Two weeks had passed since Hearth’s Warming and Gerhardt and his team of construction golems had just finished working on Ice Town. It had taken a bit longer then he originally estimated specifically because Princess Cadance had sent him a letter the day after Hearth’s Warming requesting that he also instal electrical systems and plumbing into each building. He also had to make a heated water storage system so Ice Town would have liquid water, a powerful electrical generator so the entire town could have power, and a sewage disposal system. So instead of costing thirty thousand it actually ended up costing about three hundred and fifty thousand in total, which was still extremely cheap for an entire town all things considered. After all, just a single building would usually cost around one hundred thousand bits or so, let alone an entire town’s worth of buildings of differing sizes and designs. Though Gerhardt was unaware of this fact.

Obviously he had to install all of the wiring, the plumbing, the town’s heated water storage system, and the sewage disposal system before beginning the process of turning all of the ice into diamond. Ice was far easier to break through and work with than diamond and could be repaired afterwards simply by shoving some packed snow into the broken areas then turning said snow into ice.

Oddly enough, after he and his construction golems finished all of that and Gerhardt had finally begun the process of turning all of the ice into opaque diamond ponies almost immediately started moving furniture into the few buildings Gerhardt had finished and started installing appliances such as lights, sinks, showers, toilets, electrical heaters, electrical stoves, and refrigerators. Apparently Cadance and Shining Armor had done a very good job advertising the place considering Ponies had already started moving in. So by the time Gerhardt had completely finished turning all of the ice into diamond, Ice Town was already a fairly well inhabited and established town.

While he was doing this, the construction golems he had building his ship for him had finally completed it. Thus he was able to remotely fly it into orbit and deploy both the satellite for the cellphone towers as well as the first orbital cannon in preparation for war with the Changelings.

He had officially decided on a telekinetic cannon as it could effectively turn a single tungsten rod enchanted to reduce drag and wind resistance into a WMD just by launching it at a high enough velocity, which would save him all of the time, effort, and resources involved in building actual bombs. Even better, the yield of the resulting impact explosion could be reduced or increased as needed merely by calibrating the telekinetic cannon to fire the rod at higher or lower velocities. Furthermore he could coat them in an extremely thin layer of the same metallic ceramic that made up Pixel’s power armor in order to prevent it from burning up in the atmosphere due to the extremely high speeds it could attain from being launched from the cannon. He honestly didn’t need anything more advanced than that considering how primitive the Changelings were, though he would make more advanced orbital cannons in the future regardless.

While he was doing all of this, Isabelle went into the Everfree Forest and started trying to befriend the nature spirits that resided there, as was tradition for the elven half of her family. She quickly learned that it was not multiple but only a single nature spirit named “Natura” that inhabited the forest, and that she was bound by something. After coming by every evening for about a week to commune with her, Natura led Isabelle to the Kingdom of the Deer who resided in the Everfree and coexisted with nature, much like the Elves. Isabelle very quickly befriended the Deer due to the similarities between their culture and the culture of the Elves.

Apparently ever since Natura managed to loosen her restraints enough to be able to communicate, she had begun talking to the Deer, who had already begun trying to assist in freeing her. So when Natura eventually trusted Isabelle enough to request her help as well, King Aspen also requested her assistance since the deer’s biological magic was limited so they could only do so much to help on their own and they didn’t dare ask any unicorns for help as Natura absolutely loathed the ponies.

This left Isabelle with quite the dilemma. On the one hand, not only did she consider Natura a friend but her half elven heritage demanded that she assist the spirit of nature. On the other hand, she knew full well that if she helped Natura she would be inadvertently damning Equestria to destruction and the ponies to extinction. Then again Natura breaking free of her chains seemed all but inevitable and from a certain perspective the ponies would absolutely deserve everything that was going to happen to them. In the end she was at a loss as to what to do, so she requested some time to think about her decision.

Meanwhile, Pixel was hanging out and playing with her friends in Ponyville. However, as she was playing with her friends, she was starting to notice all of the happy families around Ponyville. Ones that involved one or more foals and both a father and a mother. She was happy for all of them, of course, but the more she thought about it the more she started to want a mother. Yes, she was fine with only having a father, but she knew she would be even happier with a mother.

So she thought and thought about what to do since she knew Gerhardt would never seek out a wife on his own. Eventually she came up with the idea that if he wouldn’t try to find a wife on his own, maybe she could try to find someone suitable for him. But who?

