(November 10th: 24th Day Since Capture)

Three sets of muffled hooves and the resonant clink of metal on metal were the only sounds accompanying Neil as he continued down the hall with Bulk and Hearth by his side. Today was an important day. At least, that's what it felt like to everyone around him. Every pony he talked to, whether Bulk when he checked to see who was on duty that morning or Silver Platter when the stallion delivered his breakfast, was keen to remind him of his appointment. He simply couldn't understand why it was so important, though.

Yes, his cast was going to be removed today. So what? His horn was a useless, if painfully irritating, impediment to him before it was injured. Now that he could use his wings, it wouldn't get in the way nearly as much, but it would still be just as useless as before. At least he could say that with the cast and the ring, his horn was numb to every little bump and whack he had experienced daily. Perhaps if he asked nicely enough, they would allow him to keep wearing the ring.

After all, he couldn't do all the insane stuff Unicorns could do. If he could grab objects with telekinesis, or move the fucking moon like a toy ball, then maybe he could understand all the focus on his horn. But he couldn't, so it was a moot point overall. He also wasn't the most knowledgeable about broken bones, but he had some misgivings. When his teammate Taylor broke an arm, he was benched for months until the cast came off. Whereas the cast on his horn wasn't even a month old? Not that his inner musings mattered, as the infirmary doors grew closer with each step.

Even now, a small part of him felt like stopping and turning around. To skip out on his appointment and keep the ring so that he wouldn't feel any pain the next time he bumped his horn against a door frame or hit it against something when he looked around. In the end, he ignored those thoughts. If he gave in and skipped his appointment, there was no doubt Celestia would hear about it and harass him. If he wanted to avoid Celestia today, he needed to get the cast off (and probably smuggle the ring out somehow).

With his decision made, Neil soon found himself face to face with the large, sterile-white pair of double doors. If not for the barrel-sized red crosses proudly embossed on each door, a random person might have mistaken them for a guest room or an unused storage closet. He, however, had the dubious fortune to pass through these doors multiple times already. Strangely enough, now that he was back, it felt like he'd only left just a few days ago. He brushed aside his unimportant thoughts and feelings with one last exhale and pushed through the doors.

His first instinct, by habit at that point, was to look at the front desk and see who was unlucky enough to be stuck behind it. Given her distinct colors, it was easy to identify Nurse Rose was the one who drew the short straw that morning. She was sitting ramrod straight with a stiff upper back, looking a little bored but still professional as she watched him enter.

"Here for your eleven A.M. appointment, Mr. Davidson?" She asked immediately before his guards even had the chance to enter behind him.

Even though it was far too early to deal with such things, he felt an inexplicable panic swell within him for the briefest instant. Here he was, about to be checked in for a health appointment, and he didn't have his provincial health card. Nurse Rose needed it to verify his appointment, didn't she?

Only for reality to set in and brush aside his panic, as he remembered his wallet, likely with his health card still in it, was probably sitting on his bedside table back home. There was also the fact that they didn't need it when they dragged him here the first time. Therefore, he didn't need his card now, or at all.

"I guess so," He answered with an apathetic shrug.

"Good. You're fifteen minutes early, but that shouldn't impose too much of a problem." She informed him before reaching underneath the overhanging countertop. The next moment, a service bell's chime permeated the lobby. "Just wait a moment, please," Nurse Rose added as the sound of the bell waned.

Neil didn't have long to wait after that. He barely had enough time to cross the lobby and stop next to the front desk before the door next to the staff only sign was captured by a ghostly purple glow and pushed aside. Seconds later, an olive-colored Unicorn mare walked out with a pale yellow mane and tail and a folder next to her held up by the same purple aura. An unusual colour combination, but she was wearing the same nurse hat that all the other mares wore as she looked his way and flashed him a smile.

"Good morning, Ambassador Davidson," She said politely as she walked over to him with calm confidence. When she crossed paths with him, she didn't stop, but her pace slowed down long enough for her to ask, "If you would please follow me?" Before reclaiming her original stride and heading towards the door labeled patient recovery.

With an ambivalent shrug, he gave Nurse Rose a farewell nod, then followed after the new nurse. His first thought was that this nurse might take him to his old room. Ponies were rather sensitive about certain things, so giving a patient a sense of familiarity fit right into his assumptions. Instead, she disproved him almost immediately.

Once they passed through the door, she took an immediate left through a set of double doors he'd never taken before. After that, she went straight, leading him through a short hallway and past a second set of double doors before pausing at an unpainted wooden door with a brass doorknob. The only other distinct feature he noticed about that particular door was a small bronze sign that read TR-12.

He hadn't the slightest idea what the sign meant. There wasn't a single indication to show if this was an operating room or a patient recovery room (even though his old room had a swinging door without a doorknob). All he knew was that it couldn't be a storage closet since it wasn't painted. However, the nurse thought this was the right place, as she opened up the folder at her side and brought it closer to look at. She spent less than a minute in silence, skimming the document for the needed information. Once she found it, however, she gave herself a firm nod and closed the folder with an unexpectedly crisp flap.

"If you would please wait here?" The nurse asked kindly as a second bubble of her aura surrounded the doorknob. A quick twist, and she was able to slowly push the door inwards for him. "The nurse inside will take your preliminary tests while I fetch the Doctor to look at your horn."

'More tests?', He internally groaned as he looked inside. From what he could see, the room was quite bare. A basic-looking examination bed was pressed against the back wall, set at half the height of a regular bed, and covered by a simple white sheet. Next to the bed was an uncomfortable-looking wooden chair that appeared to be thick and sturdy. He couldn't see the nurse that the olive mare mentioned, but then again, he could only see one-half the room.

As Neil inspected the room, the aura holding the doorknob faded away. Allowing the door to slowly inch closed under its weight as the nurse turned around and took her leave without a word. Taking the not-so-subtle hint, Neil took a step forward. As was standard operating procedure by that point, Bulk and Hearth parted from his sides and took up guard positions on either side of the door. Leaving him to enter the room on his own.

Multiple white cabinets covered the far wall on his right, each with see-through glass doors revealing various medical tools. Neil recognized some of them from movies set in the 1950s, but the rest looked bizarre and out of place. There was a lovely, simplistic-looking wooden desk pressed against the near wall between the cabinets and himself. A blood work kit sat on the surface, which he quickly recognized (and personally loathed) from his time in the infirmary. Most importantly, however, was the pale green-white Pegasus mare with a light purple mane sitting in the office chair beside the desk.

Neil may not have seen her since his very first day in the castle, but within a moment or two, it came to him that the Pegasus sitting in the chair was Nurse Fresh Mint. She was the first pony to greet him with a warm smile and a comforting voice right after he was captured and brought to the castle. Sadly, she was also the first pony he inadvertently deceived when he tried and failed his first escape attempt.

Unlike that day, Nurse Mint wasn't precisely smiling as she looked at him. She attempted to look happy; that much was clear, even if it was only done to remain professional. But, the slight glint of worry in her eyes and the slumped wings barely held against her side told a different story. One Neil couldn't quite decipher as she spun in her chair and gestured for him to lay on the examination bed.

A sudden feeling of awkwardness draped itself over Neil, like a second layer on top of his cloak, as he complied with her silent request. Given the room's overall size, the examination bed was, at most, only six modest steps away. Which was barely enough time for him to reach around with his wings and wrestle with the clasp of his cloak. Once unfastened, however, he lightly tossed the garment onto the chair beside the bed.

Using only his tail to keep his privacy intact, Neil crawled onto the bed in an almost dog-like fashion. Was it embarrassing to do so in front of another person? Yes. But, it was the better of two options than giving Nurse Mint a full view of his uncovered sheath. He didn't know who, exactly, had seen him naked during the night while he was unconscious, beyond Nurse Rose, that is. But that didn't mean he wanted to increase the number of ponies who saw his junk.

Once Neil had settled down on his belly, Nurse Mint chose that moment to speak up. Her voice had the same wispy resonance he remembered from before. But now, he picked up a slight but noticeable tremble mixed within as she tried to push away the awkward silence. "Good morning, Ambassador Neil. I'll be taking c-care of you as we wait for Doctor Reflex," She informed him, as her eyes nervously shifted from him to the blood work kit and back, "I-if you want me to, that is?"

If he wanted her to? This was an unexpected and strange turn of events. Usually, the nurse would show up, ask for his arm, or foreleg as they called it, and retreat with a few vials of blood after a minute or two of sticking him with needles. However, the way she said it and the way she held herself...

Unasked, a poignant memory of Celestia's disappointed voice played in his mind. 'Nurse Mint delivered the meal you requested, only to find your room abandoned. After failing to find you, she came to me later that night with her resignation.'

If Celestia were to be believed, he was starting to build a track record of almost costing ponies their jobs. Nurse Mint was the first, through no fault of her own. Then, there was the outright perverted Nurse Heart. That one was a little more earned, with the way she casually flirted and tried to catch a glimpse of his sheath, cock, and balls. He hadn't seen since he sent her off with that note, but the fact that she broke down in tears...

Last but not least, the recent events of the Everfree fiasco almost cost Bulk his job as well.

With a resigned sigh, Neil extended his front right leg towards Nurse Mint. The examination bed might have been slightly too small for a pony of his size, but he kept his arm rigid and straight for her as it hung over the edge. "Might as well get this over with. Just don't poke too many holes into me."

"I'll try not to, Ambassador," Was all she had to say as she hopped out of her chair. Her wings seemed to shiver as she reached for the kit, but once she firmly held it in her feathered grasp, she appeared to draw strength from it. Becoming more steadfast in her posture as she went about her work.

Whether human or pony, the fact that drawing blood was a similar process always struck Neil as odd. Tying off an elastic above the elbow made sense, as it would make the blood vessels appear more prominent underneath the skin. Everything after that, however, made no goddamn sense to him. Instead of shaving a patch of fur to see what they were doing, a Unicorn nurse would encapsulate a good two to three inches below his elbow with their aura, then jab a needle into him with pinpoint precision.

This was his first time with a Pegasus like Nurse Mint, who took a similar if more physical route. Without a horn or an aura at her disposal, she gently dragged the tips of four feathers below his elbow, sifting through the fur, which caused a faintly ticklish sensation. Was she feeling for a blood vessel? Even with the recent familiarity of his wings, he couldn't fathom the skill and training required to do so. And yet, that was apparently what she was doing as three of the four feathers retreated. The last one remained, rubbing one spot circularly as it pushed most of his fur out of the way.

However, when it came time to poke him with a needle and draw his blood, she paused. Her short-lived spark of confidence seemed to falter as she held the tip of the needle less than an inch away from his skin. The trembling of her wing didn't help matters, as Neil also started to lose confidence in her ability.

Why did she pause? What was she so worried about? Did she think he would do something if she poked him and missed?

He might grumble if that last thing happened more than a few times, but that would be it. As he replayed the words he just said to her in his mind, and if they were taken in a far more ominous light... he could imagine a silent 'or else' at the end of his words. But why? Why would she take anything he said like that or act so nervous around him? They only had one very brief interaction on his first day, and he wasn't rude to her then, either.

Whatever the case, he didn't want to end up as a pincushion as he took his stab in the dark. "Even if you miss, I won't do anything to you."

