The forge was hot, and with each swing of the hammer, it grew hotter. I had already removed my shirt to compensate for the heat. The recent event of the anxiety attack was still fresh in my mind. I had had similar events happen during the war but never like that, not that... extreme. On top of that, they were much easier to keep in check. This time was just... overwhelming. I don't know how long it would have taken to recover from that if I hadn't used the electro-stimulant. Fuck, it just won't go away. Every time I try to focus on something else, it just comes back around to that moment. I was sweating more from the memories that came with this than the heat of the forge was. My mind wandered through my past, and I needed to stop it. Suddenly, I found myself singing in elemental. The clang of each swing of my hammer made a steady rhythm to follow.

"Asche und Feuer fingen im Wind auf,"

clang

"Schwefel und Asche überall in unserem Haus"

clang

"Wir kämpfen, um unsere Leute stark zu halten"

clang

"Granaten und Mörser im ganzen Land"

clang

"Wie Wasser, das durch die Erde fließt"

clang

"Wir werden unseren Marsch nicht stoppen"

clang

denn Krieg war das Lied unserer Herzen

clang

"Dies ist die Macht des Feinsten des Elements"

I stopped, realizing the song I was singing was one we sang when waiting for the next set of ordinances to rain down on us. To me, it just didn't fit where I was now. I prepped a swing to start one more.

clang

"Ich bin der letzte meiner eigenen"

clang

"für den Willen der Elemente verloren"

clang

"unsere Mauern zerbröckelten vor unseren Feinden"

clang

"fürchte die großen Kataklysmen"

clang

"Jetzt bin ich hier, quer durch die Reiche"

clang

"eine unbekannte Welt, ein frisch verletzter Geist"

clang

"Mein Herz schlägt und blutet noch zu den Kriegsgesängen!"

"That was very beautiful, mister Riley." The sudden voice broke my concentration on everything. Causing me to strike the tongs holding the metal I had been pounding. I lost my grip on the tongs, and the metal flipped upward into the air a few inches before, clanging to the counter and rolling off onto the follow towards my feet. I barely swung my feet out of the way of the hot orange metal before it made contact with the solid ground. Sending out a few sparks and fucking up the metal on one of the edges.

"Ugh, now I gotta start over!" I groaned, picking up the metal in the tongs and shoving it back into the crucible. I looked to who interrupted my forging to let loose some of my anger, only to be met with the eyes of Princess Luna.

"Oh, my apologies. I had not meant to cause an issue. Is there any way I could-"

"I thought I asked to be left alone," I interrupted, cutting her off with a twinge of vice.

"Im aware, but I just felt obligated to at least check in on you. Things such as this don't just happen out of nowhere." She said, walking closer to the counter and resting a hoof on it.

"Why do you think im doing one of my main stress-relieving hobbies?" I snarked, tending to the coals in the fire.

"My, I can see that you don't always have such a polite demeanor with all this rudeness coming from you." She responded, slightly annoyed.

"OH, YA DON'T SAY? MAYBE IF YOU LEFT ME THE FUCK ALONE?!" I turned and slammed my fist on the counter, causing some of the tools to jitter. Luna stepped back, visibly shocked. I looked down at my clenched fist on the table and felt it relax as I felt weight release itself from my head and my hand relaxed.

"Im sorry, it's been stressful, believe it or not. You guys have given me every accommodation imaginable to make myself comfy. But I truly only feel at home right here in the heat of the forge. I can't tell you why, as I myself don't think I've figured it out either." I said sincerely.

Luna squinted, staring into my eyes. "I can tell you carry a great amount of guilt and fear within you."

I turned to look away. "What makes you say that?" I asked, feeling slightly violated.

"Because it's the same look I see in my own eyes when I look at myself in the mirror every day." She said, lowering her head closer to her body as if remembering a painful memory.

I looked at her, feeling the pain emanating from her. But something compelled me to say something I didn't even know I wanted to. Something angry and offended by her words.

"You have no idea what we have been through..." I hissed. I felt baffled at myself after saying it.

