Inner workings - Galsthan's stories

Chapters

Chapter 1: Just a blacksmith.
Chapter 2: Everything out of the ordinary.
Chapter 3: Things take a turn for the weird.
Chapter 4: Leaving your love behind is too mainstream.
Chapter 5: Inconvenience at its finest.
Chapter 6: Well, so much for finding each other.
Chapter 7: Going on as unplanned.
Chapter 8: The fight and flight response.
Chapter 10: To make a long story short.
Chapter 11: When things get real, they get real.
Chapter 12: Royal pains.
Chapter 13: There and back then there again.
Chapter 9: There and back again.

Chapter 1: Just a blacksmith.

Saturday, August 11th 2012.

7:13 PM.

Hoofsteps could be heard all around outside of a nearly-unoccupied blacksmith shop, trotting and galloping this way and that, passersby going about their business as usual with very few of them noticing the store that they were going by.

Clang! bellowed his hammer, echoing through the rooms, making known its raw power.

Kssshhh! fizzled the water, letting all know of its cooling properties.

Wham! shouted the press, bending the metal below under its force.

Ding! said the bell situated above the door, announcing the arrival of a customer into the store.

Wait, Ding?

A thought floated through a lone-no-longer pony’s mind, as his yet unidentified face swung towards the door to answer its chime. "Hello?" his voice rang out, loud and sped, sounding hurried. After a moment or two of waiting, he returned his gaze to his work, paying no mind to what had likely been a stray breeze.

Zzzzzzz! rang the saw, cutting and gnawing through rough steel.

Vrmmm! echoed the drill, driving its tip through metal frame-workings.

Whoosh! bellowed the, well, bellows, as they stoked the fire to heat yet another mysterious piece of metal for whatever reason.

Ring! noted the bell, poised on the front desk to alert those within of customers.

"Oh?" questioned the voice without particular reason. Turning from the task at hand, a confirmed-to-no-longer-be-alone pony removed the work apron from himself and approached the desk, slightly curious as to who would actually browse his wares at this point in the month.

As the tall pony walked to the counter, he gave a glance to a calendar hung by a single nail, noting that there were no upcoming events scheduled for even so much as an entire month from this day. Returning his attention to the front desk, goggled eyes met those of a usual saddle-bag-laden customer, who happened to be a unicorn known as Quick Fix.
Looking down from his heightened point of view, "How can I help you?” inquired the lanky anonymous metal-worker, body language slowly becoming slack at the sight of the only customer who visits him for non-event-related purposes.

“I need a few parts made, as usual, and I’m here to pick up the ones I ordered on Thursday.” came the bold, tempered voice from the chocolate-colored, white-maned Mare standing opposite to the goggled worker. “Ah, of course. Just a moment.” responded the dark brown Stallion, taking a moment to turn his elongated legs and body around. He needn’t have taken two strides before reaching his storage room, into which he swiftly entered and returned, clamping a small box of numerous, varying parts with his mouth by a handle on the side of the moderately-sized crate.

A pair of paces later and the long-legged craftspony reached the desk, with the box in tow. He placed the box on the counter without second thought, with his only next words being, “So, what can I get you this time?”

This question was not foreign to either of them, as it was the most frequently asked. Quick Fix was a fairly customary, well, customer, coming in and out every few days to order parts and pick up those that had been made. This may or may not have been all of her intentions, but the single lean ironsmith would have been completely oblivious to it regardless, with all of his work occupying his mind.

“Well, it’s funny you should ask. I actually brought a list with me this time.” stated Quick Fix, reaching into her saddlebag and producing a small sheet of paper with several notes on it. She placed it on the front desk and slid it over to the yet unrevealed pony manufacturer, who began to examine it with great detail.

Reading the paper behind his shaded eyewear, he looked it over and said, “Ordinarily, parts like these wouldn’t run you much. However, a few of these require custom working, so I’m going to have to charge extra. Based off of what you have described here, it’s safe to say that this’ll cost you…” the slim stallion briefly re-read the page before stating, “Twenty-six bits in total.”

“Twenty-six bits?” the rhetorical question responded from Quick Fix, “Well, that’s a mite much, but I can manage, I suppose. Those parts’re for a good cause.” She reached back into her saddlebags, horn aglow, and removed a small pouch of money, placing it on the counter and counting out bits. After reaching the total of twenty-six bits, she pushed them across the counter where the yet unnamed worker produced a small bag from under the counter, and slid the bits into the bag.

The still anonymous ironsmith pony said to Quick Fix, “Thank you for your continued patronage. They’ll be ready in about three or four days, but feel free to stop by any other time.” he added a large smile, to which Quick Fix reacted with a blush and small smile of her own. “I’ll see you in a few days, then.” she spoke, turning to leave. “Bye!” she added, turning her head for a quick moment, but swiftly returning her attention to the door. “Good bye.” he responded, watching Quick Fix leave.

Ding! reported the bell, balanced above the door, letting the alone-once-more worker know that he was, well, alone again.

The innominate craftspony stood at the desk for a long moment before releasing a long, drawn-out sigh. He turned towards his workbench, not so eager to resume his work.

Ding! sang the bell perched atop the door, announcing another arrival.

The yet-unspecified worker pony turned to greet the customer, seeing that it was, yet again, Quick Fix. Must’ve forgotten something… the unidentified employee thought to himself. “Did you forget something?” he asked kindly, to which Quick Fix answered, “No, there’s just been a question on my mind. One I’ve been meaning to ask you for a long time.” she gazed up at his covered eyes with honesty in hers, but looked up further still, to a point inbetween the yet unnamed laborer’s ears, where a half-sized, bandaged, broken horn stood, only just barely protruding from an untamed mane of dirty blue and disheveled green.

The still unknown worker unicorn followed her gaze, and let out a short sigh, glancing down at the floor. “Galsthan, what happened to your horn?”

The now-recognized Galsthan bit his lip, his eyes darting around the room from left to right and back again. It was very apparent that he didn’t want to share the tale of his halved horn, as he found it to be a very sensitive topic. His eyes eventually reunited with the pleading look of Quick Fix’s own eyes, to which he couldn’t have responded no.

“Alright,” Galsthan spoke up, attempting to become intrigued with the floor, “I’ll tell you how my horn got this way. Just.. don’t go spreading the story, okay?” he redirected his eyes back up to Quick Fix, who nodded in agreement. Galsthan responded with another short sigh, before beginning, “You see, it’s a bit of a long story, and it starts out with me in my shop, as usual…”

"It’d been weeks since I’d last had a customer, so I was hard at work on a personal project. You see, ever since I was small, I always knew I’d had problems. My magic didn’t work quite right, my hooves felt unstable on the ground, and I was shorter than a lot of other ponies. Well, in my mind, I thought technology could fix everything. Broken bones, broken houses, broken hearts, you name it. I thought my wonderful machines could repair anything that I set them to do.

Well, now I wish I hadn’t tried what I did.

I thought that, with these machines, I could fix my problems. I thought I could make my horn work right, and I thought I could make myself sturdier on the ground, and I thought I could change my size, and whatever problems arose after that. Well, things didn’t go as planned.

Knowing that changelings had the ability to manipulate their own form, I tried experimenting on one... and on myself. It wasn’t easy finding one, but it wasn’t all too impossible, either, since one or two had conveniently landed just shy of ponyville in the everfree forest. I’d managed to capture one, but to this day, I wish that it’d squirmed out of my net.

I hauled it back to my workshop in secrecy and, making sure nobody was around, took it into a hidden back room. In that back room is where I kept most of my experimental inventions, such as a genetic transfer device that I’d been putting time into for months in advance.

I placed it into one of two chambers, and started up the machine. I located myself in the other vacant chamber, and started the genetic transfer sequence. I still wish that my machine had shut down, or that there had been a power fault, or that there had been a storm. Anything but what transpired in that room on that day.

The machine warmed up, various parts and gizmos buzzing and whirring.” Galsthan choked up for a moment, tears welling up in his eyes, but they could not be seen due to the shaded lenses of his goggles. “Anyway, everything seemed like it was going according to plan, but then a warning siren went off. Several more followed suit. I attempted to free myself of the chamber, but the lock on the chamber door prevented me from doing so. I don’t know if it was fate or maybe a cruel prank by somepony I knew, but I hadn’t remembered activating that lock on the door. To this day, I still wish I knew what had triggered it.

As the machine started to hum loudly, a bright light, a booming noise, and a massive shockwave propelled both me and the changelings out of our respective chambers and across the room in opposing directions. When I came to, I was different. My once white coat had been replaced with the murky brown that I now am forced to wear, and my clean green-and-blue mane had been blown completely out of place, hair going this way and that, and no longer of its original colors. My legs were longer than before and so was my body.

I was dazed, confused and hungry, and I attempted to light the room with magic, seeing as the lights were destroyed in the explosion. I quickly gave myself a headache, achieving nothing more than causing a couple of sparks. I asked myself, why can’t I light up the room? and quickly reached a hoof up to my horn, only to find that it was no longer a whole. I found it later, behind some scrap metal that had once been my genetic transfer device. I never found the changeling, though, and I haven’t been able to undo my mistake from that point onward."

Galsthan looked away, tears clearly streaming down his face. He wiped his face clean of the substance, but they quickly ran down his face again as he stifled himself from completely breaking down and bawling.

“Oh… I’m.. I’m so sorry, Galsthan. I didn’t know how sensitive of a topic it was.” spoke the sorrowful voice of Galsthan’s audience, Quick Fix. She walked around the counter to place a hoof on his shoulder and console him, which wasn’t easy as he was so tall. “I am so, so sorry, Galsthan. I didn’t mean to offend.” Quick Fix added, giving a small grin. Galsthan held a hoof up to his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears, but he only succeeded in causing his goggles to fall off his face. An eye shaped like a changeling’s eye, yet with a tall and narrow black pupil surrounded by a green iris, stared at Quick Fix with a sad look. This did not deter her.

Tears stopped rolling from Galsthan’s eyes, now feeling comforted by Quick Fix’s presence. “I became nothing more than a monster on that day, and I swore I would never show my face again. I guess that’s one more disappointment to chalk up on the board.” Galsthan stared woefully at the ground, giving an occasional sob.

Quick Fix drew close to Galsthan’s side, attempting to reassure him. “It’s alright, Galsthan. You’re not a monster. You’re still the same pony you were before the accident, but you just look a little different. That doesn’t change anything.” she spoke, looking up at Galsthan with kindness across her face. “You…” Galsthan started, stopping with a sniff and a wipe of the face before resuming, “You really think so?” he asked, looking straight at Quick Fix as he did so with a small smile starting on his lips.

“I know so.” responded Quick Fix, turning to embrace the broken-spirited Galsthan with a warming hug. Galsthan returned the hug with his own legs, accidentally rubbing off a bit of soot from his hooves onto Quick Fix, and the two stayed in this affectionate squeeze for another several minutes.

“Thanks again, and I’ll see you later!” called Galsthan after Quick Fix with a friendly wave of his hoof, as Quick Fix departed from his store yet again. He stood there for a moment, a smile plastered across his face and warmth in his heart, until he realized he needed to return to his work. He glanced down at his hooves, noticing something that was different.

Where had once been completely soot-blackened hooves were now recognized as ash-covered gold-colored hooves.

The view nearly took him aback, but he quickly stabilized his thoughts as he remembered that they had always been that way, but they’d just been covered in powder ever since his mishap. This fresh wound nearly brought tears to his eyes once more, but he shook the thought as he turned towards his machines to resume his duties.

Blam! exclaimed the hammer, eager to resume striking metal into shape.

Clink! declared the chisel, chipping away at Galsthan’s thoughts and the metal he worked upon.

Foom! roared the furnace, heat burning away at Galsthan’s sorrows and imperfections in the metal.

Ring! jingled the bell, advertising the appearance of another pony walking through the door of the shop.

Ugh. rang out the thought in Galsthan’s mind, having just gotten over telling a traumatic story put him in a non-talkative mood. He turned towards the door, calling out, “Whoever’s there, I’m a bit busy right now, so if you could p…” he stopped mid-sentence to gawk at who’d just walked through his door.

“P… Puh… Princess.. Celestia..!” He finally stuttered out. His eyes rolled up in his head from the shock, and he fell unconscious to the floor.

Chapter 2: Everything out of the ordinary.

[CAUTION: POTENTIALLY UNFINSHED/UNREVISED CHAPTER]

Sunday, August 12th 2012.

6:28 A.M.

Ponyville Emergency Care.

“…blacksmith…working, when…” a voice echoed in the distance, sounding foreign and hard to hear in Galsthan’s ears.

“…passed out… princess…” another voice chimed in, unfamiliar and distanced.

“…waking up!” the first voice noted.

Galsthan began to regain consciousness, quickly making note of himself having changed scenery. Instead of in his shop where he had been last, he now seemed to be in a very, very white room, on a strange bed and surrounded by colorful blobs.

“Guh…” he muttered, unable to form words. He attempted to focus on the blurry shapes in front of him as he opened his eyes, but he could not cause them to come into clear view quite yet. "He's coming to." said the second stranger’s voice as one of the blobs of color before Galsthan’s eyes drew closer.

“Are you alright?” asked the first voice from before, the second blob nearing as well.

As his vision became sharper, he recognized that he wasn’t just in a white room; he was in Ponyville’s Hospital, and more specifically in an emergency services room. He groggily gazed around the room, seeing that the colorful blobs from before were ponies. Three mares, to be exact. One was a nurse, one was his worried friend Quick Fix, and the other was…

“P.. P-puh…” he started, as a heart rate monitor beside him began beeping rapidly. Not wanting a repeat performance, the nurse to the left of the bed placed a reassuring hoof on his shoulder, which strangely calmed him down, and the heart rate monitor beeped at a steady pace once more. Galsthan’s eyes were still wide with shock and awe, eyeing Princess Celestia, who had apparently brought him to the emergency care in the first place, as he was told moments later.

“Princess Celestia! Why… why were you in my shop, of all places for a Princess to be?” Galsthan inquired of the Princess, which was probably rude in the first place. He quickly added, “Oh, um, your highness.” The Princess looked at him with a gentle smile, then motioned towards Quick Fix. It was very apparent that Quick Fix was worried for him, but he couldn’t have told why. As far as he knew, he was completely fine.

Galsthan, now about to panic, looked over himself quickly. He noted a few minor bandages and patching on his legs and body and, upon removal of sheets, noticed that there seemed to be nearly nothing wrong with his body, aside from a small amount of wrap around the center of his body. He then put a hoof up to his head, and cringed from the immediate amount of pain. It had felt like he had facehooved with all his might, but he had only slightly pressed on his head to check for injuries.

The nurse quickly removed his hoof from his forehead and placed it at his side, then sternly said, “Now, now, don’t touch your injuries, please. You took quite a fall and will need to recover.” Galsthan was still dazed from the sudden wave of pain, but took the nurse’s words of advice seriously.

“So… are you okay, Galsthan?” asked Quick Fix, who was genuinely concerned. “I guess I am, as long as I leave my head alone. Ow.” he said, wincing at a headache. “How long’ll he be here, Nurse?” asked Quick Fix, turning to face the Nurse at the opposite side of the bed. Princess Celestia remained at the end of the bed, not interjecting.

The Nurse took a moment to look over a clipboard with a few papers attached to it, then responded, “Well, as far as I can tell, it’ll be about three to four days.” said the Nurse, who then set the clipboard down on a nearby desk. She turned to look at Galsthan and said, “You’re stable, so I have to go tend to other sick ponies. Just press that button next to you if you need help.” She pointed to a small button on the left side of the bed, which Galsthan immediately made a note of.

Quick Fix set her front hooves on the side of the bed close to Galsthan, looking almost relieved that he was going to manage. “So… what’re you going to do while you’re in the hospital?” asked Quick Fix, leaning a bit closer to hear Galsthan’s response.