His voice broke what little concentration she had left as her whole body went rigid, and her eyes shrank into terrified pinpricks. Even the mint-green fur blending into the edge of her mane stood on end as if she had just been ambushed by surprise or caught doing something wrong. She remained like that for a short while before her body relaxed and faintly shivered again.

Now that she could move, Nurse Mint withdrew her eyes from the spot she was trying to impale with a needle and slowly turned to face him instead. "P-pardon me?"

Neil was taken aback by the sheer amount of anxiety? Fear? She managed to keep to herself up until that point. Had she felt like this since he walked into the room? Before? The main question always revolved back to one simple word, however. Why? To help ease her mind, he told her as calmly and soothingly as he could manage given the circumstances, "I said, even if you miss and jab me a few extra times, I'm not going to do anything to you."

Her trembling seemed to lessen at his words, but Neil wasn't expecting everything else that followed. He was not an expert on pony expressions or tells by any means. However, as Nurse Mint's anxiety became less prominent, she took on an expression he hadn't seen before on a pony. One that could only be described as the look of a puppy that had just been kicked by its owner and was begging to be spared from receiving another. "...Do you promise?"

Even for Neil, that was too much. He didn't know what he did to her, but it left him feeling like absolute trash. "Yes, I promise... and for what it's worth, whatever I did that first day, I'm sorry."

It wasn't like a switch had been flipped, but eventually, his words seemed to sink in as Nurse Mint's shaking ceased. And, for the first time since he walked into the room, he caught sight of a minuscule smile. It was still a sad smile, admittedly, but this one appeared one hundred percent genuine as she gave him a slight nod, then turned her focus back onto his arm.

Unfortunately, Nurse Mint lost her spot on his arm during their tense little one-on-one session. She had to quickly retrace her step to find a blood vessel, but she found the same place soon enough. With a far steadier wing this time, she had a needle poised and ready to go. Taking only a second to reaffirm her alignment before Neil felt a familiar sting.

She pulled the plunger back slowly, filling the vial with his blood in a singular, smooth motion, not at all like the trembling from just a few minutes ago. Soon enough, the first needle was full, and she withdrew it from his arm. After placing it into the test kit, she withdrew a second one.

She repeated the process two more times, filling three needles in total before disinfecting and taping a little cotton swab over the spot she jabbed him repeatedly. After that, she bit down on the test kit handle and retreated with a nervous flap of her wings. It was little more than a small hop in the cramped room, but she landed precisely on the office chair and allowed her momentum to spin it so she could place the test kit back on the desk.

Things weren't fully patched up between them. But, not knowing what caused it, Neil didn't know what else he could do or say. In the end, he simply withdrew his arm, folding it back underneath himself, and waited as another awkward silence settled into the room.

For how long? Without a clock in the room, Neil didn't know as he tried to focus on anything but Nurse Mint. He remained awake throughout the ordeal, though, by the time the doorknob slowly twisted, and the door cracked open.

"Good morning!" A male voice came from outside as the door opened further. "I'm Dr. Pinpoint Reflex, and I'll be taking a look at your horn-"

Once the gap was wide enough, Nurse Mint chose that moment to do her very best Rainbow Dash impression. As a blur, she leaped off the chair, snatched the test kit off the desk, and vanished out of the room. Leaving Neil momentarily alone in the blink of an eye, just as the door fully opened.

In the hallway stood a Unicorn stallion with a dull black mane, and his head turned, presumably watching as Nurse Mint raced further down the hallway. His fur was a dirty white that reminded him of pages in a book that were just starting to turn brown. It made him look slightly unclean as if, he was covered in a layer of dust despite being a doctor.

He had on a full white doctor's coat that cut off just short of his thighs and rump, as was the typical fashion for an Equestrian stallion. To finish the look, Dr. Reflex also had a stethoscope mostly curled in place, with some parts hanging loosely off his neck.

"...Today," He finally finished, sounding curious and perplexed. "Huh. Normally, Nurse Mint says hello before she goes about her duties. The last time a nurse ran out of a room that fast, the patient accidentally soiled themselves."

He then looked into the room and asked, "You didn't, did you?" While taking a tentative sniff from the hallway.

"Does it look like I shit myself?" Neil immediately snarked back, feeling a little flabbergasted that a doctor of all people would ask that out in the open. What happened to patient confidentiality? Or did guards not count in Equestria for some reason?

Besides a violent twitch of Dr. Reflex's ears, the stallion seemingly ignored Neil's unique word choice until he spoke. "There's the foul language mentioned in your file. But, to answer your question, no, you do not appear to have soiled yourself." Dr. Reflex joked in a lighthearted manner as he stepped into the room.

At that point, Neil could get a clear view of his emblem. It looked like one of those odd flashlights doctors and nurses used to check your eyes and ears, but crossed with a small mallet to make an X shape. "There isn't even a hint of passed gas," Dr. Reflex added just before the door clicked closed behind him.

"Then again, I'm not here to worry about a little flatulence," He continued as his horn lit up with a silver hue and pushed the office chair beside the bed. "I'm here to ensure your horn is fully healed and in peak working condition!"

"Now, if you could please sit up, Ambassador Neil?" He asked as he hopped into the chair and used his hooves to untangle the stethoscope from around his neck.

Unfortunately for Neil, the nonchalant manner in which Dr. Reflex chose to sit in his chair, along with the style of coat that conveniently did not cover up his belly, also gave him an up close and personal view of Dr. Reflex's bare sheath and balls.

Neil immediately scrambled to follow the Doctor's suggestion, but not because he was asked. It was to avoid being at eye level with the Doctor's junk as he averted his eyes upwards and brought himself up to his full height. It was an improvement for sure, even if it left him at eye level with Dr. Reflex, given the difference in height between his bed and the Doctor's chair. Unlike the Doctor, though, he also properly covered himself with his front legs.

"I'm only going to ask this once, nicely. Could you please cover yourself properly," Neil stressed, narrowing his eyes at Dr. Reflex.

"Cover myself?" Dr. Reflex parroted, more to himself with a hint of mild confusion, as he was about to slip the ends of the stethoscope into his ears. After a moment or two, he seemed to catch on as his eyes widened. "Oh, right, dislike for nudity. Not that I'm nude, of course, but if it would make you feel better."

With a quick flash of his horn, the coat he had on simply vanished- from the top half of his body, at the very least. Instead of wearing it like an open trench coat and imitating your average streaker, it was now wrapped around his lower half in a poor imitation of a beach towel. Still, a glance confirmed that the Doctor covered everything necessary.

With that promptly taken care of, Dr. Reflex adjusted his stethoscope until he was happy with how it sat in his ears. "Now, before I look at your horn, I might as well put the old stethoscope to use. Could you lift your left foreleg a little?" He asked, gesturing a hoof towards Neil's left arm.

Reluctantly, Neil raised his left arm a little, just as Dr. Reflex asked. Only to raise it a little more when the Doctor gestured for him to continue, followed by a third and a fourth time. Finally, Dr. Reflex seemed satisfied as his horn flickered to life with a slight silver aura at its very tip. At the same time, the circle end of the stethoscope started to float towards him.

"Now," Dr. Reflex warned, just before the stethoscope made contact, "This might feel a little cold."

He was correct, though the stethoscope's diaphragm wasn't nearly as cold as Neil had expected. It may have looked metallic, but it didn't feel made of metal as it pressed against the short fur at the edge of his armpit. Dr. Reflex held it there for a few seconds, then shifted a few inches over, only to keep it in place a second time.

After holding it in place for a few more seconds, he encased the entire tool in his aura and withdrew both the diaphragm and the tips from his ears. "Perfect, as one would expect from an Alicorn. Now, with that off the checklist and your blood work on its way, it's time for the main reason we're all here. Your horn. Any questions or concerns before I take a look?"

"Well, I've had two questions since I was told about this appointment," Neil admitted as he momentarily debated which question to ask first. "First, how long does it normally take for a horn to heal? It hasn't even been a month since I cracked mine."

Dr. Reflex leaned back into his chair, drawing out his moment of thought with a mild hum before answering Neil's question. "Well, depending on the bone that's been broken and the tribe of the pony in question, I would say four to ten weeks. Horn fractures, even the smallest crack, are taken very seriously. On average, I would say it takes eight to ten weeks to heal."

"Okay, so roughly two months," Neil quickly added up, noting the obvious disparity between that number and his appointment date. "If that's the case, why am I here?"

"Because that's the average length for a Unicorn's horn to heal. As far as we know, you're the first Alicorn to suffer from a fractured horn," Dr. Reflex informed him. "And I'm finally here to check on your progress," He added, sounding just a little put out about that fact.

Picking up on the Doctor's tone, Neil followed up by asking, "What do you mean by finally here?"

"Oh, I don't mean anything by it," The Doctor quickly conceded with a slight chuckle after being called out before explaining further. "Just; well, if I had things my way, you never would have left the infirmary. We would have been doing a weekly check-up and cataloging your progress until your horn was fully healed."

"Your way?" Was his speedy response, picking up on the fact that the Doctor's preferred observation method had been overturned by someone higher up, perhaps? "And why would you have any say as to where I go? I didn't sign up to be a medical test subject."

"I didn't say you were," Dr. Reflex countered calmly. "But, for posterity's sake and to ensure the information was as accurate as possible, I would have preferred to keep you under observation. Instead, my superiors decided that you should be offered larger, and more importantly, private accommodations for your mental well-being."

"Mental well..." Neil began, only to trail off. Of course, they were keeping tabs on him. The Doctor even said so. But, tracking his mental health, as well? He wasn't crazy- unless this whole world was in his head, which was something he'd rather not think about. "Let me guess, it's covered in that file you mentioned. Right next to my preference for foul fucking language, perhaps?"

The Doctor didn't flinch, but he took his sweet time to think or collect himself before saying, "Not exactly. Your file has multiple pages covering your physical and mental well-being. The first identifies physical traits such as natural colors, your cutie mark, or the lack thereof in your case. Also, natural disposition, quirks, hobbies, likes, dislikes, and so on. Every patient I see has a file just like yours."

Even if Neil didn't like the idea of having a file, it wasn't like he could do anything about it. The Doctor made it crystal clear that patient records were standard practice. So, he followed up from a different angle to see exactly what they knew. "Is there anything else you can tell me? It is my file, after all."

"I can share some aspects of your file," Dr. Felix offered as he reached down and tugged at a loose coat sleeve. "Your distaste for nudity is an obvious example since that came up but a moment ago. Even though the size of your genitalia would make most stallions swell with pride, you actively hide yourself when other ponies are around. We presume it's a cultural difference, but that hasn't been confirmed."

Neil missed the entire part about cultural differences. He was far too shocked at the fact that Dr. Reflex somehow knew the size of his genitalia, as he so clinically said. "You looked at my cock while I was unconscious!?"

"Not physically!" Dr. Reflex protested, denying the accusation. "I was the Doctor tasked with doing a full body scan on you. The spell automatically takes note of any physical injuries, abnormalities, and all of your natural characteristics. And by all, I mean all, including an approximate width, length, and size of your unaroused penis."

"So you're saying it wasn't by choice, and you didn't feel me up," Neil asked, making sure he wasn't molested in his sleep. If this scan was more like an X-ray or a C.A.T. scan, that was a little more acceptable in Neil's view. Once the stallion confirmed with a nod, he continued. "Was there anything wrong with me?"