She took a few steps back, mimicking my own baffled expression. I shook my head, holding a hand to it. "Sheesh, that attack must have messed with my head more than I thought." I felt something tap inside my head in response. Causing a small headache. "I need Romulus back. He was the only one I knew who could tell me exactly what was wrong with me." I added, leaning against the counter and rubbing my brow.

"I see. Well, I also wanted to inform you that since shining armor had informed us of your offer to offer you smithing skills to the guard until we can find a suitable replacement. Consider this stall yours for the time being. Even though my sister insists on being generous, I personally expect at least some form of reparation for our services." She responded.

"Brutal honesty, I can respect that from a ruler. No beating around the bush or anything. Rest assured that I had not planned to take advantage of your hospitality in such a way I would have grown fat and lazy. I prefer to put my mind to use. While working here in the forge, I planned to study your people's laws, culture, history, and other things. My curiosity always gets the better of me. Plus, it might help me not to break any laws or rules down the road." I added.

"Indeed. I, too, appreciate the honesty. Yes, the library shall be open to you if you so desire. And so will my sister and I to answer any questions. But I must inform you that we will not always be available, as we have a kingdom to govern." She responded.

"I am well aware of your very tight schedules. Remember, I was a prince, too, after all. I had my duties and such growing up." I said, turning to work on the leather padding on the nearby workbench whilst the metal heated up.

"Yes, of course. If I may ask, why do you keep referring to your prince self in the past tense?" She asked.

"How do you mean?" I responded, not quite understanding.

"Just now, you said 'was' when referring to your prince title. It has not been the first time you have mentioned it as such. And so I asked out of curiosity why that is so." She explained.

"Oh..." I said, the memory of me looking out the window of my aircraft to witness a firey ball engulf my kingdom flashing within. "It was... something my dad taught me rather quickly into my prince hood to ensure I do not go 'mad with power' and get myself in trouble. He said that no matter what happens or what situation. When you step outside the borders of your kingdom. All power you had as a royal is gone. You are only a royal within your kingdom. It is up to the other kingdoms to respect that title and how they would treat said title, not you. And the same applies to others as well." I explained, hiding the truth.

"Wise counsel, you must really look up to your father to remember so much." She said, looking down at the counter with soft eyes.

"Yes, he was my role model, my hero. He was everything to me. He taught me everything I know in some way, shape, or form. Either by literally teaching me or providing the resources for me to learn. Not only that, he was highly respected by the other twelve kingdoms as being one of the most philosophical of all the kings. Wise words and lessons were his specialties." I said, reminiscing. "If it's all right with you, I genuinely wish to be left alone now."

"Then I shall leave you to your solitude. Sometime after sunrise, you should meet with my sister in the main courtyard out in front of the castle. That's where the pegasi and you shall coordinate your plan for tomorrow." She said, spreading her wings and flying away. I watched her silhouette fade into the sky. I stepped back and went back to work. Pulling the metal out of the crucible and began hammering away.

"We?... What was I even saying?" I mumbled aloud. Letting the sounds of the swinging hammer cloud my mind until I wandered back into the song.

Hours passed, and I managed to repair my damaged armor suit and recalibrate my helmet's heads-up display. It needed to be done at least once a month for maximum performance. But I had neglected it and many other things over the past several days. I kept thinking to myself while I worked. 'Wow, in one day, I managed to find a new civilization, meet and make friends-er-allies with the rulers of said civilization.' It seemed to go by all too fast. Then again, I lived through a war, and that seemed to drag on for years, which it did. But not as long as it felt. Now, to me, peace just felt weird. No distant sounds of gunfire. No moaning and groaning of the wounded a few tents over. No sudden explosions made me jump to my feet and grab the nearest gun I could find. Just a deafening silence that, for some reason, scared me.

