Quick Stacks read through his book with a stressed aura about him. The past few days had been running him ragged, and the only kind of solace he could get was when he was reading. Unfortunately, a knock on his office door disturbed him.

"Sir?" a timid voice spoke from the other side. "The Flim Flam brothers have reported back. It's about the colt."

Stacks gently laid his book down upon the desk in front of him. "Send them in."

The door opened and in walked Flim and Flam. The twins looked at each other nervously as they approached the business pony.

"So," Quick Stacks started. "What's the status on Applejack?"

"Still up and about in Ponyville," Flam answered. "She was just as intrusive as ever."

"And the new one? The colt?" Quick Stacks was very clear that their prime target was Dylan. A new Apple was trouble for his plans. After all, if he was there, he was almost certainly in Granny Smith's will.

"The boy is smitten," Flim answered. "He's got a new little marefriend."

"Oh? A marefriend, you say?" Stacks touched his hooves together.

"Indeedy!" Flam responded. "They were at the Sugarcube Corner!

"It looks like we'll have to keep a closer eye on them." Stacks brought up his book. "Have you read 'Two Lovers Apart?' It's a heartbreaking story about two ponies who were torn apart by a tragedy."

The brothers looked nervous. Flam was the first to speak up. "What are you saying?"

"I want you two to bring the filly here by any means necessary," said Quick Stacks. "We'll use her as a way to get what I want."

"We're not going to hurt her, are we?" Flim asked cautiously.

"Why does that matter to you?" Stacks asked in return. "I've promised you two million bits for your services. Surely, that should be enough incentive to keep you quiet and loyal. Unless... you want me to have my colts escort you into the basement?"

Flam put a hoof in front of Flim's mouth. "N-No, sir! We understand loud and clear!"

Stacks gave a horrible grin, one that sent shivers down the brothers' spines. "Good. Now go. Bring her here, and don't buck up."

Dylan sat down next to Amber on a bench in Ponyville town square. The two had been hanging out more frequently over the next few weeks ever since their first date, and Dylan had become more comfortable talking to her. Everything was looking up for him.

"So, Dylan," Amber began. "Do you like being here in Equestria?"

Dylan's ears perked up at the question. "Of course I like Equestria. It's much better than my world."

"What's so great about boring old Equestria though?" Amber stretched lazily and yawn.

"Well," Dylan began going through a list in his head and speaking. "There's the clean air and water, the vibrant colors, the friendly ponies, the food, the Apple family..."

Amber listened to all the things Dylan was able to list off the top of his head and rolled her eyes with a smile. She eventually interrupted him. "You're telling me you didn't have most of those things in your world? I find that hard to believe."

"Well, my world is boring," said Dylan. "It's very bleak, and the pollution is getting out of control."

"Pollution?" Amber raised a brow. "I think I've heard of that in class before. Ponies used to deal with huge piles of trash, I think..."

Dylan nodded his head in understanding. He had realized during his first few months in Equestria that machinery was scare, and that meant the sky was smog free. "Well, there's trash, yes. But that's not the real problem. I'm talking about pollution of the air."

"There's trash in the air where you live? That sounds silly," Amber replied.

"Not trash. Smog pollution," Dylan corrected. "There's a lot of toxins in the air that's hurting the planet."

"Sounds like y'all messed up bad," said Amber.

"Yeah..." Dylan rubbed the back of his neck. He thought back to when the factories first began spewing smoke. He was about ten years old or so. Ever since then, the air quality had dropped severely. It would even get to the point where he couldn't breathe properly at times. His mother had even commented on it, saying it was like an evil darkness had overtaken the land.

Amber laid her head upon Dylan's shoulder, clearing away any thoughts he was having. "You," she said, "are too focused on the bad things."

Suddenly, a small droplet fell upon Dylan's nose, and then another. The two droplets were soon joined by a flurry of them, turning into rain. Amber grabbed Dylan's hoof and led him into a nearby shop. "I forgot," she said. "It was scheduled to rain today."

"You'd think the pegasi would at least warn ponies first before starting a downpour on them." Dylan remembered the first time he saw a pegasus pushing around the clouds. When asking Applejack about it, she had told him how weather was made and controlled by the pegasi. Dylan was skeptical at first, but after seeing the pegasi pushing around the clouds and kicking them to cause rain, he had eventually came to accept it as fact.

"We should be safe in here," said Amber. "Wait... oh my Celestia!"

"Celestia's here?" Dylan looked around for the regal horse, and, finding nothing, remembered that her name was also an expression. "Oh, yeah..."

Amber grabbed Dylan's mane in her teeth and pulled him to the far end of the shop. After reaching the end, she let go and pointed to the shelves attached to the walls. "Look!"

Dylan looked up at the shelves and saw a bunch of small red boxes lined up in a row. Upon them read the words 'Sky High Pegasi Chocolates'. "They look like regular chocolates to me," he said as he squinted his eyes.

"Regular chocolates?!" Amber reared back with a look of shock. "These are special puffy chocolates made from the clouds! They're normally exclusive only to Cloudsdale! I. MUST. GET. THESE."