"Besides the fractured horn, you mean? There was a small family of ticks happily nestled between your inner back left thigh and your groin," The Doctor explained, painting a not-so-pleasant picture... that also explained his unusual itchiness from that area while on the streets. "The nurse on duty was tasked to remove them when she gave you a thorough cleaning."

"Yeah, she mentioned that," Neil admitted, feeling slightly exasperated about the whole thing. After all, she neglected to inform him how up close and personal she was when removing those pests. "Anything else?"

"In your file?" Dr. Reflex asked before continuing when Neil gave him an impatient nod. "Beyond the basics and the quirks I've already mentioned, it's mostly restricted topics I'm not allowed to share."

That answer raised more than a few red flags in Neil's mind, as he immediately jumped to the possibility of an N.D.A. being discussed. "Is there any particular reason why you can't share them?"

"Besides the welfare of your mental well-being, I'm simply unable to say," The Doctor provided with an air of professional finality, leaving no room for argument. "Now, back to the task at hoof. You had a second question?"

"I did," Neil admitted, backing off from his medical file for the moment. "Even if you decide to remove the cast, can I keep wearing the ring?"

"You want to keep wearing the ring?" Dr. Reflex asked, sounding genuinely confused by that. "Would you like to tell me why?"

That was an easy answer for Neil as he gave the Doctor a nod. "For starters, I don't want my horn giving me a headache every single time it bumps into something."

"While null rings can be prescribed for certain medical uses, your fractured horn being one such case, they are considered dangerous magical objects. Unfortunately, I can't prescribe an object like that for regular old clumsiness," Dr. Reflex explained, sounding genuinely sympathetic about his plight.

That left two options for Neil. He could snag the ring if the good Doctor allowed him the opportunity. Or, he could cut his losses today and try to find another one later. Neither sounded like a good option.

But Neil didn't have much time to think about it as Dr. Reflex continued, "With all that out of the way, how about I finally remove that cast on your horn? You don't need to do much, admittedly. Just try to sit still. I would hate to nick you by accident."

As Dr. Reflex offered his warning, his horn burst to life with a silvery glow. At the same time, a small knob on one of the cabinet doors was enshrouded by the same silvery light before the door silently eased open. That allowed a generic silver tray to hover up, out of the cabinet, and over to the empty wooden chair only to be plopped down on Neil's cloak. A quick look revealed more than a few medical tools lying in the tray itself, the most recognizable being a sharp-looking scalpel.

Feeling slightly wary, Neil asked, "So, why are you removing the cast? Can't you just scan it and see if it's healed?"

"That's how we normally examine broken bones," The Doctor answered as he picked up the scalpel and a pair of large tweezers in his aura. "However, with the ring in place, any spell I cast would be disrupted. As the situation stands, I'm forced to remove the cast so I can remove the ring. On the plus side, I can get both a visual inspection and a medical scan of the inside of your horn when it's gone."

Even though the procedure sounded simple enough, Neil couldn't stop himself from imagining a brief flicker of phantom pain, reminding him of what he went through the night his horn fractured. "It won't hurt too much, will it?"

"Only if I cut into your horn, which is something I'm going to avoid at all costs," Dr. Reflex told him in a reassuring tone, even if his attempt was counteracted by the scalpel floating less than six inches away from his head. "Now, if you could tilt your head to the side? That way, I won't accidentally get any plaster dust in your eyes."

With a resigned sigh, Neil complied with the Doctor's request by slowly tilting his head to the left. Only when his horn was parallel with the bed did the procedure begin as Dr. Reflex gently sliced into the first of many layers of the cast. As time passed, Neil watched as the scalpel slowly moved from left to right along his cast with smooth, controlled gestures. Yet, no matter how controlled the Doctor was, minute vibrations transferred through the cast and down his horn. Creating an aggravating scraping sound that reverberated throughout his head.

Neil found it very hard to think as he watched layer after layer of plaster get pulled away by the tweezers and placed on the tray. After what felt like ages, one last chunk of plaster with a spiral-like pattern embedded in it was pulled off his horn and put in the tray. The scalpel and tweezers followed soon after as both medical implements were placed in the tray.

Before Neil could straighten up, Dr. Reflex produced a small shaving brush from somewhere out of view. With only that brief visual warning, he started to violently whisk away any of the remaining plaster dust on Neil's horn or stuck between the grooves. Thankfully, that part of the procedure didn't last long, as the brush soon joined its compatriots on the tray.

"It appears as if Alicorn regeneration strikes again," Dr. Reflex chuckled as he leaned in and took a long look at Neil's horn. "On the surface level, your fracture has almost filled in completely. With regular filings, I wouldn't be surprised if the scarring disappears within the next decade. Now, let's remove that ring to see if the inside matches the outside."

That was Dr. Reflex's only warning before he leaned forward in his seat and reached out with both of his front hooves. Neil wasn't one hundred percent sure what was going on. Even if he angled his eyes upward to look at his horn, he could only see the top half. But, with the Doctor's hooves in the way? All he got was an up close and personal look at a pair of frogs as they barely hovered an inch above the surface of his eyes.

At the same time, Neil felt an odd wrenching against his horn, as if something was being done to the ring. He felt the same, odd pulling a second, then a third time before the ring suddenly shifted upwards. Immediately, his mind was inundated with an uncomfortable and strange sensation inside his head and horn. His body froze, and the world around him went out of focus as millions of neurons suddenly felt like they were connecting for the first time.

A vague part of his mind knew that was impossible since he hadn't been told of any nerve damage beforehand. But the knowledge he held didn't do a damn thing to stop the overwhelming tingling until it eventually subsided on its own. At that point, Neil found himself lying comfortably on his side with a mysterious pillow that hadn't been in the room before propping up his head.

Dr. Reflex was no longer sitting next to him, either. Instead, he was back at the desk and curled up in his office chair, almost like a cat. A quill, which was held in his aura, danced across the flat surface of the desk. Writing something down that Neil couldn't see from his current vantage point.

With how relaxed the Doctor looked, Neil could only assume the situation he now found himself in was perfectly normal. Still, he wanted to get to the bottom of what happened, or he tried to, at the very least. "What happened?" This is what Neil wanted to say, but the words didn't come out of his mouth as he wanted them to. His tongue refused to move much at all, causing him to slur his words as if he were very, very drunk.

However, it managed to get Dr. Reflex's attention as his aura lit up the base of his chair and spun it around. "Your back? Good. Before you ask, what you just experienced was a side effect of long-term null-ring exposure. You were out for a good two to three minutes there."

Neil tried to say something along the lines of, 'Why didn't you warn me about this?' But like before, only gobbledygook came out of his mouth.

"Give it another minute or so, Ambassador, and you'll be back to normal." The Doctor cut in before he could attempt to speak a third time. "While we wait, I can fill you in on my scan results. There wasn't a single trace of internal scar tissue. Besides the cosmetic scarring on the outside of your horn, it's as if your fracture never even happened. I'm being completely honest with you when I say you don't know how lucky you are, Ambassador."

While the Doctor said it would only take a minute, in truth, it took double that amount of time to regain control of his legs and hooves. After that, it took nearly the same amount of time before his tongue began to cooperate and move the way he wanted it to. He still couldn't get up and hit the Doctor like he dearly wished to, but at that point, he was finally able to ask, "Why didn't you warn me about that?"

"I have two reasons if you'll hear me out," Dr. Reflex offered while raising a hoof in a pacifying gesture. "First, while null-ring paralysis is one of the more severe side effects, it's also one of the most uncommon. There was about a seventy percent chance you wouldn't have been affected, but you got unlucky this time. As for the second reason, would you have let me take the ring off if you knew about the side effects?"

Given Neil's current urge to punch the Doctor right in the nose, he probably would have refused to take the ring off had he known. Instead of answering, he went back to testing his various limbs. Seeing which were able to move appropriately and which were still numb. Thankfully, it couldn't have taken longer than five minutes before he could sit up properly again.

During that time, Dr. Reflex appeared to have completed his report as he set aside the quill and ink. He rolled it up in his aura, and within a blink of an eye, it incinerated. It left nothing but smoke as it wafted through the air and slipped between the door and frame. "Now, unless you need anything else, I think we're done here once you can walk."

Neil was quick to agree, at least on that point. The sooner he could walk, the sooner he could leave the infirmary and return to his apartment. Before he left, however, he still had one important question to ask. "Who can I ask about the restricted parts in my file?"

"Princess Celestia would be the pony to ask," Dr. Reflex told him as he uncurled himself and hopped out of the office chair. Two firm pairs of clacks filled the room as the Doctor momentarily interrupted himself when his hooves made contact with the ground. "She's also the pony who authorized your release from the infirmary."

'Of course, it was Celestia,' Neil mentally groused as he slowly followed the Doctor's lead and cautiously climbed off the examination bed. Everything seemed to be working, which only fuelled his urge to give Dr. Reflex a firm whack. In the end, however, he didn't give in. If he did, that would provide Celestia the perfect excuse to show up and annoy him.

As Dr. Reflex's aura took hold of the door handle and pulled the door open, his head swiveled around to look Neil in the eye. "It was good to finally meet you, Ambassador. I hope the next time we meet will be under better circumstances."

With those parting words, he trotted out of the room. He was kind enough to hold the door, though, as Neil slowly exited the room. Once he was back in the hallway, he looked to either side, giving both guards a studied look. "Do either of you have one of those null-ring things?"

He received the answers he was expecting from both guards, but they were no less disappointing.

"Eeenope."

"The closest thing I have to a null-ring is a sleep spell."