I sat staring at the horizon and watched the sky turn orange as the great sun rose into the sky. Oh, how I could sit there and watch it a million times. So beautiful. My previous thoughts vanished as I enjoyed the peace for but a few moments. Then the current task jumped into my mind. I focused myself and began throwing on my armor. I hooked my father's sword and scabbard onto my back. Leaving the heavy duffle bag in the forge before setting off toward the main courtyard as Luna instructed. I held my helmet under my arm as I walked. Other ponies I walked past looked at me in surprise and shock, going out of their way to stay a few feet away from me. I paid no mind to them, I had a mission, and I was set on completing it.

After heading to two incorrect courtyards, I asked one of the guards for directions to the one I was to meet the Princess at. Upon arriving, I saw Celestia standing next to a railing that overlooked the valley below. I stepped closer to her, and her ear twitched as she turned to face me. "Ah, you're here early. Good. I was just waiting for the pegasi to arrive." She said with a smile.

"Seid gegrüßt, Majestät, Elemente erblicken uns. And of course im here early. I always thought it better to be early than late. So I always make sure im early." I responded, taking a spot beside her next to the railing.

"A good quality to have. Another teaching from your father, I presume?" She asked, leaning against the railing.

"Surprisingly enough, no." I started. "You see, I always hated going through the same boring apology about being late and this, that, and the other. Not to mention the feeling of being late or running late just didn't feel well. So I decided to be early for pretty much everything. That way, I wasn't late, and I never felt that horrid feeling again."

"Hmm, I see." She said, staring off into the horizon toward a large group of clouds bundled together in the distance with large rainbows flowing from under them like waterfalls.

"What is that thing?" I asked, pointing to the mass of clouds.

"Oh, that is cloudsdale. Home to the pegasi. A city built upon clouds with running rivers of pure rainbows. Im watching for Spitfire and the wonder bolt's approach." She explained, not taking her gaze off what I now know as a floating city.

"Amazing! I've never even thought or heard of such a thing! Does it tamper with the weather in any way?" I asked curiously.

"Not directly, but the city is known for its cloud generators. Capable of producing large storms in a matter of minutes. On top of the pegasi keeping the naturally wild weather under control. They practically run the weather unless for a special request by myself or my sister." She explained, seeming happy to present her people's culture.

However, my heart sank, and it showed on my face. "They WHAT? That's elemental law numero uno! DON'T FUCK WITH THE WEATHER! It's one of the few ways the elementals interact with the world other than crossing over from the primordial realm itself! And breaking this rule is met with Severe punishment!"

Celestia stared at me in surprise and bewilderment. "I've never heard of such a law! And no one has received any punishment from any source for weather management. What are you talking about?"

My own dumbfoundedness sat me in awe at her response. Until my logical side returned to me, and I quickly explained how when the elementals first granted us our elemental magic and crossed over from the primal realm. They set a sort of, realm-wide lawbook in place. Telling us what we can and cannot do with our magic. It was rather short, as they wanted us to succeed as much as possible in the world they put us in. But also put restrictions to allow the elements to stay at the top. Number one was to not tamper with or prevent any natural disasters such as large storms, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. Of course, they allowed up to build things that would protect us, like tsunami barriers and special foundations for our buildings to withstand earthquakes. But they didn't want anything to stop or inhibit such events directly. It would inhibit the influence of the elementals from the Primal realm, which was directly connected to ours. Doing so would cause not only damage to our realm but theirs as well. Other laws included not tampering with the orbit of celestial bodies such as other planets or the sun, direct matter creation and destruction, and Altering the change of the seasons. All attempts to gain immortality Or any attempts to cross over into the primal realm ourselves rather than with our minds as we were taught. Such violations were few and far between, but some needed their occasional 'redirection.'

Celestia was incredibly intrigued by this, taking in every word and listening intently. Once I finished, she sat and thought on it for a few minutes as we sat in silence before asking. "Are these elementals here now?"

"Do you see the rocks and dirt around the tree as well?" I asked, waving to nature around the courtyard.

"Yes?" she said questioningly.

"That is all the will of the Elementals of the Earth. Along with the air we breathe are the Elementals of the sky, and the water we drink is that of the Elementals of the sea. The final elemental that binds it all together is the elemental of fire. Which we use to cook our foods, boil our water, and warm our bodies. Fire has its way of being intertwined with all the elements on both a large and small scale." I responded, sounding rather... religious.

