’s back, practically impaling the monster, pinning it to the ground. Spreading the wings and slowing down, the newcomer landed next to Diamond Chisel with a strong gust of wind sending the remaining snow fly.

The Seeker trembled one last time; shivers ran across its large body. Right before the eyes of bewildered Diamond Chisel, the creature started disintegrating, crumbling into a heap of harmless ash-like substance. The Dark Mist was leaving the falling apart carcass in sheets and threads, weakly trailing in the winter air and slowly dissolving, caught by the wind, which began to disperse the black ash.

“Huh!” the mare’s voice huffed from under the patterned steel of the helmet. “Surprisingly, it works perfectly still!”

Diamond Chisel turned to her uncomprehendingly, then followed the armour-clad mare’s sight. In some unfathomable way, part of the remaining Dark Mist gathered around the blade of the stuck into the ground spear; seeping into it, the substance seemed to be consumed by the sharp edges of the weapon.

“Alex’s blood…” the pegasus in dark grey armour turned, elaborating. “He applied it to the blade to help take out the Seekers faster. Almost dried but it still works. It burns them like acid, eating the bastards from inside… Fascinating!”

Soaring again, the mare headed to the spot where the Seeker hit the ground; examining the place, she pulled out the spear from the thinning pile of ash, handling her weapon with care, then returned.

“R-Rainstorm…” creaked Diamond Chisel out of his throat full of sandpaper, making it sound as it was way more “s”es in her name. “What? How…”

Before the mare could reply, the door behind them slammed open. Outstripping the blacksmith appearing on the porch, Silver Ingot ran down the stairs and rushed to Diamond Chisel. Giving the stallion a quick integrity inspection, the filly grabbed the confused unicorn in a sudden hug. Diamond felt a couple of tears burning his cold shoulder through the coat. Releasing him after a second, the girl sniffed and let out an embarrassed smile. Approaching them, Willsmash nodded; his healthy eye flashed joyfully, reflecting the glints of the smelter.

Finally realizing that his knees trembled treacherously, Diamond Chisel felt as if he was pressed down by a rock. The stallion strove to get rid of the helmet, trying to grasp the clasps with his aura but with little success.

“Can you please help me?” he cleared his throat. “I can’t see a thing!”

“Yes… Just a minute…” shaking off moisture from her eyes, Silver Ingot rushed to take the armour piece off Diamond’s head.

“Well, I’m glad I could get here in time!” cheerfully noticed Rainstorm, watching the scene. Pulling up her precious spear, she explained. “Yesterday I heard that the guys from the freight yard complained that the last shift was harder than usual. You see, the “old chap” – railway station master was out of sorts… and gave them hard time. An outstanding occasion, if you know him. Besides, they all looked somewhat not at ease…”

Finally taking off the helmet, Diamond Chisel stared at her, blinking. Silver Ingot and Willsmash looked not entirely understanding as well.

“That made me thinking, what if…” with a light clank of her armour, Rainstorm elaborated. “So, I returned to the station several times while patrolling around today, flying around it and searching. Everything seemed quiet until I checked once more in the evening and saw… your fireworks across the field,” she chuckled echoingly under her helmet. “I darted here and, well… that was the right thing to do!”

“Thank you both, guys!” the old blacksmith’s voice was full of gratitude; he turned to Diamond Chisel. “Without you, son, we wouldn’t have made it through! It was mind-wrecking enough even from behind the house walls.”

The stallion nodded confusedly; most of all, Diamond Chisel craved for some rest at the moment, feeling his entire body numb.

“I wonder,” uttered Rainstorm, staring pensively at the almost dispelled pile of ash, “if that Seeker appeared with the one we managed to destroy with Alex. It looked a bit smaller than the first one. It had to be sneaking around unnoticed for quite a while… We need more ponies on guard!” The mare squinted.

“Anyway!” She shook her head almost joyfully, making the armour tingle again. “I hope we are not going to see them for a while.” Rainstorm took a look around the company. “You need some rest, folks! Have a good night!”

“She is right, son!” noticed Willsmash, watching off the soaring up mare. “We need to warm you before you caught a real cold. Come on in…”

Diamond Chisel closed his eyes in agreement. Supported from both sides by the old blacksmith and his niece, the stallion followed them into the house.

Propping up his chin, Alex stared through the window at the smudged view behind the snow-covered glass. Starting subtly and stealthily, it looked more like the wall of snow after ten; the snowflakes didn’t dance and swirl gracefully anymore, they turned into the white scratchy curtain, which snuggled to the compartment window, wavered by the strong gusts of wind. The latter, unleashed by the inhospitable nature of the Frozen North, attempted to slow the Crystal Express and howled plaintively, realizing the futility of its efforts. The Sun barely peeked through the running clouds, the shadows of which condensed, then suddenly dissolved almost completely when a clear spot appeared, letting some extra light through. Rarely seen before, birds and animals disappeared completely, as far as Alex could discern in the mess of snow-veiled blots the landscape turned into.

‘Reasonable,’ Alex shook his head – the flickering outside lulled, making even the thoughts flow slower. ‘It looks as if a strong blizzard is going to start. Everypony is hiding…’

“What are you thinking about, my love?” quietly nesting next to him, Fluttershy hugged Alex from behind, nuzzling into his nape with a tiny sigh.

“The weather…” Alex tenderly rubbed his cheek against the soft fore leg. “If it keeps raging, or gets any worse… the snowdrifts won’t linger to appear. I don’t know how much that loco can pull through, but I know for sure that the Frozen North – if half of what I heard is true – can easily offer way more.”

“How much is before the Crystal City yet?” he turned to the girl after a short silence.

“Mmm… We passed Trottsburgh city two hours ago…” Fluttershy bit her lip; the long eyelashes batted. “Several hours more. I can tell only approximately…” she glanced at him meekly. “More than six, I think, but that depends on the train speed.”

“Methinks we haven’t lingered anywhere so far,” pensively drawled Alex, pulling the girl closer and placing her on his lap. “But I don’t know if we still can outrun the elements.”

They both noticed the Express paced up compared to the first day of their journey; as if in reply to their worries, the train rushed forward, making the clatter of the wheels merge into an even hum and balancing between the attempts to catch up and general safety. Reaching their ears from time to time when the wind blew along the train, the long plangent whistle was tearing the snowy silence – speeding up the loco, the motorpony warned accidental deer and elks, which may occur on the tracks, to get off the rushing machine’s way. Since breakfast time, the Crystal Express did its best to deepen into the Crystal Empire territory as much as it could, aspiring to reach the Magical Dome before the roads turned unusable for a while by the snowfall.

During the breakfast – Alex and Fluttershy preferred to have it in the dining car, one more curious detail became revealed: the numbers of passengers of their car thinned considerably. Taking a look around the dining salon, Alex couldn’t find the detached group of “aunties” and the usually joyful and noisy pack of the students; one or two business ponies travelling with them as well were absent. At first, Alex thought that some of them might prefer their breakfast delivered to their compartments; he chuckled at the unlikeness of that for the students at least. However, passing the two compartments later – they were coming first in the direction of the train after the cars reattachment – Alex couldn’t hear the usual hum of the colts and fillies voices, which made him wondering and knock on the compartment door before those two.

Their trainpony quickly made the situation clear, telling Alex that the students and so-called “aunties” got off the train overnight, reaching their destination long before Trottsburgh. As the stallion added with a smile, he wouldn’t be going to miss any of – too much hassle from both the groups during the long ride. One of the business ponies boarded off in Trottsburgh. The rest of the passengers were still present, as Alex could judge by the familiar muzzles seen at the dining car.

Thus their company now consisted of miss Crystal Chime with Storm and Aurora, the seasoned traveller Longhaul Hoofer, two more business ponies, that cockish pegasus stallion with his spouse, two married couples more and the trainpony himself. Although, Alex wouldn’t mind being relieved of the necessity to observe that snobbish winged brute for another day.

‘Well, you can’t have all the comforts at once!’ he smirked inwardly, heading to their compartment. However, Alex was to admit that fortunately either the car bulkheads were sound-proof or the white pegasus wasn’t so mouthy without the wide audience – anyway, Fluttershy and Alex were not disturbed by their neighbours and could hope to be of no disturbance as well.

The wind became raging; throwing handfuls of dry spiky snowflakes at the compartment window, it minimized visibility outside, so only the nearest to the tracks objects whizzed by as dark smudged spots of different shapes. From time to time, it brought the faint bitter smell, pushing the loco smoke to the ground almost parallel to the train; with a wry face, Alex got up and checked if the window was tightly shut.

It was. But something other than that attracted Alex’s attention, making him forget about the window at once. He could swear he saw something flashing by behind the glass but in a completely unusual way, unlike the rest of the landscape details.

“What the…” Alex glanced over the shoulder wildly; Fluttershy was sitting on the bunk, murmuring something and braiding her mane. Her long luxurious tail rested next to her already gathered into a thick tight braid as well. “Did you see that, Shy?”

“Saw what?” the girl raised her turquoise eyes at him. Any other moment, that glance could make all the thoughts flee from Alex’s head in a wink, but…

“Something flew by the window a moment afore. A dark silhouette…”

“Maybe a close or fallen tree,” Fluttershy blinked with a tiny smile but clearly got the seriousness in the human’s voice. “If it was, we’re lucky it didn’t fall across the tracks…”

“I’d like to think so,” Alex shook his head; squinting, he kept peering into the snowy mess outside, passing his concern on to the girl. “It flew in the train direction, Shy!”

Before she could realize what it meant, their car jerked tangibly – their bags clanked on the luggage shelf.

“Wow-wow-wow…” Alex was to grab the table edge to keep balance; Fluttershy gracefully leaned back on the bunk not to slide to the floor. “Kinda large for a switch!” But the human’s voice wasn’t jocular a iota.

“Somehow, I doubt that our motorpony could be so careless,” Fluttershy peeked through the window from behind Alex. “Not after a day of the nearly perfect ride.” Their eyes met, telling Alex that they both were thinking about the same.

“Somepony else should have noticed,” muttered Alex, sliding the compartment door open and listening. Indeed, at least three more doors opened with a specific sound.

“What was that?” inquired the stallion from his left; the business pony’s muzzle kept an extremely puzzled expression. “I nearly fell from my seat!” he shook his head reproachfully, not hurrying to return to his compartment as if expecting some explanations from somepony.

“Oh, Celestia! I hope we didn’t run over something!” Crystal Chime peeked from her compartment anxiously; the mare glanced over her shoulder and told something to the foals, calming the scared kids. “Does anypony know what happened? Alex?!” she noticed him checking the hallway window view.

“No idea, ma’am!” Alex’s tone was saying instead. ‘I don’t like that very much!’

