Author's Note

A long awaited chapter finally comes out. The next one will take us to Filthy Rich and that job he offered our protagonist, afterwards, finally the festival will take place.

Sorry for all errors, I hope you can point them out and criticize my work with honesty, so that I can become better.

Please have in mind that things in the official book written by John Helfers was read by me, I'll use it as a reference to many things. Green text means that the following part is true about Ardania and can be found in the book.

10: What it's like to be Filthy Rich? [2]

Meeting Filthy Rich was a nice change. A job as an alibi to tour Equestria, especially the capital, while forging a relationship with a local bourgeois was manna from heaven. After a short stroll through the city and a nice tour of the countryside, he made his way to the castle around nine pm or so, as planned.

The unpleasant surprise after breakfast was that the reward for his help had to be frozen for formal reasons. What kind? He was not a citizen of Equestria, which is legally sanctioned through various certificates and documents. His ambition to introduce such office prints granting citizenship in Ardania was already implemented in Equestria, which was another sticking point for his impetuous curiosity about the country. There was also the problem of not having a place where he could store said money.

These, however, were not forfeited. They were ready and located in the bank, quite conveniently as well because they were in Canterlot.

All he had to do was earn citizenship. Being unfamiliar with the Equestrian law, he had no clue how to do that, but luckily for him, Twilight and two other mares were already working on that; Rarity and Applejack.

Rarity. A mare taller than Twilight by half a head. A unicorn with smooth and shiny purple long hair, heavily curled at the very ends. Her face was similar to Twilight's in appearance, differences include that it was more elongated and took on an obscure boxy shape.

She had a white coat, full and equal pair of breasts, the way she looked at him and at everything around made it look like she had blue doe-eyes. Her humanoid silhouette was decently attractive, instinct had the propriety to focus his attention on her due to that quality.

Her eyebrows were full and feminine, maybe it was a little too general but it reflected the truth adequately. She used lipstick matching the color of her mane. Her hands were small, her fingers thin and miniscule. She was predisposed to crafts or medicine. It wasn’t a surprise she had her own boutique in Ponyville.

Her companion, Applejack, was blonde, with a bright orange coat. Invocating a subtle emotional response comparable to infirmity, persuasive green eyes rested on her sunny face. Build wise, her face was akin in shape to Twiligh’s, only skinnier and as a consequence, more defined. She had broader shoulders and back then most mares, with far larger hands then the two mares standing in the room. Her arms also were bulkier but not too much.

Her humanoid body was, well…Maybe let's start from a different angle, as the verdict was very troubling too phrase justly. The simplicity that beamed from her enticed the struggle even more. She wasn’t repellent or vice versa, she was simply saying…Pretty in that department, like a soft refreshing breeze on a hot day. The lack of distinguishing features (apart from her eyes) rivaled with Rarity. Some hypothetical law was knocking on the doors of reason to believe this was a rule for all men of all species. The Great Mage, it's worth adding, was judging them with bias, they were ponies, and ponies were animals in Ardania, and even when these were sentient and colorful, he still felt uneasy.

Rarity was dressed in an elegant outfit that consisted of a shirt tucked into a paneled skirt. Applejack wore a shirt tucked in as well, but she wore pants made from the material he yet has to get the name of, that Apple Bloom's overalls were made of.

“Through the intercession of myself and Applejack and Rarity” She pointed with her hand at the mares standing as witnesses “We present you this consent form, that if you sign, will make you a citizen of Equestria”

Twilight shifted the page towards him using her magic, an aura characteristic of the color of her magic surrounded the document, which as soon as it landed in front of him disappeared. The quill was delivered by Spike, who was to his left, looking at him with a wide friendly smile.

Four names were displayed on the document; he knew all of them, the mare missing among the three mares was Rainbow Dash.

There were various "personal details" on the document. Place of birth was filled in with x's, same with date of birth. Mother and father's name, country/place of origin, etc.

"Just out of curiosity, Rainbow Dash is listed here, and she's not present today. Is there a reason for that?"

Without hesitation, he took the quill in his hand, dipped it in the inkwell as Applejack preceded Twilight and answered his question.

"Rainbow Dash has been busy with, well, the weather for a long time; she's been spending her time attending wonderbolt training sessions."

He finished with leaving his signature and looked at her. The answer was quite strange and made him confused, which could easily be read from his face.

“I don’t understand”

“You probably don’t know” said Rarity, Arcane Shine nodded in agreement “Rainbow Dash is a member of the Wonderbolts, who if necessary, take care of extreme weather abnormalities. ”

“Dark clouds began to come from the east.”

Twilight began to jump from one person to the other with her distressed stare.

“I assume this is something that bothered the Wonderbolts for some time now.”

“BUT!” Twilight snatched the document from Arcane Shine as she drawled “We don't have to worry about that, Rainbow Dash will manage together with the Wonderbolts to delay any disruption that might spoil the festival”

Applejack and Rarity stood up, since they did it, he did it too. Twilight took a step forward and shook his hand.

"Congratulations, you are a citizen of Equestria."

"If that's the case, why do I have to fill anything else out tonight?"

"This document is proof of your acceptance of Equestrian citizenship, but you need to fill out other documentation, we need to fill out the information that you saw was marked with x’s."

Rarity was next in line, just as Twilight did, she too shook his hand and looked into his eyes. When it was time for a good word, she suddenly drew closer and enveloped him with her arms, hugging him. Her steady tone softened. Her heart was pounding hard, her warmth was heating him up. The perfume she had was wonderful, addictive from the first sniff, with its subtle sweetness and hint of tartness. The scent was deliciously vivid, and given the proximity of her body, the gesture had potential to be interpreted as a form of innocent romantic teasing.

"Thank you, thank you for being there at that moment!" Her eyes began to tear up and her voice was closer to stuttering than speaking.

Applejack did not stand idly by, she hugged Arcane Shine tighter then Rarity and in a hurry and with tears in her eyes. He found himself surrounded by two mares, one had her arms around his neck, with her face buried in his chest. The other, embraced him across, hanging her arms around him. She placed the bottom of her face in such a way that she could look up and stare into his eyes; so that he could see her two imperial jades, her eyes.

"If we can give you more..." Applejack quietly choked out.

Rarity and Applejack slowly moved off, wiping away tears. Twilight watched with particular attention to how her friends were acting. To her, the Cutie Marks Crusaders were like nieces, so she felt the urge to go so far as to thank him so boldly herself, especially when Spike - practically her brother - could have died or suffered on that day.

"Zecora was there too, they would have escaped, I just bought more time."

Spike felt disharmony seeing Rarity hugging Arcane Shine, he envied him. But the power of that greed was miserable by necessity, Spike understood and knew that it had no second layer. We can accuse him of immaturity, but let's be honest, this feeling is always there; when a mother kisses her son, his wife gets jealous too; when a husband sees his wife greeting her friends, he feels anxious. This emotion may be as big as a grain of sand, but one bacterium can also multiply.

"Zecora would manage to do it, it's not fair to praise me that much." Apparent humility wins a lot.

Applejack and Rarity stepped away after those words. Rarity rubbed her eyes, ruffling her fur with makeup while Applejack caught her breath. Twilight with her magic summoned the tissues that flew in from the left.

“Thank you, Darling” Rarity spoke for both of them.

" We will thank Zecora too, we have known her a long time so we will prepare something special." Twilight explained as Rarity nearly burst out crying again.

Their conversation broke for a moment of silence, but Applejack broke it by addressing Arcane Shine petulantly "You will always be welcome at the Farm... Granny Smith wants to meet you. So does my brother."