"You mean to say Im breathing and walking on elementals?!" She asked, looking slightly startled.

"Well, yes and no?" I said, chuckling. "The natural elements that we see now are of the elemental creation. But The elementals themselves take refuge in those natural elements as they are made of the element's purest energy. So yes, you could be breathing and walking on Elementals, but the amount would be none existent. As their energy is spread throughout the world and conjures itself to where we notice it only on certain occasions. Some elements do it more often than others. The element of the sky is the most frequently occurring, as a gentle breeze is most likely, an elementals energy flowing through the world. The most consistent is the ocean with its tides and waves. Water is always moving, but the movement's strength determines whether or not an elemental is present. Earth is the slowest but can sometimes be the most violent and noticeable. The mountain your castle is built alongside is most likely flowing greatly with Earth elementals. Or an earthquake would have a large sum of them as well. Fire is most certainly the rarest of the four, but it is more times than not the most chaotic. Forest fires and volcanos are the most prominent forms. But those are only caused by fire working with another element to occur anyway. Volcanios being Earth and fire working together and Lightning from a storm causing fire to spark in a forest. Thus the cooperation of the sky and fire."

"Amazing," Celestia said, looking up at the grand mountain. "So they are just always here, Watching us?"

"Watching OVER us," I corrected. Celestia looked at me curiously, and I continued. "You see, The elementals are, in a sense, gods of creation. But by far, the main thing that they love doing is creating sentient life, such as you or me, and seeing how far they get in a world, they created for them. My people got as far as finding a way to communicate with the Elementals directly and gaining their respect. According to them, our sentience's ultimate goal is to achieve a prosperous life thereafter. To push the limits of what we can do for as long as we can. While also making sure nothing out of the ordinary alters our world. In reality, they simply protect and watch us and see our far we get as a species."

"So," Celestia started. "Back to the laws and such. Since we have violated at least two of those, Interfering with the weather and, I suppose, helping the seasons changes. Why haven't these elementals carried out any 'punishments'?" she said, smirking as if catching my beliefs in a lie or something like that.

"That... is a good question," I answered, thinking hard. "Assisting the with changing of the seasons does definitely breaks that law, and altering the weather does as well. You seriously haven't interacted with any elementals at all?" I asked.

"No, not at all. Not that I've heard of at least" She answered.

"Then its simply that the sentient races of this realm haven't connected the bridge between the natural world and the primal realm. Before Merlin, my great-ancestor bridged the gap between man and dragon and in turn, the elementals. We didn't even know that the primal realm existed, not to mention that the elementals were in a sense, 'elementals in disguise.' Not to mention we never saw the elementals either until then. My best guess is that until the bridge is connected, Elementals can't directly interact with us and can only use natural elements to show their will. I have to double-check our history and lessons in the unbound arcanum later. Has the weather gotten progressively... nastier or harder to control over the years? Or natural events in general, for that matter?" I asked.

Celestia opened her mouth for a quick answer, then quickly shut it and began thinking. "Well, before the three ponies tribes united, the weather was particularly hard on us. But once we all put aside our differences and unified, the weather changed dramatically in our favor. And over the course of the years to this day, I suppose it has gotten worse. But then the pegasi began policing the weather along with the cloud machines to help control it. But I Will note a few particularly nasty storms worse than some of the ones we've had prior." She continued thinking.

"Then the elementals have taken notice then. They are most likely trying to overwhelm the pegasi so that they stop tampering with the weather. And when that's done, the weather should calm down quite a bit." I said, leaning over the rail myself and looking over the valley. "However, I know the rituals and concoctions needed to gaze into the primal realm. Not to mention the lessons and recipes for them are stored in the Unbound Arcanum. I can most likely bridge the gap that has been here for so long and help you and them reach an agreement as Merlin did oh so long ago." I turned to look Celestia in the eyes. "At your permission, heir majesty."