Isabelle was the only one in the world that looked like them, but while she seemed to like Pixel she didn’t really seem to like Gerhardt all that much. In fact, Pixel got the feeling she actively disliked Gerhardt. She obviously didn’t hate him, but from the conversations Pixel had with her she didn’t seem to think very highly of him either. Similarly Gerhardt seemed mostly indifferent towards her, though that wasn’t saying much as he seemed indifferent towards pretty much everyone.

Twilight at the very least shared some interests with him and Pixel, namely magic and technology. However, Gerhardt didn’t seem to like her very much. He seemed to find her annoying and merely seemed to tolerate her presence more than anything. At least in most circumstances. There were times he didn’t seem to care whether she was there or not, specifically whenever she didn’t bring up anything even tangentially related to friendship, but that was about the friendliest he ever was towards her. Anything more than that was unlikely.

He and Rarity seemed to get along well enough! Though, Pixel didn’t think their personalities matched very well for anything like a romantic relationship. Friendship, maybe if Gerhardt could loosen up a bit and be a bit more sociable. Romance? Definitely not.

No one else in Ponyville seemed like they had even a remote chance of forming any sort of romantic relationship with him, let alone marrying him. So Pixel was at a loss. She needed help.

She considered enlisting the help of the Cutiemark Crusaders, however she very quickly thought better of it. Anything they were involved in was sure to lead to disaster. Overclocking her brain so she could think more in a shorter period of time, she spent a solid thirty minutes trying to solve this conundrum. Eventually she remembered something. Princess Cadance was supposed to be the “Princess of Love” so if anyone could help Pixel find someone suitable for Gerhardt, it would be her!

As soon as the idea came to her, Pixel rushed home and began writing a letter to Princess Cadance. She would have just called her but there were no cell phone towers in the Crystal Empire just yet, though Gerhardt was working on it, and neither Cadance nor Shining Armor had phones yet. Thus sending a letter was her best and only option. She received a reply a few hours later telling her to come to the Crystal Empire to speak with Cadance tomorrow at noon.

So Pixel waited very patiently until the next day, then exactly at noon she teleported herself to the throne room of the castle in the Crystal Empire. There she found Princess Cadance waiting for her.

“Hi, Pixel! You’re certainly punctual. Well, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Cadance greeted, giving Pixel a friendly smile.

“Hi, Princess! I certainly try! Anyways, you’re the Princess of Love right? Well I wanted to ask for your help!” Pixel explained, returning the smile.

Cadance reeled back in surprise for a moment before her smile grew even wider and more excited. “Oh? Is there a cute colt in Ponyville you like?” Cadance inquired.

“Hm? Me? I like everyone! Though, um… probably not in the way you mean. No, I would like you to help me find a wife for daddy! I tried doing it on my own, but I can’t really think of anyone that would work very well… Miss Isabelle is the closest to us in appearance, but she dislikes daddy. She thinks poorly of him. So she wouldn’t work. Miss Twilight seems to be fine with him and she shares some interests with daddy and I, however I think daddy finds her annoying and doesn’t like her very much. Mainly due to the whole “friendship lessons” thing. I also thought of Rarity since they seem to get along pretty well, but I don’t think their personalities are a very good fit for one another. They might make good friends if daddy was willing to be a bit more sociable but romance? Absolutely not. So I was hoping you might have some ideas.” Pixel explained.

Princess Cadance gave her a curious look. “I see. I don’t mind trying to help out, but what brought this about if you don’t mind me asking?”

Pixel looked down at her feet and began tapping the tips of her index fingers together in embarrassment. “Um… Well… I sort of want a mommy… Not that I have any problem with living alone with daddy! I don’t mind at all! I just think daddy and I would both be even happier if he was married…”

“Aw… That’s adorable! Alright, I’ll do my best to help but I can’t guarantee anything. You have to realize that, ultimately, the decision is up to Gerhardt and whoever we try to hook him up with. We can’t force them to love each other. That’s just not how it works. Love has to form naturally between two ponies. Unfortunately, in this case it will be especially difficult due to Gerhardt’s personality and the fact that since Isabelle is apparently out of the question we would have to try to hook him up with a pony. Interspecies relationships aren’t exactly unheard of but they do come with their own set of challenges. Also, you and Gerhardt are immortal. That means you two would outlive any normal pony we tried to pair him with, so that’s also a problem… One I’m all too familiar with…” Princess Cadance told Pixel. She then trailed off as she considered everything she just said.