“What the buck that motorpony thinks of?!” the white pegasus peeked out of the compartment. “Do they want to ditch us all!” His eyes scanned the passageway in the search of somepony he could blame for the inconvenience. However, this time common sense took over, or maybe the innocence of the present ones was too obvious even for him; thus, huffing loudly at the view of Alex, the stallion returned to the compartment. “I’m going to sue the railway company…” the closing door cut the rest of the phrase and the flowing, soothing reply of his wife. Alex would have chuckled at that under the different circumstances, but this time something felt seriously wrong.

“Dear?” Fluttershy showed up from their luxury, touching him lightly. “Anything?” Now her eyes looked seriously concerned, examining Alex’s puzzled face.

“Did somepony hit the emergency switch?” another door slid open; suppressing a yawn, Longhaul gave a smile. “I dozed off… and that shook me back awake!”

“Wait!” exclaimed Alex, raising a finger. “The train. It’s slowing down!”

“Oh, dear,” exhaled Crystal. “We must have run over something!” Fluttershy bit her lip.

Without further words, Alex started first towards miss Chime, quickly recollected and turned back to the other end of the car, to the anxiously hurrying towards the passengers trainpony. In reply to Alex’s inquiring glance, the latter only shrugged, uninformed about the problem like the rest. Rushing past the unicorn, Alex jumped out into the vestibule, jerking the door open.

For a very long minute, nothing disturbed the complete silence, except slowing down wheel clatter – everypony, including the new puzzled passengers peeking into the hallway, realized that the train was going to stop.

The barely closing vestibule door slammed open again, revealing the human. A strange mixture of shock, sarcastic admission and realization could be read from his face at the first glance.

“There is no train…” dropped Alex. Somepony exclaimed sceptically.

“There is no train!” in reply to Fluttershy’s fitful exhale, Alex repeated loudly, so everypony could hear him. “Our car has got detached from the rest and is stopping now!”

“What?!!” a couple of stallions rushed to witness that themselves, squeezing past the trainpony and frozen in place Alex. When they returned in a second, their muzzles clearly told that the human wasn’t joking.

“What should we do now?” a mare pulled one of them closer, snuggling to her spouse with a desperate expression. “It’s… it’s a few hours till Crystal City still!”

That phrase – almost the call for help as it sounded – woke Alex from his momentary stupor. Or maybe that was the train car, which rolled slower and slower and finally stopped with a light vibration travelling through its entirety.

“Please, sir, gather everypony in the hallway!” the human addressed the trainpony. “Longhaul, can you help us as well?” After the affirmative nod of mister Hoofer, Alex explained. “Our car was receiving its heating from the loco, like the rest of the train. It’s only a matter of time afore we start freezing hither. If we are not troubled otherwise prior…” added he in half-voice, making only Fluttershy catch what he meant. “Please, make everypony take any warm clothes they might have had and gather in the hallway!” called he after both stallions.

“That applies to everypony present likewise!” Alex looked around the group of ponies almost apologetically, then hugged Fluttershy’s shoulders lightly, directing the girl to their compartment. “Comest on, Shy. I thought it would befall another way, but… I can’t allow thee stay unprotected, lief!” barely audibly added he.

Noticing with relief that the ponies began to follow his advice one by one, Alex closed the compartment door and quickly pulled one bag from the luggage shelf.

“Time to suit up, mine lief!” he was already pulling Fluttershy’s gear out of the bag. “They shall be coming shortly!”

“You think…” Fluttershy looked up into Alex’s eyes when he was helping her to put the armoured suit on.

“I’m adamantly sure of that!” dropped Alex, accurately packing his marefriend into protection he and Rarity meticulously improved lately. A couple of minutes, only rustling broke the tensed silence of the compartment.

“Can I leave the helmet for now?” leaning on the table, the girl looked over her shoulder as Alex carefully zipped the suit on her back, locking the additional plates over the seam. “Don’t want to scare anypony in vain, foals especially!”

“Okay, Shy!” Alex nodded understandingly. “But promise me to put it on when it is necessary! I extend mine hope that moment shan’t befall…” added he under his breath. Instead of an answer, Fluttershy reached for him and gave Alex a loving kiss.

The hum of concerned voices outside told Alex that the ponies started returning, following his instructions. Their appearance was met with a few astonished exclamations when the rest of the passengers saw changed Fluttershy.

“Wait, wait, wait! What’s all that about?” one mare pointed at Alex’s marefriend; anxiety made her voice rang. “Are we under some attack, for Celestia’s sake?!”

“A minute of patience, please, everypony!” Closing his eyes for a second and taking a deep breath, Alex raised his voice. “I shall try to tell briefly, ladies and gentlecolts!”

“What the hay is going on?! I demand explanations!” the arrogant pegasus stallion stated intrusively.

‘That’s exactly what I’m going to do, moron!’ With a sigh, Alex mentally counted to ten, not to pour his entire contempt on the guy.

“All of you might have heard about the monstrous creatures, randomly terrorizing Equestria the last half of year – we call them Seekers,” Alex took a look around the small herd. He was to say that regardless of him wishing to be wrong. “I have strong reasons to assume that we were detached from the train exactly by them. And, answering your question… we are probably going to be attacked in some way sooner or later, ma’am,” he nodded towards the scared mare clinging to her spouse. The muffled grumble rolled across the company and died out when Alex raised his hand, asking for attention.

“Besides, we have another relentless enemy – the cold,” stated Alex harshly, not going to inspire any futile hope. “That is why I asked you to take all the warm stuff you have. We need to keep everypony warm and protected the best way we can… Then keeping the creatures away from the car will be my job,” he drew the line.

“What do they need?” right to the point, the business pony, their neighbour from the fifth compartment, asked.

“Most likely to prevent us both from reaching the Crystal Empire,” simply stated Alex, letting out a wry smile.

“Afore thou speakest out any suggestion…” he turned to the white pegasus, who already opened his mouth. “This girl is thy only way to stay sane if ‘t be true the Seekers arrive,” Alex glanced at Fluttershy meaningfully, then added. “That concerneth everypony hither!” With satisfaction, he caught the short reproachful look the pale-saffron mare gave to the “brute”. But the latter wasn’t going to give up easily.

“Who made you the chief, I’d like to know?!” huffed he with a challenge in his voice.

“Nopony! Howev’r, I know what to do at least,” Alex replied with a long fixed glance into the pegasus’ eyes. “Wantest to lead? Beest mine guest and take the duty and all the responsibility!”

“Now, when that problem is solved…” Alex stated with dry emphasis. “Wouldst thou mind if ‘t be true we disassemble the wall between our compartment and thine?” he addressed the business pony. “I can explain.”

“Well, it’s mine only formally for the ride time,” smirked the stallion. “So…” he made the welcoming gesture. “If our trainpony has no objections and you are the one who negotiates that through with the transport company later.”

“Errmmm…” the trainpony unicorn wasn’t getting the course of Alex’s thoughts yet.

“Believe me, that’s the last thing we should care about now,” said Alex to both stallions. “We must do the following!” he turned to the trainpony, seeking his support. “First, gather all the passengers in the two luxuries in the middle of the car. For which, we are going to merge the compartments. Then block the compartment windows and the ones in the hallway opposite the doors. Mister Hoofer, I’ll need your help.”

“With pleasure!” Longhaul touched his hat readily.

“Then we need to keep the merged compartments warm at any cost,” Alex turned to the trainpony, trying to ignore the audible howling of the wind outside. “Dost thou have anything that could serve as a stove, sir?”

“Hmmm… Hardly,” the unicorn rubbed his nose, then brightened. “Wait! We can use the boiler technically, simply need to get rid of the water and cut the top. It’s high enough so the smoke will trail under the ceiling and the train car ventilation should serve as the pipe,” added he. “And… I’m Cab Forward. Can call me Cab, gentlecolts.”

“Alex,” Alex introduced himself. “It’s pleasant to know we have a purposeful yet level-headed companion!” He gave a smile. “So, mister Forward, please, drain the water into as many containers as you can find – we’ll need it. Then bring the boiler. And… give to drink everypony who needs, while it’s warm, but in moderation. Water means gold, nopony knows how long we are grounded for.” Alex pretended to not hear the sigh of terror rustling from the herd; while he could understand them perfectly, giving up to the feelings alike wasn’t constructive.

“We’ll help to look for the bottles and… stuff,” two married mares volunteered to help. The third pulled to aid, but her pegasus partner held her back, whispering something in her ear, making Alex squint.

“Take the keys to the auxiliary compartment,” Cab levitated the ring to them. “You’ll find the med-pack there, bring it as well!”

“Excellent!” Alex finally allowed himself to believe that they had a chance to make it through. “Mister Hoofer, let’s get the necessary tools!” without further words, he squeezed through the passengers and rushed along the car, closely followed by the traveller and the trainpony.

“That’s what we need!” Alex stopped in front of the fire extinguisher board at the end of the train car, next to the boiler; his glance fell on two large fire axes and a crowbar. Picking the axes for himself and Longhaul, Alex handed the crowbar to the trainpony unicorn with enthusiastic surname. “I suppose the boiler will give up faster that way.”

For the next several minutes, the entire herd of the passengers was listening tensely to the loud crackle and clicking, then increasing rumble coming from behind the closed doors of the compartments five and six. Soon it started to sound like a couple of elephants ruining everything inside, making a few ponies exchange concerned glances.

“Is it indeed as severe as he said?” Crystal Chime, whom the foals subtly kept pulling closer to Fluttershy little by little, looked at the girl almost with the hope of getting negative. “About us being attacked by these creatures,” added she in half-voice not to agitate the herd more.

“I’m afraid yes, ma’am,” trying to keep everypony present in her sight, Fluttershy nodded seriously. “I never witnessed or heard about a train car detaching on its own before. Chances are high that we were delayed deliberately.”

“Are you both afraid of nothing?” Storm’s fore hoof clanked lightly on the dark patterned steel plate on her shoulder.

“Are we going to end like… like mom and dad?” almost whispered Aurora.

“I can’t tell for Alex… but I am afraid,” throwing back the pink braid, the girl leaned closer to the colt. “But that won’t help us make through, so, I’m trying my best to hold…”

“We are going to do everything possible to not let that happen!” Fluttershy let out a tiny smile and nuzzled the filly’s mane.

Carrying the bottles and the med pack, both couples returned – the stallions went searching with their spouses. Taking a look over their find, Fluttershy noticed how few the suitable containers were.

“Unfortunately, this is all we could dig out!” answering her glance, one of the stallions shook his head slowly. “We’ll need to preserve the water anyway,” with a regretful look, he rushed with the bottles to the end of the car, where metal crackling of the uprooted boiler was sounding from.

“Truth be told, I wonder why we aren’t attacked yet,” lowering his voice, Alex told Longhaul confidentially when the compartment doors closed behind them. “Usually, these scoundrels aren’t lingering to act!” added he, shoving the fire axe under the bunk fastening and leaning on the handle with force.

“Maybe our car rolled far enough from the spot it was detached from the train,” Longhaul shrugged and got down to work from his side. “We may turn out lucky to have some more time to prepare if the named creatures lose us in such a blizzard.” Unsure if the Seekers ever relied on sight or had any, Alex kept silent.