"Um... okay?" Dylan grabbed a box and took them over to a bored looking cashier with a gray coat and a brown mane. "How much for these?"

"Fifty bits," he replied, staring off into space.

"Um..." Dylan looked at the box. "Are you sure that's right? These are only chocolates."

"They're imported. Buy 'em or leave," said the cashier, not even looking at Dylan.

Amber walked up to the counter and placed fifty bits upon it. "Hope you choke on 'em."

"I hope I do," the cashier replied boredly, leaving Dylan to question whether this guy was suicidal or not.

"Are you okay?" Dylan asked, a little concerned.

"Hm?" The cashier looked down at Dylan. "Am I okay? Uhh..." He brought a hoof to his chin and pondered. "I could be better. I used to be happier, but... I don't know why I'm like this nowadays. I just feel like I've lost my happiness."

Amber, feeling sympathetic, opened up the box to reveal perfectly spherical orbs of chocolate. She placed one on the counter and smiled. "Here. When I was really little, I would go through strange bouts of depression, but these chocolates would always cheer me up."

The cashier picked up the chocolate and rolled it around in his hoof for a few moments before popping it into his mouth. Chewing, his lips slowly turned upwards into a soft smile. "Thanks," he said. "Look, I'm sorry. I just haven't been feeling too well lately."

"It's no problem," Amber replied, nodding in understanding. "Ponies need to stick together."

"I um... I could give you a discount if you want," he offered.

Amber shook her head. "It's fine. I know how special these are." She gave him a smile and walked out with Dylan. "I hope you get better soon!" she shouted as they left.

"Do a lot of ponies get depression?" Dylan asked as they walked under the edges of the overhanging rooftops, just out of the rain.

"Actually, it only started about twenty years ago." Amber pulled a chocolate sphere out from the box and gave it to Dylan, who popped it into his mouth. She was absolutely right, these chocolates were amazing.

Dylan swallowed his treat before speaking. "Why? Why only twenty years ago?"

"Dunno. The doctors said it was a mystery. Ponies don't usually get depression unless there's a reason." Amber popped another chocolate in her mouth and smiled from the flavor. "My depression went away after a while, but the doctors said it could return one day."

"In my world, depression could last years, or even an entire lifetime." said Dylan. Amber widened her eyes in surprise. "It can even get so bad that it leads to... you know..."

"To what?" Amber asked, in suspense.

"To suicide," said Dylan umcomfortably, eliciting a gasp from Amber.

"That's so awful!" she exclaimed.

"It's just how some things are over there sometimes," said Dylan. "My pa once told me my uncle committed suicide before I was born."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Amber tried to comfort Dylan.

"It's okay. I never knew him in person. I've only heard stories of him from my pa. Like stories of how he tried to steal my mom from my pa before my parents settled down together."

"Sounds like there was a lot of bad blood in the family," Amber commented.

"Yeah." Dylan looked at the ground as they walked. "My grandparents never liked my mother. They never even liked me. They always called us sinners and abominations."

"Sinner? What's a sinner?" Amber asked.

"Someone who does something wrong or against God," Dylan answered.

"God?" Amber raised a brow.

"You probably haven't heard of a god, I forgot..." Dylan had asked Applejack about this once before. Although the concept of gods existed, the need for them was almost nonexistent, especially with alicorns like Celestia and Luna, who could literally move the heavens above.

"I have, but I just don't know what one is," Amber explained.

Dylan shook his head. "It's fine. Where do you wanna go next?"

"I need to use the restroom," stated Amber as she began heading to a nearby arcade.

"Alright. I'll wait for you," said Dylan.

After entering the arcade, Amber made her way into the filly's restroom. Dylan looked around and noticed all the other young ponies playing. Specifically, a brown colt with a lighter shaded striped mane wearing a propeller beanie.

Dylan walked up to the pony and smiled. "What are you playing?"

The young colt looked to Dylan with a grin on his face. "Pac Stallion!"

The puns were real. Dylan snickered a little and the colt gave him a confused look. Dylan shook his head and introduced himself. "I'm Dylan. What's your name?"

"Button Mash!" the colt replied.

As Dylan and Button Mash talked about the videogames in the arcade, a pair of unicorns in hooded robes walked into the arcade and made their way into the filly's restroom. A few minutes later, Amber walked out of the restroom, whistling a happy tune.

"Ready to go?" asked Amber, smiling.

Dylan noticed that Amber's mane seemed to be a bit roughed up. "Is that a new manestyle?"

"Um... yeah," she replied. "Let's go back to your place, okay? I wanna ask Applejack something."

As the left, the janitor of the arcade waltzed into the filly's restroom, whistling her little tune. She was surprised to find two hooded stallions unconcious on the floor, having been beaten and bruised.

"Yikes! What filly did you walk in on?" she asked herself.

Author's Note

Here's a little chapter. Compared to my more recent chapters, it is a bit smaller, but the message I'm trying to portray to you is the same. I've been going through some depression recently, and I feel that ponies can easily get depression, too. So I decided to incorporate that into my fic in this small chapter. This will eventually become a bit of a mystery throughout Dylan's story, and I hope you enjoy the ride as it unfolds.