“Well, I… don’t know. I can’t do any of my work while I’m in bed, and I’m in no shape to get up.” responded Galsthan, looking a bit worried. Suddenly, a smile sprawled across his face. “Well, since you’re here,” he started, motioning to Quick Fix, “I can tell you a few of my stories!”

“Ahem.” interjected Princess Celestia, who was still standing at the end of the bed. “Oh! Um, I’m sorry, your Highness.” Galsthan responded hurriedly while redirecting his attention, hoping he hadn’t upset the Princess. He winced at another slight pain from his head. “It’s quite alright. I’ve just a few things to talk to you about. These might be a tad disturbing, so I suggest your friend exits the room for the time being.” she stated blankly, motioning towards Quick Fix.

“Oh. Of course, Princess Celestia.” Quick Fix said, giving a short bow and then leaving the room slowly, occasionally glancing back at Galsthan. As she exited, she left the door cracked so she could see inside.

After Quick Fix had left the room, Princess Celestia returned her attention to Galsthan. A look of worry spread across his face. “…I’m going to die, aren’t I?” Galsthan sorrowfully asked, not really expecting an answer. A tiny pain rippled through his head and neck, making him shudder for a moment. “No, it’s nothing quite as severe as that, and yet, it still is just as painful to hear.” the Princess stated, turning away partially. Galsthan began to sweat with thoughts running through his mind, wondering what could be just as painful as hearing that you were going to die.
“Galsthan… you’re going to have to leave everything you’ve known of Ponyville, including your friend, and come live in Canterlot.” Princess Celestia eventually spoke.

A look of shock raced across Galsthan’s face as he put on a false smile, saying, “Ha ha ha, you got me, now what’s really going on?” Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as he hoped that Princess Celestia was kidding. She had to be. She wouldn’t really make him move away from everything that he loved, would she?

“I am sorry to say that I’m as serious as I’ve ever been.” said Princess Celestia, turning back with a very straight tone displayed on her face. “What?! But… but…” Galsthan said as he hyperventilated, beginning to panic, the heart rate monitor beside him beginning to beep very rapidly. “But… But… But WHY!?!” he shouted, bolting up in his bed, breathing heavily. His head began to hurt very severely, and he could feel a tingling in his legs, right down to his hooves. The heart rate monitor began giving off an alarm. The tingling sensation spread, so Galsthan reached for the button that the nurse had said to press if he needed help, and as he pressed it, he began having spasms.

Moments later, a doctor and two nurses charged into the room, right past Quick Fix who needed to dive out of the way, practically breaking down the door, shouting between themselves. One of the nurses gasped, while the doctor and other nurse raced into action, the other nurse quickly following suit. The doctor quickly brandished a needle with an unidentified liquid in it, and hurriedly yet carefully injected the substance into Galsthan, who had begun to writhe more violently.

The two nurses held his limbs down in an attempt to keep him still so his heart rate could start to fall, and it seemed that it wasn’t helping. A surprised gasp shot from the hallway outside of the now-closing door, and Quick Fix practically broke the door down getting inside. It was a wonder that the door wasn’t off its hinges with so many ponies opening it so abruptly.

“Galsthan!” Quick Fix exclaimed, sending every adjacent paper flying as she raced to his side. She looked at the doctor in a panic and practically knocked him over with her voice, “What’s wrong with him!?” The doctor glanced at her nervously before giving Galsthan another injection, and raising his voice to the nurses, telling them to keep him secured in place. He later told them that he had injected Galsthan with a stabilizing compound that would work on most normal ponies, but it didn’t quite seem to be doing the trick.

All this time, Princess Celestia stood back from the group, simply watching. This seemed a bit unlike her.

The heart beat monitor hooked up to Galsthan only seemed to accelerate as the doctor and nurses attempted to calm him down with whatever means they could. They were still conversing loudly between themselves over what they needed to do to stabilize his heart rate, but Galsthan could not hear them.

Galsthan could only look up from his deteriorating state, no longer able to speak or control his body, just able to realize what was going on as his heart frantically drove his body in every direction. His spasms worsened and he nearly flung one of the nurses off.

Huh. So this is what it feels like to die. Galsthan thought to himself as he felt his body begin to be unable to tolerate the stress. Weird. It’s almost… nice. His vision began to blacken…

“Enough.” spoke the Princess, as her horn began to glow. Nearly immediately, Galsthan was bathed in a warm, yellow light, and his heart rate quickly dropped back to normal. It was about time she did something.

As Galsthan’s breathing steadied, the doctor only had a baffled look on his face towards the Princess. “How… how did you…” he started, before the Princess put up a hoof, signaling him to keep his trap shut.

So he did.

Galsthan’s eyes were spinning, but he was conscious. From his point of view, the world might as well have become a merry-go-round.

Quick Fix turned with an angry glare towards the Princess, shouting, "WHAT WERE YOU WAITING FOR?! WERE YOU WAITING FOR HIM TO DIE?! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED?! FOR HIM TO DIE?!?” She stared daggers into the Princess before remembering who she was talking to, and immediately her face fell, along with the rest of her, right to the floor. “Oh, I am very, very sorry, your Highness! Please don’t banish me to the moon!” Quick Fix pleaded, looking up from her lowered position of view.

“Urrrghhh…” muttered Galsthan, who then proceeded to throw up on the floor next to the bed. The nurses and doctor went back to tending to him immediately. One nurse fed him some medicine, while the other checked his heart rate. In the meantime, the doctor walked over to Princess Celestia and immediately bowed, saying, “A thousand thanks, Princess Celestia, for saving my patient.” He didn’t move for a good minute or two, but eventually left the room.

Princess Celestia looked down at Quick Fix who was still groveling for forgiveness. Princess Celestia simply said, “You are forgiven.” then redirected her gaze back to Galsthan, who was lying dizzy and exhausted on the bed. The two nurses finished tending to him, and left the room as quickly as they’d come, likely accompanying the doctor to tend to the next patient.

Princess Celestia stood and walked to the side of the bed, where Galsthan attempted to focus on her, but simply could not bring himself to do it as he was still shaken up from the accident that had just occurred. “Galde- I mean, Galsthan, I am afraid that you simply would not understand the reasoning behind why you have to move to Canterlot. Because of this, I cannot explain the motives, but I can assure you that it is very necessary.”

Galsthan immediately started rambling.

“But.. but.. what about my shop? What about everypony I’ve come to know? What will I do for a job? What about people who need my services? What about Quick Fix? What’s…” he choked for a moment, before coughing it off and continuing, “What’s going to happen to everything I’ve come to love?” Galsthan gazed up in the general direction of Princess Celestia with pleading eyes, or at least the best begging look he could muster. Quick Fix's cheeks immediately flared red.

“Don’t worry about your friends and business. Your friends will still be there and your business will still be run, but you won’t be able to see Ponyville for a long, long time.” Princess Celestia said in as reassuring of a tone as she could muster, but it clearly didn’t help. Tears welled up in Galsthan’s eyes.

“Why me? Why couldn’t it be anypony else? Nobody can work metal like I can, and nobody can… care for… Quick Fix like I can, and nobody can be me, simple as that. Why is it ME that has to go to Canterlot, and why don’t I have a choice?” Galsthan asked, his voice raising in tone as he spoke. He rolled over in his bed and pulled up his sheets to enhance his point, but only succeeded in giving himself another sharp pain in the head. Princess Celestia had a very patient look on her face as she responded, “Like I said before, the circumstances are something that you would not be able to comprehend. It would likely send you into another shock. I am afraid that you are simply going to have to trust me and comply, or at least, accompany me willingly to Canterlot when you are well.”

Words shooting back and forth stung Quick Fix like bees. She could generally get the idea of what was going on, but she didn’t like it. Losing Galsthan after nearly losing him anyhow? She wasn’t going to allow that. She quickly picked herself up and positioned herself between the Princess and Galsthan’s bed, stating simply, “You are NOT going to take Galsthan away from me. Not after I nearly lost him anyhow.” Tears swelled in her eyes as she fought back the idea of having Galsthan depart to Canterlot and being unable to see her. That simply was unacceptable in her mind. "I can't lose him after almost losing him just now. I just... can't." She said, still not talking with respect towards the Princess.

The Princes didn't mind that neither of them were showing her the proper respect. That wasn't the matter at hand.

“I apologize, my little pony, but I am afraid that it is necessary that Galsthan comes with me to Canterlot. Although it may not make sense, you may find rest in knowing at least one thing about the conditions for his sudden need to depart.” She stared off to the side as she spoke, “You see... he isn't quite who you think he is, and he isn't who he thinks is either.. He was born into the Royal line."

[Yeesh. I really feel like this was hurried, and that I've lost my general tone of voice and replaced it with another. I'll probably be able to fix that.]
[Comments and questions are appreciated!]

Chapter 3: Things take a turn for the weird.

Sunday, August 12th 2012.

10:13 A.M.

Ponyville Emergency Care.

“He’s WHAT?!” shouted Quick Fix, dumbfounded.

“I’m WHAT?!” repeated Galsthan, just as shocked as Quick Fix.

“He’s WHAT?!” chimed in an unfamiliar Mare’s voice.

Everyone turned to see who had joined in on the conversation, seeing only another hospital patient who’d happened to be standing outside of the open door to the room at that moment. All eyes met a pair of shades belonging to a blue-maned, white-bodied pony.

Said unnamed pony produced a sheepish look on her face and backed away from the door. Everyone reverted their gaze to Princess Celestia, who cleared her throat to continue the conversation.

“Anyway, you heard correctly.” she stated, continuing, “Galde- er, Galsthan is indeed of the Royal family line. I suppose now that this has come to light that I have explaining to do, so I shall start at the beginning…”

“To start, I must start where the beginning resides... long before Gald- um, Galsthan, was born. A Colt born of the Royal family line had dedicated his life to making Equestria a better place, albeit one step at a time. Some research here, a town project there, generally just small things that bettered everyone. He had even sworn to never marry so he could devote all his time and care to anypony that needed it.

Well, on a seemingly normal day, he broke that promise. He fell in love with a Mare whose name I will not elaborate upon at the moment, but the entire point behind me explaining this to you is that he broke his promise by marrying her. They eventually consummated their love with.. well, you know.

Due to this, Galsthan was born of a marriage that should not have occurred.” Princess Celestia opened her mouth to continue, but Galsthan quickly interjected with an enraged voice, “Wait, whoa, hey, roll back the tape for a second. A marriage that shouldn’t have happened? Are you saying I was a MISTAKE?!” he immediately bounded from his bed, and just as quickly was hit with a debilitating wave of nausea. His face went from brown to green as he slowly and shakily climbed back into the bed, where his tempestuous tone towards the Princess began to erupt again.

“I’ll tell you right now, I wouldn’t care WHO you were,” Galsthan’s voice grew more rage-filled as tears of anger welled up in his eyes, “I wouldn’t care WHO said it, and I wouldn’t care who even THOUGHT it. But I’ll tell you RIGHT NOW, that my life was NOT. A. MISTAKE!” he practically screamed at the Princess, who only stood with an expressionless face. He leaned up in his bed and pointed to the Princess to amplify his voice.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made friends, directly or indirectly, or times that I’ve helped another pony, or the times that-“ A hoof shot to his mouth, but it wasn’t the Princess’ and it wasn’t his own. He let his hoof down and immediately turned his attention to whoever was stopping him from raging. “Galsthan, I’m pretty sure that’s not where she’s going with this.” stated Quick Fix, looking unsettlingly between Galsthan and the Princess.

Princess Celestia only looked slightly annoyed, thankfully.

“I did not mean to offend. Now, continuing with the tale…” Princess Celestia continued,

“After Galsthan had been born, news of his arrival had spread quickly, and fell upon ears which should not have heard. This brought undesirable attention to Galsthan and the Royal line in general, which put him and several others in quite a predicament.

You see, those who were not intended to hear about Galsthan’s birth had soon began creating conspiracies revolving around the Royal family, mostly involving corruption and foul plots. Many ponies believed these conspirators and soon rose up against the Royals, who quickly conceived a plan to protect Galsthan and themselves.

They had arranged for a non-Royal family to take Galsthan under their care, which became the set plan of action. Then the Royal couple would deny ever having Galsthan, and when no evidence arose of them having him, the conspirators were driven from town and all conspiracies dismissed.

The non-Royal family took Galsthan under their wing and raised him like their own, which he quickly came to believe.” the Princess turned to Galsthan, compassion strewn about her face, now directly talking to him, “Your parents regretted the decision ever since they formulated it, and desired to have you back, but they knew this would be impossible until the rumors and conspiracies had been settled for good, which they never really did. Even to this day, you might occasionally hear a story about your parents.. your TRUE parents.. having a child that could have changed things for the worse, but as I can see, you’ve only made things better.” she ended with a small grin, hoping to make Galsthan feel a little better.

It really didn’t.

It was a long, grueling four minutes before anyone spoke up. Quick Fix was the first to respond to the Princess’ story.

“That was… enlightening.” she said with an unconvincing grin. Galsthan looked less-than-thrilled.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” he coldly stated, retreating into his sheets. A nurse approached the room and walked halfway inside, stating simply, “Visiting times are over. I’m going to have to ask you to leave, you two. This patient needs his rest.” The nurse then moved on, likely going to tell other visitors that the time was over.

Princess Celestia did not deter her gaze from Galsthan, almost seeming to reminisce about something. She turned towards the door but turned her head back towards Galsthan for a moment, adding, “I hope that knowing this has eased some of your pain, Galsthan.” she then proceeded to exit the room, and a couple of muffled gasps could be heard in the hallway. That was expected, though, since it wasn’t everyday that you could see the Princess.

Quick Fix hesitated to leave the room, and as she turned to leave, she quickly ran back to Galsthan and pecked him on the cheek, then ran from the room. Galsthan’s cheeks lit up as furiously as she left. He sat up quickly and reached a hoof out to her as she departed, hoping that she wouldn’t have to leave so soon. With a saddened sigh, he returned to his sheets and got comfortable, ready to sleep away most of the day so this could be over with already.

Sunday, August 12th 2012.

4:16 P.M.

Ponyville Emergency Care

Galsthan awoke slowly, feeling a lot better than he had before. He glanced at a clock sitting on a desk next to the bed, seeing that several hours had passed since he had last been conscious. He suddenly felt very hungry, realizing he hadn’t eaten during the entire day. He sat up and threw off his sheets, and glanced around the room momentarily. He felt a little woozy from lack of energy, but managed to notice a small cart with a tray on top of it. The tray had an omelet, an orange, a glass of milk, silverware, a couple of napkins, and a chocolate cupcake.

Galsthan queasily grabbed a fork from the tray with his magic, a constantly-transmuting color surrounding it as slight strain was displayed on his face. Practicing magic may not have been the best thing for right now, as a headache quickly formed. He let the fork out of his magical grip and restrained himself from rubbing his head, since he could still feel a moderate amount of pain from underneath his bandages. He left the silverware where it was, leaning over the tray and starting to eat the omelet with his mouth alone. He felt his strength returning to him as he ate.

A few minutes later, the tray was empty aside from unused silverware, an empty plate, an orange peel, crumbs, an empty cup, and a cupcake wrapper. He particularly relished the cupcake, as it was the first sweet thing he’d tasted in a long time.
Laying back down, now content, Galsthan pulled the sheets back up and over his body and closed his eyes for more much-needed rest.

Monday, August 13th 2012

1:46 A.M.?

Ponyville Emergency Care…?

Galsthan woke with a start. He had just had a very strange nightmare, the likes of which should not be shared in front of younger audiences. Breathing heavily, the heart rate monitor next to his bed beeped at a slightly faster pace than normal. He rapidly inspected the room, then breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he saw that all was calm. For a moment. Then things got weird.

By weird, I mean, well, REALLY weird.

Peace turned to horror as the walls around him melted. Much akin to butter on a hot pan, but faster. So fast, in fact, that the room began to flood. Panic swept over Galsthan as he both attempted to comprehend what was occurring and scrambled for higher ground, climbing up onto the headboard of the bed with some difficulty. He didn’t care about how much his head hurt or how nauseous he was, no, he cared about not drowning in the wall liquid.