"Damnit."

~~~***~~~

By mid-afternoon, Neil found himself trying his best to sit and relax in his apartment, which was a perfectly normal thing to be doing. He still had plenty of books to read through, of varying topics and uselessness, and a full day ahead of him with nothing else planned. So far, however, his restlessness was getting the better of him.

Normally, he might have taken a single break from all the time he had spent reading since he returned from the infirmary. Maybe, he might have taken a second one. Now, it felt like every hour he was getting up and taking a brief jaunt throughout his apartment, all in the hopes of finding something to distract himself with.

Oddly enough, one such activity was to traipse into his bedroom and look at himself in the mirror, sometimes with his cloak and sometimes without it. After a month with the cast on, it felt odd to see himself clearly for the first time without it. He was used to looking at his horn with its slightly rotund hard plaster casing, though he wouldn't call it fat. Now, however, his horn looked slim with a uniform taper from base to tip. The only real outlier now was the darker, lightening-like crack jaggedly making its way down his horn.

With the ring gone and the knowledge of what he could possibly be capable of, he also found his mind wandering between his little excursions. Sometimes, he would be reading, only to find his eyes had slipped away from his current page and lazily hovering around his apartment until they settled on a random object or a piece of furniture. And, at the forefront of his bored, dulled mind would be a recurring thought to move it with his mind. Other times, Neil found himself focused on his glass of water, willing it to come to him through intentions alone- before eventually giving up and grabbing it with a wing.

Neil was in the middle of his fourth jaunt, doing laps as he jogged around his living room. Some laps were simple loops along the walls, while other times, he wove around the furniture in a figure-eight pattern. Simply moving was the most basic exercise, but working off a small portion of his muscles' pent-up energy and stiffness was necessary.

As he passed his reading nook for the sixth time, Neil slowed to a sedate walk like clockwork. With its large bay window, he could see not only the tops of the castle walls but the allure of a clear blue sky, causing his wings to shiver with mild anticipation for his next flight session with Rainbow. However, it only lasted a few seconds before he walked past the reading nook.

He was just starting to speed back up to his regular jog when an unknown knock announced the presence of someone at his front door. He immediately came to a standstill, trying to remember any other time he heard such an oddly melodious knock, but nothing came to mind.

Assuming it was a new person at the door, Neil did a routine cloak check, only to reveal that nothing was amiss. Whoever it was, Neil felt confident that they wouldn't be able to see his wings- unless they ripped his cloak off, of course. With that surety, he made his way to the door, discreetly opened it, and peeked through the small gap...

Only to be shocked when he found none other than Celestia standing patiently at his front door.

Instinctively, he took a half-step back as his mind jumped to the conclusion that she might attack or grab him with her aura to prevent his escape as she'd done before. However, she did none of the options he imagined. Celestia remained standing in place, her mane and tail waving in a non-existent breeze, with her infuriatingly passive smile as she watched his reaction.

"Why are you here, Celestia?" Neil eventually asked, guardedly, once his nerves finally calmed down.

"A good afternoon to you as well, Neil," She greeted, brushing aside his guarded disposition and acting as if he'd simply opened the door and gave her a big, welcoming smile. "I recently received news from the castle infirmary and came by as soon as I was able. First, I would like to congratulate you on your full recovery. And second, I was also wondering if we could have a moment to talk?"

As much as Neil wanted to say no and close the door in her face, he couldn't deny that he also had a reason to speak with her. With that in mind, he reluctantly ignored her open question for the moment and turned to face his living room. His wing kept a firm hold of the doorknob, allowing the door to open further as he took one sedate step inside, then another, until his wing was fully extended. At that point, he let go, calling back to Celestia, "I also need to talk with you about something. You might as well come in," As he returned to his reading chair.

"Thank you," Celestia said as the uncovered white walls and the polished wooden aspects of his furniture took on a reflective golden hue. With a panicked glance back, Neil stopped and noted her aura fully encapsulated his door as she majestically strode into his living room. "Skipping the small talk and pleasantries, with your horn fully healed, now would be the perfect time to start your magical training. However, before we delve too deeply into that topic, may I invite one more pony into this conversation?"

'Why the hell would she bring another pony just to talk with me?' Was his first thought, only to be overridden as his mind built up a quick scenario with all the information available. The last time she introduced him to another pony was Rainbow Dash, with the sole goal of forcing him into flight training. Now, with her mention of magical training? His mind immediately jumped to Twilight, half-hoping and half-dreading she was here. She already knew he was an Alicorn, and he was fairly certain if he told her no, she would listen, unlike Celestia. But, if it wasn't Twilight?

In the blink of an eye, his one exposed wing immediately retracted back underneath the protection of his cloak. With his secret safe, he asked, "Who is it?"

Instead of giving him a direct answer, Celestia pivoted her neck so she could look back toward the open door. "Cadenza, would you please join us and introduce yourself?" She requested with a warm and inviting tone.

Cadenza? For some reason, Neil felt like he knew that name, but he couldn't quite remember where it was from. He tried to imagine a pony that fit the name, but the only thing that came to mind was a specific type of furniture, similar to a dresser. 'Is that even a cadenza? Or was that a casbah?'

As he was thinking that, a second feminine voice from the hallway answered Celestia's call, sounding even more cheerful than Celestia herself but with a hint of resignation. "I wish you would stop calling me that name, Auntie-"

Curious, Neil looked around Celestia to keep his eyes on the door as he waited and watched to see who this mysterious pony was. Only for a long, bubblegum pink horn to appear within the limited view of the door frame. It was too long to be an average Unicorn horn, and as his curiosity turned to dread, her horn was followed by a small, half-hidden crown perched within a multi-colored mane of yellow, pink, and purple.

Just like that, it clicked, as Neil knew who this was. A sudden burst of panic overtook him. He watched, as if time slowed down, as Princess Cadence, the Alicorn of Love, ever so slowly walked into view and entered his apartment. He couldn't take his terrified eyes off of her. How? Why? She should have been far away, ruling over the Crystal Empire! Why the fuck was she here, of all places? Had Celestia finally given up? Was she here to brute force his mind and brainwash him into becoming a willing Prince of Equestria!?

Speaking of Celestia, why was she suddenly by his side? How could she go from standing near the door to sitting on her haunches right next to him with a look of worry? "Neil? Neil? Oh, thank Faust," She spoke gently, sounding relieved. "You blanked out for just a moment there. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" He shrieked slightly higher than intended as he jolted a few inches away from Celestia. After a few quick but shallow breaths to try and slow down his racing heart, he reiterated in a much more controlled and normal-sounding manner, at least to himself. "I'm fine."

Cadence, who remained close to the now-closed front door the entire time, looked more than a little worried as her gaze shifted between himself and Celestia. "Auntie... Maybe I should go for now and come back later? After Neil's had the opportunity to calm down, and you've had a chance to talk things out?"

Since she was sitting right next to him, it was easy to pick up Celestia's billowing mane as it became slightly less so, along with her ears as they wilted just a little. "Are you sure you want to go? I ordered plenty of cake and refreshments before we left. Enough for all three of us," She admitted, mildly bewildering Cadence and himself, before her gaze drifted to Neil, "If you would allow us to stay and talk?"

As was usually the case when dealing with a princess, his first instinct was to say no and kick them out. He didn't invite them to come and have a meeting in his apartment. He didn't want them here, either. But, he couldn't deny that the apartment wasn't really his. It was part of the castle, and that belonged to Celestia.

From his extensive reading, he also knew that the Crystal Empire had a treasure trove of ancient texts and books—books that might help him one day if all of his resources and leads dried up in Equestria. The longer he thought about it, the more it became a mantra in his mind, as he mentally replayed, 'One day, you might need her library to find a way home,' to calm himself down.

"She can stay," He finally admitted. That didn't stop the feelings of unease and wariness as they rippled in his chest whenever he looked at the Princess of Love. But, he did his best to ignore them, as he crossed the rest of the living room and claimed his preferred chair next to the fireplace. With that small amount of familiar comfort to anchor him, he turned to ask the two mares that followed, "So, what the hell is this all about?"

Celestia, the tallest and, in Neil's opinion, most prominent of them all, chose to claim the couch as her own before answering. She gracefully wove her way around his chair and the coffee table to reach her preferred seat, only to ruin her image as she unceremoniously slumped down onto her side, leaving her in a very unladylike position. With the way she was facing, he was once more treated by the sight of her semi-transparent tail and everything underneath that her tail could not hide.

With only a single seat left, Cadence was forced to take the last remaining chair on the other side of the couch, which she daintily hopped into with a small flap of her wings and a little more decorum.

Celestia even took an extra second or two to adjust her position, just so she could use the armrest as an impromptu pillow, before finally answering his question. "As I previously stated before introducing my Niece, the main reason we are here is simple. Without a null-ring on your horn, I feel today would be the perfect time to start on your magical training."

'And because she's too busy or has a bullshit reason not to do it herself, she wants Cadence to do it for her?' He questioned himself. At least he wouldn't have to deal with Celestia for long if that were true. But, the longer he thought about it, the more his thoughts returned to a single, if complex, question. "Why?"

"Why?" Celestia asked in return, but with a tone that questioned why he would even ask the question in the first place.

Even if it felt slightly condescending, Neil ignored her as he doubled down with a small clarification. "Yeah, why do I need to?"

"There are many reasons to learn magic," Celestia began as she leaned into what sounded like a well-rehearsed monologue. "You may have overlooked magic before you arrived in Equestria, but now, it is a basic part of you whether you like it or not. Chances are you might also discover your special talent and learn some useful spells to help in your day-to-day life."

"I may be a touch biased," She admitted with a warm but relaxed smile, "But the most important spell a Unicorn can learn is also the most basic. Without telekinesis to help ease and manage my everyday workload, I would never get through my typical duties."

Neil was tempted to jump in then, to tell her he was perfectly fine with using his wings to pick up everyday objects. But Celestia raised her hoof in a placating way as if asking for an extra moment so she could finish her point.

"The next and most important reason you need to understand and control your magic," She stated with a more serious undertone, "Is to prevent magical surges."

Of all the things he read about in Equestria, that term was utterly unfamiliar to him. Then again, the term had magic in it, likely from a restricted book he wasn't allowed to read, let alone touch, because of the princess next to him. However, from the sounds of it, he was likely to find out what a magic surge was in the next minute or two. Or sooner, as he directly asked her, "What the hell is a magic surge?"

Despite her previously restrictive position, Celestia appeared more than willing to give him an entire lecture about what they were, "A magical surge typically happens when a young Unicorn foal loses control of their magic, their emotions, or both. The results of a surge can vary from foal to foal or from one surge to the next."

Sitting on the flat ledge of the mantle above the fire, an image roughly the size of an average television came into being. Revealing what would generally be a quaint little nursery one would typically find in a family home, except this one was in utter chaos. "For example, everything in the room that isn't secured to the ground might start to orbit around the foal until they gain the desired item."

As she continued, the summoned image revealed whichever scene she chose to talk about. Depicting the chaos as it played out like a movie or a memory. "Another, more severe example that comes to mind happened during a family reunion. The foal in question was quite a shy little colt. But, when too many ponies converged on the mother to see him, every pony within twenty feet suddenly turned into a stuffed toy version of themselves."

"However, that doesn't mean the effect of a surge is uniform. Some can have an unusual mixture of odd, magical phenomena happen all at once," Celestia explained as the image changed into what looked to be a lecture hall made out of the same white marble as the castle. This time, a purple foal sat in the center of the destroyed room, hugging Celestia and... crying? It was hard to tell.

The surrounding seats were filled to the brim with potted plants that were out of place, and thanks to the previous example, Neil had a sneaking suspicion they weren't plants to begin with. However, the eye-catching feature of the room took up the entire right third of the picture. From the classroom floor to the top of the image stood a monstrous-looking leg covered in purple scales. It didn't move, but it had stone rubble around and on top of its gargantuan foot and claws.

"That's slightly disturbing," Neil had to admit, "But as you keep pointing out, that happens to young foals. Last I checked, I'm an adult." He pointed out, shining a light on the major flaw in her logic.

"If only that were true," Celestia countered sombrely, making Neil think momentarily that she was insulting him. When the image changed, however, it revealed a despondent-looking guard still wearing his golden armor but lying injured on a stretcher. "Some Unicorns either lose the ability to cast magic or refuse to do so after suffering from trauma. Without casting spells to regulate their magic, it continues to build up in their system."

"Now, magical build-up is not inherently dangerous on its own," She continued as the image changed once more. This time, it revealed a damaged two-story home that was partially on fire. "You won't pop like an over-filled balloon, for example. But, it makes the pony in question more prone to magical surges, even as an adult. And, having an adult's magical reserve makes a surge both potent and more dangerous."

