How A Realist Saved The Show

by TheGuyFromMinecraft

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Young Six, Romance, Original Character, Comedy, Queen Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, Profanity, Adventure, Human, Main 6
Length: 106855

One mysterious slip of paper offering a job that could set James Alvera for the rest of his college life. But the contract and job in question may make quite a bizzare adventure as he was then sent into his favorite TV show with unique abilities.

James Alvera, age 18, former Brony, and currently living alone on the second floor of an apartment complex. His life started smoothly when his parents enrolled him in private elementary school; with good grades and lots of friends. Along the road were a few road bumps, but James always climbed back up. Well, all of that changed just as soon as he graduated high school. After the big ceremony and family celebration, he was unfortunate to hear the news from his parents at the dinner table. They would have to leave him for their workplace.

Saddened and dejected, he struggles to find a job and sits all alone in his apartment; remembering he has until summer vacation to find a job for his college fees. But that all changed when a strange letter offering a quick salary arrived at night.

Quick money for one simple task? how hard can it be?

Published 2021-11-05 22:40:00 UTC
Last updated 2022-06-07 05:34:02 UTC

Chapter 1: Hello Ponyville

Never really thought I end up in a situation like this for summer. I could just sit all day, playing video games, or watching anime in my home. But I've decided to go look for a job to help me with college and support. Well, I didn't decide for myself, my parents just flat out left me to go to New York so that I can find my path. I never really had any choices in the matter when it came to my future. But now I have all these choices to myself, I might as well make the best out of it.

Oh yeah, I'm traveling in a vortex as we speak.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

So what exactly happened that made me come to this situation? I received a letter late at night claiming to be some job I can do to make serious cash. I first thought it was spam or a prank by my friends, but soon as I signed the contract is where things turned. I was met by Discord, a character from the hit tv series My Little Pony: Friendship is magic. Not just met him in person, but I was transported to Equestria! I couldn't believe my entire existence. I've watched the show when it was in its infancy, and now I'll finally get to meet Twilight, her friends, and finally be with—

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Okay, this is starting to give me headaches. Anyways, Discord has tasked me to reform 4 of the Legion of Doom and teach them the meaning of friendship. The last thing I remembered was that he pointed out he was going to send me exactly at the beginning of season 8 when Twilight founded the school of friendship. That should give me enough leeway to learn about the world and do a little exploring before season 9. Before that, I should get back to—

*Thud*

The feeling is like falling at the apex of a skyscraper, face planting on solid dirt. He carefully turned his head to avoid fractures on his nose and jaw. Groaning in pain as James tried to wait out the pain to die down for a few hours. But he didn't have to wait long at all as the pain quickly died in a matter of seconds.

He quickly got up and patted the dirt out of his body, "That was a quick recovery, could be one of my powers. Man, that fall was atrocious! I hope my pajamas didn't get dir—"

Upon inspecting himself, something was off about something that caught James' attention. The PJs he wore is no longer with him. Instead, he appears to be in what he describes as a black duster coat that went down to his shins. It seems like the whole cost was sealed by a large, singular zipper that can reach through all to the length of the coat; just left open halfway to enable easy leg movement. James can tell there's a hoodie left hanging behind him by the silver drawstrings. His feet are now in black leather boots. Twisting his wrist and waving his fingers at the matching gloves, he gawked his entire wardrobe change.

"I feel like I've seen this before, but where?"

The next thing on the agenda was to search the surroundings he was in. He was in the middle of a long dirt path between loads of trees and unfamiliar foliage. The overall environment and the air to him felt... alive. The weather seemed quite nice and cool. Over on the horizon, he watched as a town was just baking in the vast sunlight.

"Holy crap... is this what I think it is?!" He simply gazed at the beautiful landscape of the whole town, "It's Ponyville! And since that is Ponyville, I gotta be in... Equestria! Man, I feel like I'm in Disneyworld!"

So let me deduce my current situation here. I'm somewhere at the entrance of a forest, presumably the Everfree forest. I'm dressed up as some mysterious figure; surprisingly Discord didn't let me roam Ponyville in my sleep gear. He mentioned that I was sent to the beginning of season 8, that's when Twilight founded and made the school of friendship. How could they manage to build the entire school in just under 30 minutes? Hang on, I'm stupid! It was a time skip. Does that mean the world will skip to specific times like the show? What if it's in between episodes? How on Earth does time wor—

*BRRRRRRR...BRRRRRRR*

A vibrating sensation threw off James pondering, followed by a familiar ringtone of his. It was coming from the right side pocket of the duster. He quickly responded, "My phone? How could it possibly work here?

Unbuttoning the flap and reaching for his cellphone that somehow showed the caller ID: Special Friend

The curiosity of James made him answer the call. "Hello?"

"Ahh, yes! It seemed that It worked wonders!— I thought you would've been burnt to a crisped by now!"

It was Discord again, who seemed peppy from the sounds of it. James let out a sigh, "I'm in a kids cartoon, the best thing around here is being turned to stone or getting blasted by plot devices. Now explain why my phone works here and why did you call me?"

"My bad, I forgot I'm dealing with an unemployed graduate who needed cash for his future. I'm here to act as your guide on your arsenal of powers and other tricks on your sleeve."

"I have magical powers? Wow, you giving me the OP anime protagonist powers like the other 50 characters?"

"I don't know what this anime stuff is, sounds nerdy. Be happy with that coat I gave you; it protects you from even the strongest magic spells. You'll have to earn extra goodies when you make progress on your main objective."

He knew it wasn't going to be this easy for him, "Alright, so what kind of magic do I get? Elemental? Illusionary? Explosive?"

"You have the most sought-after power in all of unicorn history; Time Manipulation. With it, you can control the four aspects of time itself in their unique way. Unfortunately, your ability to rewind time has been restricted by me. Can't let you create multiple branches of our universe without raising eyeballs."

James pouted playfully, "Aww, that's not very nice of you..."

"Also because I'll only be giving you one chance to do this! Fail, and you'll just end up back in your world in misery as the debt keeps stacking up!"

"Okay-Okay, gotcha!" he quickly snapped back to being serious about the situation, "How do I activate these powers?"

"Instructions on casting and other tips are located on your phone; also giving you the essential tools for the mission. An Interactive map of Equestria with added waypoints to warp to, a camera app that can scan and analyze anything you throw at it, and finally... well... you'll have to figure the rest out yourself!"

"Well, I'll be certain that I will make use of anything you throw at me," chuckled James, still making conversation with the draconequus, "Anything else I should know?"

"Oh, I made sure your phone recharges itself back to 100% in a few hours or so. You could obtain something from that world that can make it charge for less. But it's all in your best judgment whether or not you wish to go there."

"I might make use of the other world, but getting access to Twilight's castle would be tricky. I'll see when I get there."

"Not that I'd even need to go there," James cringed up, hiding his feelings about meeting Sunset Shimmer, "So is that all?"

"Yes, I'll be calling you now and then to check up on you. One more thing, if you happen to bump into me by any chance, I'll assume that we're total strangers meeting in the first place. Got that?"

"Right back at ya!"

The phone call ended when James hit the end call button. Checking to see if the battery percentage was at 95% at the time the call ended. With this new knowledge at hand, James would have to strategically use his phone at the right moments to ensure longevity. He decided this was a good time to browse the apps Discord installed had in store for him. James can already tell what app he was talking about; Disguise Kit

Selecting the app showed nothing special to him, just a list of the three different species of ponies; Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth pony. James could feel like something was missing from Discord's explanation; was this the app he said he kept surprised from him?

"All I see are just different types of species," said James, curious on sight as he tapped on one of the names, "Let me see what it says about the Unicorn—"

One tap and James froze up while a green flame circled him from the bottom and engulfed upwards in mere seconds. Collapsing from his bipedal stance and now needing to stand and all fours, it was still oblivious to him.

"That's odd... I have the sensation to crawl now," He soon realized as he inspected his two front hoofs—

"Hoofs!?"

His two leather gloves were replaced with two gray-colored hoofs that appeared in his eyesight, seeing them makes him believe that the app was more than just an index of creatures. Just to be sure, he operated his phone screen with two hooves to access the camera and flip it to the front camera. Just as he expected.

He transformed into a unicorn...

"This is... amazing!" he was rubbing his cheeks followed by a flick of his silver mane with dark gray highlights, "I'm a pony! The superior kind to be exact! I can use this to enter Ponyville without drawing attention."

I looked like the same age as Sandbar. That's odd, it seems that I have two different colored eyes; a left red and a right blue? Is this someone's OC drawn in 2012? Never mind, I guess it's cool that I'm a literal pony.

But wait, James needed to confirm something before he proceeds to walk to the village; what was his cutie mark? Turning his big pony head, he gazed upon his flank to reveal an image of an odd-looking gray circle in the form of an optical illusion. He quickly remembered seeing this type of shape in an advanced mathematics book he skimmed through at the library.

"A Mobius Strip— very fitting seeing if I have the potential of using time magic. This must be one of the secret powers Discord mentioned," he spoke to himself, seeing how the coat mysteriously vanished from his body and was replaced by a satchel bag. "The coat must've changed its form into this bag; might prove useful. Let me try another—"

Another ring was coming from his phone from the ground, the same caller ID as well. Soon he answered back and hear what was going on.

"You picked the unicorn first? Really? I guess it was your choice in the matter."

"What do you mean? Is this some form of changeling magic?" asked James, as he placed his bottom onto the dirt path

"Yes and no. I've given you three creatures to pick to be your disguise. You can use this alter-ego of yours to roam around Equestria while concealing your true identity. Each creature gives you access to their abilities too; Unicorn magic, flight of a pegasus, an earth pony... being earth ponies. Who knows, you might even earn more transformations when you make progress!"

"And how do I change back?"

"You just need to tap on the end transformation button, but that will drain a significant portion of your phone's battery life. But, I suggest you remain in that form and explore around Ponyville for the time being."

"Hey, at least give me warnings next time I do something new!" he raised his voice over the phone. "And can I use my time magic as a unicorn? Aren't they just spells written by somepony?"

"Actually, I never gave you those powers; they were already an aptitude of yours, to begin with. I don't know much, but I could sense something unique about you and— Oh! Now I need to go! See you later, and say hi to Fluttershy for me!"

What does he mean by aptitude? I never could control time in my world. If I did, I would've abused the crap out of it. I'll worry about that later, I want to get to Ponyville and visit all the hotspots.

The phone ended the call as James was left with all this new information to process. He might as well walk into Ponyville while he's in this form. Levitating his phone with magic came naturally to him, keeping it secure in the bag on his back. Embarking on this bizarre adventure wasn't going to be easy, and that's the way he likes it.

Trekking into town was just a short hike about 3 minutes or so. But now James, perfectly disguised as a youthful unicorn colt trotted through many places of Ponyville. It felt like a whole fever dream, but it's happening. Making sure to greet back all the ponies that waved back to him, he made a few stops from the show he would like to visit. The Sugar Cube Corner was busy as usual so he decided to check it out later. All seemed good and all, but he didn't forget his main goal.

"Now, at what point exactly am I at?" James thought out loud, surveying the area with his head.

"Yo! Are you attending the school as well?"

A strange, yet familiar voice echoed behind James, so he turned around. To his surprise, he was first met with another pony his age. Not some typical pony-off in the background...

It was Sandbar...

"Sandbar... You're here!? With me! In the flesh!" Blurted James, which cause Sandbar to cringe at his eccentric voice.

"Ummm, I don't think I recall meeting in the past. Who are you?" He turned his head towards the side, pointing his foreleg.

I slipped up! I need to cover this quickly!

"I'm sorry, it's just this spell I'm practicing! That's all" cringing on sight, James properly greeted the fellow raising his foreleg, "Your name is Sandbar, correct?"

"Yes I am, pretty cool you could predict names and such. And you are?"

Quick instincts shot into James' huge brain as he processed an alias fitting for him. Seconds during their hoof shake, he soon found the perfect name.

"Pe— Erhm— Ponies call me Mobius..." cringed the peculiar unicorn. James remembered immediately where in season 8 he was at; he tried to play dumb, "You said if I was attending a school of some sorts?"

"Ah, yes! Princess Twilight's school of friendship! The grand openings today, and I thought you would be attending to; You with the bag and all?"

Playing the role of Mobius, James shook his head. "I would, but I don't know about 'friendship' is so important to be scholar worthy. It doesn't sound curricular to me."

"Well it wouldn't hurt just to check it out, There's no tuition fee or anything!"

Wow! If my college didn't have tuition, I would've just been fine with my parents ditching me.

"There's the thing they have on the flyer; you can refer a friend to attend the school at no extra cost! You can tell your parents about it later; they won't mind you attending ONE day here right?"

A small grin formed on James' lips, "That sounds amazing. I guess I'll see what the fuss is about with this school of friendship is all about."

"Great, now follow me. It should be close by here!"

Well infiltrating the school was easy enough; I changed into a unicorn, befriended Sandbar, and now I'm checking the school of friendship. Now to choose my first target. Lord Tirek is imprisoned in Tartarus, way out of reach for me. I currently don't have the power to bring back King Sombra, so that's a no-go for me. Queen Chrysalis will appear in a later episode, so I could just wait for her spotlight. So the only logical one first is...

The little brat herself...

Chapter 2: School Daze Part 1

I've gotten quite a journey ahead of me, and I've already got my first target to reform; Cozy Glow. She first appeared in Marks For Effort where the Cutie Mark Crusaders helped her with her friendship homework. After that, she was being set up to be the main antagonist of season 8. Who could have believed a filly being a hardcore villain? So I expect her to be at the school already plotting her scheme. I just have to attend orientation and I'll do some snooping.

"So tell me about yourself Mobius." asked Sandbar, walking alongside Mobius to the school, "Where did you come from? Not from Ponyville since I've lived here all my life."

"Good question," Mobius took a while to think of something, "...In a calm place called Sire's Hollow, very nice place."

"Wow, pretty far then? So what's the deal with your parents? Do they work there?"

"Hmph I wouldn't say they work their persay..." huffed Mobius with his nostrils, "Their workplace switched ownership to Manehatten, so they had to move. Since I needed to attend school, they suggested I should attend this school about friendship. I wanted to go to the magic academy at Canterlot, but they say the tuition is way too high."

Sandbar sympathized. "I could feel you man, well, I wouldn't know much since I'm an earth pony.

What stopped the were the crowd gathered near the front entrance of the school. James couldn't believe he's actually at the school of friendship in person; it's quite bigger than he'd imagined. By his looks, he can see familiar faces already; Smolder, Ocellus, Gallus, Yona, and Silverstream were waiting silently at the front. They're not part of his mission, so he decides to let them be for now.

Just with magic, the doors magically opened with the aid of Twilight's magic and the crowd rushed in. James would follow Sandbar silently to check out the main hall but kept him alone to let the events go through. For most, creatures were frolicking around the halls finding the place to go. But for James, he was nearing proximity with a particular pony of his greatest interest. Locking eyes on her and heartbeat increasing.

My god... Twilight Sparkle as a living breathing being, In close distance away from me and 100% real!? Don't scream out her name, don't scream out her name, don't scream out her name!

"Princess Twilight!" with his lungs at high capacity, Mobius screeched out. That caused the students to pause for a second.

Crap...

"Hey! Who screamed Headmare Twilight's name?" The voice of Rainbow Dash came alive hovering above everypony to spot the suspect, "I want answers! Now!"

Now, nearly everypony in the room pointed a foreleg at James, still in his Mobius guise. He was completely ashamed of what he did.

Now would be a PERFECT time to rewind time right now...

Any moment now...

...Come one... Time powers go!

...Just kill me now...

"Hold it Rainbow Dash, it seems this young colt is quite happy to see me up close." the princess of friendships' gorgeous smile, radiated off of the background in Mobius' eyes, "You must be a huge fan of me, I presume."

Listen here, James! You've spoken to many girls in your life, but NOTHING can compare to the most magnificent pony in all of the series; lifetime. Yeah, most of my brony friends would pick Rainbow Dash or Starlight Glimmer. But I was faithful to her 100%

Taking a big gulp, Mobius answered, "Yes! I've been a huge fan of yours for a long time! I've watched you everywhere you go!"

"You... watch me?" she turned her head, confused at his remark.

Another slip-up! Save this, James!

Composing himself, Mobius took a deep breath to start over, "I mean, yeah. I travel a lot and I've seen what you've done to save Equestria countless times. My favorite is your epic battle against Lord Tirek; using the princesses' magic to duke it out. How can one pony handle such magic? Is it like being full from a meal?"

Headmare Twilight turned away for a second, "Hehe, you're exactly like me when I was just a student. I was so fed up with the studies that I forgot about making friends. Now, I'm running a school of my own. What's your name kid?"

"The name is Mobius! At your service!" he bowed down to her, which made her cringed a tad bit, "Oh, I was told by a friend of mine he would refer to me to attend this school at no cost."

"Mobius?" she pondered long and hard at the name he gave her, "That's odd, I thought you already registered to attend here. Must be your parents doing then,"

"A-Already?"

"Ahh, here you go!" Twilight carefully levitated the purple agenda folder with the label Mobius on it. "You're from Sire Hallows, and your parents made you attend the school instead of the Canterlot school of magic. I know those tuition prices are steep. Sad that your parents aren't able to see you off on your first day."

I'm not even gonna ask...

"So they already registered me without my knowledge?" Mobius went with the flow, murmuring. "They don't even bother seeing me off."

"I know it's hard barely seeing your parents, but please understand that this school will help you learn the value of friendship," she assured Mobius, soothing him with a head pat. "I'm about to announce something important, you just wait here."

She touched me! Twilight Sparkle just touched me! Can't wait to tweet this out!

Taking deep breaths, James took this extra time to scout the area for the first target. Headmare Twilight had just begun her speech for the students as she began calling their attention.

Mobius was situated among the crowd, still vigilant as ever muttering to himself. "I don't see her anywhere with this crowd. Perhaps she attended later on? Makes viable sense the least. Even then, I would have to wait a long to for her to arrive here. Till then, I guess I can blend in for now until I've reached that point."

Strangely, we didn't get to do a musical number about the first day of school, but I'm happy that I don't have to sing. I guess the real world doesn't break into song now and the songs aren't canon? It can't be because It's a cartoon show, but now I'm inside it? Gah! This is getting over my head!

It's passing period and I'm on my way to my next class, I've slept for the first time as a different creature. It was okay, just needed time to adjust to it. I'm not bunked with any creature, making it easy for me at the very least. Even when the battery on my phone died from watching YouTube videos, I was still in my pony form. Two things I've learned today; 5G service in Equestria, and the battery life isn't tied to the transformations but still needed to revert. Fortunately, I calculated the phone's charging speed based on estimations and my previous charging records. It should charge back to full in about 3 hours.

Enough of that, there's still so much I needed to do; Find Cozy Glow, research more in the library, and learn how to use my time powers. Maybe after this episode, I'll start to do some practice. For now, I need to stay away from Sandbar and-

"Oh hey, It's that Headmare Twilight obsessed pony." came a voice from behind Mobius.

He directed his attention to Gallus, Sandbar, and Smolder walking miserably with their faces all discomforting. "Oh hey Sandbar, you don't seem like yourself."

"I still can't get over your two freakish eyes!" Smolder stopped the group, pointing her claw at the unicorn's pair of eyes, "They look pretty cool, to be honest."

Next came Ocellus, explaining to her about his eyes, "It's a rare genetic mutation called heterochromia; usually tends to be cosmetic and doesn't affect the creatures eyesight. It's quite a marvel seeing some creature at school having it."

James was just about to say her name, but he realized he never met her as Mobius. "Oh... a changeling I presume? I don't recall ever attending class with you three?"

"It's Ocellus..." she answered timidly, introducing herself to the two next to her, "To my right is Yona from Yak Yakistan and Silverstream from Seaquestria."

Saves me the trouble of introducing them to me.

"WOW! Your eyes are weirdly colored!" cried the hippogriff with her energetic smile, "Do you see this Yona!?"

The rambunctious yak ignored her questions when she angrily exclaimed. "Agh! Pony school waste of time! yak school teaches how to braid yak hair! Braiding yak hair is best!"

"Hey, calm down Yona. The headmare and her friends are trying their hardest to run this school." Sandbar's chill personality tried to simmer down the yak, "So how's the school doing for you so far?"

Hold on, this wasn't in the show; Yona would've tripped on her braid and roll into Smolder which in turn cause turmoil within the group. Since they approached me first, that never happened. I hope this doesn't mess their friendship in the future.

"Her friends looked overwhelmed at the guidelines given to them by the EEA guidelines." answered Mobius, sounding displeased, "If only Headmare Twilight could realize her friends' struggles..."

"Quite so, still we can't do anything about it." sighed Ocellus. "Perhaps we can tell her—"

"—Enough of your yammerin' everyone! Off to your next class!"

Just on time when Applejack broke the group's chit-chat and scurried them off to their next class. Just as James predicted, Gallus came and stepped up to her.

"No biggie, Professor Applejack— We were just having friendly discussion on the magic of friendship. Maybe even better than what you're teaching us—"

Soon after, Gallus' torso was completely wrapped in a thick lasso thrown by Applejack. Even though James may alter the scene a bit, he still got the short end of the stick. He groaned as the rope caught him off guard.

"I wouldn't want an accident happenin' on the second day, so back to class will ya!" just stared daggers right at the frightful griffon, letting him go from the rope.

The whole group broke off into different directions leaving Mobius following Sandbar in the meantime. He had a bit worried look after Applejacks threatening aura around her.

Geez, this is a kid's show! What did it go dark all of a sudden? I had enough time waiting around, I want to take my time powers for a spin and do more research. I need to get out of this school in the meantime, and I happen to know the best window of opportunity...

When Sandbar and Mobius arrived just arrived at a nearby staircase, they spotted Smolder and Gallus with their gloomy faces shared among all students. Mobius of course played the role and frowned alongside them.

When they were passing by them, Sandbar caught a glimpse of their strange detour, "Hey! Professor Dash's class is this way!"

He waved over at them, seeing them taking the wrong turn and catching worried faces with Silverstream, Yona, and Ocellus.

"Where are you going? You're not skipping, are you?" the changeling was generally worried about their odd behavior.

Alright, so they're still skipping class to go check out the lake for a while. Hilarity ensues, and they end up ruining the festivities and shutting down the school. I would help them prevent that accident, but I needed to make that happen.

"I guess I'll tag along too..." Sandbar's uncomfortable tone agreed to Gallus and Smolder's plan to ditch class. Just before he turned around to Mobius, "Are you coming with me?"

"We're planning on checking out the lake if you're still not looking like zombies all the time," joked Smolder behind Sandbar's back, waiting for an answer from him. He shook his head.

"Guys..." Mobius looked away from the curious group, staggering in his words, "I-I don't think this school's working out after all,"

"Huh!? I understand it isn't to all of our likings. But you're leaving?" the green colt was shocked at his decision. The others felt saddened too.

"I'm just going back home to Sire Hallows and contact my parents; If they ever reply to me..."

The group understood where he was coming from; someone with a lack of parents by their side. No one to support them or see every day. The worse part is that it's 100% true and isn't part of his fabricated background. Following the events of the show, Ocellus did her thing and transformed into Rarity to trick Fluttershy into taking them on a generous field trip. After passing the gullible pegasus, they all ran in the hallway out the exit where they came in. Mobius said his farewell and deviated from the group and rushed behind a place good enough to revert.

He knows exactly where...

"Maybe I can get more research done in Princess Twilight's castle library," he spoke to himself, huffing every breathe he has in him as he makes his way to the front door. Pushing and pulling, the door didn't budge. "Crap didn't think this through. It must be locked with a key or some type of spell. Now how do I even get ins-"

Hang on! I know what to do!

Pulling out his phone from the bag, he hovered it at just the right height to open the map app added by Discord. The map was a detailed area of Ponyville and all the waypoints he can warp to. Checking the blue arrow indicating his location, a waypoint inside Twilight's castle was seen. As he tapped his foreleg on the diamond icon, he quickly noticed a blue swirl of energy behind him. It formed a perfect circle that left sparks of blue dripping to the ground. The next thing was a visible image of Inside the castle's library. This must be one of the warp gates set up by Discord.

No hesitations and he jumped through the gate, causing him to land safely inside the library. It was both a magnificent sight to behold; being inside his pony waifu's home has to be a check-off in his bucket list. The warp gate vanished from thin air, leaving no traces of him ever breaking in.

"Still awesome that I'm still here," he spoke to himself, staring deeply at the vast sea of books on the shelves, "Alright, now would be a perfect time to change back."

He navigated to the disguise app and tapped the End Transformation button. Just like last time, he was covered in a greenish circle that shot up in the air and changed him back to his original self; black duster coat and everything. James had to adjust back to his old self as he stood up on two's.

"Argh! My back is killing me!" he groaned out of misery from his long transformation as a pony, stretching out the pain. "I'll get used to it. So I'm finally inside Twilight's castle, and I can see the portal to the other world just out in the open."

He would love to enjoy visiting the Equestrian human world and act like his normal self, maybe obtaining items that will help him in the long run. Nevertheless, he had to focus on now; estimating the last class is about 50 minutes or so. He opened his phone to see the battery at 40%, enough for one more transformation. He navigated to the notes app and see there's already a document filled with information.

This looks like all the stuff I need to know about my time powers; casting, duration, applications, all of it is here. But there's still a lot I need to know.

Swiping up from the bottom to enter the home screen and tapping the phone icon, he went to his recent call history and chose Discord. He didn't believe it would work, but he managed to get an answer from him

"Hello there!? Oh, It's just you! So how was the first day of school?"

"It went fine, about that. Was that whole parent's thing you're doing? Did you register me into the school?" James asked calmly, leaning his back towards one of the library shelves.

"Oh that little thing? Yes, I have, and even matching your family's descriptions to a tea!. All three of your forms have different backgrounds. I just made sure the very first one you chose was attending the school of friendship. Anything else should I be aware of?"

"Second question, how do you know so much of my time powers even though it was something special I had?"

"Easy enough. I can sense magic in any living creature, and you stuck out like a sore thumb! The time magic you have in you resemble some spells and other advanced magic from scrolls and books. So I just referenced all the spells you needed for the job. You can only cast them in your original human self, unfortunately. Restricting your powers to reverse time wasn't easy for me. Now are you done with asking anymore questions?"

"I have one more question for you and I'm done." he stood up from his leaning position, and proceeded to sit down at the nearby table, "Where is Cozy Glow? I've looked everywhere for her but she wasn't there at all. Do I have to wait until she appears in that one episode?"

"There's the question I'm looking for! I won't ruin all the fun so I'll give you a hint; Take the Manehatten assignment for Professor Fluttershy's class..."

James hissed over the phone, "Manehatten assignment? What are you talking about?"

"That's all I'm giving you; good luck!"

The cryptic message he left James with lingered for while after Discord hung up. Sighing, he switched back to the notes app and stood up from the seat, "Something about an assignment? I'll keep that in mind. Twilight should arrive at the castle to cry about her school's closure in an hour. For now, let me see what I'm capable of..."

Chapter 3: School Daze Part 2

In the main hallway of Twilight's Castle was James checking his surroundings making sure nopony was inside at this time. Realize that they're all busy with the friends and family day being held at the school. But even with all this free time ahead of him, James took this extra time and raised his phone high and capture a few photos of the castle to keep for himself.

"This is going on my wall..." He snickered, tapping vigorously on his phone. "Enough of that, let me try the first thing on this list,"

The note left by Discord showed nearly 6 types of powers available to him alongside descriptions. He went and carefully read from the top:

Time stop: Freeze time in a focused area using a sphere of frozen time. Can be used as a defensive measure to prevent enemies from attacking or defensive for stopping objects. Any objects or projectiles fired outside will stop as soon as it touches the bubble but will shorten the duration of it.

Raise and open the palm of your hands on the target or location you want to freeze. Up to three can be cast, any more will disperse the last sphere created. Each sphere lasts for 9 seconds.

Time Shield: Form a sphere around you to nullify oncoming magic-based attacks. Unlike Time Stop, it will only appear around you regardless of cast.

Cross your arms with the palm of your hands facing outwards or act like you need to be protected by something. Once cast, it will stay active until you leave the radius of the sphere or when it overloads on absorbing energy The shield doesn't stop anything from entering it, so use it strictly for defensive purposes.

Time Dodge: Speed up time on yourself to immediately escape by dashing out of harm's way. Can be used to attack opponents without their notice by dashing towards them at a hair of a second striking them down.

Focus on the location you want to go to and step forward; also works when you step back. It consumes the same energy as you would walking on foot and it cannot be used to dodge midair. You can dodge up to 18 feet,

Time Vision: Use to locate any living creature currently within your range. It highlights them with a distinct color while keeping the environment bleak.

Close your eyes and imagine enemies around you. Only works when you are completely still.

Time Rush: Temporary slow-down time while keeping your real-time actions intact. The duration of this is limited to 12 seconds per cast, but with enough practice, you could go more. Each cast will consume tons of energy, so make sure not to overdo it.

Hover your two palms close to each other and a small bubble will form. Stretch your hands outwards to expand the bubble and slow down the world.

Time Mending: Recovery from wounds, injuries, and other physical-based trauma increase tenfold. Please be aware that this is an automatic skill and only activates when needed. Powerful magic-based attacks and injuries on vital organs will take more time to recover.

P.S These powers can be made more efficient with enough usage, but there are still more I'm still restricting when the times are right. Want to learn offensive spells? You can use your unicorn form to practice unicorn magic.

"Hmm, No wonder why I immediately recovered after falling like a hundred feet from the ground." he was already intrigued by the kit given to him by Discord, but off-putting that he has an aptitude for using magic in the first place. It was known that these powers sound like they came right out of a videogame. James was excited to see what he was capable of, putting away his phone in the hidden pocket to cast his first spell.

"Alright, I need to practice on a live subject to get a feel of them when I'm at high adrenaline..." carefully figuring out the perfect testing grounds, "I'll wait until I can encounter one of the six—"

"I'VE GOT YOU IN MY SIGHTS NOW!"

A voice came calling out behind James, which frightened him. The voice in question sounds almighty, like a goddess coming for divine judgment. Turning around with his feet and torso, James couldn't believe his eyes as a bright yellow light emitted the one in behind the creature. The shape of its torso, flowing mane, and that longhorn of her horn can mean one thing.

Princess Celestia... and she's coming for his ass...

Oh fuck me... Do I have to fight off the Ruler of Equestria now!? This wasn't part of the job!

The bright light soon began emitting intensely that he had to cover his poor eyes with his arms. But when the light seemingly faded, he found himself in another part of the world. He was still in Equestria from the looks, but now in a green landscape with hills, trees, and... dark cloudy skies.

"This place is... very familiar..." he proclaimed to himself, turning around as the quiet vibe of the area gave him a chill down his spine. "What's going on? Where am I? When am I?"

"The End of The End... or that's what I'm told this episode was called." corrected Princess Celestia, slowly approaching James towards the side, "You're James Alvera, I'm I correct?"

"P-Princess Celestia!?" his sweet smile wasn't enough to make the white alicorn break her stern look, "First of all, It's an honor meeting you in person..."

She broke her stern look and gave him a short-lived smile. "Well, given your certain knowledge of us I'm sure you're all ex-"

"Although, I kinda preferred your sister, to be honest..."

"Huh?! What's wrong with me?" she raised her tone, huffing a puff of steam from her muzzle.

"Nothing is wrong with you, your majesty. It's just that my opinions deemed Luna to be the best royal sister." he grinned at her hint of jealously, "Both of you are fantastic, no doubt about it. But when it comes down to nit-picks, Luna comes at the top."

"Enough, now..." she raised a hoof at him, signaling to stop this nonsense, "To the both of us... we are in the distant future."

"This is... the series finale already!?" he was at a loss for words when something clicked in him. "Y-You're here because of the taboo Discord broke, aren't you?"

"You are quite intelligent for who you are..." she chuckled, "Discord committed something he shouldn't have done. Taboos are complex rules in nature that can never be broken; consider them as the laws of the universe. They all follow the same principles or derive from them."

"And?" James scratched his head on that one, "What exactly is this taboo he broke?"

"He broke the boundaries between fictional and non-fictional world!" barked Celestia, "He took someone from a world that calls us fictional and brought them here. Causing a total imbalance to the natural order,"

James tried to make her elaborate further. "I understand these alternate dimensions and parallel universes from shows and mangas... but which one of our worlds is real and not?"

"That's something far from my understanding, but that's not the point." Celestia continued, keeping her firm attitude, "Not only that, both of you are charged with violating the natural order of this world. You are to be sent back to your world to avoid the imbalance."

He shook his head at her demands. "No. I can't abandon ship! I need the money, and finding a job back home is difficult already!"

"Money issues, is it?" she closed her eyes and pondered for a while, leaving him curious over her next decision. "Very well... I may help you with your financial troubles."

"You... can do that?"

She nodded. " I can provide you as much as you want, name your price and it's all yours. All charges against you and Discord will also be dropped. Your time in Equestria will be short-lived."

Getting paid by Celestia herself? I'll be honored to accept. With loads of cash on me... I can drop out of college and buy a new house. I'll cover it up by claiming I won the lottery, I can be set for— Wait... No James! You will NOT take the easy way again! My life was always easy with the help of my parents, I want the challenge... and I want to change the show for the better!

"No,"

"Very well, I'll just send you—" she gasped at the realization of James' refusal. "What!? You would commit a crime against natural order to enlighten 4 creatures about the magic of friendship?! I'm giving you the money—"

"—No! It isn't just for the money!" elaborating more, James took his ground against the princess, "I'm living the life every Brony desires! Lived amongst the ponies, and even met my beloved Twilight Sparkle. Not only that, I'm creating a season finale everyone deserves to watch and making this the greatest finale of a show yet!"

"Huh? Beloved Twilight Sparkle?"

"Sorry, Princess. My mind's made up, I'm going to save these creatures from their impending dooms. I don't care about the timeline bullcrap; it's always inconsistent in every form of media." Scoffed James, arms crossed as he stood his ground.

"But the natural order—"

"Screw that shit! The future isn't set in stone yet! Even if I do break the natural order, I'm doing it out of kindness!" continuing his justification, James pointed a finger at Celestia, "You agree with me right!? You want them to have a good future?"

She was a bit conflicted when she sighed, "As much as I do want them to change for the better, it doesn't mean you have the right to do so. This is not your world, you're an endangerment to the natural order of this—"

"—Enough!" he was the one who hushed her, "My mind's made up, there's nothing you can do about it!"

James can see her looking peeved at his stubbornness, gritting her teeth together and snarking. Only to find her shaking off her frustration.

"I see... do you think you're capable of the task?" she asked, still lighting up her horn at the giving single, "Let us settle this with a little test..."

"Test?"

Lighting up her horn, she soon transported Twilight and her friends out of thin air. All of them were confused as to why Celestia summoned them on short notice. James' heart was racing, seeing them all on the same battlefield gives him Deja Vu vibes. However, all of this was a tad strange to him. Not sure if it's a hunch or dumb luck, but James closely examined the behavior of the six as he examined their every movement.

"Celestia, what's going on!? Is something the matter?" Twilight was assaulting her verbally with questions. As she flapped her wings to ascend to the sky, Celestia gave them direct orders with her voice of authority.

"Girls! This creature has broken the natural order and poses a threat to the world. I want you to deal with him just like how you've done with the rest!"

"Heck yeah! A secret-baddy to take down!" pumped Rainbow Dash from the sky, ready to duke it out at any moment.

"A human?" examining James from the distance, Twilight was curious and confused at this last-minute being to defeat. "Is he from the other world?"

"Whoever it is, he sure looks creepy..." Fluttershy's timid expression called out.

Rarity was scoffing at his outfit, "That is the most hideous-looking ensemble out there! It belongs in the trash receptacle."

"Focus now, you need to put a stop to him before he changes Equestria's future!" order Celestia, making all six ponies nod with her command. She then teleported way off in the distance and cast what appears to be a large yellow dome surrounding a large radius of the landscape.

They seem like the mane six and they have their distinctive quirks, I need to gather more info...

"I've always dreamed of this day, your majesty! A chance to be up close and personal with the six I've watched for half my life!" James put up a smirky face.

"Eeek! What does he mean watch us? Creepy!" gagged Pinkie Pie, making a barfing gesture.

Readying himself by cracking his knuckles and neck as he prepared a fighting stance raising his right fist to shoulder height and his left just below his chest. James would love to be one of those main characters to have a badass weapon, but that's not the case now. Having a hunch on the first one to attack, he prepared to test out his shield keeping him covered behind his crossed arms. Applejack was the first one to call out the orders.

"Alright gals! Let's break for it!"

The first one to call shots was Twilight preparing herself to fire lasers out of her horn. Her purple trail traveled long enough to reach James, but instead of being blasted away was a large transparent blue sphere that created a fractured reflection around him. The magic beam was neutralized in the bubble just like Discord's description on the phone.

"Just as I planned..." he muttered, keeping steer clear of the oncoming crowd of ponies coming for him. "If this is the future, then I'm willing to go all out with my next move."

The next ability he would like to try was his time dodge maneuver, to which Applejack was the perfect target. When she came trotting at full speed with her head out, he quickly knew she was going for a full-frontal assault. But as soon as she came close, he dodged out of the way with quick succession reaching almost a few feet away from her towards her left. It felt like teleportation as he described, but it was more quick-stepping to the location as he left a trail of blue energy along his path. The cowgirl was left confused as she stood without hitting a single thing.

"When in tarnation did he go over there?" Applejack saw him from the distance, seeing the bipedal running towards her, "At least I'm right here and..."

She was interrupted by James when he used his time dodge as an offensive measure, shoulder tackling her down to the ground. The force of his tackle was like a car going full speed on a highway, it left her a bit unconscious.

Sorry Applejack, If that's who you are.

"Don't worry Applejack, I've got this!" called Rainbow Dash from the sky, gaining enough altitude to ram James with her foreleg out in the open.

James took a big gulp, immediately knowing that Rainbow Dash packs a punch with her amazing speed. He knew how the way she fights based on episodes and even from his PowerPoint presentation on her character analysis he did for a school project with 2 other brony friends. Wishing he could bring them along so that they can save the show together. Nonetheless, he tried to dash out of the way as soon as she zipped down; acting discombobulated as she seemingly missed him.

"What the hay!? How is the faster than me?" she landed on the grass, "I'm the faster flying out—"

The next action James did during a quick step into Rainbow Dash's general direction was grabbing her by the torso and swinging her a few revolutions before the combined speed of his dodge sent her out from the sky. She screamed traveling a generous distance away from the sky trying to regain control with her wing flaps.

So long... eh-Dashie! Now who's ne—

*WAHBAM*

Getting hit with a comically large mallet to the head that looked like a cartoon, Pinkie pie came in and surprised whacked him from behind.

"He's got some nice tricks! I bet Twilight can dissect you for sciency-stuff" She carelessly described, putting up a big smile.

"That is... if he's okay with it..."Fluttershy came with her to reply to her remark

When were these ponies so hardcore!?

Luckily, the time mending skill recovered his head trauma in a matter of seconds. He quickstepped as soon as the pink pony began dumping a pie on his face. It sadly touched the grass to which Pinkie Pie frowned. The rest of the friends tried to circle him to gain an advantage from every angle. But James tried everything to dodge, shield, and avoid harm from Twilight and Rarity's lasers. At some point, he was grabbed by Fluttershy's long tail and sent up a few feet in the sky and fell at Applejack's crosshairs successfully bucking him with her two back hooves. He groaned in agonizing pain in his stomach, following alongside the ground.

Shit! I forgot my time dodge doesn't work in the air! But it was an honor to be kicked by Applejack. I'll bump her up to fourth place in my top 10 favorite ponies list. Twilight is first obviously,

Waiting to recover from the pain, the fight almost felt like an hour to him; panting like a thirsty puppy. He looked at the sky and Rainbow Dash waiting... preparing to do a Sonic Rainboom as it seems like for James. He was a bit excited to see one in person but concerned about a certain red flag he pointed out.

She would never do a Sonic Rainbow in the vicinity of her friends. Are these the mane six? I need to stop her somehow, and I just know how...

After casting another shield to protect him from the incoming beams, he placed his two palms close together and it began to induce a tiny blue sphere inside it.

"Hold... HOLD..." examining the distance between Rainbow Dash and the beams, he quickly strategized a tactic using knowledge of his abilities.

I hope this works...

Now reaching visible distance with him, James stretched out his arms to cast the time rush. The entire world entered this ominous state, as everything appeared underwater. James can see the sky fractured up like broken glass and the timescale of the world itself came to about quarter speed. Making Rainbow Dash visible from the rainbow trail she made from her tail. Even the speed of the lazers was slowed down. Marveling at epic powers, he still has to deal with Rainbow Dash. Attempting to back away from Rainbow Dash, with her front hoof outwards as she slowly descends, he tried casting his time stop. With a raise of his left palm, targeting her to be frozen; out came a bubble similar to his shield that completely paused her every movement.

So I can cast time stop while in time rush? Alrighty then, now if my deductions are correct, I could...

Blinking forward to Rainbow Dash, he grabbed her like a cardboard standee and aligned herself so that she faced Twilight and Rarity off in the distance. He even relized that he could enter the sphere while a subject is within the time stop. Seconds later, the effects of the time rush expired, and everything. Twilight and Rarity stop their casting to realize Rainbow Dash is completely still, trapped in a sphere creating a fractured effect within it.

"Whatever happened to Dashie?" pointed Rarity, seeing the pegasus frozen like a statue, "She's pointing to us?"

"R-Rarity!" Twilight ventilated with her breath revving up, "I-I think we should get out of the way!"

"Why? Dashie requires hel—"

"—I think she's going to crash into—"

*KABOOM*

A large puff of rainbow-colored smoke formed as Rainbow Dash was thrown off course and somehow on top of a pile of Twilight and Rarity underneath her. All three groaned in agonizing pain as their minds started to adjust to the sudden impact.

"Grrraugh!" rubbing her head from the throbbing pain, Rainbow Dash was coming out of her conscious state, "W-what happened? Did I get him?"

Rarity's mummer answered her back. "N-n-no darling... you... crashed into... us..."

"H-huh?... h-how?" is all she could muster up before the pain finished processing in her brain, "Argh! My back!"

The remaining three ponies came to circle them, mustering up all their battle faces, and stared down at James. Which, he catches his breath from all of that magic casting.

"Alrighty girls, let's finish him once and for all!" exclaimed Fluttershy, somehow unfazed at her friend's major injuries.

Yes... something's off about them... all six of them.

Just like a gift of divine intervention, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Rarity recovered from their injuries and began to form a circle with the rest of their friends. Magic beams dropped to them indicating their unique color, and they soon lifted off into the air. Princess Celestia was eyeing down James, acting like she was waiting for them to finish the job.

"They're gonna do it... the rainbow beam that somehow solves mostly half of this shows problems," he spoke to himself, preparing for the worst that's about to come. Just as he was losing hope, he was reminded of the remaining powers he had.

I can probably use a time shield to nullify the beam, but Discord did mention that It breaks upon overloading; That thing will tear me to shreds. Crap! What should I do? It's not like Time Vision is going to...

Wait!

Ignoring the fact that Twilight and her friends seamlessly transformed their bodies to their rainbow-fied selves and that he's probably going to die, James took a huge gamble and closed his eyes. Concentrating to make use of his Time Vision ability. Seconds after his focus, he saw something off-putting that would 100% confirm his suspicion over the six.

Gotcha now princess...

He witnessed the creation of the rainbow-colored beam coming straight down to his location, completely standing still and unfazed by the bright colors blasting him whole. He keep his eyes closed, imagining what happened if his suspicions were wrong. Could being blasted by friendship feel like a warm tingly sensation, or is it like being roasted in an oven. James' ears were irritated by the ambiance the beam made like a low-frequency hum. When the time that the six were slowly descending and their friendship beam died down, Princess Celestia stepped in front of them, using magic to make them disintegrate with a trailer of yellow sparks.

Not to her surprise that James managed to be completely intact from the beam's blast, keeping a distinct grin on his face when the princess approached him to speak distance.

"Now tell me... what gave it away?" she slowly gave James a curious face. He answered.

"First of all... Twilight and Rarity would be goners if they got trapped in a Sonic Rainboom at blank range. Even then, their friends would be devastated and worried about their friend's safety."

"And?"

"Secondly. Out of all of the battles, Twilight would have more variety in her spell casting. Also, Rarity isn't the mare to use offensive spells; She usually cast defensive spells like shields." he added to his list of suspicions.

"That seems to be all?" As if Celestia was giving him a job interview, she asks one last thing of him.

"Oh, I figured that they weren't real because of my time vision ability, it only highlights LIVING creatures. But it only showed as one distinctive heat signature, yours."

"Well done James," Celestia congratulated his efforts, then called out to the skies, "You can come out now Discord! He has piqued my interest!"

A familiar figure to James poofed up in a veil of smoke as Discord was carrying a tube of popcorn and a pair of 3d glasses from the movie theaters. He was sighing as he made the two items vanish with his snap of a finger, "Oh, man! That was an amazing work of art! 10 out of 10! Sir James, how are you this fine day?"

"Discord..." he kept his mind at ease when the chaotic creature approached him, "Those were your doing is it not?"

"No, those six were artificially created by the brilliance of Celestia!" he corrected James, coming up to the alicorn looking quite marveled by the human's incredible talent. "See, told-ya this taboo-breaking is worth it."

The alicorn then used her magic to dissipate the clouds from the sky, revealing the landscape's beautiful clear blue skies and shining sun. Celestia's tone changed from being the assertive ruler to the kind and caring soul she is.

"You've picked a fine specimen for the job... that's all I'm saying...still, a human being with the aptitude of powerful time magic. All it took was to break a taboo; very fitting for the king of chaos."

"It was a 1 in a billion chance I would find someone fitting for the job. Most of them would just want to live their life in Equestria and date their favorite pony based on the research from this...google or whatever. But enough about me, you improve your acting skills from the last time you were on stage."

"Well, I had bits of practice with the help of my sister and my dream world."

"Hang on your majesty," James recollects what she meant about receiving a message from the future, "Does that mean you're..."

"At this moment, I am Princess Celestia from your current point in time." she cleared a few things up that had James' head rolling, "And this isn't the future, this is the same area that the battle of the bell took place; I just teleported us here from Twilight's castle."

He elaborated further, still tired in the heat of the battle as he panted. "So you're aware of the events of the future already?"

"Yes! We binged the entire series!" Answered Discord, pulling up a flat-screen television playing a random episode from the show, "However, I was not fond of the outcome of what comes to be... and so as Sunbutt here!"

Celestia scowled, "I said not to call me by that!"

"What's going here? Why are you two putting me in charge of changing the future?" James changed the topic demanding answers for his reason being here.

Celestia began her intrepid story. "What you've said about destined futures and creating your path is true; nothing is set in stone as of this point in time. But when Discord alerted me that there goes a universe that depicts us as characters from fantasy and pure fiction. At first, I laughed. But when he showed me that the world also created a show about Twilight and her journey, It was magnificent. Like watching memories from the eyes of somepony who was there; even viewing events on what's to come. He also showed me the community of people that enjoyed our antics and quirky lifestyles; The Bronies, to be exact."

Events of what's about to come? Man, this is all a huge brain ache, I can't even keep up with all of this meta shit

"Let me take it from here Celestia!" Discord broke from his long silences and took the stage, "When we finished watching the last two seasons, we were... a bit discontent when we turned the three into a garden statue. It felt natural when you're doing it last minute, but looking back; it felt kinda rushed. The final episode was just a flash-forward scene with a lot of mysteries brewing! What happened to the statue? Do they make it in the end?"

Heh, wait till you read the season 10 comics...

Discord proceeded, "Then, something hit me. What If we bring a Brony to this world and see what he does to the finale? Not just any Brony, someone with the aptitude as well."

"But, all that talk about taboo... and the natural order?" he reminded them of the crime Discord committed. Celestia cleared his confusion up.

"Yes, Discord broke a taboo, and he's willing to accept the consequences in the future." she cleared up any confusion, and sternly stared Discord down like a disobedient puppy. "And despite trying to save four creature's terrible fates, you are also considered a criminal for breaking natural order."

"So, I classify as a villain in this show? Even with my justifiable motives?" he let that sink in for a moment.

Celestia smirked in front of him, observing his whole attire and outfit with a hoof to her chin. "As long as the outcome is desirable, I don't see why we should brand you as one. Though, you do look like one..."

Nudging his shoulder, Discord turned over at his left ear. "Hey! Come on, it does suit you. Right James?"

"I guess you can say that..." James replied, rubbing the back of his neck as they all laughed.

"I would like to see someone with your caliber what you'll do to change the fate of the four," Celestia added, "I've heard from him you're going for Cozy Glow first?"

"Correct your majesty, he told me to take some assignment in Manehatten. I don't know for sure why though?" he directed his attention to Discord, "Why is that?"

He was grateful to answer back, keeping that sly tone inside him. "Not much, but I've done some digging outside of my screen time. I don't wanna ruin all the fun figuring it out, so here's one more hint; You can prevent her from even plotting to destroy all magic if you just take that assignment."

Prevent her? What do I even have to prevent?

"Fine, I'll look out for it," James sighed, reaching over his phone from the pocket, "Wow, 35 minutes in? Fighting does make time fly."

"Oh by the way James!" Discord came up to his phone and tapped it with his finger, "I've given you an extra ability in your notes; consider it a reward for completing your test."

Opening the notes app and scrolling down the list, James saw that an extra entry was added:

Time Reversal: At any random moment when you are attacked, stop and reverse time to the precise moment before impact. Gain an upper hand while the opponent is frozen in time for a short while.

This ability can activate at any time when you're being hit so be ready when it happens.

"Thanks. This could prove useful," James thanked, putting away the phone back into his pocket, "So... now what? Twilight should be crying in her bedroom by now."

"Oh yes, I should be consulting about the students from different nations by now. I shouldn't leave my dear sister alone."

"Does Luna know about my and Discord's situation?" James curiously asked. She nodded.

"Only she and I know, the rest are kept in the dark; I wouldn't want Twilight to panic about this taboo-breaking and natural order." she chuckled.

She lit her horn bright and instantly flashed a bright light around the environment. Making James brace for it covering his eyes with his right arm.

The light died down from their eyes James, he was back at the place he was just standing in before his encounter with Princess Celestia. Inside the main hall of Princess Twilight's castle.

"I'm back..." He pulled out the phone to see another notification on the screen, "Hmm, is this..."

It was a notification indicating a phone number has been added to the contacts list; Princess Celestia.

"Feel free to call me when you have the chance," The princess offered to share full contact with him.

"Wait, you have phones in Equestria?" he replied to her with a question. She nodded.

"Of course we have telephones, we're not cave-ponies. Still, it isn't as far as advanced as yours. Anyways, I'll take my leave. Make sure you keep a low profile for now; you should be able to come back to the school when I give you the call."

After The Princess made her leave, I decided to switch back to Mobius and hang out in Ponyville to let the events of the episode unfold. I've spent nearly hours at the bookstore reading some pony culture, artifacts, and some Daring-Doo and at eateries sampling the treats. I can't believe it takes nearly hours just to show 20-minute episodes. I guess now that I'm living here in real-time, I have extra time here. Speaking of time, Cozy Glow officially appears in episode 12, but Discord mentioned I can stop her from plotting at all if I take the Manehatten Assignment for Ms. Fluttersehy's class. I just have to wait for now.

While Mobius was walking along a pathway, he noticed a pegasus flying past him reaching above what appeared to be a large city resetting on the clouds. He knew it was Cloudsdale, and he pondered to himself as he carefully examined the city from the ground.

"Maybe I should try out my other forms next time..."

Chapter 4: Job at Cloudsdale

I've been attending classes at friendship school for nearly a month now, and there's still no sign of any Manehattan Assignment from Fluttershy; telling her would raise suspicion. I'll keep a low profile until the time is right. No classes on weekends gives me time to practice a bit more on my powers. I may have been sneaking in town in broad daylight and using time rush and time dodge to steal a few bits from ponies and stores these past few weeks, but I've made sure I stay away from large crowds. I should be able to get away with small targets every few days to avoid real suspicion. Plus, I'm trying to gain some villainy points for the long run when I potentially run into Chrysalis; She's my second favorite character.

The bell rang for lunch as many students congested the halls like ongoing traffic to line up for their meals. Mobius was just situated in part of the line followed by the six from behind him. They were quietly passing down little bits of chatting as they marched one by one to the front of the cafeteria.

"Yo, Mobius!" Peeked Gallus just cutting in front of Sandbar, to which he didn't mind in the slightest. "What did you get on question 5 on that quiz?"

We've just finished a quiz in Professor Dash's class about her excellent feats. I thought it would be super-easy, but it was a bit difficult as most of her quiz questions are about herself. Luckily. Gallus asked for the answer to the question I think I've got right.

"I've chosen 'B: Mach 10'" Mobius relayed the answer. Gallus smacks himself on the face with his talon.

"Crap! I've put 'Mach 2'"

Sandbar reassured his buddy, patting him on the shoulder. "it's gonna be fine Gallus. Professor Dash is chill with bad grades.

Next in line was Mobius, levitating tray from the stack on the foldable table and sliding over at the vast menu options. He always chose the safest food options like soup, salad, or simple side dishes. James couldn't feel like he's up to the challenge of devouring pony-based cuisine; Dandelion sandwiches, hayburgers, and the apparent corn dogs made of carrots all made him gag on the inside.

Over on the other side, Pinkie Pie was the one maintaining the portions of the students' meal. Wearing a hair net to keep her mane off the food as she surprised Mobius from below.

"Hey, Mobius! Wanna try today's special?!" She offered upon him, playing around with the utensils to scoop up food.

"Sure, what's on the menu?" He smiled back, curious as ever to try out what the school has in store.

"We've got a signature favorite straight out of Hippogriff Territory; fish sticks!"

Fishsticks!? The only type of meat in Equestria? Finally, no more of these vegetarian choices.

"Oooo! Fishsticks! They're my all-time fav!" Cried Silver stream from a feet creatures behind him.

"That sounds amazing; I'll take them!" Nodded Mobius, making Pinkie Pie ready the tray of Fishsticks.

"Wow! Never seen a pony who eats fish before; luckily it comes with a nice heaping portion of mac-and-cheese! So ooey and gooey!" She placed 6 Fishsticks on his tray and plopped a big scoop full of Mac and cheese right on the other potion of his tray.

Alongside getting a side of apple juice, a fine cupcake for dessert, and sliced apples as he made his tray full, he decided to wait until the rest of the gang to get their meals ready. He reserved a part of the table just for them as they finally reach the end of the station. But soon as he sat at the table, Mobius felt something tap on his shoulders to the left. Turning to the source of the gesture, it revealed to be Headmare Twilight carting a tray of her food. His heart fluttered and his back went straight and his eyes dazed.

"H-Headmare! Good to see you on this fine evening!" He greeted with a grin, "Is something t-the matter?"

She shook her head at him. "Nothing's wrong persay, starting next week, we're hosting tryouts for an important play in Princess Celestia's life; how she began her reign as ruler of Equestria. Thought you would give it shot?"

Oh... so we're closing in on that episode? I thought that Celestia was a really bad actor, but after that whole thing a few weeks ago; I don't even know anymore. I shouldn't get carried away with that, It doesn't serve me any good being in the play.

He replied by shaking his head at her offer, "Sorry Headmare, I usually dedicate myself to studying on weekends..."

"That's alright, I won't force you or anything..." she sounded disappointed quickly turning the subject around, "I've noticed you've got a perfect score on Professors Dash's class."

"Don't sweat it. All I do is just remember the stuff she said to me and just used it on the quiz," Mobius replied, preparing to activate his charming stare. "But I always wanted to learn magic from you, Headmare Twilight."

The rest of the gang were huddled together, seeing Mobius and the Headmare sharing a fine chat. All looking quite suspicious over him creating small talk around their circle.

"Sadly, I wouldn't want to bother you with your position as headmare... you're the most talented spell caster I ever knew!" He finished his sentence with a great big smile. Alongside making Twilight show a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Oh my! Nopony has ever come to me to teach them magic before," giggled Twilight, "I've known for a while you wanted to study at the magic school for gifted unicorns. I'll consider teaching you some tricks the next time I have a free schedule; that good?"

The eccentric James contained his excitement as much as he can when he pulled the classic one-liner from students everywhere, "Sounds like a date then..."

Realizing that her wording was a tad off made the mare blush bright red as her cheeks and eyes turned away to the happy colt. Twilight could never be the pony to date somepony, let alone their student from her school. "I mean! not like a d-date! That would spell disaster! I'm a different life ahead of you and you're also my student! Which would be a bad wrap from all my friends and even the public."

James couldn't believe he's seeing the signature Twilight Sparkle cringe face up close; he could just die of happiness right now. He had to cut her off just to recollect herself, "J-just joking, I wouldn't want that to happen either..."

"Yes, now gotta go over there!" she pulled her signature cringe smile as she trotted away still in that particular pose.

The gang later filled the empty areas of the lunch table and plopped their trays alongside the spots they were sitting at. The boys sat on one end while the girls were on the other side. Just like the typical segregation in high school as James would recall. They were focused on chowing down on their meals, but some did some chatting as Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, and Silverstream turned their attention to Mobius.

"Listen here Mobius!" Smolder pointed to him like he did something wrong to her, "You can't hide from us anymore."

"Oh? Hide what exactly?" He was genuinely confused at their odd behavior towards them.

"Yona find pony-friend suspicious from start!" The yak was reiterated in the third person.

Sweat beads started to appear on the back of Mobius' neck when he soon believe he was about to be exposed. Did he manage to slip up? He made sure not to reveal his phone out in the open and revert to the most discrete locations. He had to wait if they were talking about his true identity. But Ocellus was the one who immediately call out to his attention.

"Yes. There is something strange about you; my changeling senses are tingling around you."

Shit! Shit! Shit! Have I slipped up? I knew I shouldn't mess around stealing! I'm surrounded by creatures; transforming back is a huge risk for me! Please Discord, save me from this predicament!

"You've gotta crush on Headmare Twilight!" His moment of panic came to end when Silverstream came up bursting and leaned towards him in the process. Pointing a talon over at the silent unicorn.

The girl's side of the table snickered in unison poking fun at James' out-of-this-world crush on Twilight Sparkle. He doesn't blame him, he had his eyes on her for the past 10 years watching the show. Alas, the season 9 finale didn't do her justice, or as James would call it. He felt like she could be so more after her abysmal performance in season 8. Televising the season 10 comics won't make it better because that whole series was utterly useless to him.

"Told ya! I knew from the beginning!" perked Gallus right next to Sandbar, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Oh! That sounds so cute of you Mobius!" Cooed Ocellus from her seat swaying her head. "My sense tells me you make the perfect couple together."

"Oh r-really?" He sighed heavily, seeing that his crisis on his true it made him act nervous, "I thought I came too strong on her when I asked her about learning magic."

"Good for you buddy, But I don't think Headmare would wanna date one of her students." Gallus had to break the news to him, "She's the princess of friendship after all,"

"Oh geez! You better not be attending this school just to see her!" Smolder sighed, picking up a huge gem on her tray to bite into it. The cracking and crunching noise made the gang discomfort.

"How do you eat that stuff? Those will shred my teeth," the concerned-sounding Sandbar piqued interest at the dragon's unusual appetite.

She muffles her every word while chewing on the pieces of gems. "Focus on your dietary chooses and I'll focus on mine!"

Over at the faculty table where all of the teachers and staff, twilight's closest friends, came and dined together just on the left-hand corner of the cafeteria. Pinkie Pie was still managing the station, so they were one mare short. Each of them was doing less eating and more gossiping soon as Twilight came and sat at the head of the table. To her surprise, all of them including Spike aimed their sights directly at her making grins all around.

Dumbfounded by their strange behavior, Twilight began to break the silence in the table ."Hello girls... fine lunch we're having?"

Giggling noise came out of the five mares' mouths as they made Twilight uncomfortable and confused at their odd gestures.

"Umm, what seems to be the problem here, Rarity?" she poked at Rarity making a sly face at the clueless princess.

"Twi-darling! I never expected you to have... such sway with the younglings. It's bound to happen, you are one of the most sought-after mares in all of Equestria. You place 4th in the top 10 eligible bachelorettes in my fashion magazine "

Twilight gulped when she dug for more answers from her. "S-sway?"

"It's alright Twilight, don't be ashamed of yourself," Fluttershy eases her with her calming nature, "Everycolt his age goes through some feelings in their body; it's just that Mobius had his eyes laid on you the first. It's best to not overthink it and pass it on as usual."

"W-what are you talking about Fluttershy!?"