Humility can win many. Vanity like warm air in a balloon enlarges the one who is proud. Examples of humility are like medals, but under medals, under the weight of iron, one can fall. There needs to be a platform on which the medals hang, and how else to get it than through vanity?

“With great pleasure. If it's not a problem, can I perhaps stay there a little longer?" He suggested

Twilight and Rarity looked at him curiously, Twilight being the only one looking remotely morbid. Spike raised an eyebrow upon hearing his words. Applejack consented without second thoughts, knowing well what he meant.

"I don't see anything against it" She turned to Twilight pronouncing the phrase, visibly searching for approval.

Twilight frowned because of that subtle kicker, she was not opposed to it as some would assume. Her nature instead demanded an answer: why? Did he not like it here? Did he feel uncomfortable? The castle is indeed not the most comfy place, most would feel flattered, but most does not mean everyone...A stern sinking vortex of emotion appeared in her chest, parallel with her rational mind begging to get an answer swiftly.

She had provided him with a place to stay, and rewarded him because that was the right thing to do for unsolicited help. What was behind this decision? Considering he was from outside of Equestria, maybe he wasn't comfortable. After all, the core problem of most newcomers is that they take much time and effort trying to settle in. He did, to be frank, say he'll venture on some day in the near future, so this can't be traced to that.

Maybe she unreasonably pays more attention to this decision then she should? It isn’t a huge deal. She has a festival to worry about! She has to get back on track rather than step aside and follow lines of thinking directly involving her guest. He was an interesting creature, it had to be said out loud, she wanted to know more about him as common sense dictated the craving.

Spike remained silent, although you’d expect him to comment on that. The dragon was indifferent, he did feel a little down as he saw Arcane Shine to be a friend that maybe will end up in the same place as he will in the future, giving them a chance to meet again some day. With Arcane Shine on the farm, there’s less of a chance they’ll converse or do something together, because their contact will require one coming to the other. There’s also the festival too.

" Me too. " Before she could finish, Arcane Shine interrupted her. "We can even do it later today, I have practically nothing as my humble belongings fell into the water."

Rarity and Applejack had been informed of this by Twilight, and him bringing it up forced them to come out with an offer to help once again. Twilight couldn't provide him with anything more, and as if she did, it would be over the top. Rarity had a boutique and could sew him comfortable clothes to his liking. Applejack had a farm, plenty of space and distance from the city were must-haves for a sorcerer of his scale. Not to mention he would finally be able to eat well.

The Great Mage also didn't want to stay in the castle and feel confined by rules that the castle imposed. He can do whatever he wants on the farm and borrow books from the library without any problem from Twilight.

“Well, I’ll tell the maid to give you some matching clothes of your choosing. It was nice having you for these two days” Twilight chirped.

"Can we call you by name?" Rarity asked, eloquently with her hand pointing at Applejack, this time in a normal voice.

He gave an affirmative nod. “What's the chance she's just flamboyant with her manners?”

She suddenly beamed after a short gasp of realization "Arcane Shine, you absolutely must visit Canterlot during the Festival of Friendship!"

Spike joined her "Definitely! Before you go any further, you must see the capital during the festival, almost everypony from every corner of Equestria will come "

"Besides, we'd love to hear a little about your travels at the festival. Right now, we don't have much time, as we are in the preparation phase." Applejack stated and crossed her arms.

Resigned, knowing he'd have to put some stories together, he sighed and agreed with a fake smile on his face.

"So be it."

Cheerful smiles spread on the faces of the mares and the young dragon. The Great Mage started to plan ahead, thinking if he should or should not tell them of the job proposal he got. For the time being he saw no point in doing it. Now that he has a direct proposal, he has a strong reason to reject Filthy Rich’s offer, but that isn’t going to happen as he already stated. Contacts are valuable.

“Cheer up, I see that you’re the quiet type, you’ll find a neat place at the festival as well.” Applejacked teased as she knocked on his arm, looking at him with her head tilted to the side.

“And, while at it. You’ll have to come to my boutique tomorrow. I may find something just for you. “ She put her hand on her chin, inspecting him closer. “There will be no time after tomorrow, as we will be going to Canterlot to make the final cuts. Twilight has been going there daily for…How long?”

The Princess of Friendship was bamboozled by the question, and she lost count, but Twilight is Twilight, she quickly added up the days in her head

“About three weeks.” She then changed her tone and expressed her annoyance “There’s no need for formal attire Rarity. We talked about it.”

“I know darling, I had something more casual in mind, but still elegant. It will suit him, don’t you think?” She stood askew beside her to match her level.

Warmth went through Twilight starting from her chest to the rest of her body in reaction to Rarity's question. Her mind, only recently free, was once again stuck in the shoals called Arcane Shine. She abstained from answering, but her imagination had managed to do its work, so the answer was known only to her.

“Sorry about that, designing and seeing clothes on others is her passion, she sometimes talks openly like that. '' Applejack half whispered to Arcane Shine.

“Just wait for the moment when you’ll have to stand for three hours so that she can take her measurements.” Spike walked up to the two, tired of standing there in the background being quiet.

“No, it's fine, at least she’s honest about what she's thinking. ” He lied. He disliked Rarity talking about him that way while he stood not much apart from her. He felt as if he was a child.

Rarity and Twilight overhard that, and a sinister smirk creeped its way on their faces. Applejacks cheeks became redder as she noticed their gazes on her.

“I can’t argue with that” Her head turned the other way, to swivel back and lock up with Arcane Shine’s own.

The route to her estate wasn’t long. He did spend half an hour choosing out his things, which would be delivered to him from the castle later that evening. Twilight instructed him to come back tomorrow morning or later in the evening to pick up the rest of the paperwork to be filled out. As Rarity said goodbye, she still urged him to stop by for a little while that same day to eat cake and talk, as Sweetie Belle would like to see him too. The tone of voice and the thirsty-looking eyes might have hinted otherwise, but her body and her movements were passive. He agreed.

"Papers tomorrow."

The monarch statute in Equestria was an aberration from an Ardanian's point of view. The princess was friends with a kulak, and a talented tailor. Who saw that coming? He didn't spurn that fact, sticking to simple people himself he held respect before this kind of monarchy. The atom of knowledge he had so far acquired about Equestria encouraged him to acquire more.

The same attitude characterized the young adult mare Applejack, walking beside him, leading him to her family farm. Known in the area, she drew attention to herself, but the ponies did not bow they saw her. The elements of harmony responded affirmatively that they did not wish such treatment. Twilight was an exception. The people of Ponyville respected this, but seeing the foreigner, on toop of that a Stallion, it was a sin not to peek given that he was walking with Applejack.

Applejack was curious about the things in the world that Arcane Shine witnessed. She was extremely eager to talk to him. A traveler who happened to save her sister? That was an event that would go down in family history. She wasn't like Spike when she had saved him from the great TimberWolf, under no circumstances could what he had done push her into doing bizzare things. Either way, she felt the weight of a debt to repay.

Arcane Shine himself seemed intelligent to her, though his decision to directly openly confront Treeman would indicate otherwise. The courage he had shown had a strong backbone, to save her sister and friends, so was there even a crumb of right in calling what he did stupid?

He was quiet, not seeming introverted, but his image made it clear that he was still sort of thoughtful. She was interested in his background, she had never seen an Equin like this before, unless he isn't one. Admittedly a biologist she is not, but she will know her own.

Her mind was just filled with his image. Her eyes that stuck to him registered every characteristic of his looks. Applejack shamefully whispered to her heart "He is handsome" Her heart palpitated when she heard those words.