As the walls finished melting, Galsthan took another hurried look around, seeing that he was no longer in the hospital. In fact, he doubted that this had even been Equestria anymore. He thought this since he was clearly floating amongst a vast ocean of transparent beige liquid. Galsthan, for one reason or another, was not confused by this fact and he hadn’t a clue why. One might say he is confused about, well, confusion.

Taking further observation on this brown-colored sea, Galsthan noticed creatures moving under the surface of the water. They looked like fairly large creatures, and as the Captain of his ship, he was going to do what was necessary to keep it safe. “Man your battle stations! Unidentified creature off the port side! Ready the cannons!” he shouted to his crew, levitating his cutlass with his gray-colored magic to emphasize his point. "Aye-Aye!" responded his crew sporadically, grabbing swords and cannonballs. The ones with cannonballs loaded the cannons, and unoccupied crew members grabbed torches to light the cannons. A few of the sword-armed ponies took aim at the submerged creature, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

The creature unveiled itself from its watery sheath, revealing a writhing mass of vines.

That should be expected, though. After all, Galsthan was fearlessly exploring the most dangerous wooded area in the entirety of Equestria… the Doom wood Swamp.

Drawing his Machete using his orange-tinted magic, Galsthan stood ready to face the beast. It almost seemed that it’d not noticed him at first, but he had faced one of these before. It pretended to be docile at first, and tried to look as a simple bramble patch. However, when you get close to it, it would suddenly lash out with its thorny tendrils and attempt to squeeze the living daylights out of you. Galsthan knew that, in the center of this beast, there was a single biomass core that held the entire plant-beast together. If he could just reach it, somehow…

As though sensing his thoughts, many vines suddenly shot from the tangled growth and raced at him with blinding speeds. Taken off-guard, Galsthan had to react very quickly to swing his Machete at the oncoming vines. He sliced a few before one scratched him across his cheek and another across his front left leg. He recoiled for a moment at the pain, but dawdled for not another moment and struck the other assaulting tendrils before they could attack again. More vines reached out speedily from the mass, but Galsthan dove behind a rock just as they flew by.

Several bullets buzzed by as Galsthan landed behind a pile of sandbags. His trusty rifle floated in front of him, encased in a green aura and ready to fire. He glanced out of his cover momentarily, aiming his rifle at the hostile creatures, and let loose bullets from his own gun. Not a single one hit, but that was the price you paid when you didn’t aim properly. In retaliation, his enemies loosed more rounds at him, which made Galsthan duck back down behind his cover. A brash idea flew through his mind, and he immediately knew he would regret it, but his body told him otherwise. He was up and on his hooves, rifle steadied by magic, and charged his enemy, emptying his clip into the adversaries.

Flinging flame after flame at the terrifying Frost Troll, Galsthan could barely keep his wizard hat on as he sent incrementing waves of fire at his opponent. The Frost Troll responded by simply waving away the, well, wave of fire, then breathing a vicious torrent of ice blades at the caped protagonist. Without hesitation, Galsthan drew up a shield from the earth below him, encasing himself in a stone bubble. The blades of frozen water nearly penetrated the rock, but none had made it through. Galsthan then broke apart the shield and sent the chunks flying at the beast, watching with exhilaration.

BOOM! resounded the dynamite, blowing away a massive portion of the wall. Large chunks of rubble flew this way and that, but it did not cause Galsthan to cower and hide. No, he was the bravest miner in all of Equestria, and he was going to keep it that way. Some said it would be the death of him, but he had no fear in death so long as he went out doing what he loved: Blowing things up. He lit another bundle of dynamite with a match that he held by crimson-illuminated magic, and hurled the Dynamite at what remained of the wall. BOOM! it roared, the remainder of the wall crumbling in defeat. What lied beyond filled Galsthan with exuberance.

It was the mother lode! Galsthan had finally found it! Quickly gathering up a large quantity of the pink rocks using his blue-colored magic, Galsthan filled up the storage unit that he had been pulling all this way, and felt satisfied. Now they would have more than enough fuel for the trip home. Galsthan brushed his pressure suit free of any dust, and lowered the shade on his helmet. He bounded to the container and began levitating it, an azure glow emanating from it as it flew. However, he had misjudged its weight, and it flew right into the ceiling.

WHAM! Galsthan’s competitor hit the ceiling with crushing force, and landed on the floor mat, crumpled and defeated. Two medical ponies raced onto the mat and placed the injured challenger on a stretcher and hauled him away, while Galsthan shouted to the crowd, “The Magic Machine claims another! Who else dares fight me?” the crowd roared with excitement as a small, weak-looking pony approached the ring. Galsthan spun to face this new meat, when it called out to him, “Galsthan? Are you awake?”

Galsthan woke with a start and shouted out of surprise, which evoked the other voice to do the same, which caused Gaslthan to exclaim loudly in surprise, and this happened back and forth for a few moments. He bolted up in his bed, breathing hastily in an attempt to calm himself down. He quickly scanned for the room for the source of the other voice, and realized who it was as soon as he made eye contact.

Tuesday, August 14th 2012.

9:32 A.M.

Ponyville Emergency Care.

“Quick Fix, please, don’t scare me like that.” Galsthan spoke, still breathing at a quickened pace as he began to quiet down. “Sorry.” Quick Fix said, acknowledgement in her voice as well as apology. “I didn’t know you were asleep.” she added with a sheepish grin. Galsthan opened his mouth to speak, but Quick Fix continued, “They didn’t let me visit you yesterday because they said you needed rest, so I came as early as I could today so I could see you before you left.”

A strange thought donned on Galsthan. Wait… she WAS here yesterday. Why would she say she wasn’t? he pondered, as a sudden feeling washed over him. Hunger. He frantically looked around for a moment, before noticing the same cart from before, but this time with more food on it. The cart had a plate with another omelet and a glass of orange juice with a banana on the side, while another plate had a grilled cheese sandwich with a glass of chocolate milk and a small salad beside it. Next to that was a platter with a grilled steak on it with a tall glass of water to drink, and a small cup of cheese sauce to spread on it. The food was still steaming, so it was clear that it was fresh. Without putting second thought into the situation, Galsthan immediately shot up in his bed and began to devour the contents of the three platters.

Quick Fix giggled as Galsthan voraciously devoured the three plates of food. It’s no wonder he’s so hungry, she thought to herself, he HAS been asleep for an entire day and a half. Galsthan stopped eating for a moment and looked up to Quick Fix, asking, “What?” as though he had heard her speak and was responding. Quick Fix took a moment to process what he was asking what about, before saying, “Nothing.” With a shrug, Galsthan went back to swiftly consuming whatever food was left on the three plates. Within minutes, he had finished. Wow, he sure eats fast when he’s hungry, Quick Fix thought. After finishing the glass of chocolate milk, the last thing remaining, he turned to Quick Fix and repeated, “What did you say?” with curiousness in his tone. “Huh?” she replied, “I didn’t say anything… although I was about to.” She eyed him carefully, wondering what he was going on about.

“Weird,” Galsthan said, acknowledging her previous statement. “I could have sworn you said something.” He stopped for a moment, realizing he wasn’t the slightest bit nauseous and was standing upright on the floor without feeling off-balance. “Oh, whoa, I’m feeling surprisingly better. That’s another thing to chalk up to weird.” he said aloud, no specific audience in mind. “’Another thing?’ What do you mean, ‘another thing?’” replied Quick Fix, not putting thought into her words. “Well,” Galsthan began, “First, there was that weird dream that I had last night. Then, there was you saying that you hadn’t been here yesterday, even though you were. Next up, I was super hungry for some reason, like I hadn’t eaten for an entire day. Lastly, there’s me not feeling sick at all, even though yesterday I could hardly stand.” he stated, reflecting a hoof off of the side of his head to emphasize his point. At that moment, another strange thing occurred to him. “And apparently, my head isn’t hurting anymore. There’s no way I could have gotten well this fast.” His eyes took on a look of worry as he stared hopefully at Quick Fix, wanting her to have an answer. She did, but it wasn’t one he liked, and she clearly didn’t like it either, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Galsthan, you were asleep for an entire day. The nurses are checking you out today because you’re all better, and the Princess is going to take you away to Canterlot.”

Chapter 4: Leaving your love behind is too mainstream.

Tuesday, August 14th 2012.

9:44 A.M.

Ponyville Emergency Care Check-out Desk

“It’s time to say goodbye, Galsthan.” the Princess said to the brown pony standing next to her. Strange how Galsthan was almost as tall as the Princess, No, that’s probably got something to do with the royal genes… he thought quietly to himself, then retorting his own assumption, ..but then, why don’t I have wings..? He glanced over his back for a quick moment, confirming his lack of flight-inducing appendages.

Driving that thought from his mind, he faced Quick Fix, and knelt to be eye-level with her. Tears had begun welling up in her eyes, and Galsthan would be stone-hearted to not have the same. “Looks like this is it, huh?” he said, throwing on a fake smile in an attempt to cheer her up. Needless to say, putting on a smile to cheer somepony up of losing somepony very close to them, possibly forever, didn’t really help much.

Physical sadness seemed to stream down Quick Fix’s face, as she realized this was likely the last time she would ever see her special friend again.

Galsthan attempted to comfort her with a hoof on her shoulder, but she didn’t seem to show any sign of relaxing. She quickly drew in close and threw her front legs around him, nuzzling him and wishing he didn’t have to leave. Taken off-guard by the sudden movement, Galsthan almost reeled back until he realized he was being embraced, which he returned with his own front legs and affectionate snuggle.

For what seemed like hours they remained entwined, yet it felt all too short in the end. Galsthan eventually pulled away, much to the dismay of Quick Fix, who had attempted to hold him tighter as he broke their connection. Galsthan could no longer keep eye-contact with the anguish-stricken look across Quick Fix’s face. He hung his head and turned to leave, but raised his despairing gaze and glanced back at Quick Fix before getting more than two steps away. “Quick Fix… I… wanted to let y-“ his words were interrupted by another swift movement as Quick Fix leapt to him and their lips met with a loving kiss. Galsthan was briefly surprised, before returning the sign of affection and drew her near to him, clasping her to himself with much endearment. This felt like it had extended on for eons, but felt all too fleeting as their time together had drawn to an end.

Princess Celestia smiled brightly in the background.

As Galsthan and Quick Fix’s lips finally detached, Quick Fix looked into Galsthan’s eyes and said, “I love you, Galsthan.” Galsthan’s response came as quickly as the wind with a simple “I love you too.” They embraced each other lovingly for the next couple of minutes, before Princess Celestia cleared her throat, signaling that it was time to leave.

Galsthan eventually let go of Quick Fix, who was just as eager to prolong her time with her love. Tears roared from her eyes as she choked out sobs. She didn’t want Galsthan to leave. Not after this. It was clear that Galsthan wasn’t too fond about leaving behind the love of his life as well, with sadness portrayed across his face with rivers rushing from each eye. As Galsthan and Princess Celestia turned to take their leave, Quick Fix unintentionally shouted, “W-Wait!” Only Galsthan turned around as Quick Fix added, “Galsthan, don’t forget me. Please.” A heart-warming grin spread across both of their faces as Galsthan replied, “Trust me, I’d sooner die than forget about the most special mare in my life. Goodbye, Quick Fix. I’ll… I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll.. m-mi-ss you too, G-galsthan..!” Quick Fix stuttered out between sobs, covering her eyes with a leg as she turned away. She couldn’t bear to watch them walk away.

Like most things in life, this good thing came to an end.

Like most good things, it was hard to give it up.

Unlike most ponies in Equestria, Quick Fix was NOT going to let this fade through the passage of time. She wasn’t about to let the most important stallion she’d had in her life slip away to the waves of chronology. No, she would remember Galsthan until the day she died.

She could only wish that he would do the same.

The walk for Galsthan felt like he was walking away from life itself. He would occasionally glance back and, only to find that Quick Fix was not behind him, would turn back to the walk with dissatisfaction.

“It is likely you will see her again.” Princess Celestia noted from out of the blue.

Galsthan sniffed and looked to her, asking, “R..Really?”

"No." she stated, her face succumbing to sadness, “I wish it were. However, being part of the Royal family line gives you immortality. You would likely have outlived Quick Fix’s lifetime.” She quietly added, “Unless…”

Galsthan’s ears immediately stood on end, and he leaned intently forward, hope in his longing eyes. “Unless what?” he asked expectantly.

The Princess looked away from him for a moment, returning her gaze to the road ahead.

“Unless WHAT?” Galsthan asked louder than intended, before shrinking back a bit in realization, “Oh, um, sorry, your Highness.” his confidence returned as he continued, “..but I would really like to know what you were going to say. I’d give a lot to be with Quick Fix. She made me feel… complete.” He looked down at his chest, as though expecting a large Quick-Fix-shaped hole to be inside of it.

The Princess smiled wide as she turned back to Galsthan, then stopping and sitting on the road.

“You could induct her into the family.” she stated with a grin, closing her eyes.

“In English, please?” Galsthan bluntly asked.

“You could marry her.”

Long before Celestia reopened her eyes, she could already tell that Galsthan had departed.

Galsthan tore through town at a full-speed gallop, swinging his head left and right in his search for Quick Fix. I can’t wait to tell her the news! he thought excitedly, stopping at a corner. “Quick Fix! Where are you? Quick Fix!!” he shouted deafeningly, startling passers-by. He pressed on in his search, going up one street and down another, calling her name the entire time. She didn’t seem to be anywhere in Ponyville.

“Quick Fix! Answer if you can hear me! Quick Fix!” he shouted sporadically up and down the avenues and boulevards, hollering for Quick Fix as he clamored about in his pursuit. Ponies around him yelled at him for disturbing the peace, but he didn’t care. He had wonderful news to share with a very special somepony, and he wanted to let her know right away!

He stopped by his shop to see if Quick Fix had gone there after Galsthan ‘left,’ but it seemed that she did not. Galsthan kept up his search, seeing as this was not news that he could simply let idly slip by.

Quick Fix couldn’t believe that it was the last time she would ever see Galsthan again. Entire oceans ran from her eyes as she sobbed morosely, wanting Galsthan back. After Galsthan had departed, she took off running. She wasn’t sure where, and she wasn’t sure why, but she felt like she needed to get away.

So she ran.

And ran.

And ran…

Until she couldn’t run anymore.

She had ended up at Sweet Apple Acres, but she hadn’t run far enough to escape the thought that she would never see Galsthan again. She could never outrun that horrible, piercing thought. It would haunt her until her death, picking and prying at her heart until she could feel it no more.

She attempted to walk on, but with every passing second, she felt the burning in her grow stronger from both physical and emotional exhaustion. She walked until she could walk no more, and collapsed on the path.
She heard a voice call out something, but couldn’t make out whose it was or what they were saying as she faded from consciousness…

“…be fine…?”

“..eeyup.”

Voices floated around in blackness, having no discernible source.

“Ah reckon she’ll be alright. Good thing you noticed her when you did, r’else we might not’ve been able to help.”

"Eeyup."

The voices, and more importantly the accents, came into clearer focus as Quick Fix felt her body start up.

“She’s comin’ to. Should I go get her somethin’ to eat?” the more masculine of the two voices asked.
“Ah suppose so. She’ll probably be hungry, what with the condition we found ‘er in.” the second voice responded, sounding more effeminate.

Quick Fix opened her eyes weakly, seeing four large, red legs move by as she began to regain her motor function.
“Uhhh…” she muttered as she attempted to stand. Weakness found her legs as she quickly collapsed back to the floor, losing the inches she had gained in her struggle to rise.

“Easy there, pard’ner, you took a nasty spill out there. You’re gonna want’a rest fer awhile.” The yet unrecognized Mare’s voice assured Quick Fix, who had fully regained consciousness at this point. She looked up at the orange Mare, who had a large hat perched atop her head. “Thanks for the help.” Quick Fix addressed the apricot-colored pony. She laid back down obediently and in a more comfortable position. “Glad Ah could help.” responded the golden-maned Mare, a smile spread across her face.