They were to detach the berths from the inner wall between the compartments first. Both tried to work as fast as they could while keeping all the screws and nails usable. Strained silence from the passageway and the audible howling of the wind from behind the snow-blinded glass goaded the human and the pony to hurry.

“We need to fasten both berths over the compartment windows,” Alex explained the plan. “Triple glassing or not, I don’t want you all to test its durability if the Seekers try to break through!”

Longhaul nodded. Not wasting time, they nailed the removed bunk to the outer wall, almost completely obstructing the compartment window. The compartment submerged in darkness: a tiny stripe of light still shone through above the upper edge of their improvised shutter.

“Will hold… if they don’t try to ram through with their entire mass,” Alex propped the berth additionally with the wide folding table, jamming it that way, nopony could unfold it anymore. “But that will be my job to prevent.”

“You’re going to go outside…” that wasn’t a question, rather a statement of the fact; the stallion shook his head. Grinding off the closet in the corner, Longhaul examined the inner wall appraisingly while Alex was performing the final check of their barricade. In a second, he attacked the bulkhead with his axe, completely disappearing behind the cloud of dust and wooden debris. Several well-placed hits and the loud rumble told about the successful completion of the task, as he crashed through into the next compartment.

“Hmmm… Luckily, it wasn’t bearing and durable,” huffed the stallion. With an earsplitting sneeze, Longhaul showed up again in the newly made opening.

“Yeah,” Alex responded muffledly; with the collar covering his nose and mouth, Rarity’s sweater came out really handy. “I’m afraid that’s the only option,” he waved his arm, driving the dust away. “We can’t let them in, yet I’m sure that these guys will insist on meeting me personally.”

Longhaul only chuckled, shaking his head. Together, they ripped off another berth, blocking the window tightly, then started demolishing the rest of the wall dividing the compartment, trying to strike more and breathe in less often.

“Alex, they are asking if you haven’t broken out from the train already,” when the loud crashing fade out a bit, the door of the compartment slid open, letting out a cloud – Fluttershy even started back for a second. “Oh! Errmmm…” She huffed the dust away.

“I… I am glad some of them kept their humour still,” Alex couldn’t hold back the cough. “We’re done. Give it a moment to settle down!” He and then Longhaul emerged from the darkness of the merged now compartments, shaking off the small wooden trash and blinking in the suddenly bright light of the hallway.

“Watch out! Coming through!” supported by the magical aura, the boiler appeared in their view, resembling a long grey zeppelin sausage. “Sorry, folks,” mister Forward addressed the ponies forced to give the wall. “Here it is,” reported the unicorn, putting the heavy thing at the quickly cleared spot. “We filled all the bottles we had; let the thirsty ones drink while you were… working. Unfortunately, I was to pour away quite a load as well,” the trainpony shrugged regretfully.

“Never mind! Nowhere to contain, it would be wasted anyway,” Alex wasn’t going to let them concentrate on the regretful thoughts. “Please, sir, take a couple more bunks off with mister Hoofer,” Handing the axe to Cab, said Alex, “and block these windows as well.” He pointed at the ones opposing the compartment doors. “Take them from the farthest compartment,” added he after both stallions.

“You, I mean all of you staying here, will need to stoke that oven somehow,” elaborated Alex when both stallions glanced at him inquiringly. Not wasting time, the human fished out something large, sharp and shiny from his luggage. “That means collecting anything that can serve as firewood!” The brought up object turned out to be the folded glaive, causing an excited whoop from Storm Sunflower. Before the surprised eyes of the herd, Alex pulled the boiler into the compartment, leaning over the metal barrel and examining it. “Better start from the farthest ends of the car,” he raised his glance at the listening ponies, “as I expect these creatures to become only more impatient and aggressive with time. Thus the shorter your supply routes become, the better.”

“Quite encouraging…” one of the married stallions shook his head, but Alex saw that it was a mere statement of fact than a rebuke from him.

“Well, I’m not going to lie that it’ll be a walk in the park,” chuckled Alex. “You will need to take everything that can burn, including the luggage you can sacrifice. It’s crucial to keep you all warm for as long as you can. Break the inner trim, take the doors of the compartments, the berths, but keep the outer walls intact obviously. Yeah, don’t disassemble the aux yet,” with the short, well-aimed strikes, he started cutting off the top of the water tank of the boiler. “And… the main thing – wherever you go and whatever for, don’t go alone!” articulated Alex, making sure that everypony heard him. Longhaul and Cab nodded, going to complete their “defence line”.

“Hmpf!” forcing his way between them, the white pegasus seemingly felt the urge to declare his opinion again. “You all staying here”? What does that mean? What are you going to do then?!”

“Go outside,” imperturbably stated Alex, without even a glance at the annoyance, “and make sure none of them finds its way into our carriage!” hearing the crashing sounds coming from afar, he nodded and returned to dissecting the boiler.

Thus, when both stallions returned after several minutes, loaded with two berths, an improvised oven already waited, placed in the middle of merged compartments. Alex cut off the top and a large rectangle opening in the side of the boiler, striking a few small holes near the bottom edge of the water vessel.

“Put the firewood here, into the upper tank,” he pointed at the side hole. “Don’t forget to save it – we need to survive, not overheat. Besides, don’t forget about the smoke,” reaching the car ceiling, Alex ripped away two ventilation grills, revealing the shaft openings. “It’ll go away naturally if produced in moderation,” he nodded at the ventilation holes at the bottom of compartment doors and the vents in the ceiling. “The car airing system will serve as the natural chimney as long as there is some draught.”

“Well…” Alex took a look around the increased room while Longhaul and Cab were nailing the windows shut. “Errmmm… And whose is that?” in the darkened compartment, he pointed at the bag casually thrown at the survived bunk.

“Let me…” the business pony peeked in. “That must be my neighbour’s,” the stallion hoof-bumped his forehead. “I totally forgot…”

“And where is he?” accurately inquired Alex, inwardly knowing the answer – he saw exactly that stallion with some unfamiliar mare on the eve.

“He went to visit his new acquaintance,” shrugged the stallion, his nose turned slightly pinkish though. “That single mare… He headed to see her in her compartment this morning – that’s in another train car; didn’t return since…”

“Hmmm…” muttered Alex. “That may help. Your neighbour may need something from his bag or return and notice… there is nowhere to return. Let’s hope they can notify the station earlier about our absence,” elaborated he, then clapped his hands, making some ponies wince. “Now, come on, everypony! Take your seats according to the booked tickets,” Alex smirked sadly. The feeling growing inside was too familiar to provide tranquillity; seeing understanding in Fluttershy’s eyes, Alex decided to keep silent – he could sense the approaching Seekers already.

“Why does this feel like a trap?” sighed one of the mares when the comrades in misfortune pulled inside; somepony already brought a bunch of newspapers, making the first humble lights dance inside the cut boiler.

“Because this train car was supposed to turn into such as soon as we got detached from the rest of the Express. Sorry, ma’am,” Alex slowly shook his head, watching the entering ponies. “However, it’s in our power to turn it into a fortress instead!”

Waiting for the last of the passengers to enter, Fluttershy pulled him closer.

“Why don’t you want to face them while sleepwalking?” gesturing to lean closer, the girl whispered ardently in his ear. “It won’t be as risky… Besides, the frost wouldn’t affect you this way!”

Alex kept watching the ponies huddled around the slowly warming up oven. With much relief, he noted that the foals and their aunt, just like the rest of the mares, were let closer to the life-preserving fire. The rest gathered around, instinctively keeping some distance from the outer wall of the car. The white troublemaker nested in the corner when his attempt to squeeze closer to the centre failed; the pegasus grumbled something yet didn’t bring much trouble so far. Alex let himself think that perhaps they had a chance to whisk away from the danger this time.

“Can you hear me? You’re going to freeze, Alex!” Fluttershy shook his arm, waking Alex to the reality. “Why not…”

“Sorry, Shy, but I decided!” Alex cupped her cheeks, looking into the shining turquoise eyes lovingly. “This time I can trust my physical form only. Don’t you get it?” he took a look around the crushed compartments. “Where do you think I could stay to guarantee my sleepwalking uninterrupted?” asked Alex quietly, in the most soothing tone he could manage. “If something or somepony wakes me amidst the fight, I won’t be able to react fast being disoriented and…”

Fluttershy pursed her lips silently, still clinging to his arm.

“Shy, please understand, if I’m awakened, I’ll… quit the fight instantly. That lets the monsters do whatever they want for a while,” Alex pulled the girl closer, hugging softly. “What if one of them gets inside while I am sleepwalking?” he inwardly shuddered. “At the very least, I shall be awakened up and attacked, not receiving a chance to react properly. And in the earnest, I hate to think about it getting to you all first…”

“B-but… You can miss a Seeker regardless of your form, nopony is perfect! So what’s the point risking?” the girl wasn’t going to give up.

“Then I am to miss none!” stated Alex. “In mine physical form, mine readiness for the battle doth not depend on the car being sealed from the beasts. Givest me a promise – stay safe and take care of Crystal and the foals! I shall take on the rest outside…”

Instead of an answer, Fluttershy rushed into what was left of their compartment, returning with Alex’s bag in a moment.

“Put on what you can!” peremptorily stated the girl, dropping it at the human’s feet. “Don’t you hear it raging outside?!”

At that moment, something barely knocked on the car casing. That could be snow thrown by the rioting wind; however, Alex noticed how the ponies strained. He could see the tiny sparkles of terror in their eyes and knew what that meant. Unzipping the bag, Alex quickly pulled out an extra sweater as some compromise.

“I can afford as much!” he shook his head. “I’ll feel myself like a barrel under my armour otherwise…”

His eyes searched for somepony while he was pulling the sweater on; attracting the attention of Longhaul and Cab, Alex signalled them to come closer.

“My friends,” Alex lowered the tone when both stallions approached, “within these circumstances, I can count on you only. You two and Fluttershy. I would like you to keep the rest of the passengers… well, as strange as it sounds, under control. For their own sake. Panic is our worst enemy! I can imagine how it feels, mister Forward,” he addressed the trainpony unicorn, who swallowed nervously and constantly looked back at the herd. The stallion focused on his collocutors with visible effort. Longhaul, whom Alex already brought up to date regarding some of the Seekers’ peculiarities, was holding up incomparably better, yet it was clearly taking some concentration to consciously ignore the mental pressure and anxiety the creatures brought with them.

“They are on the verge of panic already, because of the situation itself. Any step further may bring chaos into our task. I shall do my best to keep the creatures at some distance, but… alas, their effect hath some range, so…” Alex shrugged meaningfully.

“There is one thing though…” added he. “While others may be frightened to death, there is one who is arrant unpredictable. One who can worsen the situation by the mere incoherent acts.”

Three ponies exchanged glances; apparently, Alex had no need to explain whom he referred to.