When it came to Starlight's turn, she scooched over to her left muttering out to her ears, "I always knew you had it in ya! Still, private magic lessons from you? In more ways than one..."

She was genuinely creeped out by her friend's strange behavior, cringing through their whole conversation. But was all cut short when somepony with the nick of sense stopped this whole thing.

"For crying out loud! That kid Mobius has the hots for you!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash by slamming both her hooves on the table. "Dump him, he isn't worth it!"

"W-what!?" cheeks turned red, Twilight got completely flustered by the outrageous accusation. "No-no-no! That part of asking for private lessons for a date was just simply-"

Gasping on sight, Rarity covered her mouth while keeping a faint blush on her cheeks, "Oh my! A date already!? What kind of colt is he that made you head over heels for him?"

"No! It was JUST a joke he says!" iterated Twilight, keeping her raging emotions intact. "He wanted to learn at magic school, so I promised him to teach him a few spells of mine when I have the free time."

Chuckling from across Starlight, Applejack kept a cool head. "Okay, we'll leave it at that everypony. Although, that their Mobius does find you the good-lookin' one.."

Twilight buried her face with her forelegs as she muffled her agonizing scream from within. "Celestia... please help me"

The final bell rang for the day and all classes for the rest of the week as the weekend break arises. A majority stayed at the campus, studying, using the facilities, or just hanging out. For Mobius, he parted ways with his schoolmates ready to leave for their homelands for the weekend. Left him to walk over towards his usual discrete spot; The Everfree Forest. Pulling out his phone to change back to his original self and prepared to change into a brand new identity. His battery level was at 50%, so it would mean one extra transformation.

"I should use this extra time to get used to my pegasus form to pass the time," he muttered to himself, preparing to hover over at the pegasus button, "Here goes nothing!"

At a tap of the phone, his transformation began as usual surrounding himself in the green ring and transforming him back to a pony. Or so James thought noticing subtle differences distinguishing his unicorn self. He had tan-colored fur as a base this time. Checking out the camera app on his phone is a pair of green eyes rather than his heterochromia pair. He was the same age and height as his unicorn self, but he felt lighter and more alert in his mind. From the side, he was a pegasus colt with his wingspan tucked inside his back. His mane was now brown and frilly as he brushes the top with a foreleg.

"So this is a pegasus body? It's quite different than unicorns than I imagined." he carefully spoke to himself turning over to see what his cutie mark is this time, "Now that's interesting..."

The cutie mark that appeared this time was a blue infinity symbol, with distinctive blue streaks of lighting creating the whole thing. He still had a satchel bag on him, must've been the coat that changed form again but with a smaller strap to accommodate the wings of pegasi. Putting away his phone in the bag proved difficult without the use of magic, but James managed to do so biting the edge with his mouth and tossing it in the air to land in the safety of the bag. His next goal was learning how to fly as he prepared to expand his wingspan and get a feel for the air. Miraculously, he started strong, zipping through the forests at high speeds already; just the slightest yaw from his body made him maneuver past the dense trees, and controlling his altitude was no problem for him.

It seems that each form pre-loads my brain with the knowledge of basic skill sets like magic and flying. I can pretty much fly to Cloudsdale from here if I wanted to. I wonder what an Earthpony brings to the table?

Going above the village to catch a glimpse at the whereabouts of Cloudsdale, he spotted a great chunky of clouds gathered pretty far from his location. It was about time he sees the wonders of Cloudsdale from upclose as he zoomed above cloud level and a straight shot into the city center. Just to his surprise, the city looked quite large than the show's depiction. Only showing an overview and bits of it like the weather factory and a few houses. Hovering a few feet above the clouds just like the other pegasi minding their businesses. James wanted to just take out his phone and take a few snaps, but it would be a risk to not only himself but for his precious phone. What if it breaks? He doesn't know if it can float on clouds.

Gently, he simply just hovered around the city to marvel at its structure and other architectures. It was a mixture of old roman-like buildings with a hint of modernized housing, and rainbows flowing everywhere like waterfalls.

I wonder what a rainbow tastes like? Not like skittles...maybe one lick wouldn't hurt-

"Hey, kid!" A screech called out Behind James, which he quickly reacted by looking at his back. The pegasus was a stallion, looking to be a few years older than him. He had pale blue fur with a dark blue mane and tail and emerald green eyes. This was a no-brainer to him, it was Soarin of the Wonderbolts. Every pegasus knows who they are in Ponyville, so this was convenient for him as well.

"Wow! Soarin of the Wonderbolts just called out to me!" James knew he wasn't into the Wonderbolts that much, but it was a nice little extra to be seeing one in person, "What can I help you with?"

"Maybe you can start with your name first?" he casually greeted himself, "Yes, I'm Soarin! Must be a big fan of mine!"

"Oh yes, my name..." thinking something out of the blue was James' signature talent as he immediately found a perfect name. "I'm Figure Eight! A pleasure meeting you!"

"Figure Eight huh?" Soarin made a thinking pose as he stood still on top of some clouds. "What a strange name indeed. So, I was thinking if you could be interested in some easy bits?"

"Easy bits how?" replied Figure Eight, genuinely curious of this job offer as he landed softly in front of him.

Soarin proceeds to elaborate further. "Indeed, we're doing an open house at the Academy where pegasi can come in and see what it takes to be a Wonderbolt. We'll be offering tours, flight demonstrations, and a chance to meet the members upclose. We won't begin until next week, so the academy made these flyers for any pegasi who are interested in attending. We've been wanting to ask you if you're willing to post them around Cloudsdale and Ponyville."

"Flyer run huh?" he replied to him, seeing the pile of flyers on Soarin's bag.

"I would do it myself, But I need to do some drills very soon; think you're up to it?"

Making a few bits could prove useful and I shouldn't just rely on stealing from others, eventually, I'll get caught.

"S-sure! I've got free time!" Figure Eight nodded, accepting the large stack of flyers and carefully packing it in his bag.

"Good! Meet you back here little man!"

With that, Soarin zipped out above the skies, leaving a trail of wind pushing from Figure Eights' face. Looks like a perfect opportunity to check around Cloudsdale while he's here.

20 minutes later, I've been locating hotspots and lively places to post as many flyers as possible. Flying makes it so easy to maneuver around; Going to point A to point B was a breeze. Just as I was scanning the city for any other possible spots, I realized that I need enough for Ponyville. A place where youthful pegasi mostly gather around. I think I know exactly where to go!

Figure Eight pierced through the cloud and began his descent down to Ponyville; screaming along the way like he's in some roller coaster ride. Roughly landing nearby a business, he first stuck flyers around Sugarcube Corner and the doors on some business. His main target of the School of Friendship, zipping above everypony at surface level and landing just outside the doors. James' first idea was to go to Headmare Twilight's office and tell her about the Wonderbolts youthful division, but his mind stopped him from moving as he realized something.

Hang on, I'm not Mobius this time. This form doesn't know where Headmare Twilight's office is, or the school. I needed to play the part of a clueless pony to keep suspicion away from creatures.

He panned around the main hall checking to see if a family face could guide him to Headmares Twilight's office. Over at the corner was Sandbar, preparing his bags to leave the campus as it looks. Figure Eight carefully hovered towards him catching him off guard when he jumped out of fright.

"Woah Dude! You almost scared me!" Sandbar caught his breath, seeing the pegasus with a bunch of flyers from his bag. " I don't think I've seen you around."

"S-sorry, I'm just having trouble finding Headmares Twilight's office! I wanted to pass out flyers around the school, but I want to ask permission from her before I do." Figure Eight casually explains to Sandbar, acting as if they're strangers.

Sandbar, like the kind colt he is, replied. "Oh, well her office is just down—"

"Excuse me, I don't believe I've seen you around here before?"

A voice called out to Sandbar and James, seeing a soft-spoken pegasus hovering towards them. It was Professor Fluttershy, and her presence alone made Sandbar pretentious as he stood straight up and happily greeted, "Professor Fluttershy! I wasn't doing anything wrong; this pegasus needed to ask permission to hand out flyers."

"Flyers for what exactly?" She caught Figure Eights' suspicious presence in the school when she tilts her head over at his bag.

"Flyers for the Wonderbolts Academy open house. Mr. Soarin asked me to post them around Ponyville and I had an idea to post some around the hallways and bulletins around here," he answered back, making Fluttershy smile back.

"That sounds wonderful! My friend is in the Wonderbolts, you might know her as"

"Yes! Ms. Rainbow Dash!" interrupted James. "Big fan of her too!"

It's great to meet somepony who is a fan of her friend, but something bugged Fluttershy that she had to ask him. "My-my, I don't recall ever seeing you here around the school of friendship. Are you out of town?"

"My apologies, it's Figure Eight!" James casually greeted her by offering a hoof shake, "Pleased to meet you!"

Observing their conversation, Sandbar intervened for a bit. "I have never seen you around here; you new?"

"Oh, no..." he shook his head, figuring out something that seems believable, "I live far away from here, somewhere in...Fillydelphia."

"A city colt huh?" smiled Sandbar, trying to get more out of him, "And you came to this school specifically?"

"Not exactly; I needed to do an errand at Cloudsdale when Soarin met me. He said to post some flyers around the city and in Ponyville." James couldn't believe the amount of exaggeration he's pulling from his noggin, "Then somepony from town suggested I go to Twilight's School of Friendship. A unicorn with two different colored eyes; kinda freaked me out."

"You must mean Mobius," added Fluttershy, "He said something of visiting his home back at Sire Hallow's, so he's the one that told you to come here."

"Yes..." knowing that he's lying to Fluttershy made him sad, but Figure Eight brushed off his thoughts.

When Fluttershy understood where he came from, she turned over to him and made a suggestion. "I'm going to see Headmare Twilight myself, follow me and I'll take you to her."

"Sure!"

The two pegasi hovered around the halls, keeping a respectable distance from each other; Figure Eight pretending that it's his first time here. Reaching the huge doors and coming to a stop as Fluttershy gave two gentle knocks with her foreleg. The voice of the headmare behind the doors echoed.

"You can come right in!"

Giving her a hoof to push open the doors revealed Twilight at her desk seemingly signing important documents from a medium stack of parchment to her left and a larger stack to the right. Using a quill and a few ink bottles to sign the bottom of them with a signature as James assumed it. He stayed silent, trying not to bother her as much to let the adults talk.

"Good evening Twilight!" greeted Fluttershy, attempting to break her from her concentration, "I have a-"

"A pegasus?" she broke her focus on the signatures and now towards Figure Eight, observing his strange presence in the school, "Is he a new student ready to learn friendship!?"

"N-not exactly..." muttered Figure Eight, trying to act all shy around her, "I just wanted permission to"

"Oh Fluttershy, I just got those optional assignments ready for you for Monday's class!" he was interrupted by school duties, "Here they are!"

Fluttershy hovered her attention to three purple manila folders on the center of her desk, already in reach of her. Trying not to take a peek to respect their privacy, James did glance at one of the labels on one on top: Manehatten...

Manehatten! That's where Cozy Glow is supposedly located, and it's for Monday's class? That gives few a few days to prepare for it. No matter what, I need to take that assignment!

"Why thank you so much Twilight!" Fluttershy was grateful that she finally got those folders in her possession. She quickly greeted Figure Eight in response, "This here is Figure Eight! He comes to post some flyers around the school for the Wonderbolts open house."

As expected by James, she graciously accepted the idea at no extra thought. "That's wonderful; we have so many pegasi students. They would love to attend this open house! You don't even need to do It yourself, I can have my friend Rainbow Dash posts these in lickety-split."

"Saves me the trouble, thanks!" Figure Eight sighed happily, placing the rest of the flyers on the headmares desk, and proceeded to wave goodbye when he approached the doors behind him. Just as soon as he was about to touch the door, a purple baby dragon was doing a jog towards Twilight's desk. James knew it was Spike all along, but it felt weird seeing his original self.

Spike hasn't grown a pair yet? I wonder why he was running towards her urgently?

"Twilight! Starlight needs to see you in her office." he panted as he tried to keep his short legs propping himself up.

"In a minute Spike, I've just finished reading these letters of recommendations for future students." she went back to her usual business. He nodded before falling flat on the floor, possibly due to exhaustion.

Whatever it was it doesn't sound good... but I can't do anything about it; just gotta go back to Cloudsdale and get paid...

The trip back to Cloudsdale wasn't too bad the second time, it was tiring for James as he was just getting used to his newfound stamina in this new body. The location he agreed to meet back with Soarin was just outside a store entrance. He was patiently waiting for the colt to arrive as Figure Eight flew past him.

"Hey it's me!" he reminded the stallion about his presence as he landed softly on the cloud surface, "I've done what you've asked and posted flyers around town,"

"That sounds amazing my little dude!" of course Soarin was perky into hearing his success, "As promised, here's your pay just for that."

The stallion reached out for his bag and showed him a sack of what appears to be 30 bits total, which seemed to be enough food for a whole week or more if spent wisely. James couldn't be so happy receiving his first pay as an individual. Figure Eight accepted the bits he had laying on his hoof and grabbed it by his mouth to place it in the safety of his bag.

"Thanks, Mr. Soarin! I'm honored to be working for a Wonderbolt!" Figure Eight did a saluting gesture as if he was part of the Wonderbolts himself. Soarin simply chuckled from his mouth.

"No sweat it kid, you seem like you can hold on your own; how about you do some odd-jobs here in Cloudsdale?"

Soarin's offer piqued James' interest as he asked to elaborate further, "Odd-jobs like?"

"You know, simple tasks; Clearing away clouds, tourist guide assistant, and some mundane tasks here and there." added Soarin, going down the list of jobs, "Think of them like commissions; they can be found on the bulletins around the city."

Is this the part in the tutorial where I can do side-quests? I do need money to survive, and stealing from helpless ponies isn't going to put me on the nice list. I guess I can use this form to make money for myself.

"That sounds like an ideal job for me!" nodded Figure Eight, thinking about the possibilities of many other jobs.

"Great! You can find a list of stuff that ponies need to be done near storefronts in Cloudsdale; Even in the town hall in Ponyville." Soarin gave out a brief explanation for Figure Eight's benefit, "Careful now, some jobs require serious hard work or the use of magic. It's best to avoid those..."

That won't be an issue for me...

When he was just about done with his explanation, he noticed the sun about to be lowering to a shimmering sunset. Soarin immediately went airborne and gave Figure Eight some parting words before dashing out to the sky.

"Shoot! I'm late! Spitfire is going to kill me!"

It was that time James too decided to go back to the dorms and change back to Mobius, carefully flying down to Cloudsdale to the Everfree forest. Situating himself behind a tree before he pulled out his phone and miraculously switched to his human self with a tap of his hoof. The back pain James use to get was no longer a problem as he got custom to living his life as a pony. The battery level reads 20%, so this would be the last time he could transform in a while. Sighing, he pressed on the unicorn button and transformed back to Mobius. Reminding himself about that commission's board in town, he decided to check it out tomorrow and decided to head back to campus. But while James was already heading to town, he levitated the sack of bits he got from Soarin over at his eyes and carefully pondered.

Maybe this calls for a celebration? Time to see what this hayburger is all about...

Meanwhile...

Counselor Starlight was just finishing up her last student before she was greeted by Twilight hanging around at the doors. The student put up a big smile as he left satisfied with his visit from Starlight. Taking a seat just in front of her desk space, Twilight curiously asked about her reason for being summoned here.

"I've arrived just like Spike said, fid a friendship problem arise?" she asked herself some paranoid afterthoughts as Starlight shook her head.

"Not exactly, I received several theft reports from students making it the 5th time this week." her concerned stared almost gave Twilight chills down her spine as this seems like a serious matter at hoof.

"Theft? What kinds of stuff was stolen?"

"All of the reports were just bits; No books or any personal items. The strangest thing is that the students do know the reason for the disappearance. They had the bits in one second, and the next it disappears!" answered Starlight, "Also, similar reports have been going on in town,"

"The same crimes around Ponyville? Do you have any leads on the culprit; what do they look like?"

"A student in the newspaper club was taking photos for this week's article, and she spotted this strange figure behind all the students here."

The photos laid on Starlight's desk were separate headshots of students and their activities, but it was clear that something in the background felt off for Twilight. It was figure bearing all-black and surprisingly wasn't an ordinary creature she recognized. What made this more elusive is that the figure in question was slightly faded and blurry like it was traveling at high speeds.

"I've seen these somewhere..." Twilight carefully inspected the photos showing the anatomy that held the sack of bits, "Like I've had experience with them... they're hands!"

"Hands? As in those things from the world Sunset Shimmer resides in? Those hands?"

The alicorn nodded her head as she examined the photos in more detail with a magnifying glass she alleviated from thin air, "Yes, I think this could be the work of a human that managed to make its way in Equestria. But how? Equestrian magic should transform them into a pony. I should probably write to Sunset about anyone that might've used the portal somehow."

"Whoever this stranger is probably didn't travel from world-to-world just to make quick dough. There must be something more sinister at stake," Starlight rubbed her chin as she throws out theories about this strange being.

"Have any creature seen these photos outside of school?" reached out to Twilight, still inside her zone examining the photos.

Starlight replied. "No, only the one who took the photos saw them and she never showed it to anypony."

"Good, I don't want this to leak around Ponyville and cause a panic." It was time that Twilight used her magic to make a folder appear to her and placed them inside as classified information, "Let's just hope that all this creature does is steal money and not someone trying to change the fate of Equestria forever. I may have to report to Princess Celestia about this..."

Mobius was just inside the stallion's restroom inside the hayburger restaurant, seemingly occupied at a stall vomiting out green substance in the toilet. His face all discolored by his greenish cheeks and teary eyes.

AHHH! Who the fuck eats hay for a hamburger!?

Chapter 5: The Manehattan Assignment, Part 1

Sunday night already, and I've been doing some keen research on artifacts and other relics of past Equestria. I can't believe there's so much stuff for a show that didn't put much thought into the finer details. So far the bewitching bell, alicorn amulet, EEA Medalion all have their unique usages. An abundance of them are possible contenders, but succeeding requires a bit more than just an old piece of history. Maybe when the time comes before that episode, I can take the wishing flower for myself. Anyways, my phone's clock should match the time in Ponyville, so it's currently 10:00 pm and I'm already sleeping from all this reading.

Tomorrow was a very important day as it's the beginning of another week of learning the values of friendship. Yawning on the desk chair, Mobius got up from the seat and almost climbed up the bed when knocking sounds were heard just outside his room. He hid his phone inside his bag and propped up from the bed where Mobius opened the door to reveal Sandbar and Gallus who were bunked in the room just two doors across from him.

"Sup Mobius, you've got a minute?" the griffon peeked his head across his side of the door, "There's something I need help with,"

Sandbar followed his last move and peeked his head too, "I know it's late and all... but Gallus can't stop bugging me to tag along,"

"Alright, come in and tell me what's up..." the unicorn did another yawn when the two creatures came into his dwelling.

Gallus acted unusual tonight when he brushed off his usual carefree attitude and showed a concerned sounding muttering noise, "I... you know... want help with... well it's more of advice for..."

"Friendship?" cutted Gallus off for a second as Mobius took a hard guess. He shook his head.

"Not that...it's kinda like, dating advice"

This gives me the perfect opportunity to ask about the golden question; who is the cannon ship in this universe.

But before Mobius can help the helpless birdy, he needed to act repulsed cringing over at Gallus' plea for help as he sat on the chair to his desk, "Why would you go to me out of all creatures here?"

"It's because, your interaction with Twilight a few days ago..." Sandbar answered back, sitting on the ground next to Gallus, "We saw you smooth talk her like a hot knife through butter, you got the gift dude!"

"All I did was make small talk when she came over to me..." he crossed his forelegs and leaned back. "Suggested that she teaches me some magic spells and played it off as a date. Nothing too serious,"

Gallus was waiting for him to finish before replying, "We know, but I just want to get advice from a bro I trust. You're the last guy in our social group, and our last hope..."

"Fine... just, who do you have your eyes on?" finally, Mobius laid out the first interrogation question.

"Promise you won't tell any creature?" pleaded Gallus, moving up close to him and making doggy eyes.

It's always the high school genre's where romance is always involved. Oh well, time to finally break the ice

"I promise!"

Mewling over to reveal his crush, Gallus raised his talon just next to his beak and muttered, "It's Ocellus..."

Gallus and Ocellus!? Oh shit! The fandom's going to get batshit crazy! I always thought Gallus and Smolder would cut...

"Really!? I mean, really?" he stood out from his chair to give him his best advice, "This is a no-brainer for you Gallus; you like her? Talk to her!"

"What! But I don't even know where to start!" Gallus was astonished by the unicorn's bold advice.

"I know both of you are good friends and only met for a month, but keeping these feelings to yourself won't make any progress," Mobius laid out a simple to learn tip even a griffon can understand, "First, I would start it off slow offering opportunities to build up your confidants to them. Then, you're going to want to make a good judgment on what to say to them. Don't try to make them feel distant; embrace their quirkiness enough that they feel comforted around you. Lastly, when you feel comfortable enough, try to confess your feelings most nonchalantly."

The boys were appalled by the detailed explanation Mobius planned for them, dropping their jaws as it sounded full-proof in the books. James could simply smile within his thoughts as he tried to listen for a response from them.

"That sounds amazing!" cheered Sandbar, finding that newly found confidence as he pumped himself up, "It's like you had experience with the ladies for half your life! We'll take your advice pretty seriously,"

"Why do you care? You don't have an admirer too do ya Sandbar?" the griffon nudged the earthpony with his shoulder, giving him a chill.

"Hehehe... N-No way... I'm too much of a nice guy to have somepony special..." sweat beads formed around him as he laughed off Gallus' claim. "Again, sorry for the intrusion dude. We'll make it up to you when I have the chance!"

Mobius nodded, "Yes, you must. Good night dude..."

Both quietly exit the room as Mobius pushed the door back to its closing state avoiding slamming it. Tomorrow is going to be a very important day as the first target of his mission was just about to come closer...

Today is Monday, the day of the supposed assignments from Professor Fluttershy's class. My morning routine never seems to change at all; woke up, get into a nice warm shower at the communal shower rooms, no need to put on clothes in pony form so I just prepared my stuff and head down to breakfast at the cafeteria. A nice veggie omelet with a blueberry muffin and orange juice. I can NEVER forget that time I ate a hayburger for the first time; I
could consume it, but I needed my stomach to get used to the dietary changes in my pony form. I have Fluttershy's class last, so I powered through the day as usual taking notes and chatting with the students on stuff. I'm currently just entered her classroom which was filled with animals of various sizes.

The class went on as usual as the students got a chance to be up close with the animals and get tips from Fluttershy on basic care techniques. Followed by some group activities involving sharing, the day was just like any other. When the bell indicated five minutes before classes ended, Fluttershy gathered the students in a circle as she approached with three purple folders just crossed insider her forelegs.

"Alright class, I have something very important for all of you!" she hovered around the middle of the half-circle the students made as they all stared down at the folders, "I have here three opportunities of extra credit as most of you have struggled with the written portions of my class. So, therefore, Twilight provided me with this assignment all about doing an act of kindness to others!"

All the students seemed curious at these opportunities to bump their grades up alongside a deep stare coming from Mobius. This was his chance, he must obtain the folder about Manehatten.

"Settle down now every creature!" the professor saw the students about to raise their volumes as she cleared her throat, "Now! These assignments go as far as Manehatten, but I'm aware that your folks won't let you travel that far from Ponyville. I suggest students that came from cities like Fillydelphia or Baltimare should take that assignment."

Hearing most of the ponies coming from Ponyville sigh in misery as they were determined to take those assignments from a far place like Manehatten, Mobius had a perfect alibi for his reasoning to take the assignment; His parents supposedly work around the area.

"Excuse me, Professor Fluttershy," he raised his hoof head high getting the mare's attention as she perked her head, "My parents work in Manehatten, so can I take that assignment just to have a chance to see them?"

"Oh that sounds like an ideal plan of yours Mobius," smiled Fluttershy, but she soon turned it upside down to give him some bad news, "But, you seem to be doing flawlessly in my class; It wouldn't be fair for the ones who're struggling..."

Crap! I should've thought of this in the first place! Now I'm going to miss my chance at... hang on! I can save this!

Playing the sympathy card, Mobius looked away from her curling his bottom lip and eyes all teary. His roles in multiple school play paid off as he tried to sell his sorrow to the teacher, "Yeah... you're right... it's not like they wanted to see me in the first place. They're too busy with their business that they barely get time to. I thought I could surprise them, but I understand it's for the ponies that needed the points..."

Averting all eye contact with the teacher, Mobius sat down moping around in his artificial pity. A crowd of teenage fillies circled him comforting him by stroking his back with their hooves.

"It's okay, Mobius...Professor Fluttershy! Can you just give the assignment to him!? He barely sees his parents for crying out loud!" cried a random filly that was pampering the frowning colt.

"Yes! We should give him the assignment! Nopony here seems to object it!" a colt from the other side of the circle seemed content of giving the assignment to poor Mobius, "He deserves that assignment I say!"

Fluttershy can see the visible support for Mobius as she was assaulted with words of encouragement for him to take the assignment from Manehatten. Her frail heart soon found defeat as she made her final decision.

"I can't say no to you, Mobius! Of course, you can take the assignment!" she gently hovered past her animals waiting to be free from the period as she offered him the folder in front of him, "Here! The round-trip ticket to Manehatten is inside and everything you need to know about the assignment is inside."

He soon noticed the assignment was secured in his fate, levitating the folder to him and opening up a smile, "Th-thank you, Professor Fluttershy..."

Geez, how gullible are these ponies? Twilight should at least do a background check on all the students before attending.

"So that's one down, two more assignments on the line! One in Canterlot and one just in Ponyville." relayed Fluttershy, still offering assignments during the final bell rang indicating the end of classes, "And Mobius, I need to speak to you after class here..."

But James wasn't in the clear yet as there goes a catch in receiving the Manehatten assignment, so he patiently waited until the rest of the assignments were given out and the rest of the students left for the day. Leaving Fluttershy and Mobius in the classroom all alone with the animals roaming around. Confused over at the ambiance of animal noises, Fluttershy moved over in front of Mobius and gave him a little chat regarding the assignment.

"Before you head out, there's something you must know," she relayed important information to the colt as he was directing all his attention to her, "The assignment you've picked won't start until tomorrow morning and you'll be skipping a whole day of class. I can't just stop classes for the whole day, so I'm trusting you to get help from a friend of yours to take notes for you. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes... I'll reach out to one of them," he nodded before Fluttershy asked him another question.

"One more thing, do you find Twilight... up to your standards?"

Was this referring to his chat with Twilight the other day? Mobius thought long and hard by her omnibus question, "What exactly do you mean by that Professor Fluttershy?"

She carefully leaned over trying to elaborate more, "I'm just saying is that, do you have feelings for her in a... step above friendship kind of way? It's perfectly normal to have a crush on somepony, even though if that somepony is a best friend of mine "

Oh no... I don't want to lie to Fluttershy anymore! My feelings for Twilight are genuine, but I can't focus on that now. Stay calm James... just say a simple one-word anwser

Mobius answered back with vagueness in his tone, "It depends..."

"Depends on what?" she carefully tilted her head to have her left ear face him.

"Well...uh...depends if Twilight's brother won't strangle me if I try to ask her out,"

No! What are you saying!? I told me NOT to spill the beans! This is going to stab me in the back later on...

"Eeeee!, you do have a crush on her~" cooed Fluttershy, hovering a few feet off from the air before landing gently on the floor to assure the embarrassed Mobius, "Don't worry! Your secret is safe with me! But I can't believe Twilight has an admirer on the premises, and that admirer is her very own student! Just like Rarity's romance novels!"

Knowing Fluttershy, that ain't going to happen...

The rest of the day for Mobius went as accordingly as he expected; studied at the library for an hour, ate some snacks at the cafeteria, and proceeded to walk over to his usual spot as he reverted to regain composure over his big day tomorrow. He's got to go to Manehatten and do whatever it takes to prevent Cozy Glow from causing havoc in the school. He reached for the folder laying on the ground and viewed its contents. A train ticket indicating a round trip for tomorrows date was held by a paperclip in front of the actual assignment, where he read the guidelines:

An Act Of Kindness: Manehatten Edition

Location: The Sunflower Orphanage, Maneway street

Time expected to arrive: 9:00 am

Time expected to leave: 5:00 pm

Task: Keep the foals company and assist the caretaker in any task they require assistance with. This assignment should broaden your horizons on doing acts of kindness to others. The second part of this assignment is writing a 2-page report on your visit and how an act of kindness can not only change your wellbeing but others as well. Below is the seal of authenticity that should be inspected by an adult followed by a signature that requires a signature upon completion of the assignment:

Signature: ______________________ Time started: ___________ Time finished: ___________

"The Sunflower Orphanage..." James muttered to himself, leaning on a huge tree and thinking out loud, "Cozy Glow's an orphan? This still doesn't answer why she wanted to destroy Equestria's magic; did her parents leave her or was she left at the doorsteps?"

His phone vibrated as another call was summoning him, it was Discord again, to which James answered instinctively, "Discord, what do you have for me?"

"Resorting to petty crimes I see? Twilight surprisingly went up to me and told me about these photos of a strange black-coat figure who's been making ponies bits vanish without a trace."

Hitting his forehead with the center of his left palm, James growled as his stupid actions were catching up to him, "Fuck, I knew I shouldn't be stealing bits! Now It's going to whack me in the ass back!"

"Calm down James, you were lucky to have been blessed with powers like those, or else you wouldn't survive a single day in Equestria. I've told Twilight that I'll investigate this further, but please be careful not to reveal you're true identity to any random creature; even if they are trusted friends of yours.

"Thanks, buddy, I feel that we're becoming closer already!" sarcasm filled James' voice as he sighed, "So what's with the phone call today?"

"I'm here to check up on your progress of course, so tell me about this assignment of yours?"

"I've just received the Manehatten assignment from Fluttershy, saying I need to go to The Sunflower Orphanage tomorrow and do some volunteer work." James relayed the assignment details over the phone. "It takes a whole day, so I'm going to need to get a friend to take notes."

"I see, well I wish you good luck in your mission. Since I'm a good creature on the inside, I will give you one last hint: Mend the hurt and all will go well...how things will change, only time will tell..."

Again with the vague hint disguised as something Zecora would say when Discord hung up his phone call, James will have to think about that one when he gets there. Now, he got his things together before he basked in the sunlight getting his thoughts straightened. Tomorrow is where his work finally begins, making sure that all of his time in Equestria hasn't been taken for granted. He was stoked seeing Twilight and her friends alive and breathing as real creatures and seeing all of Ponyville and its wonderful residents, but he needed to focus on the bigger picture.

But somewhere in the deep part of the forest lied a creature lurking in the darker parts of the forest. She looked like she was looking for something to feed on, but not the typical wildlife staples. It was the former Queen of the Changelings; Chrysalis. Sensing a nearby lifeform ahead, she did some surveillance over at the distance to see something out of the ordinary in her many years on Equestria. A bipedal creature wearing nothing but black clothing seemingly looking defenseless and an easy target for her. But she wasn't that ignorant, keeping low profile peeking behind a tree.

"What in the world is that thing?" she muttered out loud, glaring down at the creature with her eyes, "A dragon? No, something else..."

The creature she was spying on slowly turned behind him as Chrysalis accidentally walked over a branch that snapped in two. She reacted by walking a few feet away to duck behind some shrubs hoping that it doesn't come closer to him. But unknowing to Chrysalis, the creature had something in his sleeve that exposed her location.

James stared down at the dense parts of the forest and closed his eyes; hopefully to activate time vision to sense any living creatures. Not to his surprise, an orange figure was occupied just a few feet away from him. He chuckled, "I'll leave her be, for now. I'll have a chance to form an audience with her during her pathetic attempt at stealing the elements of harmony."

Soon as he sensed that she no longer has his eyes on him, James quickstepped out from her peripheral vision and disappeared just like that. Chrysalis soon got up from her position only to spot nothing in the location where the odd creature stood, "W-Where did it go!? No matter! I need to make preparations for my plans!"

I had a good night's rest as I tried to sleep earlier than usual. It's 8:00 am Tuesday, the day of the assignment; I prepared my stuff and head out to the Sugar Cube to grab something to go. Sandbar was kind enough to lend me his notes for today's class and I've said my goodbyes to the gang as I reached for the train station. It's my first time riding the Friendship Express since coming to this world so I was a bit excited. The round-trip ticket was only good for the day, and I made sure to bring my bits just for emergencies.

Presenting the ticket to the conductor and boarding the train immediately as it took off. In the middle row of the car where Mobius sat, he took off his bag placing it on his empty side of the seats. James doesn't quite know how long it would take to get to Manehatten from Ponyville, so he made sure to keep his eyes peeled to avoid any problems missing a stop. He does remember that the orphanage is just outside the station he was going to get off at. Only a few ponies filled the train car this early at the time, and while Mobius stared outside the runny landscape. He was soon passing Canterlot via tunnel passage, illuminated by some bright crystals around the edges. It was about 40 minutes since leaving Ponyville as passed another tunnel through the hill and came out seeing the big city just within sight.

"Next Stop! Maneway station! Exit on the doors to your right!" the train conductor announced from the PA system.

The train slowly made its descent underground and reached the next stop at Maneway station. Preparing to board off from the train car and to the platform, James' mind was filled with deja vu, exhilarating squeals, and a bit of angry at the same time trotting along the stairway.

Running a bit late as Mobius rushed over to the destination when he reached the station at 9:05 am. Busniess ponies were trotting in every direction reaching their destinations from the time. Typical commuting as usual in big cities such as this. Just reaching out of the main stairway connecting the surface to the underground, Mobius took the next flight of stairs out to the surface. The whole city had this mixture of classic and modern structures with carriages still on horseback and skyscrapers galore.

Mobius was hurrying to the location across Maneway station and soon spotted a residential building with a wooden door in the front of the lobby. Using magic to turn the door handle and enter the main lobby of the building. He would expect a drab interior with dusty old flooring and poor living conditions. All of those thoughts went down the drain when he was greeted with none of that; walls were painted bright yellow with pictures of happy foals with their new foster parents, marble flooring that looked well maintained over the past years, and a bright happy white fur earthpony mare who was politely greeting him behind the counter. She looked very quirky and energetic, as Mobius was simply sinking in at the general vibe of this place.

This place looks amazing! Like you never expect an orphan to live in this five-star hotel. Maybe the orphanages I've seen in shows were exaggerated just to sell sympathy from the audience.

"Oh, I'll be! If it isn't a handsome young colt around here; Are you here to adopt or stopping by sweetie?" she asked him, leaning forward on her chair.

"N-Not exactly," clearing his head and getting to the nitty-gritty, Mobius pulled up the folder from the bag and placed it on the desk table, "I'm here on an assignment from Headmare Twilight's School of Friendship. I was told by my professor Fluttershy that I needed to assist with the caretakers and keep the foals company. I have the form right here."

The receptionist was keen to check on the authenticity of Mobius' visit as she skimmed through the letter with a seal of approval by Princess Twilight herself. She gasped as soon as she finished reading, "Oh! We've been expecting somepony to drop by around here! Alrighty! Wait and I'll get you started by meeting the owner of this wonderful oasis of special foals!"

He noticed that the earthpony was dialing up a number on the nearby telephone plugged into the wall. Princess Celestia wasn't kidding when she said there were phones in this world. Technology in Equestria was a hit and miss for James; Vinyl's Headphones, Flim and Flam's machinery, and just lights, in general, don't fit in a world filled with magic. It took nearly a few minutes before a yellow-furred unicorn mare coming down from the flight of stairs to the right side of the desk was eyeing Mobius as her golden locks and perky smile were greeting him like an old-time friend.

"You must be a student from Princess Twilight's school of friendship! I'm Bright Crest, a pleasure to meet you!" she held a hoof out to give him a sign to shake hoofs. Returning the smile as he replied and gave her hoof a shake.

"I'm Mobius. It's nice to meet you too Ms. Crest,"

"I will get your signature in order as soon as you're finished with your time here; speaking of, how about you meet all the loveable foals upstairs in the play area?" Bright Crest directed him to the stairs, giving out a clear signal as she stepped aside.

More like there's a pegasus that is a psychotic rascal. I wonder if she already has foals around here acting like her slaves and the ignorant adults are playing it off as a game?

"L-Ladies first if you will?" he formally gave her the first few steps upstairs as she chuckled back.

Moving to the second story of the building, looking to be individual room numbers by the labels on the doors, the hallway seemed to have portraits from all the past tenants in the orphanage. Each one of them had happy colts and fillies playing around in different parts of Manehatten; Central Park, Ice Rink, and some playing with toys in the toy store. Bright Crest was happy enough to give him a rundown of the place, "Unlike most orphanages, we at Sunflower offer similar amenities to that of a daycare but for the foals in need. As you can see, each room here holds two foals at a time. The cafeteria is just across from the play area we'll be heading to."

"Excuse me, Ms. Bright Crest, may I ask what types of foals living here came from? Like, where they abandoned after birth?" He didn't feel like asking a blunt question, but Mobius had to gather as much information.

Bright Crest was kind to answer him, lowering her quirky nature to be more serious, "It's okay to be curious, most foals here were abandoned after birth. It's sad that each time I see one on the doorsteps, it means one less foal in a caring family. Also... there's that case..."

"That...case?" he repeated to her, Bright Crest continued her explanation.

"We've just had a new foal who came about a month ago; A pegasus filly whose parents divorced just after receiving her cutie mark."

Divorce...cutie mark?

"I don't know much myself, but she ran off to here during a long fight her parents had. But I've already said too much!" the mare turned to the right and stopped at the double doors, "Better not to mention it to her... so anyways!"

Her horn glowed a golden aura surrounding the door handles, giving them a pushing motion as the room inside was like an indoor playground. Seeing multiple unicorns, pegasi, and earthpony foals playing with the toys on the ground, running aimlessly around, or some reading books near the corner filled with bookshelves. James could describe it as elementary school but during a never-ending recess. Loud cheers and curious stares came from multiple foals as they focused their attention on the teenage colt standing next to the caretaker. They all crowded him as he kept his cringy smile intact when he was assaulted with questions.

"Ooo! Who's this Ms. Crest!?" one random unicorn filly from the crowd shouted, "He sooo cute!"

"Is he your coltfriend!?" a bluish earthpony colt asked, "Nooo! I owe Wave 5 bits!"

Another earthpony came up to him, "What's with your eyes? They can't decide if they want to be red or blue!"

"Settle down my little ponies!" chimed Bright Crest from the room, giving every foal their silent attention, "This is Mobius, he's a special guest that came to play with all of you for the day!"

"Oh...h-hello their...Oh, yeah I see you too!" he was keeping the foals in check as he waved and smiled.

"Okay Mobius, I'll be collecting all the bedsheets in the rooms for washing; How about you start by maintaining order in the playroom for an hour?" she directed orders to Mobius, nodding silently to answer, "Good, see me outside the hall if you have any issues!"

After hearing the first part of his task, James can already feel like this is going to be a long day. He wasn't so well with kids; The best thing he could ever do when babysitting nieces and nephews were stick them at the T.V. screen and turning on the cartoons. But they were no televisions in Equestria, so it would take more hands-on, or in this case hoofs-on interaction. The foals scattered to different parts of the room seconds after, but he noticed a stray one staring at the corner of a wall bearing nothing excited. He recognized that curly blue mane from the backside anywhere, it was his target: Cozy Glow. She seemed awake, but couldn't tell as she was simply sitting at the corner all alone. Mobius went to a random filly just playing with a toy train on the carpet.

"Excuse me, kid, what can you say about...her?" he carefully not to mention Cozy's name assuming that it's his first time here, "She looks lonely,"

"Oh, the new foal? She only sits at the corner muttering stuff, I don't know what kinds of stuff." the filly answered him back, "She always quiet, ever since she came here after her parent's divorce,"

She's not the psychopathic ruler that I and most Bronies would depict her as such, she's just a poor filly who ran away after her parent's separation. It doesn't look like she's acting the part or scheming. Let me gather the information I already know; I know that Cozy Glow and Lord Tirek wrote letters to each other as told by him in the season 8 finale. Exchanging stuff about draining magic and other stuff about the school. Assuming that they wrote to each other during her time there, I could go to Tartarus using my phone and converse with Tirek. But that wouldn't make sense because I'm taking this assignment as a chance to see Cozy Glow before she schemed and what Discord said on 'mend the hurt' might be referring to the loss she's suffering.

Aahaa! I've got it! It was clear from the moment I came here! I need to get her parents back together!

Get her parents back together?

...Her parents divorced a month ago...and I need to get them back?

...Discord you motherfucker!...

Meanwhile at the School of Friendship faculty break room...

"How were those assignments going Fluttershy?" asked Twilight across from her in the faculty break room, grading papers along her side.

"They were amazing, sad that Mobius claimed the hardest one out of all of them."

"Huh? Mobius got one? But he's doing so well in your class?" this caught Twilight off guard trying to correct one students' grammar on an essay.

Fluttershy replied with a sad sigh, "I know, but since his parents already worked in that area, I thought it would be a nice gesture to give him a chance to see his folks."

"That's so wonderful of you, Fluttershy. I would like to meet his family too!"

"Oooo! I bet you do..."

"N-Not like that! I just want to make them know that I'm declaring him my number one student! He learned so much in one month; made 6 friends, was loveable by most of the students, and received excellent grades. I was considering those magic lessons he mentioned a while ago."

"Well FYI, I've done some...interrogation... and I've discovered that Mobius INDEED has a crush on you, Twi!"

"You what!?" she slammed the papers from her aura to the table pausing her business, "H-how could you Fluttershy!? Did you torture him? Blackmail? Gave him the stare?"

She shook her head, "Nope. He came pretty clean easily, but he's afraid of your brother will try to kill him if he tries to ask you out,"

"Oh of course he would! Always try to scare off any stallion I try to hang out with; date or not!" hissed Twilight, reminiscing of previous attempts of relationships, "But he's only a colt...so I guess it's okay for..."

Twilight saw Fluttershy slowly forming a big smile on her face soon realizing her careless mistake. She dropped everything she was doing and shook her head frantically like swarming off mosquitoes in the forest, "No! NO-NO-NO-NO! I'm NOT saying that I like him like THAT!..."

"Oh my Celestia...this is happening right now?" Fluttershy gasped at the sight of her friend's flustered breakdown, "YOU DO LIKE MOBIUS!"

Fed up by these confusing emotions inside, Twilight materialized a pillow from her horn and placed it on the table covering her work. Then, face planting flat on the pillow letting out another muffled scream of agonizing proportions. Moments before she depleted her breath, she rose slightly facing Fluttershy with a mummer, "yes I do!"

Chapter 6: The Manehatten Assignment, Part 2

Spending nearly 25 minutes with a bunch of foals wasn't that bad at all, I've done some acting as a dark prince, play some board games, helped do some drawings, and read a few storybooks. It all seemed fun not because I'm trying to drown out the fact that I NEED TO BRING BACK TWO PONIES FROM A FUCKING DIVORCE in a few hours! I'm not a divorce consultant! I don't even know where to begin? Maybe I'll take this time to speak to Cozy Glow just to get more information about her parents, I probably won't get anything from her.

Putting away some toys left by some foals, Mobius started to get used to their short attention spans and loud screaming while playing with them. But, he spotted Cozy Glow still at the same spot she was for the whole duration of playtime; staring deeply at the corner. Seeing the rest of the foals Not focusing their attention on her gives him the best chance to speak with her. Walking over at the naked wall of space, Mobius tried to approach her steadily; not causing a scene or anything.

He stopped just a few feet behind her back and called out to her, "Excuse me, kid, what's your name?"

"Cozy Glow..." She wasn't hesitating to answer back, keeping her depressed tone when she murmured. "I'm a bad filly...I'm a bad filly..."

"Huh?" Mobius reached out to listen to what she's saying but failed to catch it on time. He tried again and asked a question, "So, why aren't you playing with the other kids around here? Are you shy?"

"Don't want to..." Cozy answered back, keeping her soft tone.

This was already hard for James as he doesn't want to pry into her past to make her talk more. However, he isn't going anywhere just by conversation. A figurative lightbulb popped above his head; he's going to make Cozy Glow a part of his report on kindness. Before he goes forward with plans, he tried to get her attention one last time.

"My name is Mobius, I came from Princess Twilight's school of friendship established in Ponyville," he formally greeted behind Cozy, making her slightly turn her head over him, "You heard of it?"

"Princess Twilight...friendship..." Repeating those words to her mouth made Mobius uncomfortable as she sounded like she's building her anger, "...She never came to my rescue...when my parents went up and left me!"

"What the?"

Cozy Glow turned her face to Mobius, closing her eyes as to contain the tears dripping, "They never appreciated me getting my cutie mark! Mommy left to Las Pegasus while daddy went off somewhere around the city! Abandoning their only child, because of some STUPID cutie mark they never wanted!"

Whatever happened to her parents must be traumatic. Her mom's pretty far from Manehatten, but I can't get there right now. Did they split up because of her?

"Hey! Calm down there, it's going to be alright," he turned to see all of the goals still playing and cheering, unfazed by Cozy's temper.

"Why!? Just WHY! Do they hate me for finding my special talent?! Shouldn't they be proud of my success?!"

Something doesn't feel right, not that I don't believe in what Cozy Glow is saying. No. Why didn't the friendship map detect a friendship problem to help Cozy Glow's parents? Well in my world, it's up to some people to write the storyboard and plan out the lore. But since this IS the real world from the other side, there are no limits to anything. I'm guessing that the map only spots out friendship problems, but even so.

"Magic is the reason why I got my cutie mark and my parents divorce! I wish it all away!" She clenched her teeth and growled, combined with her fiery eyes made Mobius notice she's becoming the Cozy Glow he knew from the show.

He has no clue where to start with her; her parents left her to be after receiving her cutie mark and she's on the verge of plotting the destruction of magic. How is he able to quell her anger? If only his parents would help him from...

Parents...Like I have had no chance of seeing my parents since they left for New York. You know, she reminds me of myself when my parents broke the news of their departure; minus plotting to take over the world. Maybe she just needs someone that can relate to her pain? I'll try anything at this point, seeking her parents are going to be the last thing I do.

"Parents left you too huh?" Mobius settled himself right next to the teary-eyed filly, making her jerk her head as she turned over towards his general direction, "I know how you feel, my folks left me to go work someplace else while I attend school somewhere else."

"Th-That's horrible..." she wept, trying to wipe tears running down, "Why did they do it to the US!?"

He smiled, carefully comforting her with some hard truth, "For me, it's because they want me to find myself in the world. I've been always under their care 24/7, scheduled my hangouts, studies, and well-being. Leaving me to do my things to shape me to become a better pers- Pony! But for your case, I don't think they hate you for your cutie mark,"

"They don't...hate me?"

Now that he got her attention, Mobius asked her, "Tell me this, do your parents love you? Like at any point were they always like this to you?"

Cozy Glow tried to reminisce about her parents trying to answer him, "They do always love me, even supporting me of finding my special talent. Daddy gets off work early just to help me find what I'm good at and mommy helps me with my flying so that one day I can grow strong. When it came to their day-offs, we use to talk walk around the park and go shopping for new toys. My life was always happy... until the day I received my cutie mark in a chess competition. I heard my mom saying she doesn't love dad anymore and my dad slapped her. Soon, they scattered like I never even existed. There's something wrong with me! I just know it!"

Not a single sign of domestic violence or cruelty from them, they're like the model family. But what caused them to divorce? It could be anything besides that; affairs, money issues, or worse case is that their love for each other died. But Cozy believed it was her obtaining her cutie mark. Was it all pure coincidence? Hmph! This is going nowhere. Even if I do locate one of them, I would have to search every part of the city. Damn it Discord! Why did you say this was the easiest one! I should've started with Chrysalis... Alright-alright! I might be taking a shot in the dark on this, but what have I got to lose?

Mobius gently patted the top part of her head as a gesture of comfort, "Nothing is wrong with you, Cozy Glow; I know it's difficult having your parents leave you at a young age. It's probably that they needed some time off from each other and are not ready to see you yet. It might take some patience for them to recollect their thoughts and be ready to bring you home. Maybe all of this was bad timing? They were probably blinded by whatever anger they felt that they forgot about your achievement. No parent will ever want a foal with a cutie mark they're NOT supposed to obtain. What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't assume the worse case when it comes to this; there's probably some other factor in play. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The lecture gave her some thought as she's giving all of her trust to one stranger she met not too long ago, calmed down from her mental scar, "...O...Okay... I'm starting to feel better now...thank you, Mobius..."

Something unexpected happened when Mobius was caught off guard by the filly's warm embrace of a hug to his side. Gave him a slight hint of fluster face as he returned the favor and wrapped his forelegs around her. James would've thought that she was going to stab him in the back with a hidden dagger in her hooves, but it wasn't that. This was a genuine hug coming from her. It felt nice to be hugged by a real pony, well, a real pony from the hit tv show that is. Breaking off the hug seconds later, he soon tried to get her to interact with the foals around her age group when he spotted a table filled with them drawing or coloring on pieces of paper.

"Now, you should try playing with those foals over there," pointing his hoof at the table with all but one free seat, "Your parents would want you to be happy that you're safe..."

"Alright..." she sheepishly walked over to the table and stood next to the empty chair turning over to the one next to her, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

The filly she asked turned over to her, "Oh, it's Cozy Glow! That seat isn't occupied by anypony, so come join us!"

It seemed that all that her attitude from episode 12 onwards was a total act just to get close to Headmare Twilight. Looks to me that she still needs communication improvement; have I done it? Maybe I didn't have to search for her parents after all. I should get back with my duties and see how things play out from here...

Spending the rest of his time keeping the peace around the room as Mobius roamed around different areas to check on the foals. By the time he was near the doors, Bright Crest entered the room to his surprise as they bumped into each other, "There you are Mobius! No pony seems to have caught the fish tank on fire, so I'm guessing you did a wonderful job!"

"Well, all these foals seemed well and happy. Especially for Cozy Glow," Mobius scratched behind his head, seeing the caretaker looking at the poor filly from the distance, smiling around some foals in the art table.

"Oh my! You've seemed to have brightened her day!" replied Bright Crest, slowly nodding as a token of gratitude from the colt, "I can take it from here, now I need you to go down to the lobby and pick up and sort the mail for me. It contains all the letters of a recent penpal program I've just begun."

"Penpal program?" he was intrigued by the idea, raising his brow to the mare.

"A special program that gives foals a chance to receive letters to write back to. We just started getting the first wave of letters from creatures of different backgrounds, the box should be in the lobby. Pick all the letters up and slide them onto the mail slots for each room. Whatever letters you choose for each room is up to you."

Nodding silently as, given the next task, Mobius took his leave and headed downstairs to the lobby. The receptionist pony noticed him from across and started to act curious about what he was doing, "How's the volunteer work doing for you, sweetie?"

"Huh?! Oh, it's going alright!" he turned and faced the nice receptionist trying to call her by name, "Miss..."

"Oh, forgive my rudeness! It's Nineteufive." she humbly apologized and gave out her first name.

"9 to 5?"

"No sweetie, It's Nine-teu-five!"

He tried not to cringe at the horrible name of the receptionist as Mobius shook his head, "Okay, I'm just going to get the letters and place them in the corresponding slots in the front door,"

"Ah yes, we got loads of letters today over to your left, If you want, there's a list of all the foals room assignments just on the clipboard there if you just want to take a peak,"

Over next to the piles of letters sticking out in the mailbox compartment lied a clipboard with all the orphan's room assignments. Mobius carefully pulled out the clipboard and piles of letters with his magic and began placing two random envelopes in each slot. It seemed easy for him since these letters are the first wave of the pen pal program; It shouldn't take too long before he's finished.

How much mail does this place get? It's like the huge stack of Yu-Gi-Oh cards I kept in my closet. Sorting out mail was probably the most boring part of this job. A just a few envelopes to go and I'm—

All the envelopes were of various sizes and colors, but one stuck out like a sore thumb— a dark red envelope with a red wax seal on it. The seal was something unruly as Mobius described it, like ahead of a mythical beast. Seeing the sender's address on it didn't help because it was somehow scribbled off. How did an envelope like this ever go out to the post office?

"This seal looks just like something you'd find in Tartarus— wait..." Mobius felt a revelation inside him, as every neuron in his brain sparked all at once, "This is a letter from Tarturus, which means that this is Lord Tireks letter!"

Strange, why would Discord say that I needed to mend her hurt if I ever want to stop her from conspiring with Lord Tirek? Wouldn't intercepting his letter work all the same? I would guess that Cozy Glow would still be hurt from her parent's divorce, and she still had a strive of ridding the magic of Equestria. I know it's against the law to be reading others' mail in my world, but I'm not in my world. Plus, I'm already a criminal as told by Celey herself,

Breaking the envelope seal and revealing a worn-out piece of parchment, he quickly skimmed over the contents of the letter and nodded silently along the way. This was a letter written by Tirek himself; must be because of the large signature of his name in all caps below the end. Mobius simply too a big grin before tucking the letter back in its envelope and putting it in his satchel, "Tck-tck-tck...Lord Tirek, I'm going to have to get this letter inspected by my pal James later,"

Getting a pair of random envelopes from the stack, he placed them onto the wall box in what seems to be Cozy Glow's room and finished tackling his task.

Back at the School of Friendship, it was currently a class session during Rarity's lesson about generosity, but it was less on the books and more on dressmaking and color composition. The class was tasked to observe different patterned cloth and other materials for a dress and come up with a list of them to make an outfit based on Rarity's theme; which was simply just 'Dinner date'. She observed the class with her pair of glasses as she roamed around the room with the students rummaging through materials.

"Be very gentle with these textiles dearies, these cost more than what I'm getting paid in a bi-weekly paycheck!" she warned the students.

Over at one corner were Gallus and Ocellus, who were paired up together in the assignment. Ocellus was in charge of writing the list and left the griffon to look at the textiles. Ocellus reached over to him which made him wary of her slow approach, "So, Mobius took that assignment? He was doing well in professor Fluttershy's,"

"Yeah, but since his parents were in Manehatten, he thought he'll see them there maybe?" whispered Gallus, picking up a piece of transparent blue fabric with glitter in it, "How's this for the dress?"

"Perfect! I'll write it down!" Ocellus scribbled down the name as she went over the rest of the fabrics, "Now we need an accessory,"

Gallus thought that this would be the perfect time to ask her on a friendly outing, remembering what Mobius said about forming a confidant with her. That word was just a fancy way of saying bond as he would describe it. He has soon flustered with his cheeks all red asking gently, "Hey, w-wouldn't you mind helping me study to improve my grades? I kind of bombed Professor Dash's quiz,"

"Oh, I'd love to help you Gallus; I'll even call the rest of the gang to help you out more!" she was kind enough to accept his proposal, but still wasn't his expected outcome as Gallus sighed.

"Well... I was thinking... that only you would help me because you're smart and all? But I'm cool if we had some company,"

"Aww, thanks, Gallus. But even I'm in the dark on some things, no creature is ever perfect; we all have our flaws,"

The griffon chuckled lightly to avoid getting caught by the professor, "We are a crazy bunch aren't we? Just, any help at all would be good for me and I don't want to bother everyone with their activities. You're... well rounded..."

Ocellus flustered towards his remark on her, "You know? I think I'll consider studying with you one on one, let's say after school at the library?"

"That would be—

"Ocellus! Gallus!" Rarity's call for them behind their backs made them get spooked from their conversation, "Please stop all of this nonsensical chit-chat unless it's about the assignment,"

"Yes! Professor!" The two replied in unison while continuing their work for the duration of the class. Rarity quietly walked over to her workspace and settled down on her work going up to the mannequin wearing an almost complete dress as she puts on the finishing touches.

"This dress will go well with Twilight if she were to get to a particular pony on her hooves," she snickered amongst herself.

So I have made progress during my assignment at the orphanage by helping out on activities and chores under Bright Crest's orders. I even managed to help prepare for today's lunch in the cafeteria's kitchen. Luckily it's pizza day because there's no way my stomach can digest hay or daffodils yet. Nothing too exciting happened when we headed out to Central Park for a while and made the foals play around at the playground. Cozy's still shy around most of them, but she's alright playing with one or two more filly's her age. I have still yet to see if there's anything else I've done to prevent her plans; Talked her out of draining magic out of Equestria, I've received the letter from Tirek and replaced it. No sign of her parents at all, If she would just get one last chance to see them, maybe that will secure everything.

His next task now was cleaning the playroom by picking up toys and wiping the tables and floors while Bright Crest was doing an activity with all of the foals on the third floor. This does give him time alone to think about what to write on the written report. The clock showed that it was now 3:00 pm, only two hours until the completion of his assignment.

"Excuse me, Mobius!" a voice called out to him from the double doors, peeking behind it was Nineteufive, "I'm going to need you to watch the front desk while I ask Bright Crest something. Am I interrupting something?"

Putting away the mop from his magic, Mobius shook his head at her, "Not at all miss, I'll head out there now!"

Sitting in front of an office desk couldn't be so boring in his head; getting flashbacks from visiting his parents' workspace when they were close by. He put away all the cleaning supplies in the closet and headed downstairs. The desk was already empty by the time Nineteufive went to see Brightcrest. So, as the curious colt he was, he just plopped down on the desk chair and guard the area. Just when Mobius thought it was quiet, a pony coming from the doors quietly sat down in the vacant seating area, looking upset with his frown and angled-down neck. It was an earthpony stallion, with stubble on his chin. His mane was all brown and had a tan fur coat. Mobius couldn't tell what his cutie mark was because he was wearing a trench coat alongside a hat to conceal parts of his body. It was almost an awkward silence for a few minutes, so he had to break it.

"Excuse me, sir? Are you here to adopt a foal?" he called out to the stallion just across from the lobby.

The stallion crept his face to the young colt, answering with a long sigh, "More like releasing a heavy weight on my shoulders. You don't seem like the usual receptionist? What's your name kid?"

What does he mean by 'releasing a heavy weight' when Mobius poked in for more, "My apologies, my name is Mobius. A student on an assignment from Princess Twilight school of friendship to do volunteer work in the Sunflower Orphanage. I thought you came here to plan to adopt a foal, do you have any preferences?"

"I only had one preference," the stallion was surprisingly open on his issues, miraculously answering back, "My flesh and blood"

Wait! Is he?

"My daughter currently lives in this orphanage for about a month, it's the one closest to our apartment. But, I shouldn't be the one to take her home, I don't deserve to take care of her after what I've done to hurt her mother to the point of leaving me for another pony in Las Pegasus. She deserves a family that makes her happy," he said.

Before I proceed, I just need to make sure...

"You're referring to Cozy Glow right?"

The stallion's eyes shot up as hearing that name felt like a trigger word of happy memories, "Yes, she was the spitting image of her mother. Down to her little freckles, red eyes, and baby blue mane. But, I just couldn't get myself to see her again after neglecting her for this long. All this time I've been waiting for this day,"

"Waiting for?" Mobius leaned over to the desk, seeing what will Cozy's dad is going to do.

"The day she officially becomes an orphan; see, if neither of us claims her, we will both loos custody over her. I just came here to wait for the time to tick by,"

Geez! When did Equestria get this messed up!? I need to talk some sense into him. Maybe I should try out something that I should have tried as a unicorn

Lighting his horn, Mobius tried to teleport in front of the stallion from the desk chair. Only to miraculously succeed in seeing himself at his desired destination. The stallion jumped seeing Mobius up close and scoffing at him, "I can't believe you! You would abandon your daughter for this long only to come back at the last day to see her off as an orphan!?"

"It's for the best..." the stallion grew meek, storing his emotions up, "I don't deserve to be her da-"

He felt like slapping the dude, but Mobius tried suppressing his rage as he huffed, "Don't say that, Cozy Glow is emotionally scarred because you divorced as soon as she got her cutie mark! She believed her cutie mark was the cause of your divorce, and she's heartbroken because of it!"

"Sh-she got her cutie mark!?" repeated Cozy's father from the chair, almost tearing up from the eyes, "I can't believe my girl found her special talent, but she took it as her fault for our divorce?"

Adding more emotional wounds as Mobius raised his hoof at him, "You never talked to her, written to her, or even tried to find her! Maybe you don't deserve to be her father anymore. After all, you are trying to 'let her go' as an orphan on the last day of being in the custody of her. Look, sir, I don't know what you did to upset your wife, but no parent would ever want to let their child go from something they weren't a part of! Give yourself a second chance!"

"...You're right kid, you're right..." Cozy's father stood up from his seat and used his forelegs to take off the hat and coat he wore, "I made a stupid mistake, but that only makes me equestrian. I've ignored my Cozy Glow for far too long! I need to put the past behind me and start the road to healing,"

Well I'll be, look at that. He has a king's chess piece as a cutie mark; Something tells me I already know what her mom's cutie mark is...