"I see no reason for you to make up such a random and abrupt idea. The great amount of detail and passion behind it signifies truth. But our ways are ours, and yours are your own. If what you say is true about these so-called 'elementals.' Then I see no reason to stop your endeavors in pacifying them with diplomacy. And considering they can influence the environment with severe storms and other natural disasters. I would not have such disasters befall any of the ponies under my care. Please, do whatever is necessary." She responded.

"Of course, If I were a ruler, I'd do whatever I could to protect those around me. I'd take a bullet for someone if it meant sparing their life. Hell, I HAVE taken a bullet for someone before. But anyways, back to the elementals. In order for me to gaze forth into the Primal realm, I need two things. One is the ritual sigil of the four main elements. It also acts as the symbol for the Elementals as well. We call it the Quadrinity." I said. Celestia nodded in understanding.

"and the other thing?" She asked.

"The second thing is a brew of Primal energy. A potion made from the primal realm's essence and its four main powers, which derive from the four main elements." I explained.

"But I assume you don't have one on hand? she asked.

"No, but I do know how to make one. This is the easy part. In all honesty, the hard part is finding the ingredients. It's only four, but the kind I need are incredibly rare. Ingredients with pure Primal energy are as scarce as they come in the natural world. The hardest of the bunch is fire. I remember reading that Merlin had to jump into an erupting volcano to find his first one. But I know for a fact they do exist, as the elementals said that for each world they create, they put these ingredients in the natural world to make sure we have a chance to connect to the primal realm. It's just a matter of finding them." I responded.

"Well, Im sure the royal library can help narrow your search. You've already stated that the ingredient for fire would be somewhere like a volcano. The firey land of the dragons would be a good place to start, And you already said you planned to talk to the dragons and help smooth things over against my sister and I's better judgment. Where would the others be?" She asked.

"Well, you guys have an ocean, yeah?" I asked. Getting a look from Celestia like I was stupid.

"Yes, of course, we do."

"good, somewhere in there is the ingredient for the ocean," I responded.

"Just in the ocean? Nowhere specific, just in the ocean?" She asked.

"Well, it's most likely in the deepest part of the ocean, like it was in my realm. But for all I know, it could be different here." I responded.

"Okay then, What about the other two, Air and Earth?" She asked".

"I have an idea for air, but it seems too obvious. That rainbow liquid flowing from Cloudsdail could be it. But then again, the one back home was a bolt of rainbow lighting. Earth is both the hardest and easiest, for it is the most consistent being a form of stone or crystal that glows a bright white and seems to shift and move like water but stays rock solid. But it can be ANYWHERE in the Earth we walk upon. And I mean, it can literally be anywhere below ground. Finding it will most likely be a game of chance and a long one at that. It took Merlin almost seventy-six years to find the first one, and his dragon had it use its grand magic to excavate a small mountain!"

"My word, It sounds like you have quite the task ahead of you. I know we have an overabundance of rock farms and mining quarries across western Equestria. I'll is sure to send them word to keep an eye out for such a crystal. I'll also send word to Twilight and see if she can ask her friend rainbow dash to get some of that rainbow liquid to you when she can. I can tell this will be a long endeavor." She responded, Returning to lean against the railing.

"Yes, But I have more than enough time to find it all. And I have a much more pressing matter I need to take care of now: rescuing my friend from that god-forsaken forest." I said with a hint of annoyance. It was then that I noticed a small dot appear in the blue sky. Then another... and another... soon little more than two dozen dots filled the sky and were growing more prominent as time went on. All in a close but obvious formation.

"Ah, here come the pegasi now," Celestia said, pulling herself upright, standing with more royal authority. I did the same, Putting on my helmet and taking on a more affirmative stance myself. We waited for a few moments as the pegasi came fully into few, trailing streaks of thunderclouds behind them as they made a very grand entrance. A loud boom followed, and a shower of what looked like sparks showered the sky. They then followed through on their aerial maneuvers as they swooped in and landed, still in formation. They bore uniforms of multi-colored blue and wore goggles over their eyes. Each pony had a different color mane sticking out the top of the uniform like a mohawk.

