Ascension, Abdication, or Abduction?

by RoshiRat

Rating: mature
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Human, Princess Luna, Original Character, Royal Guard, Profanity, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Sex, Main 6
Length: 240632

What do you do when you wake up in an unknown city, as an unknown creature? What do you do when said city is undergoing an unnatural disaster? Neil chose to live off the streets, hidden, while gathering information. But how long can he remain hidden?

Neil Davidson considered himself an average young man. He had a simple life working an entry-level job. He had a great group of friends, even if some had moved away to university. Lastly, he dreamed of earning enough money so he could go to school and learn to fly like his Dad.

All of that was put on hold one cruel spring morning when he woke up sprawled over the uncomfortable cobblestones of an unknown alleyway. Even worse, he woke up in the form of a mutant horse.

That was three weeks ago. Since then he's done his best to remain hidden from the local populace, eavesdropping to learn all he can while living off the streets.

-Sex tag for nude ponies, naughty thoughts, and RGRE hi-jinks.
-Cover art by: BitterSweet
-Edited by myself, then Grammarly, and passed to Dat_Random_Fur for final editing.
-Given my time constraints for writing/editing, I'm aiming for one chapter a month.
-------------------------------------------------------Spotify reading by ShadowLegacy13 here: AAA Reading.
-------------------------------------------------------Here's a link to our Discord server: https://discord.gg/JhhwM89VPY

I love this story so much, it feels like not only is there passion just oozing out of every paragraph, but that the Author is enjoying themselves. - Zwillingen700

~~~

Roshi if you say you're not a good writer one more time in Crimson's cord, I'm going to commit felony complimenting in the third degree. -Soaring

-Setting the record straight. I'm a mediocre writer, at best, and since this is neither my server, or Crimson's, you can't follow through with your planned felony.
:trollestia:

~~~

Featured on:
(First day, holy hell!)27/08/2023-03/09/2023

Published 2023-08-27 18:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2025-01-23 07:04:09 UTC

2. Rat in a Maze

Author's Note

Wow... just wow. O.O

As I've pointed out in my comments responding to you all, I wasn't expecting such a positive review of this story. Honestly, it feels like I'm little more than an ant underneath a giant magnifying glass now. I am beyond nervicited, and burgeoning into terrified territory. :pinkiecrazy:

This chapter was 80-90% written when I posted the first chapter, so surprise? I'm unsure if this should count as the August chapter (since #1 was sitting partially edited for months) or if I should say this is September's addition, a little early.

We'll see by the end of September if I manage to write up another chapter, because screw it! Who needs a chapter buffer anyway? :D

Regardless, thank you all very much for reading this, whether you like it or dislike it. And for putting up with my random thoughts. Now... back to the chapter that'll either make or break this story, maybe? :eeyup:

2. Rat in a Maze

(October 15th: 1st Day Since Capture)

Warmth.

It was such a simple, all-encompassing feeling that Neil unconsciously relished in his half-asleep state. That wasn't to say he woke up cold in his crate. His fur was more than enough to keep him warm despite its unclean state and being up on a mountain. But after sleeping for weeks without any creature comforts, nothing could compare to the bubble of warmth created by a simple blanket.

His body shifted, feeling something plush squish into his back instead of his spine cracking against harsh wood like normal. Wanting more, he shimmied further back, only to feel something just as soft tighten around him. A small, gluttonous part of his subconscious reached out a hand. As if to horde as much comfort as was possible to obtain within reach. But all he felt was soft cloth brush against...

Neil scrunched his eyes, doing his damnedest not to think. He was warm and comfortable. He wanted to drift away, back into a sleepy haze as he nuzzled into the pillow his body...

A single eye shot open. He took in the dim light filtering through the soft, thin, white sheet covering his entire body. He was acting as a big spoon to a silky white pillow, which his gray-furred muzzle happily burrowed into. Judging by the subtle give, he was also lying on a mattress.