That appeared to be her last example as the aura around her horn faded away. Allowing the image of a partially destroyed home to follow seconds later, leaving the stone hearth bare once more. "As an Alicorn, I honestly do not know if that would apply to you. You use up a small portion of your magical reserve every time you fly. If and when your reserve grows large enough, it should self-regulate by releasing excess magic through your mane and tail. But, there are so few of us, I would rather not take that chance."

While she was still clearly sad, her voice hardened, becoming more severe as she asked, "Would you be able to live with yourself if you were to suffer a surge and destroy a section of Canterlot Castle? All because you denied a part of yourself?"

Before he could even think of an answer and defend himself, Cadence immediately jumped in for him, "Auntie! That's unfair to assume, and you know it. Surges that cause any sort of permanent damage are extremely rare."

Celestia acknowledged her point with a nod, "Very true, but they do happen. Sometimes, with permanent consequences, as you well know." She added as both mares looked at the other sadly.

After a few seconds of mournful silence, Neil felt that was enough time before finally addressing Celestia's accusation. "You don't want me to blow up the castle and kill every single pony inside the blast radius, I get that. But why her?" He asked, deliberately looking over Celestia and towards Cadence. "Shouldn't you be back in your Empire, making sure it doesn't revolt or something?"

Cadence sat up just a little straighter at the mention of her home. Trying, and only moderately succeeding, to portray herself in a more regal light. "I have full faith that my husband Shining can take care of things while I'm away," She stated with the utmost confidence.*

"As for why I asked Cadence to teach you?" Celestia jumped in, regaining some of her calm and reassuring demeanor, "I can only think of two ponies that were born without a horn yet earned one later in life. Both of whom sit in this very room. That is why I feel, that when it comes to the basics of magic, Cadence is the best teacher for you. She understands how it is to receive a new, and sometimes overwhelming power later in life."

"The downside to Auntie's suggestion is that most of my experience comes from teaching foals," Cadence added, balancing out Celestia's sales pitch with honesty. Why was she trying to contradict her fellow princess, though? Neil couldn't quite figure out the game they were playing. "If you prefer a pony with proper teaching experience, I completely understand. If you say no, I could always go and visit my in-laws... if they haven't gone on another surprise vacation."

Still, Neil found her attempt to short-sell herself, or to get out of teaching altogether, intriguing at the very least. He offered her a small olive branch as he asked, "Who would you suggest?"

"Well, Auntie Celestia taught me most of what I know in private." Cadence told him, before admitting with a small smile that grew in size the longer she spoke, "She was a little strict at times, but I mostly attribute that to her being an ancient, old-fashioned mare."

Instead of a rebuke, her answer also earned a chuckle from Celestia... Until she spoke up. "An old mare I may be, but I can still teach you a thing or two, Cadenza. Maybe I should dig up your old textbooks from when we left off? I'm more than willing to give you a crash course after dinner."

Cadence's smile froze in place after Celestia spoke. But, eventually, the pink princess declined her offer with only a hint of nervousness. "I would love to have another long and invigorating spell-casting session with you, Auntie, but I'm afraid I'll be too busy teaching Neil the basics of magic. Isn't that right, Neil?"

"I don't know," Neil offered in an uncommitted tone as he left Cadence hanging, "Besides blowing up the castle, I still don't get all the fuss. Why can't you ask for a null-ring right now? We can just slip it on, and that's that. No need for training, no worry about explosions. Simple."

For a second time that session, both mares shared an identical look. Unfortunately, they looked at him as if he was out of his mind. Or, as if he just offered to cut off his leg to remove a splinter.

Celestia took only a second to recover before slowly explaining, "That is an option, though it would take a long time. I can not ask for a null-ring and have it brought to me. The ability to lock away magic and deny a Unicorn's key aspect of themselves makes such objects highly regulated. I could petition Dr. Reflex, the pony overseeing your recovery. But, I would have to prove you suffer from frequent and volatile magical outbursts before he would consider prescribing such an item."

"That's the only way?" Neil followed up, sounding more put out than he was intending.

"That is the most sensible way," Celestia corrected before informing him about the faster option. "If time is of the essence, I would not recommend committing a serious crime using dangerous or elusive magics. After being caught, a judge might request a null-ring to suppress your abilities."

"And let me guess, falsifying medical records is also a crime?" Neil asked with a hint of sarcasm. At her nod, he couldn't help but groan. "I'm still open to chopping it off."

Which was the wrong thing to say as Celestia's serious tone of voice returned. "Did I not clearly state that there will be no self-mutilation? Neil, why do you resist learning about your new abilities as an Alicorn?"

Well, if she was going to get serious, then so was he, as he looked her directly in the eye. His posture also became a little more stiff and confrontational. "Why do I need it? If it can't get me home as soon as possible, then it's useless to me. From what I've read, Twilight Sparkle took over a decade and a half of training to get to where she is."

"Would you wait that long if you were ripped away from Equestria and dropped in an unknown country?" He asked, throwing his situation back in her face. "Or, how about this? Can you guarantee that my Dad and my friends will still be alive after a decade or two?"

Instead of becoming more defensive and guarded, Celestia took an entirely different approach than he had expected. Her voice became more soothing and sympathetic as if she understood exactly what had happened to him. "Neil, while I may not be able to…"

"That's right, you fucking can't," Neil struck, pissed off by her attempt to manipulate him as he slammed his point down. "That's why I'm not going to waste my time. However, I also don't want to explode and accidentally kill innocent people."

He then looked over to Cadence, who surprisingly chose to remain silent during his and Celestia's heated exchange. It was clear she wasn't going to pick a side, though, as her posture became neutral and hard to read. "Think you can teach me the basics today?"

"All of it? Not in a single day," She told him honestly, gently shaking her head in the negative. "Thankfully, everything you need to know can be found in the castle library. With my limited time today, I would like to focus on your connection to magic. As a former Pegasus, that was the hardest step I had to deal with."

Neil would have preferred to get another ring on his horn and be done with the whole thing. But that sounded like a compromise he could deal with in the short term. However, before he could delve into the details, two soft knocks came from his front door.

"Come in," He called out, recognizing that particular knock all the castle maids used to announce their presence before entering a room. Neil assumed that whoever was standing at the door knew two princesses were in his room. Caution was the obvious course of action instead of walking in on classified information being discussed. Or worse, he thought darkly, if his fears came true.

The door opened smoothly, revealing Dust Cover in her frilly maid uniform. She tiptoed carefully into the room with a train of six food carts. Five of the six were packed to the brim with nothing but dessert pastries. Donuts, pies, cakes, tarts, and so much more towered above poor Dust, looking like they would tip over at the slightest bump. The sixth cart was more modest, with three separate teapots, a single coffee thermos, and an assortment of stacked tea and coffee cups packed onto its three tiers.

"Perfect timing, Miss Cover." Celestia greeted, sounding perfectly normal once more but with an added cheerfulness as her eyes focused on the refreshments. With a newfound eagerness, she gracefully rolled off the couch and back onto her hooves in a single move as she made her way over. "Could you wait near the door for just a moment?"

Dust Cover quickly complied with Celestia's request, as she immediately stopped all six carts on a dime without somehow allowing any of the food to tip over. After that, she gave Celestia a polite curtsy as the monarch approached.

"Thank you, My Little Pony," Celestia told Dust Cover as she passed by before moving onto the food carts. As she passed, she looked at each one like a gambler scrutinizing a series of racehorses, as if she was tallying up the pros and cons each one had to offer.

Once she reached the last cart, it appeared as if she would swing around the end and start dishing up a plate for herself. Instead, she turned to look back at Neil with a small, sad, but mostly understanding smile. "Neil, while I might not fully approve of your choice, I'm glad you're willing to learn enough to keep my little ponies safe. Give it time, and you might even find your desire to learn blossoming."

Without warning, Celestia's horn lit up with her signature golden glow. At the same time, two of the dessert carts were seized within her aura, and both zipped to her side via levitation. "But for now, I think my time to leave has come. I'll hopefully be seeing you after dinner, Cadence."

And with that, a single, bright flash erupted from her horn as Celestia and her two purloined dessert carts vanished into thin air.

Dust Cover was the first to recover from Celestia's display as if the sight of an Alicorn absconding with pastries was an everyday occurrence. She hardly took any time to corral the remaining four carts together before cautiously bringing them over to the fireplace. "Should I take the remaining refreshments into the dining room, Ambassador Neil? Or, would you prefer I leave them here, next to the fireplace?"

"The dining room," Neil eventually told her. Once she curved her cart train around and started her trip to the dining room, he also added, "And for the last time, it's just Neil."

That earned a small, lilting laugh from the otherwise meek mare, as she mostly did as she was asked. "Of course, Ambassador Neil."

As Dust Cover disappeared into the dining room with all four carts, and the door finally closed with a noticeable click, Cadence asked, "You don't like your title as Ambassador?"

"I couldn't care less about it," Neil answered honestly with a disparaging shrug. "I didn't do anything to earn it besides just existing."

"Most ponies I know wouldn't throw away a title like that. It's kind of refreshing to hear you want to earn yours," Cadence said... complimenting him. He was used to that at home but as a pony? It felt weird. "I also noticed you refused to call Celestia or myself by our titles."

"Yeah, well, neither of you controls my government," He told her with a straight face, wondering where she was going with this.

Cadence must have been thinking something similar. After a surreptitious glance at the dining room door, as if she was some sort of knock-off spy, she turned her eyes onto him and broached a new subject straight out of left field. "You don't have to be scared of her all the time, you know."

"Scared? Of who?" He asked indignantly, trying his best to sound both blustery and confused.

Cadence didn't seem to buy it at all as she cocked a single eyebrow. "Auntie Celestia, and to a much lesser extent, myself as well."

"Why would you think I'm scared of either of you?" He asked, while internally cursing at himself for freezing up. Of course, she would think, somewhat correctly, that he was terrified. Maybe not of her, but he was willing to admit (to himself) that he was scared of her power, both innate and political.

"Neil, forgive me if I'm too blunt, but it's obvious you're a very confrontational and upfront stallion," She told him in a forthright manner before asking, "If you'll allow me to be upfront, as well?"

Much like the accusation of being scared, he didn't know where she was going with this. But, after some quick internal debate, Neil gave her a slow, cautious nod to continue. Her earlier honesty earned that much, at least.

"When I ascended as the Princess of Love, I found myself blessed with many wonderful gifts," She explained calmly and soothingly in a way that, if Neil was honest with himself, did help. It just wasn't enough when she dropped her next bombshell. "One of them makes me empathic by nature. I felt how guarded you became when you opened the door to Celestia. The longer we talked, the more I felt your emotions change from terror to paranoia, to indignation..."

"And now we're back to paranoia," She added after a brief sigh.

Which was entirely correct, making him feel even more paranoid. "Hold up! You can read emotions? And you've been reading me this entire time!?" He half asked, half demanded, hoping that this was some sort of joke. "Why are you telling me now?"

"Because I didn't want to bring the topic up with Auntie Celestia nearby," Cadence explained in the same soothing tone. "She already knows about me and my abilities. But she has no right to know what you're feeling at any given moment. Even if you wear your feelings on your coat."

He had no idea whether or not he could trust her with that information. But it was nice of her to claim his emotions were safe from Celestia's curiosity. Then again, she said nothing about not adding them to some sort of report. "Can you shut it off?"

Cadence immediately shook her head in the negative, shutting down that idea. "The best I can do is suppress it, which cuts my range in half."

That didn't stop her from contemplating the question, though, as she leaned back into her chair. "And, to be completely honest, I don't think I could even if that was an option. I may dislike feeling negative emotions," She admitted, giving him a very pointed sideways glance, "But a world without emotion? I can't even imagine it... Do you mind if I ask why you're so scared of us? Auntie didn't say anything to me."

"Yes, I mind." He clearly stated in no uncertain terms.

Luck must have been on his side, as well. Barely a second after the words left his mouth, the door to the dining area opened before Cadence could think of any sort of response. Dust Cover quickly exited after that. Upon seeing Cadence and himself watching her, she paused long enough to give a polite curtsy, then trotted to the front door. However, that didn't stop her from saying one last thing before she exited the apartment. "Please ring the bell when you're finished, Ambassador, and I'll clean everything up for you."

As the front door closed, Neil took a deep, calming breath, and tried to soothe his emotions as best he could. Yes, he found himself stuck in another one of Celestia's machinations. And, the pony he was currently stuck with claimed she could read his emotions. Then again, just like Rainbow, Cadence appeared almost as clueless about her role in Celestia's grand scheme as he was. Unfortunately, he also couldn't deny that she was a princess, which generally never bode well for him.

However, her expertise in the subject brought up an interesting train of thought. "So, how'd you get wrapped up in all of this?"

Until then, she had been sitting patiently as if she had been waiting. When Neil asked that question, however, she gave him an odd and slightly confused look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, all of this," He explained as he pushed aside his cloak with a wing, gave a lazy wave, then angled a couple of feathers to point at his horn.

It took a few seconds, but soon enough, her expression lit up with recognition as she understood what he was asking. "You want to know how I ascended?" She asked for clarification.