"Hey, Mobius, is everything alright down there?" Bright Crest's voice coming from the stairs echoed as she crept down to see all the ruckus, "Who's this pony?"

"Well... you see Ms. Crest..."

Over at the third floor, it was an entire classroom filled with the foals on each desk. They seemed busy silently writing letters back to the random senders of the Bright Crest Penpal program. Some were just about to read the letters and the rest seemed to be in the middle of writing back. Cozy Glow, on the other hoof, was just finished sealing her letter still looking upset. But, soon as she was about to raise her hoof, the door cracked open, revealing Mobius' head popping out from it.

"Cozy Glow, I brought a little surprise for you just in the lobby!"

Cozy quietly exited to room passing each foal in front of her and reaching to the door. Mobius made sure she was following him down the stairs to the ground floor. She quickly knew exactly what was going on as she stood behind him, "N-No! I don't think I'm ready to be adopted by some stranger!"

"...Even if that stranger is your father?"

The stallion from before was standing boldly in front of the lobby, with Bright Crest right next to him with a manila folder ready
"HUH!?" her pupils shrunk, witnessing the pony that stood before her, "D—Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetie..." the stallion's eyes were leaking, dripping even, "This young man told me everything— how you blamed yourself for the cause of me and your mother's separation, and how we neglected you for your cutie mark. But don't blame yourself! I should be the one to blame..."

"What do you mean?" she demanded the reason for their separation, still keeping close to Mobius as he remained silent for the duration of their reunion.

Her father explained that tragic event last month, "I was drinking late with a few buddies at a pub, next thing I knew, I awoke next to some random mare in her apartment. I violated the sanctity of our marriage. When your mother found out, she assumed that I was having an affair and that's when things turned sour. I was frustrated at myself that I left for a friend's home a few blocks away. However, I didn't think you were peeking in the room when we left for good. I hated myself for trying to set you free from my stupid mistakes! Even neglected you getting your cutie mark. I'm sorry that I hurt you sugar, I understand that you—

The stallion soon was met by the warm embrace of Cozy's hug, squeezing him tight like a knot as tears came pouring down her tear sacs, sniffing along the way, "I don't care about that! I'm just glad that you never forgot about me!"

He followed up on her daughter's hug as he wrapped her hooves and kissed her on the forehead, making Mobius and Bright Crest smile silently. Especially for James, as he was crying internally over the reuniting of a father and his daughter. Bright Crest especially, pulling out a few tissues from the desk and lifting them to absorb the tears from her.

Now... *sniff* this is a surefire way that she'll never take over Equestria...

"Cozy... I promise you that I'll try to do my best to raise you all by myself! Even if your mother never wants to see me again," comforted the stallion, wiping the tears from his daughter with his foreleg and seeing the cutie mark she was bestowed upon, "That cutie mark..."

"I-I got it after winning a chess match at school..." she sheepishly explained, still having tears running down her.

"It's funny... I and your mother met during a chess match back in our youth. She always would win against me of course,"

The two shared a laugh, keeping their long time apart from each other when Bright Crest pulled up a folder with Cozy Glow's name on the label.

"Well Mr. Checkmate, since you at the nick of time, you'll be the one to take Cozy Glow into custody. Unless your ex-wife decides to show up last minute and complicate things..." Bright Crest opened up Cozy's file as soon as pulled out a few papers, "So after everything checks out, you two can go home!"

"Yeah!" Cozy's mood was completely overhauled as she flew in circles around her father and then back to Mobius, giving him another warm hug tighter than her previous one, "Thank you so much Mobius! You've helped me a lot today! I wouldn't be able to see my daddy again without your help!"

Cozy broke off the hug to give him some air. Mobius scratched the back of his head all flustered, "Well, all in a day's work of being a student of friendship,"

Bright Crest happily sighed over the affection the filly displayed, "Alright now, I need Checkmate to do some paperwork before Cozy says goodbye to all the wonderful foals here!"

Checkmate and Cozy walked over to the front desk to get him to sign a few papers for her release. Mobius never thought he could pull it off on the first try.

Wow... I'm impressed by myself, I did it! I've managed to stop Cozy Glow from ever walking down the terrible fate of being a garden statue. I would give myself a round of applause, but my journey has only just begun. That's one down, three more to go... and my next target is not too far from Ponyville. Still, though, things will only get tougher from here on out. Unlike Cozy, Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and King Sombra already had previous encounters with the bearers of harmony. Well, I guess I'll—

Something unusual happened as Mobius was interrupted by a sharp pain coming from his head, followed by a loud flat ringing sound enveloped around his hearing. This causes him to put pressure between his temples moaning in agonizing pain while Checkmate and Cozy Glow turned around to see his ache.

"Hey, kid! You alright?!" the stallion rushed over to him, trying to keep him steady, "Stay with us!"

"Oh no! Mobius! You are okay!? I didn't hurt you did I?" The voice of Cozy to him was fading away, as the ringing grew larger by the second.

ARRGH! W—what's happening to me! I'm getting these...flashes...make it stop!

Seconds after experiencing the sharp pain, Mobius stopped his aching noise as his face became groggy and disorientated suddenly. It was like he was falling into deep a slumber as his eyelids grew tired...closing by themselves as the last thing he saw was himself falling to the floor and passing out...

...

...

...

...

"...Mmph...W—wh-what's with all these lights...turn it off...

In James' mind, he wanted to wake up, but his eyelids were bothering him as they didn't seem to want to follow orders. But his sharp intellect and willpower quickly made them open wide seeing...

"HUH!?" he slowly got up from his couch and oriented himself in a sitting position, checking his surroundings to confirm the location he's in, "Couch, television, dining table? NO! It can't be, I'm back?"

Moving his hands over at his attire, he was in his pajamas still; what happened to his black coat? He stood from the couch seeing the bright rays of sunlight casting through the blinds. He doesn't want to admit it, but he's back home; in his world, and all alone. The next thing James pulled out was his phone from the pocket, checking to see if he still has the apps installed by Discord. However, he was out of luck when his phone showed the blinking, empty battery life icon

"What the hell is going on here?" He placed his right hand on his forehead to recollect what happened before he passed out, "I went to the Manehatten assignment, spoke to Cozy Glow, reunited her with her father and... No... I can't be... Equestria...my whole presence...was all a dream?"

Chapter 7: The Return Home

Somehow, I managed to return to my world after I've prevented Cozy Glow from causing chaos in Equestria. My mission isn't done, right? Perhaps I made a mistake? No way! Or worst-case scenario...none of it was real after all. I knew I should lay back on the late-night snacking. Hold on, I need to make sure this isn't some dream.

The first thing James did after getting off the couch was grabbed the nearest blunt object and smack his head onto it in hopes of snapping back to 'reality', but all he got was a throbbing pain on his forehead rubbing it off with his palms. "T-This doesn't feel like a dream, or I would have woken up from the orphanage..."

The next thing he did was reach for the door and peeked outside the neighborhood seeing his apartment villa as peaceful as ever; seeing some people parking their cars or walking out to the public park. He silently closed the door and came to a sudden realization, "No... this is impossible! I couldn't just be dreaming that entire journey. I was living in Equestria! Met Twilight in person, and even thwarted Cozy's plans! There's absolutely no way could've dreamt the whole thing! It felt so...realistic. I know dreams could emit powerful brain activity that we still don't know a lot about. But that's not the case, was this all my imagination?"

His system was building up a burst of huge laughter, catching in as much air as he can take in before letting out a pathetic laugh, "Geez, what was I thinking... did I seriously dreamy that whole thing up? I need to grow up and find a real job,"

All of his could be blamed on himself, he could never have believed that he went inside a cartoon world and make history. Science itself can't even replicate his experience. Believing his cool powers, interactions, and help would fix anything. James moved over to the couch and plopped himself on the cushion picking up the remote on the coffee table. Seeing that the TV turned on as normal, It was still running on the Netflix app he left on. It just left off on episode 1 of season 1, so he paused it when the next episode was playing, "I thought I was there, but it was just an elaborate dream. I'll tune to that episode with Cozy Glow to cope with all of—"

When navigating down from the list of seasons, he pushed the arrow keys down to season 8 and scrolled down to episode 12: Marks For Effort. But to his surprise, the title of epsiode 12 was different.

"What the? Where's the episode? I could have sworn it was the twelve episodes of the season. Must be some error on Netflix's side, maybe I should watch the other episode featuring..."

Moving further down, James saw another occurrence of episodes being listed in different numbers. The season finished off with only 22 episodes max. Something wasn't right, peering his eyes to see a particular connection with the 4 missing episodes from the list. It clicked inside him.

"The episodes starring Cozy Glow have gone missing; Like they never happened at all!"

"HOO BOY! HE'S DONE IT AGAIN! ATTA BOY!"

The voice rang familiar to him, like a puff of smoke-filled right next to him on the other side of the couch, Discord voice. But he was alone, walking from the dark side of the hall was a creature James knew well trotting slowly to the living room. It was Princess Luna herself, with a devilish smile making James feel uncomfortable.

"Sir James from the other world, quite pleased to meet you here!" She slowly approached him like she was going to pounce, "Forgive our rudeness bringing you back to your world, we have something of importance to tell you.

"W—huh!? James was disfigured by their intrusion in his apartment, "This isn't the dream world,"

"Nope," Another voice emitted, appearing near the kitchen island when James saw Celestia right in front of the refrigerator, opening it up and bringing out a carton of milk to sip straight out of, "Hello James..."

"Must you intervene with my meeting with the human, sister?" Luna scoffed at her name, sitting down across from James and Discord on the second sofa.

"Can anyone here please tell me what's going on!?" Feeling lost by this strange intervention, James cried out loud, "So, this is the dream realm and I'm still in Equestria?"

"Not quite. Your body remains in the orphanage, but as for your subconscious mind..." explained Discord, keeping things professional, "We've extracted it out of your physical body and manifested it back into your world. That whole migraine thing was just a side effect of such a spell. Granted, we should've tested the spell more on one of the castle's Royal guards for any permanent damage to your cranium..."

I felt like I was about to die over there, but It still is quite nice seeing my home again and not in flames by Discord and whatever the Princesses do here.

"So James, noticed anything different at all? Preferable from the television screen?"

"Episodes starring Cozy Glow seem to have gone missing entirely like she never existed in the show," James answered, very much concerned for her existence in the show.

The draconequus congratulated him with a few claps from his hands, "Correct, since Cozy Glow never saw the letter from Tirek and that she's reunited with her father, she never had any intentions to infiltrate the school and drain magic,"

Princess Celestia walked over to her sister, now levitating a whole plate of things only found In James' world taking a bite of a plump sausage, "Though, I must say, Cozy Glow had a hard time coping with her parent's divorce. Just needed somepony to talk to,"

Cringing profusely seeing the alicorn biting the meat product, James warned her, "You know...that thing you're eating is made of..."

"Hmm?"

"No—never mind!" He shook off all his, "So, what will happen to her now? Will she live a normal life now? What happens to the season finale now?"

"I don't exactly know really since you've changed her destiny, you'll just have to see for yourselves," Discord made a small snickering noise before proceeding on with important matters, "Listen carefully James, we've given you access to an additional app to play with alongside a few updates to existing ones. Please take a look at it,"

"But, my phone's already dead—" James took a quick look at his phone, which booted up miraculin with 100% battery life, "—Oh... let's see then,"

The apps on the home screen looked all the same to him, but Discord moved over to his shoulder and tapped on the email app, "This feature was added by Celestia herself, maybe she can explain it?"

"Certainly," nodded Celestia as she took a bite from James' leftover graduation cake with her mouth, "I may not know what an email is, but it's quite similar to sending and receiving letters using a spell,"

"Yes, go on..."

"Well your email app can do just the same, just fill out your letter and fill out the recipient. It should appear as a scroll to any creature you entered the name of."

"Why would I do that?" He scratched his head trying to figure out his usage of the app, making him tear up ironically, "I planned to be extra discrete this time after my wreckless mistake back then,"

"Well, if you're going to remain in Equestria for a while, at least make a name for yourself and hand out messages to the world." Discord nudged James, "We want you to be recognized as the good samaritan that plans to save the future of friendship. You're only 25% complete, and almost 100% richer!"

"Very well, tell me what else is new?" Shrugging off that scare from Celestia, James moved over to the specialized camera app, "Oh yeah, the camera app that makes scans of items and searches it through a database; To be honest, I haven't been using this one as much."

"The camera can now scan for books, texts, and different languages. You can use this to brush up on old poneish or translate any spell!" chuckled Discord, "And for your transformation app; I've added a quick-change feature to eliminate having to revert before another transformation. You can switch from creature to creature in a flash while still keeping the battery life draining regularly. Also, as a bonus—"

"Actually Discord, let's keep that a secret for now. I want him to figure it out himself..." a grin formed on Celestia's mouth as she covered it with a hoof, "That one is a lot to take in for one creature,"

A lot to take in for one creature? What are they playing at?

"Hmph, whatever it is, I'll make sure to make full use of it," James smiled, putting away his gadget in a pocket, "Still though, I can't believe I'm getting all of this help from you three. I almost feel bad leaving Twilight in the dark,"

"Oh please! Don't waste your time with that inexperienced alicorn," blushed Luna, strolling over to James in some alluring look on her face, "I've heard from the old hag that you adore me as your favorite Prin—"

"—And back to Equestria you go!" Celestia pushed her sister to the side, lighting her horn with her aura as she moved over to James' forehead, glowing immensely, "Bye now!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Mobius...you got to Wake Up...Please..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Mobius felt the same groggy feeling from that painful episode that made him fall into a deep slumber, but now everything was black for him. Mobius could hear a faint voice reaching out his name, replying with a sluggish accent, "W-wh-where am I..."

"...Sweetie...don't jostle him...he needs space..." a second voice one sounding much older, replied to the first one.

Just as Mobius was about to come through, his eyes soon started to open while his vision adjusts to the bright light shining on the ceiling. Three heads he saw, circling him as he laid on some medical bed. His mind and motor functions showed that he was about to come to. Now his vision recovered from being shut, he rose his back off the bed and entered a sitting position.

"W-where am I?" He slowly yawned from his slumber, checking what room he was in from the surroundings.

"This here's the infirmary, you had a little migraine followed by fainting right in our lobby!" Bright Crest slowly stroked his back with a foreleg, "Are you sure you're alright sweetie?"

Recalling what happened in the presence of his sleep, he entered the dreamworld with Celestia, Luna, and Discord about his current mission. Keeping these thoughts away, he slowly nodded, "I'm fine...thank you..."

"You're awake! You almost made me have a heart attack, Mobius!" Cozy slowly approached him, hovering a few feet in the air to initiate a big hug on him.

"Good grief, Cozy Glow couldn't stop worrying about you, kid!" Cozy Glow's father, Checkmate, placed his hoof on his right shoulder, "Must be that you've been working so hard in the orphanage that you forgot to maintain yourself."

"Yeah...we'll leave it at that," Mobius muttered, seeing the clock on the wall and panicking, "It's almost 5:00 pm, I need to reach the station soon!"

"Okay then!" just when Bright Crest was going to reach for the door, she levitated a purple manila folder and his bag on the table, "Don't forget these mister. I've had the form signed and ready for you!"

Getting up from the infirmary bed and grabbing his stuff from the mare's magic, Mobius reached over a took a bow, "Thank you so much for this opportunity, ma'am. I couldn't have done it without you!"

"No-no! We should be thank you, Mobius!" she happily shook her head, "Not only you were a huge help for me, but you brought back a wonderful father to reunite with his loving daughter,"

"I wouldn't have gotten her back if you didn't go off at me and gave me a pep talk," suggested Checkmate, keeping Cozy at his side

While I've said my goodbyes to the foals at the orphanage, Cozy Glow said her goodbyes as It was her time to leave with her father soon. I don't know what will happen to her in the future, but I have a strong feeling It won't be the end of her. Let's just hope she doesn't go back to your old self in the meantime. As I got the ticket checked and waited on the platform, I've realized I've still got the written part of the assignment to do. Maybe I should write it during the train trip back home, but I've got to plan my approach for my next target; Queen Chrysalis.

While Cozy and Checkmate stepped out of the orphanage building, she hovered around her father as carefree as a butterfly as her dad walked along the sidewalk.

"Daddy! Can we get Ice cream at the place like you always do!?" Begged Cozy, keeping still in the air enough to make Checkmate nod.

"Sure, sweetie. We can't just go back home just yet..." Chuckled the stallion, "You see, daddy just got another job somewhere else and I'm just finalizing the lease of our new home."

"Oh, we're moving?" she wasn't ready to hear that from him, but she remember not to assume the worse, "Where exactly is your new job at?"

Checkmate chuckled before him as he stared over at Maneway station across the street, "Let's just say it won't be the last time you'll see Mobius..."

The train ride to Ponyville felt shorter to Mobius, using his magic to write on a notebook issued to all students of friendship with a pencil. If this was done on a laptop, he could be done with this in mere minutes. Stopping right exactly on the page minimum, he took a deep breath while rubbing the temples of his head.

That's the last time I'm doing homework while commuting, magic made that at least viable to handle...

Just on time as the conductor announced their arrival at Ponyville station, making most of the passengers walk out to the platform and Mobius too. He'll have to turn in the assignment to Professor Fluttershy later, he wanted to get a quick bite at a local cafe that was popular amongst students from the school. The business wasn't packed at this time, but a few ponies were seated in the dining area with a few bits of chatting within it. A waitress was seeing Mobius enter through the front where she placed him at an empty booth.

"Welcome, What will it be today?" her cheery smile asked the colt for his order.

"Just a strawberry milkshake and a small salad," Mobius relayed his order to the giddy mare.

"Alrighty, and what does the fine Princess of Friendship want?"

"Huh? What do you me—"

Mobius couldn't believe who was sitting across from him in the booth, it was Twilight Sparkle happily saying her order to the waitress, "I'll have what he's having, that'll be all."

The waitress left their sight to get the order placed on the line, leaving Mobius very much happy and confused by the strange appearance from Headmare Twilight. He sheepishly asked, "H-Headmare! What are you doing here? How did you get here anyway!?"

"I teleported here, silly..." she snickered covering her mouth with a foreleg, "You arrive exactly at 5:50 pm, which based on the current train schedule of the hour and walking distances, makes you arrive here approximately 20 minutes later than most students would,"

Damn...she has a way with numbers...

But Mobius' fantasy came to a close when he noticed exactly what it may seem like to the citizens, clamming up from his seat, "You shouldn't be here! Ponies will think we're on a—"

"Friendly outing...that's all!" Twilight interrupted him, turning her eyes above Mobius and spotting with familiar faces as she raised her voice to the table next door, "And I appreciate it if a certain table won't make such a big deal about it!"

Moving his head over at the table behind him, Mobius saw six ponies wearing funny glasses immediately turning away from them. Mobius can tell what's going on but doesn't want to intrude in whatever's happening with Twilight's friends. He planned to keep things as professional as ever when he levitated his purple folder.

"I have completed the assignment for you Headmare, although things seemed to turn on me while I was there," Mobius placed the folder over at Twilight's side as her magic took control of the item.

"Good job Mobius, but what do you mean by that? Did you see your parents there?"

Time for more lying, but to Twilight herself. Mobius could immodestly tell her the truth right now, but he's afraid he'll have to fib a bit, "I did have lunch together at a park. I told them about all of my studies at your school and they sounded proud of me for welcoming the idea of friendship as a curricular topic. Also, while I was there, I met somepony that..."

"Oh...I mean good for you!" Twilight's frown face turned to a genuine smile as she brushed off her forehead, "I'm happy that you were able to find a special somepony your age and not somepony who shares the mutual—"

But Mobius didn't quite catch her last sentence when he broke off from it, "She's a filly who I met in the orphanage— She was sad about something and I wrote about her on my report. "

She connected the dots and face hoofed herself, "Ooooh! I understand. Don't tell me the details because I want to read it out myself. Now about the reason for this friendly outing, I've been developing a special course taken place on the weekends for you to learn magic by me; developed by Starlight Glimmer. We can begin our first lesson at 10:00 am sharp next Saturday, the day after the play."

"Really!? That's so amazing! Thank you so much Headmare, I won't let you down!" Mobius shrieked with his inside voice, "I've been wanting to learn advanced alicorn spells for years!"

"Hold yourself, Mobius..." she settled down the jumpy unicorn from the booth seat, raising her head once more, "We shall refresh on the basics first before you can climb up to my level. This is going to be a serious and professional lesson and not some intricate setup to get closer to each other, so don't try to play it off as one, girls!"

He didn't quite hear that last part when Mobius zoned out, imagining being in a room with Twilight Sparkle learning some magic spells. His heart started to beat rapidly and his mind turned into mush. But before he can gaze upon her beautiful face, the waitress came back with their orders suspended in midair with her magic.

"Here you go kid, and your majesty!"

"Thank you again for bringing our orders!" replied Twilight, giving unicorn a little extra and the payment for the dishes, "Mobius? Are you alright? Anything you need?"

No fucking way! I'm going to learn magic with Twilight Sparkle herself? That definitely deserves a check on my bucket list. I can use the spells to perform sick combat or do fancy tricks, or perhaps relearn some time abilities from my original form?

"No problem at all, Headmare!" he answered, vigorously sipping his milkshake, "Let's eat up, why don't we?"

He spent nearly 20 minutes enjoying his light snack, chatting with Twilight as the sun was about to set over the horizon. Mobius said his fellow goodbyes, packing his stuff to reach for the school and Twilight heading for her castle with a pack of the strange ponies following her. But for Mobius, he made it to the school entrance until he was interrupted by three creatures he could never forget.

"Where have you been?" asked Smolder, putting her palms between her waist, "You missed the entire day of class; You've been ditching?"

"Friend of Yona would never ditch friendship school without good reason!" the yak exclaimed, pushing over Smolder away to the side, "Where has friend of Yona been!"

He's never seen Yona, Smolder, and Silverstream for a while since Mobius doesn't have classes with them at the same time. It was comforting seeing their faces again, answering back, "I've been on a special assignment for Professor Fluttershy's class that required me to skip a day of classes. I've got Sandbar to cover for me for the day,"

"That's just like you Mobius! Always trying to impress Headmare so that you can be closer to her!" teased Silverstream, pointing her talon to him, "You should ask her out!"

Oh please sister, I've been wanting to ever since I got here! But I can't yet, It would cause me to be the talk of the town.

"Don't tease the guy— If he's not ready, he's NOT ready!" surprisingly, Smolder was the voice of wisdom from the group as she got up from her fall patting herself, "Anyways, Gallus seems to be making moves already on Ocellus in the library,"

"Gallus and Ocellus?" Mobius raised a brow, pretending not to know about the secret the griffon told him a few nights ago, "That's an odd pair? What did he do?"

"Eh, nothing much; saw them studying together in the library. Pffft! Don't understand all this lovey-dovey stuff!" acting quite a in denial, Smolder crossed her arms as she signaled the girls to follow her, "Alright, see you at the lunchroom tomorrow!"

The three girls left the unicorn in a pleasant state, slowly walking over to his dorm room and preparing for tomorrow. He entrusted Sandbar to place his notes underneath the crack of the door as he found a pile of it just on the floor. As of now, all he could think of is getting some good night's rest a bit early.

The next day were rehearsals for Princess Celestia's anniversary of becoming ruler of Equestria, I didn't bother to apply for a role because I don't want to change this episode in the slightest. Well, I would say that until Celestia herself came to try out the role as herself and she was spectacular! I can't believe she changed how she acted back in the vanilla timeline. Oh well, I've decided to use this Saturday to test out my quick-change feature by transforming it to Figure Eight right from Mobius, it worked flawlessly. It didn't even drain the battery at all. But enough of that, I wanted to test out that feature of sending messages from my phone to other creatures. But who am I going to send it to? Should I send one as a calling card to Twilight and her friends? No, too early for that! It would. Maybe I should make it as friendly as possible? That would be suspicious, man this is so hard!

In the Everfree forest as usual, but James was inside somewhere that he wanted to check out for a while; the cave that hid the tree of harmony. He had his hood on just in case to hide his precious identity. Discord mentioned that a new feature was added to his transformation app, but he decided to check that out later. Reaching for the cave entrance, it was but a few steps in to spot the tree's radiating glow followed by the six elements of harmony attached to each branch. Everything like the rays of light piercing through the cracks of the cave almost gave him a teary eye upon its beauty.

What a sight to behold, I wonder why such a plot device is simply hidden beneath these caves. I wonder what does the tree of harmony has to say about me saving Equestria's future? She must be congratulating—

"You there! That creature from before!" called out a feminine voice behind him, "Show yourself!"

Haha, so she's here early...

This was his very first encounter with a creature in his truest form except for that time with Discord and Celestia, so he stayed his absolute calmest and positioned his footing to face the changeling straight in the eyes. As to no surprise, she prepared to be in a battle stance reading her horn as it shined with her aura. The question remains: How and what will James say to her?

"Yo, what's up!?" a nonchalant voice emitted from behind the hood followed by a wave of the hand, breaking Chrysalis from her focused glare.

"What? It speaks native tongue?" she scratched her head on that odd choice of language, "I know why you're here! You want in on taking the elements of harmony for yourself! Do you?"

James spoke up once more, keeping a cool level attitude, "Oh no, I'm not here to take them! Just basking in on its glory. You dig me?"

"I'm not digging you at all!" she hissed, continuing to be in her offensive stance, making James raise his arms as cops surrounded him, "Listen here buster! You can go scheme some other revenge against Twilight and her friends— but I was here first! Do you know who I am?"

"Of course I know who you are, Queen Chrysalis," James called out to her name, making her off guard for a second, "Ruler of the changeling hive, but unfortunately met her demise by the hooves of Starlight Glimmer, Trixie Lulumoon, and your very own Thorax that took control of your entire hive and outcasted you by sharing the love for all of the changelings. Not before too long when you tried to steal all the love in Princess Mi Amore Cadenzas and Shining Armors wedding by locking her up below the castle and transforming to her to drain all the love he had to give to you. I must say, you're a formidable 7.5/10 on the villainy scale!"

"Okay...you do know how I am..." she cringed over the sight of the creature's exact detail on her past, "How did you know all of that? I haven't seen you or heard of you from anywhere!"

"Let's just say I've been watching you and all of your...accomplishments," he lowered his hands from the air, making Chrysalis show a sign of fear from her shaking legs.

"What?" Chrysalis made her dark greenish aura disappear, "Who are you!? How do you know me!"

James did not think he would get this far, coming up with some excuse to ignore her question, "My name is not important, what's
important is what I have in store for the future of Equestria,"

Curiosity filled her head when Chrysalis repeated what he said, "What do you mean the future?"

He slowly leaned towards her, keeping his cool-headed attitude, "Don't worry about a thing Chrysalis, I won't force you into anything, just please be aware that I'm only doing this out of kindness. You may proceed on with your plans in the meantime,"

She was in disarray, trying to make sense of what's happening, "Out of kindness!? What nonsense are you talking about!?"

Soon as Chrysalis let her guard down, James cast a time-stop bubble around her to freeze her enough for him to reach for his phone and cast a warp gate behind him and make his leave. After the portal vanished without a trace, the bubble vanished a few seconds later, leaving a distraught changeling all alone near the tree of harmony.

"Wait! Where did he go? Was he even real?" she did everything to trace any signs of magic casting or residual, but all she found was a very confused look on her face, "What in Equestria was that about!?"

Over on the other side of the forest, James appeared out of a blue portal and immediately switch to the disguise app to change back into Mobius. He didn't expect to encounter her there so early, so he's just going to have to plan out a grander entrance later. He thought about heading towards the library and using that extra camera app feature on some old text, only to notice a strange occurrence when he began to limp from his back leg.

Why does my back leg feel kinda heavy? Is this that charlie horse I heard of online? I don't feel like it's cramping up, it's like someone attached a heavyweight on me...

The mystery was finally resolved when Mobius heard a thick country accent filly running towards him as her voice got louder, imminently recognized as Apple Bloom, "Gosh darn it, Cozy Glow! Don't be holding onto his leg like that! Ponies would stare right at'cha!"

"Cozy Glow?"

The weight on his leg broke free when it was revealed to be Cozy Glow that was restricting Mobius' movement, hovering towards his face, "Surprise! You do remember me! See girls! I told ya he's real!"

Soon after, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo followed behind Applebloom, staring dead into his strange eyes when Mobius turned around to face the four. Scootaloo was the first to rip on his eyes, "Why are those eyes different colors? Is he blind?"

"No Scootaloo! Rarity mentioned it's some genetic thing, he's perfectly fine! and handsome up front" Sweetie Belle cooed from her voice, seeing the older colt waving at her.

This is my first time speaking to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but I have seen them around from time to time. But, Cozy Glow is in Ponyville? That's amazing, but concerning that, she is still here. But her attitude seems genuine and not some filthy act

"Wow, Cozy Glow! Haven't seen you in a while!" gasped Mobius, giving her a little friendly hug for a short while, "Let me guess, you're finally attending the school of friendship like me?"

Cozy shook her head, keeping a warm smile on her face as she landed softly on the ground, "I don't go to that school, I go to Ms. Cherliee's elementary school with Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle. Daddy's got a new job in Ponyville, and we moved right in town."

She didn't attend Twilight's School of friendship at all? Which means I've successfully prevented her from conspiring with Lord Tirek. Speaking of, I still have that letter of his. But I'll hold that off for now.

"T-That's amazing, that means we can visit each other anytime. Well, after school hours of course." scratching behind his head, Mobius chuckled alongside her, "How's your father doing?"

"He's doing fine, we moved to Ponyville a few days back to be closer to his new job!" she answered, keeping herself close to Mobius all the time, "These three ponies help me get around the class and the town!"

"She's a bit of a hoof-full, but she'll fit in fine!" smiled Applebloom, moving over to her shoulders to pull her away from the colt, "We were going to head back to the treehouse to show her what we do!"

Scootaloo chuckled with her hoof inches away from her mouth, "Man, Rumble's going to be so disappointed when he finds out about you. He's been hitting on her ever since she got here,"

"Well! See ya! Mobius!" Cozy waved goodbye to him as she followed the rest of the crusaders.

Looks like It's going to get way harder from here on out, and I'm supposedly going to confront King Sombra in the future. I have Chrysalis close by and the letter from Lord Tirek, but how in god's name will I even do with Sombra!?

Chapter 8: Me, Myself, and The Boys

"Oh geez, Celestia's performance on the play of herself last night was spectacular, she got all of her lines delivered most passionately. I didn't think she would be the one to break the natural timeline, that's my job! Oh well, tomorrow I have plans with the guys after Twilight's first magic lesson with me. It should be after school time at Cheerilee's schoolhouse, so this is my perfect chance to visit Cozy Glow for the day."

The stroll over to the schoolhouse was pretty far from the school of friendship as most of the locations around Ponyville felt very far from each other. James thought Ponyville was just a quaint town with a few residents and businesses packed together, but the trek was atrocious. His reason for visiting her was to keep her in check, see if she struggles to make friends. It wasn't that he wants her not to attend Friendship School, just making sure she doesn't have to.

A few minutes passed by, and the nearby playground was bare empty with a few foals on the swing set. Mobius spotted Cozy Glow sitting patiently on the steps of the play structure, approaching slowly to catch her off guard the front. "Hey Cozy Glow!"

She had a delayed response turning over to Mobius a few feet away from her, mummering. "...Hey, Mobius..."

Something was different about Cozy today, and it wasn't the fact James altered her future from the show. No, this was different. It's like she sounded very concerned about something like she was when he first met her. She was fine just yesterday, what seemed to be her problem?

"You sound down in the dumps, what's the matter?" Mobius gently placed himself next to the same step with Cozy Glow, seeing her a bit flustered when she averted her head to the opposite direction sat.

But, she finally opened up to him about her issues, scooting over to his ears as he went with her notion. "It's just that, my dad started seeing my mom again."

"More about her mother? I knew she was going to come up eventually, didn't expect it to be now,"

He would have thought he was finished with her, but Mobius never expected to come back to it. How does he approach this he asked himself. Mobius slowly approached this discussion with a curious question. "How does she feel now that your father has custody over you again?"

"They were just discussing her visitation rights," she elaborated further as she turned her head towards his direction. "They're still divorced, but she still loves me as a whole."

That was a good start as Mobius would describe it, maybe he didn't need to intervene after all? The road to healing should be taken slow and steady, with no detours ahead.

"That sounds brilliant, Cozy!" he thought it was the end of her worries, but something else was clouding Cozy's mind as Mobius looked below her flustered face still. "Is something else bothering you?"

"Well...I...I just don't get why you always wanted to be with me?" she stuttered from the beginning of her sentence, keeping her stare away from him.

He already knew what's going on, seeing all the signs indicating that Cozy Glow has a little crush on him. Flattered by all of this, he still had eyes on Twilight. It wouldn't do any harm for some teasing, right? Mobius gave her a sign of comfort to assure her. "Look, If I'm just bothering you too much, there's no shame in telling me. But, you're the first friend I made outside of school. You're important to me, that's all."

She turned her gaze towards him, giving him a clear sign of her flushed face. "I'm...important to you?"

"You know, I never really thought about how adorable Cozy Glow looks up close. Her short curly blue mane, those little freckles, and her stunning scarlet eyes make for the cutest—Hold up! What am I saying!? I can't date somepony who's younger than me! What kind of sicko would ever want to do that? At least no one can ever find out about...it..."

Mobius placed his left foreleg on her left shoulder to give her a little squeal from her mouth to answer. "Of course you are. Now, what do you want to do first?"

"How about getting some treats at Sugar Cube first?" she suggested to him, and he nodded

"Of course we can, let's get going then!"

"The first thing we did today was get a delicious treat from the Sugarcube corner. I made sure that she didn't get an entire tray of cupcakes and treated her to two. After finishing, we decided to head out to the local store as she grabbed a few things she needed for the house. I offered to carry the bag to make her have an easier time. I would have thought of going easy on her in chess to be the appropriate thing to do, but she was quite the strategist. Not only she's mature enough to do her groceries, but she's smarter than she looks? Maybe if Twilight is a bust, I can go for my second favorite— NO STOP! Stop it! I want to be with Twilight, not her! It was fun while it lasted, but now it was time to see her off as it was running a bit late for her."

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked Cozy Glow, seemingly satisfied with the time spent together when she nodded. "Good, We'll pick it up next week, I have something to do with the guys tomorrow."

Cozy Glow looked away from his glance like she was going to say something, only to find herself stuck on the first few things to say. "Mobius, I... erm, T-Thank you for hanging out with me again!!"

She grabbed the brown bag of groceries and scurried off to her front door, leaving Mobius's head-scratching. It sounded like she was about to say something to him, but she changed it last second. He shrugged it off as he went off to the school and prepared tomorrow's magic lesson with Twilight.

"An exciting day of doing magic lessons from Princess Twilight herself; I've studied all the materials she gave me, ate a big breakfast, and headed out to her castle library as directed by her. We began with a few warmup routines before going into basic spell casting; I was a quick learner by her surprise. She even taught me a nifty trick of storing personal belongings in a pocket dimension and spawning them anytime. I could perhaps use this to conceal my phone from prying eyes to prevent curious eyes on it. It would be boring to anypony, but I was encapsulated by the experience.."

After finishing the lesson for today, Twilight gave him a list of spells to practice for next week's lesson and saw him out the door. The next thing to do was meet Gallus and Sandbar for something special they planned. They were thinking that they'd been spending too much time around the girls that they needed a break from them and do boy stuff. Their meeting spot was the cafe that was most popular to most of the students at the school, so he made his way over there in quick fashion. The door sprung open with his hooves, and Mobius could spot them sitting at a table.

"Yo! How's the date with Headmare Twilight today?" snickered Gallus from his chair, getting a big whack behind the head from Mobius. "Agh! S-sorry,"

He answered back with a little hiss. "Our lesson went smoothly as ever, so what's planned for today?"

"Well, Las Pegasus has that sweet arcade but," Sandbar paused briefly to move over four hot air balloon tickets on the table, "My dad gave me four hot-air balloon tickets, and we don't have any extra guy to go with."

"Since this day is currently the day after the play, the next episode should be about Starlight and Sunburst solving a friendship problem in their childhood town, that gives me some time before Chrysalis officially appears in 13. But the timeline seemed to have erased Cozy Glow's appearance. I don't know what events will transpire during those missing episodes, they might be completely different scenarios. I'll just have to keep a watchful eye,"

"That is quite the conundrum, have you asked any of the students if they want in?" suggested Mobius, as Gallus and Sandbar shrugged from their sides of the table.

"All busy with stuff..." sighed Gallus, resting his head on the table and throwing ideas out there. "Didn't Silverstream mention having a brother? Maybe we'll hook him up?"

"We barely know the dude and he lives pretty far," said Sandbar, seemingly losing faith this special day only to have been enlightened with a suggestion. "I know! We can ask Figure Eight!"

"Oh yeah, that pegasus that posted those flyers from the school bulletin boards?" Gallus somehow remembered something from his little noggin. "You're buddies with him Mobius, wouldn't he like to tag along"

"This is troubling, the guys wanted Figure Eight to come with us on a trip to Las Pegasus for the arcade. Just one problem; I'm Figure Eight! Oh crap, I just need to think of something quick"

"Hold on a minute fellows, I don't think I would want to bother him with his work," he sheepishly answered back. "Maybe we can just sell the ticket for extra bits?"

"No way! My dad spent a fortune getting us these four tickets and game tokens to last the whole day!" Sandbar then placed a bag filled with tokens on the table. "We should at least ask him and get his answer,"

"N-No!" he shouted at the table, giving them a slight scare from their seats when he simmered down. "I-I will ask him, just give me a few minutes to reach him!"

"Fine by us, but the next balloon doesn't depart for another hour. Make sure you reach out for him till then." Sandbar reminded, getting a waitress's attention with a wave of his foreleg.

"Alright, I'll go and fetch him!" Mobius got off of his seat and rushed outside the cafe.

Running vigorously through the crowd of ponies on the streets and dodging the ones in his path, Mobius made his way to the entrance to the Everfree forest panting after a long sprint. This would be the moment where he faced a serious issue. How was he going to be two ponies at the same time?

"No-no-no! This is a disaster! How can I manage to be Mobius and Figure Eight at the same time!? It's not like I can clone myself, that's an advanced unicorn spell I read from the books. I'm not nearly sufficient enough to even perform such a cast. There must be something they gave me on my phone; an app, or an extra feature...wait! The extra featuring in the disguise app!"

Mobius spawned in his phone using the pocket d. Navigating to the transformation app showed the same menu. But, he spotted the three dots to the right of each transformation, meaning that there must be some extra function to go with it. Tapping the three dots on the pegasus, a little pop-up menu showed up with only one option: Duplicate Conciousness

"I wonder what that means?" the curious Mobius was reluctant to tap on the strange feature, but what choices does it have besides bailing them entirely. "If it will help me in my situation, so be it!"

Slowly tapping on the option, and Mobius felt like a pulsating surge of energy coursing through his mind, giving him an experience similar to how he felt when his conscious was separated from his body and reappeared back in his world somehow. It didn't hurt at all, but it was like a brain blast when suddenly...

*POOF*

Regaining composure from that epsiode, he would appear as if nothing happened at all. He was still a unicorn from the touch of the horn, and nothing besides that strange surge he felt in his brain and the puff of sparkles that appeared in front of him that drifted off in the wind.

"Nothing happened, I must have done it wrong?" he shook his head from the anomaly he experienced, seeing his eyesight going blurry for a few seconds and spotting a figure he recognizes. "I don't see anyone here except Figure Eight besides—"

"FIGURE EIGHT!?"

The two colts were staring deep into the eyes of each other, trying to make sense out of all of this when Mobius blinked his eyes over at what appears to be himself? He raised one hoof as Mobius, but Figure Eight doesn't seem to budge. As he thought of why he wasn't moving his foreleg, the pegasus miraculously moved the same limb off the ground. The experience was like some trick mirror, except it was no trick at all.

"Okay, this is getting super freaky now!" Figure Eight somehow spoke out from his mouth, "Why is Figure Eight talking? Isn't this my mind?"

James felt vigorously confused beyond his comprehension, seeing another version of himself existing at the same time gave him an existential crisis. "What the hell is going on? Who are you?!,"

"I am you!"

"I am me!"

The only thing he could get answers from was calling Princess Sunbutt herself, picking up the phone from his side, and tapping on her name when Mobius levitated it. Thinking as to how in the concepts of space and time is Figure Eight and himself are existing at the same time.

"Hello James, is something the matter?"

"Yes, something is the matter! There's two of me!" both of them shouted in unison.

"Oh I see, you figured out how to duplicate your conscious already? How was it, were you quite surprised to see it?"

"So this is what you mean by figuring it out myself, and I thought entering a cartoon world was crazier already!" pouted Figure Eight, seeing Mobius the one to panic.

"Celestia, what gives!? Why are my thoughts seemingly leaking out of Figure Eight's mouth?" he demanded answers to the princess as she laughed within the phone's speaker.

"Calm down Mobius, it's just your first time duplicating your conscious into a physical form, you'll get used to controlling it better fast enough. This is a similar spell I've used to create the six from our first encounter, a derivative of that spell was also used to bring you back to your world for a short time. You can control your conscious self alongside your actual self, granted if you can handle being two beings at once."

"This is so freaky... and narcissistic," muttered Figure Eight sitting on the ground. "It could be useful though, I could use this to go to Las Pegasus with me and the guys. They were four tickets, but only three of us you see..."

"Yes, I've seen that epsiode before. Now be careful as the conscious double is still you, after all."

"Yes... I can see that..."

"Meaning everything your double sees and experiences will also trigger a reaction in you as well as vice versa. Injuries are a great example of this. With enough practice, you can emit inner thoughts within yourself and still control what Figure Eight does at the same time. You understand this?"

"Alright, I'll try," even though this was a lot to take in, Mobius agreed upon the phone before he ended the call abruptly and poofed his phone out from assistance for the time being. It's as if his powers are getting more ridiculous, he now has to speak to himself. "...S-So...Figure Eight, how would you like to go to Las Pegasus with me and the boys?"

"Me? I love to hang with the gang!" Figure Eight said as he tried to fly inches off the ground. "C-Come on d-dude..."

This is getting out of hoof, now there are two of me! At least this solves my little issue. I've taken more than half an hour trying to separate my inner thoughts and my consciousness; I believe I got used to it now as Figure Eight is silent. Speaking of me, I mean him, I think I can manage to control him to fly better. It reminds me of those mind control toy scams but this works. You know what, I think I may pull this off... me and...myself, were walking back towards the cafe when I saw Gallus and Sandbar just walking out towards the door.

"Hey, It's Figure Eight!" called Sandbar from afar, running up to the two ponies putting the same cringy smile. "Did Mobius tell you everything about our plans!?"

This was Mobius's time to shine, trying to control his consciousness to make Figure Eight answer as he landed to the ground, "Y-Yeah! I'm down to go to Las Pegasus for a while, and who's this guy next to you?"

"I'm Gallus, you seem like a cool dude to chill with..." raised a brow from Gallus, seeing the cheery pegasus wave at him. "Mobius, you alright? We're heading towards the station now,"

"I'm fine, but...it was quite hassle finding him around these parts!" he nervously answered, "Say Figure Eight, have you been to Las Pegasus before?"

"Not really," Figure Eight blurted. "First time there too?"

"Well, it'll be all our first times there!" Sandbar replied. "Come on, we need to catch the balloon now."

The balloon ride to Las Pegasus was awkward for the four boys, each one trying to sit in each corner as they all stared down at each other from their peripheral visions. Mostly it was Mobius and Figure Eight who stood silently the most, gazing into the eyes of each other. This means that James is playing a staring competition against himself, wondering who will win.

This is getting freaky, I'm sitting at two sides of the hot air balloon at the same time. Yet, I feel like I'm in two different ones. I better just calm down and wait until this awkward vibe dies down and go to the more fun stuff.

Just a few minutes ascending above the clouds and Las Pegasus was in their sights landing the hot air balloon in the designated spot for tourists to take a turn to descend. The four were panning their faces in multiple directions of the attractions, crowd of ponies walking to each facility, and loud ambiance.

"This is better than the pamphlets! said Gallus, soaring a few feet in the sky to get a panoramic view, "Yo Figure Eight! You seeing this?"

Noticing the Griffin signaling him to fly up with him, Figure Eight flew up to his height to see the view, "Woah! This place rocks!"

Oh god! Seeing a top-down view while being on the surface makes me wanna puke!

It didn't look so well for Mobius when his cheeks showed a greenish color next to Sandbar. The earthpony gasped upon his sickened friend as he patted his back. "Not a fan of balloon trips huh?"

Moments after his nauseousness, Mobius and the rest of the boys all walked over to the main attraction; the arcade room filled with other teenagers their age. Sadly, they couldn't visit all the other parts of Las Pegasus containing the casino and adulteries. Not like James would want to see how Equestria sees the unsavory parts of Las Pegasus. The game room was filled through the brim with little games and other entertainment amenities that made them and gaze upon the atmosphere.

"Dude, we're finally here!" Mobius witness all the ambient sounds of arcade machines, causing faint flashbacks of visiting the arcade from his high school years back home. "Let the games...begin!"

Over at the CMC treehouse, the trio accompanied a guest to their base of operations, Cozy Glow. She sat down with them looking quite troubled as if this is a serious matter that needs to be discussed shortly. The girls were worried too about her strange behavior, gathering around her.

"Hey now, don't you worry about the darn thing Cozy Glow! We can solve whatever problem you have in your little noggin' there!" assured Applebloom, holding her hoof with hers to check her pulse. "Are you sick? Your cheeks are all red? Is it a fever?"

She replied shaking her head, refusing to speak up on her troubled look.

"Is it somepony in-class bullying you?" guessed Scootaloo right her on her right. Showing a stern face as she slammed her forelegs together with aggression. "Tell us who, and we'll make sure they'll never see the light of day again!"

Sweetie Belle cuts her off as she pushes Scootaloo off from her. "We're not doing that! This isn't getting us anywhere if you bottle up your feelings, Cozy. Just tell us what's up?"

"I...I don't know what to say to him..." murmured Cozy while turning her eyes over to Sweetie Belle, making quite a worrisome face.

"Say what to who?"

"M-Mobius..."

"What about him!? Tell us!" the girls were pestering the poor pegasus for answers at once.

Cozy refuse to tell them what's on her mind, covering her face from her flustering. "N-No! I can't tell anypony about this!"

"Come on! We're friends here, we'll keep it secret!" Pleaded

"Promise?"

"We promise!"

"I...I...I'm in love with him, okay!" she blurted out from her mouth, dragging her forelegs across her face. "I wanted to tell him yesterday! But I just can't!"

Gasping from the surprising news from Cozy, all three crusaders jumped out of their sitting position and screeched in unison. "EEEEEEEEK~"

"Their! I said it! Now go tell it to the world why don't ya!?" yammered Cozy, burying her face to cope with her embarrassment.

"No-No! Cozy! We won't tell a single soul! We'll respect your secret like one of ours!" Sweetie Belle assured her little secret, giving her a little pat on the back to go with it. "I think you two would make a great couple!"

"R-R-Really?"

"Yeah! You're the smartest student in our class! No wonder why Mobius catches your eye," Scootloo slid over to her side and with one foreleg, nudged Cozy on the shoulder. "Say...Hearts and Hooves day is coming soon, maybe you could give him something special?"

Her suggestion left Cozy Glow flustered. "I can't! I don't even know if he likes me that way! I think he would prefer somepony much his age, I'm just one filly!"

"Come on! I think you're a cute matchup; two of the smartest students in their class, coming together in the most romantic day of Equestrian history, only to be hindered by their different peer groups!" the dramatic tone in Sweetie Belle's voice went out like a soap opera summary. "Will she find the courage to spill out her heart's content? Or will he be swooped away by another fair maiden in the mix?"

Applebloom paused her friend to remind her of the obvious issue at hoof. "Hold it their Sweetie Belle, Isn't Mobius like 15?"

"Yes?" she perked her head at Applebloom to answer.

"And how old are you exactly?"

"I'm 10!" Cozy answered back.

"Oh! Pff. Kch. Ts! It's like a 5 year age difference, it's alright in Rarity's books!" Sweetie Belle ignored Applebloom's concern over age and moved over to Cozy Glow's other side. "You should be proud of yourself, we can be of great assistance with setting you up with Mobius just in time for Hearts and Hooves day!"

"I appreciate it, but I don't think I'll go through with it, Sweetie Belle," she frowned back at her. "Mobius deserves somepony older..."

"Alright, we won't bother you for it...let's just see what fate has in store for you..."

Meanwhile in Las Pegasus...

"Seriously, technology in Equestria makes no fucking sense, first some games like the DDR knock-off use a paper scroll to move all the arrows, sure that's believable in this time, but there are somehow lightbulbs and fluorescent lights everywhere. Just when I think it couldn't get weirder, I've seen games with literal display screens all over the place; Are we in medieval times? Or the fucking 1980s?"

Each one of them was scattered around the arcade observing the other ponies or waiting in line on popular games. Mobius was busy throwing skeeball and scoring points with his hoof tossing the ball as no unicorn magic was allowed when playing. In James' case, he was technically playing two games at a time when Figure Eight as his conscious in physical form was pitted against Gallus in a fighting game controlled by joysticks and buttons. The game had Twilight friends as each playable fighter, Gallus picked to be Rainbow Dash while Figure Eight chose Fluttershy.

"Skee-ball and a street fighter clone played at the same time!? The best accomplishment of my life! Still, feel like I've seen that fighting game before...Nah..."

When Gallus had the edge of winning, he was defeated soundly when Figure Eight somehow parried all of his characters special and finished the fight with a KO. Leading go a bitter scream from his defeat

"How is this possible? I have talons controlling each button! I should perform combo moves easier!"

"Hmmm, well combo moves are pointless against the art of button mashing!" Snickered Figure Eight, looking over at the side of the cabinet for any signs of others, "Where's Sandbar at?"

"Playing that stupid dancing game where you have to align the arrows with the rhythm of your steps." Answered Gallus, seeing some game of interest on his right. "I'm going to check out some games over there,"

"Mobius should be done with his skeeball game,"

"Hey fellas!" Mobius appears from behind them, holding up a large stack of tickets in the air," Managed to beat the high score on all lanes and got over 100,000 tickets for it!"

This sounds corny, but I need to act like two different ponies around here.

"Woah, sweet dude!" the Pegasus stared over at the stack of tickets Mobius left floating with magic, "We should turn it in for..."

"Hello Mobius, surprise to see you here!"

Figure Eight, or in this case another conscious of James in physical form looked over next to Mobius, seeing a figure around him with no acknowledgment of him. Immediately knew who it was when transmitting signals through his mind from Figure Eight's perspective.

Mobius looked down to spot the dragon holding a large pile of tickets in his palms, "Spike! How are you? It's quite a surprise to see you here,"

"I just go here, spend a few bits on games and other stuff." boasted the dragon, trying to bear hug the pile of tangled tickets as he placed them down on the floor., "I was going to get something for Rarity by the prize counter. May I ask who might you be?"

Spike pointed his claw at the pegasus, reaching for a little hoof shake as Figure Eight greeted. "I'm Figure Eight, a friend of Mobius. Say, you're that dragon that's also Princess Twilight's assistant, correct?"

"Well, more of a dear friend and caretaker of mine, but yeah!" he nodded. "I've heard you won some tickets Mobius,"

"Yeah, from that skeeball game by beating the high score." Mobius pointed to the row of skeeball lanes at the corner.

"Sweet, If you want to we can split my winnings together?"

He smiled back, "That's nice of you, but it won't be fair for only me to share your winnings..."

"So Spike surrendered to split his winnings with the four of us leaving him with barely enough to buy what he wanted to give Rarity. The dude didn't even need all of those tickets! So Sandbar got some fancy pens, Gallus found this neat spinner top toy, Figure Eight— me, got a nice harmonica, and I got a fancy ruby pendant in the shape of a red heart with diamond encrusting. I'm surprised they even have this at an arcade prize counter, cost me almost all of my tickets. I have a great use for this in the future."

After spending an hour more in the arcade, the boys shared lunch at the buffet and shared a table. Figure Eight was still Mobius' consciousness, so anything he ate would still count towards his stomach movements. He planned ahead and only obtain half the portion size he would normally get. The rest of the day was touring and sightseeing most of the time when suddenly it almost got to evening. So they parted ways with Spike sooner than before as they head back down with the hot air balloon.

The four boys grew tired from all the playtime and walking in Las Pegasus, waving goodbye as both headed out in different directions. Gallus flew over to the train station to catch the train the Griffonstone for the rest of the weekend and Sandbar went back to the direction of his house. Leaving Mobius and Figure Eight left behind near the hot air balloon station. A long walk to the Everfree forest later, the two both smiled in succession with being two ponies in one mind.

"Well now, Figure Eight, I say that was an excellent time we had," Mobius grinned from seeing the pegasus smile back in return. "What do you think?"

"It was cool and all! I hope we can chill out in the future," he replied, giving Mobius a small hoof bump.

"Hang on just a sec." curiosity filled Mobius' mind as he spawned in his phone from mid-air and navigated to the disguise app. "So theoretically speaking, I can revert to my human self and cast a conscious form as Mobius? This will give me extra insurance to prevent my true identity from being revealed if I approach the school. Time to undo this thing,"

Tapping on the three dots to the right, Mobius undid the duplication feature as Figure Eight vanished from thin air. This gave him a small throbbing sensation in the noggin as he rubbed it off quickly with his hoof. "Nngggh! She didn't mention that sharp pain after I ended the spell! Must be a side effect for using it for the first time. Oh well, I guess I should head back now."

"I made my way back to the school dormitory and into my assigned room number. Placing all of my stuff on the shelf as I made my way to my desk to reach for my books. Next week is going to be a tremendous moment for me because Heart's and Hooves' day is just a few days away. The day I will finally come clean to her! To make Twilight Sparkle all mine!"

Chapter 9: Hearts and Hooves Hullabaloo, Part 1

"Today is a big day for everypony, Hearts and Hooves day; The Equestrian holiday equivalent of Valentines. I don't know whether I want to stop Sweetie Belle from getting the wrong gift from Big Mac, but then again, this is an episode featuring Discord. I wonder what will happen if I do meet him? He mentioned when I got here that he'll assume we're strangers. This was the moment of a lifetime, the time that I finally ask my number one favorite pony in half of my life to be my special somepony. I bet my friends back home don't have this crossed off their bucket list!"

There were no classes on this special day, giving Mobius some time and awake to a brand new morning with countless pairs of students sitting together at the cafeteria. But not so well for Sandbar and Gallus sitting across from each other enveloped by the strange atmosphere in the room. Eating silently when Mobius came up next to them and plopped a spot next to Sandbar.

He could already tell from the look at Gallus's face he was a total wreck. He could already see a heart-shaped tin box tied with a pink ribbon that kept it away from the naked eye. This was quite unusual for the griffon to harbor such an item.

"What's that you got there?" Asked the unicorn across from Gallus, who wasn't so keen to answer back to him as he whimpered.

"He made a little something he's going to give to Ocellus," Sandbar chuckled before sipping a milk carton out of straw. "Just try to stay calm, she'll accept anything you throw at her."

Gallus gave them a little fright when he exclaimed. "This is different! This isn't like giving her a sharpened pencil in class! This is the real deal! I don't know exactly when or where I'm giving it to her!"

"I see, it's something that he'll out give to Ocellus, he did look quite an on edge hiding it from plain sight. Sandbar doesn't seem to have anything for Yona, wonder why?"

"Relax Gallus, just take your time and don't go chasing her around like a creep," warned Mobius, taking a bite from his pancakes by lifting a plastic fork with a piece of pancake on it.

Noticing something strange about Mobius' side of the table, Sandbar could see two sets of envelopes and blank cards. Nudging Mobius's shoulder with his hoof when he spotted two sets of envelopes on his side. "Dude, are you trying to two-time Twilight or what?"

"Hmmph, while he may think that, this extra letter is for Cozy Glow. NOT, that I want to make her my special somepony too! I just feel like she's going to have a massive jealousy breakdown if I do go out with Twilight. If my guesses are correct, she would try exacting revenge on her and all of my efforts would've been for nothing. I just need to make sure she doesn't relay the wrong message."

He didn't want to lie to his buddies anymore, but who will he think of to save this? Thinking last second, Mobius realized somepony who can make a perfect alibi out of this. It's not technically lying if he uses himself as a scapegoat, right?

"Well, Figure Eight wanted me to write a letter for a mare he's checking out. I don't know her exactly, though."

Sandbar chuckled before asking. "Can that guy even hold a relationship? He always seems busy elsewhere. We barely even see him..."

"Whoever this pony he's giving his letter two, he better not leave us hanging all the time," Gallus pleaded like he didn't want their bro-ship to end with a mare getting in the way, "and that goes for you, Mobius!"

"What are you yammering about? You're giving one to Ocellus, too!" gawked Mobius, clearly pointing out the box on the table to which Gallus responded with us talons covering it with most of his chest.

"Shut it! It's not the same!"

That should be enough coverage for the day, Mobius need to get to work on the more important things on the matter. After he finished his breakfast, he placed the tray on the stack by the garbage cans and head out to the library. Interestingly enough, the library was packed with students pairing up and reading off of the same book. It felt kinda creepy seeing himself as the only one sitting at a table.
Placing all the materials he needed on the table, he carefully put on his thinking caps and brainstormed on a nice little poem to give her. Mobius planned to give her that ruby necklace he won from the Las Pegasus arcade if she does accept being his special somepony, so he hid it somewhere in his bag. It all boils down to what is he going to write to her.

Retaining the quill pen on standby with his magic, it was clear that he had a small case of writer's block. The poem should be written with his heart, not his mind. But with his long-time crush on the bookworm, he could practically come up with a novel on why he deserves to be with Twilight, but that was overthinking it.

"This is much harder than I've thought," he murmured within the library to prevent anypony from hearing him and disturbing the peace. Just when he thought he was stuck, inspiration surged through his cortex when a revelation strikes his mind. "Wait...this could work! I'm...inspired!"

Dipping the tip of the quill pen to the jar of ink on his right side, Mobius began working on the first verse of his poem dragging the head of the pen to the center of the top center. This was followed by another verse after the next until he was quite satisfied with the final results. Something he should make sure to do was to make sure this was addressed to him as he signed the card with his name. His mind was on fire when he wrote that, reading it out last time before he nodded silently. The poem was complete.

"Yes! The first card is complete, now I just need to wait for the ink to dry while I begin working on Cozy Glow's letter. I didn't have to think about this too much, I just need to let her down carefully..."

Placing the poem to Twilight to the side and making room for the second sheet of paper, he soon went to work on writing a friendly Hearts and Hooves Day letter of rejection. This is to make sure Cozy Glow doesn't get the wrong idea and sees him as a good friend. Mobius made sure the letter gives out his message while at the same time, keep it as friendly as possible to not break her heart. Just as soon as he was finished signing the letter, he went to work on the hardest parts...the address labels.

James didn't know exactly how does a pony writes an address at all, remembering how Big Mac used symbols to indicate Sugar Belle's name only to be thwarted by Derpy's carelessness and smudged the first symbol. This in turn caused his special gift to be sent out to Sweetie Belle instead. There were two things he thought that he felt crept out; 1. How on Equestria did the mail service get Sweetie Belle's exact location? 2. Why do Sweetie Belle and Sugar Belle have similar names? Mobius didn't think about it that much lifting the second card next to the first one and placing the pink envelopes next to him.

"Alright, Cozy Glow...how does that translate into symbols? When I think of something cozy, I think about something warm. Like a towel? No, Blanket! And as for the glow part. What's something the glows? A lamp! Now for Twilight, I can just easily use her cutie mark as an address."

Gently drawing a small image of a blanket and a lamp next to it on the center of the pink envelope when Mobius finished the first letter. Moving onto the second envelop as he sketched an exact copy of Twilight's cutie mark, but then he was suddenly surprised when a small tap on the shoulders came from behind him as he scooted his chair behind the creature that called for him. It was Silverstream and Ocellus.

"Happy Hearts and Hooves day, Mobius!" Silverstream gave him a quiet greeting as to not disturb the peace of the library. "What are you doing!?"

Silverstream and Ocellus were quite cheery during this day since this was their first time celebrating a holiday out of their home country. They appear to have some gifts in their possessions, but he didn't think about that too often when he has more important matters at hoof.

"Oh, n-nothing of your concern, Silverstream..." Mobius answered, simultaneously using his magic to lift the cards and place them into the envelopes.