Her adamant stare was cut short by the realization that she may summon his attention to her. She wanted to talk, but after the confession she had made to herself she became skittish. She sviveled her head back, her cheeks didn't fortunately turn red, and she took a deep package of air into her lungs to start a conversation. If not for a rogue stone in the road they walked.

She stumbled and lost her balance, she would not fall, as she made a good recovery. Arcane Shine noticed the situation anyway, being next to her naturally wanted to help. That was what the circumstances dictated. As the orange apple stood safely and stepped further, she noticed his hand on her shoulder and another that was ready to catch her where needed for assistance.

"That was close," He commented.

Applejack nodded, her hat having settled more on her forehead and now covered a part of her face. Oh Celestia.

"Thanks," She said firmly. Applejack mumbled something after a moment of silence "Do you like it in Ponyville?

He smoothly answered "It's nice here. It is quiet, quite a bit of land this city occupies, which makes the roads not too narrow " He enumerated

"It's not always peaceful here. We're lucky that nothing has happened in the last couple of days."

"I wouldn't suspect a town like this of anything more than temporary interruptions to the harmony that exists here, where the worst thing could be some kind of fire, or a serial killer at most."

"Oh you'd be surprised" She chuckled, her mind free of what happened "A normal day, could mean anything. "

“Are you serious?”

“Yep”

“If life is so extreme here, then why is Ponyville so big? Does it lay on gold or diamonds?“

“We do have some caves filled with gems nearby to be honest” The Great Mage looked at her with honest curiosity in response.

“Is this the only reason? There’s a lot of ponies in the town, the mines must be quite abundant.”

"No, not just because of that. In fact, when it was founded, not much was even known about them, except for the occasional findings that tempted various investors to send expeditions."

He mused "Mines filled with gemstones...I can only imagine the profit"

Applejack let out a dry laugh "Yeah...If they were used"

"The mines are not functioning?"

"They've been abandoned."

His eyebrows tightened and a grimace of surprise twisted his face at what he was hearing: "That doesn't make sense. Why would you ignore that source of income? "

"It wasn't the Ponies who built them."

"Then who?"

"If you're from outside Equestria, or just far away, you've probably never heard of the Diamond Dogs, right?"

"No."

"I'm not good at explaining things like that." - She scratched her head - "Twilight would do better, but they're basically a race that, well, lives in the mountains and underground."

The Great Mage perked an ear. Such a race had never been seen in Ardania. Not many books from other worlds, such as the native elven world, had ever reached Ardania, so there was still hope that perhaps this was some minor race.

"And you didn't take over what was left untouched?

"In a way the diamond-dogs are in crisis, these mines are their colony and territory as it were."

From that point on, common sense alone explained everything. A major political incident would occur if a city near the capital took over an important economic location from another country.

"They are within your borders?"

Applejack knew that these subjects she should have an understanding of, but she couldn't answer that question, which made her nervous. "As I said, Twilight would be the best to discuss this with you, but, to answer your question, yes."

Unable to continue this thread, he laconically started a new one. He guessed that Diamond Dogs and Equestria had some sort of agreement that keeps the pony state from trying and annexing such areas. "What else is so special here? Besides this forest, which seems to cause more problems than good. "

"The Everfree Forest is bearable, it used to be worse." She waved her hand to furthermore underline the forest's diminishing power "Ponyville is a point where some pretty serious traders sometimes pass through. They hook up in Ponyville and sell a few of their items and move on, in exchange for a few items from Canterlot that are brought here, as long as it's not where the merchants are headed."

"All right, but what was the reason for starting this town?"

"Granny Smith will be able to tell you about it like nopony."

When they were on the final straight path, the land belonging to the Apple family appeared to his eyes. They approached with a nimble step. They passed under the garden archway, shrouded in leaves.

Applejack's farm was of considerable size. Its orchard spilled out reaching almost to the nearby hills. She had four chicken coops, one was built of unpainted boards. The rest, like her house, were painted red.

Her house was quite large, well-kept, and looked new. The window sills, shutters, steps and simple porch were all painted white. It was apparent that she was not a tenant farmer and was a rich peasant, if not even a degraded noblewoman...Noblemare.

The barn at the back of the house, to which the path leads, was too painted red, with details painted white. The house, barn and chicken coops had ornaments applied to them in black paint, in the style of long stalks with occasional leaves or flowers, wrapping at the very end into some shape, such as a heart.

Nearby was an animal enclosure, at the entrance to the left after passing the garden archway was a well. Beyond her orchard, there was a field. It was, as he deduced from the color and pictures of a house similar to but not much larger than Applejack's house, a field of carrots. Neighbors.

He stopped analyzing her surroundings when Applebloom opened the door and accidentally slammed it loudly. Applejack looked at her crookedly, but said nothing because there was a visitor with her.

" Applejack is back! She brought Mr. Shine with her!!!"

Applebloom was dressed the same as she was during her encounter with the Treeman, only her Overalls were blue. As she moved forward, a scantily clad, sort of pajama-clad, gray-haired, short and squat mare emerged from the house.

Her face was very wrinkly, her arms and legs were thin and her hooves were raggedy. The color of her coat was the same color as that of green apples, but less saturated. The Great Mage could sense that the mare possessed a great personality, he immediately felt respectful towards the mare.

From the inside a head peaked out. A tall muscular stallion, who just about fitted the door, looked his way. He had green eyes and blond hair like Applejack, but his coat was red. He wore overalls from the same material the Great Mage discovered yesterday that Applebloom had her clothes made from as well. The tall stallion had no shirt on to cover his chest, revealing a well sculptured by hard work physique.The Stallion’s muzzle was long and seemed rounder rather than boxy, however it still possessed its distinguishable lines characteristic for stallions. Stallions looked more equine than mares, as the Great Mage noted.

“Arcane Shine is fine” He said out loud.

Applebloom stopped right before him and started talking “It's good to see you again!”

“Is your leg alright?”

She stomped hard “Yes, it doesn’t hurt or anything like that. I can run as if nothing happened in the first place.”

“ Well then, how about…” He looked around and saw a meadow not so far away from the farm in the distance “... we’ll race one day so that you’ll prove it?”

She frowned, “But you’ll win, you’re bigger than me.” She paused and added shortly after “You’re just as tall as Big Mac I think”

Applejack looked at her guest after what Applebloom said and, well, her sister was right. Arcane Shine will have to watch it for the door frames not to hit his horn.

They walked up to the house and walked up the small stairs. Granny Smith held her hands out, and like a typical grandma, she immediately took Arcane Shine’s hands and began to gently shake them. She joyfully smiled, setting off a small campfire of genuine love in everyone around.

Oh Celestia! If you ever will need a pony to reignite your sun, Granny Smith’s smile is the perfect match!

“Oh!” She yelled out, the corners of her eyes starting to water up “You saved our little Applebloom!”

She threw herself to embrace him. The tall stallion known as Big Mac (only later will the Great Mage find out his name was actually Big Macintosh) joined too, also almost at the verge of crying.

Arcane Shine returned the hug, he noted how the ponies were not trying to hide their emotions and opted for honesty.

The moment lasted for a minute, Applejack just stood by the side, and looked at the scene, jumping with her gaze from him to her family members. Applebloom also fell prey to the wave of emotions present in the air. She was well aware of her situation in the everfree forest, but as intelligent as she was (meaning pretty much slightly above average) considering her age, she didn’ fully yet understand the scale.

“Now, Equestria has two knights in shining armor.” She said after looking him in the eyes.