I leaned over and whispered to Celestia. "I hope they can bring more to the table than a good show." She responded with a small glare before throwing a smile on her face and greeting the lead pegasus with a firey orange mane as she pulled the goggles off her eyes to rest on her forehead.

"Greetings Spitfire! Please forgive my sudden request. I know it must have been difficult for you to assemble the Wonderbolts like this on such short notice." She said, sounding apologetic.

The pony mare responded in a gruff female voice that was clearly annoyed and tired. "Yeah, It was. I had to pull everyone out of bed in the dead of night to get prepared for this big thing you had planned. I still don't know what you coulda put together that needs all of us at a show THAT fast during our offseason. Although that is the wonder bolt specialty."

"First off, it's not a show. It's a rescue mission." I stepped forward with my hands behind my back, making my presence known. My inner general showing through.

The lead pony Spitfire shot me a glare, which I ignored. "And who is that?"

"That is my guest, Prince Rileus. And he isn't wrong. It's not a show but rather a very important mission. He needs an aerial team to help rescue a close friend from deep within the Everfree forest." She quickly explained.

"Is that so?" Spitfire responded, raising an eyebrow. She trotted toward me and began circling me. Looking me up and down as if investigating me before stopping and looking at my face. As if seeing through my helmet. "Doesn't look like a prince to me, Doesn't even look like a pony for that matter."

"He is new to Equestria, And he has shown his share of proof that he is royalty," Celestia responded, looking rather nervous.

Spitfire trotted around me again, then stopped and looked at my face again. "So you're the wise pony who pulled my entire team and me out of bed in the dead of night to what? Save your friend that got lost in the woods? Im sorry, but that sounds like a job for somepony else." she said, very much so, allowing her annoyance to flow with each word as she sassed me.

"Actually, MA'AM. I needed you and your squadron to Evac a very large and very heavy Aircraft out of the Everyfree forest that was carrying both my comatose friend's body and several priceless magical artifacts from my homeland. I hope that's not a problem for you and your squad MA'AM." I responded with every bit of sass she gave me. During the war, As long as you treated me right and with respect, we would get along great. Treat me like shit, and you got every ounce of it back tenfold. That's How I ran my armies as a general. And that was showing in full force right now. And Spitfire did not like it at all.

"Excuse me? Do you know who you're talking to?" She responded with more sass. Stepping closer slowly.

"No, I don't, actually. All I know is you lead this group of winged ponies who are supposed to be helping me. But so far have only gotten and dazzling light show, and a whole lot of fucking rudeness and sass from someone I haven't even met before." I responded, not backing down. I could tell Celestia wanted to step in, but didn't know how to.

"Well," Spitfire started as her face turned red with anger through her uniform. Getting even closer to my face. "FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I am captain Spitfire of the wonderbolts, The best aerial performance team IN EQUESTRIA. And we don't take kindly to random creatures claiming to be princes making us crawl out of bed at two o'clock in the morning to haul some 'aircraft.' out of one of the most dangerous forests in Equestria."

I once again did not back down. In fact, I leaned in closer. "That's good to know, CAPTAIN spitfire. Im SO sorry that I had to call you all out of bed so early in the morning, so please forgive me." A small smirk crept into her face, thinking she won. Boy, was she wrong. "Unfortunately, I don't give a flying FUCK who you are or what your team does. Right now, I need a group that can carry a lot of weight over a long distance. Not one that creates a firework by flying really fast. CAN your squad deliver that, MA'AM?"

Spitfire crouched down as if ready to jump and pounce on me, wings flared. I smiled under my helmet. "Be careful now, Miss spitfire. The Princess is watching. How would you think your reputation as the esteemed captain of the wonderbolts be after you assaulted a royal guest of the Princess?" Spitfire's eyes widened slowly as she turned towards Princess Celestia. Who was watching the whole situation unfold. She quickly composed herself and took a few deep breaths before saying.

"Celestia, a word in private? NOW."