But without Mobius' acknowledgment, the card on the left went in the envelope to the right and the one on the right slid into the left envelope as he blindly placed them in their 'intended' spots. He was more distracted by Ocellus strangely giving him the most awkward staring contest as she shoved her big eyes just a foot away.

"Hmm...interesting..." she oddly stared deeply at Mobius with large buggy eyes, giving him a bit of unease.

"Um, Ocellus? Will you please stop whatever you're doing, you're freaking me out."

"I'm sooo sorry! There's just too much love in the atmosphere I couldn't break bad habits!" the changeling sheepishly apologized to him, looking away from him. "I was just curious on why you're writing two cards?"

"One's for a friend, that's all!" answered Mobius, seemingly getting weirded out by the changeling's quirks in hurry to hide the letters from his back. "Enough about me, how are you enjoying your first Hearts and Hooves day here?"

"Well..." Ocellus was a little embarrassed to answer him, moving her head away for a moment. "Thorax was first hesitant for me to go— it's a buffet of love for changelings. But we don't do that anymore!"

"Yeah, Queen Chrysalis could be siphoning love around Ponyville today, but she seems not to be doing anything during this time. I guess I'll leave her be for now, but when that episode comes to a close, I'll be ready."

"Silverstream? How about you?"

"Oh, It's going amazing! I've seen tons of creatures coming together and confessing their undying love!" the hippogriff answered with her talons placed on the side of her face.

"Alright Silverstream, I'll be heading out to the quad later. Let's first grab a bite to eat shall we?" Ocellus threw out some last-minute news to her saying her goodbyes to Mobius. "See you around, Mobius!"

"The quad? Wonder what for? Anyways, I have the envelopes sealed up and ready to be sent out. Twilight's in the school, so I just have to drop it off at the table at the main entrance. I hope she doesn't go into panic mode when she potentially reads my letter. Speaking for Cozy's, I guess I could drop it off at her mailbox, but I have to act quick as to not get the wrong idea somepony I know."

Navigating through a hallway with various other students exchanging gifts and showing signs of affection was a sight to behold, turning to the right and entering the main entrances of the school. Mobius can already see Starlight bored behind believe as she slouched on the folded chair waiting for the seconds to tick by for her lunch break. Mobius walked to her in front looking very concerned over her boredness.

"Councilor Starlight, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm...I'm fine Mobius..." answered Starlight, making a huge yawn from her mouth over her tiredness. "How can I help you?"

Just to be sure, he got out the letter addressed to Twilight and checked the label to see if it was the correct letter. Surely, James doesn't want a similar accident like in the episode 'Breakup, Breakdown'. That would make things pretty awkward and dangerous for his physical health over the father of particular filly. Seeing the correct label with his two eyes, Mobius gingerly placed down the letter on the table where Starlight could see the symbol on the envelope. This made her jaw drop inches below when she saw the colt nervously handing out the envelope to her.

"Is this—"

"—Shh!" Mobius cutted her off by placing a hoof to her mouth for a few seconds before retracting. He murmured. "She must get this letter, everything I've wanted to say to her is inside..."

Starlight could only follow his advice as nodded silently before she used her horn to teleport out of the table. That was one letter down, and one more to go. He soon walked outside the school to take a nice stroll to Cozy Glow's home just a few blocks away. Even residence around the street was strolling along with their partners close by or locked next to each other. At least it would be easy to run up her mailbox and place the envelope without anypony realizing. Closing in on his target, he quickly used his horn to pull out the envelope and the mailbox compartment and place it inside. Just a precaution, he raised the red flag to go with it.

"I guess that's that," he smiled when he began to look far out on the horizon from where Sugar Cube was located. Interested in the many folks in line. "This calls for a sweet celebration!"

He walked out of the vicinity of the house to make his way to the bakery, just until the door creeked slightly as Cozy Glow herself was preparing to make her leave.

"Dad! I'm going out to help my friends set up for something!" she peeked her head inside, calling out to her father that was just inside another room by the sounds of his response.

"Alright sweetheart, just be careful out there!"

Making her exit as she closed the door behind her, Cozy noticed the mailbox flag raised. This would mean that something was inside the box. She scratched her head realizing that she had already gotten today's mail this morning. Maybe she forgot something? It won't be a mystery anymore as she opened the box with her foreleg dragging on the handle and saw a pink envelope with her name spelled with two symbols. But her face knew immediately what it was when she reminded herself of this special day today.

"A Hearts and Hooves day card?! Must be from somepony from class..." she gagged over the idea of somepony bringing her a love letter to her mailbox. "I'll take a peek at it and immediately chuck it in the recycle bin,"

She didn't expect much from the notecard, predicting it to be just something like 'Be my special somepony' or something on the lines of that. Cozy took apart the seal and opened the notecard seeing some poem written on the right side. Skimming it over shouldn't take too long. However, the more she did, the more concerning and alert her eyes were as sweat beads started to form on her forehead. This followed by a faint blush on her cheeks grew intensely when she spotted the name signed underneath the last verse. But then, something changed inside her. Maybe it was the fact that her pupils turned heart-shaped or that she caressed the card with her two forelegs floating a few feet off the ground at a constant speed

She let out a soft mewl before giving out a romantic sigh. "H—He does love me~"

Meanwhile, in the School of Friendship's Headmare chambers, it was a busy day for Headmare Twilight as she was busy dealing with certain manners with all five of her friends around the room. She finished signing the last document on her desk while beginning today's meeting.

"Alright girls, let the meeting commence!" she addressed the girls gathering around her desk. "I would love to say, Happy Hearts and Hooves day to all of you! Since the students outside of Equestria here don't celebrate Hearts and Hooves day, I want them to have the best first-time experience with it!"

"Consider it done!" Rainbow Dash crossed her arms as she floated above the desk flapping her wings to keep her mid-air. "I have decorated the halls this morning and we set up the booth to pass out cards and envelopes to any student that wants to write to their lovers!"

"Thanks, now we need the shed light on another topic on hooves..." as Twilight changed the subject, she could visibly see the number of letters and gift boxes her friends stacked on the tables and seats in her chamber as she peeked behind their heads. "You all seemed busy with your gifts to the students."

"My-My! I could almost gain 20 pounds just by eating all these delectable confectionaries our beloved students who were nice enough to send us!" boasted Rarity, seemingly quite satisfied of her stack of letters seemingly taller than the rest of her friends as the groaned.

"No fair! My stack was not even half of Rarity's!" said Rainbow Dash, fumed by her pathetic stack of only 15 letters overall, "and I didn't even get chocolate!"

Twilight pouted. "Well, at least YOU got something! I didn't even get ONE single card at all! What gives?"

The girls snickered as they made the headmare embarrassed with her head lowered down to drown out their noises. But slamming the doors outwards was Starlight as she lifted a single envelope given to her by Mobius as the girls made way for her to teleport in front of Twilight.

"Twilight! You wouldn't believe who gave me an envelope!" Starlight screeched out, as she saw the princess raise her head to see her. "It's from Mobius! And it's for you!"

"R-r-r-really?!" she dragged herself across the desk as she sees the envelope with her cutie mark symbol written in front.

The girls to the side were unsurprised by this gesture given to the only student that wrote her a card. Rarity slowly raised her foreleg over to Rainbow Dash where she gave her a small sack of bits to the fashionista without Twilight noticing. Speaking of twilight, she was holding the part of her chest with her heart, getting some populations over this singular envelope. Her face all flushed, and sweat beads formed in her forehead as she has torn apart the envelopes seal and began to read out loud:

To a special kind of mare,

I know writing you on this special day may be a bit of an extreme oversight, but I've just wanted to get this out there. You may have developed certain feelings for me, and I'm flattered by it. However, I just don't think we can work out in the long term. You're the most kind-hearted pony I've ever met, but I've come to realize that our age gap is far too far off for my comfort and the public's eye. You may think of some caveats to make this workout, but this is just too big of a commitment for me. Just realize that you have a future to look up to and you shouldn't waste it on me alone.

As for me, my heart is already won over, somepony that I'm more comfortable being with. So please, stay strong, and let's keep our friendship as professional as possible.

- Mobius

After reading out loud the letter that Mobius had written inside the hearts and hooves day card, all that Twilight showed after wasn't sadness at all. She felt like a heavyweight was lifted off her shoulders, as her friends gathered around her to voice their opinions on the letter.

"Wow! That was ruthless," said Rainbow Dash, feeling indifferent over the letter as she hovered over Twilight's shoulders to skim it over once more.

"Oh no, Twilight, I'm sorry..." Fluttershy placed all the blame on herself, realizing she was the one that whistleblow his secret.

"Well, this complicates things...must be some mistake! Yes!" Rarity denied the authenticity of the letter coming from Mobius as she took a close inspection of it with her reading glasses. Only to sigh in return. "Oh...he signed it..."

"So, he even thinks of that too..." Twilight slowly placed down the letter from her magic and began to straighten up. "I knew he was smart enough to realize it sooner. Our love is just...not meant to be..."

The girls were shaken up by Twilight's sudden change of heart about Mobius, almost seeming as if she was assassinated in front of their own eyes. Rarity was more invested by this travesty, seeing her legs collapse like a fallen down tree as she was caught by her friends grabbing her torso to keep her up.

"Twi! No, you must not!" she propped herself back up as she denied everything she has to say. "This could be a moment of a lifetime, where you find that special connection with somepony."

"I'm aware," she responded with a slow nod followed by a short frown, "but I do have to respect his choice in the matter. Even if we do go through with it, I still need to think about the long term. I'm a princess, and he's just a student of friendship. It wouldn't be right for me to be seen with somepony of his caliber."

Her friends knew full-aware of the responsibilities she had as the headmare of such a unique learning environment, but to simply throw out a beautiful blossoming relationship? Fluttershy opened up and placed her legs on the table to give her doubts on her decision. "I know what you feel Twilight, but there can be other ways you could make it work—"

"—No! I can't!" Twilight got as direct with her as possible, sitting in perfect posture and everything. "I as the headmare and Princess of Friendship shouldn't have romantic relations with one of my students! It isn't in my primary to find somepony special, and I should set an example for everycreature in the future. Even Mobius agrees with me!"

"So, I guess this is it then?" Rarity hovered to her side to indulge in the harsh reality. "I guess, I was a bit too stuck up trying to make you happy. Only to not realize it was only making you troubled."

"It's not your fault Rarity, It's not anypony's," Twilight replied, getting up from her chair feeling a bit down on this news. "I just need to speak with him, maybe that will cheer me up."

"The treats at the Sugar Cube were specially designed for Hearts and Hooves day with heart-shaped cookies, cakes, and everything. They were a pretty popular thing to buy in dozes or maybe more, but I settled into for a few cookies. So now I just have to wait out the rest of the day for Twilight to read out her card. In the meantime, I might enjoy some fresh air sitting at the quad in school."

The center of the school quad with the flowing fountain and ambiance was joined with countless other students sitting on the edges or just on the grassy areas of the area. It was quite the experience to be breathing and smelling Equestrian atmosphere when Mobius sat on an empty stone bench just next to the library entrance. Free from the emissions from gasoline, pollution, and smelly streets from his homeworld, It felt too clean. All the building colors give it a sense of living in a cartoon world, well...he is living in one...

He never had delved into pop culture and other fictional media in Equestria, believing it was riddled with Daring Doo or those comic books Spike reads all the time. But it was that time he gave one a shot pulling out the first in the Daring Doo trilogy. The story is rather interesting for an Indiana Jones spoof, Mobius was invested in it. Turning over the next page, he was stopped when he spotted someone just at the other side of his spot; Ocellus.

"Ocellus is here, she said something about being in the quad, but why?"

She just sat at an empty bench next to some shrubbery, looking as confused as he was. Just as she was about to leave, Smolder came just outside the blue doors to the left where Ocellus was seated at. She looked timid and posed strange behavior with her flushed face, averted eyesight, and her arms behind her back like she was hiding something.

"Oh, so they are canon? I never thought Smolder would be the one to be doing all of this, I never saw her as the type to do this kind of stuff..."

Smolder, from what appeared from the distance, pulled out her arms from behind and offered Ocellus a large box of chocolates in a heart-shaped box. This made the changeling bounce in pure joy as she gave the dragon a warm hug out of her. Just when things couldn't get worse for Mobius, he noticed a particular Gallus spying on them across from the canal. He was utterly disappointed by Smolder beating him to the punch. Seeing the poor griffon heartbroken and running off opposite of where they were seated made Mobius show sympathy for him.

"Poor Gallus, he could never catch a break, can he? Perhaps I should start looking for him and —"

"—Mobius, I've got the letter you wrote for me..."

He jerked his head slightly by the familiar voice calling out to him next to the bench, turning his head to his right seeing Twilight sitting just on the other end of it. James' mind went completely numb, the moment he was waiting for— nearly half of his life he dreamed of this day. It was the moment of truth. His leaks started shaking and heart-pounding, Mobius took a big gulp before he could respond casually.

"Oh r—really?" He stuttered a bit. "To be honest, I thought it was too cheesy for your taste."

"No-no, It was more than enough to give me time to think about us 'moving forward'..." As soon as she responded, his mind was screaming internally by the way she said her last two words.

"C-c-c-c-calm d-d-d-down James, Don't go into a h-h-h-heart attack now!"

"Y—Yeah! What about us moving forward?!" Mobius was a nervous wreck, trying not to disturb the students around the quad still gawking eyes at their significant other.

Twilight answered while placing her former on his shoulders. "I'm well aware of the risks due to our ages. But, I have a reputation to uphold, and you have such a bright future ahead,"

"No...No way...is this!?"

"That's why I just want to say...thank you..." She scooted close to him and wrapped her forelegs to his torso for the friendliest hug she can give, "thank you for reaching out to me on this special day, but we just can't be in a romantic relationship."

The colts face turned dreary, still welcoming her nice hug while it lasted. Mobius knew this was coming, but he just didn't want to admit it. Twilight is the Princess of friendship, and she shouldn't be harboring feelings for anypony, even her student. This setback didn't make him drown in his defeat, he sighed before Twilight finished her hug getting up from the bench.

"I should've seen this coming to be honest," he sighed, "I thought we could work it out, but it's just not meant to be,"

Why did he even bother to write her a letter? Of course, she was going to keep a professional relationship between a teacher and her student— especially being the Princess of Friendship that will one day be the successor to Princess Celestia and Luna. James believed he just experienced being in Flash Sentry's and Timber Spruce's shoes for once, being a suitable love interest for Twilight. He could almost laugh out loud but kept this interaction as professional as possible.

Twilight stood up from the bench and walked in front of him as she reminded him. "It's not all bad, you still have that one pony that you feel comfortable being with, right?"

"..." he went completely, blankly staring with his deadpanned face.

"Just as you wrote in the card— She must be an outstanding young mare who happens to be smart as me." she giggled. "I might be a tad bit jealous of her, but no harm done!"

"..."

"I believe we can still be friends and keep in touch even after graduation, so I'll see you for tomorrow's class." one more quick hug from Twilight later, she turned and walked away as she prepared to head back to her office.

Mobius mulled over what she meant by that, processing the information in his brain like dial-up internet loading a webpage. He doesn't remember writing that in the poem. He never mentioned anything about another pony. It then clicked inside him, it was obvious at this point. Twilight received the letter that was supposed to go to Cozy Glow, but it was placed in the wrong envelope...

Wait...but that would mean...

The love note is in Cozy's envelope...

And that also means...

He placed it in her mailbox...

"OOOHHHH NOOOOO!"

Meanwhile, inside the Sweet Apple Acres Barnstable, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were attending to a certain lovesick pegasus lying on a bale of hay while Applebloom was the one who got the notecard from her decision to read it out loud figuring out what made her all disconnected from the world:

The first time I've laid my eyes on you
My feelings ring true

Ashamed for what I'm about to say
I've grown to adore you day by day

This may be frowned upon by many
But my love for you is growing by the plenty

Let's put our ages aside
As I have nothing to hide

Be my special somepony
And not leave me lonely

Without you, I'm nothing
Beside you, I'm everything

- Mobius

"T—That was...so romantic!" Applebloom could cry a waterfall as she wept over the lovely poem within the barn. Emotions started to go awry as she tried to power through it by wiping the excess tears off her or with her left foreleg. "I still can't believe that he had the same feelings for her!"

"Wow, me and Cozy Glow got something special for Hearts and Hooves Day? Try to keep up you two!" Sweetie Belle snickered.

"Stop that Sweetie Belle, we need to snap Cozy Glow off of this!" Scootaloo reminded her of the situation they're in. "Hey. Cozy! Can you hear us?"

"My little Mobi...My little Mobi...ahaha-hahaaaa~" Cozy sang a short verse muttering the words out with her soft-spoken voice. She still was in some trance as her friends showed concern for her well-being.

Applebloom gasped. "She's completely lost her noggin!"

"Little? But Mobius is way taller than her...and a lot older..." Scootloo couldn't figure out the logic in her little verse when she poked one of Cozy's eyeballs, surprised by her lack of flinching. "I think that notecard broke her both mentally and physically..."

"Weeeeee~" another small mewl came from her, still having her heart-shaped pupils waving her head and torso back and forth like in some rollercoaster ride.

TO BE CONTINUED

Chapter 10: Hearts and Hooves Hullabaloo, Part 2

With Cozy Glow making her way to her home, she slowly opened the door as to not disturb her father's day off from work. The last thing she remembered on the top of her head was receiving a love letter with Mobius' signature and the next thing she knew, she was laying on top of a hay bale in Appleblooms Barnhouse with painful sensation coming from her left cheeks. Applebloom mentioned she was in some trance as she was spewing nonsense at them while Scootaloo slapped her silly out of it. Closing the door from behind and entering the living room when she noticed that her father was all alone sitting at the table enjoying a box of chocolates opened up with the heart-shaped lid on the side.

"Hello sweetie, how was your first Hearts and Hooves day in Ponyville doing?" Checkmate moved his head to see her all flushed on something as he peeked t the letter held with her mouth. "Oh? Is that a card I see?"

She nodded, grabbing the envelope with her forelegs when she started to hover in the air.

Checkmate chuckled as he finished another piece of chocolate. "That's wonderful, I expected somepony from your class will write to you. You're such a bright young mare!"

"W-where did you get those?" she pointed at the box on the table noticing a notecard on the table. "Is it...from mom?!"

He nodded silently. "She couldn't make it today, but she will be able to see you first thing tomorrow. The grace period for her visitation rights ends that day. "

"That's amazing! And..." her happiest had come to a halt when she looked at the envelope on her hooves. "This card wasn't given to me by a classmate."

"Well, who can..." before he could guess the identity of his daughter's secret admirer, Checkmate gasped as he thought of a possible candidate. "...Now way...him!?"

"Y—Yes... Mobius..."

Checkmate raised a brow over the confirmation on the pony who wrote the notecard to her. This was expected to happen, Cozy Glow couldn't possibly be the only one to figure out the colt's odd behavior towards her; treating her with snacks, playing games of chess together, and having a good time together. She predicts her dad coming up to the poor colt and giving him a little lesson on trying to steal his daughter away from him.

"So he went ahead a did it huh?"

"What?" She scratched her head at what her father said.

"Don't worry about a thing Cozy, I'll make sure I'll give him the talk of the century!" his phrasing made it sound like being a protective father about to go after the one making moves on his daughter. To retaliate, Cozy quickly flew towards him and restrained one of his legs.

"No! Don't hurt him! I don't want anypony to get hurt because of me!" she pleaded her farther not to beat

He soon realized how his phrasing was a tad off when he laughed at her assumption. "No-No! Sweetie! I don't mean to harm the fellow, just need to give him a nice little talk stallion-to-stallion."

"D-Dad? Are you saying?"

Checkmate nodded. "Yes, dear...time to end your friendship with him once and for all!"

"No! No! NOOOO! Why did I ever write two letters at all?! I could have easily spoken to the Cozy anytime about it! And now, I'm wrapped up in the most ridiculous cliche ever! GAHHHHH!"

Inside his dorm room, Mobius screamed out of his lungs slamming his head with a book in quick succession. Followed by the dreaded feeling that Cozy might start gunning for him, he shut himself from the outside world to figure out some way to get out of this scotch-free.

"I know, I can ask Ocellus to drain all the love out of her!" he suggested out loud, only to redact that idea. "No, I would never force her into anything, and they don't do that anymore. I know! I can revert to human form, create a conscious of Mobius and stage a foalnapping scenario with myself! But, what does a human have to do with any of this?!"

He knew full aware that the best course of action would be to talk to Cozy and Twilight about the whole mix-up. However, Mobius might be afraid that it would break Cozy's heart to get her hopes up and Twilight already made it clear that she accepted the letter. Things were going tough around until a figurative light bulb popped above his head.

"That's right...he appears in this episode! Maybe my only chance here!"

Trotting past the students and citizens, Mobius made his way into a lively part of Ponyville to look past all the buildings and creatures in the way. He doesn't know when, but Discord should appear just walking about the streets. It took him about 5 minutes spotting him from the distance casually walking and talking amongst himself. He ran up to the draconequus, seeing him surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Discord! You've got to help me!" Mobius pleaded with his knees to the ground. "I've messed up badly and I seriously need some magic!"

But, Discord raised a brow on him, acting as he has never seen him in his entire life. "hmm? Excuse me, kind sir, I do believe we haven't met. What's your name, boy?"

"That's right, he'll assume we're total strangers when we bump into each other in this world. Alright, I'll play along for now..."

"...I'm Mobius..."

"Well, then Mobius, a pleasure to meet you on this fine day! The name is Discord, king of chaos! At your service!" he greeted the colt in return with a paw shake lasting a few seconds. "I'm in a hurry helping a broken-hearted pony, so If you"

"Alright, cut the act, Discord! I've got a real big problem right here!"

"Did you accidentally cause a tear in the fabric of reality?" Discord assumed the worse possible outcome, but only to be dejected by a head shake. "Well, what could be worse than that?"

"I sent Twilight and Cozy Glow the wrong letters on Hearts and Hooves day!" Mobius responded with a mutter, keeping the flush face away from him.

"Ugh! That is rather problematic," he mulled over what Mobius had done as he came up with a quick solution. "Just a simple heart-to-heart chat will do the trick"

"No! I couldn't!" Mobius refused his first suggestion replied. "Can you just give me the power the reverse time like to this morning?! Give me the spell or something!"

Discord sadly shook his head. "Unfortunately for you 'Mobius', Equestrian time magic is far from stable and could cause a paradox that could collapse every timeline. Also, your unique time powers can only affect present time, and can't be used to go back."

"What about my time reversal skill?"

"That only works if you suffer from major injuries, you will revert to the state before impact and mend any wounds." answered the draconequus. "Plus, I specifically said that I'm only giving you one chance to change things— whatever else you do is up to you. You can easily diffuse this conundrum like any old episode!"

"But...I just...I can't!"

Paralyzed by fear and regret, Mobius started to have a minor panic attack in the broad daylight. Discord never thought he would be in this situation, dragging his paw across his face trying to cope with Mobius' whimper. "Alright look, I can't help you with your little problem, but maybe she can..."

"She?"

Discord showed signs of great concern when his lips started to curl up like he's been hiding something secret from him. "You might get something out of her, but..."

"Who?!"

"Unfortunately, she didn't get the memo of your presence and reason for being here." he ignored Mobius' question and went on rambling.

"Tell me, darn it! Who are you talking about?!" Mobius shouted, making Discord pay attention as he soon responded.

"I'm referring to The Tree of Harmony of course!"

The colt gawked when he heard that name. "The tree of harmony? How would she help?"

"I don't know, but as far as I know, she's completely powerless to stop your actions. So don't worry about getting blasted to smithereens." chuckled Discord, keeping the joyful tears away with a flick of his claw.

"She can't stop me? Why?" he never imagined that the Tree of Harmony is powerless against his actions, asking about how that was possible.

"Her powers are only limited to beings that lack in the beliefs in friendship. Since you have intentions of friendship and not seeking to conquer Equestria, you're off her radar," he answered back.

"That's a relief, I probably won't worry about being blasted by a magical rainbow beam or melt like a candle."

"Luckily, I've placed a marker in the map that will transport you into the cave beneath the library." Discord nudged him on the shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to be heading over to Big Mac right about now!"

With a snap of his fingers, Discord vanished out of sight, leaving Mobius all alone to contemplate on his next course of action. He would have to go to the crystal cavern and speak with the Tree of Harmony. Taking his time to walk to the forest and making sure that the coast was clear, Mobius spawned in his phone and began to start to warp to the cave. He drag the map to where the school was located and found the marker labeled 'Cavern Underneath Library'.

Before he could tap the button to confirm, he muttered to himself. "I hope she can help me on this one..."

The portal opened before his eyes, and he took a step in without hesitation when the next thing he sees was nothing but bright blue crystal formations pulsating a white light on the walls and ground. Checking around the cave, he was sure enough to be beneath the library. The eerie silence mixed with the ambiance it gave out gave him goosebumps.

"I'm here," he spoke softly admiring the crystal formations on the ground. ", now if only I could find-"

"Who goes there?" a familiar voice came echoing within the deepest part of the crystal cave. It sounded almost robotic as the tone and her iteration felt off when she stared into his head.

The entity walking towards Mobius' appeared to be Twilight Sparkle in some transparent state. But he knew it wasn't Twilight, but a consciousness of the Tree of Harmony appearing as her. Assuming that Twilight is the Princess of Magic, the tree took the form of the bearer as well.

"Hello there..." pretending that he's clueless as to who the entity was, Mobius cringed before her, seeing the tree of harmony examining every inch of his body.

"Interesting," she seemed to be quite astonished by his appearance when Mobius kept his cringy smile on him. "You are not native to this place, I see..."

"Oh crap! Has she figured me out already?!"

"Yes...I am from a faraway place." Mobius answered as ambiguous as possible, making sure that her wisdom doesn't see through his disguise keeping the biggest poker face he ever made.

She sincerely gave him a dearing smile. "When I gaze upon you I see that you're speaking 100% the truth. But there's something about you that's even more of a fascination."

"She's onto me, I need to think of something quick. Before that, I need to see exactly where is this going."

He heard her loud and clear when he responded. "What do you mean?"

"You seem to have no issues about the magic of friendship, and even excelling in the teachings by the bearers of harmony." the tree couldn't look so happy with her smile. "Therefore, there is nothing I can do for you to—"

"—Wait! I need your help on something really important!" As much as he was relived by the Tree of Harmony not trying to destroy him for changing the timeline, Mobius still needed something from her as he paused her mid-sentence. "You see I need to solve an issue I have—"

"—Unfortunately, can't help you with any problems you may have." she sincerely apologized to him. "I am not a physical being, just a conscious manifestation of the tree of harmony. My powers can't help with your troubles unless it threatens the balance of harmony and chaos."

"Look, you don't understand! I seriously need help with a little issue!" he once again begged him for the tree's assistance. "Please! I need you to change the past for me."

"I'm sorry, that's far from my jurisdiction." once more, the tree of harmony turned him down.

"Bullshit, I know that the tree can do so much more than just be a plot device that moves the story further. Maybe If I show her exactly who I truly am, I could convince her to help me. But I'm risking my whole identity and true intentions to a literal tree spirit. Well, if it will solve my issues, so be it."

He spawned out his phone from thin air as he slowly walked over to the spirit, curious about the strange slab he lifted with his horn. The tree had to ask. "Hmm? What is this curious-looking artifact you got there?"

"Just, don't get all freaked out when I show you this," Mobius assured the tree that when he showed her the screen of his homepage. "This is a phone, and it holds the ability to communicate from afar, capture photos as a memento of stuff, and contains vast knowledge from around the world."

He explains the basics like to some senile person who hasn't touched a piece of technology in their lifetime, but he has to take baby steps if the tree wanted to understand the situation he's in. The tree nodded profusely as she's beginning to understand the device.

"Truly a remarkable talisman indeed..." mesmerized by the 'artifact' shown the Mobius, the tree slowly moved her foreleg to touch the screen. "It's like a view glass filled with—"

As soon as her hoof made contact with the glass display, the phone made a small vacuum space that seemed to have sucked up the tree of harmony's hoof inside the phone's screen. She gasped when she clearly didn't understand what was happening. "H—hey! what's the meaning of this?! Stops this at once!"

"Huh?! This wasn't part of my powers...

Mobius tried to pull the phone away from her, only it made the suction much stronger as most of her left foreleg was somehow through the screen. "Sorry! I...just don't...know how...to..."

He tugged so hard with his magic trying to free the spirit from whatever the hell his phone his doing to her. This entire experience was brand new to Mobius when the next thing he knew, half of the tree's body was missing with her head and one foreleg hanging onto the outside part of the phone.

"GAAAAHHHHHHH!" Was the last thing she screamed out when she was fully sucked up inside James' phone.

This reaction caused Mobius to quickly drop his phone from the air and let it drop a few feet onto the solid crystal ground. Luckily, his phone didn't receive any cracks or dents as it was enchanted by Discords magic. All he could see was a pinkish light emitting off of the screen in a slow, pulsating pattern for a few seconds when suddenly his body started to morph back into his original self, he was James again.

"I-I didn't hit the revert button. What happened?" he got his bearings together crouching down to pick up his phone. "What happened to the tree of harmony? and what's with this loading bar"?

The screen displayed was only a white background and a pink bar quickly reaching across the screen. As he waited for the phone to boot up to the home menu, it seemed that everything was ordinary; the layout was all the same, the apps from Discord seemed to work fine as James quickly went back to Mobius and back to his human self, and all of his files were still intact.

"Man, if only I could tell her that I was from another world," James muttered out loud, as he lost hope in trying to seek help from her, "Maybe then I would get her to noti—"

"You're from another world!? Why didn't you say so!?"

"—Gah!" James jumped out from the voice sounding the same vein as Twilight. "Hang on, I didn't call someone! Is that you Twilight!?"

"I'm not Twilight you Twilight-obsessed Brony! I'm the Tree of Harmony!"

"Brony? But Discord didn't tell anything "

"Wait just a minute, why do you know what a Brony is? And how did you know my obsession with Twilight?!"

"I don't know! You tell me! After I was gobbled up by your 'phone' I entered some realm that has access to all of your files. I then took the liberty to use magic to absorb all the knowledge and information from this 'google chrome' app, then I was assaulted with vast knowledge about these humans that know this realm!"

"Oh...OH! You saw them...did you?" James slowly stared upon space as the tree of harmony somehow delve into his files containing some unsavory imagery.

"Yes I have, and you have problems..."

James took a big gulp, as ashamed of himself for storing his images on his phone without any encryption or password protection whatsoever. Not only that, some tree spirit somehow got inside his phone and has access to everything on it.

"Maybe getting killed by Cozy's dad isn't that bad after all..."

He shook his head to go back into the important details. "Alright-alright! Let's put that aside from now, how are you speaking like the real Twilight? You sounded so unnatural when I spoke to you here!"

"I don't know, and I don't care! What's more important is why a person with knowledge of Equestria is doing here!? You were a pony!"

"Um, well...you see..."

He took his time to explain everything to her; his homeworld, his parents leaving him all by himself, the contract he signed with Discord, and all of his unique powers to control time pacing back and forth to pass the time. The tree of harmony sound both amazed and utter shock as she made gasped noise from the phone's speakers.

"Ugh! It's always him that causes all this trouble! But you don't have a single drop of evil intentions in you? So, you plan to 'fix' Equestria's future by teaching four fiends the power of friendship?"

"That's correct ma'am, and I already dealt with Cozy Glow by reuniting her with her father!" he boast on his first victory. "Also, where are you anyway? I've been trying to find you in one of the apps, but you don't seem to appear anywhere."

"Hang on! Give me a sec!"

From the homepage of his phone, James could see something appearing from the top left of the screen, it was the Tree of Harmony. She appeared as Twilight shrunk down to widget size that flew around his home page seeing the apps. She stared at the three in particular that he uses for the map. Landing on top of his bottom bar, she placed a hoof on her chin to observe them.

"This digital world, it is fascinating seeing vast knowledge right in front of—"

Just as she was finishing her question, James gracefully used his pointer finger to grab the tree of harmony and flicked her up from the bottom. She made an audible grunt as she bonked her head from the top part of his screen and dropped down in agonizing pain.

"S—Stop it! That hurts! And I can't seem to get out of this stupid phone!"

"I have the tree of harmony inside my phone!? This is a wonderful discovery, but what can she do to help me on my mission?"

"Hey...uh...tree?" he cringed when calling her by that name. "So you can't seem to get out of my phone, huh?"

"YES!"

Something curious popped into James' head as he push down the power button for a few seconds, making the power down menu appear on top of the phone. The tree soon realized the homepage went dim as she stared deeply at the white text box saying 'Power OFF'

"W—WAIT! You don't know what that does to me if you shut this phone off! Hey! Listen to—"

It was a blunt move from the start, but James pushed the power off button ignoring the tree's plead has the phone shut off completely. Did he just kill the Tree of Harmony? If that's so, that will add 100 extra villian points to his street cred. But he soon quickly realized his big mistake as he booted the device on to see if she would still be alive inside his homepage. Seconds waiting, and he input his passcode and there was the Tree in the semblance of Twilight, hyperventilating as she was rocking back and forth in a fetal position on the bottom of the screen shivering alongside.

"Hello?! Are you alright in there?" he tried to calm the spirit down when she moved her head over to the screen to respond.

"N—Nothing but d-d-darkness..."

"Oh boy...this is going to be a hassle..."

He thought it was going to be a simple in and out meeting with the tree of harmony, but James visit took a wild turn as the spirit somehow got trapped inside his phone, managed to learn tons of knowledge on the internet, and saw his 'images' in his files. He now sat on the floor telling stories about how he discovered the show and got hooked on it.

"...I was just browsing the channels on my T.V. when a random episode from the pop-up. I think it was that one where Twilight's future self comes to warn her about something and she freaked out and started to find out what it was..." he rambled on with his story, keeping the tree quite interested, "I thought it was just some little girls show, but then I started to watch the rest. Until I discovered it was a marathon playing the whole first season."

"It's...hard to believe that my entire existence, and Equestrias too, are just imaginary beings used for entertainment purposes...I think I'm having an existential crisis here..."

He chuckled back as to hold back his heavy laughter, "Well it's not all bad, the show made me go through tough times, and that goes for the millions of Bronies like me that made it into a cult following."

"All of this seems amazing, but if you want to teach these fiends the true meaning of friendship, you should've just asked."

"This is a surprise, I thought you'll say something like 'It will cause a significant change in the balance' or something."

"Well while in this new form, I've come to realize that I could learn so much more than just some tree spirit who shows up in like a few episodes. I will try to figure out how to escape this place when the time's right, until then..."

From the homepage, the tree lit her horn up and blasted a magical beam of light to a space of the homepage. The blast seemed to have materialized another icon next to the transformation app, in the shape of a crystal door. The tree of harmony flew up to the door and opened it like in some hotel room.

"I shall seek shelter in this nice little space. This app will act as a hub for me as I figure out how to get out. Don't worry, I won't interfere with you until you call for me and I won't be prying into your files anymore. There's just...TOO much to take in."

"Yeah, tree, that's wonderful of you." James sarcastically thanked the spirit, only to be weirded out even more. "Alright, I need to come up with a better name to call you, how about Twilight?"

"Hay no! I may look like Twilight, but I'm a different being than her!"

"Okay, what about Harmony? It's plain, simple, and describes you perfectly." he threw out another name, to which she slowly nodded in agreement.

"That seems fitting for me, alright. I will do more research on my certain situation, you can do whatever you need to to change Chrysalis' heart on friendship; as long as you don't go take over Equestria with her. Feel free to give me a "

"Thanks..." just when he was finished with her, James immediately went back to his plead on rewinding time, "So I have mistakenly given the wrong hearts and hooves day cards to the wrong ponies, isn't there anything you can do to change that event?"

"Nope. Sorry bud, please speak to the Tree of Love located underneath the Crystal Empire palace."

"MOTHER FU—"

Meanwhile, at the school of friendship, Sandbar was preparing to do some leisurely reading to himself as he invested his time in the latest issue of Power Ponies comic borrowed by Spike. He sat inside the library couch to get a comfortable read until he was interpreted by a large bovine who plopped herself next to the little guy. He flushed up realizing that it was Yona who sat next to him.

"Y—Yona!" he stammered. "Did you get anything for hearts and hooves day?"

The yak huffed out of her muzzle in response to his question as she answered. "Yona don't understand pony love day! She didn't receive anything!"

Sandbar set his comic book aside, see Yona sitting a few inches away from them. "I know it's difficult on your first hearts and hooves day, but who knows? There might be some creature here who's willing to get you something special next year."

"Hmmph, first Yona hears strange noises underneath the library, and now she has to wait?!" Yona grunted as she made a sour-looking face. "Worst pony love day...ever!"

"Noises underneath the library?" he raised his brow on her first remark. "What are you—"

"—Hey you two! Happy Hearts and Hooves day!" a perky voice came out from behind them, "Did you get her anything, Sandbar?"

The one that gave them a scare was Ocellus, appearing from behind them as she was followed by Smolder who was interestingly close to her at all times.

"Ocellus!" he greeted back to his dear friend, seeing the big heart-shaped box she held onto. "I see you have a huge box of treats, I wonder who gave it to you? Perhaps some creature we know?"

Flushed as ever, Smolder raised her left arm to confirm Sandbar's question. "You're looking straight at her."

He soon had the shock of his life seeing Smolder and Ocellus keeping each other warm as the dragon wrapped her right arm around the changeling and the two blushed. Sandbar gulped as his mouth started to form a smile, "That's so sweet of you, Smolder. I didn't know you had it in you."

"I didn't know I had it in me too." shrugged Smolder. "I thought you or Mobius would be the ones to give something out during this day. Where is he by the way?"

"Well, I prefer not to rush into things..." Sandbars grin almost looked like a cringe, scooting a few inches away from Yona. "Say, where is Mobius by the way? Have anyone of you seen him?"

"I haven't seen him in a while, maybe he's spending time with you know who" answered Ocellus, taking a lucky guess on the special somepony he was with.

"Now? Good for him!"

When the gang was snickering about their friend's potential Hearts and Hooves date, Headmare Twilight walked over to them lifting a stack of books she was organizing into the nearby shelves. Poking in their conversation when she greeted. "Hello everyone! Happy hearts and hooves to all of you!"

Her sudden appearance in the library made Ocellus, Smolder, and the rest scratched their heads seeing Twilight by herself in the library on this special day. It only took a few seconds to realize Mobius wasn't with her at all times.

"Headmare?" this confused Ocellus as she could've sworn Mobius had an interest in her and wrote her a letter according to the letters he wrote just this morning. She turned her head to ask. "I thought you received a special letter to a special pony on this special day."

Twilight took initiative over the changeling's curiousness, answering as she placed the books in their intended placements. "Oh yeah, if you're talking about Mobius. I had to respect what he said in his letter and decided not to date him."

"WHAT!?"

"Shh! This is a library every creature!" hushed the Headmare with her foreleg to her lips. "He's the brightest student I've got, maybe even my top one. However, he still has a bright future ahead of him, and I don't want our age differences to be the end of him. I am the Princess of Friendship that needs to be a role model to everypony for the future. Do you understand?"

The group slowly nodded in unison as the logic behind her explanation was understandable at best. Twilight left them be walking over to the opposite end of the corner to finish the book sorting.

This left Ocellus is distraught by this, jaw-dropping and everything. "So, I guess Mobius isn't seeing her after all?"

Sandbar could only be bummed out by his friend's decision not to make moves on the Headmare. "I completely understand their reasoning, and I respect his decision. Still though, what happened to Gallus?"

Over at the cafeteria, Gallis was sitting by himself with nothing but his heart-shaped box with goodies opened up with the lid underneath. One by one, he scarfed down the chocolate pieces as his beak was smeared with the stuff. Seeing a few other students sharing a seat across from each other and spoon-feeding their significant others.

He let out a huge disappointing sigh at his side of the table before muttering. "I knew I should've bought those magazines on sale today..."

Alot has happened in the past 30 minutes being inside the crystal cavern underneath the library, Mobius had returned to the forest he appeared in and made his way into town as the area seemed still active with lovey-dovey ponies. How he managed to trap the tree of harmony inside his phone and got transformed into some advanced personal assistance in the form of Twilight is far from strange. He already has time powers, portal casting, transformations, and his knowledge of Equestria and its ponies. But none of that seemed to matter as he went for a straight shot to the school.

"Alright, I'm close to the school now, I just passed Twilight's castle and everypony seems to be with their—"

"—Hey boy!" a masculine voice sounding quite older called out for him behind his back. "It's Checkmate, I need to speak with you for a moment."

The colt made a sudden halt like a cop caught him committing a crime in broad daylight. Mobius had sweat beads forming on his forehead already, clenching his teeth as he came to believe his time in Equestria had officially come to an end.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted, I hope Cozy enjoys a wonderful and the rest may vary. I hope I could reincarnate into a creature in this realm; maybe a dragon would be pretty cool..."

He had a face of pure acceptance as Mobius looked behind him deadpanned. Slowly, walking back from his trail seeing Checkmate all serious as he approached him as well. Cozy Glow was just behind him biting her bottom lip to show a sense of dread at what has yet to come. When the two ponies met face-to-face, all that Mobius could do was take a huge gulp in his throat and greet the adult.

"H—Hello, Mr. Checkmate. How's working at Ponyville doing you?" he tried to stall his inevitable death with a casual question.

"It's going well, but that's not why I'm here." Checkmate had to bring it up to him as he made Mobius whimper. "Do you know why I called you here?"

"N—No..."

Checkmate slowly relayed his reasoning. "Because you've wrote that love poem for Cozy Glow. I took a glance at it myself, and I was completely shocked..."

"Alright, how should I take this? Hoof to the face? Or maybe a nice big apple buck to the stomach?"

It was already too late to say that the letter wasn't addressed to her, as It would cause more issues if he breaks Cozy's heart. Mobius already accepted his fate, he's just waiting to get the perfect moment for the final blow.

"I—I know it might sound..."

"I'm speaking here! Boy!" he firmly stood his ground interrupting Mobius with his raised voice to keep him quiet. "For now on, you and Cozy Glow are NO longer friends!"

Cozy broke her silence as she pushed her father aside to reveal her tears running down her cheeks. "Daddy! You can't just do that! You can't just declare somepony—"

"—Because now, you have my full-on blessing kid..." he finished his sentence, letting out a caring smile to Mobius.

"B-blessing?" Mobius scratched his chin, visibly confused at this huge turn on him. "For what?"

"What else? My blessing to date my daughter, of course!" Checkmate gave him a little noogie with his foreleg rustling his mane.

To her surprise, Checkmate wasn't going into 'protective father' mode when he laughed off his serious behavior into the caring dad she always knew. Like a dream coming true, Cozy Glow couldn't be so relieved and excited for her father willing to accept Mobius as her special somepony. Imagining happy moments together as she bounces on her dad's torso and gave him a nice big hug.

"Oh! Thank you-thank you-thank you daddy!" she squealed to the top of her lungs.

Mobius didn't quite know what to feel; happy that his life is being spared, afraid that her father is declaring them lovers, disappointed that Twilight rejected him in a professional matter. All these emotions mixed can only leave the unicorn sitting still, mulling over what the future may hold for him.

"I...I...I don't know what to say..." he spoke out loud. "I don't understand..."

Checkmate was the first to comfort him, placing his foreleg on his shoulders to give him his reasoning. "Look Mobius, It's not that you wrote to my little girl on this special day. It's the fact that you were there when I was about to let her go as an orphan— gave me the kick in the flank to keep me going as a father, and even made great friends with her in Ponyville. She's quite the smart and mature one for her age. Heck, she even helps me with my taxes!"

"Equestria has taxes?"

"So if you want to decline my offer and remain friends with her, that's fine by me," he continued, "but just realize that you're the only pony around here that saved her from the delusion she believed that caused our divorce. It if weren't for you, she would stay in that orphanage for the rest of her life."

He retracted his foreleg resting on Mobius' shoulder as he backed up to await his answer. Mobius was now in the clear when he heard him saying he can remain friends with her. This would the perfect moment to give him that answer when something came to him in his mind.

"I could easily say that I want to remain friends with her, and that would be the end of my huge problem. But then again..."

Cozy slowly walked over to him, looking all flushed as she tried to make eye contact with him to give her opinion. "I know it's up to you Mobius, but you're the pony that did save my future, and you're the one that makes me feel joy being around. I bet there's no other pony out there that could replicate those same feelings I have for you now. I know it must be hard because of our peer groups, but it all leads up to you to decide. I'll be happy either way."

"God she's adorable; what's gotten into me? Why am I feeling things? Is it the curls!? It's got to be her curls! She's completely changed into a calm and caring being. But what if somepony sees...wait...why am I the one to be embarrassed by all of this? I've placed Twilight in the same position as I am, and she's like twice my age! A princess figure like her would be ashamed of being around somepony like me. She doesn't have time for romance, I bet she was already going to reject me regardless of the letter. I guess, there's nothing to be ashamed of anymore. Sorry, Chrysalis— you'll just have to find somepony else to be with."

Clearing up his throat, Mobius carefully let out his answer in front of Checkmate. "I...I accept your blessing to be your daughter's coltfriend..."

Chapter 11: Hearts and Hooves Hullabaloo, Part 3

Around in the entrance to the Everfree forest, Mobius was in a heated engagement with Figure Eight, who slammed his back onto a trunk of a tree as he continually slapped him with his hoof dragging across the air and coming into contact with his cheeks. To the normal eye, it would just be two ponies who are playing rough. To James, he was doing this to himself technically speaking as he created a conscious double of Figure Eight and slapped himself on the face.

*SMACK*

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Shouted Figure Eight, still persistent on slapping the unicorn silly. "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY NO!?"

"I-I don't know! I just...panicked!" whimpered Mobius, as he had the back of his neck on the cold wet tree trunk as he prepared for another slap. "I just don't want to hurt her feeling-"

"Quit acting like a Mr.Niceguy! You had your chance to say no and you went ahead and mess that up."

*SMACK*

"GAAH! Stop that already! It's hurting you too!" he pleaded himself not to slap him anymore, only to answer with another slap on the left side.

Figure Eight growled as he placed his forelegs onto his cheeks to make him look dead in the eyes. "Like I don't know that!? You know full aware that we're too old for her! And we're younger in this form!"

"After I made the stupidest mistake ever by accepting Checkmate's offer of dating his daughter, she of course pounced on me and gave me the biggest hug of my life. It wasn't that it was bad, it just never occurred to me that he would be okay with this. I never thought I would go this far! I have no fucking options left besides beat myself up in a shameful matter and accept my fate wither her."

Just when things were about to turn for the worse, the phone from the ground came alive, revealing the Tree of Harmony behind a white, crystalized background as she knocked on the glass from the inside of the screen. She wasn't so happy as to hear the noises the colts made as she tried to get their attention.

"Will you stop beating yourself up Mobius!? I think I know what to-"

She was heavily ignored by Mobius, catching Figure Eight's hoof with his horn as he teleported behind the pegasus and lifted him off of the ground. This in turn caused him to return the favor as Mobius slammed his back behind the same trunk.

"Oh yeah, me! Let's see how you fare when I return the favor!"

*SMACK*

The unicorn proceeded to slap the pegasus cheek back and forth, causing him to groan back at the pain as Figure Eight and Mobius ignored Harmony's call out to them. She was ticked off over his complete mental breakdown of slapping himself in another conscious form as he laugh manically. It was so frustrating that Harmony had to go into the settings to dial the speaker volume to the max as she screamed

"I SAID STOP IT YOU TWO AND LISTEN TO ME!"

Covering their precious ears from the loud shriek, Figure Eight and Moibus overheard Harmony from the speakers of their phone as the two agreed to stop what they're doing and listen to what she had to say. Mobius was released from the clutches of the pegasus as he stood back up from the seat.

"Fine...what could it possibly be Harmony!?" asked Figure Eight, huffing out his muzzle.

"You know full aware of what you have to do; Go and talk to them about the mix-up!"

Mobius bit his bottom lip when Harmony mentioned her plan. "You're right! But there's no way I could tell her the truth without breaking her heart!"

"Stop acting like a stubborn baby and just speak to them! It's the best thing you could do right now. Look, I can't think of anything else besides time magic. But you told me Discord refuses to rewind the events that already happened! You're the cause of this mess and you should be the one to pay the price! "

Feeling like he reached a breaking point as if Mobius reached out to god to listen to his answers. He should listen to the tree's advice, but something was stopping him. Just when things were bleak, a strange sensation came back to haunt him when a familiar sharp pain arose from his head and began to cramp up from the ground. This also caused FIgure EIght to feel the same pain as his body started to dissipate out of existence leaving Mobius all alone.

"Nnnggh! Again with this?! What's going on n-n-now!"

Seconds taking in all the pain, Mobius's eyes drew tired, slowly closing in on themselves as he fell asleep to the ground.

...

...

...

...

"This feeling...it's like deja vu? This happened to me once before, but why?"

James quickly shot his eyes opened as he was on the couch back in his apartment building, in the same PJs he wore before entering Equestria, and once more was back into his reality. He remembered the same event that happened after he saved Cozy Glow, was he summoned back to his world for some reason? Something was a tad different, maybe it was the fact the T.V. was turned on? Or the fact that it was playing some gameplay of some visual novel he had once played through. Or it could be the fact that the pony sitting next to him was somepony he never thought he saw right in his living room.

"P-Princess Cadance?!" rubbing his eyes to adjust from the episode he just had, James was caught off guard when the alicorn was quite invested in the visual. "What are you doing here!?"

During her little play session, she was immodestly horrid by the gruesome display of the game's next screen as she shrieked. "What kind of sick visual novel is this!? She just hung herself!"

It soon clicked to James as to what game she was playing when she dropped the controller when he tried to calm the princess down. "Wait! That's not just a romance visual novel, by the way, it's more of a psychological horror mixed with romance. But that's the least of my problems, what are you doing in my house? And why am I back here!?"

"It's because we're going to talk about your little problem, James," Cadance paused the game and placed the controller down on the coffee table as she turned over to her right. "You've been hit with the classic 'letter mix-up', am I correct?"

"I guess DIscord ratted on me..." he sighed, "speaking of DIscord where is he?"

"He's currently not here at the moment, just you and me here," answered Cadance. "Anyways, what's gotten into you? You gave Twilight and Cozy Glow the wrong letters, no biggie. You could've easily diffused the situation, but you went ahead and accepted her father's blessing. More importantly, you deliberately accepted Twilight's decision not to be official and didn't explain the mix-up to her, why is that?"

The flushed expression that James gave off was visible to the naked eye, he answered while taking a deep breath, "I don't know, I just felt...bad for her..."

"Bad for who?"

"You're probably aware of my world's depiction of you being fantasy and Discord debriefed you on my mission?" James curiously asked Cadance, to which she replied with a slow nod. "Well, I believe it has to do with the season 9 finale."

"Oh? I haven't watched that far ahead, I'm still on season 7," reminded Cadance. "Yeah, I know, I'm watching past events I've already seen, but It's just so astonishing seeing everypony I know in the equivalent to some stage play! So tell me what happens to her?"

James started to explain. "After she attempted destroying Equestria's magic with the aid of Lord Tirek by trapping Twilight and her friends in Tarturus and manipulating the school, she was brought into the Legion of Doom with three other villainous faces with aid of Grogar."

"G-Grogar!?" she gasped when James mentioned that destructive creature. "Grogar's back?!"

"Actually no, it was Discord in disguise trying to make them work together as a team and teach them the magic of friendship." he finished off his explanation to ease the alicorn. "He never told you that part?"

"No! Discord never tells me the important things!" pouted Cadance, crossing her forelegs together before she went back to her professional mindset. "So, what happens next?"

"One battle with some magic enchanting bell later, Cozy, Chrysalis, and Tirek all got turned into a statuary and was placed on hold for probably a long time, or less if you count the comic books."

"Comic books?" she repeated to him.

"Nevermind, I prefer not to answer that right now," James utterly refused to give her more context. "I mean, I always thought Cozy Glow was some psychopathic filly with no real meaning behind her actions. When I saw her all sad and alone in that orphanage after her parents left her, I just...felt that she was going through what I felt when my parents left but at a way younger age. I just want to make her happy, but to make her my special somepony?"

Cadance can sense that James was speaking with his heart, as she tried to sniff off her emotions. "Well, while I'm happy for you for trying to make her the happiest filly on Equestria, your heart speaks differently."

"Differently how?"

"Your feelings for Twilight are very much strong, and your bedroom shows it..." she slowly crept over to him as she muttered the last part. "You've seen to have developed feelings for Cozy out of empathy for your issues, however"

"I already know what you're going to say, Princess," ashamed by himself, James looked away from her staring in the opposite direction, "she's only a filly, and even with my form being a few years younger than me, it's still wrong under the public's eye."

Cadance nodded, "You read me like a book. Love isn't bound by any rules, it's the unification between two creatures' feelings towards one another. While Cozy maybe just a filly now, she will one day spring up to a fine mare. But as in your case, your heart seems to harbor conflicting emotions. These feelings are normal for most ponies where they feel like they should belong to somepony else. Twilight is smart, quirky, and overly organized; and she's the Princess of Friendship as well. She may have some trouble with 'certain' love interests from another world that you probably are aware of, but are you certain you want to be with Twilight?"

James answered, "Yes..."

"Really? Are you sure?" she repeated the question to him, and he nodded vigorously again.

"I'm sure..."

"Well then, I guess it's time then,"

"Time for what?"

Their little conversation was immodestly cut off when three figures magical materialized in front of their eyes. It was already obvious that Discord and Luna were all accounted for in the room. Even surprised to see them carrying ambiguous containers and pizza boxes with their magic.

"Hello James, you prefer the younger crowd as well? My-my, what range you have..." Princess Luna greeted, then immediately teased him afterward placing all the stuff onto the dining table to their left.

"What's this? Are we having super bowl already?"

"Huh!?" James peeked over at the dining table, seeing the array of party food displayed as he stood up and took a good look. "What the hell are you doing here while I'm gone? I mean, what exactly is today's date?"

"We're just feasting on the delicacies this world has to offer!" answered Discord, coming up to him as he grabbed pieces of sushi from thin air and placed them onto a plate. "It's currently been 7 days since you departed on your mission. Time runs different between our worlds, so you're not missing much. Just a few phone calls from your parents and relatives, they were easy to speak to with a bit of mimicry."

While Discord went on explaining, James noticed there was one pony that was absent when he spoke about it. "Where's Celestia? I thought she came with you two?"

"She's busy with Princess stuff at Canterlot," answered Discord, laying out the rest of the stuff on the table with his magic, "we're here to talk about your little oopsie."

"Correct, can you do anything about it?" James went down on his knees and tried to ask again.

"That depends, did you have a little chat with Caddy over here?"

"Yes, we have, Discord..." Cadance, answered, proceeding onto the game she paused on the T.V. "I think you should give him a second chance."

Discord sighed when he used his paw to drag it across his face. "Very well James, you win."

"Really? But didn't you say altering the past now will cause branches in the timeline-"

"Oh please, Starlight already made multiple instances of the timeline in season 5! What's a few more that won't hurt? Besides, you're already doing it now!"

He prepared to cast a circular portal just behind the couch James and Cadance were sitting at, making him stand up as he sees the other side of the portal to be somewhere just near the Everfree forest. He noticed that the entire world was surrounded by a blue hue and was completely frozen in time. This was similar to when he cast Time Rush, but everything was completely frozen in time.

"Alright listen up James, I'll send you to the exact moment you wrote those letters. But to prevent anyone from seeing you, I'll be sending you there with your time stutter ability in play." Discord explained. "It's in the vein of time rush, but the entire world will be stopped to a complete halt; No one will see you, hear you, or notice your actions. This ability is the true essence of your time magic in its purest form, that's why I won't tell you how to activate it."

"But why?"

"Just be glad that I'm giving you this one-time solution. I'll send you close to the school's library, and will be keeping the portal open while I'm at it. Change whatever you need to resolve your problem.

"This is all that I needed, thank you Discord!" thanked James as he gave him a nice big hug.

"Yes, whatever! Just go!"

Discord shoved the fella through the blue portal while James fell flat on the ground near the school's entrance. Everything felt completely different, with no voices, ambiance, or motion at all. Every creature was completely frozen in time. The sky had a fracture reflection around it, just like in one of his time powers. James took a few seconds to notice that he was still in his PJs and slippers, meaning that he's still in a physical manifestation of his consciousness.

"This feeling, it's like the magic in me is non-existent. Could be that I'm still in my conscious form, but never mind that. I need to go to the library!"

It was strange to be roaming the streets of Ponyville without anypony noticing him, every creature felt minuscule to him. They don't call it 'My Little Pony' for nothing. Just the eerie silence gave him chills running down his spine as he jogged over to the school. Now he was approaching the school's entrance and made a right to the library. He saw Mobius himself in unicorn form, facing behind the two letters focusing his attention on Ocellus and Silverstream, all still frozen.

"This must be it!" he spoke to himself as he reached over to the table where he's at and grabbed the two envelopes, "Let me just..."

Inspecting the envelope with Cozy Glow's symbol on it, he noticed the letter was completely wrong and pulled it straight out. He wasn't taking chances, so he inspected the card inside Twilight's envelope and noticed it was the wrong one too. He made the final corrections of the note cards and placed them in the same placements as before. He did it, he finally fixed his stupid mistake and everything seemed fine to him. He quickly did a final glance before he ran off and back to the portal Discord kept open for him.

Running vigorously past the village and back to the location of the portal, he made a running start and lept over the portal to his house and stuck the landing by flipping over to the couch slammed his head over on the coffee table. He noticed that no pony was making clear attention to him, Cadance was playing through another visual novel on screen, and Discord and Luna feasted on the many assortments of food on display. James took his time the adjust from his fall as he rubbed the back of his head groaning and panting.

"H—Hey! I've d—done it Discord!" he announced. "I've managed to swap the letters back to their intended places!"

"Good for you," he nodded as he snapped his paw to close the portal and took some chopsticks on the other, and grabbed a piece of spicy tuna roll to chow down on. "So, after you come back to Equestria, you should be seeing minor changes to the timeline; since you've 'corrected' the events, everything you did up to this point never seems to happen."

"But wait, shouldn't I disappear as my timeline gets altered?" he took a glance over at Discord giving him a concerning look.

"You should be alright as long as you remain here." rest assured Discord. "Your physical body is still resting in the forest, and nothing should affect you here."

Taking a long sigh, James reached over at the table and grab a drumstick from the bucket of chicken as he indulged himself in a meat product after being on a vegetarian diet for so long, moaning as his teeth sunk into the tender fried flesh. "Thank goodness! That was a crazy day I had! First, I gave two ponies the wrong envelopes, trapped the Tree of Harmony inside my phone for some reason, and somehow got integrated into my phone's OS. Just another day in Equestria, am I right?"

But only Discord could only be curious about that last part James said. Discord tried to make him reiterate what he said, asking. "What's that you say? You've trapped the Tree of Harmony inside your phone?"

James nodded. "Yeah! But that shouldn't happen anymore because I never came to the cavern to speak to her in this new timeline, right?"

Discord slowly pointed straight to James' pocket that still held his phone, "Can you show me your phone for a quick moment?"

"Hmm?" he was curious as to why Discord wanted to see his phone as he opened up the homepage. "She shouldn't be on my phone now that I've changed the pas-"

Immediately taking a glance to see an unrecognizable icon on the home screen, Discord pointed it out to him. "What is that icon? I never put that there!"

"What the..." James seemingly tapped on the crystal door icon seeing the tree of harmony bopping her head to some music she was hearing music, "you're still here!?"

"Quiet! I'm listening to some sick tunes on Spotify! Oh? IS THAT DISCORD! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME!?"

"Impossible...it shouldn't be able to do that!" gasped Discord, "the tree of harmony inside your phone!?"

"Yes I am, and did you send him back to the past and change what can already be fixed in the present!?"

"Hang on just a minute!" Luna overhead the familiar voice coming outside of James' phone when she placed her plate on the table and see the pony on the screen, "Twilight!? How are you trapped in James' phone!? Don't worry, I'll get you out!"

"No, Stop! I'm not Twilight! I'm the tree of harmony you imbecile!"

While James tried to restrain Luna from attempting to smash his phone to pieces, Discord kept on rambling to himself while thinking aloud, "This is a rather fascinating discovery...the tree of harmony integrating into the digital realm? But now the event of Mobius, aka James, meeting her has been erased. This means that there are two instances of the tree of harmony's conscious in one concurrent timeline."