“Hm… Well the whole immortality thing has two possible solutions. One, he can use whatever technology he used to make himself immortal to make his wife immortal too, assuming we can convince him to fall in love. I might actually ask for his help with that in a few years or so myself. The other option would be to try to hook him up with somepony who’s already immortal. But there’s only two other ponies in Equestria who are immortal. Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna…” Cadance’s eyes widened as she had an idea. “Pixel, I know exactly what we should do!”

“Celestia or Luna?” Pixel inquired, thinking she already knew what Cadance had in mind.

“Well, judging by how they acted during dinner on Hearth’s Warming, I think Celestia would be the better option. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see Auntie Luna find a special somepony too, but she seems to treat Gerhardt more professionally like he’s a foreign ambassador of a closely allied kingdom or something. So it would be a lot harder to get her to see him as anything more than that. Celestia, however, seems to treat him like an actual friend. So I honestly think she would be the better choice.” Cadance explained.

Pixel nodded. “That makes sense! Oh… But wouldn’t that be bad politically? I know it’s silly, but I know that’s something daddy would be worried about. I mean, while I suppose he would be the closest thing to nobility in the Human Kingdom, he's definitely not nobility here in Equestria and even worse he’s not even a pony. Wouldn’t that cause a lot of problems?”

Cadance sighed and rolled her eyes. “Ponies will be upset if either Auntie Celestia or Auntie Luna get into a relationship with anypony. I mean Ponies got upset when I married Shiny, so it’s sort of unavoidable. Yes, more will get upset since he’s not a pony but his ability to use magic like a unicorn, his obvious intelligence, and wealth as the owner of a rapidly growing completely automated company make up for him not being a noble. Plus, like you said, he was effectively nobility in his own kingdom so that actually works in his favor as well. In fact, as a story to the public it could even be spun as a “political” marriage so Equestria could gain access to even more advanced technology from him than what he’s currently willing to sell, since it’s pretty obvious that he definitely isn’t selling his most advanced technology. And with how much his technology has been changing Equestria for the better, the nobles wouldn’t be able to complain as much. Especially since some of them or their families have already bought and received augmentations from him.”

Pixel nodded in understanding. “Okay… I guess that all makes sense. So how do we convince them to go on a date? I’m sure daddy would say no if I just asked him to.”

Cadance shook her head. “I actually have a plan for that.” She then proceeded to explain her plan to Pixel in detail. The two of them would then spend the next couple of days setting everything up for it.

[In Canterlot a few days later]

“Cadance, it’s good to see you! To what do I owe the visit?” Celestia inquired.

Cadance smiled at Celestia and said, “Well… I’ve set you up with a blind date!”

Celestia’s eyes widened in response. “Er… Forgive me, I believe I must have misheard you. Did you just say a blind date?”

Cadance nodded. “You didn’t mishear me, that’s exactly what I said! Don’t worry, you and I both know the stallion in question so I can vouch for his character.”

Celestia gave Cadance an incredulous look. “I guessed that much. I trust you in that regard, but that’s not the problem! Cadance, I’m immortal. I’ll outlive anypony I try to be with. That’s the exact reason I tried to discourage your relationship with Shining Armor at first, even though I obviously accept it now. I didn’t want you to have to experience the heartbreak of outliving your husband, which is inevitable for us. Furthermore, consider the political and social implications! No, I’m sorry but this is a terrible idea!”

Cadance rolled her eyes. “Oh please… Shiny and I already have a solution in mind for the whole immortality thing. You and auntie Luna can both use the exact same solution so neither of you have to outlive your lovers any more. You already know exactly what I’m talking about. And I have already considered the implications and I know it will be fine. I even have ideas in mind to further mitigate any political outcry in the event that this actually goes anywhere. And that’s if this even goes anywhere. Just trust me and give him a chance. It’s just one date, I promise. I’m not trying to force you to fall in love or get married or anything of the sort, I’m just trying to give you a situation in which you have the opportunity to do so naturally. So what happens after the date is completely up to you and him.”

Celestia’s expression suddenly became very nervous. “I… I’ve never done anything like this before… I don’t know the first thing about dating… Sweet Harmony, I’m going to make such a fool of myself! Cadance, I… I can’t do this!”

Cadance chuckled and shook her head, “You worry too much, auntie. Just relax and you’ll be fine! I know the first time you ever go on a date can be nerve racking, but once you get into it I promise it won't be as hard as you think. Your date is this weekend, so you have plenty of time to prepare!”