Was he just put next to some hero? Applejack and her brother seemed more up to date, and it would be a surprise if they weren’t.

“Mighty, enough to defeat a bloody monster.”

“Eeyup!” Sounded the musculine voice of Big Mac

“A true morning star in time of need”

“Eeyup!”

“And you’re a handsome fella If I ever saw one!”

He wanted to laugh. He was aware that he was rather good-looking for a guy, despite the fact that he was different from men who were considered beautiful. That kind of honesty seemed rude to him, but he left it without comment. He noted that Granny seemed untouched by his inequine appearance.

Big Mac hung up in his 'eeyup' looking with big open eyes at Applejack. Applejack intervened that moment, her face flushing with some visible red this time.

"Granny, Arcane Shine would like to stay on our farm for some time." Her voice's tone was higher than before.

Granny's mind went into another mode with Applejack's announcement. She immediately turned taking Arcane Shine by the hand and leading him inside.

"Well, castles and palaces are not my thing." Arcane Shine confessed falsely, ducking in order for his Horn not to get stuck.

Inside, the house was furnished richly for a peasant. The furniture looked sturdy, although time had taken its toll on many of them. The walls looked freshly painted and showed no signs of deterioration. The floor creaked very quietly.

The kitchen was quite small. In peasant homes there was usually also a bed where the parents slept. Applejack's home faithfully reflected her status as a rich peasant. Tablecloths were on almost every surface and they were clean. Paintings hung on the walls, the characters on them were unfamiliar to him but he was sure he would learn a little more about them someday.

The living room looked moderately furnished, a carpet covered most of the floor, but not all of it. The sofas that were available had worn down surfaces. It seemed to him that they had a fireplace, as he walked here and looked at the house from a distance, his certainty was shattered as he had not experienced such a fireplace.

"Would you like something to drink?" Her brother asked.

"Actually, why not."

"Water, juice, maybe cider?"

"Is it with or without alcohol?"

"We have both versions in stock" Applejack sat down on the opposite side.

"Then the alcohol free one."

He was not opposed to drinking alcohol, nor was he opposed to smoking, but he rarely drank, and when he did, it was solidly; he despised smoking, but did not deny it to others. Smoke is smoke, but supposedly it has some medicinal value.

Granny Smith to his right sat down next to him "How about some apple pie?"

Thinking about the upcoming visit by Rarity made him consider what answer he should give, but agreeing to a small portion wouldn't hurt much.

"Only a little bit if it's not a problem."

Granny Smith was about to get up, but Applebloom had already taken it upon herself to comply with Arcane Shine's. decison He almost felt like he was in the capital, where service did this sort of simple thing for him.

Ehh... Time is passing, Ardania is calling for him and he is wasting time on this kind of things. He has to try at least one dispel spell on himself today, if his visit to Rarity is not too long.

The bitterness he almost felt on his tongue towards himself at the thought of time and the way he spends it, much of which he doesn't have, was gouging at his soul with a terrible sense of shame and anger. He frowned, and his gaze grew gloomy staring lifelessly at a single spot on the table.

"What is it like to live outside Equestria?"

Arcane Shine looked towards Applejack who asked the question, almost as if at the snap of her fingers.

"Not very pleasant."

Equestria was a country that honestly looked untouched by war for quite some time. The ponies looked happy, he saw no sign of the poverty and hopelessness as he walked through the town, which unfortunately he sometimes saw on the streets of his own cities.

The goods in the stores were fresh, there was no shortage of anything. The currency they paid with was made of gold. Silver was commonly used to mint coins in Ardania alongside gold. Equestria did not seem to use silver, a testament to its power.

Walking through the city, many were looking at him as if he was unknowable, so he assumed that very few ponies had any idea about life outside of the country. Since the sight of a stranger with his appearance put them in awe, it had to mean that very rarely did anyone from outside Equestria cross into it.

For all intents and purposes, he could insult everything outside Equestria's borders by accusing Terra Icognite of everything he himself knew firsthand was wrong and had not yet seen in Equestria.

"I know that outside of Equestria the situation for the creatures living there is dire, but I don't think it's that bad."

Apple Bloom placed the apple pie in front of him on a white decorated plate along with a pastry fork. Big Mac brought him cider in a mug.

"Thanks."

"Twilight says Equestria should start thinking about sending help to those beyond the borders."

The Great Mage as he took a sip and smiled at her words. The fizzy liquid meanwhile took his taste buds on a date.

“I assume you made it?” He questioned about the drink

“Of course! It's an old family recipe!” Said Granny Smith

“I can certainly feel it” He gave a nod and turned his eyes to Applejack. “ I don’t know Princess Twilight in any way as good as you do, so, if she finds it appropriate, let it be so.”

“Is this sarcasm?” Applejack genuinely asked

The Great Mage was indeed sarcastic. “May she do what she wants, but it will take her seventy years before she will bring these people to the standards you have today.”

“People?”

“Ah!” He realized his mistake, but he didn’t worry. “I had been talking with a guy on my way for some time and he used that phrase all the time. I adopted it with time and it just stuck.” Problem solved

“I guess “people” mean “creatures” in his language?”

“Well, not really. They use it referring only to their own.”

“That’s rude of him if he used it rather then the word ‘creatures’”

Arcane Shine wanted to retort and end the subject, but he stopped, with second thoughts coming onto his initial plan. He will do it differently.

“I don’t find it rude.” He stated simply

“Why?” She pressed

“He used it to refer to all creatures”

Applejack retreated her face as she got confused and as such, she had a double chin for a second.

“What does this change?”

He just performed a gesture with his left hand that was free, asking her the same question by doing that. Big Mac and Granny Smith listened carefully, but both had a thought that it might turn ugly for some reason any moment. Applejack as the element of Friendship wouldn’t let this happen, the fear nevertheless remained.

Nobody expected it, but it was Applebloom who spoke next “So I guess if you see it as a good thing, then you probably don’t see it as an insult” She looked at Applejack “Like you do” and swiveled her head back to the guest “But rather, as a compliment?”

“Your sister is smart.”

Applejack affirmatively nodded but still this didn’t answer her question “ Of course she is, but, why do you find it a compliment?”

“He could have said creatures, but he said people. “

“Yes, and?”

He repeated the hand gesture like before; what in tarnation was happening?

Big Mac didn’t see himself of the clever one, he was mostly the muscle, but he wasn’t stupid, althou he could be perceived to be. He thought and came to a conclusion and it in itself carried the courage for him to speak up.

“Maybe he meant to say that every creature is a person? You know, part of the…You know, his kind? That there is no difference between them and they’re equal”

“Bingo” Said Arcane Shine and took a heavy swig of the cyder “And he treated everyone as if they were part of his kind, and said out loud that every creature was a person” Arcane Shine told them with enthusiasm “But” it left him suddenly and his voice became like before “Not everyone agreed.”

Granny Smith leaned forward and said “Tell us, what did he look like?”

The Great Mage didn’t have the will or motivation to do that “Compared to most creatures, his kind has a ‘flat’ so to say, face. If I could draw well, I’d rather do that than explain, I find it tricky to describe him.”

“Was he ugly?” Applebloom questioned

Applejack shot a quick glance at her sister in reaction. The smaller sister didn’t see it though and continued to look at Arcane Shine.

“No.” He let out a warm chuckle “ I dare say he was born fortunate enough to avoid anyone thinking that way among his own. “

“What’s your home like?” Applejack voiced her thoughts.

This is what he feared the most, and wanted to minimize the amount of time conversing about his background. The book he copied for himself back in Twilight’s castle shed some light on what he technically was.