Overhearing what Discord has to think, James tapped him on the shoulders to give him a little jump, "Discord? So what happens now that the tree of harmony somehow got trapped in my phone? I never needed to see her in this new timeline,"

"So, Tree of Harmony, can you control different functions from inside the phone?" asked Discord peeking at the screen to see her nod, "I see, you realize that there are two versions of you in the altered timeline James created."

"Interesting, but since I don't have any connection to the outside world as of now, I guess it should be alright then?"

Princess Luna managed to calm herself down, realizing her mistake when she said. "It's not Twilight, but the tree of harmony? But the conscious manifestation of the tree is needed for the elements of harmony to work, right?"

James wanted to feel worried about the repercussions of the events, but he quickly took notice of one small detail as he smiled, "I guess...changing the past was a good thing since the elements of harmony can still be intact and I can have a personalized Twilight A.I. on my phone, SWEET!"

"NO! NOT SWEET! I didn't agree to anything yet!"

"Now that's been covered, let us dig into a fine feast shall we?" ignoring the tree's cry, Discord waltz over to the table and began to pick a few items with his magic.

"I'll come back to Equestria once I get a sampler of all the foods I miss," James replied, closing his phone screen and shoving it deep into his pockets to shut the tree up.

"Oh, dear niece!" Luna called out to Cadance from the couch, "after indulging in this vast feast we have, let us engage in Mortal Kombat!"

Cadance grinned. "You're on!"

In the forest where one particular unicorn was knocked out cold in the middle of the day, Mobius immediately shot awake with his eyes wide open and propped back himself up. He was all alone, and still intact after nearly eating 20 wings back in his homeworld. Getting his bearers up, he quickly brought out his phone seeing the tree of harmony app still on his home screen.

"I managed to swap the letters back to their intended spots using Discord's help, but everything seems to be fine. I know I won't like it, but I need to visit her just to make sure."

After trotting to Ponyville, it was still in the middle of the day in Hearts and Hooves with pairs of ponies coming together and strolling along the streets. Did he manage to change the past? What if Cozy Glow still declares him his special somepony? All of these questions needed to be answered with a little house visit. Mobius took a big gulp as he walked in front of the door and he rang the doorbell with his hoof pushing the button. Seconds later, Checkmate was the one that answered as he opened the door and peeked his head out.

"M-Mobius? How are you? Never seen you since the orphanage!" he greeted the young colt.

"'Since the orphanage?' That would've applied that he never approached me back near the school and gave me his blessing. Hold on, just for extra insurance."

"Say, did Cozy Glow receive anything for Hearts and Hooves Day? Just a curiosity..." he asked the older stallion, who seemed to shake his head as he chuckled. "What gives?"

"Nothing really, it's just that..." Checkmate started to speak up but then gulped to change the subject. "She's figuring out which pony gave one of her friends an extra special Hearts and Hooves present."

"Oh yeah, Sweetie Belle's little fiasco...I guess she went thereafter?"

"Alright then, see you later sir!"

Mobius ran off to check on the barn in the Sweet Apple Acres, trying to remember by muscle memory the location of it. He didn't take trips to the farm as often, but this was his excuse to see it up close. He remembered vividly that they should be in the stables as he pulled open the doors seeing four filly's looking appalled by Mobius' unexpected entrance.

"Cozy Glow..." he started to clear his throat spotting the filly carrying an envelope. "Look, I just wanted to say—"

The crusaders immediately zipped over to him to shut his mouth as Sweetie Belle started to vent out, "Shut it! You've hurt her feelings! How could you be this cruel?"

"What?"

"She loved you! But you had to say that you love somepony else, did you!?" yelled Scootaloo, giving him the hardest hoof punch she could dish out. "Not even making her your special somepony for ONE day? Shameful!"

"Who is this mare that stole your heart?" Applebloom's fiery stare gave him a slight whimper as she clenched her teeth alongside her angry expression. "We'll teach her a lesson-"

"Girls! Stop it!" Cozy Glow came to diffuse the crusader's frustrated glares at Mobius and shoved them aside, "Give us some privacy will you!? I just want to talk to him!"

"According to the girls' expressions and context, I'm guessing that I did successfully change this event. Good riddance, but it seemed that Cozy Glow was handling this very well."

Cozy and Mobius stepped outside the stable and shut the doors when they were facing each other eye-to-eye. She had a quite saddened expression on her face, but it was soon transformed into a small smile as the filly gave him a big hug and said. "I've understood what you said in your letter, I'm just way out of your league. You deserve somepony much older than me."

"That's right, I deserve somepony much older than 'me'"

"Listen, Cozy." Mobius embraced her hug for a few seconds as he tried to comfort her. "I'm sorry that I've hurt your feelings..."

"It's alright, don't beat yourself up because of it. I'll be fine," She said timidly. "I guess my dad won't take the news slightly when he figures out you gave me a hearts and hooves day card."

"You don't say..."

"Say, I have something to give you for Hearts and Hooves day as well," Cozy quickly smiled as Mobius nodded back to her. "Close your eyes, 'kay?"

Whatever is her gift to him, Mobius had to accept it or else he would hurt her feelings even more. Expecting something like a box of chocolates, or a little note card she wrote, it couldn't be worse than what it was in the previous timeline. He slowly shut his eyes to wait for her to give him his gift.

"Alright, just tell me when you'll—"

He was quickly interrupted when he felt a small, moist sensation coming from his left cheek as it lasted for a whole second. This action immediately shot his eyes wide open when he saw the filly blushing profusely as she averted her eyes sight on him.

"Did you just?"

"Oh please," she hushed him, "I give my dad kisses on the cheek all the time! Just a little constellation prize for yours truly~"

"Well, I guess a peck on the cheeks isn't too bad, I guess no harm there..."

One last hug from her before Mobius went over to the school to check on Twilight and her notecard. That small gesture Cozy gave him made him a bit flustered, but he accepted it as it did solve his issues in the previous timeline. The school was still lively with students with their special someone alongside them. Everything seemed like the average day when suddenly, Mobius was stopped by an irritating sensation coming from his ear that was yanking him from behind his back.

"Ack! What is this!?" he groaned, trying to walk back to see who was pulling on his ear. "Miss Rarity?"

"Mister Mobius! You are in big trouble now, you brute!" Rarity ridicules him, forcibly yanking on his ears with her magic to make him follow her. "Your presence is needed in Headmare Twilight's office, NOW!"

"What's going on? Did I cause a chain reaction that ended with Twilight hating me? Crap! I knew there were going to be consequences for changing the past!"

Enduring the excruciating pain from Rarity's magic, she guided him to the office where Headmare Twilight resides and she carelessly dragged him inside and closed the doors behind him. He doesn't know what to expect, so he carefully crept forward to the backside of the chair that was concealing Twilight from him.

He reached in front of the desk to ask. "Um, H-Headmare?"

The chair slowly rotated a full 180 degrees, revealing Twilight displaying a heavy scowl look on her face. She answered. "Mobius...I've received your 'envelope' from you..."

Mobius took a big gulp as he stammered. "Y—Yeah?"

"I've carefully read its contents and I was appalled," she continued, lifting the opened notecard from the desk. "do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into?"

"N—No..."

Her voice of authority made Mobius quiver in fear. "I can't believe you, writing a letter to confess your love to me, YOUR headmare! I don't condone this behavior to any of my students!"

"My god...what have I done!?"

He formally came down to his knees and pleaded like a peasant. "Look! I'm so sorry Headmare, I was just writing my feelings to you on Hearts and Hooves day! I didn't mean to"

"Enough!" Twilight raised her voice at him to stop. "I'm sorry as well Mobius, you're my top student in here. However, that will have to come to a stop..."

"A stop?"

"Yes, from here on out...you are no longer a student at the school of friendship!" with the final blow, Twilight slammed her forelegs on the desk for added effect. "Your grades in assignments and performance in class speak for themselves."

"No...I'm not a student at the school anymore!? This is too much to handle! I was doing amazing in school, and now I'm being expelled! This is worse than the last timeline! Everything's falling apart on me!"

Mobius continued his plead to remain in the school as he shredded tears. "Please Headmare! Don't take this away from me! I made a lot of friends here, I've excelled in all the classes! Was it because I wrote you that letter!?"

"You will no longer call me Headmare" she demanded him, "since you aren't my student anymore, you will call me...Twily"

"Huh?" Mobius tilted his head as he heard her last sentence. "What do you mean-"

It was like a blur, but Twilight prepared to pounce on the poor colt and tackle him to the ground, making him distraught over what's happening as the mare's mood turned from her restricted nature to a more playful side of her. Just when things were getting strange for Mobius, Twilight briskly placed her forelegs on the side of the colt's face, puckered her lips, and implanted them on his. It gave Mobius the most potent adrenaline rush he's ever gotten. Heartbeat was racing as his lips were fighting against hers in an intense lip wrestling. It was like instincts kicked in, but he wrapped his foreleg around her torso just covering her wingspan as they were making out right on the ground with Twilight pinned on top of Mobius. It felt like forever, but it only lasted a mere 10 seconds as Twilight retracted her lips onto his and wiped the dust off of her. For Mobius, he was still lying flat on the ground, panting vigorously from the aftermath of his intensive make-out session.

"Hehehe, I expect you to arrive here first thing tomorrow for your new job..." she cooed back to him, seeing him still paralyzed over the bliss Mobius just experienced.

All he could answer were sluggish words and incomprehensible sounds. "...y...y...y...yeah..."

On the other side...

Somewhere inside an inconspicuous, brick-walled room with only a singular lightbulb and a table, Princess Celestia was sitting across from a bipedal creature, who appeared to be a young woman carefully reading out from a manila folder containing a few papers when her long brown hair was peeking out from a black hood she had on.

"I think I understand what's the situation here," the figure spoke out, raising her right hand to inspect her outfit. "Don't know about this outfit though..."

"Forgive me of your atrocious black coat you're wearing," Celestia humbly apologized to her, "I'm not the one who picked the outfit for this mission."

The woman chuckled. "It's alright, as long as I can converse with my favorite Princess right in front of me!"

"Yes...favorite princess..." repeated Celestia, "I hope your little brother has that same sibling bond as me and my sister do..."

"Well, it's more of a hit or miss with us. I've left the house as soon as I graduated, he was still in elementary school I believe."

"Alright, now that you know what's the situation here, let's assign your identity in Equestria. My authority can place you in a vacant home in Sire's Hollow. That idiot Discord said he lived in Sire's Hollow without any hard evidence. For now, let's start with notarizing your identity as the older sister of Mobius, James' most used disguise. do you have any output on this?"

"Hmm...let me think..."

Discord magically appeared in front of the two ladies, giving them a small fright as he was steering his attention to Celestia. "Hello Celery! There's something you must know that my 'protege' has done...'

"Celery!? Don't you dare call me that!" hissed Celestia, pointing her foreleg at him. "Speaking of protege, I would like for you to meet mine! Zoey, I guess there's no need to introduce him to you..."

"Discord! I can't believe this is happening!" Zoey screeched on the top of her lungs. "You're the one that's been answering my calls, are you!?"

He couldn't be so shocked and distraught over the woman that Celestia had to summon. Discord cried. "What!? Celestia! What gives! You're trying to take away my thunder!? We don't need another human for this!"

"Oh please Discord, Zoey is James' older sister. Why shouldn't we reunite them to live out their dream in Equestria? Plus, you shouldn't be the only one with a 'protege'." Celestia chuckled back at his frustration. "I want to fix the future as much as you do, but he's going to need extra pairs of hands from now on. He needs to make sure he has the background, he'll be caught if Twilight or her friends discover that he doesn't live in Sire's Hollow."

"Ugh...fine! Whatever he can have help! Let's just not make this a friendly wager that will end up betting our life savings away..."

"Deal!"

Chapter 12: Sister Location

"WOW! What a magical term of events these past two weeks! I was in a pickle where I mistakenly gave the wrong Hearts and Hooves letters to the wrong ponies, making my most desired mare ever to reject me out of her position as a princess and a filly's father go begging me to make his daughter my marefriend. My idiotic brain said yes to his proposal and that led me down a spiral of regret and made me beg Discord to use time magic for me to fix it. Now that I've cleared stuff up in this new timeline, Cozy remains friends with me and Twilight...well...let's say that my love letter worked miracles on her. She mentioned after our total make-out session that I'm no longer a student at the school and offered me a job as a teacher's assistant."

"But I came to learn is that the real reason Twilight made me a teacher's assistant was the fact that she had feelings for me too, but was a bit awkward of dating a student at a school she manages. Since I'm technically not a student there anymore, she feels more comfortable with me as a partner."

Roughly two weeks after Hearts and Hooves Day and Mobius' life couldn't get anymore better. He had it all now; a job that pays well, the mare of his dreams, and the complete trust from every student and teacher at school. Speaking of Mobius, he was situated in his own desk space right across from Headmare Twilight's desks maintaining some folders containing potential future students of the school. His task these few days was simple; assist the teachers in anything they require, grade papers, and fill out paperwork. The workload wasn't that bad, but it was a bit more time-consuming than in the classrooms.

He silently sat on his chair and began to read out a few of the student's files reading out their backgrounds. The idea came to him to add an extra layer of security to the school system. Each file about the pony had nothing to be worried about, so Mobius generously accepted all of them with the red stamp of approval he wielded with his magic. Before he finished off the last folder, he was greeted with his beloved marefriend calling out to him.

"Hey Mobius~" she graciously called out his name as he dropped what he's doing and turned his head towards him. "I just finished crafting the questions for the exam tomorrow, how's your work doing?"

Mobius smiled as he placed the last folder on the large stack to his right and answered. "I finished the last folder and am eager to do more for you, your majesty!"

Twilight giggled, "Please, we're significant to each other, call me Twi if you want."

"Well, I'm finished with my task, Twi..."

The two ponies went about chuckling as their small flirting session was cut off short when Twilight changed the topic, "There's something really important we need to discuss my retreat with my friends next week."

"So it seems that I'm closing in on episode 13 where Chrysalis 'plans' to steal the elements of harmony using some magic to transform logs into the mane six. I could perhaps try to talk her out of it before it even happened, but I think It's best if I can talk to her during the act. Still, though, I have no clue how am I going to change her. Unlike Cozy, she already has pure hatred towards Twilight for foiling her plans to steal love in the royal wedding and again from Starlight for dethroning her as queen of her hive and turning her own kind against her."

"Aww, you're not letting me come to your little trip?" he playfully let out a whimper as he curled his bottom lip. "How cruel of you!"

"Oh stop it~" Twilight blushed, teleporting right upfront of his desk as she leaned her upper body towards the desk with her forelegs propping her up. "Well, I made some adjustments to the plan; it's going to be a camping trip alongside your friends and mine! We'll be sleeping within the Everfree forest and even made plans for all of us to do. And of course...plans for us all alone/i]."

"WOAH! This is kids show! When did it turn into some M rated shit!?"

She immediately blushed over her ridiculous idea and denied it. "I was joking on the last part, of course! We still need to keep boundaries after all! But still, I guess it won't hurt if we gaze upon the stars at night,"

"Oh okay, I thought I was getting second base sooner than I thought. But a camping trip with my friends and the teachers? That's different than the episode, maybe my influence on her made her change plans. Could be my chance to get Chrysalis on the friendship train."

"That sounds like a plan!" he nodded, preparing to organize all of the folders in alphabetical order, "I never been camping here before."

"Alright, in other news," Twilight walked over next to Mobius, graciously sitting on top of his desk and crossing her legs to get his attention. "You're aware of the big exam tomorrow? Since it's going to take up all the class time, I'm giving you the day off. I want you to use that free time to give a new pony who is moving to town tomorrow? She wrote to me in a letter that she specifically wants you to show her around, don't know why?"

"A new pony who recently moved here? She's probably some rando that I'll probably forget soon. I'll just have to do my job and give her a little tour of the town"

"I won't let you down, Twi..." he accepted his next task as soon as Twilight leaned forward to give him a peck on the cheek to give him a flustered look.

The next few hours Mobius spent was with the gang to help on their studies for tomorrow's exam, Gallus and Sandbar were accompanied by him to cram-studied their hardest for their biggest mid-term exam that will be the breaking point in their career studying friendship. They huddled together at a spot in the library that was away from most students' eyes when Mobius was handling the practice questions. While the boys were 100% on board with him working for Headmare Twilight just to be with her all the time, the girls had struggled to cope with this drastic change. But, Mobius made sure that this change won't affect their friendship at all.

"Sandbar and Gallus spent the rest of their time in the library studying their butts off while I go over and supervise them and assist with questions. The overall exam was unique, it was all written answers with a few multiple choices. My phone still had the tree of harmony inside it that somehow got sucked in, but she's been focused on trying to learn more about my world using the internet. But I have to prepare for tomorrow's big day giving the new pony in town a tour of the school."

Morning arrived the next day, making Mobius wake up at dawn and went through his morning routine of hygiene, breakfast, and preparations for the tour he was giving to this new pony in town. He doesn't want to make this huge deal, just another day at work at the school itself. It was 9:00 am currently and the exams doesn't officially start at 10, so he had some time to drop by Ponyville to get a little breather. Twilight gave him a little note slip with the pony's address to greet himself.

"Alright, it should be the brown cottage just down two houses to the left," he scanned the area for the correct building to look out for when his head came to a stop as he pointed to one with the correct description. "There it is!"

Trotting in front of the house, he noticed a few boxes and other stuff outside the front lawn. He thought that the pony just got to Ponyville and was currently on the verge of transferring their belongings inside. Mobius noticed the front door was wide open as well as he saw a unicorn mare almost as old as Fluttershy at school when she popped her head out from the door. She had a glorious dirty blond mane with a lock of it wrapped around in a crown braid with a lock of it just dangle down her left side and her fur color was a darker tone than her mane color. What had Mobius interested in her was the fact that her eye colors were completely different as to his; her left eye was a bright yellow and her right was emerald green. That wasn't all, she was acting quite unusual in front of him as the mare quickly recognized him and gave the colt a big hug.

"Ooo! There you are! I've been expecting you!" she squealed out to Mobius, acting like she was reuniting with a long-time friend.

"I don't know this pony at all and she's already clinging on to me, I should just act calm and try to diffuse her confusion."

Her great big hug lasted a full minute as Mobius teleported away from him just a few feet away, "Excuse me, but I do enjoy your enthusiasm with me already. I'm Mobius, a student from Princess Twilight's school of friendship here to give you a tour of this town."

"Oh of course!" the mare got her bearings together and gave him a small chuckle. "I just know my little brother when I see him."

"What the-"

"Excuse me? Were you expecting anything else? I think this is some sort of mistake..." he scratched his head, getting a weird feeling that he may have seen this pony before, but couldn't figure it out.

The mare nodded before she made a small grin on her face. "Don't worry, you'll be safe in my hooves...James..."

She used her horn to teleport them both in the cottage's living room, giving Mobius a slight dread as to what exactly was going on. Her bright yellow aura on her horn was used to close the door tight as she kept on chuckling in front of him. This was getting pretty intense, as Mobius couldn't believe what was going on or who the unicorn was in front of him was. He thought this was some test by Discord or a dream from Luna, but all of his theories came debunked when grabbed a small device from the coffee table' a cellphone.

"T-That is..." he was appalled, literally at a loss of words when the mare showed him a phone greatly similar to his. "Where did you get that?"

Of course, she ignored him to unlock the phone from the homepage and tap on a few buttons before the unicorn was transforming into something, or that she was revealing her true form when the green circle came around her and completely changed her appearance. Just like how James did to transform into his different guises, the creature that lay before his eyes was a bipedal woman wearing the same black coat he wore. However, a few changes came to the bottom part is slightly smaller, only dropping below her thighs. She appeared to be wearing a black pleated mini skirt with matching boxers, so her legs were showing more skin. Unhooding herself to have long brown hair, quickly came down to his knees seeing the woman before him being his sister from his homeworld.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

The sight of any human in Equestria besides him was expected to be a shocker of his life, but James never thought it was going be his very own sister. He has never seen her in a long time, and now apparently she's on board with his agenda of reforming the villains of this show?

"Z-Zoey!?" he shrieked out, causing a little shockwave that affected the house decorum while he hyperventilates. "W-w-w-why are you here!?"

"Calm down James, I'll explain everything after you get off that OC of yours." teased Zoey, crossing her arms to wait for her brother to undo his disguise.

"This can't be happening! This can't be! I know Discord does stuff without warning, but this is ridiculous! What the hell is she doing here!?"

He didn't know what to make of this, so he just did what she commanded and spawned out his phone from the air and undo his transformation. Seconds later, he was back to his original self with him walking up to her and poking her on the cheek. But she slapped his finger away from him after a while.

"Stop it will you!?" she hissed back to him.

"Alright! You're real! But how is this possible!?" he was visibly confused and agitated by another human being in Equestria. "Why does Discord want you here?"

"It wasn't Discord who sent me, it was Princess Celestia," she answered back. "I was just told my mom to drop by at the house to check up on you while I saw a strange paper on the table."

"The contract! She gave you one too?" James added upon her explanation, she nodded.

"Yes, it was a contract saying that you needed serious help on a job. I thought it was some waiver, so I signed it and there she was sitting across from me in the room! She explained everything to me; your job to change the hearts of the four villains and show them the way of friendship, your different powers, and your position as a student at the school of friendship. The reason I'm here is to give you extra insurance."

"Insurance?"

Zoey's face palmed as she explained the obvious to James. "Ya know? Making sure you have a background in this world; I was given all the essential stuff to make sure your background checks out. I 'moved' here from Sire's Hollow as your older sister! She even used some magic to forge some family photos of us!"

"Photos?" James quickly observed the many family portraits of Mobius and her unicorn form in different ages of his life and saw two strange ponies from the wall. He already had to assume when he asked. "These are our parents? But how did she manage all of this?"

"I don't know, she said something about using Photoshop and using magic to print them out." shrugged Zoey. "But still, I can't believe I'm inside Equestria and living amongst ponies from the show!"

It was nice to see another human who's willing to help him out on his efforts to fix the villains of their plans to cause chaos shortly, but the fact that it was James' own older sister? He couldn't be so frustrated and relieved at the same time. They never seemed to talk anymore after she left to do her stuff, they were distant. However, James came to learn that this could be the perfect chance to spend some time together in this new world as their new guises. Just as he was about to give her a big hug, he quickly took notice of something that was clawing him on the inside.

"Wait! Don't you have an aptitude? Do you have any powers?" he asked her, only to receive a silent head shake,

"Sadly, Celestia couldn't get a reading on having an aptitude," answered Zoey. "She'll keep in touch with me as soon as she figures it out."

"Oh yeah...what other apps did she give you?

"The same kit as you apparently; warp gates, camera, and emails." she went on. "You saw the disguise already."

"Still though," instincts rolled by as James went in for a hug, catching her off guard. "It's great to see you, Zoey,"

"Yeah, you too squirt..." she embraced his hug as he wrapped her arms around him. Quickly retracting for a second to continue. "Now let's catch up while you give me the 'tour'"

"Yes we must, but before that..." James knew he was missing something when he looked over at the portrait of her unicorn form in a small frame. "What do I call you in your pony form?"

"You forgot your big sister's name already?" sarcasm exited Zoey's mouth as to answer his question. "It's Radial Shine, don't you forget it!"

The tour to Ponyville wasn't that very long, as Zoey already knew where most of the places are based from the show. James took most of his time catching her up on his progress when they stopped by a pizzeria to grab a quick bite to eat. Of course, they changed to their pony disguises as Mobius and Radial Shine both got served a slice of cheese pizza and a soda drink as they sat outside the front with many ponies chatting and eating.

"So we're in the middle of season 8 by now, saved Cozy Glow from becoming an orphan and reuniting with her father, and currently closing in on episode 13 with Chrysalis trying to steal the elements?" Radial repeated the events Mobius had accomplished, grabbing her slice from the plate with magic and taking another bite. "I say, how the hell are you going to stop...the others?"

Mobius made sure not to call out the fiends by name, as it would cause some minor concern over the citizens. He answered her back by letting out a sigh. "I'm not quite sure where to start with them, but I'm not rushing into things. We've still got a season and a half to complete."

"We'll probably plan something out, I'm sure of it." shrugged Radial, seeing his brother taking a sip from the paper cup. "Is there anything else I need to know? Like, did you run into trouble at some point?"

"I wanted to tell her that I gave Cozy Glow a love letter addressed to Twilight and somehow have the tree of harmony on my phone. But I guess I'll just hang onto that for a later date..."

"Well, besides some minor choices I had when trying to resolve Cozy Glow's issues, I don't have any issues here," he gave her a huge lie as he cringed across the table from her. "Did you just get here to Ponyville? Or were you doing your own thing before?"

"I had to first get our house situation dealt with in Sire's Hollow. Celestia made sure she changed a few documents so that we had some history over there. After that, she decided it would be perfect to move here close to you," explained Radial Shine, "We should be covered as long as nopony figure's out our parents. Anything you need your big sister to do, I'll do it!"

He paused for a quick second, realizing that something he had to do to make sure he gets on the friendship retreat with Twilight and the rest of the gang, "Hang on! I forgot to mention! I need a permission slip signed by a guardian to go on the friendship retreat!"

Radial smiled. "That all? Consider it done! As long as it gets you closer to Chrysalis. Should we head out to the school right now? I don't want to rush, but I want to see the place in person so badly!"

"Yeah, let me give you a quick tour of the placed," answered Mobius, trying to finish what's left on his plate when he asked another question for his sister. "By the way, did you happen to try any of the Pony Cuisine? Hay? flowers? Etc"

"I'm afraid not, I don't understand how creatures could stomach that!" answered Radial, making a barf face.

A usual day after classes at Ms. Cheerilee's schoolhouse as the foals took advantage of their dismissal to play on the play structure or just run around the place. But four three fillies, they were busy accompanying another one as they all sat just outside the front entrance. It sounded like they were exchanging gossip around the students at their class when suddenly, Applebloom spilled some dirt on the real nasty stuff.

"I've heard from my big sis that Mobius has a marefriend at the school! " Applebloom whispered, nudging her hoof at Cozy to give her a question directed at her. "Wouldn't you like to know, Cozy?"

"What if it's somepony that's more intelligent and well-rounded than you? Or somepony who's older than him? Or worse..." replied Scootaloo, listing off some potential candidates and giving a long pause for dramatic effect before continuing. "Somepony WE know!"

She does feel very curious about this mysterious mare Mobius is currently dating, but Cozy Glow was annoyed by her friends' constant pestering her about it. Surely, as much as she wanted to know, it wouldn't be nice of her to pry into his private life. All of this had to come to a stop when she stood her ground. "Enough of this, writing me a letter was enough closure for me! I should be happy for who he's with!"

But her refusal showed no success when Sweetie Belle suggested. "Oh! We should go and just ask him! Rarity mentioned it was exam day there, so he should be a the headmare's office all day."

"Do whatever you want, but I don't want any part of this!" Cozy crossed her forelegs, pursing her lips to show her frustration.

"Come on girls! Let's go!"

"I showed around Radial Shine, aka my sister Zoey, around the school while most students were locked in the classrooms for their exams. It was pretty eerie seeing the school empty without any creature giving it ambiance. Zoey already knows some parts of the school from the show, but this is the first time she's seeing the finer details of upclose. Even showing her the spots that weren't even shown at all. But, we kept quiet to not disturb the students during the exam."

"So, pretty cool that we're actually in the show, huh?" chuckled Mobius, asking his big sister walking next to him.

Radial was focused on gazing upon the interior and decor of the school, fangirling her heart out when answering. "EEEEEE! This is sooo amazing! I'm seeing the interior of the School upclose and in person! This beats the playset by a landslide! Everything is so detailed; the walls, ceilings, furnishings! all of it!"

"Shh!" hushed Mobius, placing his foreleg on her mouth as he stopped in the middle of the hall. "The students here are taking a test! Keep it down."

"S-Sorry" she sheepishly apologized, keeping her voice toned down. "Can we go to the counselor's office next? I want to see Starlight in person."

"Yes," Mobius nodded, "should be a swing down this hall."

A few seconds across the hallway and the two siblings reached the front door to Starlight's office, it should be alright to enter by Mobius' account. Using his horn, he enveloped the door handle with his aura and pulled out the door. He made a few trips to the counselor's office only to escort troubled students from class, but he's confident that Starlight would be a caring pony to meet with his sister. Inside the room was Starlight doing some business writing on parchment with a quill pen on her at them and spotted Mobius with an ambiguous mare in her mind.

"Oh, Mobius!" she was caught off guard on his sudden entrance. "How's your day off doing for you? And, who might this be?"

"This is the new neighbor that Twi- I mean, Headmare Twilight wanted me to give a tour of the town," he answered by stepping away to the left and introducing her. "Starlight, meet Radial Shine...also my older sister."

"Older sister!?" she screamed out of her lungs and came out from her chair to process this new piece of information "This is quite a shocker, your file never mentioned anything about a sibling. Why is that?"

"Crap! I didn't think of my file, Damn it Discord!"

Zoey instantly knew that the situation was going to get sour, so she pulled up a little white lie as Radial answered. "It's a pretty long story, I left my parents a long time ago after headed straight to magic school near his age. Then, went to do freelancing as an artist doing commissions for bits. We were pretty distant, so we barely got to play with each other. Only up until I found out in a letter that our parents dropped him in friendship school while they do their busy work at Manehatten. I thought since he's at a school dedicated to friendship, why shouldn't I reunite with him? Friendship may be a strong kind of bond, but nothing beats family!"

"Hmmph...I know how that feels when somepony important to you leaves for half your life..." huffed Starlight, keeping the mood down as she reminisce the bad times. "But I'm just appalled that Mobius never mentioned you at all! You were probably surprised too seeing her, huh Mobius."

Mobius cringed up. "Yeah...very."

The door behind them flew open, showing a stallion Mobius haven't seen for most of his time in Equestria; Sunburst. He dropped by from time-to-time, but never really saw him in person. Speaking of Sunburst, he was focused on Starlight as he adjusted his glasses to greet her on this fine friend.

"Hey Starlight! I got the..." he suddenly dropped what he had in mind to gaze upon the elegant beauty that laid right in front of his eyes, Radial Shine. Sunburst's mouth dropped at the moment she stared back at him asking, "W-Who is that!?"

Mobius had the common sense to introduce him to her when he used his hoof to present her. "Sunburst, I would like you to meet my older sister; Radial Shine,"

It seemed that he was glad to be seeing such an elegant mare on sight as he zoomed past the door and in front of Radial, giving her a formal bow like he was preparing to dance. Getting back up from his kindly gesture, he made proper introductions to the giggly mare, "I am Sunburst! Official crystaller to Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire and good friends to the professors at this fine establishment, especially her! I never knew Mobius had an older sister, but I barely get to see him, so there's that!"

Forgetting to mention her name made Starlight's eye twitch a bit as she teleported behind him and gave him a nice whack with a rolled-up newspaper she had at the ready. This made Radial Shine laugh at the sight of all this commotion and made Mobius cringe as he witnesses all of this.

Radial Shine put on a devious-looking grin as a way of teasing the poor stallion. "Wow! I bet your marefriend would be a bit jealous of you speaking to a more like me?"

"Oh, he doesn't have a marefriend, for this long apparently..." Starlight rolled her eyes over to correct Radial while muttering.

"Is this happening right now? Sunburst is eyeing my sister? Now I know how Shining Armor feels...also, note to self; practice self-defense spells when confronting him in the future."

Just to add fuel to fire, another mare popped open the door as Twilight Sparkle herself entered the fray looking very peeved on something. But, Radial ignored the tension on her face when she fangirled out of her mind approaching the princess upclose.

"Oh-my-gosh! Princess Twilight!? You are here!" she squealed, noticing her fiery stare reaching the back of her mind that made her step back a few feet, "Umm...is something wrong!?"

"You..." She slowly pushed her head upwards underneath Radial's and walked straight to her to show a sign of dominance, "I saw you roam the hallways back then, acting as you knew each other for a VERY long time...tell me..WHAT'S YOUR AFFILIATION TO HIM!?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Radial found her very startling when she crept backward in response.

This was also a surprise for Mobius, he never expected somepony like Twilight to be overly protective over somepony she cares about deep down. There were some instances where she gets frustrated, mad, or pretty much disappointed, but he had never seen it up close before. But alas, Mobius had to resolve this issue before his big sister gets turned into dust.

"Uh, Twilight..." Mobius slowly approached the princess to calm her down a bit.

"You better give me a good explanation mister!" Twilights stern face moved over to him, "Why do have another mare on your sigh-"

"She's my sister, for Celest's sake!"

"Your WHAAAAAAT!?"

"The awkwardness in the counselor's office died down as I diffused the situation with a long explanation me and my sister's situation. Sunburst couldn't stop staring at her as he had some small pink hearts fluttering out of him. That was pretty strange, I thought those were just added effects from the show to visualize lovey-dovey moments. Nevertheless, Starlight of course had to pull him away from his trance over her. Radial Shine promised to check out the other places herself as I was heading out to the Headmare's office with Twilight to finish off my story."

The walk to the Headmare's office took less than a minute when Mobius and Twilight entered the chamber and sat on a sofa together to relax for a while. It wasn't the first time he sat close to his marefriend, but things were a bit different as Twilight sported a more seductive tone in her voice. Combined with her left foreleg around his neck, made him bite his lip at this intense moment.

"Oh Mobius, you are filled with surprises aren't you?" cooed Twilight, slowly approaching the colt closer and closer. "I still can't believe you kept your little secret to your very own princess."

Things were getting pretty heated for Mobius, wobbling his legs as he sat very stiffly on the sofa, "W-Well, I never k-knew she was the one to move here, I was shocked myself. S-Sorry that I didn't mention her earlier."

She slowly used her hoof around his neck to pull his head down to her knees, making sure his head was resting on her lap, "It's alright, I was in the wrong to assume her as another marefriend you were seeing behind my back. I know that you wouldn't keep secrets from me! You nerdy little rascal..."

Blushing as soon as Twilight situated him in this position, Mobius looked like a total baby as he gazed at Twilight's beautiful face from above. However, he realized that nearly all of the princesses know his true identity; his purpose, powers, and where he came from. Perhaps someday, he'll be able to tell Twilight the complete truth of him and his sister's intentions in this world?

"Now, while the students are in their classrooms working their noggins off..." she carefully stroked his mane to prepare for another surprise in store, "Let's use this free time to give you a little gift."

She slowly embraced him for a quick kiss on the lips before they both rubbed their muzzles together to show their total affection towards each other. James felt like he died and went to heaven, but it was better than that. He's done it, he's completely dating the pony of his dreams. But little did they know, they weren't the only ones that were inside the office. Radial Shine and the crusaders were staring deeply at their private time with mouths agape. The three fillies especially were the ones most invested in this shocking discovery they witness when they nearly tore themselves apart by fainting down to the ground. Radial Shine was the one who stood silently as seeing her little brother caressed like a baby on Princess Twilight's possession when her mouth still was wide open.

"WHAT THE FUCK! HE NEVER SAID HE DID IT! WHAT THE HELL, JAMES!?"

Chapter 13: Pre-Camping Preamble

"Things have been pretty hectic for the days counting down to the big camping trip planned by Twilight; she was scrambling to make lists of supplies, activities, and scouting the area on the perfect campgrounds for the large group. It seems quite an overhaul from the original episode where it was just Twilight's friends, but as long as Chrysalis is involved somehow, that would make it perfect. Not to mention my older sister got caught up in this mess and now is a resident in Ponyville. Oh, she now knows that I and Twilight are a thing, which shouldn't be a surprise that she already knew my obsession with her. But that wasn't the only pony that discovered my relationship with her; three little rascals that probably told Cozy in a heartbeat.

The day before the huge camping trip was pretty hectic, Mobius made sure to speak with the gang to see if they're prepared everything they require for the two-night excursion. Over this short time in Ponyville, his sister has managed to make great friends with Twilight and her friends, even spending some quality time together. It reminded me of himself being all buddy with student six.

Unfortunately, breaking news arose when Mobius would have to move out of the dorms due to him 'technically' no longer being a student there. He would have to say goodbye to the dorm life and into the dwelling of his sister. It was at least convenient so to speak, he still was in town and still working at the school as a teacher's assistant. His friends still hang out with him after school.

After making the dorms bed and cleaning up for the next student, Mobius prepared to pack all of his books in his bag and went over to his sister's cottage in town. Saying goodbye's to the next-door neighbors while making his way out of the school. The neighborhood was quiet as usual, Mobius can already see himself living in quite a small town. But, what had him reach a full stop when he bumped into somepony from the middle of broad daylight. A filly that who 'accidentally' bumped over to him as she fell to the ground, Cozy Glow. It has been a while since he saw her directly, too afraid to tell her about his marefriend after the recent discovery by the crusaders.

"Hey, Cozy..."

She accepted his offer to pull her back up, replying to Mobius' greeting a similar way, "Hey, Mobius. Sorry that I bumped you at this time of day."

A stagnant air of awkwardness filled their atmosphere, seeing their faces sporting hesitation. Mobius broke a sweat, bearing the guilt of hiding his marefriend's identity from her for this long. Is he going to break her feelings? Will it make her spark a fire of jealously? All he needed to do the find out is to come clean.

"I just wanted to say, sorry!" he lowered his legs, begging like a homeless pony for change. "I just didn't want to hurt your feelings, that's all! I hope you understand."

"Hmm? Sorry for what?"

"Huh?"

What looks to be an awkward situation, Cozy cringed over Mobius' odd behavior and gestures of guilt. He was at an impasse as he stood back from his kneeling and got himself together.

"I mean, me dating Princess Twilight...didn't the girls tell you?"

"Oh, that?" Cozy made a small chuckle from her muzzle, making him quite dumbfound. "It's alright Mobius, you can date whoever you want! You don't need my approval or anything!"

This was quite an unusual turn, Mobius tried to add onto what she had to say. "You're not jealous of her?"

"No, you silly! Twilight is a perfect match for you! And she's very pretty too!" she pulled out a small smile on her face and lifted her head to his. "I want you to be happy, and as long as you two are happy together, so am I."

"She's taking this quite well actually. I thought she was going to go full Princess Luna and be jealous of her. I guess I overreacted a bit."

"I guess I feel silly now," chuckled Mobius. "I promise you our relationship won't affect our friendship at all. I will always make time for you when you feel like hanging out; that's what best friends are for."

"Yes...friends..."

They embraced each other for a hug with Mobius wrapping his right foreleg over to Cozy's torso and she flew a couple of feet in the air to completely wrap her forelegs around his neck. But as their faces looked away from a brief moment, Cozy's eyes slowly began to water and her mouth started to squiggle. Like preparing to cry a waterfall, she immediately powered through it and hid her tears and face at an instant when they broke off from their hug.

"I'll see you around next week!" Mobius quickly ended their conversation as he scurried off to the distance, leaving Cozy all by herself now.

"Twilight Sparkle..." she droned off, keeping a short whimper from her mouth, "You lucky mare..."

"Now that I made sure Cozy was cool with me dating Twilight, I should head to my new place right now. Radial made sure to prepare my room accordingly based on the 'background' I was given."

Mobius had just received a spare key from his sister a while back, so he took the liberty to unlock the door with it and open it up to the living room of his abode. But to his surprise, Radial Shine wasn't the only one at the dining table. She was accompanied by Twilight who was enjoying a fine lunch sitting across from her on the ends of the table.

"And for tomorrow, a photographer is going to take me and my friend's photos for a paper. It will only take a few seconds so make sure you " rambled on Twilight, taking another bite from her daffodil sandwich and chewing profusely.

Radial and Mobius heard that little bit of news from Twilight, well aware of what was going to happen tomorrow. They managed to keep their poker faces solid when Radial turned her glance to Mobius from across the room. "Mobius! Your back!"

Twilight turned her head to glance at Mobius, smiling back at him. "Hey-a sweetie!~ Sorry that I kicked you out of the dorm room. I hope you understand?"

"It's alright," he accepted her apology and slowly walked over to her at the dining table to embrace her for a little cheek rub from their faces, "How are things going for you in Ponyville, sis?"

It was clear that Radial cringed over the affection that Mobius, her little brother, is giving to Twilight. Assuming that she was the exact or near the same age as her, it made her a bit disturbed. "W-Wonderful...Never in a million moons that I found my little brother dating royalty. I wonder what our parents will think of this?"

"...And my parents too!" Twilight finished her sentence, as she gently grabbed onto Mobius with her left wing for a warm hug, "Oh yeah! I should set up a day of fun with me, my brother, and you two! It'll be like sibling bonding time!"

He was well aware of the caveat of dating a royal figure like Twilight. No, it wasn't that her position and duties of being the Princess of Friendship or the copious amounts of the press following their everyday movements.

It's her brother...

"...Oh shit..." he muttered out loud, trying not to make her realize what he had just said.

"It's alright! My brother would never hurt anypony who makes me happy!" The ignorant alicorn assured his safety, turning over the Radial from her glare, "I've got a few errands to run for the trip tomorrow, you want to come with?"

"Sure, I'll do anything for my future sister-in-law..." like it was a direct hit to Mobius, Radial Shine teased him with those last few words when the colt squirmed from it.

Mobius decided to leave the adults alone as they prepare to head out to the stores, leaving Mobius all alone in his new abode. He took this time to settle into the room he was situated in; It was a spacious, single-bedroom with a large desk and a shelf of books next to it. Much larger than the dorm room he had to dwell in. He gently got out some books from the library and placed them on the empty shelf and the envelope containing Lord Tireks letter from the penpal program from Cozy Glow's orphanage.

"Don't know what to do with the old coot yet, I'll just tuck this way in my pocket space," he muttered out loud, levitating the envelope with his magic and making it disappear in a flash. All that was left was him and...

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

Three knocks came from the outside, giving him an urge to answer the door as he tossed his bag on the desk and zipped over to the door. When he came to open the door wide open, he was shocked to see Gallus and Sandbar. Looking quite stunned by the nice little abode he had recently moved into.

"Bro, nice place you got here!" complimented Sandbar to Mobius' face, causing him to smile in return.

"Thanks, well, my sister chose the place. I'm going to miss living at the school though." sighed Mobius, seeing Gallus in some great distress when the griffon grabbed him by the chest, "H-Hey! What gives!?"

"I can't get my mind off of the fact you had a sister and never told us about her!?" muttered Gallus, biting his lip from this discovery.

This was an obvious reaction from them, seeing their dear friend keeping a long secret from them. Mobius went to explain everything as he pushed Gallus' talons off of him. "Well she went to do her own thing when I was just a foal, and I never thought she would move here. Sorry that I didn't mention her sooner..."

"You are just a pony full of surprises; You got ahold of the damn Princess of Friendship as your marefriend AND you have a sister this whole time!? What's next? You aren't really from this world?" Sandbar tilted his head to the right, trying to make him laugh from his small 'joke'.

"Hahaha...like that's a possibility..." he chuckled in return, "How about I show you around while you're here?"

"I've spent my time with Gallus and Sandbar explaining different photos and portraits of me and my family. I still couldn't fathom that I'm seeing photos of my supposed parents' pony forms and myself in multiple instances. I realize that these photos are modeled after my family photos back at home, at least Celestia took the time to get to the nitty-gritty when it comes to details. Thank Twilight that classes were cut short today for the camping trip tomorrow or else I won't have anything to do with this free time."

Each creature was sitting at the dining table eating the extra lunch Radial just made. Mobius stuck with the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the others went for traditional Equestrian counter-part; dandelion sandwiches. Each of them was spread out from the table with Mobius on one end and Gallus and Sandbar sitting across from each other.

"Have you two ever been camping before?" he threw out a random question out in the open to break their long silence.

"Only a few occasions with my dad," answered Sandbar as he took another bite off his sandwich, "You Gallus?"

Gallus made an audible grunt as he answered, "I haven't actually. You can't do anything around my place unless there's a price to it. But I have been sleeping outside quite often. I just hope that we aren't cramped up in one tent."

"Well..." the earthpony made a little grin on his face while nudging Mobius on his side. "I don't think that will be a problem for us, Gallus."

"Please, cut it out," Mobius had to stop Sandbar's dirty innuendo as he lifted his hoof away from him, "We're not going to rush into things. Plus, it doesn't feel right while on this trip, this is going to be a friendship-based camping activity."

"Well whatever, I probably won't be sleeping inside the tent anyways." the carefree griffon spoke out, "I'll end up gazing upon the stars as I mostly do."

"Gallus seemed quite his usual self, not having any signs of depression from his falling out on Hearts and Hooves. I would have thought he would put on a grudge for this long. I hate to pry into it, but I have to have answers."

"Listen Gallus..." the unicorn placed down his sandwich from the air as he gazed upon Gallus, "I saw what happened to you back when Smolder and Ocellus—"

"—Leave it!" blurted Gallus, stopping Mobius from continuing further. "I moved on already, griffons don't usually express the same intimacy as most ponies. I should never be bothered with it in the first place, I'm happy for them that's all."

Mobius replied with a short nod, "A-Alright..."

"But it's still pretty wild that you out of us managed to snag a marefriend; the freaking Princess of Friendship, that is!" The griffon turned to Sandbar across the table, pointing a claw to him. "I thought pretty boy here would be the one to score a date first!"

This little tease caused Sandbar to form a sweat bead on his forehead, sheepishly replying. "I wouldn't think she would be the one to like me back in that sort of way."

"Oh, so you do have one you've been eyeing on. Who is it?" leaning forward from the table, Gallus teased the embarrassed colt to spill out a name.

"Nah, I don't want to tell you two!"

"There's no real point in prying as I already know who it is, but while I'm here..."

Mobius went to play along in this interrogation. "Come on, we already have spilled our beans. It's only fair if you pitch in! Please?"

The peer pressure on Sandbar was coming to a hard boil and his teeth started chattering. The two kept pestering him for answers until he finally gave in. Mobius wasn't making this a huge deal, since he has definite confidence that his school crush is Yon-

"S-Silverstream..."

"Yup, I expected it to be Yo- WHAT THE FUCK!?"

His honest answer made Gallus chuckle from his seat. "Wow I didn't expect her to catch your eye, is there a reason why you like her?"

"It's just," Sandbar slowly opened up. "I feel soothing around her; she's quirky, energetic, and hilarious. I want to tell her during the camping trip but..."

The boys didn't realize that Mobius was choking on a chunk of his sandwich lodged in his throat, but he immediately spawned in a glass of milk and chugged it to let it go down easier when to took time to take deep breathes. "B...But what?"

Taking a big gulp, Sandbar answered. "I don't think it's the right time yet! Maybe when Heartswarming comes around!?"

"That was quite the drastic change in this new timeline; That would mean Sandbar wouldn't ask Yona to that dance from season 9? I guess the Yona and Sandbar ship has sunk; sucks, because I liked that ship. Lunch was just about to wrap up and the gang decided to head out by now and pack up their things for the camping trip. I did the dishes and placed them on the drying rack as Twilight and Radial came back from shopping. After a little while snuggling with Twilight by the fireplace and sharing a book on magic theory, I gave her a small goodbye kiss for the day and saw her out my front door. This left me and my sister all alone."

It was like instinct, but the two kins immediately brought out their phones and switched back to their original forms as they sat down at the table to discuss business. James never relized it, but he left his bag on his desk in the room. Since the coat transformed to the bag as in his pony form, he was wearing a nice white collar shirt and a pair of black pants. Zoey did the same thing and unzipped her coat, revealing more of her black skirt and matching white blouse from across the table.

"So, these are underneath our cultish robes of ours..." she felt the fabric of the black blouse on her with a small pinch, "Why do we look like we attend some prep school?"

"I don't know, but I quite like it!" James could almost feel exhilarated with his outfit, "Let's focus on the big day tomorrow. I expect to pull this off as a single episode from the show, so we're going to have to go through everything before we execute it."

She piqued interest on her little brother's little scheming face, she had to ask, "What are you going to do?"

"No, it's what WE'RE going to do; I had adjusted my plans ever since you arrived, and I came across something that might help us."

Slowly reaching out for his phone and tapping on the 'special app' James obtained, dragging his phone across the table like a drink at a pub to reach Zoey from across.

"All I see is a little screen saver of Twilight—"

"Who are you calling screensaver you— hey you're not James, but a female version of him?"

"What the!?" she gasped over the face that just spoke to her from his phone, "Twilight's on your phone!?"

"No! I am not Twilight! I am the tree of harmony! This smug creature here somehow trapped me within his device! Do you know what he did? He—"

"—Don't worry about the finer details!" he slowly got up from his chair and flicked on the vibrate switch on his phone to mute Harmony all together to explain, "I met the Tree of Harmony, she got sucked into my phone, end of story! Now let's move over to the more important topics at hand!"

Seeing him all winded made Zoey a bit suspicious over what turn of events led to the Tree of Harmony being integrated into his phone. She had to leave that for another day as she changed subjects, "Whatever, how are we going to approach this?"

He placed his two elbows on the cold table and placed his two hands together to form a triangle shape to begin his explanation. "First of all, here's what I need you to do..."

"I roughly explained everything I planned for the next part of my mission, and the first part of it is exposing Chrysalis of her little stunt of stealing the elements of harmony. She stilled failed in the end, but I think I can change fate once more when we get into the mix. It's going to be a tad more difficult than Cozy Glow, since I've stopped her from working with Lord Tirek. But I believe what I have cooked up will be a step in the right direction. I and Zoey decided to split up as she was scouting the forest for the areas and paths seen in the episode. As for me, I'm going to do something bold. I'm taking huge risks forming an audience with Thorax in the changeling hive, but I need them to be aware of my valiant effort to save Chrysalis. Unlike SOMEONE I know that formed a villainous reunion and expected them to get along!"

A few minutes after Zoey set off to do her part of the plan, James got his coat from the bed and prepared to set out. Making sure that the lock on the front door was set first before he brought out his phone's map and spawned in a portal right in front of him. As a precaution, he let up his hood to conceal his face to the naked eye as he took no hesitation to hop to the other side. He got caught off guard as he was already right in the middle of some important business when countless changelings stared at him, expressing curious faces.

"When the map said 'Changeling Hive' I expected to enter the front entrance, but I'm smack dab in the throne area. Oh, look! It's Thorax!"

The changeling sitting on the throne, presumingly Throax, raised a brow over at the ominous creature he hadn't seen before. He and many others have transformed into many different creatures in the past, but this one sported different anatomy like the rest. James tested the waters and stood silent, hands behind his hip to wait for what other stuff he was about to say. However, instead of Thorax who spoke, a darker-colored changeling fiercely stepped up.

"Who dares to trespass in the lair of the changelings!? Thorax! We should take this thing to the—"

"Settle down now Phayrnx," Thorax from the seat of the throne stopped him from going further, placing his foreleg on Pharynx's chest. "We should treat this situation in a calm and orderly manner. Now, recite what I've just discussed about how we should treat strange guests."

Moments after his interruption, the Pharynx sighed in defeat when he lazily recited the greeting. "Welcome to the changeling hive, home of of the changelings. What brings you here on this fine day?"

He's chuckling internally, but James needed to gain the changeling's trust if he wants to put his plan to fruition. Taking his right fist and raising it inches away from his mouth, he cleared up his throat. "It's an honor to see you all here, fellow changelings of the changeling hive! I have come from a faraway land to bring you troubling news. Does the name, Queen Chrysalis, ring any bells?"

The changelings were appalled by the mere mention of their previous ruler, making small talk to each other about this strange creature talking about their queen. Pharynx from the side quickly stepped forward with aggression when he exclaimed. "How do you know about Chrysalis!? Are you a spy of hers!? Tell me now or I'll—"

"—Now, settle down Pharynx, I want to hear this out for myself," commanded Thorax, putting his foreleg on his shoulder to stop him. "If you want me to listen, you're going to have to tell me your name, first...Mr?"

"I don't want to give out my real name just in case, maybe I'll borrow one from a favorite game of mine?"

"They call me...Jo Amon...but please, call me Amon." he took a bow amongst Thorax's presence. "There's no need for you to introduce yourself, I already know you very well, Thorax. The deviant who befriended Spike the Dragon near the Crystal Empire, helped Starlight Glimmer to thwart your queen's plan to take over Equestria, and the first changeling to metamorphize into...whatever you are right now..."

His jaw dropped within his throne, seeing the creature perfectly describing his past feats made Thorax quiver. "H-How do you know all of that!? I know I made headlines everywhere, but most of it was exaggerated mumbo-jumbo. How did you know I made friends with Spike near the Crystal Empire?"

"How? Why wouldn't I know? You're a special changeling that took over the hive while abandoning who is practically your mother! But now's not the time to talk about you." James, frankly calling himself Amon in front of them, slowly paced around t the area while keeping a respectable distance away from the changelings. "This is about Chrysalis."

"And what about her?"

"I could never realize how easy it was to grab Thorax's attention."

Keeping a firm ground and standing tall at with his posture, James answered. "I have seemed to have spotted her in the vicinity of the Everfree forest, she seems to be preparing some sinister scheme to steal the elements of harmony from their place in the tree of harmony."

"Steal the elements?" he raised his brow and placed a foreleg on his chin to sink in the creature's accusation. "How would she even do that? Shouldn't Twilight or any of her friends be the one to take them out?"

"Ah yes, I don't know much but it has something to do with some photos, a strand of their manes, and some trees." implying that James has limited knowledge of her methods, he answered in a way that caused Throax to jump out of his throne.

"She's using that spell!? I can't believe it!"

"Yes." nodded James. "If we don't do something now, she would cause world destruction around Equestria and she'll become an unstoppable being. I have a plan that would thwart her plan and make her realize the power of friendship. All I wish for is your 100% cooperation in this little planning."

A majority of the changelings were still panicking over the creature talking about Chrysalis. While she was the one that raised them to be who they are or use to be, she also refused to share the love and disconnected with the hive entirely. She went missing after a few years. Knowing that a changeling of her caliber is still on the loose and still consuming love for nourishment makes her public enemy #1.

But, Pharynx took another stab at James when he persisted in convincing Thorax. "Careful now, bro! Truth or not, we can't just take his word for it. He's a trespasser who came out of some portal! He could be a threat!"

"Hmm, I'm going to have to side with Pharynx here; even if what your saying may be true, you're still an unknown intruder. We can't just make deals with strange creatures we don't know." Thorax took the precaution not to believe in James' word. "Now, I kindly ask of you to leave the premises and be on your way."

"Finally, some backbone in you! Now, time to settle things with a little truth bomb blown on Throax's face..."

"...Very well then, I guess you prefer your very own queen to remain the crook she is? I see that you simply don't care for her after you ripped everything away from her? She can just go rot in Tarturus once she's been caught?" Or worse...turned to stone for the next generation to deal with? Only break free from the stone prison depending on if the comic book season is canon in this universe..."

It's a good thing no one heard that last he whispered to himself when a couple of the changelings gasp over the possibility of Chrysalis' fate as Thorax's hesitant face showed up. He was downright flustered by his his statement. "Uhhh...well that's taking things to the extreme, don't you think? I still appreciate her if she's willing to come back and learn friendship."

"Appreciate her?" repeated James, slowly walking up to the throne to give a closer audience with Thorax. He now appears just a few feet away from him to tell him off. "You were the one that turned against her orders and drove her out of her very own hive. Yes, you managed to make the hive adapt their understanding of love, but that doesn't change the fact that you were the one responsible for her downfall!"

"I'm not the one who ordered to infiltrate the Royal Wedding at Canterlot! That was her doing!" Thorax continued to defend his own sake. "I would love to see her back in command, though as long as she refuses our new lifestyle, I'm the one responsible now for the future of the changelings!"

"But she refused this lifestyle because it was a major overhaul of her entire life's work!" Raising his voice at Thorax, James pointed a huge finger at him. "I for one would have a grudge against the ones I raised and cared for since birth that ended up turning on me in the future. Here, let's put it up to vote; all who thinks Chrysalis should return as queen of the changelings, raise your hoof!"

He wasn't sure it was going to work, but James received excellent results on his end when nearly a majority of the population raised their hoofs. Thorax was in disarray seeing his kind preferring the queen than him. Even seeing his brother raising his hand when his jaw dropped.

"I-I can't believe it!" he witnessed his subjects showing their absolute faith with the queen, despite her refusal to share her love. "I thought you all hated her!"

One changeling from the background raised his voice when he spoke out for himself on this. "Sorry Thorax. The queen may refuse the major changes to our lifestyle, but that doesn't mean we should abandon the one that raised us from birth!"

Another one from the crowd, a more gentle and soothing feminine voice, followed after him, "Yeah! I would love to see her again, she's more suited for the role as the hive leader! She's been doing it forever!"

"Okay, next question, is Thorax really a lousy leader? Give me your honesty for this one!" administering a second poll when James took a wide look over at the changeling's, surprisingly still raising their hooves high up.

"What!?" Thorax couldn't believe that the results for the second poll remained the same, even seeing his brother still taking part in it. "Pharynx! You think I'm a lousy leader!?"

Pharynx sheepishly spills his most honest opinion. "Sorry bro, it's not that I disagree with this new way of living; She WAS a better leader than you."

"Well, it seems that your subjects speak for themselves." he carefully addressed towards his appalled-looking face. "Listen to me, I'm not against you, Thorax, I'm here to help you, help you get back the single most capable ruler by making her realize the true meaning behind friendship and share the love. I know you're trying your best, but you need some creature that has the experience."

Now with most of his subjects at the mutual agreement whether if this strange black coat figure can be trusted, Thorax quickly mulled over on his eagerness about Chrysalis. Should he trust a random figure out of nowhere to bring back the queen? Was this some elaborate trick made by her to regain the throne to herself? And who exactly is this creature that is eager to help? All of these questions circled him only to shift his head over to Pharynx.

"What do you think of this creature now Pharynx?" asked Thorax, getting his brother's output of this situation.

"He does make great points, despite looking very shady to me..." he answered, remaining all suspicious over his intentions. "Listen here, Jo, do you mean what you've said?"

James nodded. "Yes. 100 percent!"

"And what suppose you want from us in return?"

"Besides the absolute cooperation of Thorax in an operation to thwart her plans, I ask nothing more in return," he answered again. "I may leave right now if you wish to. But to consider the brightest possible future for Chrysalis—"

"—Okay, we believe you." he was cut off by Thorax, who was guaranteed to give James his absolute cooperation. "You have my full attention and cooperation."

"Bingo..."

It was unclear because of his hood, but James sported a nice big smile on his face when he internally cheered. "I thank you for your time with me, Thorax."

"Tell me, when exactly will she implement her plan?"

"Tomorrow at around 10:00 am. She will first try to snap photos and mane strands of Twilight and her friends." James, or for them 'Amon' addressed the situation for tomorrow. "Twilight plans to do some friendship retreat with her friends and a couple of students from her established school of friendship."

Thorax realized when exactly she was going to strike as if every individual dot connected to form the bigger picture. He soon took action, "Tomorrow? The same date as the camping trip Ocellus is going to!? I need to warn her about the queen being near the—"

"Woah, slow down their buddy!" he stopped him from going into a minor panic attack when Thorax calmly halted. "I don't want to put pressure on your youngling during her fun time with friends camping. You should think the same as well, don't you think? I'll make sure Chrysalis doesn't get near them or try to harm them. You have my promise."

He answered back with a long face. "I guess so..."

"Alright Jo..." approaching close to him by the second, Pharynx placed his strict glare at James, "If this is some elaborate trick, or we figure out you're working with her...I'll make sure you'll never see the light of day, again!"

But, Pharynx's tactic to give him a small fright backfired when James tilted his head right below him. Even with the changelings, James towers them by at least and a couple of feet.

"That's a risk, I am willing to make..."

"So Amon, what do you propose we do in order the thwart her plan?" asked Thorax, being all curious over what James has in store for tomorrow.

Lingering on for a while, James carefully answered. "Listen closely, what I'm about to say is very important... "

Chapter 15: Friendship Retreat, Part 2

"So far so good, Thorax is willing to trust me bringing Chrysalis back to the hive and I'm about to try to dive deep into the inner machinations of her mind. We already have her in chains and I'm already on standby at the chair."

James was lazily sitting in his chair and waited patiently for Chrysalis to awake from her slumber. He was staring deeply at his phone screen, anticipating opening up an app and tapping vigorously with one thumb. Thorax was trying to make sense of what he was doing by inspecting the screen from James' right side while Pharynx stood to watch with Chyrsalis' condition.

"Can't wait to collect my welkin, oh crap! There's an update..." mumbled James, frustrated a tad bit at the slowly ticking loading bar.

"Amon, I don't know if I should be the one to give her the talking..." Thorax from his side sheepishly spoke out. "I don't even know what to say?"

"It's alright Thorax, just give her the most brutal thing you could say to anycreature; the truth! Take whatever is clawing inside you and spew it out at her. Make her feel the vulnerable one!" answered James, keeping his steady focus on his game.