“Watch this “brute”!” stated Alex quietly. “And watch close!”

“Are… Are you going to confront them,” the trainpony jerked the head convulsively towards the train car door, “like that?” The stallion pointed his fore hoof at Alex’s sweater, which didn’t look formidable by the military standards. “I admit you have your own methods, but that’s…” he shook his head, not going to voice what he was thinking.

“Of course, I’m not that presumptuous to go out unprotected,” Alex let out a tiny smile. “And as you mentioned – I have my own… little secrets!”

The next moment, the thin metal band on his forehead enveloped in the silvery glow, the wave of which travelled across the human, making both stallions take a step back. Surprised, Longhaul and Cab witnessed how the unusually looking armour started appearing on the human, leaving only Alex’s head uncovered.

“I won’t wish you good luck not to jinx it away!” Fluttershy held him back for a second when they reached the train car vestibule. Laying his hand on the door lock already, Alex turned and looked into the turquoise eyes; leaning closer, he gladly noted that they had no fear in them but some stern determination instead. “Simply return in one piece, okay!” carefully avoiding the spikes, the girl reached his lips with a short but meaningful kiss.

“Neither shall I then,” the armoured glove travelled clumsily through the lush, fragrant mane. “Simply stay safe, my love! All of you. It shan’t be arrant easy, I’m afraid.”

With a click of its lock, Alex slid the exit door aside – the strong wind immediately threw a bunch of snow into the opening not losing that chance. Fluttershy stifled a shiver under her armour, throwing a glance at the ponies behind: both stallions already returned to the herd – Longhaul’s rational voice reached them, calming somepony in the compartment.

“Lock the door after me, Shy,” the words sounded muffled as the helmet appeared around Alex’s head. The human jumped off the edge, forcedly pulling the door against the efforts of the strong wind, which ruffled and fluffed the feathers on Alex’s wings. “And don’t open any of them or the windows unless I clearly tell you that I need to get inside!”

Fluttershy nodded shortly, squinting from the gusts throwing the strands of her mane in her face. The shut door isolated the train car from the raging weather.

Minding the time, Alex took a minute to examine the butt of the train car nevertheless. The soft, made of some rubber-like material sleeve, supposed to envelop the intercar passage, was hanging limply, torn to multiple scallops by the mass of the transport piece. Some of the metal constructions inside it were skewed and twisted a bit, showing the forced and improper nature of the detachment of their train car.

‘Hmmm… Sure thing, it wasn’t an accident!’ leaning over the train coupling, Alex examined the mangled hook and stubs of some pipes, which once connected their car to the train heating and braking systems and were now cut open like veins and vessels of a dissected limb. ‘The strike was direct and deliberate!’ He straightened up, struggling to see anything in the swirling mess surrounding them.

Accompanied by some haze, the snow formed a white wall, limiting Alex’s visibility by a thirty-yard diameter area. The big snowflakes – beautiful, yet anything but fluffy – were dancing in the changing wind. From time to time, flowing straight to the ground, the ghostly veil jerked aside occasionally and fluttered in visible sheets and strands when stronger gusts drove the snow almost horizontally, making it even harder to discern something around. Neither of the actors of that surreal play planned to calm down – it wasn’t a question of when the blizzard ended but rather of how long they could hold on until the help was supposed to arrive.

In one direction, running from under the train car, the rails were frosting right in front of his eyes, becoming dull and disappearing under the surging snow even before they hid behind the milky haze. Turning back, Alex could barely see the opposite end of the blue carriage. Intended to look bright and optimistic during the ride, it suddenly turned dark and gloomy in that place where the grey-white sky subtly transformed into the grey-white land in the details-erasing blizzard. No matter how hard he tried, Alex couldn’t see what surrounded them behind the visibility line; it could be a forest or some cliffs or endless plain miles and miles around. The latter was more realistic to suppose, judging by the speed of wind howling wildly in the narrow gap under the train car.

Alex could see neither if there was any danger lurking around them in the snowy haze. But he could feel it. Or them rather. Several creatures, more than five as he concluded. They didn’t hurry to approach but at the same time were not going to leave. Alex shook his head slowly: he could imagine the condition of the ponies inside the train car – the Seekers were giving them a hard time even before actually appearing in the view.

Unfurling his wings, Alex soared, shaking off the snow and bursting it into the air. He had no right to leave the motionless train car even for reconnaissance purposes, but undertaking nothing wasn’t his credo either. Seeing Fluttershy’s concerned glance in the exit door window, Alex nodded to her shortly, then rose higher when the girl disappeared in the depth of the train car. He landed on the car roof, fairly supposing that it could give him some advantage – thus he could see a bit further (or at least Alex tried to convince himself) and everywhere around their railway carriage.

Not wasting time, the human squeezed the glaive handle: with the quiet rustle, the weapon started growing in his hand obediently. The sections unfolded one from another, locking and forming a proper handle; finally, the blades turned into the armed position with an icy zap.

‘I’d prefer it to get stuck in the armed position, than in folded,’ inwardly smirked Alex. Folding his wings that way, so he could at least pretend to be ignoring the strong wind blowing into his back, he prepared to wait for the mean opponents.

“What was that sound?!” one of the mares rushed to Fluttershy as soon as the girl returned to the ponies waiting in the compartment concernedly. Looking around, Fluttershy noticed the same shared questions in the eyes of the rest and did her best for her tiny smile to look natural and encouraging.

“Alex got to the train car roof. He could probably see better that way in the snowy mess outside – the blizzard is truly blinding,” she shuddered as if still feeling the gust of wind throwing the snow into the passageway as soon as they opened the door. Trying to assure herself, Fluttershy added. “Don’t worry, we own the situation so far!”

“…or get into a safer place…” quietly huffed the white pegasus in his corner. Even if he muttered that for himself, Fluttershy caught the phrase perfectly – a grimace of reproach appeared on the girl’s face.

“Why don’t you join him… and explain the undoubtedly approaching monsters about your supremacy personally?” she squinted, turning slowly and measuring the “brute” with a meaningful look.

Her opponent huffed something again; not getting a definite answer, Fluttershy nodded inwardly and addressed the rest of the herd.

“The railway tracks are completely blocked by the snow, as I could see,” the girl noticed ruefully. “A few yards forward and the road turns into a snowdrift already.”

A sigh of concern rolled across the darkened compartment lit only with a weak glow of the improvised oven.

“Which makes that,” Fluttershy nodded towards the flames dancing in the cut boiler, “really vital. Staying together and quiet – as well!” added she with emphasis.

“If snow is blocking everything,” Storm Sunflower threw a worried glance up at Fluttershy, “how are we going to be rescued?” At these words, Aurora snuggled closer to her brother, looking into Fluttershy’s eyes with the hope that the mare in steel had some reassuring answers. “How?” whispered the filly under her breath.

“I suppose they have… suitable resources,” Fluttershy nuzzled the kids. “The rescue team. They live here constantly. That’s not the first blizzard and snowdrifts in their practice! We just need to hold on for a few hours.”

“On the other hoof, the snowdrifts aren’t that bad in our situation,” added Fluttershy pensively.

“How come?!” hugging the foals, Crystal Chime glanced at her uncomprehendingly. Half of the ponies followed suit, raising their surprised eyes at the girl.

“With the road blocked by snow,” elaborated Fluttershy, “we don’t risk the following train to crash into us at least. There will be no trains until the railroad is cleaned – that means until we are picked up by the railroad emergency team.”

The trainpony grunted concernedly; realizing that it sounded not very optimistically, Fluttershy could only shrug.

“If choosing between two evils…” The girl attempted to encourage the rest. “At least, we have one problem less to worry about!”

“She is right!” Mister Hoofer supported her wholeheartedly; his nod looked probably more confident than the stallion felt, but he gave a sincere smile.

“Why don’t we go and find more fuel?” Longhaul picked up the fire axe. “I mean, while it’s still quiet and we can move freely across the train car.”

“Yeah! Let’s go,” Cab Forward gladly grabbed onto that possibility, welcoming something to distract from the feelings delivered by the creatures outside, “and take everything we can tear off from the farthest compartment!” he levitated the crowbar as if weighing it in the air.

“Don’t forget about the extinguisher board itself,” noticed Longhaul. “It was made of wood…”

He fell silent when the white pegasus suddenly got up, making his way forward. Everypony around seemed to be equally surprised by that – seeing him willing to help was the last thing passengers expected. The stallion picked up one of the axes, showing determination by his entire look. Longhaul and Cab exchanged glances and Longhaul shrugged, letting the pegasus through; the compartment door closed behind them.

“What?!” With the habitual challenging look, he turned, noticing the glances the other two stallions followed him with. “Didn’t expect that, eh?”

“Frankly speaking – yes,” Longhaul’s expression and smile couldn’t cause aggression probably by the pickiest standards; however, the irony in his voice was also audible. “Why if you weren’t happy about the methods used anyway?”

“Well…” The “brute” gave Longhaul a long evaluative look, but failed to find any dubious undertone and cocked his head again. “We are going to survive, are we not? I’d prefer to be sure that we have enough firewood not to freeze then.”

The trainpony made an understanding mien, but he intercepted Longhaul’s meaningful glance and nodded when they both let the pegasus forward.

“Where do we start from?”

“Let’s disassemble one of the water closets and “tenth” first,” the trainpony pointed counter the train direction, “as we decided to keep the aux yet.”

The wind and snow were not going to give up easily: even despite the higher vantage point, one and a half dozen yards in any direction – and everything turned into a smudged mess. It resembled some white noise on the television screen… with the exception that it was white noise on the white background. Inwardly anathematizing the circumstances, Alex took several cautious steps along the train car roof. He was to be careful: warm air escaping through the vents turned the roof metal around them icy and slippery, especially for steel armour soles.

As far as he could see, the train car roof was empty, untouched, with the only scratches appearing on the metal because of his spiky boots. So was the area around the car; no signs of intruders, no trails. Although, the latter would be smoothed out fast by the omnipresent snow. Alex already felt how the small snowdrifts tried to form on his shoulders and head.

He walked to another end of the train carriage, peering into the surroundings yet seeing nothing except the flying snowflakes galore. The scratching and creaking he heard were coming from inside the car; straining first, Alex relaxed a bit – those were the sounds of volunteers scavenging for the firewood. However, he was to believe his inner feeling to know – they were not safe. That sensation couldn’t be mistaken for anything: several creatures were lurking around behind the blizzard.

‘More than five,’ Alex listened to himself. ‘No, rather more than ten!’

‘They became surprisingly cautious this time,’ a grimace distorted his face under the helmet; Alex wiped the mirror-like faceplate from the settling snow. ‘Something new! They were usually more hit-or-run straightforward…’

He headed back across the train car, struggling with the wind and trying to step lighter, not to alarm the already frightened ponies inside. Something on the edge of his sight made Alex stop abruptly. A dark silhouette glimpsed through the snowy veil.