[Meanwhile in Ponyville]

“Daddy!” Pixel exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him in a big hug a few moments after he teleported back home from a business trip to Baltimare.

“Ah, hello dear.” Gerhardt said, patting Pixel on the head.

“Daddy, Princess Cadance and I set up a meeting for you with someone really special!” Pixel informed him happily, intentionally withholding the fact that this “meeting” was a blind date since she was worried he would refuse.

Gerhardt gave her a confused look. “What? Why? Who is it and what is this meeting about?”

Pixel shook her head, still smiling at him. “It’s a surprise! You'll see this weekend. That’s when the meeting will take place. Just be sure to wear your formal uniform!”

Gerhardt sighed and shook his head. “Fine… I would rather know what this is about beforehand, but I trust you more than anyone else in this world. Except perhaps for Isabelle, but that much is obvious since we were both soldiers and leaders who fought to defend the Human Kingdom. Regardless, I’ll try to adjust some things on my schedule to make time for this meeting.”

“Yay! Thank you daddy!” Pixel cheered happily, very excited about this date she and Cadance setup for him.

[That weekend]

Having just finished lowering the sun for sunset, Celestia was pacing back and forth in her throne room feeling very nervous about her blind date that evening. She had tried her best to mentally prepare herself as much as possible for tonight, but she still didn’t feel even remotely ready for this.

Suddenly Cadance teleported into the throne room with a huge grin on her face. “Alright, Auntie, it’s time! Everything is all set up for your date!” She then levitated a small sheet of paper over to Celestia. “Here’s your schedule for the evening. The times aren’t really set in stone, just think of them more as guidelines. And remember, don’t stress too much and above all else, try to just have fun and enjoy yourself. After all, that’s what a date is all about! Enjoying yourselves and getting to know one another better.”

Celestia took the piece of paper from Cadance with telekinesis. She then took a deep breath and slowly released it in an attempt to calm herself down. “Alright. I can do this… I can do this… So, where am I supposed to meet this stallion and how am I supposed to recognize him?”

“You’ll be meeting him next to the train station here in Canterlot. And don’t worry about recognizing him, let’s just say he really stands out. Though just so you’re aware he’ll be wearing black clothes and he should be the only one there.” Cadance explained.

“Alright, I guess I’ll be going then… Wish me luck.” Celestia muttered before teleporting to the train station.

As all of this was happening in Canterlot, Gerhardt had just finished changing into his formal uniform and walked down stairs where Pixel was waiting for him. “Well… I suppose I'm as ready as I could possibly be without knowing what this meeting is about beforehand.“

“Alright! Good luck, daddy! Try to have fun!” Pixel said happily, giving him a goodbye hug.

He raised an eyebrow curiously. “Fun…? Right… Well, I’ll be back sometime later tonight, I suppose.” He then teleported himself to the train station and stepped through the portal arch to the train station in Canterlot. Moments later he saw Celestia appear nearby in a flash of golden light, which certainly surprised him since she was probably close to the last person he had been expecting to meet with that evening.

Celestia looked around for a moment before spotting him. She reeled back, clearly just as surprised if not even more so than he was. “G-Gerhardt?! You’re my blind date?!” Celestia exclaimed.

Gerhardt gave her a confused look. “Blind date…? Pixel told me this was supposed to be a meeting… Oh… So that’s why she didn’t want to tell me the nature of this so-called “meeting.” I see…” He sighed and face palmed. “You have my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you, Princess. Had I known…”

Celestia shook her head. “It’s fine, Gerhardt. Apparently this was a collaboration between Cadance and Pixel, so it’s definitely not your fault. Besides, while this isn’t exactly what I was expecting for a blind date I honestly don’t mind. You’re far from the worst stallion I’ve ever met. So, while I honestly don’t expect anything to truly come of this, how about we go on this date anyways? Just as friends of course. From what I understand the two of them put a lot of work and effort into setting everything up for us, and it would be a shame to see all of that go to waste. Besides, I will admit, I am very curious as to what they have planned for this evening.”

Gerhardt thought about it for a moment before sighing again. “I can not believe I’m doing this… Perhaps Isabelle’s therapy sessions are having a larger impact on me than I thought… Fine. I am literally in two places at once right now since I’m remotely controlling my old body so I suppose since I’m still getting work done, I can spare a few hours for this. Especially if Pixel has put as much effort into this as you suggest. Besides, I’m sure if I just returned home right this instant Pixel would be extremely disappointed. So, I’m assuming that paper floating next to you is a schedule of some sort.”