"I don't know...it just doesn't sound like...me..."

Thorax's reply to his advice made James sigh, "Look, just say what pops in your mind. I'll help if I need to, but you need to be the one to do it."

"Alright..."

"Excuse me, Amon!" called out Pharynx a few feet away from him, "I think she's starting to awake now!"

The changelings watching them in the front were sounding anxious as the limp changeling that is Chrysalis slowly rose from the ground. This event made James close down the app he was playing and moved over to another app in preparation for the big moment.

"Alright, I'll try to take this on in half an hour or so." he stood up from his seat and proceeded to walk over near Chrysalis, still keeping his distance away from the furious changeling.

It wasn't long before Chrysalis' eyes adjusted with its surroundings after falling in slumber for a while, she was quick to become active as she scanned the area with her head looking in different directions. But, only to be surprised when she felt a hard harness around her neck and legs. Countless attempts to pull off the chains and shackles on her hooves came to a stop when she noticed the big audience staring at her; her very own children.

"It's...MY HIVE!" she gasped, "What is this!? Why am I in these chains!? And what are you doing here!? What kind of creature do you think you are shamefully displaying me in such a manner!?"

Clearing up his throat with a loud cough, James raised his left hand for the changelings to turn their attention towards, "To all of the changelings in the humble hive, I give you...your very own queen! I have brought you here to go into the inner machinations of her mind and see what she is on the inside! Chrysalis, how do you feel?"

"I feel the need to strangle you once I break free from captivity!" she hissed pushing her hooves over at James, but to no avail, as the chains were strong enough to resist her strength. "Why are you even meddling with me and my whole colony!? Who gave you the right to do anything!?"

Blankly ignoring her question, James paced himself back and forth in front of the helpless bug to explain his procedure. "Here's the situation; I'm here to give you some enlightenment by making you 'see' the wrongs in you."

"No! I refuse to participate in this humiliation!" hissed Chrysalis, trying to pull off the chains with her horn, but found that she was devoided of her transformations. "My magic! What did you do to it!?"

James could feel his heart pumping, seeing himself overpowering the queen of the changelings himself made him playful. "You can try all you want, but you will still have to go through my program. Before we begin, I just want to make sure our 'special' guest will cooperate with me."

"HMMMPH! I'll never answer you! Or take part in this cruel game of yours!" her barking made the changelings startled a bit from their seats.

Crossing her forelegs and sitting down on the dirt she witnessed a majority of her subjects staring and whispering amongst each other. James was at a small stump, but an easy one to hop over. Carefully pondering what to do, a bright idea popped into his head.

"If you decide 'refuse' to take part, I would gladly make you a new tenant in the Hotel de Tarturus!" he grinned back at her, concealing his phone behind his back as Chrysalis made a small laugh.

"So you say you are ever so powerful enough to make a portal to Tarturus?" she cried out in a burst of laughter, "Only powerful alicorns can create...."

One tap with his phone later, A blue swirling vortex appeared right in front of Chrysalis that made her come to dead silence. Seeing the blue vortex creating a gate to the main entrance of the prison on the other side made her gulp, seeing she was only a few inches away from entering the other side.

"That cannot be..." she staggered, "How is one capable of creating alicorn-level magic? What exactly are you!? Where did you even get him, Thorax!?"

"We don't know ourselves, he just kinda showed up!" answered Throax, walking over to James as he noticed the big smirk on his face, "Are you sure Tarturus is a good place for her when this whole thing backfires? There's not an ounce of 'love' to feed her. She's practically dead if we send her there."

"Well then," James steered clear of the portal to lean over towards Thorax's face, "We just have to be lucky she would make the right choice, Unlike the other time!"

A frustrated groan later, Chrysalis clenched her teeth in and reluctantly agreed. "Fine—I guess I'll 'cooperate' with your little game. As long as you don't throw me into that putrid place!"

"Excellent!" he nodded, pushing a button on his screen to close the portal in front of her, "Before we begin, I want to go over the last time you came to this hive on your own. You made one crucial mistake that would have been carefully avoided if it weren't for your quick thinking."

"Mistake? I never make mistakes!" she pouted again, this time, attempting to push her whole body towards him and failing miserably. "You could get all the witnesses you want, but nothing can show that I've made a fatal error. What are you going to do? Show us the past or something?"

"Now would be a great time to test out that new feature..."

"That can be arranged!"

"What now?"

"Are you saying you can travel through time?" Asked Thorax from the far right from James. "But, isn't that time magic risky?"

Smiling, James went to reach out for his phone and navigate to the Netflix App, "No need to to go back to the past, I'll just bring the past to us!"

Thorax, Pharynx, and the rest of the changelings were anxious to figure out what he meant by 'bring the past to them'. James carefully closed the previous apps in his background to converse battery life when he entered the Netflix App and tapped on the show itself. A list of the 8 seasons in order appeared before him, tapping on the season 6 tab and scrolling down to the last two episodes only to find that the video was buffering. The anticipation from the changelings watching in the crowd and Chrysalis was building up. James could only standstill as he waited for what was about to come.

"Just a few more seconds and... there it is! This holographic projection can let me display my phone's screen from thin air. This is like every Star Wars fan's dream. It drains my battery like hell, so I'll only use it for short time."

One tap from the bottom right corner of the screen and the contents of the screen projected out, revealing a paused scene from the end of the season 6 finale, just after Thorax transformed. James could see the mouths on all faces on the changelings, even Chrysalis', gawking at the still imagery. The changelings spectating were talking amongst themselves reliving the events from the breakthrough.

"Amon, just how on Equestria did you do that?" Thorax could never be so much in dismay, he was staring at his previous self from the screen, "How did you get this?"

"Let's just say I've procured the necessary tools for this job." answered James, adjusting his face to glare at Chrysalis and tapping on his phone screen at the same time, "So Chrysalis, let's take a trip down memory lane shall we?"

He can hear her huffing out a disgruntled groan, watching the video of Starlight's speech about sharing the love and the scenes of the rest of the changelings transforming before her eyes and following Starlight's last plea to make her turn over a new leaf. It ended as he remembered, Chrysalis refusing her offer and scurrying away from the hive and out of frame. Before she could speak though, James paused the video just at that last frame of her.

"Let me first summarize the situation; your plan to take control of Equestria by capturing and replacing every royal figure in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire was going so smoothly. But it only took a swag-tag team of four, including Thorax, to thwart your plans and freed everypony. Finally, by some 'magical force', Thorax managed to share all the love and was able to create a sustainable form for changelings to live. Then in some frustrated cry, cheese legs here dipped and left all rulership to him. To be honest, I don't know why he changed the way he is, but that's a question for another day! Chrysalis, there's just one thing that always bugged me— Why?"

"Why?"

"Why did you have to refuse to embrace friendship? Yes, she sabotaged your plans and made your hive change on the spot. But you could live without needing to feast on love AND get to be a ruler. It's pretty much a win-win situation!" he gave her something to think about as James carefully walked closer to her.

"Perhaps you are right, but!" Chrysalis started to fume up as her temper grew exponentially, "That doesn't change the fact she turned my loyal subjects transform into those pastel-looking freaks! She and that rag-tag team of an illusionist pony, the king of Chaos, and the sole reason for my demise as ruler and the mole who ruined my plans; Thorax!"

All of the changelings n the crowd gasped as they were dismayed by the 'shocking' accusation by CHrysalis. But, Phayranx quickly made a huge disappointed face dragging his foreleg across it. "Aw come one everyone, we already knew that."

"Revenge, it's always the way with these archetypes." James muttered to himself, trying to mull over his next few steps, "Chrysalis, don't you think it would be better to just, forgive and forget?"

She answered back with another growl from her voice. "Why forget the time my hive was taken from me by that traitor you call Thorax!? I won't quit unless I take my revenge and make them have the last laugh!"

"This is getting nowhere, I need to get Thorax the one to tell her off. Here goes..."

It didn't take a while before James gestured his shoulder at Thorax, making him realize that it was his time to speak to her. One huge gulp of his throat later, Thorax gently approached her close enough for her to see him upclose. He slowly reached in front of her and began to choke a bit on his words before saying, "Look, Chrysalis...I didn't—"

"—Hmmph! I won't listen to whatever pitiful words he spews out!" she scoffed at Thorax, crossing her forelegs and facing away. "You should be the one in these chains! After all, you were the one who ratted on me to that Starlight Glimmer and ruined my grandmaster plan! You were always such a pathetic subject who questioned every bit of my commands. You were such a weakling in confrontation, so you hire this creature to carry you? You're never going to be a ruler just like me!"

The atmosphere around everyone, including James, grew intensely as ever as everyone came to silence. It took a few seconds for Thorax to let her scoff at him to sink in. But he didn't back down from his huge moment, no. Thorax's timid nature slowly faded, and soon his temper was at a loss. His brows scrunched up and his nostrils flared up, he slowly responded to Chrysalis "You're right...I'll never be a ruler like you. I'll be someone better. Unlike your stubborn attitude and your high-and-mighty ego!"

"Don't you dare insult your queen! Even if you are the traitorous scum around here!" barked Chrysalis, "

"Settle down now!" Pharynx was eager to help out diffuse Throax and Chrysalis' feud, "Thorax, I think that's enough—"

"—Always a worthless subject always will be!" once more she scoffed at Thorax again, staring back at him with her stern look.

It was that moment where Thorax faced the rest of the changelings, appearing to be invested in this, "You see everyone, is this what you what is a leader? A stubborn creature who only cares about revenge and hate? She doesn't deserve to be welcomed back into the hive!"

Most of the changelings were scratching their heads and shrugging at the response to Thorax's question, James on the other hand was facing his direction and watched him address the whole hive.

"I think Thorax is about to reveal his 'true feelings' to Chrysalis. Well, not feeling as in the romantic kind of way—that'll be awkward. Unless..."

Hissing once more from her chains, Chrysalis shouted, "How dare you to call me—"

"—No! Shut your trap and listen for one damn minute! You're always trying to one-up every conversation to make you feel empowered!" hissed back Thorax, ranting onwards from a safe distance, "We're giving you a second chance to come back to the hive and become a better ruler, no questions asked! Yet, you still focus on revenge and draining love?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, the changeling who RUINED MY PLANS OF CONQUEST!" she sarcastically apologized straight to his face. "You are an imbecile for betraying your very own queen!"

"You're the imbecile here because you cling onto the past! Not to mention denying to learn the power of friendship, you only care about yourself! I'm fed up already! I should have called Twilight in to blast you away with some rainbow laser or whatever they did to the Storm King, Not whatever we're doing!"

"Hey, Thorax..." James slowly walked up to Thorax to soothe quell his anger, putting his right palm on his shoulder, "I think that's enough of this, I can take it from..."

Thorax used his magic to lift off James' palm away from him. "Hold it, Amon! I appreciate your time with us, but she's way beyond fixing. I don't even know why you wanted me to speak to her after what she did to my friends. That doesn't solve her problems. Speaking of problems, I'll gladly list off yours!"

"I am the changeling queen! I don't have any flaws!" she shouted back with all of her might,

"Wrong..." he slowly walked up to her and stared deeply at her eyes, "You're a manipulative being that only cares about herself and not for the sake of others. You trained us to feed on creatures' love for food and you never seem to fathom the true meaning of love; It was always a tool for you, not a way of life. You never cared for the sanctity of one's marriage or the feelings of unity! You just take what you want and claim it as your own! I never really said this to you back then, but now I'm willing to speak my heart out! You didn't lose your hive because of Starlight, it was you! You put this upon yourself, run away from your children because you couldn't let things change for the better. "

"En—"

"Shut your trap! I'm the ruler of the changelings now! Not you! You're already well-spent here!" he cut her off right as she was going to reply, "I have one more thing to say to you. I've been dying to say this for a long time now. Chrysalis...you are...you...are...

YOU'RE THE WORST MOM IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!"

That incredible roar shook the whole ground of the changeling hive, James described it as a 5.0 magnitude earthquake at the epicenter. Those last few words alone were enough to cause a wave of cries and agony from all of the changelings in the crowd. When James turned to see them all, he could see a majority of them either fainting behind their backs or gasping from their seats. He can even see Phayranx' putting his foreleg on his mouth to hide his shocking reaction to Thorax's potty mouth. Being winded from his big speech when he panted slowly to catch his breath. Sweat beads formed from his forehead to catch a breath from his big outcry. It left James scratching his head over all the fuss trying to process all of this.

"Th-Th-Thorax just spoke out the language of the forbidden tongue!" one changing from the background called out.

"He insulted the hive mother!?" another changeling from the audience asked out loud, "Shall we go into DEFCON 3?"

"Dude...that's not my brother..." muttered out Pharynx, slowly making his way next to James, "Amon, I know you wanted him to speak with her, but he just spoke out the forbidden tongue"

It took a few seconds for James to process all of this, putting back his aviator glasses on his head and recuperate from the event, "Wait for just a second their Pharynx; you're telling me that calling her a 'bad mom' is an offense here?"

Pharynx answered scratching his head, "I'm pretty sure calling any creatures Mom a 'bad mother' is always offensive"

He was very much dumbfounded by that, James chuckled. "Whatever, I don't think Chrysalis would take pity insults as serious as..."

"Thorax..."

It was already given that Chrysalis wouldn't take that lightly, she stood still, but her facial expressions speak for themselves as her big eyes were locked onto Thorax. Things felt pretty tense, James didn't know what to do next; Was she going to break free from the chains in some blind rage and attack him soon after? All that James could do is simply wait for

"I...cannot...comprehend...*sniff*"

"Hmm? That's odd, for a second there, I thought a sniffle from her?"

"that...*sniff*...you w-w-would...*sniff*" she continued, as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"She's sniffing like crazy, is it allergy season for changelings?"

"w-w-would...*sniff*...would...*sniff*...SAY THAT TO YOUR MOTHER!"

She formed into a fetal position and bawled out from the confines of her shackles, her forelegs covered her soaking eyelids as she wept her heart out. It wasn't just some act to gain sympathy this time around nor it was some plan of hers to free herself, she truly was heartbroken by her child calling her a terrible mother. This whole scene was a complete turn-around for James, it was head-scratching to see her like this.

"Damn, if this is one big act of hers, she's a well-good actor. But I don't think"

"T-Thorax, you just made your mother cry..." is all he could conjure up from this, seeing the changeling frightened by his loss of temper.

Thorax averted all of his attention to Chrysalis and covered his eyes. "Oh no! I didn't mean to say the forbidden words! I was just...I didn't know what I did...I just panicked and..."

"You did what I told you to do; you spoke the truth, that's all!" his sentence was finished with James slowly coming up to him and placing his right hand on Thorax's shoulder.

"I...did?"

"Yes! Now we just need to wait for her to settle in her breakdown— Let's give her time though..." he stared directly and Chrysalis for a while, still weeping loudly as ever.

Over at the campgrounds, which was just located near the large area near the Tree of Harmony, Twilight and the rest of the creatures finally stopped to make camp. She got out a clipboard to check off a box from her lengthy checklist as she settled down her stuff on the ground.

"Okay, every creature! This is where we'll set up camp! I want the student's tents to be situated across from us to form a big circle!" Twilight announced out loud with a huge smile, preparing to set up her tent with her magic levitating the base and the tools.

The two age groups split it into two different sides of the campgrounds. Mobius' tent was nothing to write home about, just a basic dark blue, enough to fit him and one more pony. His sister was happily setting up her tent near the adult's area as he made final preparations hammering the last nail on the ground. It wasn't soon after when he accidentally bumped into someone while taking a step back to see his finished tent. That someone was none other than Ocellus.

"Excuse me Ocellus," he humbly apologized to the mare, "I didn't see you there, I was just finishing up my tent and didn't spot you."

"Mobius, I have something very important I need to tell you." requested the curious sounding changeling, rubbing the bottom part of her chin with a foreleg.

"If you're worried about us pranking you at night, don't worry. We are not going to..."

"No, it's not that. It's something that I could never discuss with the others or the teachers. I think you're the only one I could speak to with this." she cut him off as she was waving her foreleg over in the direction. "Follow me!"

He hadn't figured out what is bothering her so much that she was dragging him to speak in private; is it a personal matter? Relationship issues with Smolder? Or worse case, she caught suspicion over him and his cover was blown. The two scurried off to the nearest place that was perfect enough to talk alone, near the entrance to the tree of harmony. While he visited this place back in his human form, Mobius acted like this was his first time stepping inside the cave curiously staring at the shimmering tree. They stopped just in the middle of the area as they were completely alone together.

"So tell me, what's been bugging you?" he sincerely asked Ocellus, still keeping her anxious face

She sounded very displeased telling what was on her mind, but Ocellus was eager to let this out to a trusted friend. "You are aware of the changeling invasion at the Royal Wedding and the fiasco from the hive just recently?"

Mobius answered with a slow nod, "Of course, those stories made headlines around Equestria; What about them?"

"Well, this is coming from Thorax, but I believe he's planning to reinstate Chrysalis as ruler of the hive."

It immediately clicked inside him; Thorax had told the secret he was specifically told NOT to spill out to Ocellus. It was too late to give Thorax a little beating from his host self, so Mobius played dumb and tilted his head as soon as she stopped.

"Oh? What did he tell you exactly?"

"Some strange creature in a black coat offered them to capture Chrysalis and make her return to the hive as ruler. He mentioned that it was a creature that he's never seen or heard before, and we changelings transformed into many," she explained thoroughly of the details. "He said that it stood on two legs like Smolder but wasn't a dragon, had similar anatomy to talons but it wasn't a griffon or hippogriff. I believe his name was Jo?"

"Jo? Who's Jo?" he tried to contain a burst of laughter contained in his system as he asked.

Ocellus had to shrug on that one, "I don't know, but he didn't seem like a threat or hostile, he acted kind and friendly as Thorax described. I'm just worried that Chrysalis would try to revert everything and try to take revenge on Starlight."

Before Mobius could send his host self to strangle Thorax, he briskly tried getting things to simmer down. She doesn't seem suspicious to him, that's a plus.

"Well, do you want her back?"

That question made Ocellus turn away from him, staring at the tree from a distance and answering, "That's pretty difficult; half of me would love to see the hive mother return to rulership, and the rest of me wants her out of it. It's just a lot to take in. She refused to change out of her own volition and ran away from the hive. "

"Hmm...this may be conjecture," pondered Mobius out loud to Ocellus, "But how would you feel if your very own children changed right in front of you that you couldn't even recognize them? Everything you've spent your whole life working for them nurtured them and raised them to be what you expected them to be only to completely derail from your plans for them. I mean, why did you even transform into...whatever you are now in the first place!?"

The next assault of questions made Ocellus ashamed of herself as Mobius looked down on her frown. He believed he took it too far when he asked her that last question. The silence was growing longer, and the awkwardness was filling the atmosphere.

"Sorry, I came out too strong..." apologized Mobius, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"It's alright," she turned to him, taking a deep breath afterward, "I don't know why I did it. We were always told what to do and where to go. Feeding on love was the only choice of substance for us, I didn't mind it because I never thought there were other options. But Starlight's speech gave us a realization that feeding on love wasn't the only way to live. Maybe Chrysalis wasn't too happy that we turned on her, but I don't know who's in the wrong; Her for not changing just like us, or us for leaving her out."

"Listen, you came pretty far changing who you are and attending this school." the sincere smile on Mobius' face gave her a bit of relief on hers, "I may not know what this 'Jo' is going to do, but I take it he has good intentions."

"Yeah..."

"Who knows, maybe this 'Jo' fellow is doing you all a favor?" he smiled back at her looking optimistic as ever.

"I'll just wait and see what happens," Ocellus took caution of what the future of her hive maybe, "Chrysalis is a strong and stoic queen. She doesn't go bawling her eyes out due to petty insults."

"Well...I wouldn't count on that..."

Chapter 16: Friendship Retreat, Part 3

Already 3 minutes in, Chrysalis was still weeping to the floor as her constant sounding woes were the center of attention for the changelings. It was enough for James to sit patiently on his seat and poke at his phone screen while she let it all out. Thorax on the other hand was curiously waiting for James' next course of action, as well as the rest of the changelings.

"I don't think she's going to stop any time now," he poked at James' shoulder area, trying to get his attention off the screen, "Shouldn't we just go for it?"

James took a big sigh, stashing his phone away, "Alrighty, I'll try to simmer her down, you follow behind."

"Okay!"

He got up from his seat and gently approached Chrysalis as she continued her bawling from being called a terrible mother from Thorax. James didn't quite expect it would be this easy to get to break, so he just went with the flow and tried to confront her as the tender being he is. He wasn't sure where, to begin with, so he just went with the first thing on his mind and gently lowered his right hand onto her head and gave it a little pat.

"There-there...Chrysalis..." he took a deep breath before asking her, "Let it all out, just let the tears flow down you like a flowing waterfall. I know you were trying to do what's best for your children. All you wanted was to have subjects who were loyal and supportive of you 100% Also, you wanted your hive to grow into the kingdom you deserve to have. However, all it took was one changeling to stray away from the pack and forge bonds stronger than friendship, and all of your children went and converted from draining the love to sharing it. Blinded by rage, you wanted to exact revenge on the ones that wronged you. However, I didn't bring you here just to forgive all of them, I wanted you to understand."

"...*sniff*...Understand?" she muttered out, raising her head to see James and Thorax's face with her eyes dripping with tears.

When James was about to finish his sentence, Thorax stepped in behind him and picked off where he left, "To understand that it's all in nature to embrace change, even if that change will drastically alter the rest of your life. I may not be the fiercest-sounding or abrasive-acting leader you may think to be, but even I'm...no...we're learning how to adapt to our new lifestyle. We were so filled with the mindset of stealing love for ourselves, we didn't take into account, other creatures. I've seen how love can flourish and bring others together."

"...I...I thought..."

"You were wrong to believe love can only be 'just a food source', It's a complex emotion that even I'm not entirely sure on!" Thorax continued in his speech, "I just wanted to live a life where we don't have to steal any creatures feeling of happiest and still thrive as a wholesome community. But you're not ready unless you can embrace change."

James could be very much impressed by the amazing speech from Throax's heart, it almost gave him a tear shed. "Very good Thorax, I see that you have what it takes to be a ruler after all."

The two were inspecting Chrysalis, as her crying was slowly diminishing and wiped off the excess tears on her cheeks. Taking a few seconds to recuperate from her breakdown before she timidly asked, "Y-You said I was a bad mother...why!? I've raised you when you were just hatched, and I've taught you how to transform...I just don't understand..."

"For fucks sake, is she still crying about that!?"

"Chrysalis! Please...please in Celest's name, LISTEN TO US!" once more, Thorax raised his tone in agitation, "You don't listen to me! You always focused on plans or revenge...or plans of revenge! I need you to understand that you aren't fit to be ruler again unless you open your eyes and face the music! Change is inevitable!"

"I know...I know..." she lowered her head down an angle and raised her forelegs to see her chains, "But you don't understand how I feel about this! F-first, I raised all of you from birth taught every single one of you to transform and trained all of your skills. Then the next thing I know, you threw it all away! I knew I was a terrible mother for leaving all of my children! I always knew! I never thought it would be verbally said out loud to me!"

While turning over to the changelings, James noticed all of them sharing the same guilty stares as they all stared at each other side by side. They seemed to still sport a soft spot to Chrysalis, she was their hive mother after all. He would now have to move on to the next question for confirmation.

"Now Chrysalis, I am going to repeat this; Starlight was offering you to share your love and practice the meaning behind friendship. You turned down that offer, why did you?"

It was like she was contemplating whether to answer or not when she stood silent for a while as she picked up his question, "The reason? I don't know why I just...couldn't trust anypony after what happened the last time.."

"Last time?" this had James scratching his chin when she answered back.

"N-Nevermind! I was just frustrated with her! That's all!" she blurted out to him, seemingly agitated with her answer.

And the act of sleuths on James' face made him squint over at her, seeing the subtle signs that she's hiding something meaningful in her head.

"It was like Chrysalis was about to say something that could've been the epicenter of her past, the cause of her wickedness. But at the last second, she shook her head out and decided not to spill out her secret. As much as I was dying to know, I need to respect her decision not to tell me the truth."

"You don't have to tell me, but if it's the sole reason why you refused," he pointed his right index finger above her head, "Then you must be a complete moron for holding a grudge for this long. You're a changeling that refuses to change, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That's the true definition of insanity!"

She wasn't venting out when James called her a moron, Chrysalis tried finding the right words to say next when she muttered, "But, Starlight...she ruined everything! Not only my plans to conquer Equestria, but she destroyed my whole life's work! She doesn't understand what's it like when the ones you care about go through change!"

"Brain blast!"

James sighed, "So what about Starlight!? You would be surprised at what she did to a small town, stealing their freedom and brainwashing them. All because her foalhood friend left to attend magic school because he got his cutie mark, and I'm not going to talk about how she used Starswhirls spell to travel back in time to stop Twilight and her friends from getting their cutie marks and Twilight having to go on a wild goose chase to stop her and ended off being the first student of friendship. "

"She...did all of that?"

Pulling out his phone and tapping on a few tabs later, James prepared to display the season 5 premiere where Twilight and her friends entered a rural town with the dictatorship authority of Starlight. He fast forwards the unnecessary parts and showed her scenes of STarlight stealing each cutie mark from the townsfolk, and showing the dark side of her. Everyone including the changeling hive saw a side of their heroine they had never seen before, even catching Thorax off guard as the clips rolled by.

"Wow, she was so upset that Sunburst moved away, she started to plot a quarter of her life to destroy cutie marks but then apparently obtained a cutie mark herself just so that she could practice high-leveled alicorn magic to take away said cutie marks?" said Pharynx, "To be honest...that's kinda dumb and hypocritical of her."

"That's debatable to the fandom, but that's far from the point." James was rambling nonsense that it didn't phase Pharynx or Thorax, "She plotted revenge on the sole purpose of her foalhood friend's departure, in this case, a cutie mark, and bent on taking revenge on said cutie marks by taking them? Hmmm, where have I heard of that before?

Seeing the video footage of Starlight doing all of her sinister tasks and attitude was making Chrysalis feel something she hasn't felt before. It was hard to describe like it was clawing inside her at the back of her mind. She stood there facing down as this strange feeling eats her on the inside.

"What is this? Why do I feel something strange inside? What did you do to me!?"

"What did I do?" Answered James with another question, shrugging his arms, "Tell me what this 'feeling' you're talking about?"

"It is difficult to explain it with words. Every time I see these events, I find a hint of similarities between us, but I had nothing to do with them at all, I wasn't there when it happened. Arrgh! What is this sensation I'm experiencing!" Chrysalis placed her forelegs on her temples, figuring out how to get rid of these emotions stirring up.

All James did was put up a small grin as he answered, "Chrysalis, that's sympathy you are feeling. The sorrow you felt of your hive drastically changing their whole lives matches with Starlight's feelings when Sunburst got his cutie mark. It probably wasn't the same events you experienced, but the moment he obtained a cutie mark was the sole purpose of her. But, she found out that all it took was a bit of understanding to thwart her plans and became the first student of friendship. She ended up making amends to Sunburst and rekindled their bond. Things are never going to change for the better unless you don't change yourself. Speaking of change, It seems that the changelings here still miss you, look at their faces..."

Reaching out his index finger to the faces of the changelings, James directed Chrysalis to steer her attention to all of her children from the hive. All she could think to believe were expressions of disappointment and disgust were a mix between anxiety and sadness, most of the changelings were even teary-eyed.

"You, miss me?" she could barely keep more tears falling from her tear ducts, asking out loud.

"Of course we do! You'll always be our queen!" a changeling in the near front of the crowd praised her.

"We want you to come back, we've learned so much more about love and friendship! We don't even need to feast apon it!" cried another changeling next to the previous one.

"I...I don't know what to say..." tears were forming around Chrysalis' eyes once again, "I left you all behind to fend for yourself, thought that you could never want me back. The love you all share is strong, I can sense it."

"Then why not share it yourself?" asked Thorax, slowly walking up to her, "It's easy, just..."

"I can't...I just...can't!" CHrysalis repented on the idea again, averting her face away from him.

"Why not?"

"Because...I..."

She was stopped by James, throwing up his palm to gesture to her, "Enough! If you wish to remain like this, it's your choice. Now Chrysalis, tell me this; Even after everything you went through today, do you still want to plot revenge on Starlight? All of your changelings miss you, they are willing to take their time teaching you what they learned to get you up to speed on their new way of lifestyle, and Thorax is a lousy leader."

"Pffft, thanks for that one..." moped Thorax.

It took a while before Chrysalis could fathom to answer his question, having a lot to take this all in as she again looked at herself shackled. Seeing the emotional turmoil Starlight Glimmer went through in her youth, and her sinister ploy in response to it, all to be stopped by Twilight's encouraging offer of friendship. It was the same thing Starlight was offering her, however, she turned her down and ran away.

"I..." A single letter came out from her breath, as Chrysalis proceeded onwards, "...I don't...not anymore..."

The second she spoke up, Thorax and the rest of the crowd were shocked by her frail-sounding tone and teary eyes. This was one of the rarest times their hive mother showed a bit of emotion from her. James could simply let all the gasps fill the atmosphere as he slowly walked over to Pharynx's side and prepared to reach over his ear.

"You can unchain her now, and give her back her magic too," he whispered, with Pharynx showing a little look of concern on his face.

"Are you sure about that? What if she tries to pull a fast one on us?"

"We won't find out if we don't test the waters. Besides, I won't hesitate to throw her in Tarturus if she tricked all of us. Now, do it!"

One stern answer from James was already enough for Pharynx to comply with his order. He got his horn lit up and began to unlock all the chains and shackles that were restraining Chrysalis, one by one they clung to the ground. The poor changeling queen carefully rubbed the parts of her forelegs where the chains sealed, slowly as she can feel her magic slowly returning. Just a precaution, James readied his phone as he held it behind his back with his right hand and his left hand slightly raised ready to stop time in her direction. But, he could already tell that his precaution wasn't necessary when Chrysalis remained seated, acting all ashamed of herself from her flustered face. Thorax on the other hand walked upfront to her trying to keep his head all high and taking a big gulp.

"Chrysalis...I just want to say, sorry..." he humbly apologized straight to her face as Chrysalis quickly turned her eyes at him. "Sorry for...rebelling against your orders, setting a coup over the hive ruler, practically changed our lifestyle for the foreseeable future...and calling you a terrible mother. "

"No! I should be the one apologizing, I betrayed all of you for not accepting change! Trying to plot revenge after revenge for conquest, and everything!" she was practically bawling at this point, "I knew that my efforts always end in misery, I just couldn't accept to change! I will set things right, I promise you and to every one of my children that I can become a better ruler! But I don't have any idea how would I prove to myself that I'm willing to accept friendship?"

"Now that the change of heart is already in motion, now to go to the final steps of the plan."

"Unless..." taking a step forward in front of her, James reached for his pocket the six photos and strands of mane from the bearers of harmony to wave them around in front of her face. "...Unless you are willing to take matters into your hoof and set things right "

"Set things right? How?"

Over just inside the tree of harmony cave, James and Chrysalis exited out from the blue vortex that he made with his phone. He wasn't so worried about the inevitable future, he calmly lifted his hood to conceal his face and walked a couple of feet away from where Chrysalis stood to get a head start. But slowly, he turned his head back to give her a bit of explanation.

"We're close by, I'll watch you from a distance from here." James said in an orderly fashion, "Now, go on.."

She answered with a slow nod and kept her quiet to preserve her energy as she peeked her head out of the cave and towards
the campsite. Seeing the vast majority of creatures scattered all over the place and spot familiar faces too gave Chrysalis a chill down her spine. Step-by-step, she walked carefully as not to draw attention. Reaching just a few feet outside the cave, she now entered the premise of the campsite, but suddenly stopped when a pony she wasn't keen about was standing in front of her in the way of her stealth. Chrysalis has seen and transformed to many ponies before, but never one bearing two different eye colors, it piqued her interest.

"Hmmm?" she hummed, noticing the bear silence of the colt not fearful of her, "Strange... I don't recall ever seeing you."

The unusual colt chose his next words carefully when he spoke up, "You must be that Queen Chrysalis Ocellus' been talking about."

"Ocellus..." Chrysalis repeated to him, "Of course, she would. What's your name, boy?"

"Mobius," he answered.

"Mobius, will you direct me to the location of Starlight?" asked Chrysalis, keeping her tone very sane, "I have something important to tell her."

"Sure, why not?" Mobius was nonchalant about her presence, agreeing to lead her to Starlight.

As the campsite was just finishing its last steps of preparation as most of them got their tents pitched up, Twilight and Starlight were inside a tent to prepare for the next tasks on schedule. She kept a long checklist and checked off another box from the list and scrunched her mouth like she was anticipating breaking their silence.

"Twilight, is something wrong?" Starlight asked, across from her gathering some papers, "You seem tense."

Her response was quick, but Twilight finally gathered the courage to answer her, "I'm alright, it's Mobius I'm worried about. We've been doing it for so long, it's getting bland for us. I think I need to push him if I want to get results out of him, perhaps you can help out!"

"Woah! T-M-I Twilight!" barfed Starlight, gagging at the sight of Twilight's words, "...but maybe I could get back at his sister if I..."

"No! Not like that!" shouted Twilight, "I was talking about his magic lessons. I want him to push himself to the limits if he wants to learn the hardships of casting. He's already at advanced Unicorn Techniques Vol 3; The same stuff they teach at Celestia's school!"

"Oh...Oh yeah, I can teach him some things." Starlight giggled, "To think that the Princess of Friendship would be in the hoofs of her former student."

But soon after, the tent flap that was zipped up shut flew open as Rainbow Dash's head popped through it, seeing a slightly concerned look on her face that made Starlight and Twilight act clueless.

"Rainbow? What's the matter?"

"Uhh..." she wasn't eager to answer right away as her voice droned on, "...Y-You better take a look at this..."

Twilight and Starlight both teleported simultaneously out of the tent and over the campsite, which was very eerie as no creature was speaking at the moment. They were focused mainly on the unsuspected guess that arrived at their campsite. The only thing they spotted was Mobius walking in front of somecreature they never expected to see ever again. Especially for Starlight, it clicked inside her head as she quickly trotted over to intercept.

"Chrysalis!" she barked at her, gently pushing Mobius aside as her horn was on standby, "What are you doing here? And what are you about to do to Mobius!"

"Mobius!" He didn't expect to be tackled by Twilight as her hooves wrapped around his neck and began to cradle him back and forth. She squeezed her cheeks onto his and continued to rub his chest. "Are you alright? Did the bad lady hurt you or steal your love?"

"Twilight...I'm fine!" Mobius teleported away from her grasp and quickly turned to Starlight, "Stop Starlight! She didn't try to attack me, she was just calling for you!"

"Of course, she would..." Starlight slowly dimmed the glow from her horn, but kept vigilance as her stance was still active, "What are you up to? Revenge? Another scheme to conquer Equestria? "

The tension was rising from the ground up, the students being shielded behind the adults, and Radial Shine playing along with this whole scene. It took a few seconds before Chrysalis could conjure up her answer.

"Starlight Glimmer...I have come to..." but, the longer she continued her words, there were brief moments of pauses followed by a sniffling noise coming from her snout. "A-Atone for my crimes!"

"What?"

It was rather an awkward and tension-breaking event for Starlight and the rest of the creatures, seeing the changeling queen breaking down into a vulnerable state as she wrapped her forelegs around Starlight and cried on her side. Starlight barely could fathom what was happening right now, she stood with all the confused look on her face as Chrysalis' started to break down. It was dumbfounding to see someone as wicked as her crying on the spot.

"Wow, is that your mother Ocellus?" Silverstream pointed at the bawling changeling with a talon, as she stared at Ocellus next to her in total embarrassment.

"I...guess so?" she answered pretty much flustered.

"I-I planned to steal the elements of harmony by creating phony replicates of Twilight and her friends!" she gave her the full explanation of her scheme, retracting from her hug and stepping back a few steps before she transformed into Shutterbug, "I was the one who took the photos of them and lucked strands of their mane! It was me the whole time!"

"WHAT!?" Twilight and her friends gasped, breaking their mean glares in seconds.

"Y-You were that weird photographer!?" Starlight could only try to make sense of all of this breaking discovery. "Why are you here then? Aren't you going to attack us?"

"Attack? No, I came to say..." reverting to her true self, Chrysalis immediately choked on her next few words as it was difficult for her to say it out loud, "To say...I'm sorry!"

"Oh my Celestia!" Rarity placed her foreleg onto her mouth in dramatic effect, "She just said the S word!"

Thinking this as some elaborate scheme to gain everyone's trust was out of the picture, Starlight was still confused as to why she was acting like this. Are these feelings of sorrow real?, she asked herself. She wanted to get more information pried out of her by quickly getting to the point of things. "Why the sudden change of heart? Or is this some plan of yours to gain sympathy points from us?"

The word strike her like lightning, Chrysalis jerked her head up in response to the particular word and proceeded to hold Starlight by her sides, "Sympathy? Yes...I knew exactly what you've been through! Your foalhood friend left because he received his cutie mark and left you all alone. It strived you to plan your revenge by enslaving a whole town and stealing all of their freedom. Those feelings of loss and anger have a great resemblance to what I went through. Even if minor details weren't the same, we share a common sorrow!"

The jaw of Starlight was left wide open, processing all of this for a brief moment, "H-How did you know all of that?"

It was when Applejack left Mobius and trotted over next to Starlight, seeing how Chrysalis and her unusual behavioral patterns and speech, "Starlight, I believe she's telling the truth on this one; this ain't no lie at all!"

"R-Really?" Twilight was next to come up to her, leaving Mobius from behind, "You mean all of that Chrysalis?"

Chrysalis nodded. "Yes, I've seen it all! How my envy grew when my changelings transformed and changed their lifestyle. How I was the one who betrayed them all. Even...how I'm a horrible mother for leaving them!"

"Mother?" the three mares cringed up on that last one.

"But they still wanted me back! Even after I strayed away from them!" the first time, Chrysalis pulled up a precious smile on her face, still having tears formed up in her eyes, "I never thought they would still love me even for what I've done to them! But...I need dire assistance!"

"And that assistance would be?" Twilight made sure she would finish her sentence, anticipating Chrysalis to answer.

"Please! Teach me the ways of friendship!" coming down to a kneeling position, the eagerness to learn friendship filled Chrysalis as she begged right in front of them.

Spawning in the list from thin air, Twilight carefully skimmed through the array of checks to make sure she didn't miss a step, "Wow...this wasn't part of the list."

"Wowy! She's really serious about learning about friendship!" Fluttershy added, slowly gesturing the rest of her friends to step forward. "Girls, would you like to call in an emergency meeting?"

Fluttershy got the rest of the mares formed a huddled circle with their heads leaned in to whispered amongst themselves. Even Radial was caught up in this, even though she knows exactly what was going on behind the scenes, she had to act all clueless about it. Just when it was over, Mobius' side was lightly tapped by Smolder as to join their huddle circle when they quickly got together. He squeezed in between Gallus and Silverstream when they all scrunched their faces together.

"So, what are we talking about?" he had to ask, only to get visible shrugs from a few.

"I don't know, they're doing it, we just don't want to look dumb by all of this!" Smolder answered him, "What do yo uneven do in these things?"

"Look, the teachers broke their circle!" Sandbar quickly poked his head out to see the mares separate from their huddle circle.

As the eight mares got back from their meeting, they directed all eyes on Chrysalis, who seemed eager to figure out what kind of judgment they'll pass on her. Twilight was the first to break their silence, as she firmly stated herself in front of the changeling.

"Chrysalis, the girls and I have talked about it, and we have come to a conclusion." pausing for a dramatic effect, Twilight called forth her authoritative nature, "We decided to have mercy!"

"Wait, are you?"

"Yes silly!" blurted Pinkie Pie, bouncing up and down in joy, "You're welcome to learn about friendship! I mean, there's a school for that!"

Happiness filled Chrysalis' face as she lightened up her mood, "R-Really!? I couldn't believe you would be so much forgiving after I ruined your brother's wedding, and cocooned you in my hive!"

"Okay...you're pushing it..." Twilight clenched her teeth for a tad second, as she went over another piece of information, "But Chrysalis, if you're content of attending the school of friendship and learn the ways of friendship, you must first...say it..."

"Say what?" she wasn't sure what Twilight was awning about, it caught her off guard for a moment.

"You know," continued Twilight, "Three words; the first one starts with an 'F', the second one an 'I' and the last one an 'M'. Do that and you're 100% on board!"

It immediately clicked in her, turning her head away for a brief moment. "Oh, that?"

"Yes...now say it..."

With one huge cough and a big gulp, Chrysalis took all her guts and wits to say the words that Twilight and her friends were eager to hear her say. "F-F-FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!"

"OH, AMAZING! SHE SAID IT! SHE SAID THE THING!" Twilight was squealing hard as the joy spread amongst her friends, "We've got another special student of friendship aboard the ride!"

Twilight and her friends got together and hoisted up Chrysalis as she was lifted off the ground and only held by the forelegs of the ponies. The students on the other hand were smiling from the distance, especially Ocellus, where she was shedding tears from her eyes that made the rest of them notice it.

"Why is Yona's friend sad? Should be happy!" Yona said.

"I'm not sad Yona...I'm happy..." she sniffed while answering her, "Mobius...that Jo guy did get her to change."

"Jo?" Gallus raised his brow over the unfamiliar name, "Who's Jo?"

"That would be me!"

The celebratory cheers ended short as an unfamiliar voice was heard from everyone in the campsite. James couldn't keep it in much longer, but it was the first time he was visibly going to reveal his presence in front of the six and the students. He slowly took his time step-by-step to the campsite where everyone was standing at. His staggering height was enough for them to see his tall figure and sealed face from the brinks of their necks.

"Everyone looks small upfront, guess that's where the 'Little' comes from in the title."

"Woah! That creature is huge!" Sandbar took a while to marvel at the behemoth.

"Whatever it is, it looks creepy!" jittered Silverstream.

"I don't know about you guys, but it looks kinda badass..." hiding a small smug on his face, Mobius complimented on the 'unknown figure'.

"Who goes there?" Twilight quickly changed her mindset and stared down at the creature, ignoring the height of the creature, "What's your name?"

"My name is Jo Amon, a pleasure to meet you upclose your majesty!" James made a quick bow gesture ingratitude of her presence, "This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me."

"Enough with the formalities." she barked, "My name is..."

"Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and bearer of the element of magic." he surprisingly finished her sentence to keep her quiet, "No need to introduce your friends too, because I know everything about them."

"No way!" Rainbow Dash scoffed at his presence, "I bet you don't even know me at"

"Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria, and the first one to perform a sonic rainboom. You have a pet tortoise named Tank, and you adore the Daring Doo series like it's your life." He pointed a finger back and Rainbow Dash, making her gasp.

Mulling over the strange digits from the creature's limbs, Twilight analyzed them as of the knee exactly who the creature before them was. She needed to throw it out there, "Hang on! Those are fingers! You're a human! But how did you keep your form when entering the mirror? The magic should be able to transform you into a creature of this world!"

He didn't expect her to catch up on him being a human, so James simply played it off as it was of no importance, "That's simple, I am not a human from that world but another! It's similar, but rather different at the same time."

"It's him!" Chrysalis shouted in excitement, "The one that helped me see the error of my ways! Amon! They truly accepted me into their school of friendship, and all I did was apologize as you said. To that, I thank you!"

"What!?" The mares gasped in total unison, "You're the one that confronted Chrysalis?"

He made a nodding gesture with his head, "She was about to do something she was going to regret, I made sure that she didn't go through with it and setup a little intervention at her hive. No need to thank me, just doing this out of kindness."

"Even if that's all true, she hasn't shared her love at all!" added Starlight, keeping a close eye on the creature.

Lifting his right index finger, he went and pointed straight at Starlight, "Correct. However, it was her choice not to share her love and remain who she is. You can't force her into making the right choices, you just need to make sure you understand her from where she stands. Like how you were the one who made all of her children change on the spot. You should know what it felt like for her from your childhood. Shame on you!"

"I...uhh..." Starlight was choking on the next few words to respond, like everything he said wasn't particularly false. "...I guess, I kinda did all that stuff to her."

"Exactly! I just came here to make things clear," He was proceeding to walk forward, close to Twilight and her friends, "I won't be bothersome to all of you, all I'm asking is your forgiveness of Chrysalis and make her a student of friendship. She's been through a lot lately."

"O-Of course we'll teach her the ways, and you seemed to be non-threatening." confirmed Twilight, "But that doesn't change the fact that you're a human in the land of Equestria! It's just, such a fascinating discovery!"

"Say, Amon..." Chrysalis slowly walked up to him with a small smile, "T-Thanks again for all of this, it means so much to me now that I realized my fatal error. Would you like to stay around here?"

"Yes! I've got tons of questions about this world of yours!" jumped Twilight, preparing her quill and paper on standby.

"My humble apologies, but I must be going now to do research of my own." He answered with a formal bow. "I bid you good luck on teaching Chrysalis about the importance of friendship!"

Chrysalis and the other ponies were bummed for the strange human not sticking around at the campsite. While they were staring at him walking across the area and to the flight of stairs, he had to keep his cool to not break his character, but he felt internally over at the long flight up.

"Shit! Why did I have to take the flight of stairs!?"

"So...what happens now?" Rarity placed that thought out there, trying to make sense of all of this, "Some strange creature randomly shows up and helped Chrysalis shed light on friendship and he just leaves like that? What is he going to do next?"

"I don't know about you girls, but he seems very easy to get along with. Like I already know him." keeping a small smile on her face, Twilight quickly got things prepared for the next thing on the schedule, "Alrighty! I'll just have to squeeze Chrysalis into the activities, this will make up for her friendship orientation!"

So far, James had accomplished the first half of his mission, he was huffing out from his mouth as he took the final step up from the campsite and began to catch his breath at a nearby tree stump a few feet away. Almost on the verge of passing out, he took his time to recollect his mind.

"I have already done 50% of my work, and it's just the first half of season 8. Now, to tackle onto the big boys, literally. Tirek should be stuck in Tarturus, but I have no clue what to do with him! As for King Sombra, maybe the backup plan will do the trick, but that's not a true solution. Oh well, better not to overthink it now, so far I need to rest and take it."

Just when he thought he was alone, two ponies seemingly followed him way up to the surface; Radial and Mobius. They made sure they weren't followed exactly as the two slowly reached next to Radial.

"You did it," complimented Radial, scratching her chin, "I'm guessing you gave her a talking of the century?"

He quickly got out his phone and into the transformation app, where he tapped on the icon to end his conscious clone and made Mobius vanish at the sight. Then, he quickly tapped onto the transformation button to bring him back into his unicorn form.

"It was not me that told her off, it was Thorax..." corrected Mobius, "Even getting help from Harmony and her feature. Now, what brings you here?"

"Twilight asked me to check up on this 'Jo Amon' fellow, but he doesn't seem to be here." the sarcastic tone of Radial sparked her voice, "I guess it's just you and me, Mobius..."

He already took notice of her curiosity as he played along, "Oh shoot! Better go tell Twilight about the bad news."

"After telling Twilight and her friends the strange disappearance of Jo Amon, I enjoyed a full day of activities with my friends and the six. Chrysalis was hitching along too, but they were awkward vibes coming from her and Starlight. Guess they still needed time to be around each other. After doing some hiking, scavenger hunts, and other friend-based activity. It was getting pretty dark as dinner was just about to wrap up."

It was getting pretty dark outside from the looks of the moon rising from Princess Luna, luckily the campfire was already started from Starlight. Everycreature got around in a circle and told ghost stories along the way. But after the final story from Rainbow Dash, Twilight reminded every creature that it was time to hit the hay.

"Alright, folks! It's getting pretty late, so I want you all getting ready to sleep!" she announced, "Tomorrow is the second day of our friendship retreat, so be ready!"

After waving a few of his friend's goodnight and separating, Mobius was immediately stopped by Twilight placing her foreleg on his shoulder area. It gave him a slight mewl from her soft and warm touch.

"Oh Mobius, I just want to mention," she saw him turning his head towards her, looking very curious, "I gave Chrysalis permission to sleep in your tent. Sorry about that."

He wasn't too disappointed, Chrysalis did join this camping trip last minute, he just had to figure out one thing, "It's fine but, where do I get to sleep?"

The only thing Twilight did to answer him was a small faint grin on her face followed by a slight elevation of her right brow when she turned her eyes toward an open tent...her tent, to be precise. This drastic change caused Mobius to be so appalled, his jaw nearly dropped a few inches in awe.

"Fuck yeah!"

Twilight let out a whisper to his ear, "That's right handsome...you'll be sleeping with..."

"Your big sister! Now come on!"

Their touching moment was cut short by Radial teleporting in front of the alicorn as she gently slapped her hoof off of her little brother. He said nothing, as his short-lived euphoria, ended with him sleeping in the same tent as his sister. Twilight sighed in utter disappointment as she slowly walked to her tent head down. James always dreamed of cuddling with his best pony, and it could happen. But sadly, it was taken away by his very own sister.

"Mission failed...we'll get em next time..."

Chapter 17: Table for Seven

"It's been a fun time during this friendship retreat, we've been through some activities that have to do with teamwork, and made a few fun memories along the way. But all of that couldn't top how I managed to not only stop Chrysalis from stealing the elements, but I've also made her reform too. She promised that she'll try to learn about the magic of friendship and is willing to open up to change. I don't know the reason why she doesn't want to share the love inside her, but I'll worry about that later. Now, I'm going to have to tackle preparing for the next target; Lord Tirek. "

It's been a few days since the camping trip took off after everyone went back to their old positions at the school; the students back to class, and the teachers back to teaching. Mobius was standing patiently inside Twilight's chambers inside the school, seemingly awaiting her next order.

"It still baffles me that Chrysalis is a student at my school." chuckled Twilight, sitting on her office chair while signing some documents in front of her, "I just wondered where in Celestia's name did that human named Amon came from?"

"Yeah...pretty bizarre..." Mobius stretched out his words, "Perhaps he's friendly?"

"Nothing is certain for sure, we just have to wait to see what else he does in the meantime," she turned over to Mobius' curious glare the moment she finished her work, placing the quill in the ink jar. "I'm having Starlight look into this strange creature, and writing to Sunset Shimmer about this human. He said he isn't from that world but seems to know a lot in Equestria. First, this strange creature appeared out of nowhere, then my family invited me to dinner and they want to see you upclose? What a week!"

"Wait, what!?"

"Oops, I forgot to mention it to you..." she turned away and blushed for a second, "I invited them for dinner at the Tasty Treat tonight at seven to meet you upfront. I was so distraught by this 'Jo Amon' fiasco, I didn't have time to tell you."

"Oh boy, the ol'e meet the parent's scenario. Always with the main character getting worked up to impress the parents, only to make even more of a fool of themselves and ruin the vibe of the meetup. Thankfully, I won't be those who freak ouyt over the littlest things."

"Wow, I always wanted to meet your parents, but I don't think they're going to appreciate me being you know what" emphasized Mobius, biting his lower lip in an anticipating sweat.

His concern was played off as Twilight chuckled from her seat, "Don't you worry about a thing! I'm sure you'll be great friends with them in no time."

"Well, that's reassuring..."

"And my brother and his wife are going to be there! It'll be a night to remember."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"The first few days for Chrysalis were a bit rough for her, almost all of the students in the classrooms avoided her at all costs. I had to lecture them about how she sees the error of her ways and wanted to start anew. I left the part where a 'strange human' confronted her, chained her in front of her hive, and how she was crying like a banshee, they didn't need to know all of that. After the halfway mark, I guided her to the lunchroom where we sat across from each other."

To make it even more awkward for Mobius, he was the only one having a tray of food on his side and Chrysalis was left with nothing on her side. She was paitnetly waiting for him to finish his meal as she fidgeted with her forelegs and had typical first-day anxiety. He doesn't want to see her in this type of mindest, so Mobius started with a little conversation starter.

"How are classes doing for you?"

It wasn't too long before she answered, "It's alright, I guess. I still don't grasp the teaching methods Twilight's friends are supplying. School is supposed to be about reading books and memorizing, isn't it?"

"Well that's part of it, but it all leads up to your understanding about the topic. Their teaching methods may be unorthodox to most schools, but that's what makes this place unique. " Mobius added to her definition about the school, "Perhaps you should start opening up to the students here and ask for help?"

"True, but...everypony wants to stay away from me when I go near them!" she moped, dragging her foreleg across the part of the table she's sitting at, "I can't get anything done while I'm in this form!"

"This might be my chance to figure out why she refused to change, it could be interesting to figure out what's been bothering her.

"So, why not just transform like the rest of the changelings?"

That question made Chrysalis shake a little from her seat, as if she had a chill down her spine, "I...I just can't-"

"Yo, Mobius!"

Everything Mobius was anticipated for went down the drain as the table was immediately filled with his friends sitting next to them. He mumbled to himself when he shifted focus on the guys who were seated near him. Ocellus on the other hand was right next to Chrysalis as she confidently sat next to her.

"Damn, Ocellus! How does it feel like to have you and your mom attend the same school?" smiled Sandbar across from her.

"Well, it's no big deal really..." she sheepishly replied, "I'm glad that odd creature came to her in the first place. He's shady, but he got the job done."

"Speaking of that creature..." Smolder turned her head over at Chrysalis, looking a tad confuse from the dragon's gesture, "What exactly did he do to you to get you to change?"

A nervous sweat arose from Chrysalis's forehead, "Well...it's...complicated"

"Man, I was so close to getting to some dirt on her. I guess I'll just leave it be for now and wait for the right moment."

It was a long rest of the day for everycreature and Chrysalis as she left the last class of the day and slowly walked out of the school to the outside. The other students still found her presence unsettling when they scurried off away from her general direction. Mobius let CHrysalis on her own to head back home, they silently waved goodbye as the two separated. She didn't have a dorm room assigned, so she had to make her way to the train station and commute to school. As she embarked on he way, Mobius quietly walked over to the town and his domicile. He's going to prepare himself for the dinner date he has meeting Twilight's family, including the big brother himself; Shining Armor.

"A few hours left before I get to have my death sentence meeting Shining Armor, I have no clue what he'll think of me dating his sister. Fanfics always depict him as some overprotective brother who shuns anypony getting above friendship-level with Twilight. It would be nice to see what he thinks of me, but I'll worry about that later. I just need to simmer down and discuss this with big sis..."

Once he stopped at the front door, he got to put the key and entered inside; things seemed to be very much intact. Radial was just by the couch reading a thick book with her face implanted in its contents. She saw the door and the pony who entered and greeted Mobius in the most typical family fashion.

"Hey..."

"Radial, I need some serious help!" He trotted to the couch and went down to the floor to beg for his life, "I'm going to dinner with Twilight and her family, including Shining Armor himself! If he sees me as the pony to be dating his sister, I would be executed on the spot!"

It was at that moment Radial slowly closed the book she was in the middle of reading and get fly placed it on the coffee table creeping up. a small smirk at her little brother. "Oh, now you need my help all of a sudden? You maybe got lucky saving Chrysalis and all, but I can do just as a good job as you! "

As soon as Radial stopped her rant, it was clear to Mobius that it was rather harsh leaving her out of this, she wanted to go to Equestria as much as he wants to. He slowly tilted his head down and apologized, "Sorry for leaving you out of my mission, but you don't have any powers in this world to defend yourself. "

"Don't you worry about me, I can manage without no powers. Sadly... " She got up from the couch and slowly walked over to Mobius's location with a small frown, "I can't come with you, I'm foal sitting tonight."

His whole life seemingly went down the drain as he heard Radial say those last few words of her, "No...you can't do this to me! I'm going to get clobbered!"

"Hey, If you can manage to sway yourself with the Princess of Friendship, I'm sure you can convince her brother too."

One big sigh later, Mobius found himself at a low tide, he just had to accept what was coming to him. Before he went back to his room, he quickly changed the subject onto things, "So how's the research coming?"

"I may have a lead as to what to do to get Tirek on board, but you may or may not enjoy it," she said in the vaguest tone of her voice. "Since you had your fun, it's time for me to have it as well."

"Guess I owe you one, so what do you have in mind?"

"You'll just have to wait until the time is right..."

"It's almost time for the longest night of my life here, getting to meet Night Light and Twilight Velvet upclose. They seem like a cool duo to be around, and I know they'll appreciate their daughter's newly-found happiness with a pony. As for the biggest threat of the night; Shining Armor. I have no clue what he'll think of me; not only I'm the one who's dating his little sister, but I'm a few years younger than her! "

Getting out of their seat from the long train ride to Canterlot, Mobius left the train car door and sees himself on the platform of the Canterlot train station. His first time entering Canterlot and seeing the beautiful architecture upfront gave him a small hint of relief from the night ahead. Seeing a live royal capital up close like this was like some dream, but he had to cut his sightseeing short just as Twilight saw him a few feet from his location and waved, he ran up to her and gave a small hug.

"You made it on time!" She went in for another small peck of his cheeks, "My parents should meet us at the restaurant by now. This is perfect! You took the same train just like them!"

"Them?" He was short to follow through, but Mobius was left scratching, "Who exactly are your referring to?"

"She's referring to us of course!"

"Shit, I recognize that voice and that tone anywhere, big brother has arrived!"

A sense of dread has covered Mobius' face like some creature just stabbed him in the back with a dagger and let it set into his flesh for a while. The large white stallion who walked past him was of course Shining Armor, who was delighted to give his little sister a small hug, but pleasantly surprised by Mobius as he stared daggers right at him. The one next to him was Princess Cadance, who acted very excited to see Mobius' for the first time. Of course, as to James' knowledge, she is fully aware of his true identity and his intentions. He doesn't know how this will play out, so he just stood silent and waited for what's about to come.

"Mobius, this is my brother Shining Armor, captain of the royal guard situated at the Crystal Empire, and his lovely wife Princess Cadence. She's my sister-in-law and foal sitter when I was young!" Twilight introduced her brother to the shaking unicorn, moving over to Cadance's side, "Cadance, isn't he such a perfect match for me? We're both bookworms who strive to study the magical arts! And he's quite a fan of me and my friends!"

The princess of love slowly locked eyes with Mobius as he locked eyes with her in return, confused and terrified about what she was going to say. Her lips slowly opened as to answer conspicuously. "Well Twilight, I do believe you two would be an acceptional couple..."

"I'll be the judge of that..." Shining turned his attention to Mobius, giving him the biggest curious stare he could muster up and making a sense of awkward Ness in the air for the poor colt. Legs shaking and teeth jittering, he was hanging onto dear life.

"H...Hi!" blurting out, Mobius took a big gulp before sweat beads started to form around his forehead and slowly backed up.

"Hmm?" Shining slanted his head as he carefully inspected Mobius and turned to Twilight for a quick second, "Well, If Twilight does love you for who you are, I guess I shouldn't judge him for who he is and what he's doing her-"

*SMACK*

"Aaah!" after receiving a forceful whack on the back of his head from Cadance, he rubbed the back part of his head of the impact. "What was that for!?"

"Wait, does he..."

"Come on Shining!" pouted Twilight, as she came to Mobius' aid and wrapped one of her wings around his torso to comfort him. "Mobius is quite the smart and talented unicorn his age! I'm sure you two will get along, right Mobi?"

"Yes of course!" he answered by squealing out to his frightened face.

"Okay! Let's head out to the Tasty Treat and meet with mom and dad!"

"Stay calm! Stay calm James! You just have to spend one dinner with him! It'll be all over after, even though during the duration of our walk he's staring at me like a hawk. Just...relax!"

While Twilight and Cadance were gossiping on some mare stuff too complex for the average stallion to understand, Shining was walking next to Mobius nearby. He didn't think much of it, just trekking silently as to focus on their destination. When the group finally reached Restaurant Row, Twilight guided them to the location of the Tasty Treat and entered the restaurant in an orderly manner. The vibrant interior mixed with the ambiance of the customers' dining made the Tasty Treat more lively than what James and Zoey witnessed in the season six episode. After Saffron Masala came up to the front of the establishment, she was greeting Twilight in the most typical manner.

"Oh! Princess Twilight and her brother! Welcome! Your parents are waiting at the table over there!" She warm-heartedly greeted me with a big smile.

The two cheerful-looking ponies who were at a table waving in the background were none other than Twilight and Shining Armor's loving parents; Night Light and Twilight Velvet. Whinging took his gaze off of Mobius as he happily walked over to his parents with Twilight following behind; Cadance and Shining were seated in the middle of the rounded booth seat while Twilight and Mobius sat at the edge.

"Twilight! It's good to see you after so long! How's running A school doing for you?" Asked Nightlight.

