I had quite a lengthy conversation with Spike about Marvel and DC comics, I told him my favorites which were in no particular order, Deadpool, Batman, Spider-man, Hulk, Ironman, Wolverine, Punisher, and Venom. While Spike went to the restroom he sent a letter off to Cadence and Shining to be expecting us within a few hours, we were soon back to our conversation about comics.

"So let me get this straight, Deadpool. Which is a rip-off of a DC comics character named Deathstroke, actually knows that he's in a comic book?" Spike asked.

"Yep!" I said.

"But if he knows he's in a comic, what's his motivation for doing anything?" Spike asked.

"Because he likes money more than breaking the 4th wall." I answered, "Deadpool is so terrifyingly skilled that most people in the Marvel universe tend to pay him off rather than just fight him, in fact on two separate occasions Deadpool actually KILLED all the heros and villians in the marvel universe."

"So, say hypothetically speaking. If Deadpool were to come here, would you be able to stop him?" Spike asked.

"All honesty? If he were extremely pissed off for whatever reason, I could buy a few minutes at most and even that's being generous." I said.

"Would the elements of harmony work on him?" Spike asked.

"I give it a 50/50 chance that they may or may not work. You know how I told you about Ghost Rider?"

"Biker who's a flaming skeleton bounty hunter for the devil?" Spike answered.

"And about how I told you about his Penance Stare?" I asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Spike answered and reciprocated a question.

"It doesn't work on Deadpool, mostly because Deadpool doesn't see anything he's done as being guilt worthy."

"So he's insane, immortal, immune to dark magic, and is aware that he's a comic book character?" Spike asked.

"Yep, and you want to know the TRULY craziest thing?" I asked and Spike nodded, "He's more popular than Deathstroke."

Spike just slouched in his seat, "Wow."

"Yeah." I smiled.

"I got a question for you." Spike said, "Out of all the superheroes you talked about, which one do you relate to the most?"

"The Punisher." I answered, "Mostly because it could so easily happen to me. Hell, I could snap one day and just become a serial killer."

"What keeps you from doing it?" Spike asked with a hint of fear I could hear underlying his tone.

"Mostly, it's Fluttershy. Girl's got a heart that puts hearts of gold to shame." I smirked, "The other girls help as well, but it's Fluttershy that actually gathered the courage to talk and reach out to me. That touched my heart so much, especially when I was so bitter at the world. She knew I had every right to be upset, but she didn't want that anger to consume me, well at least not my entire life."

"Wow, I never knew that." Spike admitted.

"I tend not to share it, but I have a feeling that you're not about to go spilling any of my secrets." I smiled and nudged him.

"Do you think there would be a chance to get a hold of some of those comics you were talking about?" Spike asked.

"Dude, I think you'd have a better chance of squeezing lemonade out of an apple. Your best bet would be to talk to Discord." I plainly said, "I took everything off the internet. You do remember what that is right?"

"Yeah I do." Spike said, "I wish we had something like that over here in Equestria."

"Wish all you want, it ain't gonna happen anytime soon with the way technology is in Equestria, you'd sooner have a car before the internet." I said.

"Speaking of cars, how's restoring that car going?" Spike questioned

"The charger?" I asked, then I explained. "Well Twilight is working on a magical rechargeable battery to run the car instead of gasoline, so there's that. The engine also runs on oil to keep everything lubricated but Discord said that he'll come up with an oil that doesn't need to be changed. From some far flung planet that also has vehicles. Personally, I think he's lying."

"Discord is doing good, you're getting something you've always wanted." Spike said, "You've got it pretty good here."

"That I may, but there's something called Murphy's law." I leaned back in my seat.

"What's that?" Spike asked.

"Basically it's this, anything that can go wrong will go wrong." I stated, "Say for example, this train being buried in an avalanche and we have to walk to the Crystal Empire."

"Jeez." Spike scratched the back of his head, "I don't want to be buried in the snow. I hate the cold as is."

"Oh right, you're cold-blooded right?" I asked Spike and he nodded.