There was a problem nonetheless. He didn’t perfectly match the description of a Kirin. His family, and…Another factor played a role in this. His family’s original founding figures before becoming nobles were merchants who traded in wheat, cattle and with time expanded to include a few other common edibles and wares.

During the wars of the Great Mages, before the Dremer invasion, after his family split into two branches following one hundred years of steady and slow growth, his family started to matter. The intellectual side was started by two male members who chose to attend the university rather than go along the tradition, they settled in a human city under elven control. They both had wives and children who like them, also studied and became mostly lawyers, but one, who became a medic. The family helped each other, the merchant side as it had contacts almost everywhere gladly sent troubled souls to their relatives, and likewise, the educated relatives with joy helped to win over local officials, by working among them and through legal mumbo-jambo just by mistake make it so that the merchant side had for some reason a better environment to trade.

This influence didn’t go unnoticed and an eleven captain named Aladein who led a squadron of archers, happened to get injured after fighting in a war against Lich the V, and was reassigned to become an intendant. He had made contact with one of Great Mage's long deceased relatives. Jacob, who was known for his unorthodox thinking, wanted to trade in herbs and potions, so he studied for a short period of time among the intelectual branch of the family alchemy and dreamed of building his own private manufactory but never achieved his dream, as the second wave of wars between the Great Mages made the prices of spider web and magic herbs go up.

The second daughter of Jacob, Maria, fell in love with the elf, and the elf returned her feelings. It was hard for her to convince him to try and have a relationship with her, since it would mean he’d have to see her death and himself become mortal after the heartbreak he’d suffer from in the future. She ran away with him, while the elf, Aladein, was casted out of his own family…Maria died in childbirth, giving birth to twins, one of whom was the Great Mage’s grandpa. So, was the third branch born, called by the educated side exalted, and by the merchants cursed.

Aladein’s health deteriorated swiftly after going through a heartbreak so early when his feelings were so strong and fresh, he died when the Great Mage’s grandpa turned twenty five years.

Rest was history, uncomfortable and shameful, but in his blood, there were two other particles that weren’t human. How he came to be is hard to talk about, which is why there are three together. This is why he was curious, what species made up his current body.

He decided already earlier what his approach would be when he was talking with Spike, so he only had to avoid talking about his race so as not to weave complicated lies.

“It’s calm, gray and most of the time it's sunny but the wind can be chilly even in summer.” He took a piece of the applepie, and swallowed it after distributing the sweet food on his tongue. “I don’t miss it really, everyonewas stoic and always deeply hidden in their own thoughts. “

“You kinda reflect it, you know?”

“I am well aware that I fit the description. Thing is, I at least am able to adapt and enjoy everything opposed to that kind behavior.”

“Our family is large,” Granny Smith interrupted. “And we have many relatives, Apple Bottom, Apple Bread, Cloud Chaser, Cinnamon Sugar, Flounder, Full Steam, Gingerbread…” She counted and stopped to get to the main point “ And a few dozen more, is your big?”

“My immediate family is me and my parents, my uncles and aunts” He hardly spoke the word “Don’t have much contact with us. I only know as much as I was told when I got concerned.“

“It must be pretty lonely having no siblings” Applebloom stated

“For me it wasn’t, I had three good friends who I have great hopes of meeting again one day”

Yes, indeed he had huge hopes and looked forward to it. Isaac, Emil and Anul were his three best buddies and together the four of them created a firm pack. They remained in Ardania although the Great Mage suggested they run away together. They remained behind and promised not to reveal his own intentions behind his departure.

“Is this why you’re traveling?” Applejack was the one who asked.

“It's one of the reasons” It wasn’t, it was just a bonus to the whole ordeal of fighting the United One.

“So what made you travel?”

Here his facial expression stiffened and his tone became heavier, but he remained respectful and friendly “Private reasons”

The family understood and didn’t want to go further that direction, of course like anyone, they wondered what reason could somepony have to travel a long distance from his own home.

“When I was walking here with Applejack, she said I should ask you, Miss Smith, the reason for ponyville being founded.”

“Applejack” She sounded rather disappointed “You could have told the story to Arcane Shine as well as I can!” Before her Granddaughter could reply she continued “It went along somewhat like this…”

Granny Smith began to talk about the relationship between the nobles and the common pony folk she was part of. The two groups didn’t like each other for many different reasons, which had a socio-economic background mostly.

Equestria wasn’t involved in a long lasting war for two hundred and eighty-eight years with other nations and races (which for the Great Mage was unimaginable for any country to achieve) but suffered from short periods of local conflicts that happened on a regular basis. Many disastrous events involving internal conflicts, radical magical phenomena and ambitious characters who wanted to constantly strike Equestria plagued the land of the ponies. Equestria may not have fought in a war for long, but it fights constantly at war for survival.

One of such internal problems, was the unfair advantage the nobles (who in majority were unicorns from Canterlot) had over the earth ponies (that tend Equestrian land) therefore the whole situation was also fought on a ethnical level, but Princess Celestia managed to shift the attention away from this detail.

When Granny Smith was nine years old, the situation between the common ponies and the nobles became hot and rose to an important problem that had to be dealt with by the Princess herself.

Her parents were participating in a nationwide demonstration in honor of fifty families who had been punished by being evicted from the land they farmed for a nobleman. The nobleman could not banish them because the law forbade it, a century before it was still possible.

The nobleman invoked an old regulation passed by the local government, which it had discovered during a local vetting of the administrative caste due to corruption among officials coming from the rich bourgeoisie, collaborating with the middle nobility and bourgeoisie from the neighboring region.

The regulation ordered every tenant farmer when he went to the forest to chop wood for purposes such as: repairing the house, or an mill, making wood supplies for winter etc. He had to report how many trees were cut. Before the change, there was no formal limit. The tenant was then exempt from the tax he would have to pay, plus penalties, for the wood.

The provision was included with others in the "codex of reciprocity". A small set of laws that applied to peasants and nobles. During the banning of serfdom and the introduction of protection for peasants, which went hand in hand with the expansion of the rights of the bourgeoisie and the rural bourgeoisie, the nobility clarified the general and overly hurtful generalities contained in the reforms Celestia pushed through in that codex.

Equestria became more centralized over time with the degradation of the nobility's dominance. The ponies forgot about the rule when a wave of protest and partisanship from idealists and radicals crippled Equestria. The road to equality for all regardless of material status was just leaning out on the horizon...

But the law was still legitimate. The nobles had forgotten about it too, not wanting the moderate ponies to move too quickly to the side hostile to them.

The families couldn't pay out, so the noble evicted them and sold the land to the townsfolk, something he couldn't do before, while he himself began investing in workshops in the cities. Celestia froze the fine and redirected it to the administrative court, which reduced the fine significantly, but the families were still insolvent and would have to work three years for the nobleman to pay up. Celestia managed to convince the nobleman, pointing out the absurdity of the situation herself, to spread the financial obligations over a wider time frame.

The townsponies who bought the land went into debt, so they had to sell the land; Celestia bought it out of her own pocket. Celestia pursued a policy of buying land and intended to sell it back to the earth ponies with time. In the long run this did little, but the symbolism behind it showed her affiliations with the Earth Ponies.

The ponies who bought the land belonged to families who had already made their fortunes from the land they leased from other nobles. Being friends with each other, they took advantage of the fact of the growing population wanting to get away from their home towns and formed partnerships, and together with other families who were going on their own or with others in friendship, bought land from Celestia together on installments.