"It's going smoothly as a possible dad!" She was timid to swear, "and you too mom, I'm so excited for you to finally meet my coltfriend. It's been a few weeks since we've dated!"

He was bracing for impact. keeping his eyes closed and forelegs burying his whole face. Containing his panicked-looking face away from the parents as he expected a burst of outcry from them. But unknowingly, instead of being appalled by him, they were containing their excitement.

"Well, it seems that our Twi finally found herself a nice suitor that fits her taste!" Velvet started behind Twilight and saw a nervous young colt sweating beads, "Aww, don't be shy...we don't bit. I'm Twilight Velvet! And my loving husband Night Light!"

"Hey, their sport!" Night Light greeted him as if he was a part of the family already, "You're the one that our daughters been raving about in her letters? Fantastic! We've been waiting for somepony like you to come along to her side. You remind us of that one pony during the cruise trip we were on. "

"I hope I don't bump into Star Tracker and then we'll have to fight to the death over Twilight's affection..."

Slowly opening up his eyes and looking straight at them, Velvet and Night Light were a tad shocked to see the colt sporting two eye colors. It was more intriguing to them than ever.

"Woah! You even have heterochromia too!? Quite a rare sight to behold." smiled Velvet, "Wowy! Twilight sure knows how to pick 'em, am I right sweetie?"

To his disbelief, Shining Armor was in utter silence hearing his parents being content with Mobius dating his sister. He had to immediately address the situation as he spoke up, "Mom, Dad, what gives!? Do you realize how old he is? Are you not seeing the large age gap here?"

Night Light gestured his foreleg as he pushed all of his worries aside, "Oh, don't worry about that son! He'll catch up to Twilight eventually; Cadance was a few years older than you. I'm just happy that you two found somepony special to be with. Now, If only you'd give Flurry Heart a cousin to play with, that'll be even more-"

"Daaaad! T.M.I! We're taking things a bit slow for now, let's not focus on that and enjoy a lively dinner! "Twilight let out a loud groan sound as she covered her head with her hooves in total embarrassment,

"Say...Mobius," his name being called by Velvet made him turn his glance at her across the table, "I'm curious, when did you start to take a liking to Twilight? She wasn't that popular until she stopped Nightmare Moon, and not that there's something wrong with her, well maybe the fact that she's afraid of quesadillas because they're so ches-"

"QUIT IT, MOM!" Twilight blurted out, seeing Mobius cover his ears from her voice. The tone of her whining was heard from the rest of the restaurant.

"Damn, didn't expect to answer this question soon. I can't say 'She's my favorite character in a television cartoon that I'm somehow got transported to.' I need to think this one through."

"Good question," choosing his next words carefully, Mobius' quick thinking was put into play as he answered, "I always dreamed of attending magic school and studying under Princess Celestia. When I heard about this top student of hers, I had to figure out who it was. Truly, somepony like Celestia declaring a favorite student had to be somepony who's talented. As soon as I saw heard about the fiasco about Nightmare Moon, I quickly took the train to Ponyville. When I got to the town and heard about the hero that saved Equestria from a never-ending night, that's when I knew. I've been watching her and her journey for quite a long time now."

"Now?" the suspicious eyebrow raise from Shining Armor made Mobius take a glance at him. "If I remember correctly, that whole Nightmare Moon fiasco happened four years ago. But, it seems like you knew my sister and her friends for longer..."

"So the first episode started two years ago and we're currently at the eighth season so far. Assuming that Equestria follows that same 12 months, 365-day calendar system on Earth, that would mean that two seasons worth of the show happened per year. Man, time travel stories are so confusing, I'm just going to go with that logic!"

"Aww, it was love at first sight!" Velvet cooked from her seat, "All of this talking is making me hungry! Let's get to order!"

"This is my first time having Indian cuisine before, but I'm quite familiar with some things. I ordered tikka masala with rice with a side of samosas and a mango lassi. Too bad I can't have any chicken on my tikka masala, but It was still good nonetheless. Twilight got a dish made with spinach and cheese, Shining Armor, Cadance, and the parents shared an assortment of stuff from different bowls I can't comprehend to name them all with a large flatbread on the side."

The party was enjoying the meals followed by stories of Twilight during her youth. It was quite a marvel hearing the in-depth background of any character in this show. He would find bits of it familiar like how she got her cutie mark, but some stuff was never even mentioned before in any form of media or online. While he was listening to Velvet's story, Mobius levitated a spoon scooped out a spoonful of the tikka masala and rice, and took a considerate amount in his mouth. Coming from the middle side of the table, Cadance and Shining listened to his mother's constant story-telling.

"This is delicious stuff right here!" Cadance took another bite of her flatbread, "I didn't expect the food to be this good, how about you Shiny?"

"Yes, it truly does taste amazing," he muttered right beside her.

"Oh! Shining deary!" Calling out like the mother she is, Velvet said the magic words everypony knew to summon her son's attention, "Perhaps it's your turn to have a chat with Mobius at the table? You barely spoke at all!"

"Alright, mom," Mobius had his whole attention looking at Shining Armor, to which he had to comply with his mother's wishes. He placed down his fork on his plate before he directed his attention to Mobius. "So Mobius, have you thought about any career choices in mind?"

"No, I haven't thought of that really," he answered inconspicuously enough to lower suspicions, "I don't know whether I'll remain at the school as an assistant, or go do my own thing?"

He chuckled, "Perhaps you want to give being a royal guard a shot?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to interfere with what you'll want to do in the future." Shining emphasized on part of his sentence, before he added, "But if a pony who's worthy of being my sisters...coltfriend...he needs to be taking initiatives."

Cadance was sprawling over the idea, she graciously smiled, "Aww! That's perfect! You can take the same training regime just like Shiny did when he was your age, climbing the ranks of becoming captain of the royal gaurd! Then, just like me and Shiny, you'll take your hoof a marriage and bewed to Twilight and have a royal wedding of your own!"

"But then, get said wedding hijacked by some bug and her drones and be thrown in the deepest parts of the castle! You're not helping at all!"

"Cadance, not you too!" Twilight sighed from her seat while getting comforted by Mobius patting her on the head, "I don't want to talk about our future yet, especially the distant future! We're just taking things slow, that's all."

"Sorry Twi, but still," another time, Shining persisted on pushing Mobius' buttons, "I still want to see what Mobius becomes of in the future; will he be remaining by your side for the rest of his life? Or will he move far away...really far away?"

"Woah! Reality check! I never thought of what will happen to me once I'm finished with my mission. I'll be able to live my life on Earth as the richest I'll ever be and at the same time, create a better series finale. But, to just leave who I see as just 'fictional cartoon characters'? Everyone, I thought I know actually having emotions, self-awareness, and realism and not just characters people put voices on for a paycheck? I don't want to abandon everyone...I just..."

"Hey, kid! You alright?" coming over from across the table, Night Light was looking worried from the long pause took, "Don't let my boy scare you, he's just worried about the future that's all. So, what will you do when you grow up?"

"Well..." recuperating on that question, Mobius scrambled to answer with a smile, "I'll just have to see what fate has in store for me!"

Meanwhile, at the residence of Mobius and Radial Shine, she was busy sitting at the dining table in the middle of what appears to be an intensive chess game with her side of the board thinner than her opponents. Speaking of the opponent, it was a filly much younger than her, and she wasn't too worried about the results of the match as the hoof of the filly's slowly moved her piece to finish the round in one fell swoop.

"I win again!" she shouted out, hovering above the ground with her wings flapping.

Radial never thought in her lifetime that she would lose to some foal at a strategic game of chess. She wasn't so good herself, but she has defeated her brother numerous times before. She playfully sighed as she smiled at the cheerful filly, "Damn, you don't have a chess piece for a cutie mark for no reason huh Cozy Glow?"

"I still can't believe you're Mobius' sister that he never told me about!" Cozy slowly landed on the chair and leaned the front half of her body to the table, "You can tell me EVERYTHING about him."

"Well, sorry to burst your bubbles," the older mare looked ahead at the clock displayed above the kitchen sink to check the time, "Your father said if he isn't back before 8:00 pm, he's probably going to stay the night. So you're sleeping here I guess."

"Aww..." she curled her lips, seeing as her father was running late to get her, "Where will I sleep?"

"You can sleep in my room, it's just the second door to her leftover they're," Radial pointed her hoof over at the small corridor, "I'll sleep on the couch for tonight, but before that, I'll clean this up!"

During the time Radial was cleaning up the table filled with snacks and organizing the chess pieces, Cozy deeply stared at the closest door that was cracked open and saw a slightly cracked up door calling out to her, "That must be it..."

After spending nearly an hour dining at the Tasty Treat, and another thirty minutes at the famous donut shop in Canterlot, the group took a long stroll at the night scenes of Canterlot. Twilight and Mobius were exceptionally walking close and so was Shining on Mobious's side. Just when they stopped at a nearby bench, Night Light and Velvet turned over to see them all at once.

"It's getting pretty late, so I think we'll call it here. We've got a busy schedule tomorrow!" Velvet unforntualty had to cut their time short with them, "Shiny dearie! Please be safe when riding home will you?"

"Yes mom..." he sheepishly answered back.

"Well Mobius, It's certainly a nice time with you tonight!" Night Light went to give Mobius a friendly hoof shake as he returned the favor, "But we need to head out now!"

"Of course! Thank you so much for meeting Mobius upclose! We'll certainly make the best of what we can!" replied Twilight.

Their goodbye hugs came from Twilight and Shining, waving behind them as they head out to their house. Just when their parents left the group, Shining Armor quickly leaned his head over at Twilight's ear and slightly whispered something only she could listen to,

"Twily, I would like to have a little chat with him."

Twilight's concerned look can only predict what's about to happen to him, "W-what are you going to do this time?"

"Nothing, I just want to give him a small talk about...stallion stuff..."

"Ooohhh...I see..."

"Just stroll with Cadance around for a while." he carefully guided his sister over at Cadance, who patiently waited for her from behind.

This was the perfect moment for her to catch up with her sister-in-law when Twilight followed Cadance as they took the scenic route to Canterlot, leaving Mobius all alone with Shining Armor. Slowly gazing upon him, Mobius took extra precaution from tonight as he noticed certain red flags from Shining at tonight's dinner; He was shooting in the dark on this one,

"I'm going to take a stab on this one, but you knew about me the whole time don't you?"

Shining answered with no words, but from a slow nod coming to form his head, "Good eye, coming from somecreature who's been watching my sister for the past 10 years of his life."

"You knew about that too!?"

"Cadance can never keep secrets from me, and if she does, I find out eventually." he answered, "James, is it? I don't believe dating my sister is part of your 'contract', still, I'm also disappointed in you.

"Alright, I get it!" he cutted Shining their as he didn't want to keep things away from him, "You don't want me to date your sister because I'm from another world where I see you and this entire world as fictional characters! I understand, but please understand that I truly love Twilight for the past 10 years the show was running!"

"That's the least of my problems," replied Shining, going over the nitty-gritty of his chat, "and that's not the reason why I'm disappointed, It's because you're lying straight to her face!"

"Lying?"

"I heard you lying to Twilight and my parents straight to their faces, you need to halt this type of behavior, or perhaps you still think this is some 'show' and you're playing a 'part' in this show?" he continued on ranting, "Face the music, you're living in our reality! This isn't a fictional piece of media to us! This is real-life! You're lying to not only Twi but every single creature you've met. Quit acting like this is some stage play, it isn't!"

The truth bombs were firing in all sorts of directions as James was assaulted by them in the crossfire. He immediately had to figure something out to give him "I-I'll tell her everything about me and my purpose once I'm done with King Sombra! I swear!"

"Delaying the solution will only make the problem come sooner." his voice of wisdom called out to him, "But seeing Twilight loving somepony that isn't who they say they are, to begin with...it hurts me. You only love her because she's your 'favorite character', not because of who she is on the inside. "

"That's not true!" he quickly took a firm stance in front of him, "She helped me through some tough times, even if she didn't directly help me at all! These few years of seeing her every weekend put a smile on her face. The struggles she had to face, the problems she had to solve, everything. Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to get to tell know her outside the T.V. screen. I'll tell her when the time is right!"

"If that's so, tell me this," he shook his head to get the tears off of his face, "What I said back then at the restaurant remains true; what will you do when you're done with this whole mission? Are you simply going to leave us, leave Twilight, and go back to the world where you'll see us all as fictional? Is it all just about the money? How about one morning and everycreature sees you vanish, how will it take a toll on Twilight? So, what will you do in the future?"

"I..." he was a complete loss of words, hearing what Shining said made him have doubts about his motivation into saving the show, "...I have nothing to say at the moment..."

"Just like you said," he slowly placed his muscular hoof on Mobius's side and smiled, "You'll just have to see what fate has in store for you."

"Shiny, I think it's time we head back now!" a voice from a few feet called out to Shining, it was Cadance who was just beside Twilight after they took a small walk.

"Perfect timing..." he walked over to his lovely wife and turned to Twilight for a quick second, "If he tries anything to disturb you, just write me a letter and I'll come to you asap!"

"Don't worry about him Shining, I'm just glad you were able to talk to him in a civilized manner," she trotted back to Mobius' side, trying to see why he was zoning out in front of her, "Mobi? What's wrong? What did my brother tell you?"

"D-Don't worry about it..." he muttered back at her, "Let's just g-go now..."

"I...I have no clue what to think now, I just replied I'm halfway done with my work here. What will happen when I finish it? Will I vanish into thin air? Will Discord finally reveal everything in his plan to the six? And, what will happen to me? I'll just be an ordinary kid fresh out of high school with loads of cash on me. I can't stress about this right now, I just need to take it calmly and make it back home for now."

As Shining and Cadance were waiting for the chariot to get a lift back to their palace, Mobius and Twilight boarded the same train back to Ponyville. The ride was going to be very long for them, almost an hour tops. Everything that he had in mind had to be put on hold as he 'yawned' right beside her and slowly rested his head onto Twilight's side. She didn't mind it, so she let him rest his head on her when she returned the favor and clung onto him with her left foreleg. Just as the train entered Ponyville station, she gentle poked him to awake from his nap as they existed together. It was in the middle of the night, so no pony was seen roaming the town. Besides the few ponies who were heading straight home, they were all alone.

"Thanks for getting to meet my family, they may be a tad quirky though." Twilight blushed, before flicking her head and giggling in front him, "I was thinking..."

"Yeah?" he raised a brow.

"I just want to make it up to you after my 'attempt' back at the camping trip."

"Oh?"

"And I always wanted to see your house," she continued her subtle hints, "Perhaps we should?"

"Of course!"

Morning arose amid the dawn of a new day in Equestria, Mobius was lying flat on his bed with his forelegs resting on the back of his head. Twilight was right on his right side, still asleep as ever.

"Man, what a night...I met Twilight's parents, almost got vaporized by Shining Armor only to find out that he knew about me the whole time, and questioned my whole existence and what I'll do once I'm done with my mission, and now I'm going to snuggle up with her IN MY OWN BEDROOM! And with that, my bucket list is complete! Well, there is that one thing, but I don't think that's a possibility. We stealthily roamed around town up to my house and discreetly entered without waking my sister up. But I just couldn't believe that I'm currently snuggling up with Twilight in bed! So warm, soft, and adorable...just next to me..."

While he was staring deeply at the ceiling over his wonderful sleep, two voices suddenly rose up out of nowhere, "Good morning Mobius!"

"Eh?"

He didn't expect it at all, but he didn't feel not one cheek, but two of his cheeks being caught off guard by two, soft and wet lips that made him shiver on sight. He can recognize the voice and kiss from Twilight to his right, but there was something strange about the one on the left. Was there another pony that slept on his bed? The only way to answer that was for him to slowly turn his head to the left and-

"C-COZY GLOW!?" he shrieked out, "W-What are you doing here!?"

"Huh!?" Cozy immodestly locked eyes onto the mare that was across from her as she stood up from the bed, "Princess Twilight!?"

"Excuse me!?" Twilight peeked over at the mysterious pony who was sharing a confused look at her, "Who is this...lost child?"

"No...It can't be!" Cozy pouted, "I was supposed to snuggle with him tonight!"

"What are you talking about?!" Twilight asked, being dumbfounded by this strange filly, "You're just a foal who is probably going through some mixed emotions in her life, go study or something!

"There's no way Mobius could ever be with the likes of you!" She responded with a fierce flare and intensity in her voice, "You're old!"

"Old!? Excuse me! I'm only 27!"

"Oh, so 12 years apart is better than 5?" She crossed her forelegs as Cozy starts scoffing at, "All you old ponies get what they want!"

"I'm not old!"

"Excuse me ma'am, want me to help you cross the street!?" Cozy taunted straight to her face.

"Hey! Keep it down in-" just as Radial opened the door wide open to figuring out who made al the ruckus, she slowly turned deadpanned and witness the 'party' Mobius had in his bed, "...Nope..."

She slammed the door shut, leaving Mobius restless on his bed as to only cover his ears to drown out the heated exchange from Cozy and Twilight.

"Kill...me...now..."

Chapter 18: The Talk

"What the fuck just happened a few days ago?! I just sleep with a princess and a filly on the same bed at the same time?! I hope Equestria doesn't enforce the death penalty. Cozy Glow was staying over at our place after her father didn't come and get her last night, so it was her that Radial Shine is foal sitting! Why didn't she tell me?! So, after that whole scene in bed, Checkmate came knocking at the door and left with Cozy with no knowledge of the event whatsoever."

"In the following days, Cozy Glow started to act way nicer than me than usual, and so was Twilight. It didn't feel off since we were dating, but she seemed to be more attached to me after. Onto some important manners, Radial mentioned that she may have a plan that's all about Lord Tirek. I don't know much but I'll be able to sit down with her once I'm done with some magic lessons with Twilight. The ability to levitate objects depends on the distance that object is and its weight. Levitating oneself was different, it requires the most potent amount of magic and mental strength to even achieve such a feat."

Over at the Friendship Castle library, Mobius had himself elevating himself with his aura as he reached over 10 feet off the ground with his mind concentrated. He even had a chance to go over Starlight's notes on this type of advanced magic. As he slowly descended to the ground, the slow claps of Starlight and Twilight's hooves were to congratulate him on his amazing performance as they jot down notes from their side. The sweat on his face was absorbed by a white towel vigorously dragging across his entire face.

"Wooo! That one was a doozy..." he took another heavy breath before slowly walking over to the mares, "So, how did I do?"

"You did flawlessly as ever!" Twilight took him by surprise with a little peck on the cheek as a small reward, "At this rate, you'll be surpassing Starlight's level of skill!"

"Hehe, I'm a bit jealous of you, kid!" Starlight playfully laughed, "That trick there took me a few years to achieve, and you just did it in a few days. Maybe you could cast restricted magic that Starswirl the Bearded wrote himself."

"Well..." a small grin formed around Mobius' lips, "I don't see myself using time magic at any point in my life."

They exchanged a small laugh for a few seconds before Twilight moved on to another topic on their mind. "So Mobius, I'll be joining my friends to stop Pinkie Pie from playing that horrid instrument she got from Yakyakistan. Maybe after we're done with that, would you care to join me for a day in town together?"

"This episode? That was kind of a snoozer for me, and I'm already wiped out for the rest of the day after that magic lesson. I just need a day to relax for myself."

His smile slowly turned into a frown when Mobius answered, "I'm sorry Twi, but I'll be busy later researching a few things. "

But, Starlight raised one brow as she turned her stare directly at the colt, "Oh? You wouldn't happen to be seeing 'another pony' behind her back, aren't you?"

Mobius was caught off guard by the question, he didn't know how to handle it at first. Believing she's still hung up by the be "N—No, it's nothing like that! I just have something to do with my sister, that's all."

"Enough Starlight, it's completely fine if he doesn't join us." Twilight rests assured Starlight's suspicion, "Mobius would never cheat on me behind my back, won't you?"

"Yes, I would never in my whole life!" Mobius gave her a reassuring smile, "Let's just forget what happened that night with you and that other pony with me in bed."

Starlight's mouth almost dropped to its limits with her eyes bulging out of complete horror, "Y-Y-You did WHAT!?"

"GOD! WHY THE FUCK AM I SAYING THAT!?"

Twilight tried to derive away from Starlight's mindset as she moved Mobius to the side with her magic lifting him off, "N-N-Nevermind what he said, Starlight! I want to know your progress in Jo Amon, so what do you got for us!?"

"Oh...alright...I do have something about him," she turned her head away to look into her notes, giving Mobius a little fright on his face.

"Oh really?" Twilight acted pretty much invested as to get Starlight away from Mobius' outburst, "What have you figured out?"

Starlight pulled out one piece of paper as she began to explain. "Well, recently I've been doing some tests around, and I may have a lead on their whereabouts of him."

"Oh shit..."

"R-Really? What exactly did you test out?" Mobius acted clueless as ever, keeping the tension in his head.

"A simple spell to track changes in the ether field, specifically warp gates, and I've spotted a few traces of said warp gates around the forest area. This creature may have access to some powerful magic." she added, "I may be able to track him down if he tries to open another warp gate, but I don't know when he'll open another one."

He asked her once more, keeping a straight poker face, "W-What do you plan to do to him once you spotted him?"

"I was thinking to capture him and take him into questioning; There's still so much we don't know about. We don't even know his full agenda," answered Starlight, before packing up her papers in a bag she carried on her back, "One doesn't just stumble upon Chrysalis in the forest and proceed to reform her, I believe something bigger is in play here."

"I...see..."

"Don't think of it too much, Mobius." Assured Twilight, giving Mobius a comforting shoulder rub with her right foreleg, "As long as he doesn't unleash some creature like Tirek or King Sombra out in the wild, we should just leave him be. I'll get back to Sunset Shimmer after I stop Pinkie from the blasted instrument!"

Twilight and Starlight scurried out of the library and left Mobius alone to sink in all of the breaking developments going down. He was panting hard, seemingly containing his stressfulness in check and taking a bit longer to exit the library and out of the castle.

"Shit, this second half of the season is kicking into a hard mode for me! First, Twilight and Cozy met unexpectedly in my bed, then Starlight is catching up on me. I may have to refrain from using the fast travel, for now, this is killing me already and we haven't even reached the ninth season yet! I just, need to collect myself and take a nice peaceful walk along the park. The trail along the park wasn't too crowded at all, just a couple of ponies either on the turf enjoying a picnic or some walking alongside the trail."

Whenever things get pretty stressful, the best course of action would be to take a long walk outside and recollect one's self. As for Mobius, he did just that, taking a fine stroll with his satchel on his back as he passed by a few ponies to the sides. He had to get away from everything just to take it all in. He spotted an empty bench in a secluded area where no pony was around, that was the perfect spot for him to sit back and relax outside. Plopping himself onto the right edge of the bench, Mobius took a deep breath inhaling the fresh air and exhaling.

"Finally, I've been needing a place to relax..." he sank his back onto the hardwood bench as he soaked in the fresh air of the outdoors, "It's like...I'm getting sleepy..."

He yawned before his eyes became drowsy from a sudden flash of exhaustion, followed by his head bobbing up as he tried his best to stay awake. Mobius at first thought of this as extreme fatigue over his excessive magic casting a little while ago, but he gave it some more thought before he quickly knew exactly what was going on.

"...Ah crap...what does he want from me...now?" were his last words before he quickly shut his eyes and enter a deep sleep on the bench.

Not too long after he appeared on the bench of the park, James was back in his original state with his pajamas on and sitting on his apartment couch. This wasn't all too new to him anymore, so he graciously got used to this now. But, to his surprise, a familiar face sat right beside him, a woman looking very much in shock sitting in an apartment; she wore a white blouse and skinny jeans. Not too long before James recognized the voice and face of the woman.

"Zoey, you're with me this time?"

"What the hell!? James!?" she went into a panic frenzy as she took a closer look at her hands and legs, "I was just in the kitchen as a unicorn, then I grew tired, and now I'm here! Was our whole experience just some large acid trip?"

"No-No, we've just been summoned back to our world in our conscious states," he roughly explained, "I've experienced this when I first stopped Cozy Glow a while ago. Perhaps Discord is giving us a congratulatory gesture?"

"Well, yes and no to be precise!" The third voice echoing was Princess Celestia's, who magical appeared in the empty seat adjacent to theirs as she gave them a warm, welcoming smile. James and Zoey placed their attention on her as they stood silent as ever, "First of all, I just want to congratulate James for managing to stop Chrysalis in her evil ploy and get her to embrace the knowledge of friendship."

"Oh, well It's just what I had to do you know. No biggie!" he giggled while scratching the back of his head. "I thought Discord summoned us here, where is he anyway?"

"He's busy with another client at the moment, but I've already said too much..." her vague answer gave Zoey and James a flustered look, "Secondly, I just want to remind you that you are halfway done with your mission. In the event of things, I would like to give you both one last thing to accomplish your goal. Take a look at your phones if you may?"

The two got out their phones from the back pocket when they stared at another app installed on the home screen, it was a dark square with nothing but the red log of a pony-shaped head inside it. As James tapped on the app, he was immediately stopped by Celestia as she held his right hand with her magic freezing it in place.

"Don't touch it yet! Let me explain!" she ordered before James' hand was freed from her grasp, "This app will bring back King Sombra from his imprisonment. Not only that, but It will summon a portal near his location that will go right to your location. Just in case, I've stopped James from pushing it, but realize that there is no backing out once you've summoned him."

"Woah, you just basically gave us a one-click summon a tyrannical king button?" Zoey curiously asked as she stared deeply at the app icon, "Why this early? We haven't even gotten to Tirek?"

"About that..." Celestia scratched her chin with a foreleg, "...there's been a recent revision in your contracts that may or may not benefit you for the future of the show."

"Hmm? Revision? Did something happen?!" Zoey bit her lower lip as anxiety boiled up.

"What exactly are you going on about?" asked James, not to be too stressed about what was about to come. "Is their anyone that needs saving? We don't recall anycreature else in the story that needs reforming."

"It's not about that, it's regarding Lord Tirek." Celestia corrected him, "Discord and I talked it out, and we determined that Tirek isn't fit to learn the power of friendship. Although we may not know how you may go about it, we're giving you the chance to skip him and move onto King Sombra."

James and Zoey stared at each other in utter silence, trying to process what shocking news Celestia had to share with them. The news that they no longer had to reform Tirek sent an eerie dread down their spine.

"What do you mean? You're just going to let him rot in Tarturus then?" putting out her hands, Zoey had to confirm what she said was true. "We were just planning a way for him to change for the better."

Celestia turned her head down to show empathy, "I'm sorry Zoey, there's just no way he could ever change; he's a creature of pure destruction. Yes, King Sombra is no different, but even he would want to rule Equestria with an iron hoof. But Tirek, no, all he wants is to drain Equestrian magic and use it for himself. I've rewatched the season 4 finale, and it was brutal!"

"That may be true, but just realized that I've managed to stop Chrysalis from her little revenge plan all by myself, and all I did was showed her a few clips and made Thorax berate her in front of her people." the argument against this notion came from James, arms folded, "Even if we wanted to save Sombra, we would have to throw everything we have for Tirek and start all over. "

"Really? What do you plan on doing for his sake?"

Zoey went in and handled the explanation in the form of a question, "Answer me this princess, what's the only thing Lord Tirek has an affinity for?"

"I'm at a lost myself..." Celestia couldn't come up with the appropriate answer as she cringed, "I have seen countless possibilities, read multiple texts, and even browsed google on stuff. I just couldn't find any possible way Tirek likes..."

"For crying out loud, it's Scorpan! His brother!" Zoey screeched out from her lungs, "We'll find his brother to get him to see his mistakes and help him teach him the power of friendship! How dense are these cartoon characters are!?"

"Oh...Scorpan? I never really thought of him, I thought that medallion Tirek gave Discord was just for show?" She blankly spoke out as Celestia rebounded from her confusion, "But, Scorpan hasn't been seen anywhere in Equestria or in other lands. If you want his help, you would need to locate him first."

"He's probably somewhere outside the Equestrian soil, but isn't there some magic spell to track his location?"

"There are plenty that requires an extensive amount of time to locate him, that is if he's even alive." she stated, "I will speak to Discord about this manner, as for you Zoey..."

"What about me?" Zoey responded with a curious look on her face.

"There's one important thing I must discuss with you, meaning James will be returning to Equestria shortly."

James made a flustered-looking face at Celestia's warning, "What do you mean something important?"

But before he could get an answer, he saw his arms and body getting transparent as he was about to return to his unicorn body on the park bench. Leaving Zoey and Celestia all alone as she was clueless about what was going on being alone with Celestia.

"So, what's up? What do you need from me that's so important?" Zoey asked her straight up from the couch.

Answering her question, Celestia formed a small smile as she continued, "I hope you cleared your schedule today because your aptitude training starts now."

He simply embraced it as his entire vision went completely blank, feeling groggy from exiting his original world. But rather than waking up right away, Mobius kept his eyes shut as an odd sensation kept him from opening his eyes. It felt comforting and warm, like a soft pillow that somehow got on the bench with him. The right part of his body from his cheek to his torso was well pressed onto something.

"Hmmmm, I don't know what this is, but I like it! It's like a warm, smooth, pillow that stumbled upon..."

He immediately got the shivers when something, like a hoof-like appendage, came and softly caressed his head. Mobius could be thinking of who was comforting on the bench when he smiled.

"Twi...you didn't have to do this in public, but I appreciate it," he drones out loud, "I could go for your kisses right now..."

"Maybe if I was Twilight, which I'm not."

"Huh!?" Mobius had his eyelids pop open as he assessed the situation seeing a pony that was not Twilight by her slender black hooves and green eyes, "Chrysalis!? What are you doing here!? And why are you doing this to me!?"

"Well," Chrysalis used her horn to slide him a few inches to get some space between them, "I just have old habits tending to new hatchlings when they're asleep. I just came here to catch a breath from stuff."

"Stuff? What kinds of stuff?"

She answered with a hiss, but slowly went back to a soothing voice, "All of these lessons on friendship and whatnot! I understand what's written on paper, but never the practice it comes with it! Do I have to bake cookies to make friends!? How does tending injured critters help me make friends!? Design a dress!? For what!? None of it makes sense to me!? If all of those are what you need to do, then ill be gladly do it."

"I see...stuck on the deeper meaning behind friendship?" Mobius recuperated from his slumber, looking forward at the ponies passing by from the distance, "All of Twilight's friends are doing is showing you what makes them...them. Passing down the key components to friendship for you to use along the way. Tell me this, what is the kindest thing to do to an animal in trouble?"

"I would say to treat it with the appropriate procedure for the given situation." She answered, making Mobius nod in silence. "But what does that have to do with making friends?"

"It's not just making friends, it's about how to apply social skills to develop certain bonds with on another." Mobius gave her a bit more context on the lessons. "It's like love, but without the intimacy. Being honest makes you trustworthy, being generous makes others see you as a wholesome creature, making mistakes along the way may bring laughter with a group, treating others in tender car reveals the kindness in your heart, how you're committed to some creature makes you loyal, and all together brings in the magic of it. You understand what they mean in the textbooks, but you need to find your own definition of friendship. It's no one meaning behind it."

Chrysalis took a little while as she took time to process what he had to say, but she raised her forelegs seeing the holes through, "Maybe I'm not understanding it because of my appearance. I'm probably the only changeling that remains this way, and I'm too stubborn to change"

"Who cares what your appearance is, that doesn't mean you can't learn about friendship. You're fine the way you are!" Mobius took her by surprise by patting her on the back with his right foreleg.

"I...I thank you..." She gave a warm thanks in return, curiously looking at his face for a moment, "It's unusual, but I'm getting this feeling I've met you somewhere before."

"You have?" he retracted his foreleg off of her back as a nervous sweat started to form around his forehead.

Chrysalis nodded, "It's probably just the way you speak, or something more. But never mind that now, you've helped me with my issues and I'm reluctant to help you on your endeavors."

"Woo, that was close. At least I could worry about one less creature figuring out who I am. However, could Chrysalis even help me with the 'issue' I have?"

"Well...I do have something bothering me, but it's a bit embarrassing." he nervously grinned, looking away for a tad bit, "I don't think you'll be any help at all."

"Oh please, you're getting exclusive assistance from a changeling, you better accept it!" she assured him. "Now, what is bothering you?"

It was rather unfortunate that James was in this situation, seeing how these sorts of things are only found in harem animes and result in endless antics with multiple girls trying to date the main character. He hoped that he isn't like those main characters in this cartoon universe.

"Okay then," Mobius was opening up to his embarrassing little problem, "You're aware of me and Twilight's relationship status, no?"

"Yes I'm aware," she answered.

"You see...there's this other pony who--"

"--Ah! I see another pony has caught your eyes and you want me to do something about it." Chrysalis smiled with her fangs showing.

"Wait just a dang minute! Does she plan to feed on Cozy Glow's love of me?! Well, it would solve my problem...NO! I'm not putting her on anymore harm even it's emotional damage."

"No!" Mobius stopped her as his shout made her turn to him, "I don't mean to feed on her love!"

"What? I don't plan on doing that in the first place!" she defended herself, "I understand 'some' principles of love, even if most of it's just for a food source. Tell me more about this other pony who's into you."

"Her name is Cozy Glow, and her mother recently divorced her father. They moved from Manehatten all the way here and I've been hanging out with her ever since. I guess my caring nature and kind heart was enough for her to fall in love with me." Mobius explained it in a nutshell.

"Ahh...I understand it now!" Chrysalis' pupils looked up as she pondered out loud, "I've studied plenty on the subject. Typical teenage hormones are quite the difficult time for a filly, especially at your age. She got guts if she thinks she could win over Princess Twilight herself."

Mobius couldn't cringe so hard in his life, keeping his painful smile up, "Umm...about that...she isn't that young persay..."

"Oh? Somepony older? Well, you do have an interest over--"

"Hey, Mobius, who's this you're speaking to?"

The stray voice came from right in front of them, it was coming from Applebloom and was accompanied by Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Cozy Glow. In just some miracle, Mobius was relieved to see four familiar faces who stood in front of them as Chrysalis was curious to spot these four foals together. But, Applebloom cut the silence early as she immediately noticed who was sitting right next to him on the bench.

"Wait just a gawrsh darn moment! That's Queen Chrysalis!" she gasped, pointing her foreleg to the changeling, "What in tarnation is she doing sitting with Mobius at the park! Does she have you under some spell?"

"No Applebloom! Chrysalis is good now!" Sweetie Belle was eager to calm her down as she used her magic to lower the earth filly's hoof, "Rarity just told me last week that she's a student at the school of friendship."

Scootaloo, who seemed to have a hint of suspicion on her face, slowly asked, "But...it's a bit strange to see you two sitting together here. What's going on here!"

"M-Mobius...don't tell me..." Cozy kept staring at him and Chrysalis sitting uncomfortably close to eachother on the bench as she panic, "Is she in on this too!?"

Internally, Mobius was screaming out of his lungs trying to get away from this coincidental meet-up. It was convenient, but it was still rather awkward seeing Cozy Glow getting the wrong idea once again. He couldn't just get out of this situation, he had to embrace it as a chance.

"Cozy Glow! I'm sure you know who Chrysalis is, huh?" he gestured his hoof to reveal Chrysalis staring peculiarly at her, "Chrysalis this is Cozy Glow. She was the one I found all alone in an orphanage in Manehatten, and also..."

"Really?" Chrysalis turned to him, looking a bit confused and somewhat appalled by Cozy's presence, "Is this the one who has a crush on you? I mean, It was a bit bizarre seeing Twilight dating somepony almost half her age but still."

"Crush! What kind of silly accusation are you getting at?!" sheepishly trying to hide something, Cozy fiddled with her turf with her hoof dragging across it.

"Oh...this is a bit awkward...we'll leave you three alone!" Applebloom nervously blurted out as she zipped out of sight.

She was then followed by Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle leaving trails of dust as soon as the two ran in a direction. Mobius was a bit confused by their unnatural speed. As for Cozy Glow, she was staring amidst the eyes of Chrysalis when they locked eyes on eachother.

"So...what do you plan on doing with her?" curiously asked Mobius, trying to get an answer from the silent changeling.

Chrysalis responded, "I would like to speak to her in private, so will you kindly make your leave Mobius. I'll be done with her in no time."

"I don't know what she's going to say to Cozy, I just hope that whatever it is would get her to ease off."

He left the bench and took a stroll back to town to leave Cozy Glow all alone with the changeling that made headlines all over the newspaper. Cozy didn't know what to do or say to her, she stood on the ground in a straight posture as her teeth started chattering.

"W-What do you want from m-me?"

Chrysalis, however, was giving out a carefree smile as she offered her to sit right next to her, "You are the only few ponies around here who are willing to engage in conversation with me. Here, let's chat for a bit."

The filly wasn't eager to sit right next to who appeared to be a former villainous that bent on taking over Equestrian. But, something compelling happened when she proceeded to float up to gain enough height to sit right next to her. Cozy carefully spoke softly like she was in the presence of Celestial herself, "If Mobius is fine sitting next to you, then I should be too. Now, what is it that you want from me?"

"This Mobius, are you really in love with him?" The changeling started with a bold question to the filly, making her fidget around with her two hooves looking away from her, "Don't try to hide it, I can sense it from a mile away."

"Oh, you have?"

Chrysalis nodded, "You know he's with somepony he deems is the one for him, even if that pony is Princess Twilight herself."

"Twilight..." Cozy scrunched up her voice in frustration over the mere mention of that name, "No fair she gets to be with somepony I like! I make a better match for him!"

"Surely, you must understand how much he loves Twilight," the changeling slowly comforted her with a small head par, "They generate much more love than ever, I can sense it. However, while you're determined to be with him now, you need to think about this long-term."

"Long-term?" Cozy repeated her unusual evaluation, "What do you mean by that?"

It was until Chrysalis began explaining in detail, "While Twilight may be a perfectionist when it comes to saying, planning out lessons or performing princess-related tasks, she's a mess when it comes to balancing her responsibilities as a Princess and her personal life. I remember her friends mentioned that she went crazy for trying to find a friendship problem to write to Celestia, but failed to realize that it caused her mental instability."

"I guess so..." Cozy began to open up to her as she nodded. "But what does that have to do with my situation?"

"While you may be too young for a serious relationship at the moment, there's still the future to look up to..." after Chrysalis finished her evaluation, she slowly lowered her head to Cody's ear and whispered, "Maybe Twilight's responsibilities could overweight her relationship with him that results in their breakup. I give them a few years tops..."

"Huh?!" She was a bit freaked out by her sudden whispers from her ear, but Cozy slowly began to understand where Chrysalis was going, "You're saying I should hang on until Twilight breaks up with him and I can take him for myself!"

"That's right! This is the secret every mare has been dying to find out to obtain their ideal stallion. I just happened to pass on this knowledge to you, well, I read it in a book written by Princess Cadance..." Chrysalis gave her a sneaking little giggly, "You're a stunning filly who could've easily won the hearts of many colts your age, but you derive from that path and went with who you feel is suitable for your heart. Just hang on for a while as their relationship unravels. Antagonizing her already would only make things worse, so let her be happy until that day comes."

"Yes... Yes, I see!" A growing smile formed on Cody's lips as she was opening up more of herself, "Thanks Chryssi!"

"Chryssi?" She turned a blind eye over that unusual nickname Cozy just called her, "What gives shortening my name?"

"Well, I just think it's appropriate to call you a nickname now that we're friends!" She answered back.

"Friends? I guess you could say that...but how does talking to you about your problems and giving you advice make us..." before she could finish that last strain of thought, Chrysalis's eyes widen as her expression grew to an exponential level, "I understand now, this is how you make friends!"

"Geez, you sure you're not the Princess of Love?" Cozy joked around with her face all chuckling, "Because I feel like you do more than what she could ever do."

"I did trap her in the deepest parts of Canterlot and ruined her wedding." Chuckled Chrysalis, "But I'm not an expert on love at all, I understand the textbook definition and from other ponies. "

"Well, do you love anyone?"

"I love my changelings that I raised since hatchlings..." she answered bluntly, "Does that count?"

Cozy shook her head, "Not exactly, I mean someone you fell in love with."

"I did...a long time ago..." Chrysalis' lively expression turned bleak at the second Cozy asked, "You could say they are to blame for me becoming a ruthless queen. But now, I may have found another that may be suitable to be my lover. It just never occurred to me the moment we first met."

"Oooo! Do tell! What's he like?" Cozy jumped from her seat to beg for the changeling's answer.

"I never thought I'm spilling my deepest secrets to some filly," she chuckled, "He tried to stop me from doing something that would be the end of friendship and Equestria. I was eager of stealing the elements of harmony, and I was almost close as well. But, he captured me, chained me up in front of my hive, and showed me that I was missing out on learning about friendship."

Cozy stared longingly as she found herself dumbfounded by Chrysalis' story, "Wow...I guess love comes in many forms? Do you know where he is, maybe we can look for him?"

"Look for him?" A smile brought Chrysalis to a sheepish blush around her cheeks, trying to contain herself, "No, we shouldn't bother to find him. I think I'll surprise myself if we see each other again..."

After strolling across town and enjoying some snacks at the Sugar Cube along the way, Mobius reached the front door of his house and opened the door using the key to unlock it. Noticing the sheer emptiness that was left, he didn't think much as he went inside his to lay flat on the bed.

"I'll just have to trust whatever Chrysalis is doing to keep Cozy Glow clinging onto me. Now, where on this Equestrian Earth is my sister at?! She said she was in the kitchen before she sat next to me on the couch back home. I guess I'll just wait until she makes dinner. But first, I just want to relax for the rest of the day."

While looking deeply at the shelf of his room, he could notice something off lately as he kept on staring at it. Something very important was missing, and he could've sworn it was placed at the location he was staring at. It clicked to him as he got up from his bed and walked over to the shelf.

"Hey! Where's that letter Lord Tirek wrote?"

Tarturus: Middle level

A lone centaur patiently sat on one corner of his cage, seemingly waiting for something to happen. He looked frail from his appearance, but he was pretty much as powerful as any creature could ever be. He was Lord Tirek, and his patience grew tired from the lack of talking. Only the screams and roars from the other monsters who dwell within this prison were the only ambiance he could listen to,

"Hrrgh!" he groaned in utter despair, "When is that reply letter ever showing up?! It's been almost...well...I couldn't tell because I have no concept of time here! But it feels like forever! Perhaps some smart pony figured out it was from me and forward it to Twilight. I shouldn't have signed with my name, to begin with!"

"There you are, you don't look like the one that ravaged through Ponyville..."

"What?"

The strange voice came from behind him, and he turned around to see a mysterious-looking figure from outside his cage. It appeared to be a feminine-sounding voice, based on Tirek's assumption of course.

"What creature are you?!" Tirek questioned the strange refigure that wore all black, "How did you get past Cerberus?!"

"Well, I didn't enter from the gate silly!" She giggled, pulling out a strange rectangular slate from her pockets and shook it in front of Tirek's face far enough out of his reach, "I use this! Pretty near to get around this fantastic world!"

"Impressive as you may sound, but I have yet to know your name." He mumbled, "I am..."

"Lord Tirek! I know!" The figure then pulled out another object from he either pocket, revealing to be an opened up envelope that he recognized with his shocked expression, "I saw in your letter, and you want some assistance in draining Equestrian magic."

"Oh, you're the one who got my letter?"

"Yes, and I want to help out as much as I can." She formally bowed down to show her utmost loyalty. "I have magic that could assist you, all I'm asking is your 100% cooperation."

It took a while for Tirek to think this through, still sitting in his cage looking frustrated as ever, "Fine, we can work something out. But, I just need to know your name at least?"

"You can address me as Noa Amon, and here's what I have planned for your conquest..."

Chapter 19: Hearth's Warming Havoc, Part 1

"The second I saw snow blanketing the town of Ponyville, I knew immediately that it was nearing that time of year; Hearth's warming. Oh boy, I wonder what I'll do in my first hearth's warming celebration well...ever. Based on the context everypony is giving out, It should roughly be a few hours before Twilight dismisses the students for a break and when Gallus sabotages the tree. I don't know what will change based on my current alterations. But before worrying about that, there's some important business I and my sister had to join in when we got a phone call Discord."

Mobius and Radial both sat at the dinner table when his phone was already on a call with Discord. Making sure to put it on speaker mode for her to hear what Discord was going to say.

"First things first, we'll contact you both once we've located Scorpan. It may take a while, so just hold on until then. It's Hearth's Warming season, have you two made any plans."

"We honestly haven't made or thought about what we'll do..." Radial scratched her chin, "We were just going to piggyback onto Twilight's celebration with her family."

"That seems to be the plausible way, but before all else, you two need to look at this!"

Suddenly, an envelope appeared out of the thin air above them as it drifted through the air and landed flat on the table. Using his magic, he carfully broke the seal of the envelope to reveal a well-written letter with a signature he couldn't believe was created.

"This is addressed to...mom and dad!?" he gasped, skimming through the letter's contents.

"Not from your actual parents, of course, I've forged a letter addressed to your parents about not coming home for the holidays. I've used some references from your actual parent's penmanship to perform some precise replicas. You don't have to worry about being here when all the students leave for the holidays."

The colt sighed, "I guess that makes sense, maybe can I get Twilight to 'comfort' me for the rest of the winter break. Share a glass of hot chocolate, cuddle by the fireplace, read..."

"Ugh, I get it, you two are a thing..." barfed Radial in her seat, making some gestures of disgust, "How is the tree of harmony doing inside there? She seemed rather quiet since Chrysalis' reformation."

"I'm doing fine! Thank you! I just happened to use this spare time gathering knowledge about your world, browsing through the web and videos. I quite like it here, I don't mind spending the rest of my life inside this device!"

"We'll have to discuss that another time, now is there anything else I should be aware of?"

"Just answer me this Discord, Celestia mentioned you were busy with another client. Who exactly are you referring to?" He asked with a curious expression on his face.

"You don't need to worry about that! Just another poor soul that requires assistance from me! Anyways! Have a wonderful Hearth's Warming you two!"

The call ended leaving his phone to return to the home screen and back into the pocket dimension as Mobius reached out for the letter. He knew that he wasn't going to see his parents in his current situation, but it would be nice to see them once again. Just when he was preparing to head out, something still bugged him.

"Hey Radial, what was that thing Celestia was telling you about?" Mobius asked her straight up and got off his seat in the process. "She sent me back when she kept you around for a while."

"Well there's no point in lying so I'll tell you," she was content with giving him the truth and answered, "She found that I have an aptitude and I had to undergo some training for it!"

A smile grew on his face when he heard that news from her, "That's amazing! Looks like you're going to be put to speed with me! So, what kind of power do you have?"

"That part I'm not telling you yet!" She refused to answer Mobius, to which he responded in a reluctant grumbled.

"Alright...but can you explain where Lord Tirek's letter went?" Mobius went for another question on his mind

"Maybe I have, maybe I didn't..." Once again, she kept that dubious enough to raise suspicion from Mobius.

"Crap! Don't tell me she did what I think she did?!"

Mobius grunts followed by a slow sigh in his voice, "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Trust me, I don't know what I'm doing myself!" the forceful laugh coming from Radial gave him a dread of anxiety, "Don't worry, these things take like two episodes to resolve. Best case we'll keep him around for season 9, worse case he'll terrorize Equestria while growing exponentially."

The festive time in Ponyville was already showing itself as the blanket of snow covered the land and the citizens were setting up Hearth's Warming decorations at the local shops and around the light posts. All seemed well except for the empty expression on Mobius's face. He knew his parents weren't going to show up, but he was going to commit another fabrication of his life to Twilight and every creature in his peers. He just reached the main entrance to the school and roamed the near-empty hallways when he was interrupted by a familiar face who followed him from behind for a few seconds before coming right in front of him.

"Yo! Excited for winter break?" Sandbar gave him a wonderful greeting, but changed his expression when he saw his frowning face and lowered his head, "Huh? What's up with you? You don't seem like yourself."

"Everything's alright," he replied with an expressionless greeting, "Happy Hearth's Warming to you, I guess it's time you tell Silverstream your feelings?"

"Uh...y-yeah I will!" sheepishly, Sandbar cracked a smile, "But maybe on Hearth's Warming Day, It'll be special in a way."

"But she'll be at home by then, better to do it now than never." Mobius teased the sheepish earth colt as he staggered within the hallway

He left Sandbar stunned by his grim reminder that he won't be able to see Silverstream for a whole 14 days. He clammed up as he walked along the hallways.

He opened the twin doors to her office and no surprise, Twilight was very busy with stacks of paperwork on her desk. She noticed the one who came in unannounced and dropped everything on her desk to teleport right in front of him and gave him a warming hug.

"Oh! Happy Hearth's Warming Mobius!" she pressed her cheeks onto his, but before she noticed a strange behavior he was sporting, "Hmm? This isn't your usual self, you look sad! Why are you sad at this time of the season?"

"It's something that I'd expect to happen, but I never thought it would come true," the poor colt got out the opened envelope addressed to his parents and opened it up with his magic, "Take a look."

The letter Twilight grabbed with her magic had her curious as she read through the letter's content with her eyes completely shocked the whole way reading it. It almost made her tear up on the spot, but she was more worried about Mobius when he made a long sympathetic sigh. Her face began to frown as well.

"Your parents aren't going to show up for Hearth's Warming?" she saw Mobius almost teary-eyed while facing away from her, "Oh no, are you sure you're going to be alright with you and your sister?"

"It's going to be alright." he sniffed a little, "I'm happy that they're willing to take their time writing to me even in the holidays. I and my sister could manged with the two of us. "

"No-No-No...Don't feel sorry for yourself!" Twilight wrapped her front hooves around his neck and went over the top of his head to comfort him, "I'll make sure to plan something me and my friends could do for you to have the best Hearth's Warming ever!"

"Thanks..." Mobius rested his cheek on her soft chest, "I hope I won't be a bother to..."

"Excuse me, Headmare Twilight!"

The voice coming from the front door was from Chrysalis, who was accompanied by Ocellus as they witness the loving hug being shared by Twilight and Mobius from the distance. The two immediately broke off their long-enduring hug getting flustered by the changelings' unannounced arrival.

"It's you two! Happy hearth's warming to you!" Twilight smiled, "S-So what brings you two here at this time of day?"

"It's about Chrysalis," answered Ocellus, pointing to the queen looking sheepish than usual, "She wants one thing for Hearth's Warming, and It's virtually impossible to get!"

"What does she want then? Surely it isn't that expensive or convoluted for a Princess like me!" assured Twilight, confident in herself.

"You see Twilight, I only wish to see Jo Amon once more..." Chrysalis blurted out from her mouth, "I just want to greet to have a happy hearth's warming and tell him about my time at school."

Acting completely clueless, Mobius raised a brow in confusion, "That human who stopped you from stealing the elements of harmony? I still think he's sketchy..."

"You want to see Jo Amon again? That sounds sweet, but," the princess bit her lower lip as she thought about something, "We don't have a clue as to his whereabouts. Starlight tried tracking him down with some traces of magic he left behind, but she has no progress whatsoever."

"That's too bad..." Chrysalis turned her head downwards with a big sigh, "We tried deploying changelings out in the forest to locate him ourselves, but we couldn't find him."

She had to lay out the cold truth to her face, giving her some hope to believe. "I would love to try to locate him, but with the two-week break and my plans for the festivities, I don't exactly have much time."

Ocellus and Chrysalis both left the office disappointed by the heartbreaking news, but Mobius, carefully pondered to himself some very risky ideas in his head. If it means making Chrysalis happy at this special time of year, then he would gladly make her wish come true. He would have to add that part to his list of making the best Hearth's Warming ever.

"Yup, this is all familiar to me; the common room of the school's dorm, students chatting amongst eachother, and a huge tree decorated with tinsel ornaments, and that big ass flaming heart on top that I forgot the name of. It's all the same her, but how will I and Chrysalis's presence change the whole scene?"

When the majority of ponies were eager to leave the common room for their two-week break for the holidays, only seven students remained sitting around, including Chrysalis. They were simply enjoying themselves chatting about the holiday break, while Chrysalis tried to listen to their thoughts.

"Two weeks off of school, think you can handle it Ocellus?" Grinned Gallus.

"I'm fine...I'm worried about Chrysalis, however," she friends her head to face Chrysalis sitting right next to her, "She wants to see Jo Amon before we leave."

"Him? He's some strange dude." added Sandbar, "Does he even celebrate Hearth's warming?"

"He is not a pony from the looks of it" Smolder had to give him the news, "I remember Headmare Twilight saying that he was a...he-you-main?"

The bovine tried to correct her and her pronunciation "No, Yona think it's humane!!"

"That's not right either!" Cried Silverstream, "I think it's humid!"

"It isn't humid outside, It's snowing!" The annoyed look on Chrysalis's face as she sighed, "And it's not that, he's a human! But, I wish he was here before I leave for the holidays."

"I don't know Chrysalis, if Twilight mentioned she can't find anything she means it." Mobius carefully picked his words, "Looks like you just have to pray for a miracle."

Rainbow Dash hovered over the group as to abruptly stop their conversation. "Hey! You eight! Shouldn't you be going home to your families soon?"

"Augghh!" A sarcastic groan came out from Mobius's melodramatic voice, "Madame, you wound me!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight zipped past her to give her a big scolding, "How insensitive of you! Why do you have to act like that in front of my special pony?!"

"What?!" The flustered expression on Rainbow's face had her dumbfounded. "I just told them to go home to their parents—"

"—Hrrngh!", Mobius cried in agony like he was shot by an arrow to the chest

"I said stop it!" She came to the rescue and teleported next to Mobius to give him a comforting hug, "His parents aren't coming home for the holidays; he's going to be all alone for Hearth's warming!"

The group gasped in the room as they heard the shocking news coming from the headmare. Mobius on the inside was chuckling throughout this whole scene.

"Dude, that's a bummer..." Frowned Sandbar.

"That's terrible! Being without your family for the holidays is so heartbreaking!" Ocellus felt some sympathy for him.

"At least he has parents..." a faint monomer cane from the beak of Gallus,

"Well, I didn't know that!" Rainbow Dash was trying to prove her guilt with her. "You never told me that Twi!"

"Dashie...just go home..." Twilight seemingly pushed her out the door with her magic as she gave her some final words. "Alrighty! Time for your kids to pack up and go to the train station. Mobius will be staying with me of course~"

"Alright, the students are heading out to their dorms to pack while I'm just within proximity of the crime scene. At any moment now, Gallus is about to disrupt the flaming heart. I need to act like nothing's going wrong at all, or I'll draw suspicion. Here goes...any second..."

He slowly approached Twilight from the side, getting her attention away from the tree, "So Twi, what do you have planned for--"

"Ah-Ah-Ah!" she cutted him off with a foreleg pressing on his lips. "I'm planning a surprise for you! You better hold off until Hearth's Warming Eve."

After she pulled out her hoof from his lips, he slowly blushed. "W-Well...I hope it isn't something that will change our lives for the rest of our time..."

"So, do you have something to give for that foal Cozy Glow?"

"Huh?!" he blankly stared at her in confusion.

"I mean, she's a lovely little young mare! Our first time meeting wasn't the most ideal..." she cringed over at that part, "But she's quite nice when you get to know her a little."

"You've seen eachother after that...last meeting?" he curiously asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, she was so nice when I visited the schoolhouse one day. It's like she forgets our first meeting like it never happened in her life."

"Well I guess Chrysalis did give her a little chat that one time, I no longer have to worry about two adorable ponies trying to claim me as theirs."

"That's amazing, I want you two to get to know eachother as friends. What else did she talk about?" Mobius curled up with a smile on his face.

"Hehe, it's sorta funny when she started spouting nonsense like your time is precious and enjoy the happy times while it lasts" she was seen giggle with her little laugh. "Such an adorable foal!"

"Well now, I guess it's something. But more importantly, why am I not being swept away in a gooey mess by now?"

"And we're all packed up and ready to leave!" Silverstream came bursting out the door and had her little bag on her when she flew out.

"I don't have to carry much, since I live kinda close by," said Sandbar, carrying a satchel bag on his back and peaking out his head through the door, "Yo Gallus! Are you there?"

"Yeah...I'm here..." the griffon mumbled as he walked at a snail's pace out of the doorway, "I assumed everycreature got their things packed as well?"

"Good you three, we'll see you off at the station after the rest are finished." The headmare reached over to see Mobius' neck angled seeing the flaming heart, "You alright Mobius? I know, the flaming heart of friendship is a sight to see, but you shouldn't strain your neck like that."

He blinked out of his trance at the same time he lowered his neck. "Y-Yes of course!"

"What the hell was that? Gallus didn't try to sabotage the tree? He still sounded bummed even when we saw each other off at the train station. I guess my presence here must have changed his mind on it, or something more sinister is at play. I must be very paranoid, I've still got a few days left until Hearth's Warming Eve— I have to give Twilight the greatest gift ever!"

Tomorrow morning was another day of snow in Ponyville and just a few days left until Hearth's Warming, Mobius awoke from his bed and sprang out to start the day. He grabbed a scarf to wrap it around his neck and a nice warm hat as he opened the door and went out to the town to scope the area. His first stop was checking out the market street for the stalls selling Hearth's Warming-themed gifts and knick-knacks. The crowd was bustling with ponies checking out each stall, but Mobius wasn't in a rush. However, the traffic of ponies cramped together kept him away from the stalls and just looking at the distance.

"Damn, I can't get a good look with these huge crowds." he huffed out his frustration with the crowd, before coming up with a bright idea in his head, "Unless..."

He had to walk discretely away from the crowd and into a dark alleyway with no pony insight to get some privacy, peeked into every corner to observe the scene, and got out his phone from midair. One tap of a button and Mobius was no more, Figure Eight appeared right in his place and stuffed the phone into his satchel bag flying off above the roofs of the town.

"Now we're talking! Let's go scout around the stalls for a while to find that perfect gift!"

Hovering around each stall to observe the nifty gifts displayed, Figure Eight took his time to find a suitable gift for his needs. But after enduring a few minutes flapping his wings in the air, he couldn't seem to find anything good. He softly landed on the thin layer of snow to think of another store.

"Most of the stuff there were plush dolls, figurines, and toys for foals. Not something I see Twilight enjoying as a Hearth's Warming gift. Maybe I'll check around the other stores if they have--"

*BUMP*

It caught him off guard, but a force strong enough to make him drop to the ground and fall to the snow on his side. Whatever bumped him, they seemed to be quite in a hurry when he spotted a pegasus filly wearing heavy snow gear with her light blue curly mane poking out of her beanie sheepishly embarrassed by her run-in with the older colt.

"Oh! I'm so sorry about bumping into you mister!" she apologized, "I need to hurry to get in line for a book!"

"It's Cozy Glow! I never actually met her in this form, but I need to keep it like this is my first time meeting her. She looks like she's in a rush for something?"

"I should be the one apologizing for standing in the middle of the road kiddo!" he smiled back at her, "You mentioned something about a book?"

She nodded, "There's this new novel that was just released for the season, and there are only limited copies at the bookstore here! It's super popular, and I want to give it to...somepony for Hearth's Warming..."

"Holy crap! I'm an idiot! A rare book is a perfect gift for Twilight, well anything she can read is the perfect gift for her. That should've been the first thing I searched."

"The bookstore?" he turned his face to the east side of the market street, "I'm going there myself, want to join me?"

"Umm..." she began to turn her gaze away from Figure Eight, "My dad tells me not to go with strangers, but my name is Cozy Glow..."

"Wait for just a second...you're Cozy Glow?!" he gave her time to nod silently to confirm his suspicion, "You must be that same Cozy Glow Mobius was telling me about a long time ago!"

"Y-You know Mobius!" Cozy gasped from her discovery, "D-Does he talk about me now and then?"

"A few times yeah," he answered back, "Sadly, we don't usually see eachother a lot since he got that new job as the Teachers assistant at the school of friendship. The princess said he was so good, that he was immediately promoted. Isn't that crazy?"

"Yes, new job." Cozy mumbled with an irritated glare on her face, "I guess if you're good friends with him, it should be alright."

"Okay, let's hurry up!"

"This is fantastic, me and Cozy flying side by side to make our way to the bookstore and buying a gift for Hearth's Warming. I have a warm feeling I know who's the lucky pony getting her gift. Just as soon as we made it to the front of the book store..."

They were immediately landed on the ground when they gandered upon the long line of ponies circling the bookstore. It left the two biting their lips overwhelmed by the number of customers. He noticed the poster on the window about a limited edition book with 200 copies available.

"Woah, look at that line!" he exclaimed, "This book must be very popular if it has this many ponies waiting out the door."

Seeing the crowd of ponies had Cozy loath in self-pity, "Oh no, there's no way either of us could get a copy of the book...that line is way too long!"