A flying silhouette!

Slowly, trying to miss no single movement around, Alex turned on the spot, examining the landscape as thorough as nasty weather only allowed. The dark shadow – Alex saw it for a fraction of a second only, not sure if it was really a thing – was too large for a bird. Considering the blizzard, the place and the mere fact that they hardly saw any birds in the sky that day, he was to dismiss that idea. On the other hand, as Alex admitted, he was inwardly prepared for something alike.

‘If the… common Seeker could accommodate quite fast, turning from ethereal to fully materialized to reflect the threat coming from me more effectively…’

The dark shadow glimpsed again. Even if it was only a smudged dash against the snowfall, Alex was now completely sure – that wasn’t a product of his imagination, fatigue or dance macabre of the blizzard. One more thing was obvious – the creature was nimble enough, especially compared to the common Seekers.

‘Nimble and kinda slim… judging by its frame!’ Alex slowly turned around, starting to rotate the glaive. He just reached the end of the car where he started, thinking out hectically whether he had any way to notify those inside the train car about the danger.

‘Staying on the spot isn’t a good idea anyway when you have such a bullet flying around!’ Besides, he had no idea how many of those could actually attack.

However, the creature suddenly landing on the opposite end of the train car roof, made Alex freeze and stare at it amazedly. Accustomed to the generally horse-like look of the regular Seekers – Alex cringed at the idea of how regular those bastards became for him – he was expecting something along the same lines. Something like pegasi of Equestria, but not what he was finally observing in entirety silently.

Hands down, the vision was surprising and disgusting at the same time: the raven-dark creature standing on the metal roof shared with the familiar Seekers the same glowing, red eye-like orifice, the colour and the misty substance visibly flowing and curling around its body. The similarities ended at those! The Flyer (as Alex mentally named the new abomination at once) most resembled some sort of bony pterodactyl, covered by dimly glistening black leather, with leather-like plicate wings instead of upper limbs. Threads of the snow carried by the strong wind swirled around the creature’s legs and unusually long “thumbs” on the tops of its wings. Thin and blade-like, the extremities seemed to be made solely of sharp bones coated by the dark skin everywhere except razor-sharp edges. Imagining how the creature must walk with the audible clacking and creaking with that constitution made Alex shudder.

Standing on the tips of those four legs, the monster slowly turned its head. Whatever it had for the head, as it practically consisted of the single red “eye” and the same long sharp blade where the normal bird would have had its beak. A single look at that thing was enough to conclude – the monster was created to kill primarily. The Flyer’s stubby butt surprisingly had no tail, and Alex inwardly thanked for no extra weapon added to the beast’s arsenal.

Strangely, the monster didn’t rush into attack as if studying the human first, making Alex wonder if the so-called Flyer had some actual vision in human or pony sense, or relied on the different senses instead. The creature definitely originated from the same roots as the Seekers, except being faster (at least in the air) and more morbid.

Knowing that he was to get rid of that vicious generosity someday, Alex didn’t attack it first either and was watching the flying Seeker with growing disgust. The more Alex was staring, the more agitated the creature turned. Its short jerky movements reminded the human about some mantis, an oversized and extremely ugly one.

Starting to spin his glaive again, Alex made a small step forward. The metal roof produced a barely audible tingle.

The monster turned its head to Alex, sharply, momentarily. Like a wild splice of bird and insect, it jerked, stepping aside and turning to face the enemy. If not seeing, the Flyer was definitely feeling human’s presence, just like its predecessors. So far, it didn’t look afraid of his presence or simply cautious, rearing up and demonstrating the blades threateningly with short abrupt movements. While it stomped on the spot (surprisingly heavily for its constitution), one of its claws accidentally penetrated the roof; going through, it got stuck in the metal for a moment. With a freezing heart, Alex wondered how sharp and dangerous those blade-like legs must be. Granted, they could hardly damage his armour, but the mere force of the strike was quite impressive of an image.

Using two fire axes and the crowbar to their advantage, three stallions already finished ripping off the wall panels and trim of the train car lavatory. They tried their best to produce less sound – inevitable though if one tried to disassemble the wooden parts in a hurry – listening every moment to the muffled footsteps coming from the car roof.

“That seems to be all we could rend here!” Longhaul took a look over the heap of wooden planks and debris.

“Fine!” Cab’s eyes performed the final scan of the small room for anything that could still be used as fuel. “I’ll go pick the extinguisher board off the wall and you two… can start with the tenth,” the unicorn waved his fore hoof towards the next compartment.

“Wait!” the white pegasus glanced at him as if the trainpony started behaving suspiciously insane. “We were not supposed to go alone anywhere. Besides, I suppose that we should bring these first,” he poked the wooden heap. “Less noise and so on…”

“Fair point,” not expecting himself to come to a consensus with that guy, Longhaul was to nod nevertheless.

Cab shrugged. Enveloping the door with his aura, he accurately peeked into the passageway, checking both ends of the train car, then turned to his companions.

“It’s clean!” the unicorn waved at them to follow, grabbing a good portion of wood with his magic.

But before the three stallions made a few steps into the passageway, the roof above them sounded with loud blood-chilling skirr – the ceiling trim parted, breaking into small pieces, which powdered the frozen ponies, and revealing the metal parting into a widening hole. Something long came through, reaching almost the middle of the passage and shining with the sharp edges. The stallions could barely dodge the seemingly imminent strike and flattened along the corridor walls, watching with dropped jaws how the thin, black extremity jerked and wiggled convulsively. Something horrid on the train car roof was trying to free its undoubtedly stuck part, pulling the blade-like thing with screeching and crackling of the metal above.

Feeling how his heart slowly returns to its normal pace, Longhaul took a look around his companions flattening along the walls; he gestured with his eyes only towards the middle of the train car. However, one of them seemed to have a different idea: cautiously shifting around the sharp source of danger, the pegasus, who was to recoil to the window when the monster hit the roof, was going to join them at the inner wall of the passageway.

“Shhh!” Longhaul cupped his mouth, signalling them to stay quiet by his entire look.

The bulky stallion nodded; but instead of holding his breath upon reaching the wall, the pegasus reached for the crowbar, Cab was clutching tightly at. The unicorn released the metal bar easily, not understanding the need completely. Noticing the tiny lights of mad excitement in the eyes of their companion, Longhaul could barely shake his head.

Grabbing the tool more comfortably, the white pegasus suddenly attacked the claw still protruding from the ceiling. Attacked with surprising strength and rage, making the crowbar produce a humming sound. The fountain of sparkles splashed from the spot where the metal bar met the creature body, whatever the latter consisted of. Freezing for fraction of a second, the monster’s leg started twitching stronger.

“Don’t like it, bastard! Take this! Take more! And here is another one!” The strikes followed with the speed of a machinegun, as the “brute” shouted, agitating and enraging himself more and more. “Get lost, you fucking crab!!! Out of here!!!”

Longhaul and Cab froze, watching how with the muzzle twisted with rage, he bashed the jerking blade-like leg, again and again, causing new sparkles to fall. Finally, no matter how durable the monster’s extremity was, it started pulling out almost in panic.

“Beat you, wretch!!!” the pegasus almost twitched with a psychotic grimace, throwing the crowbar up.

With the last strong pull, the sharp claw finally popped out of the metal trap, followed by a few clacking steps on the roof outside. Dropping his weapon with a loud tingle, the stallion grabbed the firewood he carried before and rushed into the depth of the train car.

In the falling silence, two stallions exchanged dumbfounded glances; Cab could only shake his head slowly and Longhaul understood him without any words. If not for the steps outside, it seemed they could hear the snow falling on the metal roof. Quickly gathering the remaining wood, both hurried to the merged compartments, not forgetting to pick up the axes and misfortunate crowbar with them.

The pegasus stallion already piled up his load next to the dimly glowing boiler and was standing, doomedly resting his forehead against the bunk they nailed over the compartment window and breathing heavily. Under the uncomprehending glance of his wife, he quickly turned around and cast a rancorous glance at the incoming.

“What did I say?!” quietly but venomously started the “brute”. “This is some bullshit trap! No?!”

“I’m sure that was a pure accident…” accurately noticed Longhaul, putting his load on the floor and keeping his eyes on the opponent. Fluttershy pulled the foals back, subtly shielding them and Crystal with herself. “The creature had no intent to get inside. Neither did know about us… Yet!” added he with emphasis, pulling his hat lower. “If we…”

“Accident, for buck sake!!!” the pegasus punched the soft bunk violently, making the train car casing hum hollowly. The fire of dangerous folly was still burning in his narrowed eyes.

‘This one will kill us all if he keeps making that much noise!’ Fluttershy caught Longhaul’s meaningful look. But before they could say or undertake something, everypony heard another quiet voice.

“Why don’t you simply calm down, mister?” To everypony’s surprise, Storm stepped forward from behind Fluttershy; measuring the pegasus thrice larger than himself with the calm look, the colt was entirely confident in his right. “If you want us all…” Storm emphasized deliberately, “to survive, you either do something for that… or don’t prevent others from doing.” The stallion’s jaw dropped in bewilderment; truth be told some other passengers followed suit. Meanwhile, watched by Crystal Chime with the entirely new look, the colt glanced at Fluttershy, then Longhaul and added. “Shouting won’t help… unless you want to join Alex and try shouting at monsters to repel them… probably.”

The pegasus opened and closed his mouth at a loss; looking around the compartment and meeting mostly the reproachful eyes, he wanted to reply to Storm in his usual manner, but…

“Look, sir! Your wish to help was appreciated…” Longhaul stepped between them; an epitome of subtlety, he scratched his nape with the crowbar he was still holding. “But your aggressive spurt wasn’t.”

“It wasn’t smart to give out us hiding here,” added he after a heavy meaningful pause, adjusting his hat. “And if you keep making noise and putting us all in danger… I will be forced to knock you out, sir! Understood?”

“And I have enough sheets to tie you into a mummy if you keep making trouble,” mister Forward gave the brute a look from under the brows.

The pegasus froze, choking on words because of that organized counteroffensive. Prudently catching the moment, his spouse pulled him back, whispering something calming into the white strained ear. However, intercepting her glance, Fluttershy noticed that it was rather thankful than any else.

Miss Chime pulled Storm back, shaking her head slowly; however, her eyes were smiling when she looked at her nephew. Aurora looked at her brother with plain astonishment.

“Thanks!” whispered Fluttershy to Longhaul. “For a short while, I thought I would need to kick him myself…” She threw a meaningful look on her steel-shod hooves.

The attack from inside of the train car turned out for Alex hardly less surprising than for the Seeker. Watching the twitching creature attempting to free its leg from the metal trap, the human even forgot to attack the monster. To his bewilderment, Alex realized that he was hearing the shouts coming from the train car – somepony attacked the Seeker’s leg deliberately and violently.