The red Stallion eventually returned with a small platter balanced carefully on his back. On the platter there was a slice of Apple Pie, a glass of Apple Juice, and a napkin. He casually placed it in front of Quick Fix, who eagerly reached for the pie with her magic, her horn aglow.

As she scarfed down the slice of pie, she could feel her strength return to her, but she could also feel a bit of pain. She quickly located a bandage wrapped around her front left leg, near one of her joints. She wasn’t completely sure what happened, but she had probably just scraped up her leg when she fell over from lack of energy. Thankfully, these kind ponies took her in under their hooves and restored her to health. She was very thankful for that, and actually forgot about Galsthan for a short moment.
It was all too brief.

Before even touching the Apple Juice, Quick Fix broke down in a crying fit. Both ponies immediately had worry struck across their face, as the crimson Stallion and orange Mare simultaneously asked, “You okay?”
“N.. no…” she softly replied in-between bawling attacks.

“Have you seen Quick Fix?” Galsthan asked a random pony, who responded with a short “No.” and continued on his way.
Galsthan had been scouring the entire town looking for Quick Fix, desperately hoping that nothing bad had happened. If something had happened to Quick Fix, knowing that it had been just after he departed, he would never forgive himself. Well, maybe after- NO. NEVER. he roared to himself, quickening his search and doubling his efforts.

Between short fits of crying, Quick Fix explained to her company what had happened between her and Galsthan, especially the part where he left. When she was explaining that he had to leave, she prolonged the conversation as long as she could with lots of synonyms, short and quiet sentences that almost seemed to be directed to Galsthan himself, sniffles, and pauses.

The red and orange ponies looked at each other before returning their eyes to the heartbroken Quick Fix. “Ah’m real sorry to hear what happn’d to ya, Fix, but I’m afraid all we can do is help ya onto yer feet. Ah ain’t ever heard ‘o a pony named Gal.. gals.. whatever his name was.” said the orange pony, kindness in her tone.

“Eeyup.” stated the red Stallion in concurrence.

“Anyhow, Ah’m Applejack, and this here’s Big Macintosh. He doesn’t say much.” said Applejack, pointing first to herself and then Big Macintosh.

“Eeyup.” was Big Macintosh’s reply.

Chapter 5: Inconvenience at its finest.

Tuesday, August 14th 2012.

4:13 P.M.

Sweet Apple Acres

This was the last place in town. Galsthan had been at this for hours and had even skipped lunch. It was this important to him to let Quick Fix know that they didn’t have to separate after all.

Galsthan had searched literally everywhere else in town. There was nowhere that she could be aside from here, unless she had split town as soon as she thought Galsthan had. Galsthan seriously hoped that this wasn’t the case, or he really might never see her again. No way. I’m not going to let that happen. Not on my watch. Galsthan thought in resolve to himself, striving to move onward to the farm ahead to continue his search.

Quick Fix almost unwillingly accompanied Applejack and Big Macintosh into the farm house, where she met Apple Bloom and Granny Smith, but conversations were kept short. Heart break was not something easily mended, and Quick Fix needed time to recover from both physical and emotional trauma. All those near her could tell she was hurting, but only on the inside. Quick Fix was directed to a room where she could stay during her time of recuperation, and she accepted it with as much kindness as she could muster up.

I can almost hear his voice calling out to me… she thought in her solitude.

“Quick Fix! Quick Fix, are you here?” he shouted as he drew closer to the farm.
Galsthan quickly approached the gate in the fence, pushing it idly aside and approaching an orange Mare. “Hey, hello?” he asked from a short distance, trotting up to her, “Hi, I’m Galsthan. You wouldn’t have happened to see a brown Mare with a white mane who goes by the name of Quick Fix around here, would you?” he asked quickly, giving a short glance around at all the Apple trees. Wow, these people must be crazy for apples. he thought distractingly to himself, before reverting his attention to the orange Mare.

Applejack had seen him coming as he approached their farm, and after hearing Quick Fix’s story about the stallion that’d broken her heart, she wasn’t all too excited to see that exact same description-fitting pony walk up to the farm shortly thereafter.

She wiped the scowl from her face as he approached. She pretended not to notice him at first, until he walked right up to her and immediately introduced himself and started asking questions. He seemed in a hurry, so she wouldn’t keep him waiting.

She turned to him, saying, “Yeah, Ah’ve seen ‘er. Ah’m Applejack, by the by. Saw ‘er on that very road you were walkin’ down.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, so Applejack felt relieved that she had twisted her words in such a way as to avoid lying altogether while still throwing this heart-breaker off the right tracks. Serves ‘im right fer messin’ with a Mare’s feelings, she thought smugly to herself.

“Thanks, Applejack. I really appreciate the information. Look me up if you see her around here, alright?” Galsthan said quickly, turning and galloping off, then continuing down the dirt road he’d just come from. Finally, a lead to work off of! Maybe I’ll find her after all! he thought excitedly to himself, quickening his pace as he ran.

He didn’t notice Applejack sigh in relief as he departed.

Applejack did just that. Sighed in relief. She knew it was painful to be around those who’d caused you emotional distress, especially within such a short time, and she felt accomplished in herself that she’d averted what could have been nothing short of an emotional disaster. Speakin’ of emotional disaster, Ah’d better head inside ‘n see how our heartbroken guest’s doin. Applejack thought to herself, trotting back inside. A faint thump could be heard in the distance, which she took to be Big Mac applebucking.

Back inside, Applejack walked over to the closed door that led to a likely wrecked Quick Fix, so she knocked before entering to be polite. What she found inside was a sad sight, but she walked inside anyway to comfort her unstable friend.

Quick Fix heard a knocking at the door, but she was too buried in her pillow to care. She’d been too upset to do much of anything, now that it came to mind. She hadn’t eaten much, hadn’t moved much, and her mind hadn’t strayed much.
More specifically, it hadn’t left alone her memories of Galsthan.

The first time they’d met was actually in his shop. Quick Fix had noticed the new building coming up, and had been curious as to what it’d been. She was the only customer that had showed up on opening day, which made the shop scarier than it’d needed to be.

Heh… I remember how I reacted when I first walked in… she thought as her mind took a stroll down memory lane…

I remember that, when I walked in, it was fairly dark. There were little bits and bobs of machinery sitting around everywhere, while scrap metal and tools littered the rest of the floor. It was like there had been some kind of crazy construction party.

I remember first walking up to the front desk. The only light around at that point was a dim lamp in the back of the store, and the brightness of an arc welder occasionally lighting up. I’d rung the bell several times, and a tall stallion turned to greet me. His body was not his ordinary brown, but instead had been stained gray by what were surely countless hours of working and building. He didn’t bother flipping up his welding mask, as though he’d been accustomed to the darkness by then.

He walked up to the counter, standing far taller than I was. I remember originally being afraid, yet intrigued at the same time. He said hello, and almost impatiently asked me what I wanted. I sheepishly told him I was curious about what his store was for.

He told m- Quick Fix was knocked out of her memory by Applejack’s voice.

“How’re ya doin, sugar? Holdin’ up okay?” Applejack asked, genuinely concerned. Quick Fix had seemed a bit detached before she spoke, making Applejack think that she was probably just recalling the horrible events that had gone on earlier that day. She would make sure that her doleful acquaintance would forget all about that and mend her fragmented heart.

As far as Applejack knew, Galsthan was the enemy. That’s certainly how it seemed.

Quick Fix didn’t answer Applejack. She only whimpered quietly into her pillow, her mane a mess and her face littered with the remnants of tears. She had hardly moved all day, aside from eating and flopping back and forth on the bed mournfully. She hadn’t even been with Galsthan this long and yet it still felt like forever.

Well, back into recollection land and complete obliviousness.

I still remember that he told me it was just a blacksmith shop, where he made parts and machines and sold them to people who wanted it. I remember being so frightened of him for some reason. He was so… tall, and unnerving in such an equivocal way. I think the only reason I came back into that shop was to see him again in his alarming, yet strangely captivating, representation.

It seems like only yesterday that he and I really hit it off… oh, wait, it basically was. Well, anyway, thinking about this too long isn’t g- again, Quick Fix’s thoughts were cut off. “Are ya feelin’ alright, Sugar?” asked Applejack, placing a hoof on Quick Fix’s shoulder. She shrunk away from this touch, simply stating, “No. Please, leave me alone…”

Applejack shrugged and exited the room quietly, being sure to close the door behind her. It was clear that Quick Fix still needed time for reinvigoration, and Applejack knew that well.
Quick Fix wasn’t the only one who’d gotten their heart broken in the past.

By this point, Galsthan had literally searched everywhere. He’d gone door-to-door, even, to ask if anyone had seen Quick Fix, but even the slightest trails ended the same, and that similar stop was in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Galsthan didn’t know the orange Mare he’d met there very well, but he got the strange sense that he should follow where she had directed him.

Upon reaching the town border, Galsthan stopped. Beyond this border stood lands he had not yet trod upon, and for all he knew they could hold dangers beyond his abilities. However, determined as he was, he set hoof outside of ponyville to continue his pursuit of his missing love.

Wednesday, August 15th 2012.

9:22 A.M.

Northern Everfree Forest

This was the next place that Galsthan had thought to look. If anything bad had happened to Quick Fix, it was more likely than not that she would end up here, somewhere.

Somewhere.

In this big, seemingly endless…

Creepy…

Unnatural…

Forest.

Galsthan sighed to himself. He had been up all night, searching around trees and through foliage. He felt ready to collapse, but his motivation spurred him onward. Somewhere, he thought to himself, before tripping over a rock and tumbling down a steep slope.

Quick Fix had made a surprisingly quick recovery over the night, and that was likely due to her having had enough rest. After giving excessive thanks to the Apple family for taking her in during her time of need, she immediately had a resolve.
She was going to travel to Canterlot and ask, no, demand to see Galsthan. That would perk up her mood, and the surprise visit would probably also brighten up Galsthan’s day. With new vigor, a spark in her heart, and a smile across her face, Quick Fix set off for the nearest train station.

“Ow!”

“Oof!”

“Ugh!”

Whump! went Galsthan, as he violently rolled over another rock, finally hitting the bottom of the slope. He was bruised, battered, exhausted, bleeding, and feeling broken-spirited, but his ambition was the only stimulus he needed to get back on his hooves and keep up the search.

He felt weaker by the second due to both his injuries and lack of sleep, but he couldn’t stop now. Quick Fix was out there somewhere, maybe cold, alone, hurt, and hungry, and Galsthan wasn’t going to stop his expedition until he found her, even if it met with untimely results.

Even if it’s the last thing I do, Galsthan thought with determination in his eyes and resolve in his heart, I’ll find you, Quick Fix. No matter how far I have to go, regardless of how long I need to travel, I’ll find you.

As Galsthan pressed onward, a small shack came into view. Maybe whoever lives here knows where Quick Fix is, Galsthan thought to himself, strength sapping away from him as his lack of energy caught up with him. He weakly trotted up to the door, found just enough power to knock on it, and promptly collapsed.

He sure had a knack for doing that.

Zakora hadn’t been expecting any visitors, so when a soft Knock, knock, knock, WHAP. came from her door, she was almost taken by surprise. She walked to the door to greet her guest, and upon opening the door, had an unusual pony fall at her hooves. Literally.

Whoever this was, he collapsed on the door and fell down when the door was opened. She quickly dragged him inside, and although he proved heavier than he seemed, she managed to pull him inside and shut the door.

Upon examination, she found several lacerations and spots of blunt trauma; likely an encounter with a nasty creature of the forest. Whatever he had come across, it clearly hadn’t been too dangerous, as evidence provided. If it had been one of the more menacing creatures in the forest, then this pony would have been lucky to be alive, however, he only had large cuts and probably a few bruised bones. Rest and medicine could cure him in no time.

Quick Fix had boarded the train for Canterlot, and eagerly awaited arrival at her destination, with her enthusiasm plainly becoming larger and less controllable.

As the train drew closer to the mountainside city, she even started to bounce in her seat, but not because of the ride being rough. She was so excited that she could hardly contain the energy.

Galsthan awoke with a shout, which spooked the figure standing over him. Galsthan’s eyes shot open as he shot up and onto his hooves, immediately taking an alert stance and scanning his environment. He was inside a building where a lot of small jars and various mixtures lay strewn about, so it was not a familiar place.

Huh, that seems to happen a lot. he thought to himself as he turned to see the figure that had been standing over him while he was unconscious. He relaxed a little as he asked assiduously, “Okay, who’re you and where am I? Have you seen Quick Fix?” he quickly did another sweep of the room before his gaze returned to the striped pony.

“I am afraid that the one you seek does not reside here, but I can likely assist your search if you would lend an ear.” Zekora responded to her less-than-friendly patient, a calm look strewn across her face. “You were bruised up rather negligently, so you should take caution in these woods if you wish to traverse through them differently.”

She turned away from him momentarily before grabbing a small bottle labeled ‘Iron Skin.’ She casually walked back over to him, and placed it on a counter nearby. “I have a remedy here which can aid your quest, but it will not be free as you might have guessed. There is the issue of a cost, but it is more worthy to be safe than your life to be lost.”

Galsthan sighed impatiently. He didn’t have time for this, so he took out a bag of 40 bits, tossed it to the striped pony, hurriedly placed the potion into one of his saddlebags that he didn’t remember putting on, and charged out the door, enthusiastic to get back to his chase. Even though he’d been out a long time, he could still feel his muscles running low on energy, as he became less able to exert himself.

He glanced around at the trees, before noticing what looked like an edible fruit hanging down from a tree with orange leaves and a very thin trunk. He reached up and snatched one right off the branch, and ate it with fervor. Flavor exploded in his mouth, with the taste of a banana smoothie enthralling his taste buds. He ate two more of the fruits before continuing on his way, strength renewed and fire blazing in his heart.

With his reinstalled vigor, he strode through the forest at an even faster pace than he began, observing every nook and cranny in his attempt to locate Quick Fix.

Somewhere.

Chapter 6: Well, so much for finding each other.

Wednesday, April 15th 2012.

1:05 P.M.

Everfree Forest.

Yet again, Galsthan had been searching for hours. This time, however, he didn’t have any hunger or thirst issues. Along the way, Galsthan had found a few edible plants and a freshwater stream, so those two things were out of the way for now.
There were two yet-unresolved issues. Quick Fix had not been found, and he was now lost in the Everfree Forest.

The most dangerous forest around, and he had absolutely no idea where he was. He pushed this thought from his mind, though, similarly ignoring the pain as his body ached for rest. “There’ll be time for rest later.” he said to himself aloud, “Right now, I’ve got a missing Mare to find.”

As he trudged on, he realized he had seemed to come to an edge of the forest. He almost excitedly made his way to the edge of the trees, moving from a densely wooded area into…

a sheer rock face.

Galsthan looked up, seeing that the massive stone seemed to stretch right up to the sky.

It probably did.

“Whatever it takes.” Galsthan stated flatly, walking up to the rock wall. After looking up and judging how difficult it would be to climb the wall, he shortly found enough hoof holds to start climbing, and having no previous rock-climbing experience didn’t deter him from the mission at hand.
“Whatever it takes!” Galsthan reminded himself loudly, hurrying up the stony face.

"Oh jeez!" he shouted, his body quickly having a reunion with the ground. "Oof!" he shouted, attempting to shrug off the pain as he stood again. He swiftly began to scale the cliff once again, now determined to make his way up.

“He WHAT?!”

Quick Fix could not believe her ears. The Princess herself had said it, but she could not believe it. Apparently, without her knowing, Galsthan had actually turned back to look for her, for a reason undisclosed by the Princess, but Quick Fix knew it must’ve been important.

She immediately turned tail for Canterlot’s train station, ready to head back to Ponyville to find Galsthan, who’d apparently gone looking for her in the first place. She felt awful, making him look all over Ponyville for a Mare that wasn’t even in the city.