"Yeah, I don't do too well in the cold, in fact when we first moved to Ponyville during the first winter wrap up that Twilight was a part of I fell into a frozen lake."

"Whoa, that could've killed you!" I nearly shouted.

"It almost did, Twilight got her ass chewed out by Celestia to take better care of me...for a short time she did, but..."

"Fell into the same routine." I completed for him, "That's...hard."

"I know, it...hurts." Spike looked down, "Rarity reassures me that I have value but it still hurts."

"Twilight and the others have taught you not to value yourself." I looked down, "They made you dependent on whether or not what you're doing at the moment has value to them, therefore you have no self-esteem. Which is why you revel in the fact that you're practically worshipped in the Crystal Empire. That would be my best guess."

"You'd make a great therapist." Spike said.

"I was once told the same thing by Rainbow, but I concluded that I'm not licensed for that sort of work and that my burdens are too heavy for me to take on the burdens of others. However, that doesn't stop them from trying." I said.

"Next stop. The Crystal Empire!" The conductor said.

The train soon stopped in the Crystal Empire train station and Spike and I grabbed our things and left the train. When Spike and I entered there were trumpets, "NOW ANNOUNCING, SPIKE THE BRAVE AND GLORIOUS AND HIS GUEST!"

I looked around and there were barricades keeping legions of people at bay. I just whistled in amazement, "Well it looks like that you're quite the big deal here Mr. Brave and Glorious. Just try not to let it get to your head. Okay?"

"Bring me back down to Equestria if I do." Spike said and nudged me, "There are Shining and Cadence." Spike pointed out.

"With Flurry." I noted and when they arrived Flurry held out her arms to me. Which in turn surprised me, "Hello little one. How are you?"

"She wanted you for the past few weeks. She's really grown a liking to you." Cadence said.

"I only had one interaction with her." I said as I held the baby in question.

"That's pretty much all you needed." Armor said to me, "She's been calling out for her kicki only did we realize a week ago she was saying your name."

"Kicki!" Flurry spoke as she placed a hand on my cheek.

"I wouldn't know how she learned my name, I never said it around her." I said.

"Actually, we were thinking about asking you to babysit for us every once in a while." Cadence admitted while scratching the back of her head.

"And you were going to ask me this when?" I asked as I tickled Flurry in my arms.

"We just got your address from Twilight when we sent off a letter to you. Although now, it's kinda irrelevant." Armor said.

"I'll say, so what's with all the fanfare?" I asked as I gestured to Spike waving to the crowd and signing autographs.

"Spike is practically the empire's hero." Cadence said, "Though, he's never really had a chance to revel in it."

"Constantly shot down by Twilight and her friend's accomplishments?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah...that's right on the money." Armor said.

"Yeah, the thing with Spike is, he's lived in the shadow of the girls for so long that he only values himself based on what he does for others. Basically, the guy has no self confidence or self esteem. That's why I brought him here." I said.

"What?" Cadence asked as she held a hand over her mouth, "I never thought to ask..."

"No one did, because like it or not. Ponies are self absorbed, if you're not a pony then you don't care about them."

"That's not true." Armor said looking at me sternly.

"Then tell me Prince Armor, when's the last time you ever spoke to the griffins? Or at least TRIED to negotiate a peace treaty with the Changelings?"

"The Changelings are monsters that prey on love." Cadence said.

"They're a race of people that are, I don't know, STARVING!" I said, "Had you been in the same position, you would have done absolutely anything to help your people, which is exactly what Chrysalis did, now I'm not saying I condone what she did, but I understand the motivations behind it." I put Flurry on my shoulders and she held onto my chin, "You Ponies have no empathy, and it shows." I pointed to Spike. "Case and point."

"Can we continue this conversation at the Palace please?" Armor asked.

"Sure, let Spike have his moment in the spotlight. God only knows how much he needs it." I said as Armor, Cadence, and I retreated to the palace.

"So other than talking about the ramifications of what the girls have done to lower Spike's confidence to the point of nonexistence, or about the motivations of a race that invaded us for food, how are you doing Mickey?" Cadence asked, if somewhat nervously to change the subject.