He unfroze only when the Seeker finally managed to pull out his blade-like extremity, stomping his legs with visibly more accuracy now. Grabbing the glaive firmly, Alex prepared for the uneasy battle: despite the sharp, jerky movements, the seemingly clumsy creature turned out quite fast and tough. With the steel rattle, the Seeker dashed to the human, resembling the attacking mantis even more at that moment.

The first strike of the monster was deflected by Alex with a single wide swing of the glaive! The steel met the creature’s claw… sending sparks fly into the air! That blow could easily cut the equine-like Seeker’s leg off and even made the Flyer step back. However, the glaive only scratched the dark chitin-like surface of the claw. Comforting himself with a thought that the strike came out merely tangential, Alex was to admit that it would take more than one blow to cut off extremities that durable.

After a momentary confusion, the creature produced another dry clicking sound – it was unclear if the monster itself or its angular legs made it – and resumed the interrupted attack. The winged abomination aspired to pierce its enemy or at least inflict cuts as severe as it possibly could. The human and the Seeker started spinning in the deadly dance; each tried to incapacitate the opponent faster, ensuring the damage would appear hard enough to finish the enemy. As if breaking from its leash, the wind started howling shrilly, coming in strong gusts and pouncing the fighters. It swirled around them, throwing handfuls of snow in Alex’s face and ruffling the feathers of his wings, making them stand. Desperate to sneak and trail in and between the armour parts, as the frost wasn’t a threat for the fast-moving, heated human at that moment, the wind found its vengeful joy in pushing Alex in random directions, using his wings as a sail.

Wholeheartedly hoping that the wind was hindering the monster’s movements as much, Alex noticed that his enemy wasn’t feeling very confident on the train car roof. Of course, some jerkiness was dictated by the “flyer’s” gnarly, wicked constitution – it was hard to expect it to move on the ground or generally any surface as fluidly and naturally as its equine-like brethren. But there was more to it; that variant of the monster looked as if it was created to be the perfect airborne killer… at the expense of treating its ground capabilities slipshod.

‘Some…thing created you in a hurry!’ Alex smirked inwardly. ‘To react to the quickly changing circumstances and threats for their mission, whichever it was. It seems,’ he swayed his weapon sharply; hissing in the air, the glaive beat off the Seeker’s claw, sending another large bunch of sparks flying as if Alex was forging some metal instead, ‘that the distance and…’ Alex made a lunge, trying to use the momentary gap to his advantage and make a hole in the monster’s wing at least, ‘…informational delays are indeed a thing!’

The abomination managed to fold in some inscrutable way, diving under the glaive and evading the piercing strike; in the attempt to hit the human’s legs instead, the monster made a wide grappling move while staying low.

‘These guys aren’t to be underestimated!’ grinning wryly, Alex jumped right in time to dodge the long blades trying to catch his legs. The wings unfurled, keeping him in the air; with all possible strength – he had no time or space for a proper swing – the human’s right foot met the creature’s “beak” with a booming sound. ‘However…’

As the result of the sudden counterattack and its gravity centre shifted, the beast lost its balance and was to lean on its fore claws, spreading its wings quite clumsily.

The glaive already flashed in the snow-filled air, aiming down!

Catching that opportunity, Alex did his best to hit the monster’s wing. Pinning the thing to the train car would be the perfect gift; damaging its wing would suffice either. He missed it by a mane strand though!

With some incredible impulse, seemingly using its hind legs only (Alex was surprised by those blades being capable of that), the Seeker managed to whisk back like some giant, pulling its wing from under Alex’s impaling hit. Alex was to pull the glaive back, quickly interrupting the strike, not to get the blade stuck in the train car metal, and the monster had time to regain its balance, rising to all four.

The creature strained; however, not to pounce again, but rather soar as Alex noticed in the last moment. Not losing a second, he rushed to the monster, shortening the distance and barraging the Seeker with short, strong blows. Each one sent bright sparks into the cold air: the glaive slipped off the creature’s claws surface, leaving scratches and notches. To cut those blade-legs, Alex needed to strike at the right angle or aim slightly above the claw, at the point it attached to the rest of the wing. It was nearly impossible at that pace of attack. However, that wasn’t what Alex actually planned.

‘So, you want to get airborne again, bastard!’ Breaking the creature’s balance with hard hits, Alex aimed each second blow at the Seeker’s wings, constantly threatening to damage them. ‘I’ll be damned if I allow such a missile attack in the air!’

The dark spawn of somepony’s perverted mind was to retreat, defending its obvious advantage the creature couldn’t use at the moment. Its enemy seemed to guess the only real weak point and wasn’t going to let the Seeker soar as any attempt to spread the wings would mean having them cut off in a wink. Clicking and scratching on the roof metal, the monster backed off, forced to deflect the hail of strikes peppering the train car with sparks on each impact.

‘I’ll pinch it in the corner of the roof and…’ Alex squinted – a stroke of darkness glimpsed in the surrounding snowy mess. ‘Another one! That’s going to be harder than it looked!’

Thankfully, he spotted the approaching silhouette reflecting in one of the blades of his weapon. Inflicting another short blow to the enemy almost flatwise with the glaive, Alex dashed into the snowy sky right the moment before another flying beast reached the scene of the fight from behind.

The result surpassed his most optimistic expectations – Alex couldn’t hold back a snort, making a loop in the air. With the speed that high, the flying Seeker couldn’t interrupt its dash momentarily; another monster was focused on the human who unexpectedly stopped the attack and soared. With dry crackling, one creature crashed into another: locked together, the entire heap rolled on the train car roof with the loud rumble; beating out more sparks and wearing off the ventilation caps, they disappeared behind the edge, smacking into the snow. Alex fancied a muffled cry of fear coming from inside of the train car.

“What’s going on, for Celestia’s sake?!” the pupils of one of the deadly scared mares shrunk to the pinpoints; another one wasn’t far from fainting, shaking visibly.

“Quiet! Quiet, please!” Fluttershy tried to calm down the alerted passengers, pulling both mares closer to the centre of the small herd. Strangely the noise from above didn’t startle her much – somehow, the girl was sure that nothing was threatening Alex’s life at that moment. “Alex is simply trying to fend off the… whatever has found us. Just stay quiet!” Articulated she with emphasis.

“Don’t be afraid, kids!” She leaned to the foals. “Everything is going to be okay…”

‘I wholeheartedly hope!’ added Fluttershy mentally.

“I’m fine,” Storm was surprisingly calm, even squeezing out a semblance of a tiny smile. “I didn’t expect it to be a picnic after Alex said we were going to be attacked.”

“They haven’t been at our farm! Lucky ones!” shrugged Aurora, glancing at the still panicking mares; the filly snuggled to her brother habitually but accepted the circumstances with sad tranquillity as well.

“Oh, my dear!” Miss Chime shook her head, hugging both foals tightly.

‘If somepony described me this day a year ago,’ Fluttershy sighed, watching them, ‘I’d have told them to go get their head checked… What have we lived to?!’ She caught herself on listening carefully to the silence which fell outside interrupted by the draughts of wind only. The new feeling – awareness that Alex was unharmed – was strange but calming.

‘It could be even laughable… if not happening with us!’ Alex was to admit.

Unfortunately, none of the monsters looked hurt, as he could notice, reaching the train car edge and checking on them. Not even stunned much. Taking a few moments to untangle, the Seekers got up and turned around slowly, bogging down in the snowdrifts; a pair of red “eyes” glared at Alex again. That, hilarious otherwise, mishap even played into their claws: watching them climbing out of the snow, Alex missed the perfect moment for attack. When he realized it, both monsters already were spreading their wings. With the first strokes looking clumsy, the flying abominations rose into the air heavily; but as soon as they got on their wings, their clumsiness vanished at once.

Getting on their wings, both flying monsters effectively gained their attack speed in a matter of seconds. They started circling the train car, and none of the Seekers was going to wait till Alex soaring – he was to dodge the first attempts to knock him down as soon as he took off. There in the sky, the creatures turned into truly dangerous enemies. Distancing and approaching again they never gave the human the second strike after he deflected their short attacks, fleeing right when Alex was about to reply with a surplus.

The snow was swirling in the crispy, frosty air, so were the combatants. Three dark silhouettes in the misty sky spiralled around the imaginary axle drawn through the train car centre, coming closer for a fraction of a second to exchange strikes with metal clanking and fountains of sparks. Realizing their tactics, Alex became endlessly thankful to Luna for their recent friendly fight. The entire situation that day looked overly similar, making the human wonder if that had been a lucky coincidence or the Night Princess had had a hunch about something alike happening. Thus, fortunately, he entered that fight prepared, understanding his abilities better and ready to use them to his advantage.

‘Not much, though!’ Alex thought, making the glaive skirr across the incoming monster’s “beak” with a flash of sparks and a nasty screeching sound. The black wretch slapped its wings and turned away immediately before he could aim another blade of his glaive into the monster’s belly. ‘Don’t know how long they can keep that way… Long enough to become a problem, I’m sure!’ Alex noticed the unfortunate similarities with his fight against the timberwolves in October.

Basically, the new Seekers simply tried to impale their enemy on the fly, coming at him at their maximum speed and fleeing again as soon as their attempt failed. They turned out what Alex suspected them to be designed for – the large bullets. Even if dumb and straightforward as they were, the two flying creatures were quite tough to stand against. Alex suspected that with growing numbers of such enemies the problems would grow in geometric progression.

There was another thing complicating the fight: Alex couldn’t let himself move away from the snow-covered train car. Despite any circumstances, he was to keep the situation controlled, the ponies – safe from the monsters lurking around in the snow. Besides, a few more yards aside or up into the sky, and the train car started dissolving in the flowing snow veil – it was so easy to lose the spot, getting too far from it. Deadly easy! Everything looked the same around because of the blizzard; losing the train car from sight, Alex could lose it for good as only his vestibular apparatus could tell him where the ground was, let alone anything else in that case.

However, that seemed to be the thing the monsters aspired to do – luring the human away from the crash site, thus giving their company a chance to approach the prize and try it by the tooth. The first time he noticed it was when Alex attempted to chase one of the creatures after a specifically impudent attack. As if crossing some invisible safety line around the train car, Alex felt how the other creatures started towards it, making him delay his revenge and return at once.

The carriage itself and its passengers might be not so important for them. But Alex had no doubts that Fluttershy’s ability to cure the ponies affected by those creatures might put her under their attack ever since. That and the general chance to distract the human from the fight, thus making him vulnerable to their attacks were most likely what the flying bastards aimed at.

‘Okay, bony heads! It’s either strike or run situation for you anyway, unlikely that you had any alternative,’ Alex decided to bring the fight back to the surface – the train car roof looked suitable enough. ‘Let’s play by my rules, flying rags… As long as your mates keep hiding their butts in the snow!’

Folding his wings, Alex darted towards the ground, making the snow swirl in his trail and braking right above the train car. Exploded by his dash, the thin thread of smoke spread flat; the shreds of it kept flowing down the roof edges for a while, pressed down by the wind. Hovering over the frosted metal, Alex began taunting the creatures to attack the promising target, as if telling – “Here I am, come and get!”