Celestia nodded and looked at the schedule. “Indeed it is. The first thing on the list is… Oh! That’s simple enough. We just go for a walk until nightfall. It doesn’t list anywhere specific. Hm… Oh! I know! How about we start by taking a walk through Ice Town now that it’s up and running? I haven’t had the chance to go back there since Hearth’s Warming and I am curious to see what it looks like now that it’s actually inhabited.”

Gerhardt shrugged. “As you wish.” He then teleported them to the front gate of Ice Town.

Just like the grassy area surrounding the actual city-state of the Crystal Empire the ground beneath them was actually made of dirt rather than ice and snow. This was due to the barrier generator Gerhardt had installed in the statue in the middle of the town that protected the town from the weather. However, unlike the Crystal Empire it was still quite cold inside the barrier as while the barrier did hold in some heat its primary function was to protect the city from the snow. The buildings had fireplaces and electric heating systems for a reason.

The front gate and the wall itself which had previously been almost perfectly clear were now completely opaque and were a pure white color. There were also electric lights installed on the wall on either side of the entrance, lighting up most of the front wall and making the opaque diamond glitter brilliantly. Finally there was a paved path that was also made of the same opaque diamond leading straight into the town. It was textured to simulate a finer form of asphalt from Gerhardt’s world. He would have made it a bit more coarse but the ponies mainly used carts and solid diamond that was as coarse as regular asphalt would have chewed up and worn out the wooden wheels of any carts they may use at an inconveniently fast rate. Assuming they ever used any carts at all considering how much snow they would have to drag the carts through to get to the town in the first place.

“I don’t know what you were expecting, but here it is.” Gerhardt said, motioning to the town.

Celestia nodded and proceeded to start walking towards the entrance. Gerhardt followed after her.

Inside the walls of the town streetlights similar to those from Gerhardt’s world lined the streets, illuminating everything as the light of day began to fade. Smoke was billowing out of many chimneys, clearly having fires inside. Even though the sun was setting, there were still a few ponies wandering the glittering diamond streets and sidewalks. All of them were wearing warm clothes as extra protection from the cold beyond what their fur was naturally capable of providing. Many were justifiably surprised to see Celestia walking through the town, though they were significantly less surprised to see Gerhardt.

“It’s even more beautiful than when it was all only made from ice.” Celestia stated, looking around.

“Thank you, I suppose. That really wasn’t my intention when I designed this place, but if you say so.” Gerhardt said.

“You're welcome! So, how is your research into achieving divinity going? Have you made much progress?” Celestia inquired as they walked.

“It’s going about as well as it can without being present to study a pony turning into a demigod as it happens. So I am making progress, but it’s slow. Slower than I would like considering the fact I do have a time limit, though I haven’t the faintest idea what that time limit truly is.” Gerhardt explained. He intentionally left out the fact that his experiments cost the lives of dozens of cloned rats and even resulted in a few of their souls being destroyed when he tried to forcibly alter them after they were already fully formed. He knew there were laws in Equestria about animal cruelty, and he was sure what he was doing to those clones fell under that category.

Celestia frowned slightly. “I see… Well, that’s a shame.”

“Indeed it is… How are things in the political sphere? I’m afraid I don’t bother trying to keep up with the news.” Gerhardt inquired, struggling to think of anything to discuss. Politics was just the first thing that came to his mind as that was one of the few things he knew the best.

“Oh, well fear of the Changelings is starting to wane ever since we made that peace treaty a few months ago. Queen Chrysalis seems to be getting very impatient about those love generators you’re developing for her but I’m trying my best to keep her calm until you finish developing them. Oh, and I believe a few other countries may be starting to take notice of the technology you’re selling. Other than that it’s pretty much just business as usual.”

Gerhardt frowned and clenched his fists slightly upon hearing Queen Chrysalis was growing impatient. To him that meant she was likely to try to kidnap Pixel soon and hold her hostage in an attempt to force him to work faster. In his mind that merely justified his preparation for war. “Interesting…” He muttered.

Celestia noticed how he reacted and gave him a concerned look. “Gerhardt, is something wrong?”

Gerhardt shook his head. “No.”