He was in a bed. Worse, he was in a bed, as a pony, that he did not recognize. Given the white-on-white theme, he could also hazard a guess as to where he was. 'What the fuck happened, and where am I?'

The faint sound of rain drifted to the forefront of his mind, which triggered multiple follow-up memories. Highlighting his stupidity during the night, from listlessly waiting for Donut Joe's to close, to his idiotic chase with the guard. He remembered there was an imposing guard near the end as well. But after that? He winced as his mind sparked the memory of a migraine to end all migraines. But now? He didn't feel a thing. In fact... he couldn't even feel the cloth rubbing against his horn. His horn wasn't supposed to feel numb, but that was a problem for later.

First, he had to figure out if he was captured. The simple fact that he was in a bed pointed to a big fat yes. On the other hand, his legs weren't chained to the bed he was lying on. Regardless, there was the fact that no matter the scenario, whoever had brought him here knew about him, and more importantly, they knew what he was.

A few subtle movements allowed him to press against the sheet above him. Judging by the tension, his back end was facing towards the base of the bed. Leaving the headboard and, more importantly, easy access to his freedom close to his head. It felt weird, having a soft sheet constantly brushing up against his fur, but he poked his head out with only a little squirming.

The room he found himself in was... nearly the opposite of what he was expecting. He imagined a solid, sterile, white observation room with a locked door. The room was white, and the hospital scent hinted at it being sterile. But those were the only aspects he managed to guess correctly.

From the half he could see, two expertly carved windows were placed into the marble stonework of the walls. One was beside his bed, so he didn't have the proper angle to look through it. The second was on the far wall, revealing clear blue skies and a single extravagantly decorated white tower that faintly glowed in the sunlight. The ceiling was carved from solid white marble; whether as blocks fitted together seamlessly or a single giant slab he couldn't tell. The walls had the same treatment, at least on the upper half. The lower half, from the base of the windows to the floor, was covered in carved wooden panels painted a cheerful-looking yellow. The floor was also marble but made with large, impervious-looking tiles that held natural light purple swirls running through the stone.

As he rolled over to take a look at the other side, he spotted a door set into the opposite wall from his bed. It was a simple wooden swing door with no decorations or any discernible locks set into it or the frame. This eased his mind ever so slightly at the thought of being a prisoner. On the other hand, as he finished rolling over to scan the second half of his room, he froze.

There was another pony in the room with him.

Judging by her smaller size and rounded muzzle, this pony was a mare. She had a pale green-white coat with matching wings and a simple white nursing cap with a red cross perched in her light purple hair. She was sitting in the corner of the room on one of those cheap, uncomfortable-looking black foldable chairs with an adjustable hospital table in front of her. Half the tabletop was empty, with only a water pitcher and two cups. On the other half sat a pot of ink with a quill sticking out and a messy pile of paperwork, all of which was being ignored. Instead, she was focused on him with curious pink eyes and a small, bright smile.

"Good afternoon," She greeted with a calming, whispery voice. "My name is Fresh Mint, and I'm the on-duty nurse assigned to care for you. How are you feeling today?"

'Fucking pissed,' Was what he wanted to say, given there was at least one pony that had watched him sleep. It also spawned multiple questions. Who put him here? How many ponies did it take to move him? How many of them looked at him? Whatever the case, at least they covered him with a sheet.

Thankfully, Fresh Mint wasn't leering at him and seemed genuine when she asked, so he quickly listed everything that felt off. "Hungry, queasy, head and horn's numb," He garbled out before succumbing to a coughing fit. After which he quickly added "Dry throat" To the list, but she was already pouring a glass of water with her... wing?

It was a simple act, yet she displayed far more dexterity with her wing than anything he'd seen before. Each fragile-looking feather acted as a dexterous finger that, when combined, worked no differently from a human hand. "That sounds about right after injuring your horn. Just try to take it easy, okay?" She informed him as she set the pitcher down, hopped off her seat, and curled her feathers around the glass.