Having no other way out of that lingering encounter, both Seekers continued their attacks on the human as expected. Seeing that their enemy was not going to chase them, they soon concentrated on the power of their impact, trying to hit the human with their entire mass, accelerating as much as possible.

There exactly, the lessons learned in their fight with Luna came to use: no matter how hard the Seekers tried to smite the human, the taunting winged figure always appeared slightly aside their aim just a second before they hit. Alex was about to suspect that those creatures were capable of showing the signs of enragement or frustration, so persistent those living bullets turned in their attempts to get him down.

They whizzed in the gloomy, snow-filled sky like a pair of angry supersonic wasps, coming down one by one on the maximum speed and making the snowfall follow them, bringing bunches of snow into Alex’s face. He only brushed them away with laughter – suddenly the situation turned even slightly amusing. Besides, Alex noticed that he was spending a lot less energy that way than keeping the useless round dance in the sky. Even if his dodges looked more like teleporting for the foreign eye.

One moment the hovering figure froze barely above the train car roof.

The bony flying menace was coming fast, folding its wings and aiming its spear-like beak at the human; the red eye focused on the target almost hatefully.

It seemed nothing could save from the approaching missile.

The next moment it was already nothing at the spot and the flying creature heavily changes its trajectory, almost slapping its wings on the train car metal and turning into the sky again. The human appeared a couple of yards aside in a wink, lazily trying to slap the Seeker with his glaive but without much effort – he was perfectly holding his position.

‘I wonder, how much time will it take those bony heads to realize I can keep that play longer than they imagine!’ Deflecting the Seekers’ repeating attacks, Alex wasn’t forgetting to throw an occasional look around in case any of their mates decided to infiltrate the train car in that ruckus. So far none of them in the field (Alex assumed that it was actually a plain around them) dared to try; all seemed to be waiting for him to make a mistake and fall.

Seeing another attack incoming, Alex inwardly sighed and got his glaive ready. The wings strained, the next second making the snowfall around smudge like an unsuccessful photo and sending him not strictly aside but rather towards and under the rushing creature. The glaive jerked in his hand, bringing a vengeful smirk to Alex’s face.

With the nasty ripping sound, one of the blades met the leathery wing of the monster, tearing it across almost from the margins to the back edge. The flying thing fell on the damaged side, losing height.

Feeling the overload with his entire body, Alex braked and turned in the air. The world around regained sharpness momentarily.

The next moment, the giant feathery wing slapped the wounded Seeker on the fly, knocking it down at once and practically smacking it into the train car roof, breaking the thin ice with the creature’s body.

Alex froze in the air for a moment, watching the Seeker – beaten but not defeated – rising heavily and clumsily to its legs. The right wing of the creature trembled, flapping heavily when the dark abomination tried to soar, but it was unable to lift its owner anymore. With dry knocking of the claws on metal, the ex-flying monster turned around, not going to give up. From the corner of his eye, Alex noticed another creature landing on the roof edge behind him.

Without further lingering, both Seekers attacked at once, trying to take Alex into a tight vice of razor-sharp claws striking from both sides in a raging attempt to take down the persistent and so far invulnerable enemy. The fight burned up with increased strength. Spinning like mad and delivering strikes back and forth, Alex noticed with grim satisfaction that the armour they made with Willsmash was still doing its job perfectly. The occasional hits simply slipped off its smooth faces, screeching on the steel but unable to penetrate the plates. As for the closer encounter, the monsters preferred to avoid it, prudently keeping away from the tactically placed metal thorns.

Realizing that it turned into the battle of endurance and the advantage was after all at the enemy’s side, Alex would prefer both Seekers attacking him from one side as while he took on one monster, another had time and opportunity to check his armour for strength. The creatures in their turn appeared smart enough to recognize Alex’s efforts to properly “herd” them and face both at once.

Through the array of flailing blows, the combatants were constantly stomping around, making the train car roof hum with rattling metal sounds. The monsters did their worst to spin Alex, expecting him to get distracted or even fall; needless to say that all they would need in that case was to pounce at him with the combined mass and wait for their “friends” to arrive. Alex, however, tried to dodge the hits and tactically lure or force both creatures to one side of himself.

Rotating his glaive like a deadly propeller, Alex started advancing, bashing the crippled monster repeatedly and pushing it to the train car edge. The double-bladed weapon whistled in the air, fanning away the flying snow and smacking heavily into the Seeker. The human hit it in all the possible ways, aspiring not to cut but rather stun and push off, delivering the flat strikes and aiming into the monster’s head. Kicking the Seeker off the roof would give Alex time to deal with another creature one-on-one as the first one couldn’t get back from the ground with its ripped wing.

As soon as Alex started feeling triumphant – the first Seeker’s butt was inching towards the roof edge, almost reaching it and making its owner fret, another Seeker rushed into a fierce attack, drumming the human’s steel back with the claws and flapping its wings with the loud noise. While not immediately threatening, those hits were quite palpable and distracting as if Alex was safely (thanks to the armour) yet persistently bucked in his back not by a pony, but by a full-grown horse or alicorn for that matter.

However, the next strike was definitely aimed to try piercing the armour or at least give Alex a severe concussion: the Seeker attacking from behind leaned back to gain momentum, aiming its pointy beak right between the human’s shoulder blades. The planned strength of the blow would have made Alex lose balance or experience a moment of overwhelming pain enough to perform an undeflected series of dangerous hits.

Throwing a glance over the shoulder, Alex bashed the frontal Seeker across its pointy head as hard as he could, making the creature flinch back. He started turning right in time: the hit was supposed to turn out monstrous, but the beak of another Seeker slid on Alex’s armour with a loud skirring sound, barely contacting the armour. On the contrary, the back blade of Alex’s glaive found its aim, sticking out of the red “eye” of the rear Seeker.

The glow faded, and the disgusting bony creature froze for a fraction of a second as if switched off by somepony’s invisible hoof. The Seeker twitched once and went limp, hanging with its weight on Alex’s weapon. Turning around, Alex forcedly pushed the creature aside, pulling the glaive out not to let it get stuck in the monster’s skull. The large wing finished the job, striking the already disintegrating carcass off the train car roof, into the snow, where the defeated Seeker collapsed with its entire weight, scratching the metal with its blade-like legs.

‘Damn it!’ flashed in Alex’s head – his leg slipped on the iced metal and in a wink Alex fell flat on the train car roof, crumpling the last surviving ventilation cap. The hit was so hard it would beat all the air out of the human’s lungs; by some miraculous coincidence, Alex tucked and managed to fold his wings in time. They softened the fall, not turning out a perfect target for the remaining enemy. Nevertheless, the train car roof and the snowfall tripled in Alex’s view for a moment.

Meanwhile, another Seeker recomposed from the human’s attack, distancing from the roof edge and having enough time to plan out its vengeance. Its opponent was lying flat on his back, open for the attack. Not lingering for a second more, the Seeker rushed forward, swaying and hitting with its fore claws one by one, as if trying to make the human pay the full price for the damaged wing.

Almost pushing with his legs from the rising and hitting down blades, Alex spent several moments snaking away on his back from under the attacking thing. The latter was so determined to finish what it started that the strikes became heavier and more enraged second by second. The last strike was so strong, both claws of the Seeker went deep through the metal, making the flying beast wriggle and jerk for a while to release them.

Thankfully, Alex fell with his wings folded. Thus, pushing away from the stomping thing, he rolled to and over the edge of the roof, grabbing the narrow water tray with one hand. Making his fingers almost creak inside the armoured glove, Alex swung with his entire weight; unfurling and giving a monstrous flap, the wings provided the additional impulse, throwing him back to the train car top. Regaining the balance, Alex applied all the force into a single, wide swish.

It was impossible to miss at that moment!

With a well-aimed strike, the glaive met the Seeker’s neck under the right angle, chopping the monster’s head off and sending it flying into the blizzard, sticking into the snow with its sharp beak.

The black abomination flopped down like a sack of rags, clacking its lifeless claws on the roof! Swirling and curling into the thin threads and strands, the Dark Mist started escaping the decapitated body, flowing above the icy metal towards Alex, finding the tiniest gaps between armour plates and seeping inside.

Getting used to the terrifying sounds above their heads, the passengers seemed to submit to their fate, whatever it was going to deliver. Different kinds of rattling and heartrending screeching of steel, sounding as if the train car metal was about to be torn – nothing could make the ponies fret. Silently waiting for the ending of the battle unrolling outside, they looked at each other with the doomed tranquillity; not even the strong thumps making the train car roof visibly swell inside with dents made them shudder, let alone panic.

Forced to reassure and comfort the frightened mares and stallions at first, Fluttershy watched them now with surprise – so quiet the ponies herding around the small flickering fire became as soon as the hell broke loose behind the train car walls. She kept talking to them nevertheless; however, if later somepony asked what she was telling, Fluttershy wouldn’t have been able to remember. Subtle, carefully searching for the gap in their sanity panic circled around, approaching and distancing in waves as if only waiting for the right moment to pounce. Fluttershy was to admit that the terror didn’t feel overwhelming; probably because of the distance the Seekers preferred to stay at, or maybe the reason was simpler – hope was holding their minds together. Anyway, her words and touch worked, and the girl was determined to do her best to keep the small herd adequate.

The white pegasus stallion was probably one of those worst affected by the circumstances. Once an arrogant brute, he almost curled in his corner at that moment, capable to perceive his wife’s word only – the mare kept holding his fore leg and whispering something to his strained ear. Fluttershy felt a tiny prick of conscience for first being harsh with that, terrified to the point of psychosis, guy and now not giving him a supporting hoof. However, a certain part of her mind presumed that it would hardly be wholeheartedly accepted. And, in fact, when she tried to address the shaken stallion, the latter winced from the girl as if she was the Seeker terrorizing the passengers. Giving Fluttershy an understanding and almost apologetic smile, the little pale-saffron mare shook her head subtly, gaining her spouse’s attention again and trying to soothe him on her own.

The most surprising turned out to be the foals’ behaviour: keeping close to Fluttershy, both Storm and Aurora were listening to the sounds of the battle outside, seemingly showing no fear, as the only thing concerning them was trying to guess what exactly was happening at the train car roof. The girl almost saw how they tried to watch it with their inner view, perking their ears. Wondering if she had managed to pass her sudden confidence to the foals somehow, Fluttershy threw a glance at their aunt – miss Chime looked a bit pale, yet a weak smile and grateful glance she returned told Fluttershy that the mare was doing her best to hold.

Something collapsed on the train car roof heavily, a blood-chilling rattle of the claws ceased abruptly. The silence that followed felt louder than a dozen of avalanches; freezing on their spots and listening, the ponies started exchanging concerned glances, finally able to hear the plangent howling of the wind behind the thin walls. Slow first, then faster and faster, the sense of terror and desperation ebbed away. That change turned out nearly as shocking as the first, even if contactless, acquaintance with the mind-wrecking enemy.