"Of course," Celestia responded as the two trotted away. I stood there holding my pose as they walked off. Spitfire shouted a phrase to the ponies in formation as they broke their own stances like a commanding officer saying 'at ease.' One of the larger Pegasi Stallions with a very dark blue mane and green eyes trotted over to me.

"I have never in all my years as a wonder bolt seen someone talk like that to Spitfire." He said, sounding quite shocked.

"Then she shouldn't have come at me like that. However, I do understand where she's coming from. Yes, I bet you're all tired and fairly grumpy because of the circumstances. I was in a leadership position in the military back home, so I get it. But I live my life as a general by a very simple philosophy when it comes to leadership. 'Do no harm, take no shit.' Which basically means, 'you treat me right, ill treat you right. Treat me like shit, and ima treat you like shit.' Very simple stuff." I responded.

"Yeah, I get that. But dang, that was something else." The stallion responded. Quickly reaching out his hoof. "Im Soarin, by the way. Second in command of the wonderbolts." I gripped his hoof firmly into a hand/hoof shake.

"Rileus, but you can call me Riley. I don't particularly like to show my Prince title, but yes, I am a prince. Believe me or not, it's the truth, but you do not have to address me as such. I'm not too fond of it."

"Yeah, I gotcha." He said, breaking off the handshake. "So, if you don't mind me asking. You said you needed us to carry an aircraft out of the Everfree forest, right?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well, if its and aircraft, why isn't it, you know. In the air?" He asked nervously.

"That's a bit of a long story that I'll shorten down for convenience. About eight months ago, six for you ponies. I crash-landed In the Everfree forest inside the craft due to a critical thruster failure. Woke up with a concussion and several other injuries. My partner, whom we will go to save here soon, hopefully, Was in a comatose state in the passenger seat with more severe injuries than me. Fast forward trying to survive in that wretched place for six months, and here we are." I explained.

"Okay, Understood. How big are we talking for this thing anyway?" He asked.

"lemme show you..." I said, pulling my wrist around and opening my wristpad. Quickly uplinking it to my helmet, I use the helmet's built-in holo-projector to cast an accurate life-size model of the craft in a large open space of the courtyard. It stood roughly four of me high and was very large. Two swiveling disc-like thrusters sat inside the wings, with two thrusters sticking out the back just above the rear ramp that led inside.

"SWEET CELESTIA! How much does that thing weigh?!" He asked, baffled.

"Roughly eight thousand pounds," I said, cutting the projection. "Then again, it is missing part of a wing, among other things. Plus, I can probably finagle the ship's artificial gravity system to make it lighter."

"Okay, that's a little better. But eight thousand pounds!? Sheesh, we really got our work cut out for us this time." He said, rubbing his forehead with a hoof. Interesting... they also use pounds to measure weight here.

"You think your fellas can handle it?" I asked. "Because I need this thing up here in canterlot, preferably on the other side of the castle closer to the forge, so that I can repair it."

"Oh my- you need it up here?" He said, sounding even more baffled. "Gosh, we're probably gonna need to stop and rest a few times before hauling it all the way up the mountain."

"Oh, I fully expect you all too," I responded. I got a shocked look from Soarin in response. "What? Did you think I was gonna make you all do it in one go? FUCK NO. I would only trust you guys to do it in one if yall were that confident you could. But I would like you all to at least try to carry it out of Everfree on the first stretch. I would rather not deal with the timberwolves any longer than I have to."

"Well, that's a relief. Wait, why are you gonna be dealing with timberwolves? I thought we were gonna just carry it out?" He asked.

"We are. But whos going to attach the ropes for you all? Not to mention I have to get to the damn thing to signal you all where it is, along with clearing the leaf ceiling that has covered the forest so we can actually get the thing out. Trust me. I have a whole plan thought out." I explained.

"ALRIGHT, WONDERBOLTS! BACK IN FORMATION!" I heard Spitfire yell as she and Celestia both came back into view. Spitfire still seemed annoyed but nowhere near as upset as a few minutes ago. The Rest of the pegasi, including Soarin, dashed back into their positions. I'll give Spitfire this. She has a good hold of her troops if her squad follows her orders like that. Loyalty is everything in leadership, that and trust.