His only other example of pegasi doing anything with their wings besides flying had been a few guards patrolling the streets. They would trot along in front of his crate, with their wings fully folded against their side, just like his own, and a spear cradled against their chest.

A tiny mote of jealousy sparked inside him. Like his horn and hooves, he never figured out how to make his wings work. No matter how he twisted his body or mentally commanded the useless appendages, they remained folded at his sides. That left him thinking they worked instinctually, triggered perhaps to extend by freefalling in the air? But he wasn't stupid enough to test out that particular theory. To know that he could have been using them as a replacement for his hands...

Once she was close enough, she held the glass of water for him as he gladly gulped it down. Though there was no ice, the water was cold, crisp, and clean, making it far better than the chlorinated park fountain he had previously drunk out of. While not filling, the liquid also acted as a minor salve against the dull hunger pains in his stomach. A deep, thunderous rumble emanated from his body as he emptied the glass, demanding something more filling.

"I was going to ask if you were hungry, but I guess that answers that," Mint commented as she placed the glass onto a nightstand beside his bed. "Is there anything you want? It's a little late for lunch, but I'm sure I can grab something from the kitchens for you."

Neil cleared his throat before speaking, noting how his mellow voice sounded rough from disuse. "I, uh... Anything, I guess?" He offered, while thoughts of a steak with macaroni on the side taunted him. She did say anything... "Without flowers or hay?"

If she thought his request was odd, she didn't show it. "No flowers or hay? That sounds to me like a nice bowl of soup is in order. I'll quickly tell the Doctor you're awake, then trot to the kitchens." She told him while absentmindedly smoothing out the wrinkles on his bedsheet. "Before I go, do you want me to pour you another glass of water?"

"Yes, please," He answered while thinking over his situation. He still had no idea where he was and couldn't think of a way to ask without raising suspicions. His best guess was a hospital, though he knew about a small clinic near Joe's. If he was lucky, the guards might have dropped him off there.

Another glaring problem was that at least one pony, the nurse currently pouring another glass of water, knew he was awake. She also admitted that she was going to inform a doctor fairly soon. The first thought to pop into his head was to attack her. Her back was turned, giving him the perfect opportunity, but he quickly vetoed it. He didn't know the first thing about fighting as a pony; more importantly, he knew nothing about pony anatomy. Did pegasi have light, brittle bones to allow them flight? A hoof to the back of the head could just as quickly knock her out, piss her off, or kill her by mistake, and he wasn't a fucking killer.

Before he could think on it further, she turned around, a full glass of water in her wing that she quickly placed on the nightstand. "There you go," She assured him with an even bigger smile. "I'll be back with your food in just a few minutes."

As she turned to leave, he spoke up, making her pause for a moment before turning to face him again. "Uh... In case I feel sick, where's the nearest bathroom?"

She was quick to point it out by swivelling her head. "That would be the door behind me, near my desk." Indeed, there was a simple white door behind her that was set in the middle of the wall.

He mentally slapped himself for focusing too much on the mare and not enough on his surroundings. "Thanks, I think that's everything."

She gave him a happy nod, "Sure thing, Sweetie," Then trotted out of the room.

He ignored the name as he watched her go. The door itself swung open with a simple nudge, revealing no locks or mechanisms keeping it closed. She wove around the door, heading left.

The ticking clock had officially begun as he threw off his covers and hopped out of bed to the nearest window. What he saw quickly filled him with a sense of dread. It wasn't the open, well-kept grounds with large tracts of trimmed grass. Neither was it the yellow cobblestone paths dividing each section, leading away from the building he was currently in towards smaller buildings. No, it was the stone wall those smaller buildings were nestled against. Its height and overall shape were very familiar, being the perimeter wall for Canterlot Castle. However, seeing the support structure, ramparts, and stairs, all with guards patrolling, told him all he needed to know.