“I hope he didn’t leave.” she stated aloud, not to anyone in particular.

As Galsthan climbed the rock, three things became apparent. One, he had never been more determined to do anything in his entire life. Two, he was very tired. Three, he had lost his mind.

He found himself climbing an entire cliff, just praying that Quick Fix might be somewhere in-between himself and wherever his mission took him next.

As Galsthan thought over his choices, one of his hooves slipped and he nearly plummeted over a hundred feet. He quickly regained his composure and grip before realizing…

How did I know that was a hundred feet?

Quick Fix impatiently boarded the next train to Ponyville, which was surprisingly empty.

Well, empty enough, anyway. There was only one other pony onboard, who was dressed in a dark cloak. Dark hooves and unusual eyes showed from underneath the unusual attire, but that was all. Quick Fix sat a distance away from the strange pony, noticing that it would occasionally glance in her direction.

She paid no mind to this stranger as she waited silently for her arrival in Ponyville, where she would seek out Galsthan.

Shoving all distracting thoughts from his mind, Galsthan continued up the rock, making his best efforts to remain on the wall and not plummeting to the ground below. He continually kept his mind focused on the one thing that mattered to him right now, and that was finding Quick Fix.

“Whatever it takes.” he said, as he nearly slipped again.

“Whatever it takes!” he exclaimed, suddenly propelling himself several feet up the cliff, then latching back to it.

“I’M COMING FOR YOU, QUICK FIX!!!” he screamed as he practically galloped up the straight face of rock, shooting up it like an earth pony across a flat land.

"..oh shoot." he stated blankly, losing his grip on the cliff for the thousandth time. "OH SHOOT!" he yelled as gravity took its hold, accelerating his fall. WHAM! was the sound as he impacted with an outcropping below him, thankfully catching him and saving him from what would have been a lethal fall.

It didn't, however, save him from the pain. He gritted his teeth as he was sure he heard some sort of cracking, then sharp pains shot through his body.

This didn't stop him, however, seeing as he had practically lost his mind on his quest. Grinning and bearing it, he stood to climb again. Painful jabs bolted up through his spine and legs, but he managed to retain consciousness and began scaling the cliff once more. Had it been any other pony, they would have died. He would have wondered how he survived, but all thoughts were clouded by Quick Fix.

As the train neared Ponyville, Quick Fix became uneasy. The shrouded stranger had shifted seats several times, scooting closer to her each time. This was supposedly the only available passenger car they had, but Quick Fix was willing enough to see if she could sit elsewhere if this mysterious pony kept coming closer.

Upon reaching another small outcropping in the rock, Galsthan came to an immediate halt, panting heavily for air and wincing in pain. The air was becoming thinner as he went, making it more and more difficult to climb, but this did not stop him. After a moment’s rest, he resumed climbing, launching himself up the cliff at a slightly slower pace, but fast nonetheless.

He nearly lost his hoofing again, but managed to latch back onto the cliffside. He stayed on that section of cliff for a moment to make sure he was stable, then began climbing again.

The cloaked stranger had again shifted towards Quick Fix, so she stood to walk by him and to the other end of the passenger car. As she walked though, the shifty stranger shot out a hoof to trip her. She fell flat on her face, and then shot a look up to the stranger with both fear and anger in her eyes.

Or at least, where he once was.

She stood quickly and scanned around the passenger car, seeing that the shrouded pony had just vanished. The stood ready in the middle of the aisle, looking around cautiously, expecting a surprise attack. It was the first time she had been in this sort of situation, so it set her on nerve to no limit.

Galsthan had been roaring up the mountain like a rocket. If he had been wearing red, someone might have mistaken him for one anyway. He almost slipped and fell to his death several times, but it never happened. Galsthan’s sinew for fear of losing Quick Fix propelled him upward.

He came to a small peak, and eagerly clambered on top of it, looking up, down and around, hoping that by some streak of luck that Quick Fix would be near. This high cliff proved void of anything and everything Quick Fix, so he sighed heavily and collected whatever thoughts remained.

He decided that ascending further would probably be bad for him. The air was thin enough, and he didn’t want to risk asphyxiation. He trotted over to the opposing cliff, taking in the view.

He could see a body of water in the distance, which was likely a lake, along with what seemed to be a small settlement near the bottom of the mountains. It was still a huge distance, but much closer than a lot of things. He briefly wondered how he had traversed so far and so fast, but attributed it to the royal genes.

He then set off down the Cliffside, hoping to reach the settlement before nightfall. The sun was low, however, so it wasn’t likely.

For the rest of the train ride, Quick Fix stood in the middle of the empty passenger car. When the train arrived in Ponyville, she bolted off of it, almost forgetting why she had come back in the first place.

She charged off to the first place she thought to look, which was Galsthan’s shop.

When she got there, she didn’t see a single pony inside. The next thing she could think to do was search around the town for him, which she assumed he would also be doing by now.

As Galsthan scrambled down the cliff, it grew dark, which made it much more difficult to clamber down the mountain. He lost his hoof holds for a moment, before sticking back to the cliff, breathing heavily. He had nearly fallen, so he would be slightly more careful from that point onward.

Too bad that didn’t last long.

A ledge beneath his hind left hoof crumbled, which let him fall off of the rocky face of the mountain. He could almost see Quick Fix before his eyes, looking sadly at him. That tore it. It wasn’t time to die. Not yet.

Galsthan turned to face the ground, before realizing that it wasn’t the ground at all.

WHAM!! echoed the noise as Galsthan impacted with the outcropping. Sharp pains tore through his body, shooting lightning up and down everything. He grimaced in the pain, but found himself quickly standing again. He had come too far to fail now so he set back climbing down the mountain, ignoring any pain that lingered.

A couple of spills later, and Galsthan had made it down the cliff, having fallen down the remainder of the cliff and survived somehow. As he turned away from the rocky cliff, he met with an awestruck face, which was watching him.

“How did you SURVIVE that?!” it shouted the question, its voice clearly defining that it was a stallion. Galsthan didn’t have time to dawdle, so he pushed the stallion aside and trudged forward. The yet unnamed stallion quickly raced about in front of Galsthan again, stopping him in his tracks.

“Who ARE you, and how did you survive those falls?” the brave stallion demanded answers, trying to puff up his chest to look tough.

“I don’t have time for this!” Galsthan shouted at the Stallion, knocking him aside and galloping off at a speed that the stallion would surely not be able to compete with.

Quick Fix had searched a large portion of the town, and had stopped for dinner, but it soon became dark and she had not yet seen Galsthan.

She decided that he likely wouldn’t leave town, so she trotted back to her own home and tried to get some rest for the night.
She opened her door and closed it behind her as she entered, clicking on her lights. She walked through her living room and to her bedroom, where she climbed into bed and clicked off the lights.

She was yet unaware of a familiar hooded figure waiting right outside her window.

Thursday, April 16th 2012.

6:23 A.M.

Unknown Settlement.

The last thing Galsthan remembered was charging away from a pushy stallion as he pressed onward to locate Quick Fix.
Now, he woke up in an unknown bed in an unknown building in an unknown location.
Okay, this happens WAY too much, he thought to himself in annoyance.

He took a moment to survey his surroundings, seeing that he was in a simple wood hut with very few furnishings. The most notable were a few shelves stocked with strange ingredients, and the bed he was laying on. It was very well constructed, and was very comfortable.

A familiar stallion.. no, Zebra, entered the hut from an entrance in the side, and walked up to Galsthan. “So, do you have time to answer my questions now?” he asked with a grin and a chuckle, adjusting his wide-brimmed hat.

Galsthan hadn’t seen that this familiar stranger was a Zebra when they first encountered each other, as it was dark. Now, however, it was clear to see the stripes along the Zebra’s mane and legs. Galsthan stepped off of the bed and turned to face this Zebra, saying, “No, not really, unless you’ve seen Quick Fix anywhere around here. I doubt you know who that is, so I need to get going.”

His tone was harsher than intended, but all this searching with fruitless results got Galsthan in a bad mood. He pushed past the Zebra and walked outside of the hut into the settlement, where other Zebras were going about their business. He made his way away from the area, and left without being stopped.

(Sorry that the chapter’s short. More coming soon!)

Chapter 7: Going on as unplanned.

Thursday, April 16th 2012.

10:14 A.M.

Okay, I honestly have no idea where he is now. Do you?
No, I don’t. You’re the one writing it, just make up a name and place for where he is or something!
It’s not that simple, you know. Creating an entire landscape and name for it would take awh-
Just think of something! You have readers waiting to read the rest of the story!
Okay, fine, I’ll think of something.

Empty Field.

Wow. That’s got to be the most boring name for a place ever, and really, a field!? I could have thought of that one!
Then why didn’t you?
You’re the one writing this, not me!
Ugh, jeez, just let the viewers read, okay?
…

Galsthan was well past exhausted by this time. All this frequent running around, climbing, and ignoring zebras really had him wiped out. His legs refused to move on, so Galsthan laid down for a few short moments, until he quickly accepted the idea of a nice, long sleep. Sure, he had been unconscious under the hospitality of those zebras, but it’s never quite the same rest until you do it willingly.

Quick Fix woke up slowly, yawning and crawling out of bed just in time to turn off her alarm clock before it chimed. She had set it for 10:15, but she was almost always up exactly one minute before it. She went through her normal morning routine: made herself breakfast, ate quietly, cleaned and brushed her hair and teeth, then grabbed her saddlebags to go visit Galsthan to get the latest par-

…Oh.

Right.

Galsthan woke up no more than twenty minutes after he had laid down. Maybe he did have enough rest after all.

His body disagreed, but he pressed onward to continue his mad search.

Quick Fix exited her house, on her w-

You’re cutting the character jumps really short now. Are you running out of ideas?
Heck no, I have this planned all the way out to chapter 20. The problem is... well...
Well what?
Um…
I’m waiting.
I don’t know how this chapter should go. I have every other chapter practically written out in my head, but I never thought of what to write after Galsthan cleared the zebra village. I could tell you what happens after he gets to a different place, but I don’t want to put any spoilers here.
…
…
In that case, you’d best be thinking it up fast.
Eeyup.

Anyhow, Quick Fix left her house, ready to depart on her morning shopping agenda.

First stop, Galsthan’s blacksmith shop.

Shoot.

First stop, ~~Galsthan’s blacksmith shop.~~ Applejack’s farm.

Quick Fix was going to stop by to say hi to the Apple family today, particularly to Applejack. She wanted to buy a few things there anyway, and it would be nice to see another friend after being unable to locate Galsthan the day before.

She really wondered where he could be, but only for a second, before her mind turned to what could have happened.

He might have been ~~mauled. Hurt. In pain.~~ Hugged viciously by a creature in the everfree forest.

Yeah, she thought casually, hiding her worries, that must be what happened.

As Quick Fix walked onward,

Why do you keep scratching things out?
Oh for the love of..- I keep scratching things out because I wrote the wrong thing, okay?
Well, I don’t think the readers would know that, so why not ju-
Well they know now, since you asked!
You didn’t have to tell me, y’know.
…shut up.

AS QUICK FIX WALKED ONWARD, she became increasingly worried for Galsthan’s safety. Well, when I finish with my shopping, I can go look for him some more. Maybe he’s back by now? Quick Fix assured herself, before noticing she had already come across Sweet Apple Acres and had nearly walked right by it.

She turned to enter the gates, and was greeted by a familiar orange friend.

Galsthan had walked through the brown field, pieces of dried grass occasionally breaking off and sticking to his legs as he walked. This was probably the most boring thing he had done in his entire life, aside from things he may have done when he was small. His parents told him he didn’t do much until he was five or so, but he supposed that was to be expected.

What could such a small pony do in the first place? he wondered, continuing his progress through the field.

Galsthan gasped.

It wasn’t because there was some huge creature in the field, or that the field might have been poisonous, or anything exciting like that.

On the other side of the field, there was a massive river.

“Oh, come ON!” Galsthan yawped, clearly not being excited about this new obstacle.

After departing from the farm with saddlebags full of goodies, Quick Fix headed for the center of town. The town hall, in particular. Maybe the Mayor knew where Galsthan was.

As she made her way to the town hall, she noticed a large gathering of what seemed to be panicked ponies, some of which may have been becoming hysterical. For some reason, they were all looking up.

So, naturally, Quick Fix did the same.

There was a stallion standing on the roof of the town hall.

and then there wasn’t.

After a massive audible gasp, every eye followed the falling body down, until

Galsthan stood at the very edge of the river, looking up and down the great expanse of water, gushing and toiling rapidly. It would be too fast to swim across.

Galsthan began formulating a plan, theorizing that if h-

Wow, dude, that was pretty harsh.
What was?
Leaving the readers hanging like that. Why didn’t you finish the sentence?
Suspense.
…dull.
Hey, YOU write a story and tell me you didn’t include a single moment of perplexity.
Well, everypony knows what’s going to happen to that stallion anyway, he’s just gonna h-
SHUSH! No spoilers!!
Oh. Right. Sorry. Carry on.
Mmhmm.

Anyway, Galsthan theorized that if he could construct a raft, he could just float down the river. That would be good for three things. One, he could look along the shores to see if Quick Fix had maybe fallen into this vicious river and washed up somewhere. Two, it would be much easier to cross that way, and far less hazardous. Three, he hadn’t been even mildly creative for over a day. He was getting antsy.

Galsthan immediately sprung into action. Acquiring a saw from the toolbelt he never took off, he located the nearest tree and began working. He began sawing away at the base of the tree with the intent to cut it down, but his simple hand saw was not fit for the job at hand.

It took nearly ten entire minutes of back-and-forth cutting to fell the tree. Ten minutes that Galsthan did not have to waste. He worked effectively and swiftly, carving out the tree to make it hollow, then lopping off large parts of the ends to make a makeshift canoe. It would have to do for now, but he also needed a paddle, so he took a portion of an end he had cut off and made a paddle from that.

He strained to push the slapdash canoe to the water, as it kept lodging itself on everything in the path, resulting in more effort to push it around or over. By the time it reached the river, Galsthan was burned out. He felt as though he could exert himself no more, but the drive to find Quick Fix kept his fire bright.

Galsthan climbed discomforted into the temporary canoe, then pushed off the shore with his alternative paddle.

He haphazardly rushed downstream, attempting to keep his balance as not to fall into the water. There was nearly no telling what was below the surface, so Galsthan didn’t want to risk any hospital-worthy injuries while he was out on his own.

He barely made it 200 meters downstream when he hit the other shore, sending him head-over-hooves tumbling down the sand. He stood after a short moment, only dazed and possibly a little bruised. He stood and shook off the powder, then hastily making his way off the shore and towards… Wait.. where does this go, anyhow?

Okay, you’re seriously starting to tick me off with all the character jumps.
Well, we DO need to find out what happened last in Quick Fix’s perspective, right?
Well, I gue-
PLUS, if we wait too long, events will pass.
But you’re WRITING this story! Time doesn’t ha-
YES IT DOES! NOW SHUSH!
…

He hit a trampoline.

Where in the world did someone get a trampoline?

Wiping the confused look from her face, Quick Fix wanted to assert herself to the front of the crowd to see if the pony that’d just fallen from the roof was okay, both mentally and physically.

Yeah, assertion. That’ll happen, Quick Fix thought sarcastically to herself, rolling her eyes out of the force of habit. She tried a couple of times to push a couple of ponies out of the way, occasionally asking them to move, but they remained right where they were, eager to get to the front as everypony else.

After realizing her efforts were fruitless, Quick Fix simply tried to stand and look over everypony instead, just to at least try to get a glimpse of the suicidal pony to see if he was okay.

Turns out, he was just fine. She caught a short view of him walking away, perfectly healthy. Well, maybe nauseous, but otherwise alright.