"And all the royal crap that followed afterward," Neil added before he explained even further. "I've read every book I can find that covers Alicorns, but every single one is vague on the origins, let alone any mention of a dynasty. You were found by a village to the far north. The Celestia and Luna from ancient times were either born under mysterious means to counter Eris during the Era of Chaos, or came from an even earlier time."

Cadence gave him odd looks as he spoke about certain things but waited patiently for him to finish his explanation. When he did, she latched onto the current topic, but only tangentially as she perked up and asked, "You like to read and do research? I bet you and Twilight would get along swimmingly. Have you met?"

She paused just long enough for him to nod in confirmation, before she continued, "Good, she needs a few stallion friends. But, to answer your question, I was found by my adoptive parents as a young foal. My life back then was simple, but it was wonderful. I had friends and family, and after quite a bit of self-taught practice, I helped out my village by altering the wild weather from the north."

"When I was a young and rambunctious teenage mare, though, bad things started to happen," She admitted, as her voice became wistful and sad. Shifting in her chair, she turned just enough to stare into the happily crackling fire. "Even back then, I could feel their emotions as more and more ponies turned dour and mean. Herds that had been happily married for years started fracturing and splitting apart. Somehow, I was unaffected. But, my coltfriend at the time wasn't..."

Her ears drooped momentarily as she paused as if reliving a sad memory. But after a few seconds, she looked up from the fire and gave Neil a sad smile. "After our break-up, I was determined to find out why it happened. Days later, I stumbled upon a sorceress stealing love from the townsponies to make herself more powerful. I confronted her and asked her to return the emotions she stole. When she refused, well, even a self-taught Pegasus is faster than the average Unicorn."

"I took her by surprise and swiped the amulet right off her neck. Before she could try and take it back, I'll admit I panicked and shattered it with my hoof," She told him, mimicking her actions as she punched her hoof through the air. "In the end, it worked, as all the emotions she collected were released. Of course, with my hoof in the way, all of it passed right through me first. All I remember after that was a sudden pressure welling up inside of me, a flash, and then nothing."

"I know I blacked out, but when I woke up, I found myself in another plane of existence. Honestly, I thought I had passed away until Auntie found me there. She called it the Astral Plane, a place only Alicorns could reach. That's when I learned I had one of these," Cadence admitted, poking her own horn with a single feather. "We talked, she explained some things, and then she helped me come back to Equestria. And that's how I suddenly found myself in Canterlot Castle."

It was odd, hearing her tale of ascension. The only thing he could relate to was waking up in an unknown area with an altered body. Even then, he had a vastly different experience to hers. She gained a new appendage. He gained an entirely new body. Then again, there was one last aspect that was vaguely similar. "So, she kidnapped you too?"

"Not at all!" Cadence yelped, vehemently denying his accusation. "The first thing she did was send my parents and friends an invitation to the castle. Even my ex-coltfriend received an invite, but he chose not to come. That hurt for a time, but we partied and celebrated my ascension for days. Auntie Celestia, my parents, and I discussed my future as a Princess during that time. I chose to stay in the end, and learn everything I could."

After the story she told, he took some time to let it all sink in. If everything she said was true, then she saved the same village that adopted her as a child. She earned her transformation. In comparison, what did he do? Nothing, except go to sleep and wake up in a new place. Didn't that prove him right? That he didn't earn anything they were trying to give him, like a crown or the ability to fly, because he didn't do anything worthy?

He barely contained a snort as he imagined Thor's hammer, or another ludicrous artifact bursting through the wall, or shattering his picture window on its way to prove him wrong.

Unfortunately, Cadence also noticed his sudden emotional shift (likely because she was a self-proclaimed empath) and capitalized on it as she asked, "Since I shared my story, can I ask how you ascended?"

It was topical, given his thoughts. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell Cadence everything, even if he wanted to. So, with an apathetic shrug, he told her, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" She echoed, giving him an odd look.

"Nope. I went to bed one night looking perfectly normal," Which was technically correct, even if he left some obvious things out of the picture, "The morning after, I woke up in a relatively clean-looking alleyway and found myself looking exactly as I am now."

"I can't deny that does sound strange. But, if that's all you would like to share, I won't pry further," Cadence promised as she slowly stepped out of her chair and stretched to her full height. Afterward, she fully extended her wings, bending them this way and that, before ruffling her feathers. In a way, it reminded Neil of Dash's wing stretches, but Cadence's were less... harsh. More fluid and, in a strange way, sensual, although he couldn't figure out why he thought that.

"That's much better," She said, as her wings folded back into her sides. "Now, not to abruptly change the subjects, but maybe we should get started on your magic lessons?"

He still didn't know what these lessons entailed, but if she wanted to get things started, he wouldn't say no- yet. As she walked around the couch and chairs, he hopped out of his chair and followed her. His first assumption was that she was going to the front door and was planning to leave his apartment entirely. Maybe there was a classroom in the castle she had in mind? But she proved him wrong when she chose to park her butt on his living room carpet in the open section between the door and the fireplace.

Slightly confused, Neil did so as well. Trying his best to ignore the rough texture of the carpet against his furry butt as he sat a few feet away to Cadence's right.

"First things first," She said as she repositioned herself and slid another four feet away from him along the carpet. "You need to find your center."

His center? Once more, that was a term that didn't ring any bells. "And what, exactly, is that?"

"It can be anything you want it to be," She told him before delving further into the topic. "Whether you call it your center, your core, your spirit, or simply the repository for all your magic. You can call it whatever you feel comfortable using."

Unfortunately, besides making it sound like some sort of ethereal container, Neil needed more. "Okay, but what is it? Is it some sort of internal organ I have to feel for? Or is it something else?"

"A pony's center doesn't work like that," She gently corrected before going into detail. "While the appendix does help with converting the foods you eat into raw magic, magic itself isn't stored there. It simply flows into your magical pathways. If you need a point of reference, the average pony's center tends to concentrate in your chest, around your heart. Magic also gathers in other areas of the body that require magic to function but to a smaller extent."

"So the heart," Neil noted, though he couldn't deny he was intrigued to hear what other areas could count. "And, just for reference, what exactly are these other areas?"

"Each tribe is unique due to physical differences. But for us Alicorns, our magic tends to gather around the base of our horns, our wings and the immediate area on our back where they connect, our hooves from the fetlock down, and our womb," She explained, although she couldn't contain a small, fluttery laugh at that last option. "However, since you aren't a mare, I'm going to assume you have magic concentrated in your scrotum like a regular stallion would."

A tiny but crude part of him couldn't help but think at the back of his mind, 'Duh, of course, my balls contain a magical substance.' But the rest of him mentally groaned as Cadence momentarily turned this training session into a health or sex-ed lesson, even if he inadvertently asked for it.

As if she could sense his sudden mood shift, which she probably could, he was willing to admit at this point, she quickly turned her focus back onto the topic at hand. "But that's a fascinating topic for another day. Auntie mentioned you've already had your first flight lessons?"

"Yeah, I have," Neil admitted, wondering where she was going with this. He couldn't see how flying helped with his horn in any way. "Why? How does that fit into this?"

"That means you're at least somewhat familiar with your wings. I would like to use that to our advantage, the same way I did when I was learning to use my horn," She explained as she unfurled her wings about halfway. "Hold your wings out like this, please."

Without any disruptive thoughts, Neil followed her directions, brushing his cloak aside with both wings and partially extending them. "Okay, what next?"

"Now, I want you to close your eyes and relax," She said with a soothing cadence. "Focus on your wings with all of your senses."

Neil managed to do at least one of the three things asked of him as he closed his eyes. When it came to relaxing or focusing, all of which distilled into meditating in his mind, he had no idea what he was doing. He had never done any meditation before, and he only watched a handful of classic kung-fu movies throughout his life. Still, he remembered doing something vaguely similar with Rainbow when she asked him to focus on the wind passing over his wings.

After what felt like a lengthy amount of time without any changes or even an illusion of success, Neil opened his eyes. The first thing he looked for was his clock, and according to that, a total of only ten minutes had passed since he sat down and closed his eyes. With a frustrated sigh and an unwillingness to waste more time, he asked, "What am I trying to focus on? The energy at the base of my wings?"

Cadence, who was also quietly sitting with closed eyes, answered him immediately, but her voice sounded faintly distant. "Not exactly. Right now, I want you to focus on and imagine every individual feather in your wings. Each one acts independently to help contribute to the way you fly. But, to work properly, they must draw magic through the calamus. That's where your focus needs to be, where your feathers tap into your magical pathways."

Where are his feathers... His mind skipped back to his session with Rainbow on the balcony, where she pointed out the parts of his wing. She didn't say calamus, per se. Still, after sorting through Rainbow's less-than-scientific terms, he quickly compared the not-caltrop-things, or feather anchors as she eventually called them, that kept his feathers in place to the calamus Cadence was talking about now.

Closing his eyes again, Neil held that information firmly in his mind as he tried to picture an inside view of his wing anatomy. Starting from the structure of his individual feathers and then shifting to the point where they anchored themselves into the skin and muscles of his limbs. It could have been a more precise picture since the last time he saw anything like it was a diagram of a duck's wing in high school biology, but he did his best.

Initially, he imagined his wings as a still picture, as if they were taxidermied and pinned to a wall. Eerily, it reminded him of people who collected and preserved bugs the same way. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to happen after that. None of his magical pathways appeared out of thin air, and his mind wasn't hit with a spark of sudden inspiration. After what felt like minutes, he gave up, forcing himself to push beyond the still image and imagine his wings as the living organisms they were.

His muscles tensed in his mind, pulling his wings into him, then relaxing as they unfurled back into the position Cadence requested. He could feel the blood pumping through his veins just under his skin and interwoven into his muscles as they supplied his limbs with life-giving oxygen. His feathers bent and straightened out with but a thought, except for the calamus that was buried into his flesh.

For every action he imagined, he felt as if his wings mimicked those movements in the physical world. Unfortunately, no matter what he did or thought about doing, he couldn't see what Cadence wanted him to see. Whatever his feathers used to bend, it was simply beyond his imagination. The random pulsing he was starting to feel throughout his wings didn't help his focus, either.

Neil didn't know how long he sat there, accomplishing little more than nothing in the grand scheme. But, he felt his frustrations growing in time with the muscle twitches and cramps in his legs that were starting to make sitting unbearable. The temptation to say fuck it and end the entire thing was just beginning to take root in his mind when Cadence's voice broke the silence.

"Neil, please open your eyes and take a minute to walk around, stretch, or relax," She implored him. When Neil did as he was told and opened his eyes, he noticed that Cadence appeared slightly distressed as she looked at him. "Take a deep breath, calm down, and could you please tell me what you were looking at?"

He followed her suggestion and took a single, drawn-out breath that momentarily helped soothe his nerves. Unfortunately, it was short-lived as he looked at the clock and noticed another forty minutes had passed without any hint of progress. "Besides the imagined diagram of my wings?" He asked sarcastically as he stood up and stretched his rear legs, "I didn't see a bloody thing."

"A diagram is an interesting take, but I don't think it will help much. The pathways you're looking for, just like magic itself, are on the metaphysical side of things," She explained, giving Neil another layer of frustration as she pointed out something that would have been useful to know an hour ago! She must have sensed his emotion spike because she quickly pressed on. "Now, before you think you've wasted the last hour, I want you to know this. No pony figures this out right away, not even Twilight." Which caused her to momentarily pause and giggle.

"Now that I think about it, she did something similar to you and imagined her magical pathways as a second circulatory system. She worked herself into such an adorable little tizzy while trying to find her pathways," She told him with a smile, likely remembering her time... teaching Twilight. Didn't she say she taught foals, though? He may not have been the best at determining pony age, but she looked barely older than Twilight herself.

"But, just like Twilight, you must concentrate and push further." She continued, oblivious to Neil's current train of thought. "Look beyond your physical body and feel for something different. Something that innately belongs, even if it physically shouldn't. Something unique to you."

"How, exactly, am I supposed to do that?" He asked, before adding a follow-up, "What do you see when you imagine your pathways?"

"What do I see?" She asked, more to herself as she thought over her answer and told him. "When I first started, I saw nothing like you do now. Over time, and after hours of focusing, I began to see individual strands of thick red woolly string. The kind of string that's used to knit a comfy winter sweater. It also represents the type of string that metaphorically binds us together with friendship and love throughout our daily lives."

... Is that what she meant by innately belonging? The red string of fate was a concept he knew about, primarily thanks to Ken, who played a warlock betrothed to a fey in DnD. But, for an otherworldly concept to represent Cadence's magical pathways? It was hard for Neil to comprehend, and that didn't even go into what an idea like that meant about him! Did he have some sort of innate concept? Is that what Celestia meant when she called him the Alicorn of History?