"Rileus, a word?" Celestia called out, still a ways away from the group. I walked over, crossing my arms.

"I told you just to call me by Riley. I know you say my full name out of respect, but It's really starting to bug me," I said, annoyed.

"Look," Celestia started sounding stern, seeming to ignore my statement. "I understand your worry about your friend, as am I to an extent. But picking fights with other ponies as my guest, not to mention one as important and popular as Spitfire, Is unacceptable."

"What?! She came at me that that shit first! I said it once, and ill say it again, I live by a simple philosophy, 'Do no harm, take no shit.' Treat me right, and I'll treat you right. That's it!" I retorted, sounding upset.

"I know, I know," She acknowledged, waving a hoof, trying to tell me to calm down. "I told her that while we talked. Along with that, she needs to work with you, not against you. Give her your plan, and she shall deliver results as she always has."

"IF her results are unwavering rudeness along with slight racism, I dunno if I wanna work with her. Soarin, her second in command, seems much easier to work with." I responded.

"Slight racism? What are you talking about?!" She responded beweilderly.

"hE DoSeNT lOOk LikE A pONy tO mE?" I said, mocking spitfires voice.

"Oh my," Celestia started, raising a hoof to her head. "I don't think she meant it to come out that way. She was just making an observation about your species."

"Doesn't mean it's not racist!" I retorted. "Plus, the way she said it, with that tone, just screamed racism."

"Okay, okay, okay," Celestia said, rubbing her head. "Just please do try to make this work. The wonderbolts are the best aerial team in Equestria, and for a good reason! That's why I asked for them specifically. Plus, this will only be brief, so you won't have to 'deal' with it for long."

"Yeah, ok, I get it." I agreed. "But I will say this, If you have unicorns with strong levitation abilities, or perhaps you and your sister could pull yourself away for a few moments. Once we get this thing up here, I guarantee the wonderbolts will be exhausted. Any help to take the load off of them would be greatly appreciated."

"I'll see what I can do." She winked. "Now you might wanna go brief Spitfire on your plan before she leaves." I nodded and returned to the group of pegasi. Spitfire noticed and turned to face me.

"Alright, hotshot. Soarin said you had a plan, so let's hear it." She said, keeping her original authoritative and annoyed voice.

"Alright then," I said, pulling up my wristpad and using my helmet's stronger project to cast the map of Equestria onto the ground
without trouble. The map zoomed in onto the Everfree forest. "The plan is simple. Im going to go into the forest by ground and use my wirstpad's tracker to find my ship. Once I do, I'll use my magic to clear the plant-based ceiling that covers the forest and send a signal up to mark my position for you guys. While you guys make your approach, im going to set up several cables and such to toss up to you all so we can lift the craft out. As when we crashed and dug itself pretty deep into the dirt. After that, You guys will carry the craft along the fastest possible route back to the base of the canterlot mountains while taking rests whenever needed."

"Pretty solid plan." Spitfire said, nodding, "Except for the fact that we can just skip the whole part about having you find it from the ground and just fly to the thing if you can track it through that thing." She snarked as she pointed to my wirstpad.

"You got X-ray vision and a spell to disperse the plant ceiling? Because while I was stuck in that horrible place for the last eight months, I couldn't see the sky through it, and it was stronger than steel. Couldn't cut it or push my way through it. Plus, to disperse it, I need an artifact that's inside the craft. So I'd have to go in from the ground anyway."

"Tch, fine. C'mon Bolts, let's wing it!" She yelled, spreading her wings.

"Question, Who's gonna carry me?" I asked.

"Huh? You can't fly?" Spitfire responded, confused.

"Of course I cant Fly! Do you see any fuckin wings on me?! And Im not gonna fucking leg it to Everfree from here if yall can fly. So, I'll ask again, who's giving me a ride?"

Author's Note

HELLOING! Next one should be up by next Friday so stay tuned for that. I Normally would just slam it all into one thing But I wanna keep the chapters around 7k words so it doesn't get boring halfway through.