He was on the wrong side of that castle wall, leaving him with the conclusion that he was trapped inside Canterlot Castle, the very seat of power for the Celestial Dynasty. He could almost feel himself strapped down, the golden hoof of Princess Celestia pressing down imperiously on his neck. He had to get the fuck out of the castle, now!

'I'm royally fucked, both ways!' Was the only thought that popped into his head before he darted towards the exit. He could feel his heart racing and the growing sense of panic to complement how F.U.B.A.R. the situation was. Before it could get out of hand, he took a deep breath and squashed it. Panicking is what caused this situation. Just like the streets, he had to be cautious.

He poked his muzzle through the push door, just far enough to peek down both sides of the corridor. He was expecting to see multiple things. Equipment like carts full of spare bedsheets or emergency beds lining the walls. Or a pair of guards stationed to watch over his door. Instead, the marble corridor to his right was vast and empty, spanning a very long distance with plenty of doors. To his left was the exact same for the first thirty feet. An arched window told him that was a perimeter wall, along with the corridor turning right to follow.

Knowing that the nurse went left, Neil curved to the right. Was it the correct way to go? He had no idea, but it was better than running into Fresh Mint or the doctor she mentioned. Thinking of ponies and the castle staff, where were the guards? Why wasn't a guard detail watching his door to prevent this situation?

It was a little eerie as he jogged down the corridor, the only sound coming from his hooves. With each step, his ears twitched downwards as if desperate to flatten themselves and block off the distinct clack against the tile floor. He found himself in quite the conundrum. He could take it slow, but a pony might spot him before reaching the intersection hundreds of feet away. If he ran, however, he could alert an unseen pony with his obnoxiously loud clops. In the end, he opted for stealth.

He might have been able to keep a count of the doors if he had started right away. But he forgot, so he could only tell his distance travelled by the fact that after every tenth wooden door, the eleventh was a dull beige colour with supplies written on it. He stopped to take a quick look the first time he passed one. Ultimately, it was little more than a half-full linen closet, with shelves only about two feet deep and zero chance of hiding.

He passed six of those supply closets before finally making it to his first T-intersection. He snuck a quick peek around the corner, but the corridor veering off to the left was just as empty as his current one. He was left with a simple choice. He could go straight while keeping the exterior wall of the building on his right side. Despite the hallway's absurd length, he would eventually reach the other end of the building, right? Or he could turn left, head further into the building, and remove himself from the corridor his room was situated in. The very same room at least one medical pony would be visiting soon.

Between being lost or captured, Neil felt being lost was the better alternative.

This new corridor was also long, but unlike before, he could see a set of doors in the distance. As he walked closer, he also noticed an upcoming four-way intersection just before the doors. He had a few choices, but he felt poking his nose through a random door wasn't a good option when other paths were available. When he reached the intersection, he quickly checked once more for guards. Again, nothing was there except for more doors to his left. So he went right.

Left, right, straight, he did his best to build a mental map of the building, but it didn't make any sense! The corridors were insanely long, all of them, but at random lengths. The shortest he stumbled upon was 300-350 feet long. And then there was the random placement of double doors. What the hell was their purpose? Were they fire doors? A security feature? That last thought was the only reason he hadn't touched one. Yet.

It was only after his ninth turn that he spotted something new. He would have been about fifty feet deep into the new corridor when he came across a small alcove. Inside was, surprisingly, yet another door! But this one was white, which would have allowed it to blend in with the marble wall if not for two obvious details painted onto the door. A yellow sun was set at eye level, and just below it was a crescent moon, each styled exactly like the Princess' brands.

A part of him knew he shouldn't tempt fate by poking his nose through the door. But another, more significant part felt enticed after what must have been an hour of walking through identical corridors. Besides, there must have been something special about this door in particular? It was relatively hidden compared to everything else he'd passed. What if it was a passage reserved for royalty? He could use it to slip past the guards patrolling the castle halls. Deciding the risk was worth it, he bit down on the handle, twisted it, and pulled the door an eye-width open.