From nowhere, Cadence politely cleared her throat. Forcing Neil out of his thoughts and back to reality. "Sorry, but as I was saying, today I see hundreds, if not thousands, of passionate red strings on and around me. All interwoven over my body to make up the thick, cozy, warm quilt that makes me, me. This will take time and focus, but when you notice something, please tell me about it."

He didn't exactly see it, but his mind flashed to the odd, harmless pulses he felt. When he first noticed them during Rainbow's lessons, they didn't do anything negative then, so he kept silent. But now, when he was asked to single out anything odd? Perhaps they were the key to success for his current assignment? "You keep saying I need to see something. But, what if I feel something odd?"

"As far as my teaching experience goes, that sounds a little out of the ordinary," Cadence admitted, possibly painting herself as inexperienced, or painting his ability to be well out of the magical norm, or both. "But, that might still be good news, though! Please, sit back down, close your eyes, and focus on this odd thing you feel."

With a resigned sigh, he followed her instructions one last time. He even brought back the image of his fully spread wings in his mind, although he disregarded the internal bones, muscles, and feather anchors. Instead, he focused all his attention on the blood flowing through his wings and the odd pulses he felt. It took time, but he eventually noticed a weak pulse in his right-wing biceps, barely stronger than the beat of his heart. He immediately pinged it on the map of his wing. Thirty-three seconds later, he felt another, stronger pulse in one of his left-wing carpi muscles, which resulted in another ping.

As time passed, and Neil diverted every ounce of attention to his task, he learned three things that changed his view of the odd phenomenon inside his body. He first learned that the pulses did not happen every thirty to forty seconds, as he first assumed. Those were just the strongest ones he felt. The longer he focused and became more sensitive, the more he picked up on the smaller pulses between the originals (which gained strength).

His wing map soon became a rave of pings that became almost overwhelming when he noticed one oddity, then a small but slowly growing string of others. Some of his pings weren't tied to his veins like he initially assumed. Some were over his bones (and could still count), but the real outliers were at or near the tips of his feathers. How, or why, he could feel pulses that far down, he didn't know. But, he noted them all the same.

Thirdly, the pings he imagined started as simple black ripples. However, when they became overwhelming, his mind began to paint them as different colors. At least, he thought it was his mind until one large pulse exploded into puce light. Not only did he suddenly learn that puce was a word, but he also learned it was an exact shade of purple-brown. That wasn't the only pulse, either, as he was soon inundated by vermilion, honeydew green, amaranth, gamboge, and coquelicot.

Forcing his eyes open, Neil cut himself off from whatever that was, only to see Cadence already had her eyes open and was waiting for him with a smile. "It looks like you discovered something. Would you like to share?"

"I focused on the pulses, just like you asked." He told her, keeping things short and to the point since he noticed another hour had passed. "At first, there was only a few. Then, I started to pick up more and more of them. In the end, the stronger ones were starting to blow up like little flash bangs, but in a bunch of crazy colors."

"I don't know what a flash bang is, but good job Neil!" She legitimately cheered with a full smile across her muzzle. Seeing that, he honestly felt a little self-conscious about himself. He hadn't done that much, did he? "I think it's safe to say we're both in undiscovered territory here. If you think these flashes can lead you to find your pathways or your center, you should keep focusing on them. Safely first, though. If you start feeling overwhelmed, open your eyes, and we can always start again from the beginning."

Now that he knew what he was looking for, Neil closed his eyes, hopefully for the final time. What took minutes before, now took seconds as he focused on a simple outline of his wings. As expected, the pulses came, both the strong and the meek, but this time, he did his best to filter out the smaller ones. It took some time, but eventually, they vanished while keeping his clarity over the larger pulses. He didn't want to be overwhelmed again, that was for sure, as he pushed into flash bang territory.

Filemot was the first pulse to colour his inner mind, right on the elbow of his left wing. Soon followed about half a minute later by a bright sunny yellow where his pectoral muscle barely latched onto the base of his right wing. Aqua blue, lusty gallant, puke green, and more flashed into his mind, but each dot of light on his wing was the same, just a single explosive point of data.

Feeling as if he wouldn't get much more at this point, Neil pushed even further. Looking for something, anything about these larger colorful pulses that could help. The smaller ones started to appear again, this time with muted colors, but he quickly filtered them out just like before. Just in time, too, as a stronger-than-normal unripe banana flash overwhelmed his mental vision.

He fought the urge to physically blink, not wanting to open his eyes and undo his progress so far... which seemed to be the correct decision, as multiple moving sparks of various colors and brightness faded into existence amidst his mental blurriness. They appeared to be moving through the outlines of his wings but in a strange manner. Instead of moving smoothly, they leaped forward and sometimes from side to side along his wings in a random zig-zag pattern.

Not only that but as they moved, their vibrancy grew. Increasing with every jump until it exploded. Neil was lucky enough to find a phosphorus-yellow spark that exploded barely a second or two after it entered his left wing. He kept track of it, following its tangled route through that wing, only to vanish momentarily into his back. It reappeared soon after and traveled through his right wing. Judging by its overall brightness, it was about halfway to exploding again, which he found interesting.

"They aren't just flashes," He said out loud, not knowing if Cadence even heard him as he continued to watch. "They're sparks that jump from point to point, building up a charge, only to explode in a flash of light. That also makes a faint pulse I can feel."

Cadence's voice emerged from the darkness surrounding him and his little diagram, sounding distorted and echoey, but he could still understand her. "Are these points in your wing traveling along a set path?"

"Not really?" He admitted truthfully, feeling more than a little confused by the sparks. "They go around the edge of my wings, most of the time. But even then, they randomly jump from side to side, or backward and forwards. It's a mess."

After his description, a perplexed 'hmmm' could be heard throughout the void. However, instead of commenting on the randomness he described, Cadence asked, "When you focus on them, does it feel wrong?"

That... wasn't a topic he thought about at all if he was honest with himself. The moment Cadence brought it to his attention, however, he felt a sudden, soothing chill straight out of his childhood memories. "No. I feel... cold, but not a bad cold. It's like I'm back with my team, sitting on a bench in an old hockey rink."

"Good. If you feel comfortable, then I think we're on the right track." She told him reassuringly. Keep your focus on these sparks, but expand beyond your wings. Try to feel them jumping throughout your entire body."

That sounded like an easy enough suggestion to follow. The only real question was, should he expand from his wings and slowly cover the outline of his body? Or should he start with his ears, the only other part of his body with which he noticed the pulses? In the end, he opted for simplicity and created an outlined set of ears next to his wings.

Within seconds after they came into existence, Neil learned that was a mistake. An ultraviolet spark jumped into the middle of his right ear seconds after its creation. Before it could jump to its next point, it exploded. The flash wasn't so bad, but the reverberations from the pulse felt as if he placed his head against a sub-woofer and pressed play on Starboy. He physically flinched, trying to escape from the sudden, overwhelming noise.

'Never doing that again,' He mentally groaned as the outlines of his ears instantly vanished from his mind, followed by physically rubbing his actual ear to help soothe the pain. Unfortunately, that left him with the other, more tedious option, to create a proper image encompassing his wings and the rest of his body (sans ears), with only his imagination. He also needed to accurately track height, width, and depth and ensure it was transparent enough to see where the sparks were going and how they were getting there.

If he was going to expand from the 2D outline of his wings, and into a full flesh-and-bone replica of his body, then it probably made sense to start with his wings. Just like he did when he began, he imagined the bones first, the muscles, and finally, the skin and feathers all layered together. It was like watching a 3D animator working on a model; they flipped and twisted in the black void, as he still had to make minor changes. In the end, he had a rough but functional mental copy of his wings.

During the process, however, Neil managed to discover one final breakthrough. He was looking at the wings from the front, trying to accurately replicate the thickness of his bones, when he noticed that most, if not all, of the sparks in his wings, were relatively level with each other, all things considered. Creating an odd, rainbow-like effect along the natural curve of his wings. On a hunch, he straightened them out unnaturally flat, and what he saw surprised him.

It reminded him of a PCB layer inside of a motherboard. As if each spark was an electron running through a free circuit horizontally, but unable to skip above or below into a separate layer. Excited, Neil put his current project on hold as he focused on the level the sparks were traveling on. He still couldn't see, per se, but he felt the temperature drop another five degrees or so. The sudden chill made it feel like he was suddenly stuffed into a fridge or even a freezer. Or a late autumn night, after a frost... and then it clicked.

The sudden temperature change and his inability to see what it was? "It's black ice!" Neil called out, not questioning why his assumption felt so right, as he shared his epiphany with the only other person in the room.

"Black ice? What even is that?" Cadence asked, sounding both confused but happy that he had progressed and found his magical pathways.

"It's a patch of clear ice you can't see on a black road," Neil quickly explained, trying his best to catch a glimpse, or at the very least a reflection of what he thought was there. "But that part doesn't matter. The sparks are either attracted to, trapped in, or simply skating along a layer of clear ice throughout my wings."

"That's an interesting concept. You lay your roads with black stone?" She asked with genuine curiosity. "Ours are paved with crystal, but that's beside the point. You're doing very good! Understanding your magical pathways is a huge milestone for every Unicorn, regardless of age. Now, all you have to do is follow them to your center."

Even if her sentiment was true, he couldn't help but note how she once more compared him to the foals she usually taught. He brushed it aside, though, and focused on the fact that he still had more to do even though he'd already spent hours working on this. "That's the plan. But, how will I know I reached my center?"

"You'll know when you find it." She told him slyly, without any other hint or indication of what he should expect.

With those cryptic words, Neil was tempted to dig deeper and try to get her to explain what she meant. But after years of hanging out with Abby, he knew a lost cause when he saw or heard one.

Instead, he returned to creating a realistic, if transparent, replica of his Alicorn body. Since his wings were finished, he locked them in place as he imagined a connected but featureless torso underneath. From there, it was a simple task of shrinking and expanding until the proportions felt reasonably accurate. Unfortunately, he didn't know the internal anatomy of a horse or a pony. Still, he figured the basics were similar to any other mammal, right? A spine along the back, a rib cage, heart, lungs, and all the essential stuff near the front. Whereas all of the digestive stuff was placed in the back.

He finished the torso by adding skin and fur to cover up the grisly details. As beautiful and complex as the body was, in some people's opinions, Neil didn't want to see all those squishy organs in detail. That included anything reproductive, which he intentionally did not add.

When his vision was complete to the best of his ability, Neil gave his torso the same amount of disciplined focus as he gave his wings. Almost immediately, he was inundated with hundreds, perhaps even nearing a thousand colorful sparks, all blooming to life at once. It was confusing trying to make sense of it all. The colorful flashes from his wings alone had been distracting, but adding an entire body into the mix? His vision became a rapid, non-stop barrage of blinding lights.

As a reaction, he immediately pulled back his focus to the point where all the flashes and colors faded away. Leaving only the faint and not-so-faint pulses, he felt all over his body at the forefront of his mind. It was a strange feeling, to be sure, as if his entire body had been converted into a hot tub, but with cool water and the bubble jets permanently turned on. It took some getting used to before he could imagine each pulse as if it were a single, solid black dot inside his fake body.

That choice gave him a less detailed and simplistic view of his pathways. However, as each dot filled in a little more with each pulse, he could follow them from the base of his wings and into the body. Unfortunately, he couldn't see which direction they were flowing in real-time. On the other hand, he could pick out hundreds of separate pathways connecting, splitting apart, and generally weaving around or through his entire body.

However, the three places his pathways were most interwoven were also three of the spots Cadence previously mentioned. Many were intertwined around the base of his wings, creating an almost tangled clump of black dots embedded into his flight muscles before smoothly transitioning into the wings themselves. A second knot, the smallest of the three, extended beyond the skin of his replica. Hanging just underneath its tail, where his balls would have been if he added them.

However, the third cluster took the majority of his attention. It was the largest of the three and placed near the front of his chest- close to but not quite where he imagined an equine heart would be. Whether he was wrong to set the heart partially to the left, like a human's, or Cadence just generalized, he didn't know. What he did notice through the gaps of interwoven pathways, however, was a void of dots underneath.

He was very tempted to turn the lights back on, so to speak. He wanted to see how the sparks flowed into, out of, and around the bubble of nothingness he discovered, but he knew it would be futile. Given the magical pathways around the void, he would likely be overwhelmed by flashes, even if he focused solely on that area around it.

Then again, it was worth a shot, right? What's the worst that could happen? As far as he could tell, he would be momentarily blinded by the light show. At that point, he could simply tone things down and bring back the dots.

With a plan in mind, he allowed his wings and everything else in his replica torso to nearly fade away. They became little more than a background ghost compared to the empty void and the surrounding pathways. After that, he took one last deep breath and focused everything on the void...