This is how Ponyville was founded. However, at the very beginning it wasn't a town, because the establishment of a town had to be allowed. Three documents were required, an application for a right of incorporation, then the drawing up of a plan of the municipality and, based on an expert opinion, the entire plan of the town with an attached statute (election of authorities, taxes, appearance, location, size, population, emblem, etc.). Ponyville began construction a year after the land was purchased. One of the first non-private towns in Equestria was Ponyvile.

"That's more or less what it was like,"

"And the mines?"

"What mines?"

"Crystal mines."

"Those mines never interested me, but there was always a problem with them, the diamond dogs had their colonies and trading camps in them, sometimes they came to us, but seldom they came! I had contact with them twice in my lifetime. "

He nodded, the story interested him and he would have loved to ask Granny Smith more, but the hour he had to be at Rarity's was slowly approaching.

"Rarity invited me to come over, so, I don't want to be mean..."

"But we understand!" Grandma Smith countered with encouragement "Applejack will get the guest room ready."

"I don't want to go away knowing she'll do everything for me."

"Come on, it's a small thing, twenty minutes of work." Applejack chirped.

The “Carousel Boutique” Rarity ran was beautiful, and as the name suggested, it did resemble a carousel. He felt like it didn’t belong to the town. The windows were grand, and the decorations on the walls that were white on blue made the cylindrical building look like candy. The thin columns around were spiral, and the cornice of the upper layer looked like styled after a lambrekin. The bottom floor probably was the area where Rarity worked and greeted customers, while the upper part was where she lived with her sister. Above the entrance, was an image of a prancing pony on an oval shield.

He knocked on the doors, and soon they clicked with the mare in person coming to greet him.

“Arcane Shine! How good you came, at the perfect time as well. Come in.”

He walked in as she asked, and his eyes saw beautiful clothes, outfits that were art in themselves. How much is a picture worth in the face of something real and useful like what Rarity knew how to create?

The interior was as rich and beautiful as the thought Rarity poured into the dresses. The floor shone and reflected the image like a mirror. The walls had all sorts of ornaments on them, light and fine, with little reference to any more familiar shapes.

"Well? I've set myself up nicely here."

"Who can forbid the rich anything?"

A brisk rythm of footsteps was heard from the left, where the stairs were, Arcane Shine immediately thought of Sweetie Belle, who emerged from the corner as soon as he had finished thinking of her. She slipped out quickly, dressed in a dress again.

"Mr. Shine!"

"I promised to come, so I came. " He replied with a heartwarming smirk "One thing is still extremely important for me to take care of, so it will not be a long visit, a little over an hour."

"You can't be serious!" Rarity shouted out loud "I have prepared snacks and drinks thinking you'd be here for at least two hours"

He remained silent. It wasn't his fault and he didn't feel bad. As a matter of fact, he rarely understood anyone who showed frailty and allowed themselves to be incurred to being guilt tripped into shifting their time to match the expectations of people in a situation like now.

"Can it wait?" She asked in tender manner

"No" Sounded the aloof answer.

Rarity, recognizing her lack of ability to say anything that would change Arcane Shine's mind, she hid her defeat behind the happy thought that she could at least guest him for an hour. Without wasting much time, she invited him to the guest room on the second floor.

After walking the short distance with the spiral stairs, he found himself on the second level with Rarity being the one walking behind. Sweetie Belle was already in the kitchen and decided to serve the cake.

The upper floor wasn't a big surprise, everything was closer to each other and the rooms of the two sisters were equally big, judging by how the walls were placed and split the second floor. The Kitchen was on the far right, next to the stairs, with no door there to close it. The guest area was open and stretched from the left almost to the far right where the entrance to the kitchen was.

There were pots with plants almost everywhere, about nine were placed on the floor before the walls. The walls themselves were covered with subtle pink planks, however they served to make stripes, as the original color of the painted walls was subtle blue. In that blue, there were stars, snails, and different shapes of all kinds. A few paintings were scattered there too, to add more diversity. The floor had creamy beige carpeting.

He approached the wine purple velvet sectional sofa on a gilt wood structure. Sweetie Belle brought him a plate with chocolate cake, and looked at him the same way Apple Bloom was looking at him in her own home.

“Would you like coffee, water or juice?”

Before he could give an answer Rarity interrupted “I also have wine and champagne!” She articulated with enthusiasm.

He gave her a lost stare “Water”

“What even is coffee?” He thought

“Are you sure?” She sounded concerned “I possess the best bottles you can find in Ponyville.”

“I’m not in the mood to drink alcohol”

Rarity lost much of her happiness when she heard him answer “B-B-But the occasion speaks for itself! It’d be…” She lost track of her thoughts.

“She’s one of these “ He lingered and his nostrils flared as he deeply exhausted the air through them.

“I’ll bring the water then” Sweetie Belle announced and went to the kitchen

“Maybe I could convince you to try just a sip?”

“I don’t think there’s anything that could convince me”

She almost let the topic go, but she felt some incentive to ask “Are you perhaps against alcohol?”

“As I said, I’m not in the mood, simple as that” He spiced his tone, and that made her collect herself enough to leave the topic be.

Rarity looked at his plate and noticed he didn’t have the silverware to eat with. Her horn lit up, and said tools flew from the Kitchen and before him kindly wrapped in a napkin, like at a restaurant.

“Here you go” She grinned

“Thanks”

“So” she drummed her fingers on the table “ What brings you here to Equestria?’

Sweetie Belle came at the right moment with the water to listen. She sat beside ratiy opposite of Arcane Shine and placed her elbows on the table, receiving a scolding look from Rarity who nudged her with her leg.

“I’m just passing by, I won’t be here for too long. I have no plans on staying anywhere either.”

Rarity cocked her eyebrow “So you’re really just coming through the country?”

“Yes, nothing more.”

Sweetie Belle moaned in disappointment “I hoped you’d stay in Equestria” She drew a circle on the table and looked at him with her face pointing down.

“What would that change?” He asked half seriously, half jokingly while he took a bite of the cake.

“Krolm! This is too sweet!” He winced inside.

"You're somehow different." She said innocently.

Rarity nearly died of embarrassment, but the Great Mage roused her again by adding his comment to Sweetie Belle's words.

"Compared to the other ponies?" He smiled and invited Sweetie Belle to speak further

"Yeah, sort of, I can't put it nicely into words, but, you’re…" She paused looking for the right word “Other, but in a nice way!”

The Great Mage was captivated by this answer. He was less tolerant to such kinds of answers when his advisors chatted with him. Yet, he valued highly what Sweetie Belle said, since she was still a child.

Rarity, on the other hand, wanted to cringe, still in her mind seeing only one wrong and racist side to what Sweetie Belle had said.

"When we came back and you lectured us on the way, you didn't want to trample us into the ground, you didn't want to show us that we were stupid and give us lessons about what not to do. You just presented the truth and left us with it. " She explained

He tilted his head, as he didn’t understand what was so special about what he did " Are you criticized often? "

Rarity lifted her face from her hands and looked at her sister and Arcane Shine.

"No" She responded with a weak tone, but the answer itself didn’t betray anything.

He nodded and took a big sip of water. He didn’t place the glass down but looked at the moving water. He then looked at Sweetie Belle, his poker face drilled into her soul like a spear into a dragon's heart, breaking the impenetrable scales, the natural armor of the legendary.

“Ok” He drunk the rest of his water afterwards

Rarity sent Sweetie Belle to the kitchen to refill the glass and asked her to bring something for her and herself as well. The Great Mage looked at Rarity who still was embarrassed by how Sweetie Belle phrased her thoughts.