Quick Fix breathed a sigh of relief. At least she knew somepony was alright…

Oh, very clever.
What?
That last line, there.
Well, it’s true, isn’t it?
Can’t we do without the lame wording?
No, and it’s not lame.
Yes it is.
No, it isn’t.
Yes, it is!
No, it isn’t!
YES, IT IS!
NO, IT ISN’T!
NO, IT ISN’T!
YES, IT I-shoot.
HA!
Shut up.

Well, anyway, Galsthan was doing his thing, running about and not falling unconscious, thankfully. He was just short of becoming hysterical in his unsuccessful search when he thought he spotted a brown pony, but it was only glimpsed for a moment and far off in the distance.

“Quick fix?!?” Galsthan exclaimed joyfully, proceeding with much enthusiasm towards the brown figure. As he drew nearer, he could see that it was definitely a brown Mare with a white mane, just like his little Quick Fix.

He charged as fast as he could to embrace his sighted friend, who turned towards him as he approached. He quickly swept up his friend in a tight hug, saying, “I finally found you! All that effort was worth it! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

“Wow,” responded a male voice, throwing Galsthan for a spin. He immediately let go. “Didn’t think my parents would be THIS concerned about me running away. To think, after what I told ‘em, they sent a member of the ROYAL FAMILY after me.” A small tear of happiness worked its way out of the quick-fix-lookalike.

“Uh…” Galsthan began, before saying, “…that’s, uh, right! Yeah, they totally sent me to find you. I bet they’re really eager to see you returned home, safe and sound.” Galsthan lied through his teeth, putting on a fake smile to reassure the lost pony.

How many lost ponies are around today? Galsthan wondered idly to himself, before the lost stranger responded, “Wow, really? I was just joking around. Can’t believe they actually care that much…” The stranger pony sat almost saddened for a moment, before asking, “So, you’re taking me back to town now, right?” Galsthan glanced around for a moment before saying, “Yeah.”

The stranger pony turned away and started walking. Galsthan stalled, which caused the other pony to turn around questioningly. “We are going back to town, right? It’s this way.” Galsthan looked sheepish for a moment before trotting ahead of the stranger, saying, “Oh, yeah! Right. Let’s go.”

What did I just get myself into? He questioned himself silently.

(THIS TOOK TOO LONG TO WRITE, and school is starting. Woo.)

Chapter 8: The fight and flight response.

Thursday, April 16th 2012.

1:08 P.M.

Outskirts of ponyville.

Two ponies tiredly approached Ponyville, one tall and brown, the other short and brown. It'd be a peculiar sight if anyone'd been in the streets that day. As Galsthan approached town, he noticed that first. Nobody seemed to be out and about, even though Ponyville was usually a very busy place. I wonder where everyone is? he asked himself silently, letting the question float a bit before coming up with some answers.

Heh... knowing Quick Fix, she's probably somewhere in Ponyville, fine the entire time. I'd bet she rounded up the entire town into one big search party. he chuckled casually, feeling a bit relieved that he was now back in Ponyville, but a little off that his travelling companion hadn't said a word since they'd departed. He turned briefly and opened his mouth to speak, but he closed it again, not finding anything to say.

Since they had left, a particular thought had never crossed Galsthan's mind. How had this complete stranger, who had been lost and likely hadn't heard of Galsthan being recognized as a member of the royal family, recognized that he was? This oddity bugged and picked at Galsthan until he came up with a seemingly sound solution, I'll bet he just thought I was because of how tall I am, however, he quickly re-thought this, then again, there have been other unicorns that are just excessively tall. Maybe this guy's just in-the-know, or maybe he got lost AFTER finding that out?

These questions and more perplexed Galsthan, until he walked headfirst into a street lamp. His head rattled for a moment before he brought up a hoof up to stabilize himself, softly muttering "Ow..." and rubbing his head for a short moment before redirecting his path around the pole. Even though he had walked around it, he still felt a part of his body brush up against it lightly, which caused him to turn his head towards the pole from natural reaction.

What he saw nearly sent him into shock.

On his back, where there once was nothing, there was now a pair of fully-grown, brown-tinted wings.

Galsthan passed out anyway.

When he came to, the first thing that came across his mind was, I need to stop doing that. The second thing was the brown-and-white pony standing over him, who he almost mistook for Quick Fix. He nearly became excited at the sight of his lost friend, until he realized it was just the pony he'd met earlier, who apparently was also lost.

Galsthan stood up and shook himself off, sending a few bits of dust and dirt flying off of his body. His companion looked concerned, but he quickly stated "I'm fine." and they set off again, but Galsthan's mind was racing at a million miles a minute. How did I get wings? WHY do I have wings? Shouldn't I have noticed these growing in? Was I passed out when they were growing? Why am I escorting this guy in the first place? Where's Quick Fix, anyhow? These questions and more shot in and out of his mind, getting blown away by answers as soon as they arrived.

Or at least, most of them did.

Quick Fix had done most of her shopping for the day, so after making sure everything was secured, she started to make her way to her home.

Along the way, there was a bit lying on the ground, just laying there, out in the open. Naturally, Quick Fix tried to pick it up, but it jolted away from her. She thought maybe she had kicked it by accident, so she followed it and tried again. Same results. It took her a few tries, but she eventually caught up with the bit, and happily placed it in her saddlebags. She turned to leave, satisfied with her catch, but she was stopped by a rough-looking, stupidly dressed group of stallions.

Shoot. she thought quietly to herself.

Her initial reaction was to back up, but she bumped up against a wall. The ruffians circled around her, giving her no way out. Her next reaction? Well, there's only one word for that.

HELP!!!

No sooner did Galsthan take off than the moment her voice hit his ears. He recognized it immediately as his little Quick Fix, and she was in trouble. His travelling companion only watched with wonder as he took off faster than he'd seen anypony run.

The next thing Quick Fix heard was:

"HaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

BOOM!

The wall beside her exploded into rubble, sending two of the offenders flying.

Through the rubble, she could see a lanky, brown figure charging at the remaining gang members, bucking a couple of their faces, slamming two of their heads together, tripping one hard, grabbing one and suplexing it while landing on another, and other painful things that would likely put this story higher on the age group rating. In general, he brought the pain to the table and force-fed it to them.

He even went so far as to kick one so hard in the gut that a loud crack! could be heard, which was likely one of the stallion's ribs. After a pile of beaten and down-for-the-count stallions scurried away, Galsthan averted his attention to Quick Fix, eyeing her up and down, making sure the gang laid not a hoof on her. "Are you alright? Did they do anything to you?" were the first words out of his mouth, but instead of a worded response, he was met with a tight embrace. His brain took a moment to process what just happened, but he momentarily returned the hug. Quick Fix then spoke, "Oh, Galsthan, it feels so good to have you back." Tears threatened to find their way from her eyes as Galsthan responded, "Trust me, you have no idea how great it feels to know you're safe."

Eleven stallions found their way to Ponyville emergency care that day, with injuries that the doctors there hadn't seen in a long time. Investigations were soon set to happen, unknown to Galsthan. Whether the initial observations and analyzations had shown even the slightest hint at any evidence of this being Galsthan's doings, however, were not told until much, much later.

It took Quick Fix a few minutes to realize it, but she eventually noticed Galsthan had wings. She was first shocked, but then felt very happy for him. Many questions arose, such as how he got them, if it hurt when they grew in, why he had them and more questions, but most of them had no answer. Galsthan didn't know how or why they appeared, and he hadn't even been aware of their existance until he had brushed up against that pole by complete accident. As far as he knew, they had been painless to grow, or maybe he was unconscious when that happened. Quick Fix didn't really care too much about how Galsthan had gotten his wings, she just cared why. He was now an Alicorn, and as far as she knew, the only other two Alicorns in existance were royalty, just like he was supposedly, and they always seemed to be busy.

A single tear was shed as she thought about the events that were going to occur, before she had known that Galsthan had gone back to find her for some extremely important reason. She knew that, if a member of the royal family stopped what they were doing and came looking for a pony, it must have been very important indeed.

"So... Galsthan..." she inevitably brought it up as they walked through the near-empty streets aimlessly, "What WAS it that you wanted to tell me?" She looked up at him curiously, and he stopped walking. He turned to face her and gave a loving sigh, before responding, "I know how we can be together, and without you ever needing to leave."

Quick Fix's face immediately perked up and threatened to explode from her sheer elation, but she managed to calm herself down long enough to hear the rest of his explanation. "Well..." he produced a small box from his saddlebags. While the viewers weren't looking, he'd gone and purchased something very special.

He produced a large ring from his saddlebags and then knelt before Quick Fix, asking, "Quick Fix, would you marry me?"

Quick Fix gasped very audibly while an unnamed gray mare applauded happily in the background.

(OH MY GOODNESS THIS CHAPTER WAS SO SHORT. Sorry about this chapter being short, but like I've previously mentioned, I have things planned out and I intend to stick to that plan. Expect a long chapter for chapter 9.)

Chapter 10: To make a long story short.

Quick Fix hurried to rearra-
Hey, don’t you usually include the timestamp here?
I’ve been really busy, alright? I’ve been having to write this in little paragraphs during my spare time! I hardly have time to write it at all!
You should still include the timestamp.
Ugh.

Thursday, April 16th 2012.
5:33 P.M.
Out and about in Ponyville

That’s better.
Okay, time to get back to writing.
Not yet. You need to explain why you haven’t uploaded a chapter for twelve days.
IT’S BEEN TWELVE DAYS?!
Yes. Now come out of your cave and tell everyone.
Fine…

Anyhow, everypony, I’ve been really busy with school. I think it’s awesome that you all keep reading my story, and I have it planned all the way out to the twentieth chapter and beyond, and even have a sequel or two in mind and being planned out, but I’ve had so much life stuff going on like school, birthdays, events, friends and travel going on that I haven’t had time to write. I hope you’ll just keep waiting for the next chapter anyhow.
That’s a LOT better. Now get out there and write a great chapter!
Yeah!

Quick Fix hurried to rearrange everything she’d already planned out. She had to go back to Sweet Apple Acres and tell the Apples that they would be moving it to Canterlot, then she had to tell the Cakes, then she had to tell the music arrangements, and then tell the dressers, and then “UGH!” she roared in frustration as she quickened her pace, already becoming worried over being able to arrange them in time for her to leave.

To think that, after she had gone around and made so many plans already, Galthan had the gall to go and tell her she had to re-plan everything! She sighed in annoyance as she ran back to Sugar Cube Corner, albeit reluctantly. She really didn’t need more ear damage, but she also very-much-so needed to reschedule everything she’d already planned out. She wondered briefly how much time they had before Galsthan had to leave, but she pushed it out of her mind so she would be less panicked.

It didn’t really help anyhow.

Galsthan was having even less of a fun time.

Most of the places he had visited were scattered all throughout Ponyville, with some even across the town from each other. That wasn’t the worst part of it, though. Considering he was so late and probably had a huge list of royal duties to accomplish, he was now basically being hunted down by Princess Celestia and her Guards in order to take him back to Canterlot.

He knew this from an instance that happened just after he left to rearrange everything.

Momentarily after departing, a couple of angry-looking Guards had run up to him, practically demanding that they escort him to a carriage waiting for him. He refused, of course, saying he had important business to take care of before departing. They insisted, so Galsthan ran.

He tried to scramble around and get everything rearranged, since he had no idea whether or not he would even be able to come back to Ponyville. For all he knew, he might end up stuck at Canterlot for the rest of his life. That’s why this was so important to him.

Briefly thereafter, the Princess herself stopped him in his tracks and tried to get him to comply. Upon denying, Galsthan turned and fled again, but only just got away. He tried to use an invisibility spell to further his distance between a forceful trip to Canterlot and himself, but only succeeded in attracting attention when a mild magical detonation occurred instead.

He scorched a good portion of his head, neck, body, and a piece of the ground he was standing on, but nobody got hurt, and the distraction caused by it was enough for him to get away anyhow.

Quick Fix had just managed to rearrange with the Cakes at Sugar Cube Corner when she heard what sounded like some sort of explosion.

It only diverted her attention for a second, though, because she was still in a hurry. She did slow her pace for a moment, however, to think, I wonder, though, why can’t Galsthan just have everything rescheduled later..? she pondered this, before coming up with an answer that seemed to logically fit. He must not think he’s going to be able to come back to Ponyville. I’d bet THAT’S why he’s in such a hurry!

Quick Fix nodded in what seemed to be accomplishment, but quickened her walking speed once more so she could finish her tasks for the day and finally get some good rest.

Looking up to find she had arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, she entered hastily and located the Cakes, whom she told that they needed to re-plan to have the desserts brought to Canterlot instead, to which news Mr. Cake promptly fainted. After briefly discussing the details of when and where with Mrs. Cake, Quick Fix left once more, thankful that she didn’t run into that pink nuisance.

Thursday, April 16th 2012.
6:26 P.M.
Various places in Ponyville.

During the time that had passed, Galsthan had gotten a lot accomplished and was feeling quite good about himself, until another unfortunate happenstance occurred.

Before I can tell you that story, however, I must tell you this one first.

First off, he stopped off at a nearby restaurant for a small salad and grass sandwich, so he was satisfied as far as nourishment went. Even though he had made a stop for dinner, he had already managed to avoid the Princess’ guards another couple of times, and even got two more things rescheduled. Also, even through all of that in such a short time, he even found time to take a short break in the park… where some random pony ran away from him, shouting something about a monster or a changeling or something else.

Galsthan sighed. It had been a very long time since anyone had run in terror from him. He was sure he had made friends with most ponies in town, so he wasn’t sure why anyone would still be afraid of him. Sure, he might not have gotten out too much due to his shop and work, and sure, he might not have been the friendliest of ponies to most at first, but he wasn’t a bad pony. Nobody had to run horrified of him. This hit too close to home for him and, combined with the stress of the last few days, put him into an immediate state of depression.

He took a seat on a park bench and looked down at the ground, sadness portrayed across his entire body, with a frown on his face and slouched shoulders. Hoofsteps bound into his ears a moment later, but he did not look up. The hoofsteps ended at the bench, which squeaked slightly as another body sat on it next to Galsthan. A hoof draped around his shoulder and Galsthan, in his depressed state, returned the side-hug to whomever was sitting next to him. After just a short moment, he found himself smiling warmly.

Galsthan and the unidentified stranger sat for several minutes, simply sharing a moment of silence.

After some time, Galsthan looked over to the pony that was comforting him, but his eyes did not meet the same. Instead, he was greeted by a white Mare wearing a pair of shades. “Hey.” she said, her jagged blue mane jumping slightly.

“Hey.” Galsthan responded, taking his hoof off the Mare’s shoulder, albeit awkwardly. He stared forward for a bit, before saying, “Thanks.”

“Yep.” was her response. She slowly shuffled her hoof off of his shoulder, but then she leaned against him slightly. “It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten a hug like that.” She then stared straight forward, almost seeming to look right off into nowhere, and sighed in gratification. Galsthan simply sat there and let her, joining her in unfixed ogling. Something in the back of his mind kept going off, telling him it was weird or wrong, but he ignored it for the time being. He was comforted, comfortable, had company, and couldn’t care less about his troubles right now.

Quick Fix was exhausted.

Between having to rearrange with the Cakes, the Apples, a few other ponies, stopping for lunch, getting tripped up by a stranger, accidentally dropping all her bits, nearly getting caught in a bar fight, and having to get down from a tree, Quick Fix could safely say she wasn’t having a great day.

You’re all probably confused by now, so to make a long story short...