~~~

There wasn't an obnoxious amount of colorful lights seared into his mind. Nor was there any natural effect that he could feel on his body. One moment, his butt was sitting on his coarse and slightly irritating carpet as he felt cool pulses from the neck down. The next, he found himself standing... somewhere. He couldn't quite tell where, though.

The sky was dark and empty. There was no sun, moon, or even a single star to cast light down on him, yet he could see. A faint, white-blue glow radiated from the ground he stood on, giving him ten, maybe fifteen feet of visibility in every direction. Then again, it wasn't ground from a technical standpoint. He was standing on a sheet of hard, cold, and dark see-through ice, judging by the electrifying chill it sent through his hooves and up his legs.

That wasn't his primary concern, though. How did he get there? He didn't know. What was he going to do? That, he also didn't know. A sudden swell of panic formed in his chest as he looked around uselessly. He couldn't see even a hint of a tree or land amidst the darkness. He had no idea how large this slab of ice was, either. For all he knew, it could have been as small as a pond or as large as a great lake!

He took a deep, long, and cold breath through his nose. It wasn't much, but it helped to calm himself just a little as he tried to think logically. If he stayed where he was, he would eventually freeze to death. Given how cold his legs already felt, there was no doubt about that, with or without his cold-resistant fur. Meaning his only other option was to move.

Given the fact that each direction was an equally futile gamble, he figured forward was the best bet. Thankfully, there were small ridges in the otherwise smooth ice, giving him a decent grip. Enough for him to walk briskly, at least, without the fear of slipping. Any faster might have been a gamble, though, and one he only wanted to take if he needed to.

As he walked into the darkness, he was quite thankful to see that whatever effect the light was giving off also followed him. It also made him a little nervous since it was the only apparent source of light as far as he could see, making him stand out from whatever creatures prowled beyond the darkness- if they were even there.

He hadn't heard a single sound beyond what he was making. No water, animals, or even the creaks, cracks, and groans one would expect from a large sheet of ice like this. It was silent as he continued to walk forward. Until it wasn't.

Eyes on the darkness in front of him, Neil was caught by complete surprise as a small amount of water splashed underneath his hoof. To the point, he inadvertently sprung an inch into the air and slipped the moment he landed. He fell like a stone, landing belly first onto the ice as his front right leg splashed into a shallow puddle. The damp cold seeped into his flesh immediately, but even that wasn't as bad as feeling his sheath and balls make contact with the frozen surface.

That was all the motivation Neil needed as he frantically clamored back into a standing position and curled his tail underneath himself. He did not want to experience that again as he glared down at the shallow, not-quite-puddle of water next to him. As far as he could tell, the water came from a small inlet of unfrozen water next to him, which grew and widened until it disappeared into the darkness.

Conventional knowledge told Neil, without a shadow of a doubt, to stay away and go in a different direction. Water and ice together generally meant melting ice or weak ice. The last thing Neil wanted to do was fall through and drown... And yet, as he looked at the inlet, there was an irresistible urge to follow it. To the point where he felt it was insane not to listen, as his hooves started to move forward on their own.

It reminded him of the Everfree flowers in a way, though he didn't feel any underlying sense of danger this time. He barely had to walk any distance before he heard the subtle crash of waves against a hard surface. Likely ice, as he noticed small ripples in the water he was walking next to. 'Am I on a glacier?' He thought before slightly reprimanding himself. This wasn't a time to think; he had to follow the urge and walk, as the far side of the inlet vanished into the darkness.

Onward, Neil walked as the ice he tread upon slipped under the water with barely any notice. Each step became a small splash that he never heard. He was too driven, too focused to find whatever he was meant to see- until a small, resounding crack that vibrated throughout his body shattered the spell.

Neil instantly froze as he suddenly found himself standing at least a foot deep in freezing water. Underneath which, he could still see the underwater shoreline of the inlet and a sudden, ominous drop-off at the very edge of the light. Somehow, he knew in the very depths of his bones the ledge was what he was meant to find. And yet, now that he had regained complete control of his senses, he wanted no part of it.

He tried to turn around, but he felt, more than heard, the ice cracking underneath him. Forcing him to freeze in place lest he break through. He was willing to admit he was starting to panic as his breath became more rapid and shallow. He didn't want to die, and he didn't want to die from freezing or drowning. However, before he could think of a way to get himself out safely, the soft white-blue light surrounding him began to change.

It wasn't an instant shift, but Neil easily noticed the intensity of the brightness increasing by the second. At the same time, the colour hue shifted to a darker, more vibrant blue. And, to make the change even more ominous, the circle surrounding him was closing in.

Neil took another tepid step away from the ledge and felt a second, harsher crack spiderweb underneath his hooves. As he did so, there was a noticeable jump in brightness. Something told him he only had seconds remaining before the circle closed in, but there wasn't anything he could do.

When those seconds were up, Neil felt an overwhelming pressure shatter the ice underneath him like a mighty geyser, sending him upwards into unconsciousness as the name of one final colour burned itself into his mind.

Poison-Joke Blue.

Author's Note

*Thousands of miles away, beyond the land of Equestria, Crown Prince Shining Armour of the Crystal Empire sat at the head of a very important counsel meeting. The Matron of House Ruby was putting on a very impassioned speech about time honoured traditions of the Crystal Empire, and why they shouldn't be broken, when all of a sudden, "ACHOO!".

Every single eye in the room turned to look at the very embarrassed Crown Prince as he levitated a handkerchief over.

~~~

No matter how late this chapter was, I will admit I was very, very tempted to call it: Feeling Horny (With the Princess of Love)

However, I managed to stop myself from being even more immature than I normally am. Somehow. Either way, I would like to point out that November is ~~almost~~ upon us! Meaning, Nanowrimo ~~is just about to~~ has started!

Have a story idea that's been chipping away at the back of your mind, and your sanity, for years? Need a graph to light a fire under your butt and keep track of your progress to motivate yourself to write? Then, why not join me in the insanity of Nano?

I mean, it can't be worse than not writing, right? You can even add me if you want? Here's my profile. Might need an account to see it, though.

~~~Can you tell I wrote this in the hopes of getting the next chapter out before November 1st? I was so naive back then.

Uh... Beyond that, as always, the stats on this story are insane. Just skipped over the 200K words mark, and almost 2K likes to go with it. As I already said. Insane. Even Pinkie would approve.

Of course, there's the Discord chat where people hop on to talk about the story, or random junk, when it's not quite dead: https://discord.gg/JhhwM89VPY

Oh, and throw my Editor Dat_Random_Fur something Americanistic in appreciation. Preferably with cleverly hidden typos, or written in localized English dialects that'll drive him insane.