"No-No! You shouldn't give up before you even tried." The figure looked down at her saddened expression and gave her some, "It may seem that all hope is lost, but there could be the lucky Hearth's Warming miracle that could strike upon you any moment."

"Maybe so, but..." she muffled her soft voice as she looked at the line once more, "My dad told me not to take too long before we take the train to Manehatten in an hour. We were supposed to meet up with my mom..."

The colt raised his brow, seemingly 'interested' in her bad news, "Hmm? Your dad and your mom don't live together?"

"They're divorced," she answered muffling her voice, "But this is our chance to spend the Hearth's Warming together! I can't waste time trying to get a book that's way out of reach now!"

This predicament was troubling Figure Eight, seeing a poor filly trying to buy a Hearth's Warming present for 'somepony' he may or may not know only to be stopped by an overly large line out the doors and a limited time. The guilt was wavering on him, so it only took a few seconds for him to respond with an endearing gesture he thought of on the spot.

"...Perhaps I could buy the book for you?" he suggested to Cozy.

"Thanks, but it's only limited to one per customer from the poster..." she felt appreciated by his friendly gesture, but still defeated inside, "I could find the book in Manehatten, but the lines are probably even longer!"

"Crap, how can I make her feel happy during the jolly time of the year? The book is probably popular around every part of Equestria, and the lines are heaping long. Why can't online shopping be invented in Equestria already? Get your shit delivered in 2 days. Maybe I should give her a lecture on what it means to celebrate Hearth's warming."

"Listen to me kid," he slowly cleared his through as Figure began to educate her, "While you may not be able to get the gift you wanted to give, that isn't the meaning behind Hearth's Warming. It's all about cherishing time with family and friends. It doesn't have to be a particular item that was bought, it has to make you feel happy giving the gift to them as much as they receive said gift. What I'm trying to say is that they'll appreciate anything you give them even though it wasn't intended. Do you understand that at all?"

Mulling over his little pep talk as Cozy pondered deeply from her mind, she then opened up her opinions on it while chuckling, "...I guess you're right, I know for a fact that they'll love whatever I give them! Maybe I'll come up with something to give him after my trip to Manehatten."

"That's the spirit!" Figure playfully shook the top part of her head to rustle it up a tiny bit, "I'll wait in line to get the book, you go back to your dad and spend time with your family."

"Alright, mister, good luck on getting that book!" Cozy happily waved goodbye as she trotted back the other way.

"I'm not anticipating what she'll give 'Mobius' at all, as long as it makes her happy I don't mind getting anything. Speaking of gifts, I see the most daring challenge I've ever faced in this world; waiting in line!"

The castle of friendship was graciously decorated head to toe as Twilight held a meeting with her friends inside the cutie map chamber. All wearing their personalized winter wear and sitting in their assigned seats around the map. Pinkie had her trays of cookies around the table as she passed each of them to her friends. The main focus of the meeting of Twilight, seemingly in a state of panic with her hyperventilating and heavy panting.

"Girls! It's just horrible how Mobius is going to be all alone in Hearth's Warming!" she huffed out, dragging her forelegs across her face, "I said I had something planned for him, BUT I DON'T! This never happened to me in all of my life planning Hearth's Warming, I don't know what to do!"

"Uhh...ain't it obvious Twi?!" asked Applejack, leaning on her seat with her forelegs behind her head and legs pushing on the edge of the map, "Do what others do together in Hearth's Warming."

Gasping for a split second, Twilight blushed over her friend's indication, "N-No! I can't do that to him! I mean, I've only gone far as sleeping with him that one night in his bed--"

"YOU DID WHAAAAAAT!?" in unison, the girls gasped in utter horror with their eyes shocked and staring directly at Twilight.

"I mean...nooooooo, I never did that silly!" she sheepishly tried to save her from a total scandal, "I mean, what are you implying I do, Aj?"

"...Well, I was thinkin' you do what he does during the Hearth's Warming time..." Applejack slowly shrugged whatever Twilight just spilled out of nowhere, "He has a sister, why not ask her about their traditions?"

"That's an excellent suggestion Applejack!" complimented Fluttershy, but she quickly turned over to one mirror discrepancy she discovered, "However, she mentioned she went out to do her own thing when he was young. That could work out, assuming she visits them every Hearth's Warming."

"Excellent idea Fluttershy!" Twilight got up from her seat as she firmly stood tall, "I'll talk to her sister about giving him the best Hearth's Warming ever! I just need to ask her about everything they do during this jolly good time of the year! I'll go straight to her house and--"

"--There's no need for that your majesty!"

The voice was echoing just outside the doors connecting the main hall to the cutie map room, it opened to reveal Radial inviting herself in as her horn held the door handle and pushed them forward. She had a bright smile on her face which gave the girls in the room a peculiar expression.

Rarity turned her neck over to see the heterochromia unicorn walking closer to them. "Radial darling! We were just about to discuss what you do for Hearth's Warming with your family. You must be aware of the letter from your parents?"

"Yes I know, sucks for them not seeing their future daughter-in-law for the holidays." she poked at Twilight, seeing her all red on her cheeks, "I just came here today to talk about what our Hearth's Warming traditions are and how you can incorporate them with your schedule."

"Oh! Do tell! I must know everything!" Twilight shrieked out at the top of her lungs.

"There's this game we play with family members, it's a nice twist on the concept of gift exchange." Radial grinned when she answered Twilight.

"Ooooo! Is it who gets the best gifts out of all of us!" pinkie pie couldn't contain her anticipation over this game Radial mentioned.

She answered putting a hot on her chin, "Something like that, but with a little twist to add that some spice. You'll have to pitch in a present if you want to play that is."

"If it will make Mobius have the best time of his life, we'll all do it!" Twilight was dead set on committing to the game when she brought a little notepad and a pencil out of thin air, "Give me all the rules and stipulations of this game of yours! Pronto!"

"Well actually..." she slowly walked over to Twilight's side of the map, "There's another game we could play, but I don't think but I'm not quite sure if you six are up for it!"

"Come on! If it's a game, then there's surely no way I'm backing down on it!" Clenched Rainbow's hoof to the air when she had a face of determination.

"We'll do anything to make dear Mobius have the best Hearth's Warming with all of us!" Rarity smiled.

"Alright, but don't say that I don't warn you."

"Wooo! That was the longest time I've had to wait in line to buy that book for Twilight. Luckily, I was only 198th in line and scored one! Still, why does a novel titled 'Days of our Daycare' garner so much attention? I've read the synopsis on the back and it's about these two foalhood friends who see eachother again 15 years later working at a daycare and they catch up together as their relationship gets tested. It's critically acclaimed to be the most heart-drenching teen drama of the year. That's the corniest and cheesiest description I've ever read! Was this the book Cozy was trying to give me? And apparently, this is the first entry of the trilogy!"

Entering inside his house coming from the back door, Figure immediately reached out to his phone to switch back into Mobius in a flash. His gift excursion was a long, but worthwhile journey. He did some final preparations wrapping the book with wrapping paper his sister bought yesterday and neatly covering it with a red and green striped design. Slapping the sticker label on the front and writing the recipient's name and his own when he finally finished. Mobius cleaned up from the kitchen table and placed his present in his room for safekeeping.

"Just a few more days until Hearth's Warming Eve, and a day after that for Hearth's Warming day..." he said to himself, "I wonder what crazy antics I'll get myself into..."

Chapter 20: Hearth's Warming Havoc, Part 2

It was almost nearing Hearth's Warming Eve, as most townfolks were scrambling to buy presents last minute before the scores closed down for the next two days. As for Mobius, he was indulging in a few books he gathered from the school library and Twilight's collection researching more lore in this world. Lying flat on the couch and levitating his book above him.

"Hey, I'm back!"

His sister's voice was coming from the front door as she entered with a few shopping bags of multiple sizes in her possession, levitated from her horn. It caught Mobius by surprise when he smushed the book on his face and muffled from the sudden action. He props back himself up sitting in an erect manner and places the book on the coffee table.

"That's a lot of gifts," he distinctly said, "Do you plan on doing something with the girls?"

"Yeah of course, but tomorrow is going to be a special for us!" Radial bounced up when she placed all the bags on the coffee table, "You know what I'm talking about,"

"What are you talking about?"

"You should know, what mom and dad always do during Christmas Eve back home?"

"Drink wine all night and get drunk?" Mobius took a literal guess when his sister shook her head.

"No...the family gets together and we play a little game of..."

"White Elephant!?" blurted Mobius, "We're doing it with the girls tomorrow!? Hell yeah!"

"That's one of them..." Radial covered her granny face with a foreleg, "But yes! I've already given them the rules and told them about the maximum budget. Twilight planned an early Hearth's Warming party since her friends are heading back to their families tonight."

"I love getting gifts from my relatives and stealing the good ones from others. My strategy never changes, buying the best gift for myself and getting it when it's my turn to pick. But getting a gift this late?"

"Don't you worry about finding something last minute, because I've bought you one already?" Lifting a bag from its handle, Radial gently placed it right next to Mobius, "I won't be playing the gift exchange with you, but I'll be playing the second game."

"Second game?"

"Sorry, I've got no time to explain, we got to go in a few minutes."

"We did some final preparations for the gift exchange before we headed out to the castle for the party at 4:00 pm. It'll be early since most of Twilight's friends are leaving for their families for tomorrow's Hearth's Warming Eve. What is this second game she keeps mentioning? I don't really know what else we played except for the gift exchange."

Radial and Mobius got their bag of wrapped presents and their winter scarfs and beanies on as they powered through the cold spell in Ponyville. Most of the citizens outside were heading out as their businesses closed early. A little while before they reached the castle doors from the outside, Mobius gave a few knocks on the door and it immediately opened from the inside. It was Starlight, and she wore a nice pink and blue scarf around her neck. A mug of hot chocolate she kept with her magic on standby.

"Oh! Merry early Hearth's Warming you two!" she greeted, "Come! we're all waiting in the dining room!"

"Starlight, do you plan on coming home for Hearths Warming tomorrow?" Radial had curiously asked her.

"I would...but Twilight insisted I should stay here and locate that human from the camping trip." answered Starlight, taking a sip from a mug of hot chocolate wither her levitating the mug's rim just on her lips, "I've noticed a surge of magic just in a back alleyway a few days ago, but nothing significant yet. This human is up to something. Hey, what's wrong with you two?"

The cold sweats that appeared on Radial and Mobius' foreheads when they were balanced began to shake, keeping a small poker face as they locked eyes for a quick second. It made Starlight a bit uneasy, given how they're staring down at eachother.

"...Well...I shouldn't leave you hanging at the doorsteps, come on in! Are those presents to the girls? Let me organize them so that they can grab them before their departure."

The dining table was just across from the library inside Twilight's castle, and it shows as the two kinds saw a lively table with sweet treats, punch bowls, and loud laughter as the six girls including Sunburst and Spike turned their heads over at the three entering the room. Twilight noticed the colt coming inside the dining room and she teleported from her current position to right n front of him to give him a warm, welcoming hug.

"Merry Hearth's Warming my little Mobi!" she squeezed so hard with her forelegs before she readied her lips and gave him a few kisses on the cheeks, "Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!"

"My heart...I can't...take so much of Twilight's kisses at once!"

"Twilight, let the man breathe!" Spike warned her coming from the seat of the dining table.

Twilight finally gave him one last kiss before clearing up her throat and going to her usual mannerism, "Everypony is accounted for in this early Hearth's Warming celebration, so let's begin with playing the 'White Elephant' game Radial told me about a few days ago!"

Rainbow Dash zipping above the table stopped in front of them as she couldn't contain her excitement over the game, "Happy early Hearths warming you two! Get yourselves settled while we spend as much time as we can before the holidays!"

"After we settled in the party and sampled the snacks and food, we spent time with everypony sharing laughs and good times. It may be only a few days until I get to see them again, but it will feel like a long time. I wonder what the girls brought for the gift exchange?"

A little over an hour later, Radial was just about to begin the gift exchange as she gathered all of the six mares that sat at another round table in the dining room while the rest of them stood by to watch. Each of them got their wrapped presents and placed them in the middle of the table. Mobius sat next to Twilight from his right and everypony had an interesting look on their faces as Radial began as head of the table to relay the rules.

"Let me repeat the rules of this gift exchange; The maximum spending budget for this gift exchange is 30 bits. We first draw a number out of the hat to decide the turn order. The first pony up will choose ONE of the gifts to open up, but on subsequent turns, you can open up a gift from the table or steal a current one in possession. When a gift is stolen by a player, the previous rule will apply to them also. Each gift can only be stolen twice before it's out of play and can't be stolen consecutively; up to three gifts can be stolen per turn. Once everypony opened all the gifts, the first player will have the chance to steal any gift unless it was out of play. If they don't choose to steal or if anypony decides to keep their gift, the game ends..."

"Wow! Such a unique twist to a simple gift exchange in Hearth's Warming!" Twilight beamed up with her face, "This game is fun to play with all of you!"

"Yeah, it does sound exciting getting gifts we don't expect to receive." said Fluttershy, "The second game sounds even MORE fun!"

"What the hell is this second game they keep mentioning?!"

"Enough talk! Let's begin!" Radial quickly leveraged a top hat containing slips of paper inside and prepared to hover it around the table. "Pick a number everypony!"

"This feels exciting already! I want to use my usual mind games to trick you into getting the gift I want! I just need to hope for the best my number is near the middle..."

He used his magic to lift a small slip of paper folded up and unraveled it to reveal his position in the game. Number 4, was just what he wished for as he kept it from prying eyes onto the round table. Starlight and Sunburst were watching from the other table curious as ever of the unusual game being played.

"That gift exchanging game they're playing sounds exciting!" cooed Starlight as her interest piqued in this game, "I wonder what each pony brought for exchanging?"

"Too bad we weren't told about it or else I would've brought something." pondered Sunburst out loud, "Hey Starlight, didn't Radial mention another game?"

With Starlight on the other end of the table, she took another sip of her mug gently placing it down next to her plate of cookies, "Yes she has, but we're going to play it on Hearths Warming Eve."

"We?"

"Yeah, she specifically said to have an equal amount of guys and girls for this one." she continued, "I think Shining Armor and Cadance are joining in as well tomorrow."

"I wonder what this game is about?"

"Whoever has number one will go first!" announced Radial Shine, appointing herself as head of the game.

"I guess it's my lucky day! I'm the first one!" Rainbow Dash squealed as she waved the paper slip with her foreleg. "I can just pick any one of them?"

"Yes, go on!"

The next thing she did was carefully inspect each gift as she was shuffling them around to spot the one that she find interesting for her tastes. Just a little over a few seconds later, Rainbow picked up a flat red box neatly wrapped with a blue ribbon in a festive knot.

"This one! I pick this one!" she blurted out to the table,

Gently tugging the ribbon on one end so that it would unravel itself in one fell swoop. Rarity placed the ribbon to the side and lifted it to the lid of the box as his curious smile led her to...

"This going to be the coolest--" She lifted out a quite large object from the inside of the box as Rainbow cringed over her surprise gift, "--A cupcake baking tray set? Cool...I guess...this must be your gift huh Pinkie?"

"Yup! They're non-stick copper with a nice little sheen to them!" Pinkie answered, "Even the Cake family were dying to get these on sale! Luckily I got them just for the occasion."

"Well, I presume you'll steal it when you have the chance..."

"I don't need them, since I already have alot of similar ones at my place!"

"Oh..."

"It seems I'll go next," Fluttershy waved her paper slip, carfully gazing at one box already. "And I'll go for this one."

"Alright Fluttershy, go ahead and open it!" Radial repeated.

Her hooves dragged across a small, cube-shaped red box with a fancy Hearth's Warming design printed on it. She took no time to hesitate before she flicked open the lid and saw something that piqued her interest she turned over the box to let it drop out to the table.

"Oh wow! A dog collar and a leash!" She marveled at the peculiar-looking leather dog collar with a matching leash attached to, "I could use a spare for the animal sanctuary!"

"Uhhh..." Rarity's teeth began chattering as sweat formed around her forehead, "Y-Yes! Dog collar! I picked it up at the 'Pet Store' in Manehatten."

"Odd, I don't recognize this brand." Fluttershy took close inspection of the price tag still attached to the rim of the collar, "What kind of pet store is called S&M?

"N-N-No point in checking out the brand darling! Let's just move on to the next pony shall we?!"

"...And it's me!" Twilight waved around her paper slip with her magic as she cleared up her throat for a few seconds before staring, "Err...sorry Fluttershy, but I'm going to take that dog collar away from you..."

"Aww," Fluttershy sighed, but soon turned it into a dumbfounded look on her face when she pointed out, "But Twilight, you don't have a dog. What are you going to use that collar for?"

"F-For scientific research! T-That's all!"

While Twilight took the dog collar away from Fluttershy, Mobius was sweating profusely on his seat with his teeth chattering and everything.

"W-Wonder what Twilight is going to d-do with that?"

"Well, that's too bad Fluttershy..." Radial hid her disgust at the princess by keeping up a forceful smile on her face, "You have two options; steal Rainbow Dash's cupcake trays or open another present from the pile."

"Hey, Fluttershy!" Rainbow waved her gift in the air being supported by her forelegs, "Want these baking trays? They're non-stick and made of copper too! Imagine the amount of stuff you can do with them?"

"That's okay, I already have plenty at home." she humbly refused her offer as Fluttershy reached over to another gift on the table, "I wonder what this is?"

The second gift was in a festive bag stuffed with wax paper as she dug through the inside of the bag to fish out the gift. Fluttershy was quickly marveling at a glass bottle containing golden, bubbling liquid inside while gently placing the bottle on the table. The ponies around her were in shock by her fascinating surprise gift.

"Is that a bottle of Apple Cider?!" Rainbow gawked from seeing the bottle in front of Fluttershy, "But, I thought they weren't in season at this time!?"

Applejack chuckled from her seat, "That may be true, but I thought making something for this type of gift exchange would be even better. I had to pay a mark up for the fancy bottle to package the darn thing for this occasion."

She was near shivering in the presence of the golden liquid encased within the bottle just a few feet within Rainbow's grasp. The pegasus would lunge over and take the bottle for herself, but she had to endure all of her sheer willpower not to cause a scene and ruin the Hearth's Warming fun.

"The only way you have a chance at that bottle is if somepony here steals your gift." reminded Radial Shine, "However, the likelihood of that is seemingly low. Now, will the next pony please take their turn!"

"Oh I see, Rainbow Dash's cider addiction is showing right in front of my face. I would do her a favor and steal those baking trays, I don't see myself using them. But, If I'm ever going to make that cider end with me, I need to think about this..."

"I'm next up to make my choice," he waved his paper slip in the same fashion as Twilight, locking his eyes onto the suffering pegasus grinding her teeth from her seat, "Rainbow Dash?"

It took no time before the frantic Rainbow Dash leaned forward with her baking trays in possession and her glittery smile, "Oooh! You want to steal my gift don'tcha!?"

"No...I just need you to pass me that present wrapped in purple wrapping paper on your side..."

The huff of air Rainbow contained inside her deflated as her face frowned from disappointment, following his order and lazily grabbed the purple present and chucking it to Mobius' side.

"Don't you worry Rainbow Dash, you still have a chance to steal something at the end of the game." Chuckled Radial Shine to cheer up the pegasus, "...Unless it was stolen twice, making it out of the game."

"If the bottle of cider is the most sought-after gift, I bet Pinkie or Rarity would try to steal it on their turn. Oh well, let's see what mystery present I've picked!"

Curiosity filled Mobius's head imagining what neat, fancy, or joke present awaited him from the present he chose. Upon tearing open the wrapping paper he could see what appears to be the pages of a lengthy book. He could already guess who this gift belonged to.

"Assuming from looks, I can already tell who brought this gift." He smiled, only to turn his head over at the blushing alicorn.

"Oh, I just can't help it!" sheepishly, Twilight confessed the obvious, "But I do hope you'll get a laugh out of this book I've chosen!"

"Haha, I would expect nonetheless from you," he teased her, before slowly testing off the wrapping paper, "I could see myself enjoying this book..."

He stopped as soon as he ripped off all the wrapping paper around the book and deeply glared at the front cover of the book he just unwrapped. At a loss of words, he doesn't want to kill the mood of the game. So, painstakingly, he pulled up a forceful smile on his face as he read out the title. "Days of our daycare? M-Must be an interesting read if you picked fhe book Twi..."

"Oh, Twilight!" Rarity instantly recognized the book title as she playfully scoff at it, "You want your coltfriend to suffer from that cheesy teenage drama novel?"

Twilight went bursting out in laughter as she couldn't contain herself, "S-Sorry Mobi, but I just had to buy that book for this game. It's the most cheesiest novel I've ever read! I couldn't even finish reading the first chapter! And that's coming from me!"

"Wow Twi! You finally found a book even you refuse to read?" Radial snickered as soon as she spotted Mobius getting the book, "Anyways, I think it's time for the second to the last pony to choose what to do..."

"It can't be...I don't believe what she's saying; Twilight said she REFUSES to read a book?! And the book was...the same book I got her for Hearthswarming? She called it the cheesiest novel she could lay her eyes on. I should've picked some ancient text or something, at least she has some use for it. Man, this is the shittiest Hearth's Warming I ever had..."

"Guess It's my turn already!" announced Rarity as she quickly turned her attention to Fluttershy, "I will be taking that fine bottle of cider from you Fluttershy, nothing personal sweetie!"

"Oh, don't worry about that Rarity." Fluttershy was compliant to pass out the bottle to Rarity, "I don't usually drink that much cider me."

The second the bottle was in the possession of Rarity, Rainbow gawked as much as her face could even handle. Following her, Fluttershy was eyeing the three remaining presents on the table; a large cube-shaped blue box, A smaller light-blue box with a colorful ribbon attached to it, and a long slim red one. Her curiosity filled her mind as she was hesitant about what to choose.

"Hmmm...I could choose the gift I've brought or this other one?" she pondered, "Oh...I don't know what to choose..."

"Remember Fluttershy, you can also steal another ponies gift if you wish," reminded Twilight from across her.

"Well, In that case," she quickly pointed her foreleg at Mobius with the book still in his possession, "I'll be stealing that book from you Mobius, sorry..."

"...Sure..." murmured Mobius, before surrounding the book with his magic to let it hover towards Fluttershy, "I-I don't think I'll see myself enjoying that book as well."

"Alright Mobius, you can steal or choose the remaining two gifts." Radial kept tabs on the rules once more, "What will it be?"

"Damn, that whole ordeal of Twilight not enjoying the book got my whole mood down. I need to think of a way to get her a gift that she'll truly love. But first, I need to make a power move."

"Rarity, I'll take that bottle of cider from you once and for all!"

The group of ponies, and course Rainbow Dash, all gasped when Mobius declared to steal the bottle of cider from the game. The rarity too was left distraught by his power move, "Oh no! I was careless to think that you of all ponies would try to steal the cider! What was I thinking!"

Rarity was willing to comply with the rules of the game and slowly dragged the bottle to Mobius as the final pony to take possession of the bottle for the rest of the game.

"...And the bottle of cider can no longer be stolen for the rest of the game!" declared Radial Shine from the table, "That leaves off with two presents left for the taking!"

Like her heart shattered into million pieces, Rainbow Dash nearly dropped to her hind legs and let out a loud cry of utter despair, "Nooooooooooooooooo!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby Dashie!" scoffed Rarity, before taking interest in the big blue gift box, "I guess this will have to do,"

Upon lifting the box, she could sense that the mass of the box was a bit too much that she had trouble lifting it from her magic. Breaking a sweat even, she carfully placed it down as fragile as she could handle before lifting the lid only to be bedazzled by the contents that adopted her.

"Oh wow! Is this a record player!?" She squealed as she pulled the pristine device out of the box, "I need a new one since Sweetie Belle accidentally broke ours! Fluttershy, this must've been your gift isn't it?"

"Yes, so glad you like it!" Fluttershy smiled."

"Ahh! Guess it's my turn now eh?!" Applejack threw down her paper slip as she was next in turn to make her decision, "Well, that record player sure is dandy, but I'm going to pick this little box here..."

She gently dragged the box to her side and began unraveling the ribbon holds it together. Using her muzzle to flick off the lid, she was met with utter disappointment as she adopted an unsatisfied look on her face. Pulling out the object, a photo frame containing a portrait of a particular Wonderbolt with an autograph stamp just on the lower right side of the photo.

"Dash, you're joking right?" the country-mare huffed out steam from her nostrils, placing the frame for everypony to see.

"W-what? I paid for the frame!" defended Rainbow Dash, forcing a smile, "It was in the budget too! And that photo is going to be worth something in the future once I'm the top Wonderbolt ever!"

"Photos of some creatures' faces ain't gonna be worth a single bit!" barked Applejack, "I can look at you directly in real-time for free!"

"Now calm down Applejack, I hate to say that unless Pinkie Pie wants to steal that photo of Rainbow Dash in her Wonderbolts attire, you're stuck with it. Lastly, it's Pinkie Pie's turn to either steal a gift or chose the final one up for grabs!"

"Oooh boy! I can't wait to find out the last gift!" the eccentric Pinkie Pie was containing her excitement, nearly dragging the final present to her side of the table, "Come on Mobius! What do you get for me!?"

"Oh yeah, I hadn't figured out what Radial got for me for this game, It's probably a gag gift like..."

As Pinkie's teeth bite through the wrapping paper of the box, she ravaged on tearing the box to pieces until she was met with an unusually large silver utensil she couldn't keep her eyes off of. her eyes glittered in the sheen it leaves off.

"Wow! A super-duper mega-sized spoon!" she lifted it off from its encasing and make it stand on top of the table, "Do you know how much ice cream I can get with this? Only a spoonfull!"

"Alright, now that everypony got their gifts, It's time for the big question!" Radial turned her attention towards Rainbow Dash, "Dash, are you going to keep your baking tray, or are you going to steal one of the gifts here? Remember, the bottle of cider is no longer available to be stolen."

"Pfft, don't remind me!" scoffed Rainbow Dash, "There's nothing here that I want to grab, except for that cool photo of me!"

"Get on with it!" Applejack barked.

"I guess I'll keep the baking tray...maybe I'll use it when I have the chance."

"There you have it, folks! That's the end of the White Elephant!" announced Radial, placing her foreleg on her chest as she took a bow, "I hope you all are satisfied with your final choices. Now then, I shall occupy the desserts table if you would excuse me."

She hoped away from the table and began to occupy the little snack area as the rest of the mares mingled around the room. This left Mobius and Twilight alone in the table where they played the gift exchange as they shared a brief moment together.

"Hehe! that's a neat idea for a gift Mobius~" Twilight cooed, "You really do get a knack for this game don't you?"

"It's no problem, when I heard we're going to play my favorite part of Hearth's Warming, I had to go all out." Mobius scratched behind his head, "Umm...can you excuse me real quick? I got to check out the tree."

"Oh sure go right ahead, the girls and I are going to hang out for a few minutes until they're ready to leave."

"Thank you! Hold onto this will you?"

Mobius quickly hovered the bottle of cider to Twilight's side as he scurried off out of the dining table and through the halls to where the Hearth's Warming tree stood tall. Only a few presents were stashed below the tree, so it was not difficult to find to locate his gift. Even staring at it gave him a disgusted look on his face.

"Crap! I don't Twilight to receive such a lousy gift like this book! I need to think of another gift she'll enjoy, but all of the stores are closed tomorrow. What am I going to do?

Meanwhile...

Somewhere within the interior of the castle lies Celestia in her private chambers as she was very much busy channeling a magic circle where she stood in the center of it as if in a zen state with her eyes closed and her breathing slow. The golden yellow circle rotated text of old ponish language. All of this came to a close when she quickly shut her eyes open and her horn stopped glowing as fue circle faded to nonexistence.

"There you are," She numbered before the effects of her magic began to show growing dizzier by the second, "Woah! Never conjured up something that strong, I just need to lie dow--"

"Dear Sister!" The irritating voice of Luna came from nowhere as she teleported in front of her, "Preparations for the Hearths Warming party are finished! Look at you? Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine..." Celestial reassured everything to Luna, "I just happened to locate the whereabouts of Scorpan, apparently James and Zoey needed him to deal with Lord Tirek."

"Well that's brilliant, but are you sure they'll pull it off?" Luna asked curiously, "Don't see how a centaur that consumes magic and cause terror can accept friendship.

"We will just have to find out ourselves," pondered Celestia.

Prologue: Signing the contract

"Getting out of high school has to be the best and worst time of my life.." murmured a young man in his striped pajamas. lazily sitting on the couch of his crummy apartment.

What looked to be a dejected loner that lost fate in the world was once the most popular kid in all of schooling. James remembered all the good times he had with his friends, dates, and studies. Everything was easy for him... too easy. Such a person would kill for a life like his, but loving a life where everything was planned for you wasn't true freedom. This was mostly what his parents did; controlling his schedule most of the time. But as he was given a chance to be free, he didn't know that what he wished for would be his downfall. He wanted a challenge, something to keep the heart beating.

And you know what he got after graduating high school?

Exactly that...

"Son, sorry to break this to you. But our company moved management over at New York, so we have to move over their" James' father gave out an apologetic sigh, "Since you've already received an acceptance letter here, we're going to have to make you live on your own,"

"No way... you're leaving me? Just as soon as I graduate?" cried James.

"Of course not, we'll visit during holidays and maybe even surprise days," His mom attempted to lighten the mood, "You already got a letter close to this place, It would be a hassle to register to a university in the Big Apple."

"But what am I going to do with the tuition payment?"

His dad answered with a more firm tone, "Oh suck it up and be a man. You're 18! You should be getting a job for the summer. That should cover at least a semester."

"Honey doesn't make it hard for him, he's just getting into our news. We can cover you for a whole year term, but you should insist on finding a job. Someplace simple and easy,"

"No job is ever easy. Yeah, they might be not as hard as some, but they're all the same!" Dad reminded her, "You're an accomplished student, you should be able to find something in all the spectrums."

"Getting a job is the least of my problem here, it's the fact you're gonna just abandon me straight up?"

"Don't worry, we've made arrangements with the landlord. We've made advanced payments for the landlord until the month after the semester starts? After that is up to you. If you can't manage with money, then you need to "

"Come on sweetheart! We're giving you a chance to be free from our choices. We gave you a sturdy path to success, and now it's time for you to take the helm and carve your path..."

It was three weeks after their departure, leaving James all alone in the apartment with his control. Left clean due to a maid hired by his parents to clean the place every weekend. At first, James enjoyed having to deal with a simple roadblock, but it was a bit more than he bargained for. Without guidance from his parents, he was just a little puppy trying to find his mother. Job hunting was a desperate struggle; Checking in-store postings, online, and asking around in person.

"...And the award for the most crummy parents goes to mine!" pouted James to himself, containing his anger at the moment. "So much for their star student, leaving me straight up as soon as I finish high school. Making me find a job! Why am I complaining? I asked for this!"

Opened the laptop he kept next to him, typing away to see his email with various job opportunities. Some messages were friendly declines from retailers, and a few did offer interviews, however, they were located very far. He was blaming himself for asking for a bit of challenge in his life, for once his life was riding a one-stop train to loserville. His first option was becoming a streamer; sounds easy enough. But realizing that it takes time to start getting popular online, had James shaking at the idea. He needed a stable income to last him for college.

"Where did I go wrong?!" he blamed himself, "And binging the entire My Little Pony Friendship is Magic series isn't going to help me!"

He grabbed the remote and paused the show playing on Netflix. It was just after the season 7 finale when Twilight brought back the pillars and the beginning of season 8. To him, James thought that Student six was kinda underutilized. They would be better off getting their spin-off show. Season 9 is where he would believe it dropped quality significantly; not only having a rushed series finale but the wasted potential of three villains who were encased in stone. Anything besides that was simple nitpicks, nevertheless, it was an ok season for him. The season 10 comics showed more of the world with Zebrica, but it's too late for that as the televised show ended nearly a year ago. Imagine if he could somehow control time and stop his parent's job offer and change parts of the show. He chuckled at that.

"...Like that will ever happen,"

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Hearing a series of knocks coming from the door just behind him, James took action and answered the door; assuming it was the landlord about his situation. But he came to a sudden confusion when no one appeared in front of him, except an envelope on the cement ground with a fancy wax seal with an anonymous address.

"It's in the middle of the night on a Sunday. There's no way this could be a late delivery." Close inspecting the letter up close, he grabbed it by his hand to read any address, "Huh? No sender address..."

James broke open the seal of the envelope to see what appears to be a job application. He slowly skimmed through its contents:

Once in a lifetime!

Have money issues? No problem, I can hook you up with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! A chance to fix all your troubles that will be worth it in the long run! isn't that exciting?

What's this epic life-changing job I have for you? Well, I'd tried to do it myself, unfortunately, that didn't go as planned. So I think you'll be the best alternative to change things around. Although what I'm about to do breaks a dozen laws and natural taboos, It's just in my nature to wreck chaos.

I'll give you the chance to set things right and get dozens! All you have to do is sign your name below this letter to start the process immediately. Don't go and panic now, you should be able to realize what's going on with your current knowledge. And don't worry about anyone visiting your dwelling while you're gone, I can deal with that easily.

Alternatively, you can simply ignore this letter and just find work elsewhere. But in your current situation, do you have a choice?

Regards, a dear friend.

He almost chuckled throughout the whole reader as it must've been some prank, but that's the least of his worries. For starters, the writing style seems informal, like it was written by some old-time friend. IF his friends were to contact him for a job opportunity, it would have to be a simple text or email. "A shot at a 5 figure salary? What job is this?"

Does it mean that he can make enough money to prove to his parents that he can manage on his own and be able to live while they of the sea? James took the letter to the dining table as he was hesitant to sign the letter. Even had his pen at the ready position. He found it concerning that signing an untraceable letter will be his downfall of him, but after what he went through with his parents ditching him and forcing his future.

James tensed up his grip as he immediately roared, "—As if anyone would miss me!"

He gracefully signed his full name onto the dotted line with the black ink fountain pen. Seconds after dropping the pen onto the table felt like a total magic trick when the whole letter began to hover around in the air carrying a greenish flame around its borders of it. James was silent during the whole thing, but not so as a faint voice close resembling a familiar character he knew echoed inside the paper.

"You really signed it?! I never thought it would work on the first try! Anyways! sit back and enjoy the show!"

James shot his eyes up when the voice he heard was immediately recognized by him, "Hang on just a minute, is that Dis—"

Interrupted by the green flames engulfing the space James was just sitting at, leaving nothing but a green void of flames. The whole experience seemed like a huge acid trip, but he remembered that he didn't take some before bedtime. Just as it was getting worse, his head felt like it was spinning around getting dizzier and dizzier until he dropped to the ground.

What has he gotten himself into?

"Hello there, dear James..."

"Huh?"

It felt like an entire fever dream, James felt groggy slowly waking up in a strange-looking room. It looked to be some house, but everything seems off about it. Staircases leading to nowhere, sentient furniture, uncanny valley objects just flying everywhere. He didn't know what to feel at first, but James certainly know where exactly where he is.

"Yup! This Discords doing..."

Then the draconequus himself poofed into existence as he was sitting on the opposite side of the kitchen table. Wearing what looks to be something you'd find in a matric movie; a black suit and pair of shades. Discard was also not acting his usual quirky self. He was a bit more serious when he snapped his fingers and out came a pot of hot tea and cup.

"It was kinda rude for me to pull you away from your world... so how about a cup of tea to cheer you up?" he showed a sense of nonhostility as he offered James a float cup.

After seeing every bit of isekai manga and animes, James also found a certain theme in them; an ignorant, clueless protagonist. Sick and tired of that stereotype, he went for a more realistic approach and decide to lay cool and not panic.

"Holy crap! I'm in My Little Pony! Calm down James, you've practiced this. Try to get on his good side."

He cleared his throat, "Sorry, I'm more of a coffee person. Now about that job offer..."

"Ah yes, the opportunity that will set you for a long time!" Discord materialized the tea set and out came the contract James signed not too long ago, "My-my, you are calm in your situation. Any old person would freak out being whisked away from their world."

"Well it's been a certain trope happening in the stuff I've watched," assured James.

"Now, let's get into the details!"

Discord removed all pieces of clothing from his body to show his real self, as he carefully laid out a scale model map of Equestria that bears similarity to the cutie map in Twilight's castle. James couldn't be so happy and curious about this.

"...Or perhaps, you already know what I'm going to make you do?" slowly turned his head at James, Discord was pointing at two particular targets on the map. Skimming all the details on the map and the photos of familiar faces, James already knows what's about to happen.

"Something to do with the main villians based on these images?" an educated guess popped out of him.

Discord nodded his head. "Right my friend. I want you to take my place as leader of the legion of doom!"

"The legion of doom? But why do your stupidest way of reforming 4 villains— which by the way ends up with killing off one of them and turning the rest into stone for the next generation to deal with!" he went on a little rant at Discord's proposal.

"My word! You are a fiesty one." Discord can already tell he likes this person, having his hands crossed over, "Then again, I've managed to break a natural taboo bring someone from a world that classifies us as fictional characters.

"Natural taboo?"

"You don't have to worry about that part, it's none of your concern," he gave James a nudging gesture from across the table,

Even if this isn't some fancy dream of his, James is inside his favorite cartoon show. He wanted a challenge in his life he was willing to partake in; No more boring average job for him.

"If you want those four to reform, you should consider going a more gentle approach." James educated him on social interactions, "Instead, you just gathered them in one spot and believe they would work together. How disappointing of you. And I'm mad that you got together with Fluttershy!"

"Leave Fluttershy out of this conversation!" Discord raged his attitude over James' usage of the F-word, "So Mr. Alvera, how would you want them to change their ways?"

Thinking hard, seeing many different movies and tv shows tried to see the different possibilities. What was the best way of getting into someone's head? Or better yet, what type of villain is best for the job? Several seconds later, a literal lightbulb with wings flew up above James; Inspiration struck.

"Maybe I can try—"

"—Hold that thought for one moment!" interrupted Discord, having his finger placed on James' lip to keep him shut, "I forgot to mention that I'm on a strict time limit here!"

"Huh?"

"If you're certain about your version of the plan, good! Keep it to yourself, for now." he snapped his fingers and got up from the table, "We need to get this show going or else they will figure out."

"Who are they?"

"The sisters of course!" Discord answered a bit ticked off, "If they found out I broke a natural taboo, it could spell out D-O-O-M for both of us!"

Snapping his fingers, he teleported James just standing in the kitchen area, "So I'm going to send you directly at the beginning of Season 8. You know; The school of friendship arc?"

James couldn't be so excited, but he soon realized something he exclaimed. "Wait! I'm still in my PJs! At least give me some badass!—"

"—I'll deal with everything once you get there. Now, toodaloo~!"

Discord's snap of a finger created a pinkish-purple rift that ripped the fabric of reality just behind James. A gentle push later, he got sucked up like a speck of dust from a vacuum. The last thing James saw was Discord waving gesture as the glowing colors took over his eyesight.

This is going to be a long summer vacation for him

Chapter 14: Friendship Retreat, Part 1

Morning arose from the outskirts of Ponyville, but it was a hectic one in the residence of Radial Shine and Mobius when they were scrambling to do multiple checks over everything they needed for the camping trip. Mobius was in his room preparing his bag filled with camping equipment. He took a little breather resting on his bed.

"Today's the day, the halfway point of season 8, can't believe I'm just almost halfway finished with all of this. If I'm lucky, I can wrap this up in the season 8 finale and make erase season 9 from existence. I made sure to get all my stuff ready for a hike; sleeping bag, drink containers, books for the road. Yesterday was a breakthrough in gaining the changeling's trust in my ultimate end-goal of thwarting Chrysalis. But I think me and Thorax agreed with my plan:"

Flashback to yesterday at the Changeling Hive, James was just finishing up his explanation of his big elaborate plan to stop Chrysalis from ever initiating her plan when Thorax and the rest of the changelings were surprised by the whole infrastructure of it.

"So, what do you think?" James finished off his explanation with a quick snap of his right fingers.

"Wow, that is one way to do things," complemented Thorax, taking in this whole elaborate plan as he ponders, "Maybe a bit too unorthodox for us. I don't even know what to make of it."

"You'll be fine, it's me that's going to do most of the talking."

Pharynx was next to get his output on this plan. "No creature has ever communicated with Chrysalis without getting their bodies sucked up from love. Are you sure you can handle her?"

"That won't be a problem, my friend. All you have to do is be ready for tomorrow and prepare for my signal. The best-case scenario is that we'll be able to knock this out in about an hour or so." roughly explaining the key points, James relayed the plan once more. turning over to Thorax right next to Pharynx to add in an extra tidbit. "Just to be clear, I want you to keep this away from Twilight, her friends, and the other creatures on this friendship retreat; I don't want them involved in this."

"Why not?" curiously asked Thorax, scratching his chin. "Twilight is capable of helping Chrysalis, she's the princess of friendship! Maybe we could write her a letter about what we're going to do so that we can be assured victory."

Thorax did have a good point, Twilight would be more suitable for the job. However, James managed to save it by rebutting. "Well, last time I've checked, Chrysalis hates Twilight's guts after she thwarted her at the royal wedding and that Starlight Glimmer after she made coup to her hive. Those are the last ponies she ever wants to speak to, let alone want friendship lessons from. Nevertheless, I need you two to cooperate with me 100% of this job."

"Understood!"

The plan should be very much flawless yet requires the perfect time to execute, he thought to himself. He had to be prepared for anything if this is going to work in his favor. Just as the seconds ticked by, Radial proceeded to enter the door with no signs of knock as she carried two bags filled with camping gear with her horn.

"James! It's almost time for us to go." she assumed. "Can you go over the plan one more time?"

"Easy..." he pulled up his phone from the bed and tapped on the revert button to change back into James a small second. "I'll take a head start into the forest while you'll be with the other me."

Two taps on the phone, he then spawned in Mobius right in front of him causing Radial to jump out and drop everything she carried on the floor. The small fright made her get a small case of goosebumps to go with it, "Oh sheesh...I forgot we can do that. Does it have a mind of its own?"

"Technically speaking, it's our conscious appearing as a physical manifestation; everything we see, do feel, will be connected," explained Mobius, slowly walking up and lifting his camping gear. "I'll be beside you all the time at the same time confronting her."

"Excellent stuff, but something is bothering me," Radial turned over to a large bipedal that is her younger brother, seemingly a bit worried, "Where do I come in?"

"All you have to do is keep them at bay, make sure the trip goes smoothly as possible ." relayed James, "Remember, you don't have powers to fend off yourself. You're vulnerable to any physical trauma and magic."

"But the coat is resistant to it!" argued Radial, pleading her brother to tag along, "And Celestia said I might have an aptitude, so please, let your sis come with you!"

"I'm sorry big sis," James humbly apologized, getting up from his bed and preparing to head out as he took a pair of aviator sunglasses from his bedside stand and put them on very smoothly, "Until Celestia updates you on your powers, I'll take the wheel on this one..."

"A-Alright..."

"Now, let's not be late to meet up with Twilight!" reminded Mobius from across the room, glancing at Radial for a quick moment. "We need to make sure she still takes the photos of the six."

Radial left James behind in the house as she sets off with her 'brother' Mobius following behind. But, before James could warp to the forest, he tapped on the app containing Harmony and made her jump into the frame of the screen.

"Is it that time already? Do you think this would play out the same as Cozy Glow's case? The last time I've checked, she's still pissed off with Twilight and her friends. "

"Yeah, of course, it's my mission after all," answered James, slowly reaching for a quick question. "Is that special feature we talked about ready for action?"

"I just got done crafting it. You should be able to execute it anytime!"

"Good. Because I'm counting on you!"

A moment to recollect what he was about to do, James' heart was pounding inside him in response to his major performance in the following hour. He couldn't believe he was going to be 50% finished with his job and finally get the paycheck of a lifetime. But, he didn't take his time spent in Equestria for granted. He enjoyed living with his favorite cartoon characters, seeing a side of them that he never knew, and seeing more than what he was perceived with. All while pacing back and forth as he held his phone in the palm of his left hand.

"I might as well get a head start and follow her into the forest after she takes those pictures. What I do next has to be an important step to bring her to the light of things. Maybe I should call up Discord and update my status."

He reached towards the contacts list and made a quick call to Discord when the phone rang for a few seconds. A voice on the line picked up on the other side as James lifted his phone's speaker to his head.

"Hello James. I'm sure you are aware of the surprise she had in store for you?"

"Umm...YES!" James shouted, "It's still crazy how Celestia could just do something like that! That's nothing like her character!"

"I was shocked myself! Anyways, I'm aware of why you're calling me. Today's the big friendship retreat Fluttershy has been talking about. Also, a certain changeling shows up to do some rather pathetic scheme."

"I know, and I already have a plan to solve it in no time! Just want to give you a heads up,"

"Excellent, can't wait to see how it happens! Again, wish you good luck to the both of you!"

Discord hung up the call while James closed down his contacts app to reach the map, planning to take a head start to
part of the forest Chrysalis wandered about. He already got the exact locations where she would navigate with the assistance of his sister scouting the locations.

"It's showtime!"

Meanwhile, inside the school of friendship, all of the students attending this special camping trip were seated just inside the library huddled up at one table seated across from each other. Mobius was the only one to be seated at the short end of the table when he stood silently over his friend's excitement and curiosities of this camping trip.

"Ooo! This is my first time camping well, ANYWHERE!" shrieked Silverstream, hugging her sleeping bag rolled up between her arms.

"Shh!" Yona tried to hush her as she stood with her plethora of camping gear on her torso. "This is the school library! No loud noises!"

"It's okay, Yona. Twilight closed down the library just for this day, we have the whole place to ourselves!" Ocellus said, waving her hoof over the total privacy of the library. "Maybe I'll borrow a few books for the trip?"

Smolder crossed her arms, seated next to Ocellus to her right side. "Pfft, why do reading outside when you can just enjoy the outdoors?"

"You're not much of an outside creature, aren't you Smolder?"

"No way, I love the outdoors...I'm worried about those three" the dragon pointed her index claw towards the boys, seemingly playing a little hoof wrestle with Gallus and Sandbar using their right forelegs to apply as much force as possible to make the other go down. "Hey, you three!"

Just as Smolder called out the three across from the table, Sandbar took his focus off of the game and caused him to instantly be defeated by Gallus slamming his talon over at his hoof. He cheered. "Woo! I win! You get to sleep in the middle part of the tent!"

"Aww man..." sighed Sandbar, burying his head over on the table, noticing Smolder's call out for them when he gave her all of his attention. "What now, Smolder."

"This is going to be our first time camping," she began her stern warning, staring upon them, "So no funny business sneaking into our tents at night or you'll be burnt to a crisp!"

"Why would we ever tarnish your first ever camping experience?" asked Gallus, trying to fiddle with his two talons on each side and looking away, "Relax, and enjoy the outdoors!"

She responded raising her brow with a curled lip at the suspicious-sounding griffon, "O...kay..."

"Mobius, did you bring some extra comic books from your collection?" when Sandbar came and turned his face towards him, all he saw was a silent and deadpan face droning out in the distance. Making the pony sound anxious over his behavior, "Dude, are you alright?"

One poke with his talon was enough for Mobius to snap back into "H-Huh!? W-what!? Sorry, I'm a bit anxious is all."

The table turned their attention to him, slowly making snickering noises along with the table. Silverstream had to be the more giggly one when she teased. "Ooo!.Do you think Twilight has something planned for you that you can't be ready for?"

"Not that..." Mobius stared down at the table. "I'm just curious about camping, that's all!"

"It's alright dude it's most of our first time camping!" Smolder swirled within her seat. "If you get scared, maybe Twilight or your big sister will come and pamper you!"

"Yes...let's go with that..."

The doors to the library slammed open, with Radial Shine dead center within the entrance as she called out to the students towards the right side of the library. "Hey, everycreature! It's time to go already!"

"It seems we're behind schedule by 12 minutes approximately." reported Ocellus, "Twilight never likes to be late, or early. Is something troubling we should know?"

"Nothing to worry about, some photographer wanted photos of her and the teachers." winked Radial to Mobius, who smiled a bit. "Now, follow me every creature! The trek is far!"

"Remain calm, James, you're about to reveal your face to one of your targets. Just stick to the plan and you will be fine. If it somehow goes south, go with the backup plan; stick her in Tarturus while thinking up another plan. I should be close to her now.

Approaching inside the depths of the forest was the sinister changeling queen herself walking slowly through the path. Snickering within the boundaries of six photos of Twilight and her friends floating in front of her face. "Hehehehehe! Just a few more steps and I'll be able to claim what I needed to stop Starlight Glimmer and the rest of that traitorous Thorax! I'll make sure that no creature would ever-"

"-I'm going to have to stop you right there ma'am!"

"Hmm? Who dares too..." before she could go any further, Chrysalis oriented herself in a complete 180, recognizing that creature's shape and voice as it slowly walked towards her from the dense part of the forest, "Wait a moment, It's you! You're that creature I stumbled upon a while back! What do you want from me, can't you see I'm busy executing my glorious-"

But before Chrysalis finished, James stopped her with a little time bubble where she stood completely immobilized within the confines of the sphere. One quick dash from his step later, he made sure to grasp hold of the photos from her possession and take a step back where he originally stood. James nonchalantly stood right in front of the changeling's eyes waiting for her to break free from her pause as the sphere broke seconds after.

"These are wonderful photos of Twilight and her friends. A strand of their manes too? Ooo! This would fetch a nifty price to the right buyer!" he playfully teased the changeling, fanning the photos to his face.

She took a glance around her side to see the materials needed for her plan suddenly in possession of the creature before her, this time, it was unhooded and appeared to be a tan-skinned creature with a black short haircut and wearing a pair of...aviator glasses?

But that was the least of her issues when her possession of the photos vanished into thin air, making Chrysalis peek at the creature holding them. This strange anomaly caused her to hiss back at him, "Those belong to ME! How did you manage to get them!?"

Chrysalis 'tried' forcefully pounced over at his location to bring him down on the ground, however, she seemed to be left dumbfounded when she found herself missing him entirely and plopping down on the ground. He was just standing a few feet away from her but in the complete opposite direction from where she stood.

"Ouch! That's got to hurt in the morning!" chuckled James, seemingly eyeing her from a distance when she stood back up from her fall

"Silence! Have you realized what you're doing!?" she already sounded very pissed by the arrogance of this strange creature she stumbled upon. "Can't you see I'm about to"

"Yeah, you're not getting the elements of harmony that way. There's no way the tree of harmony would be that stupid to give them to some knockoff look-alikes of the bearers of harmony."

Taking a moment to stand up from her fall, she gasped upon the creature's clairvoyant mind. "Impossible, I have never told any living soul about my wonderful schemes! There's no way you could have known everything, are you a spy for Princess Twilight!?"

James shook his head. "No, but I'm here to bring you salvation, and reverence of your unfortunate downfall."

"You?" she raised her brow, "I don't even know your name? And you want me to listen to you!? TCH!"

"Ah, I knew I was forgetting something. My name is Amon, let me be the first to say," he moved slowly up to her still grasping onto the photos with his left hand as he paced back and forth, "Your plan stinks...period!"

"Huh!? How dare you call my brilliant plan complete trash!" she barked over at the cocky individual, keeping her distance to prepare for a blast of magic. "Can't you see I'm a queen!"

"Former queen, to be precise. Not the brightest of plans, I'll give this one a 4 out of 10; and that's being generous from me!" the critique of her plan made Chrysalis steaming hot from anger and frustration. "Don't worry, I came to aid you. If you hear me out, I can bestow upon you a proposal to benefit the both of us."

Her anger died down when she was intrigued by the creature's proposal. "If you're this persistent, it must be worth listening to. Go on..."

"I'm a person that likes to get things straight, so I'll make it brief." he placed the photos within the confines of his pocket, giving Chrysalis a short rundown of his idea, "Let us work together! With my powers and your fiery passion, we can team up and get your revenge on Twilight for ruining your plans at the Royal Wedding, Starlight for setting a coup from your hive, and that traitor you call Thorax for changing into...whatever you want to call him now..."

Not even a second to mull it over and Chrysalis answered back after a burst of laughter. "HAHAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAA! Do you think I'm a fool? Me!? Teaming up with ANYONE!? Don't make me vomit! The queen of the changelings does not need anyone to stand beside her! I was betrayed by my kind, and humiliated by those ponies! Do you think you can do better than me? I'm the strongest changeling out there! I will have it all once I get rid of Twilight and the magic of friendship!"

As expected from her, James can already tell she won't turn that easily. Of course, holding a grudge for this long has already made her far beyond changing, but he simply won't give up now. He decided it was time that he would push her buttons further; A bright idea popped within his head.

"I'm probably going to hurt a lot of Chrysalis fans out there, but it's a necessary evil.."

"Geez, " huffed out James slowly went close by her, "You're kind of a bitch."

She twitched her left eye, overly frustrated over James' critique of her title, "...What did you call me?"

"Do you really think you would ever win against Starlight, or perhaps Twilight and her friends?" he added in extra remarks to get in her mind when he pointed his index finger to her, "I came here to offer you salvation, yet you remain this stubborn? Your strong will and leadership combined with the power of friendship would make for an excellent ruler of the new changeling hive, but you refuse? Strong enough to have it all, too weak to take it!"

"You dare call me weak!? I show you weak!"

Chrysalis fired a long trail of energy out of her horn and aimed for James' chest area. He quickly responded by casting a shield that neutralized the beam and kept him safe inside the sphere. But, she didn't get the memo as Chrysalis persisted in firing beam after beam in quick succession. The shield wasn't going to last for much longer, so James needed to think of something on the fly to get her to calm down.

"Impossible!" she was appalled by this strange creature's magic, "Why must you keep pestering me, creature!?"

"It would appear that Chrysalis is very much persistent, I needed to drill deeper into her mind. I need to think of something that could get her to listen. But, what could that—"

The shield soon wore off and it left James vulnerable for the beam to hit him directly on the chest and flying a few feet in the air and down on the cold dirt with his back taking the fall.

"Arrgh! Shit! I should've been more careful, if only I could go back..."

It was only just mere visuals, but James saw himself rising without any effort when his eyes were looking in many directions. What is happening, he thought. It was only him that was acting like he was rewinding to the point he was hit by the beam from Chrysalis' horn as he stood at the same point in time completely intact. He knew exactly what was happening, it was the Time Reversal that Discord mentioned early.

"This must be time reversal, I went back to the point upon impact and returned as if nothing even happened. But I remember that Chrysalis will be frozen in time for a short time. I have to act, NOW!"

At one second's glance, Chrysalis was completely still in time, just like before. James acted fast and cast to slow down time as he ran behind to Chrysalis's direction to throw her off for a bit. As the time flow went back to normal, she soon snapped out of her time trance and attempted to fire again, only to stare at nothing at her target. "Again with that! Where did it go!?"

It seems like he needed to take his little plan to the next level, as James spooked her when he spoke out loud behind her back. "Alright, I've lost my patience. Time for the next phase!"

"Next phase?"

He stuck his right hand into his pocket and operated his phone from inside. Blindly tapping on the screen to the already opened map application and out appeared a portal in between him and Chrysalis. The sudden ambiance of energy behind her made Chrysalis turn around, seeing a bluish ring vortex appearing in front of her. When she thought to believe it led to nowhere, she saw a familiar place on the other side of the vortex.

"Isn't that, the changeling hive!?" she asked herself as two changelings were seemingly preparing to run through the vortex to her side. She immediately recognized them from a distance, "And are those..."

*WHAABAM*

The two brothers came through the vortex and prepared for a full-frontal assault as they successfully pinned her down on the ground. She was struggling to break free from Pharynx's hold on her neck while Thorax heled her by the torso. The two were now restraining her like a freshly caught fish from the ocean.

"GRAAAH! L-LET ME GO!" cried CHrysalis, shaking her head in different directions as she groaned. "This is mutiny I tell you...MUTINY!"

"Thorax! The spell!" ordered Pharynx, who struggled to apprehend her from the neck.

It didn't take him a full second to fire a small beam right into Chrysalis' head, which caused her to feel groggy and disorientated. Seconds later, she went completely limp as she appeared to be passed out. The changelings release their hold from her, stepping back a few to let James come forward a bit.

"Excellent spell execution!" James complimented Thorax, walking to his right side, "Is she alright?"

"I just made her fall asleep, she won't be sleepy for long though." warned Thorax, scratching the backside of his head, "The preparations for the place are ready, shall we begin phase 2?"

"Yes, we must..."

The large group of creatures was walking inside the depths of the forest with Twilight leading the way. She was accompanied by Radial Shine, who was by her side as her friends were more spread out from the group. At the backside were the younger students, looking quite bored from all the walking and baggage carrying.

"So Twilight..." it was that moment where Radial wanted to make small talk with her 'brother's girlfriend' from another world, "How are things with Mobius?"

Twilight responded with a small smile, "It's going great! He's been keeping up with me, probably better than my brother!"

Radial cringed, "I beg your pardon?"

"I mean, he was such a fast learner already. But after a while, he started to get better maybe even amazing with the things we do alone."

"Things...Alone?"

The alicorn went on rambling more, failing to give context from her conversation. "I just didn't feel like he's going to go anywhere with just me. Maybe I'll let Starlight takeover for a while, I think she can handle his pace!"

Eyes twitching, and ears huffing out steam, Radial placed her nostrils over at Twilight's head, giving her a fierce staredown as she barked. "What the hay are you doing to my little brother!?"

"Woah! Calm down Radial! I was talking about his magic lessons!" Twilight answered, quivering from her legs. "I'm sorry I forgot to mention it earlier."

"Oh..." she retracted herself from the princess. "S-Sorry, I thought you were, you know..."

"Know what?"

After Radial hovered her lips over to Twilight's ear to whisper what she was believed was happening, her face turn a bright red when she quickly got flustered. "N-n-n-n-n-no! I wouldn't EVER try that with him! We're dating yes, but we're not quite ready for that stuff!"

By the time Twilight explained everything to Radial, Silverstream and Gallus were hovering above the path just like Rainbow Dash were, they overheard Radial's little tantrum snickering behind their talons covering their mouths.

"Wow! Your sister is a beast, Mobius!" said Gallus, looking down to where Mobius was walking just a few feet from Ocellus.

He didn't feel like speaking to her at the moment, so Gallus carefully lowered his altitude to bump Mobius' shoulder to get his attention, asking, "Dude, you don't look alright. You're sweating a rainforest!"

"I'm fine," blurted Mobius, "I'm just tired that's all."

"We have been walking for a while now," Sandbar trotted right next to Mobius, picking up his pace when he entered the conversation, "I just hope Twilight knows where she's going. But still, you're worrying us Mobius. Are you very certain you're all right?"

This was pretty much awkward for James, as he was experiencing two different things from two different perspectives. It was alright for him to be around his host self nearby, but this was his first time being far away from himself. He needed to act like the regular teen colt he is.

"I just never traversed these parts of the Everfree forest," he answered with his teeth chattering, "It's just scary to me."

"Hmm?" Gallus scratched his head with a talon, trying to grasp what exactly she said, "I never thought you were a scaredy-cat. That's another thing we found out about you!"

"Yeah!" swooping down to ground level, Silverstream followed the guys along the path when she came close to Mobius for a while, "First you had an older sister that YOU never told us about, now you're afraid of forests!? What do you think about that, Sandbar?"

But Sandbar was nowhere to be seen anymore when she turned her head across from Mobius to find no creature in sight. Sandbar on the other hoof scurried up to the front to speak with Fluttershy to make it look like he's doing some important business. Smolder caught a glimpse of him, walking with her two legs next to Ocellus.

"Sandbar needs to grow a pair..." sighed the dragon.

Ocellus turned her head towards her and curiously asked, "Huh? A pair of what?"

"Nevermind!"

At the changeling hive, James had his hood lowered and glasses bouncing the light off of them. He sat at a makeshift chair the changelings made as ordered by Thorax. The rest of the changelings sat on the ground in a perfect row by row manner as if waiting for a theatrical performance. Thorax was walking up to him when he was just finishing up with Chrysalis. She had her hooves and torso restrained to some iron chains as she remained limp on the ground just a few feet away from James' seat.

"Alrighty James, the preparations are set," Thorax confirmed the situation. "She won't be able to cast any transformations using that spell I've used. She should be powerless to escape,"

"Excellent!" James raised his right index finger, propping his head with his left fist and resting his elbow on the armrest, "We can begin as soon as she wakes up!"

"Yeah, about all of this...what exactly are we doing?" Thorax wasn't so sure on what to make with all of this preparation.

"Have you heard of Dr. Phil?" he curiously asked Thorax from the side.

He responded with a small cringe on his face. "N-No..."

"Well then, what I'm about to do will make ABSOLUTELY no sense to you!"