“Sorry”

“Its fine” He cackled briefly “ I like children” and pointed behind himself as he held the pastry fork in hand “'They're innocent and because of that, funny to be around” He took another piece of the cake and before putting it in his mouth as he looked at it with mercy, he added “...Cruel as well.” very solemnly.

Rarity looked at him from an angle, but didn’t pay much attention to that little detail

“Do you have siblings?”

“No, and believe it or not I was asked the same thing at Applejack’s home.”

She fixed her poor posture. “The questions might get repetitive, sorry in advance.”

“Don’t be, there’s nothing wrong with it. “ He once again used the pastry fork, this time to gesticulate.

She looked at the clock on the wall, and noticed that twenty minutes had already passed. She then quickly reasserted herself and followed with another question.

“How come you’re so skilled in magic?”

Sweetie Belle once again hit the bullseye with the timing, coming with the water and a piece of cake for Rarity. She then retreated to the Kitchen, but she stopped midway, as Rarity did the job for her, and livitated the plate to them.

“You use magic quite often” He noted and avoided answering.

“It's very practical when it comes to such small things”

“True” He agreed and before he could continue, he heard Sweetie Belle’s voice.

“I wish I could have that privilege” She mused sadly and sat back on her place

Having a lot of experience with talking to others, the Great Mage simply observed the younger sister, Rarity took notice and felt obligated to explain Sweetie Belle’s words to him.

“She’s very weakly connected to magic.’

“You can’t pick up a plate?” He asked with respect, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

She nodded, “I can’t even seem to lift a broom.”

“You know, Spike told Twilight that I’m powerful” He made air quotation marks “And Rarity here accused me of being skilled “ He said fast, inclining his head to her. “I don’t think that either are true. I don’t want to look like I can’t take a compliment as well. However, motivation plays a vital role in every activity. As corny as it may sound. Motivation is second after talent to play a role in success. “

What he said wasn’t a lie. He addressed many topics trying to reform the lands he ruled. He ordered many experiments to be performed and most of them laid out a straight answer, showing that indeed, motivation was the second most important factor after skill.

“Everypony said the same thing. Always. I was motivated many times and it ended the same way in each scenario. What's the point anymore? Wouldn’t optimism at this point be just toxic?”

“It’d be if there was no objective fundament on which it could stand.” He asserted, “Let me ask you something. “ He got closer and the atmosphere turned more serious. Rarity didn’t exist for them at the moment. “Do you think I would have fought as ardently, and been likewise like back there determined to win, if I fought the Treeman alone, knowing it didn’t pose a threat to anypony else?”

“I suppose you would”

“I would argue that…The fact I knew I could help, and that I had the means to, turning the other way would be as if I myself caused the situation to evolve the way it unfolded. I had your well being on my shoulders. I felt the weight.” He lied, by being overdescritpive and hyperbolizing his original thoughts.

Rarity listened closely to the words of Arcane Shine and took notes in her head as to how he explained his motives for helping. Not only her mind paid him attention…Her hand gingerly creeped onto her chest, as her heart pounded a rhythm, an humble tune to Arcane Shine.

“Ponies and Kirins' ' Rarity's ears moved as he spoke the word “I know plenty of individuals that sometimes do the bare minimum for themselves. They don’t treat themselves as if they were a person…” He paused and noticed he made the same mistake again “ …They’re inclined to help. Would I really have the same motivation and drive for my actions?”

She didn’t answer and focused on thinking further. She valued his lecture he was giving her but she couldn’t find a reason to believe he would really be less effective against the monster, save for the fact he wouldn’t have the help of Spike and Zecora, who’s help he used to defeat the Treeman.

“Let’s strike a deal.” Why was he doing that? Why from all occasions the element of self destruction governed his mouth right now? “I will stay here for a few more days, I need to sort things out, plus I like it here, it's cozy. “ He stopped with his mouth open, after a second he went on “I’ll try and show you that I am right, and not only will you lift that broom, but hold it in the air for five minutes.”

“I’ll try” She gave his hand and they shook. His touch was so warm and gentle, as if she met with another fillies hand.

“Well, she is going with me to Canterlot for the festival, I have preparations to make and a whole list to keep track of. “ Rarity broke the silence

“When are you departing?”

“Tomorrow,” The sisters said in unisom.

“I assume you’ll be at the royal palace for the time.”

“Actually” She picked her pastry fork with her magic “Together with Sweetie Belle I’ll be at my boutique in Canterlot”

The Great Mage looked surprised “You have one there too? Do you have more?” He leaned forward, interested.

“Three, one here, the one at Canterlot and in Manehattan”

“How’s your business going?”

“Hold on now” She took a bite of her cake. “You still didn’t answer my question about how you’re so good at magic.”

His light smile disappeared. “Did Twilight tell you I’m good at magic?”

“As well, but” She looked at her sister “I had other sources”

His lips curled up slightly “As I said, I was motivated”

“I know ponies may do wonders when they do something when carried by passion, but you won’t talk yourself out that way”

“I lost that, might as well go along but not further then I already am. ”

“Basic offensive spells are easy to learn” He stated coldly “ I just repeat one spell on top of the other and they converge. All I do is give them one center point they hang on and then reshape the mana layout so that each and every one of them matches, as if they were exact copies.”

“But that’s hard!” She expressed in awe “I didn’t attend classes with an expanded curriculum on magic, but I have friends and Twilight, who always mentioned the tricky nature of this method, that's very risky.”

“I agree” He said with a stern face “I absolutely agree, but I have done this for many years now, and mostly with the same spells. “

“It didn’t look like that” Sweetie Belle announced “Especially the way you handled Spike’s flames on the monster”

“That could do anypony with courage and talent who just began training in the art of magic.” He argued with a pointed finger.

“Darling I don’t want to be disrespectful but, it looks you might have the impostor syndrome”

“And what’s that?”

Disappointment warmed his cheeks, while shame stirred in his stomach that reminded him of his stupidity. With a sour face, he plowed through the city, walking towards the forest along the optimal route that would allow him to quickly appear in the orchid from the west.

Impostor syndrome. Tch…

Without counting in that moment, the rest of his stay by Rarity after his promise to Sweetie Belle evolved almost the same way his stay and his conversation with Applejack and her family went. They asked him about his home and family and he repeated pretty much the same things. With Applejack he wasn’t sure, as her parents could have gone somewhere, however the dots connected the minute he walked into Rarity’s boutique. Too bad he didn’t think of asking them their age.

Before entering the forest, he walked outside of Ponyville, making sure that nobody was watching, he casted a invisibility spell on himself, the invisibility tent, that covered light and medium spells as long as they only had effect on the caster. Magically gifted, that is unicorns for the most part, could sense him casting but the spells would be unnoticable with the naked eye for all others. Sure, he could cover that too, but there was no point. He added another spell to the pack, the same one he used when he ran to save the three fillies.For the last part, he gave himself night vision, not to run into a tree.

He planned on returning late, but he was assured by Applejack that it's fine, she will be packing her things and she will probably stay up to midnight.

He sprinted forwards, and hastened between the trees. Everything was clear as day to him, he saw the world with a mediocre milky filter altering the world's image, but that’s because he didn’t mind it being there so he cut corners in his mana usage. The shapes of the constituents making the woods were sharp; where his eyes focused, there it seemed that he slowed down, when actually it was his enhanced sense allowing him to judge better what’s before him. The wind that he left behind moved and brushed the lesser plants as they bent and quickly returned to their unfazed and harmonic way of living.