Sensing that he didn’t want to tell her, Celestia decided to change the topic. “Alright, I won’t pry... I’ll admit, I am a bit curious about your world. Would you mind telling me a bit about its history?”

Gerhardt sighed. “Most of human history is filled with blood and war, let alone the history of the entire world. Furthermore, I’m not exactly a historian. Most of my knowledge of history comes from my personal experiences over the past 893 years. And all that I do know would take hours if not days to tell in full, and that is by no means an exaggeration. Still I suppose I can try to tell you what I know in as brief a fashion as possible, just know that a lot of details will be left out.”

He then proceeded to give Celestia a very brief overview of his world’s history. This took about an hour due to him trying to keep it as short as possible. By the time he was finished, the sun had gone down completely and the moon had started to rise.

“Wow… You weren’t joking… Your world really seems to love war.” Celestia said when it was over.

“Not really. There are a few species that do, but most prefer peace. It’s just that war is unavoidable as a result of many factors and has become extremely prevalent as a result. There’s a reason spirits of war are some of the most powerful in my world.” Gerhardt explained.

“Well, that was a very interesting discussion and a nice walk, but it has gotten dark so I suppose it’s time we move on to the next thing on the list.” Celestia said, before teleporting the list to herself. Looking at it she then looked at the time on her phone. “Ah, next on our list is to go watch a play at the theater in Ponyville. According to this note here, Cadance and Pixel rented out the entire theater for us.” Her horn was then surrounded by a golden aura for a moment as she teleported the two of them back to Ponyville. “So do you know where this theater is?”

Gerhardt nodded. “I believe so, yes.” He then teleported them to the Ponyville Theater. Walking up to the door he proceeded to hold it open for Celestia, knowing such a gesture was supposed to be polite. “After you.” He stated.

Celestia smiled at him and walked inside. Once she was inside, Gerhardt followed after her. The two of them found seats in the middle of the front row and sat down. It took about three minutes before the play started. Unsurprisingly, given the context of their “date”, it turned out to be a romance story. The play lasted two and a half hours. When it was over Celestia stomped her forehooves in approval, in the closest approximation to clapping that ponies could get. Gerhardt also decided to clap just to be polite.

As the two of them walked out of the theater Celestia asked, “Ah, I’ve always enjoyed that play. It’s a classic! What did you think, Gerhardt?”

Gerhardt shrugged. “It was… interesting? I honestly have no idea. I’m afraid I didn’t understand it in the least. I mean, I understood everything that was happening and why but I believe much of the nuance was lost on me due to my lack of understanding of social dynamics, let alone concepts such as romance. So I’m afraid I’m unable to form much of an opinion on it. Still, I suppose it provided some interesting insight into pony culture.”

Celestia nodded in understanding. “Fair enough. That makes sense considering how you spent the vast majority of your life. Still, I’m glad you found it interesting at the very least. So the next thing on our list is… A nice candle lit picnic under the stars in the pink tree field near Ponyville. Apparently it’s all already set up and waiting for us.”

“Very well.” Gerhardt stated before teleporting them to the Pink Tree field. It took them a few minutes of walking but they eventually found a table with a lit candle on top along with a picnic basket. Two chairs sat on either side of the table. Furthermore, there appeared to be a unicorn musician of some sort, sitting there waiting for them.

The two of them sat down in the chairs and the unicorn musician immediately began playing their violin. Celestia opened the picnic basket and was surprised to pull out a bottle of rather expensive wine and a single wine glass. “Oh! Well, this is nice. I haven’t had any of this in quite a while.” She then took the plate of food out of the basket and set it down in front of her before pouring herself a glass of wine. A few moments later fireworks shot up into the sky off in the distance and exploded in the air.

Surprised by the sudden explosion, Gerhardt raised a defensive barrier around him and Celestia, thinking Ponyville was under attack. Getting up fast enough that he knocked his chair to the ground, he drew his teleportation pistol and looked in the direction he heard the explosion. He then saw the fireworks.

“Gerhardt, relax! Everything’s fine. It’s just fireworks.” Celestia said in a wary tone.

Gerhardt put his pistol back in its holster under his robes, let the barrier fall, and set his chair back upright with telekinesis before sitting back down. “My apologies, princess. That just caught me off guard and in my experience the sounds of explosions usually means there's either an attack or a battle going on.”

“It’s fine, I understand. I’m sure if I went through all that you have in your world, I would have reacted the same. Still, just try to relax and enjoy the show.” She said, motioning back towards the fireworks.