"Just peachy, I got a typewriter and I've rewritten my journal." I said.

"Oh, a typewriter? Never would've thought that you would buy such a thing." Cadence smiled.

"I know you're just trying to change the subject to avoid a political scandal and having your name slandered so you can cut the innocent act Cadence." I said to her as I walked. Flurry heart trying and failing to lift herself off the ground with me attached to her. I reached up and patted her on the head, "Kiddo, if you don't cut it out you're gonna lose that seat."

"Muh, buh, abba!" Flurry retaliated but I shot down her arguement.

"I'm going to be very disappointed in your behavior and I won't visit again." I told her.

Flurry stopped flapping and hugged my head, "Nuh!"

"Then be a good girl." I smirked.

"Mhm." Flurry said and behaved better.

"How is it that you do that?" Armor asked.

"Babies, or foals are people too. They can understand a lot more than people think, however that doesn't stop them from being babies and having to depend upon someone for basic survival, like changing their diapers and feeding them." I explained.

"So...moderation?" Cadence asked.

"Moderation is always best." I said as we soon reached the palace, Armor instructed the guards to escort Spike to the palace when he's done with his crowd. I looked at Flurry, well mostly her wings and horn, "I'm just going to put this out there, your baby is freaky."

Cadence and Armor looked at me. "WHAT?!" They both shouted.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but are baby pegasai supposed to have adult wings when just a newborn?" I asked, "How about unicorns with fully grown and functioning horns?"

"Well...no..." Cadence said, "But Flurry is a baby ALICORN, so as far as we know, that's the way they're supposed to be?"

"Is that a question or a statement?" I asked, "Because it sounds like you're not entirely sure, I'm going to spell this out for you. Best case scenario, this is as big as her wings and horn are going to get. However, that doesn't seem likely."

"What exactly are you getting at?" Armor asked.

"Babies grow, they blow up faster than a balloon or an explosion, you've been so stressed or so tired, that you neglected to think that maybe Flurry's horn and wings are defects?"

"D-Defects? There's nothing wrong with our baby!" Cadence stood up and took Flurry Heart back, then she looked at her child's horn and wings. "Is there?"

"This is a dose of healthy skepticism. Look, I think the kid is cute as a button, however that cuteness doesn't negate something that could be a potential health risk." I said.

"H-Health risk?" Armor looked at Flurry and then back at me.

"I've spent a lot of time reading books from Twilight's library, and some of those books are ones on anatomy. Wings have blood vessels and veins in them that's why a pegasai is able to do such strenuous activities for a exuberant amount of time, they have the cardio to do so. However, their hearts develop alongside their wings. Now you have a child who is one third pegasus and has two wings the same size as her body. So her tiny little heart is pumping triple the amount of blood that it should be, and I think the only reason she hasn't passed out is because of the other two thirds of her alicorn nature. Simply put, your child not normal given any standards, you should seek an expert and see if you can decrease her wing and horn size before it kills her." I said, "This is my advice, seek it out at your own prerogative, I'm going to go put my stuff down in my room." I said as I left the budding family to their discussion.

There was a friendly guard that kindly showed me to my room and had informed me that Spike was on his way up as well. I lay my stuff down on the bed and lay across it myself, truth be told. I like Flurry Heart, she reminds me of my niece Kira, she was always getting into trouble and she shined her big bug eyes and pearly white smile and all of a sudden I just could say no to her. When I first held Flurry it reassured me of something I wanted to do, I do want to be a father someday. Not today however, I don't think I could handle the burden of a child just yet. I wasn't lying when I read those books either, I just didn't explain my entire reasoning behind it. I read those books for the sake of Flurry, because of the reasons I stated earlier. People deserve a chance at happiness, I'm just not sure whether or not I'm one of those people. I'm going to go for a walk, maybe some time with my thoughts will help me clear my head some.

Author's Note

I'm gonna admit this, at first I HATED Flurry heart, but now I have grown to kinda like her.