A couple of loud steps on the metal burst-popped the windy silence outside, followed by a juicy sound of the unfurling wings. The train car trembled pushed by somepony getting airborne. Distancing, the flapping didn’t cease; occasionally coming through the squeals and howls of the raging blizzard, they seemed to be circling the motionless train car.

Little by little, listening to themselves as if still fearing that the feeling of monsters’ presence might return, the ponies came into motion, cautiously interesting in their co-travellers wellbeing. The foals seemed to be ready to break into the happy gallop around the merged compartments. Fluttershy caught them and squeezed into a tight short embrace, pushing back her tears with an enormous effort, then releasing Storm and Aurora, so their aunt could grab and cuddle them not going to release soon.

“Err… Errmmm…” Cab Forward wiped the big glistening sweat drops from his forehead, not noticing that he dropped his pushed to the nape uniform cap to the floor. “Wasn’t… Wasn’t Alex supposed to return… to warm up at least… I mean, the weather is extremely unfriendly outside, and he has been there for quite a while already. That’s dangerous!”

‘I know! Sweet Harmony, I know!’ screamed somewhere inside of Fluttershy’s soul. ‘I would like to bring him inside immediately more than anything else!’

Feeling that her lips were about to tremble treacherously, the girl pursed them so hard they turned paler. Swallowing a sudden lump, Fluttershy straightened; her eyes gave a spark, looking around the muzzles in the dim flickering light.

“I believe, Alex knows better what to do!” sounding with more confidence than she felt, the girl stomped her fore hoof on the floor – the armour plates clanked loudly. “The monsters can return any time… I’m going to trust him with my life! You all better do as well.”

Standing on the train car roof, Alex took a look around – nopony and nothing dared to approach them from the surrounding snowfall. The white swirling veil ate all the sounds and colours, and nothing disturbed the swirling snow globe they seemed to get into. The human caught himself on the urge to turn his eyes to the train car occasionally while watching the landscape; that was the only way to ensure that something still kept standing on the solid ground, the only way to avoid inevitable vertigo. The Seekers’ presence vanished completely as Alex could tell. Either the creatures decided to leave the unbreakable prey alone or at least distanced far enough for him to feel them.

However, Alex wasn’t that naïve to indulge in vain hope that the black monstrosities completely gave up the idea of attacking the so promising train car stuck in the snowdrifts.

‘I am still alive only because hoping for the best I was always inwardly prepared for the worst!’ a wry smile ran across Alex’s face when the magical helmet opened for a short while to let in some cool wind. ‘Hopefully, I can teach the ponies around the same useful trick, as so far I could see only a few of them treating the situation truly realistic.’

‘But before that, I need to keep that forsaken train car safe by any cost! At least for several hours more, until the help arrives…’

With a sigh, he commanded the helmet to close again: what Alex planned was an unsafe thing to perform without protecting his face. His best chance to avoid all the nasty moves the remaining Seekers could undertake was to keep them away from the train car and the ponies inside. Alternatively – to keep the train car isolated from the outer impact.

Mentally drawing a circle of twenty-seven yards in diameter, with the train car in its centre, Alex soared again. His secondary mission was not to freeze solid in the continuing blizzard. As before, moving was his best friend in keeping the acceptable temperature. Speeding up slowly, Alex started circling the drowning in snow train car along the mentally drawn line. His wings didn’t betray him so far: unfurling to the maximum span, they carried him slightly above the motionless carriage. More and more snow was rising from the ground. In a few minutes, Alex reached the speed he so successfully used a few minutes before, his wings pulling even the falling snow after him.

The wind calmed down considerably: it wasn’t dragging the large snowflakes parallel the ground anymore but rather made the white grainy veil flow slowly changing direction from time to time and swirling gracefully. Mercifully letting the last rays of daylight through, the clouds thinned, making a casual observer wonder, how such an amount of snow could still be produced. Indeed, the visibility didn’t improve a iota – once limited by the raging blizzard, the view was now blinded by the falling dense snow. Undisturbed silence spread in the frosty air, seemingly letting one hear how the scratchy icy flakes settled one over another with a faint dry rustle. Not a single bird was staining the snow-filled sky; not a single animal dared to leave its prints on the virgin white cover of the valley.

However, the seeming improvements were insidious. Vanquishing and finally driving away the warm weather front, the wind stopped raging, yet the cold air masses kept flooding the valley, constantly flowing from the North and coming around the magical dome. In the face of the approaching night, the temperature was going to drop even more. The snow hardened, compacting under the weight of adding layers. The cold tranquillity of the place was hardly less dangerous than its wrath.

Suddenly, a faint shiver came through the blocked tracks. Thin cracks ran across the snow crust. The snowdrifts crumbled a bit, flowing down the railway mound while something large and heavy moved along the valley, making the ground tremble. Cutting the persistent snowfall, the two blades of bright light started scanning the darkening surroundings, fumbling around the railroad and snatching details of the landscape from the snowy haze. With growing tremors, the snow gave up; it began escaping the rails, pushed by a giant steel wedge.

A gust of hot air pushed the snow veil away, making the separate snowflakes melt on the fly and revealing the mammoth, fiery red locomotive. Topping the three-storey building in height, the monster rolled forward using both railway track pairs, easily cleaning the road with its shiny snow grader which was attached to the loco muzzle like an enormous cowcatcher. The golden digits “303” shone through the dusk from the red hull. Covering several yards by inertia, the machine stopped slowly, exhaling a giant cloud of steam which completely dispelled the snowfall around for a while.

“Give the main light!” sounded from the top of the locomotive: barely guessing from the ground, the upper platform was hiding in the twilight. With a loud click, a broad cone of blinding light fell on the snow-blocked tracks, immediately turning dusk into day for the dozens of yards ahead. The main floodlight couldn’t be turned, always shining in the “Icebreaker” direction unlike the humbler searchlights, but it clearly showed – there was nothing to search for in the viewable distance. The snowflakes seemingly tried to sneak away from its shine, bashfully falling on the empty railway mound.

‘Strange! We already reached the location, they were supposed to detach,’ Wrapping into his cloak, the light-grey unicorn peered along the cone of light shimmering with myriads of falling sparks as if trying to notice something beyond its boundaries. Unwittingly he continued aloud. “According to the words of that stallion and other passengers, who felt the jolt…”

“Slow ahead! Dead crawl!” he leaned over the railings, addressing the motorpony, who was waiting for the further orders, peeking from the located lower cabin. “Last thing they need is the Icebreaker accidentally running into them,” muttered Shining Armour.

Coming from above, the feathery rustle distracted the unicorn from his thoughts. A pegasus guard landed on the platform a bit further: ruffling his feathers and shaking off the snow, he didn’t want to spray the royalty with it.

“Your Highness!” the guard approached, saluting; the unicorn nodded impatiently, telling him to continue. “We found something on the tracks… about a mile ahead.”

“Something?!” Shining Armour raised one eyebrow, watching the guard expectantly.

“Ahem… This… object is standing on the rails,” the pegasus cleared his throat and elaborated a bit confusedly. “It’s nearly the train car in size, so we concluded that must be our goal.”

“What do you mean under “nearly”?” Shining Armour interrupted him. “Is it the train car or not?”

“That was the actual problem,” the pegasus’ nose flushed, which could look comic for the royal guard under the different circumstances. However, both stallions couldn’t probably find anything funny in the current situation. “The thing is standing in the middle of some sort of tornado. Namely – the strong whirlpool of wind and snow, making it impossible to approach. Our search team could discover it and estimate the size of the object inside only with magic,” added he apologetically. “Even so, there is strong interference, Your Highness! Unicorns said that the spells barely came through, but they could glimpse something big circling the object slightly above its height.”

“That must be them! What else…” Shining Armour jerked his shoulder convulsively. “But…”

“Commander! Your Highness!” before any of them could utter a word, another pegasus emerged from the snow in the darkening sky. “The snow barrier is fading,” he kept hovering above the upper platform. “If it keeps that way, we can try to check the object in a few minutes.”

“Commander!” Shining Armour turned to the guard on the observation platform. “Return and take the lead! Approach the object when possible, but don’t take further actions till we arrive.”

“Ahead two-thirds! Keep the main light!” swaying the snow-powdered sapphire mane aside from his muzzle, he waved his fore hoof to the motorpony, who kept listening to the talk above, when the pegasi left saluting. The earth pony stallion nodded and disappeared into the depths of the loco.

A second later, with a loud sigh of the steam engine and metal rumble, the giant red locomotive started, mercilessly crumpling and shoving aside the snowdrifts. Pulled from the snowy darkness, the rest of the train revealed itself one by one: the huge fuel tank, the powerful telescopic crane on the separate chassis, several empty platforms and a couple of regular-size auxiliary locos attached at the tail.

Alex had to slow down – he had almost no strength left and the reserves were draining fast. Spending the last few hours jetting in the air around the motionless train car – actually, he long lost the count of time – Alex felt as if there was no single cell in his body that wasn’t freezing. Perhaps the motion was the only thing holding him from hitting the ground like an icicle. That and the reassuring occasional view of the thin smoke thread still coming from the carriage. The enemy presence vanished long ago, but he couldn’t allow himself to lose vigilance; the price of the tiny mistake could have become unimaginable.

When the bright light flooded everything and started approaching, Alex was ready to believe he was seeing things already. The speed dropped even more, he was barely holding in the air, keeping himself on the fly with slow heavy wing-strokes. In the thinning snowfall, he started noticing dark figures, surrounding the train car. Those were not Seekers: normal, pony-like silhouettes caused a faint smile on Alex’s face.

‘It seems that we made it!’ It was time to land and Alex went to another, last loop.

Colourful blots were floating in front of his eyes. The giant red locomotive, slowly crawling into the view, looked surreal, smudged and flickering in the cloud of steam it spewed. Even when the blinding frontal spotlight faded.

Appearing against the huge shiny snow-scrapper, somepony galloped towards them from the rescue train. The figures around, recognized by Alex as the guards, rushed to the train car. The passengers already started to climb out; staggering and stumbling, they entrusted themselves to the rescuers.

Alex almost fell through the air, lurching on one wing. Levelled off by some miracle and the quick wing-flaps. The legs met the ground as if they were made of wood. The silvery glow enveloped the helmet, removing it and opening his face to the gust of snow carrying wind.

Like through the dream, Alex saw the dark slim silhouette detaching from the group of passengers and examining them guards; it darted to him, smudging in the air like a stroke of steel, yellow and pink.

Alex wanted to smile, but broke into a cough instead; the snow-covered valley started swirling around him. Making a couple of unsteady steps, he fell flat, spreading the huge wings forcelessly. A spring of blood escaped Alex’s mouth, planting a handful of rubies on the snow ahead.

24. Crystal Empire

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