First off, Quick Fix obviously went and rearranged the plans she had already set, which frustrated her. When Quick Fix gets frustrated, her hair becomes frazzled. When her hair becomes frazzled, she realizes what time it really is and how much time she’s been spending on the frustrating subject or occupation. At this point, she realized it was past her usual dinner time, so she went to get some food. After she got some food, she went back to resume what she was doing, but a Royal Guard suddenly came up to her and started questioning her about Galsthan’s location. She said she didn’t know, so the Guard moved on in a hurry, accidentally bumping into Quick Fix as he departed, who then dropped her sack of bits. It took her ten minutes to find and pick up all the bits she had left over, and she still felt like she missed some. After she picked up all her bits, somepony saw how stressed she was and offered her a drink, to which she swiftly said yes. Her and this kind stranger moseyed on over to a bar, where the kind stallion bought her a drink. Quick Fix became intoxicated in no time and started to spout insults at several of the occupants of the bar, which sparked a fight that she only just barely got out of unscratched. After that, she was even more stressed out, so she headed down to the local library to get something relaxing to read. Upon approaching the library, the door exploded, sending her flying and she landed in a tree. She had a hard time getting out of the tree, but now she was back on the ground, covered in scrapes, bruises, leaves and an overall look of dissatisfaction.

I’m sure there are longer ways to explain that which could take up the next two or three paragraphs, but this was the simplest way to explain the chain of events.

Also, the day wasn’t over just yet. She had just a few errands left to run and only two reschedules to make, so she put new motives into her step and got on her way.

Chapter 11: When things get real, they get real.

Friday, April 17th.
4:13 A.M.
All around Ponyville

Goodness, a lot can happen between breaks.

First thing’s first, we’ll talk about Galsthan. He’s had his hooves full for the past few hours, so let’s get that story out of the way and catch up with the present.

Starting where we left off, Galsthan and the mysterious shaded Mare had gone separate ways after sharing that short moment, which still rang out in his mind as wrong. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt compelled to go apologize to Quick Fix. He thought long and hard about why it might be wrong, until he realized it may have been viewed by some as cheating.

Only so long away from the wedding and he had already found himself being too friendly with other Mares. Attempting to hide out of shame, Galsthan retreated to his shop for a brief time, only to find that the Princess herself had been searching there for him. She wasn’t too happy about him evading his duties.

The chase lasted for several hours, but what can you expect with one Alicorn pursuing another? You didn’t think it’d be easy, did you?

Needless to say, Galsthan took a crash-course in flying lessons.

Apparently on her way home, a befuddled Technicolor Pegasus Mare swerved out of the way just in time to see two Alicorns go roaring by, one seeming to have lost control and the other angrily giving chase. She puzzled at this for a moment, attributing it to the Princesses having disagreed on something and had gotten into a fight. It seemed about right.

Then again, she thought, hovering a bit in midair and recalling the scene, I don’t think Princess Luna is colored brown.

She thought it over for no more than a minute, then shrugged and sped away.

It was apparent to Galsthan that the Princess didn’t want to hurt him, since he hadn’t been blasted out of the sky by magic yet. Speaking of magic, Galsthan tried his own hoof at it and attempted to summon a wall behind himself to impede the Princess’ progress on gaining on his position, but he inevitably failed. A miniscule magical explosion disoriented him for a brief second, which sent him into a steep nosedive. He pulled up at the last second, only just managing to avoid crashing headlong into the ground. He grazed a couple plants with his hooves, but avoided injury altogether by pulling up sharply and regaining his balance.

Not bad for a first-timer, he thought smugly to himself, then hastening himself as he remembered he was still being pursued.

It was about at this time that the Princess started to use her own magic to slow Galsthan. Firstly, she brought up a wall of solid magic in front of him, but he swerved around it deftly. Of course, by that, I mean he only just managed to flap around it, just skimming across it with his left wing.

Next up, she tried offensive magic by shooting low-power lasers as Galsthan, trying to only hurt him enough to cause him to falter. The problem was he was faltering anyway! All his constant re-adjustments and failures to do so made him fishtail all around, becoming nearly impossible to target with such a spell.

Next up on the list was telekinesis. She tried to take a hold of Galsthan completely by surrounding him with magic, but then something very strange occurred, which she had not expected to happen.

His Alicorn self-defense system kicked in.

In case you’re wondering, Alicorns have a natural defense against magical attacks, and only their breed can learn how to have the ability to use it. When coming in contact with most magical spells, an Alicorn will automatically latch onto it with their own magic and pull at it, draining the offender of their magic and exhausting them... or to a worse extent, causing injury or even death in severe cases.

This is exactly what Galsthan did, albeit unintentionally.

He lassoed the Princess’ magic with his own, then gave a fierce tug without intending to, which drained the strength right out of Princess Celestia. She lurched in midair, not expecting such a move to be used against her, but she quickly released her own spell as to not be drained entirely.

Galsthan was suddenly filled with a rush of mad power like he had never experienced. He began flapping his wings so hard that he swore he’d tear them off, causing him to rocket forward and away from the Princess at phenomenal speeds. Had a certain chromatic Pegasus been around, he may have even gotten a compliment from her.

There was just one problem.

HOW DO YOU STEER THESE THINGS!? Galsthan exclaimed in his mind, gritting his teeth and trying to keep from plummeting to the ground.

Just managing to avoid falling for the hundredth time, Galsthan did a quick 90-degree turn, throwing himself off-balance and causing him to lose control of his flight. He shot like a rocket to the ground and collided with a tree with a deafening CRACK!, stopping him dead in his tracks. Hopefully just figuratively.

For the zillionth time, he lost consciousness.

He really needs to stop doing that.

Quick Fix heard a loud noise, then looked up and gasped. Galsthan, for starters, was flying. She almost thought she should be proud for some reason, until she noticed how much trouble he was having... and that he was being chased by Princess Celestia herself! Many other ponies around her joined in the gawking, until they flew out of sight and a loud crash was heard.

Quick Fix gasped and started galloping after them, hoping that Galsthan was already a steady enough flier to not have killed himself.

As she hurried along, she noticed there were many blast marks along the way. Had the Princess been trying to shoot him down?? This only caused her to fret more, so she hastened her pace to the point of causing exhaustion.

She didn’t get far before needing to stop for a rest.

Panting heavily, Quick Fix leaned against a tree for support so she would not collapse. “Ah didn’t see THAT one comin,” a familiar voice spoke, not directed to her. Quick Fix looked up and saw Applejack, who was apparently watching everything as well. “Shoot, Ah wond’r if he landed in th’ field. Better go an’ tell Big Macintosh.” She turned to leave and took off in a quick gallop, her Stetson nearly falling off. Now regaining her breath, Quick Fix rushed out into a field of apple trees to find Galsthan. If what she could guess was correct, then he crashed out here somewhere, and it would likely be up to her to find him first.

Unfortunately, her body argued against her. After having finished all of her rearrangements, she went to find Galsthan, and heard reports of the Princess still trying to find him, so she’d been up all night in the search. Her body told her she’d had enough, so she toppled over and fell asleep right then and there.

Princess Celestia was quite furious. For starters, Galsthan hadn’t gone with her as he said he would, but instead had been absent from his duties for quite some time. The Princess herself couldn’t say she was innocent of such things, but she justified her absence with the presence of Princess Luna, who was filling in for her while she was away. Galsthan had no such stand-in.

There was a lot to do. Adding another Alicorn to the system would be difficult enough, but now she had to chase him, too? It was downright enraging. She’d even dispatched several squads of her finest guards to find him, but they all failed in catching him.

When she did spot him, she didn’t exactly ask kindly for him to accompany her. She took immediate action against him, which is described earlier in this chapter. She’d attempted to down him through many means already, even resorting to magic, but now it would seem that she no longer needed to pursue him, as he’d managed to crash anyhow.

With a victorious grin on her face, she landed next to the unconscious Galsthan and the felled tree that he crashed into. She picked him up with her magic carefully this time as to not trigger his defensive systems, then pointed her horn skyward. In a blink of yellow light, both Alicorns vanished.

Chapter 12: Royal pains.

Friday, April 17th.
9:12 A.M.
Canterlot Royal Castle.

Well, that escalated quickly.

This was the first thought in Galsthan’s mind as he awoke. His head was pounding, his wings hurt, his left shoulder felt like it was on fire, and he couldn’t see straight.

So, like a moron, he tried to stand.

WHUMP! was the sound of an Alicorn connecting with the floor. The cold, stony floor.

Wait. A lone thought echoed through Galsthan’s head as became aware of his surroundings.

This isn’t where I wa- oh shoot. Realization struck him as he applied a hoof to his forehead.

“Ah, you’re awake.” A warm voice confirmed his fears.

Welcome to punishment town, he thought sarcastically to himself as he tried to regain his hoofing, Population, me.

“You were out for some time.” the clearly feminine voice spoke. Galsthan’s vision began to clear as he looked up and at the source of the voice. Princess Celestia was sitting before him, but he wasn’t exactly a happy camper. In his eyes, Princess Celestia was now his foe. She tried to blast him out of the sky, had kidnapped him, tried to keep him from his one true love, and kept trying to force work onto him. That’s messed up.

If he were Princess Celestia, he’d see it differently, but he wasn’t the Princess, so he took an aggressive standpoint against her.

Scowling, he stood slowly, gaining his balance as he attempted to look the Princess in the eye.

He fell again, suddenly having a searing pain ripple through his entire front left leg. His head had a reunion with the floor, but it was not a happy one. His teeth clacked together and his head rattled for a moment, but he did not try to stand again.
Another wave of pain coursed through his body. He lifted his head and gritted his teeth, trying not to scream.

“So… let me” don’t scream “get this straight… I crash after you” don’t scream “try to shoot me down, now I’m injured and” don’t scream “can’t stand right, so you just lay me down” don’t scream! The pain intensified as Galsthan attempted to get into a sitting position. He failed and toppled left, but rolled onto his stomach. “nngh… on the floor, and don’t get me any medical attention?” He looked up at the Princess with a mix of anger and unbearable pain portrayed across his face. By this point, his hooves began shaking with how severe the pain had started to feel.

Then, as quickly as it began, the pain halted.

The Princess’ horn was aglow with its usual golden tint, which had also enveloped Galsthan. Shortly thereafter, the glow faded, and Galsthan felt the pain no more. “What in th-“

“Healing spell.” Princess Celestia cut off Galsthan as he began with impatience in her voice, “Now you’re all healthy. Since you’re healthy, we have royal duties to catch up on.” Her horn lit up and a small scroll appeared before her, which she levitated to Galsthan.

Galsthan stood, testing his leg for any misfires, but he found quickly that the pain had subsided for good. He would have turned to start spewing foul language at the Princess, but two things stopped him. One, simple logic and reasoning told him it would not be wise to anger an already miffed Princess. Two, a scroll was now hovering in front of his face, which he took into his hooves and unfurled.

It was a list.

A very long list.

A very very long list.

A very very long list of chores.

Oh joy, Galsthan thought to himself, rolling his eyes, she takes me away from work to do more work. Sure is fun being royalty.

“You'd be wise to get started. I don’t have the time to stay and babysit you, so just do what the list says.” Princess Celestia said with a huff. She stood and walked swiftly from the room, leaving Galsthan by himself with the list.

Might as well, seeing as I won’t be leaving soon, Galsthan thought, noticing two royal guards in the room.

Quick Fix awoke with a start. A stallion beside her jumped back in shock with a bag of bits in his mouth. As her vision cleared of weariness, she saw the mysterious stallion galloping away. She briefly wondered why, before noticing her saddlebags were significantly lighter.

In a panic, she quickly checked her saddlebags and confirmed her suspicions. Thief! rang out in her mind as she scrambled to her hooves to pursue the bandit.

She took off as quickly as she could in pursuit of the thief, who had caught on to her plan and had accelerated to unbelievable speeds. She couldn’t keep up with the stallion, but someone else could.

A crimson streak tore from the sky and shot towards the thief as swift as lightning, then made impact with a shattering WHAM!!

The thief, taken by surprise, was hurled across the way and into a nearby tree. He crumpled to the ground exhaustedly, and a red Pegasus mare trotted up to him with a victorious smirk on her face. She turned and bucked him square in the chin, which put him out faster than Quick Fix could blink.

“THAT’S what you get for stealing from me.” The Pegasus said, turning her nose up with a “hmph!” She then proceeded to reach into the stallion’s saddlebags and produced a blue bag, which she placed on her back. She noticed Quick Fix walking up to the stallion, to which she responded, “Stole from you too, huh? Some ponies just don’t learn.” She swayed her head back and forth disappointedly before turning and taking to the skies in a flurry of wind. Quick Fix held up a hoof to protect her eyes, and when the wind cleared reclaimed her sack of bits.

She tucked the money safely away in her saddlebags once more, then let loose a sigh. She didn’t remember what she was doing the night before, but something vaguely about Galsthan floated through her head, to which she suddenly remembered she was looking for the crash site.

She figured that, by now, the Princess would have found him first, but she walked by Sweet Apple Acres just to be sure.

“This suit itches."

“My apologies, sir.”

“and stop calling me ‘sir.’”

“My mistake, sire.”

“Ugh.”

Galsthan hung his head in frustration, to which the Tailor responded by pushing it back into place. “I need you to remain absolutely still or the suit won’t be the correct proportions.” he said, levitating a piece of blue fabric over Galsthan’s left hind leg.

“Is this going to be much longer? I’d much rather be doing anything else right about now…” Galsthan said with a dissatisfied tone.

“It will not be long, sir.” the Tailor responded.

“I said to stop calling me sir.” Galsthan shot the Tailor a look that only a certain yellow-and-pink Pegasus could rival.
The Tailor looked away swiftly, not wanting to look in those mismatched eyes. “My apologies, m’lord. Now please, hold still.”

Seriously? Galsthan thought to himself, rolling his eyes and managing to stay in place. “Is this going to be a constant thing with you?” Galsthan asked almost rhetorically.

“But of course, m’lord. I am to address all royalty with the utmost formality, as it is only just.” the Tailor replied, taking various measurements with several measuring tapes.

“You don’t have to do that ALL the time, y’know.” Galsthan said, looking down at the Tailor.

The Tailor was easily half his height, with a strong – yet refined – looking build with a sky-blue coat and a slicked-back tree brown mane. His tail also appeared to be slicked, which gave him a very upper-class sort of look. His cutie mark was a needle pulling a thread, which explained why he was a Tailor anyhow. He had a very simple appearance on his face, however, which made Galsthan question where he had come from. Silently, of course, lest he should inspire him to talk more.

Several measurements and sewn pieces of cloth later, and Galsthan was standing in a teal business suit that complimented his brown coat nicely. The Tailor then took a brush and started to brush at Galsthan’s hooves, which began shedding a layer of thick ash and soot. A golden color shone from under the blackness, to which the Tailor was quite surprised. “Highly unusual, that.” he said without direction, brushing away more of the black and revealing Galsthan’s golden hooves. He marveled at them for a moment before Galsthan cleared his throat, drawing the Tailor’s attention immediately to his face. “Oh, my sincerest apologies, sire, I was simply admiring your spectacular hoof color.”

“Well, stop that. I seriously want to get this list out of the way so I can leave.” Galsthan said with a snort, which drew a frightened look on the Tailor’s face.

“O-of course, your highness! Your suit is finished s-so you may depart now!” the Tailor hid his face from Galsthan and ran to a door on the other side of the room, which he quickly darted through and slammed behind him.

Whoops. Getting a little too mean here, Galsthan thought with a slight cringe of guilt. He set all his hooves on the floor and found an exit into a main hallway, so he pulled out the list the Princess had tasked him with and set off to accomplish it.

“Let’s see, next task… Royal Court?? How am I supposed to know anything about that?” he stared at the paper in shock.

He hardly knew anything about the law system in Ponyville, so he certainly wasn’t going to know anything about it here! However, with a reluctant sigh, he turned to make his way to the courtroom… as soon as he stopped for directions.

Chapter 13: There and back then there again.

Friday, April 17th.
Canterlot Royal Court.
7:26 P.M.

Uuuuuuugggghhhhh... Galsthan thought to himself, resisting slamming his head on the desk until he was met by the sweet embrace of unconsciousness. Anything is better than this... he thought to himself as another official-looking pony walked into the room.

This is so booorriiiiinnnng... he groaned inwardly.

For several hours now, he had been forced to sit by the Princess for daytime court, which he wasn’t finding all that fun or intriguing.