Meanwhile while moving to his destination, he wanted to check up on the corpse of the Treeman he had killed and see if it left behind something worth taking. In Ardania these things sometimes hide valuables inside, not to mention their cortex’ and wood itself had a wide range of usage. Starting a fire with it was nearly impossible. A skilled mage or a blacksmith with the aid of a Great Mage like himself, a wooden sword made from the fibers of their hearts could become a disastrous weapon. Even if it would remain just a wooden sword it’s sharpness could speak out for thousands of grass blades. Depending on the quality of the wood, the age and power of the Treeman and the person etc. any such sword would be different even if created following the same approach.

Speaking of the devil.

A small tree grew in its death place with beautiful blue leafs which had silver veins on them and formed shapes in the form of the moon, stars, constellations and so on. Some looked like they were sick, when in reality they looked like yellow paint was spilled on them, leaving parts to shine brightly like the sun.

The grass around was unfazed and the environment as well seemed unaffected. No animal made itself a nest on the tree, and the bottom part had no trace of the original body, safe for the fact the area in a five meter or so radius was bald.

He approached it slowly “Can you hear me?”

It didn’t answer. Was it a trap? Maybe. There’s only one way to find out.

“If you live, it's in your interest that this won’t change.” The Great Mage approached at a steady place, he spoke again when his hoof stepped on the dry soil “I’ll cut you down just to satisfy my curiosity, it'd be just a preemptive measure“

A humm, as if someone hit a bell, came from the tree as the whole crown shined and blinked, making it appear as if there were stars on it.

“See, we can talk this out” He nodded and held his hand out to touch the trunk.

The tree was warm, but not very much. It gave off a subtle heat, the bark was smooth, although the surface didn’t look different from that of any other tree.

“We can cooperate, I have never seen your type before “ He acknowledged with respect and walked a few steps away to look at the size of the tree “You’re regenerating.” He stated

The tree moved by inches and the leaves all rung with grace, the tree took it for a question and answered truthfully.

“ You’re not in the position to make any changes to my proposition” The Great Mage walked away and heard the tree ring suddenly with much prowess in each sound one leaf sent. “I frankly don't care enough to make an effort and make it so we speak one tongue. “ The tree remained silent “This leaves you with only one option, to do what I say or you’ll die”

He stood with his hands behind him, and looked at the tree with pursed inwards lips.

The tree had no other alternative. What should it do? Fight?

It hummed sadly, where even the Great Mage felt the claws of depression scratch his heart, but it left no marks on his stony heart. The tree's light started to extinguish itself. The tree lost some of its color, the leaves withered and the trunk shrunk suddenly. The tree’s size slowly began to become smaller but only to an extent that its nature allowed it to.

“You’re intelligent. I like that” He relaxed his posture “I don’t want anything for now, I’ll come here tomorrow and I'll tell you what you’ll have to do to please me. “

The tree understood its orders and it came back to “life”. It was small, and looked fairly young, so, it would probably take a month or more before it even was able to move and fight with the same ferocity.

“I was invisible the whole time, now I realize.” He facepalmed “ Now I know why you didn’t answer the very beginning I spoke to you.” He thought

Far from the meadow he woke up on, deep in the forest the Great Mage prepared to cast his spell. At the very beginning, he shed the spells he had cast to hide from the world. His figure stood majestically like a statue in a museum, all life around him only an instrument and a sanctuary.

Beams of light, white as chalk, danced around his horn to form a vortex, like threads on a weaving machine forming a coherent whole. Strings of silver, every inch of which shimmered like stars in on the broad sky, played to the rhythm of the serenade that was his will and strength as he willed it, arranging the spell.

The trees bowed toward him, drawn as they were to the mana he was concerting, illuminating everything around him with a blue glow. In the blink of an eye from his horn, a blue shield encompassed him in a bubble, where his figure could only be seen as a barely shaped black glow in a ball of light.

Whatever was holding the trees let them go, and like people praying in a temple, they straightened their trunks at attention and watched. The bubble burst and thousands of petal-like little dots of glowing starlight fell to the ground, covering a small area with a white sheet for a split second.

The spell didn't work, and the dots soared into the distance, showering the trees and illuminating burrows and corners long since untouched by light.

The Great Mage stood in his body, the one he had woken up in. He felt nothing on him that would cast even a shadow on the possibility that his problem was a spell, and not a matter of a more complicated procedure...One that trapped him in this body, or permanently altered it.

Feeling anger from his failure he did not let go. He had the strength within him to try a more powerful version of the same spell.

He spread his arms out as if to embrace the world in a friendly hug. A gray-blue glow, like a royal robe, hung over his figure with an aura that dominated and suffocated any other colors the world had in its equipment. Strong winds gathered to swarm around him, tearing and pounding everything to pay homage to his power, and everything in the vicinity surrendered to this force.

The trees let go of their leaves and needles, for these were the jewels that made up their beautiful crowns. Like the spines of serfs, their mighty trunks surrendered, almost cracking as they saw and experienced the power of the Great Mage.

From under his feet, three tendrils shot upward, forming a spiral, mint green, blue and pink. They joined at the top, where a multi-pointed star formed. It was the beacom that shone like the hope of all those in Ardania, seeing beyond the wave of sourness to a better tomorrow. It had as many legs as there were living beings, for it wanted to touch and welcome each one of them.

The Great Mage's horn shone like the eyes of children at the sight of their fathers returning from work, like the hearts burning with love of marriages that are successful, like the truth beating through the veil of lies when wrongs call its name to avenge them.

Where the emotions accompany the person, there also is violence and a show of force that claims its part in the seconds of that person's life. So it was here too. The magic whipped up by anger, thrown by sorrow into the distance for an earlier failure gushed forth like mountain water, fresh and strong.

In that instant, the Great Mage swung the star into the bottom and pushed it away as it approached with both hands. The world froze for a second as the spell rose like an angel. It could have been mistaken for the ascension of a saint, invited during his lifetime by the god he served.

The star disappeared and in its place, the entire meadow was covered by a great sphere and slowly swallowed everything around it as it expanded in volume. The Great Mage, as the main target of this spell, fell to a knee, feeling the pressure and blatant burning of his spell on himself. The magic he used didn't seem to take a toll on his condition, which for the most part was due to the preparations he had done before the expedition.

He closed his eyes as the light harmed them. His ears suffered a hellish torment, the hum of the spell; a deep sound as if metal was cracking and the rustling of pieces of said metal scratched against each other. It was a hurricane of deep howling, a strange hoarseness where every tone seemed to be uttered by a thunderbolt, sick like a man with a runny nose.

He felt dizzy. Sweat dripped from him in great quantities. But nothing changed. He didn't even feel an itch on his skin. His body remained perfectly untouched, which again threw his thoughts into the worst possible scenario.

The spell glided like a wave of water when a drop disturbed the stillness of the surface. It advanced in every direction of the world for half a kilometer. Looking like a ghost; a moving gray shaft. It destroyed everything that was a spell of basic or intermediate level, killing inherently weak magical creatures ruthlessly.

The spell had a small range, however it was of a higher rank, prepared to destroy spells that when cast, could severely damage decent castles and level small ones. The next to last dispell type spell, allowed to send eight the rank of the currently still active one as projectiles.

The tree survived, the spell's vapors touching it. It felt as if it were burning the day before, as it had died in battle. Its leaves turned pale and its trunk cracked. It had done what the Great Mage commanded, so why did it have to experience injustice? The wound inflicted seemed serious, but it wasn't, it hurt like an accurate strike.

The spell had no right to reach Ponyville, but this alone didn't guarantee lack of interest from those who sensed it being cast.