The two of them watched the fireworks for a few minutes before they saw the stars starting to change until they formed a giant stylized heart shape in the sky. Seeing that, Celestia burst out laughing. When she finally calmed down enough to talk she said, “Sweet harmony, they even got Luna in on it! Ha ha ha ha… Oh, that’s hilarious! Well, they most certainly put quite a bit of effort into all of this.”

“So it would appear.” Gerhardt stated impassively.

The two of them continued talking for a while until Celestia finished her dinner and the fireworks had finished. When the fireworks were finally over Celestia got up out of her chair and said, “Well, I should be getting back to the castle. I need to go to bed soon. Still, this was quite fun! We should do this again sometime. As friends, of course. Despite Cadance and Pixel’s best efforts I don’t really feel anything more than that towards you. I’m sure you don’t either.”

“You are correct. I do not. As for doing this again, we shall see. I’m genuinely surprised I agreed to this even once. So who knows? Perhaps I’ll be willing to agree to it again some time in the future.” Gerhardt said, also getting up out of his chair.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Celestia said with a smile before teleporting back to Canterlot, bringing the bottle of wine with her.

Gerhardt then teleported himself back home where Pixel was waiting for him. “Hi, daddy! So, how did it go?” Pixel inquired.

“Well, we didn’t develop any romantic feelings towards each other if that’s what you’re asking.” Gerhardt stated.

“Oh…” Pixel muttered in disappointment, looking down at the ground.

Gerhardt walked over to her and kneeled down in front of her. “Honestly, I don’t know what you were expecting. Why did you even set all of this up to begin with?”

“Um… I sort of wanted a mommy… I thought if you were married, we would both be happier…” Pixel muttered.

Gerhardt sighed and wrapped her in a hug. “Pixel…” He wanted to say more but he honestly didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t exactly a situation he was prepared to deal with.

[Later that week]

As soon as Isabelle got off work, she immediately headed into the Everfree Forest. She had spent enough time thinking and it was time she finally came to a decision.

After walking deeper into the forest she said, “Natura, I’ve come to a decision.”

“Oh? And what have you decided, young Isabelle?” The disembodied voice of Natura inquired.

“I’ve decided…” Isabelle paused and took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. “I’ve decided I’ll help you. Though once you're free I do have one request, and I know you’re not going to like it… I wouldn’t either in your situation.”

“What is this request?” Natura asked curiously.

“When you're free, I won’t try to stop you from getting revenge on the ponies for their enslavement of you. However, all I ask is that you don’t completely exterminate them. Leave just enough of them alive to rebuild their species and give those survivors a chance to repent for their crimes against you. Give them a chance to coexist with you without trying to control you. Though if they squander that chance… Well, what you decide to do from there is entirely up to you. Though I understand if you refuse my request and I will respect your decision either way.” Isabelle stated, placing a bottle of whisky at the base of a tree as a gift to Natura.

“Hm…” Natura’s voice hummed in disapproval. “You’re right. I don’t like it… Still… I suppose I may grant your request. I am angry for being enslaved, but I am not completely cruel or unreasonable. I will give the survivors one chance and one chance only. If they betray me again after that, I will not hesitate to eradicate them.”

Isabelle nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it. In my experience the ponies genuinely aren’t intentionally malicious, they’re just ignorant of your existence. So they deserve a chance to redeem themselves. Now, what can I do to help you get free?”

Author's Note

A big thank you to Rikithemonk! He or she (I'm sorry, I genuinely don't know) was kind enough to give me several ideas for filler chapters and this was one of those ideas! I'll probably be using a few of the other ideas he or she provided me in the near future, so I'll be sure to give credit where credit is due.

Anyways, Isabelle decided to help Natura! That's not entirely unexpected, to be honest, but hey! She also worked out an agreement to save the ponies from extinction so that's a good thing! We'll just have to see what impact this has later on in the story.

Fun fact: Many spirits in Gerhardt's world like alcohol to some degree. Same with the Fae. So generally speaking alcohol is usually a good gift if you're trying to get on a spirit or Fae's good side. Unless they're one of the kinds that don't like alcohol, in which case trying to give it to them is effectively the same as giving a person with zero interest in rocks or geology a random rock you found laying on the ground and calling it a gift.

Anyways, as always, constructive criticism is more than welcome. Please, tell me what you guys thought of this chapter and how you think I could improve if at all. I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much if not more than I enjoyed writing it!

Stay safe out there everyone!