For several hours he was forced to sit and listen, letting Ponies from all corners of Equestria come in and make claims, state problems and suggest resolutions. He would occasionally be asked for input, but he was quite often stuck for an answer and the Princess would step in to cover for him.

Sure, he appreciated that, but he wasn’t sure why he’d been asked to participate in Royal Court anyhow. To start, he hardly knew anything about Royal Court anyhow. Many of the problems presented would have required a professional viewpoint on the subject of the matter, but he mostly knew very little of the topic at-hoof.

There were, however, a few times when Galsthan knew just what to say.

In example, a Zebra had walked in earlier in the day and requested that a supply convoy be redirected to travel through a settlement that their kind had set up. It was far away from the normal supply routes that branched out across the land, and redirecting the supply route that they suggested could prove problematic towards two other nearby towns.
They didn’t have enough supplies daily to run any more than one convoy, so it was up to Galsthan to create a solution.
He thought long and hard, but an idea formed in his head.

“Why don’t we just bend the route so it passes by each town?” he suggested, looking to the Princess for approval. He, himself, thought it was a good idea, but he felt compelled to be sure that it was alright with the Princess first, seeing as it was her decision to make anyhow.

The Princess smiled wide for the first time Galsthan had seen. She turned to the Zebra and stated that the supply route would be changed so it could pass by their settlement, then a piece of parchment burst into existence in front of her, accompanied by a quill. She hovered it over to Galsthan who, taking the quill with his mouth, signed where he was directed. The Princess, slightly confused, scrawled out a few notes and signed it with levitation, then had the Zebra sign the paper. Shortly thereafter, it seemed to explode out of existence. Galsthan didn’t know it at the time, but that paper was teleported to the director of the supply convoys so the route could be changed.

Satisfied, the Zebra departed, leaving the next in line to state their issues.

Needless to say, that had been the highlight of Galsthan’s day.

Well, at least we’ve had breaks for food and intermissions now and again, Galsthan thought, trying to brighten his mood.

Several law proposals, many demands, and one pony even had to be ‘escorted’ out by a group of guards. Other than that, it had been very boring. As previously stated, Galsthan had very little input on the topics being discussed, so he was quite excited when the Princess made an announcement towards evening.

“Royal Day Court is now adjourned. My Sister, Princess Luna, will be holding Night Court within the span of a few hours. Any questions and issues may be directed to her.” She gave a slight nod to a couple of the guards in the room, whom then ushered out the remaining ponies in line and directed them to where the Night Court would be held.

Seeing that everypony had departed, save for himself and Princess Celestia, he let out an exasperated sigh and dropped his head to the desk in front of him. A loud thud! echoed through the room briefly, before Princess Celestia said, “Day Court is over, Gald- er, Galsthan. You may leave and resume your task list. If you grow weary, ask for a guard to escort you to your quarters. For now, I must resign to my own as to get rest for tomorrow. Good night, Galsthan.” she said, almost hurriedly. On that note, the Princess rose and casually walked out of the room.

Head still connected to the desk, Galsthan got himself up and started to leave, but a few questions plagued his mind.

For starters, The Princess sure sounded like she was in a hurry. I know going to bed is relaxing, but what could be so important? As he walked, he remembered he wasn’t done with that extensive list of ‘chores’ that the Princess had so ‘kindly’ given to him, of which she had just reminded him moments ago to resume.

“Dang.” he said aloud, snagging the list out of the saddlebags that he had thrown on when the royal tailor wasn’t looking. With some difficulty, he managed to cross off ‘Royal Court’ from the list... only to see that it was scheduled again three tasks later.

“What?! Night Court too? Are you kidding?!” he shouted angrily at the piece of paper. Had that paper been able to speak, I’m sure it would’ve apologized.

With a frustrated groan, Galsthan looked over the next item on the list. I might as well get these out of the way first, he thought, making note of the next item.

“Private meeting with the Archivist. What’s an Archivist?” he asked aloud to nopony in particular, but he got a response anyhow.

“I am an Archivist.” a voice sprang up behind him, the tone clearly belonging to an elderly pony.

Galsthan freaked out anyway. There were good reasons for this, at least, seeing as he had been alone moments before. Out of nowhere, this elderly pony shows up behind him, not a sound or warning to his name, and he starts talking. Galsthan didn’t even know the Archivist existed until that point, so it was at least understandable that he flipped out.

After picking himself up off the floor, Galsthan turned around to an elderly pony brandishing a smile. He felt embarrassed for a moment, then angry, then curious. He felt embarrassed because, here he was in Canterlot Castle, he was supposed to be royalty, and he’d just made a fool of himself. He was angry because he swore the old pony did that on purpose, and curious because he briefly wondered how the Archivist had snuck up on him so easily.

I’d be angry too, if I let an old-timer get the best of me.

“So, you’re the Archivist, whatever that means?” he asked, quickly shifting the subject.

“That I am.” the aged pony responded, “My name is Lore Scroll. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, we’ve a meeting to get to with the Princess.”

Looking over Lore Scroll, Galsthan noticed a few things. First off, Lore’s disheveled gray mane, tail and baggy gray fur made him look very dull. Lore even had gray eyes, which made Galsthan question just how much fun the older pony’d ever had. His analyzation was interrupted as Lore called out, “Well, are you coming or what?”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Galsthan said, mentally face-hoofing for forgetting his task near immediately.

It’s going to be a long night, he thought to himself, just a hint of sarcasm floating through his head.

Quick Fix hadn’t done much in the time that had passed. She had gotten some food from a local restaurant, searched around a little more, managed to get everything necessary rearranged and rescheduled, then bought a ticket for the train to Canterlot.

Sure, that may sound like a lot, but it certainly wasn’t for the time it had been spread over.

Also, just in case you’re wondering, she found only little scraps of evidence of Galsthan’s presence. In particular, she found a lot of hoof-shaped prints in the ground surrounded by soot. I swear, that stallion never cleans his hooves. She thought to herself with an exasperated sigh as she found herself at the train station. The prints hadn’t led here, but they had led in this direction. They seemed to just stop at a certain point, as though Galsthan had taken to the air or disappeared altogether. This puzzled her for a moment, but she put it aside for now. She was going to Canterlot right now, and that was her focus.

Without hesitation, she boarded the train as it arrived. She picked a nice seat in a semi-crowded passenger car, then sighed heavily.

Things were becoming really complicated again, and she didn’t like it when her relationships ended up complicated.

This had happened once before. It was with a nice Pegasus named Thunderlane, and things had become complicated quite quickly. Before they could be resolved, the two of them broke up and went their separate ways.

Just thinking about this sprung stinging memories in Quick Fix’s mind, but she shook them away. That was not her focus right now, so she would give it no attention.

As the train ride went on, there were fewer passengers in the passenger car that Quick Fix was occupying. Some went to other cars, whether for new seating or for dining or sleeping, and some had gotten off the train at a few stops.

Eventually, she found herself alone.

Deciding it would be a good idea to get something to eat, Quick Fix rose from her seat, only to be tripped by a mysterious hoof that seemed to come from nowhere.

Quick Fix angrily rose to confront the offending pony, but found nopony in the passenger car. She hadn’t heard a door open or close, so she knew the pony must’ve been around somewhere.

She checked the luggage racks, under the seats, and even outside the windows, but found no such pony. Shrugging, she left for the dining area to get something to eat.

A voice, seeming to echo from nowhere, spoke as Quick Fix left, “Soon…”

Chapter 9: There and back again.

It’s safe to say that Quick Fix was overjoyed last time we saw her and Galsthan.

Really, who wouldn’t be super excited to learn that the love of your life was safe, and then have them ask you to marry them?

I know I sure would, and I know for a fact that Quick Fix and Galsthan were about to be very happy… or at least, they planned that they would be happy.

First thing’s always first: Quick Fix and Galsthan needed to plan their wedding. Details such as the time and date, the catering, entertainment, someone to legally wed them, the attire, and so much more needed planning!

There was so much scheduling to do, and then there was the cost! With some of the things they were planning to do, it would cost every bit and penny they had and then some, which meant a lot of extra work hours, but it was all worth it to them to have their dream day come true.

While Galsthan got to work on hiring someone for their special day, Quick Fix headed down to Sweet Apple Acres to visit an orange mare and talk about food. Not just any food, of course, but an entire buffet that would be served on their special day.

It would be costly, of course, but Quick Fix had a special reserved fund. Sure, it wasn’t meant for this situation… in fact, it was meant to fund her Grandmother’s hip replacement surgery, but that’d gotten paid for a long time ago by an unnamed donor, which left the fund unused. Now that there was a purpose for it, Quick Fix couldn’t be happier.

Quick Fix was the kind of pony to find a use for a part, regardless if it was a spare part or just simply leftovers from something. If it went unused, she would find a way to make it useful. That’s exactly what she did with the emergency fund.

On her way to the farm, Quick Fix noticed that everything just seemed… brighter. Things smelled better, the sun seemed to shine brighter, and everypony seemed happier. Maybe everypony already heard about the wedding? Quick Fix thought briefly, before continuing on her merry way.

As she walked, she pulled a list from her saddlebags and looked it over. It was a list of the items she was going to order from the Apple family. The list included Apple Cobbler, Apple Pie, some Apples themselves, Apple Juice, and Jam. They sure like their Apples, Quick Fix thought. She looked further down the list, remembering that she also wrote down what else she needed to buy. The list went on for a bit, including things from Sugar Cube Corner, a few stalls in the market, and a couple of hand-picked items.

“Today’s gonna be a long day… but it’ll be worth it.” she said with a short sigh, continuing onwards.

Galsthan was just as busy as Quick Fix. First, he needed to arrange the date and make invitations. He wasn’t completely sure ALL of whom he would send them to, but it would be nice to make them and get them out of the way.

Being a blacksmith, of course, gave him fun ways to make and send the invitations in the first place.

It was only minutes of walking until his eyes locked onto his old blacksmithing shop. It’d been awhile since he’d been in there last, but it hadn’t been nearly long enough for him to forget anything about it.

He trotted inside and immediately located his goggles, which were on the floor, in the exact place he’d left them last time. He picked them up with one hoof and strapped them over his eyes, stating, “Let’s get down to business.”

Clank! reverberated the hammer, violently pressing metal into shape.

Fssss! hissed the press, molding sheets of iron into something more.

Kzzzzt! shrieked the saw, cutting steel, reshaping it into what it would soon be.

Heh, thought Galsthan, feels good to be back.

Fwoom! asserted the furnace, molding into shape what would soon be a finished product.

Zhht! expressed the sand paper, finalizing the newly created project.

Galsthan wiped the sweat from his brow with a hoof, before taking a short step back from his work table to see the fruits of his labor.

What he had created was several small, thin metal sheets with invitations printed on the surface. The invitations, 40 in all, stated when and where the wedding was going to take place, who was getting married, and what attire should be worn at the wedding. It wasn’t too formal a wedding, but it was at least formal enough to be considered a bit fancy.

Galsthan stared in admiration for a moment at what these would soon represent, which was the joining of him and his beloved Quick Fix. After staring at the metal invites for a few moments longer, he started to gather them and place them in a pair of saddlebags on a desk to his left. He stopped for a moment, reaching for another, when something came to mind. He still had his horn, so… why not try to use it? After all, if you leave something unused for a long time, it may eventually become unusable.

Galsthan concentrated on one of the invites in front of him. He strained for a moment, before being unable to lift the invite. He removed the bandage he ordinarily kept around his broken horn and tried again, his horn igniting with a sickly green glow. The aura enveloping his horn stuttered for a moment and a few sparks shot out, but he quickly regained stability. A bead of sweat dripped down his face as the invitation was surrounded by the same green, then it slowly began to lift into the air. Clear strain was displayed on Galsthan’s face, even though it was such a light object to him ordinarily. As he hovered it over to his saddlebags, he realized he’d been holding his breath the entire time, and released it in one loud breath. He lost his grip on the invite and it fell to the floor, clattering for a moment before coming to a rest. Galsthan looked down disappointedly at the invite. Well, looks like I have improvements to work on, he thought to himself as he picked it up with his mouth and placed it in his saddlebags. He put his saddlebags on after placing all of the metal sheets into it, then heard a familiar bell chime at the entrance to his shop.

I wonder who that could be? he wondered to himself, approaching the counter. On the other side was a familiar orange mare in a Stetson. He frowned for a moment, attempting to remember where he had seen this pony before, until he remembered that this was that orange mare from the farm he checked. She spoke up, “Hey there, mah plow broke clean in two earlier, an’ we’re lookin’ fer a replacement. Got anythin’ like that?”

Galsthan thought for a moment, completely forgetting about the invitations, going over in his head how much metal it would take to make a manual plow, weighing the prices, thinking how to make it efficient, before he said, “Okay.” He then turned towards his drawing table and started to walk to it, saying, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll have the price worked out.” He pulled out a blank piece of paper and a pencil, then began drawing schematics for the plow, not even remembering the store was closed.

When Quick Fix arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, she was surprised to not see Applejack there. Regardless, she found somepony to take her requests. She paid the large red stallion, nearly exhausting her money, but at least the food was ordered. She, of course, let them know when and where it would be happening, and when they should be there to set up.

Upon leaving Sweet Apple Acres, she pulled out a pen and her list, then crossed off ‘Main Dishes’ from the list, before moving on to the next item. She needed to go to Sugar Cube corner and order some sweets, so she placed the list and pen back in her saddlebags and headed off towards Sugar Cube Corner.

Galsthan had finished up the schematic for the new plow. It was going to be made of a strong galvanized steel which, although expensive, was incredibly durable. It would also have easy pushing handles and a body strap, in case you either wanted to push or pull it. To finalize the design, he curved the actual plow itself, causing it to come to a very sharp point, which would make it cut through the dirt easier.

He looked over the finished plan before turning around and heading to his machines.

Kzzzzt! spun the Saw, cutting the metal into shape.

Thoom! roared the press, bending metal to its liking.

Fwoom! hollered the furnace, tempering the metal.

Wham! hammered the, well, hammer, molding and refining the metal.

Ding! chimed the bell, announcing an arrival.

Every time, thought Galsthan, turning from his work once more, walking back to the counter in the manner he knew all too well. He looked at the pony that had entered with slight annoyance, until he recognized it as Princess Celestia. How had he not known she would show up?

He bowed immediately and said, “Sorry, your highness, I didn’t know you were coming here today.” He righted himself to see that the princess also seemed annoyed. “You’ve been gone too long,” she started, almost seeming to scowl, “and I have a schedule to keep. You’re coming to Canterlot immediately, with or without Quick Fix. Royal duties can only wait so long.”

Galsthan’s mouth was agape. The wedding wasn’t planned to happen for another three days or so, and here was Princess Celestia, telling him he had to leave now! What would he do? What could he do? He could tell Quick Fix, but that would break her heart. So close, yet so far? I don’t think so.

Then it finally hit Galsthan.

Why not just move the wedding to Canterlot?

Meanwhile, at Sugar Cube Corner…

A pink pony had been assaulting Quick Fix’s ears for the past several minutes. She swore they were bleeding with how much the pink nuisance was rambling on and on about pointless and irrelevant topics. She would ask for her to stop, but that would be very rude, so she merely ordered some sweets for the party, then gave the Cakes instructions on where and when they should bring the desserts. She left as quickly as possible to avoid more run-ins with that pink word-cannon.

Next up on the list w-… Quick Fix stopped for a moment, thinking she heard someone calling her name. She glanced around, looking up and down the streets, until she noticed Galsthan galloping towards her. He came to an abrupt stop just a few hooves away from her and caught his breath for a moment before saying, “Quick Fix! Glad I found you. The Princess wants me back in Canterlot NOW! We’ll need to get everything arranged to be there instead, and fast. I don’t think I can keep her delayed much longer, so just go tell the ponies that you’ve already arranged with to move it to Canterlot, and we’ll sort out the details from there.” Without waiting for a response, Galsthan turned and fled.

Quick Fix sighed heavily. Why does everything have to be so complicated?