Purple. A substantial amount of purple stonework greeted him, whether the light purple stone floor and support columns or the bare walls carved from a darker purple stone. There was little else except for a simple red carpet wide enough to cover most of the floor. There wasn't even a hint of gold as he cautiously poked his head through.

Muffled hooves, columns to hide behind, and still no guard in sight? This new hallway was a no-brainer as he slipped through the door. Hearing the faint click behind him, he glanced back. Though he'd just walked through it, he couldn't see a single trace of a door. Instead, it was a smooth stone wall with a single red cross painted there.

Unlike the hospital ward corridors lined with doors, this hallway appeared to stretch on with little to no change. Thankfully, that perception was proven false after forty or fifty feet when he spotted another upcoming T-intersection.

As Neil approached the intersection, he took advantage of the stone column standing at the corner and hid behind it. He took a moment to listen for the clanking of armour or any other sound but didn't hear anything. Feeling pretty safe, he leaned around the column- and froze.

Not even fifteen feet away from him was a unicorn maid, judging by her frilly uniform. She was standing in the middle of the hallway facing a column roughly twenty feet away, with her rump shaking to a silent tune only she could hear. Her feather duster floated in a sunny yellow telekinetic aura, lightly brushing the area where the column met the ceiling.

Neil quickly slipped back behind his column. He had no idea if she was almost done with that particular column or the direction she would go once she was done. However, he knew he stuck out like a sore thumb with his monochrome coat. If he stayed where he was and she came this way, there was no doubt in his mind that she would spot him.

As silently as he could, Neil slipped into the open hallway. His eyes glanced between the maid and his end goal as he tread cautiously towards the closest column across the gap. Occasionally, Neil caught a glimpse of flesh underneath her bouncing blue tail but diligently ignored it. Miraculously, he crossed without incident, and the maid was no longer within his line of sight. Neil passed two more columns just to be safe before he finally released the breath he was holding.

He wasn't out of the woods yet, though, knowing how good his equine hearing was. He took things very slowly, ducking in and around columns. He also stole frequent looks behind himself, trying to spot the maid before she could spot him, but she never appeared. Eventually, he sped up to his average pace on the carpet again after roughly one hundred feet.

The next T-intersection came into view about seventy feet after that. Neil repeated his actions, hiding behind the column and taking a look. This time, however, the hallway was clear. One last look back revealed an empty hallway despite the maid he had left behind. The choice was an easy one as he turned left.

Despite his constant paranoia, he was starting to feel good about himself. Sure, he only managed to deceive a nurse and sneak by a maid. And yes, the grounds were littered with guards, unlike the inside of the castle. But so far, things were going his way. A little more luck inside of the castle, along with a fuck-tonne on the outside, and he might actually escape!

Those positive feelings had him almost prancing towards the next intersection, the first four-way split in this part of the castle. As it became routine, he darted behind the column at the corner. A quick glance across to his left showed an empty hallway. That was good enough for him to press against the stone column and slip around the edge to-.

That small, burgeoning flicker of hope shattered. Standing not even thirty feet from his position, her ethereal mane flowing as if in an unknowable breeze, stood Princess Celestia with two royal guards at her sides.

His single, terrified eye met hers as they widened a fraction, betraying her surprise before she restored her composure with a pleasant smile. Despite being so far away, he heard her clearly. "Well, isn't this a surprise?"

Neil didn't answer, opting to spin around and bolt instead. 'Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK!'

At least, he tried. He made it a good thirty, maybe even forty feet before he felt a pressure surround his body, and his hooves no longer touched the ground. Looking down, his hooves mere inches from touching the red carpet, dangling uselessly. He also noted a firm, golden glow running along his belly but surprisingly diverting around his unmentionable equine areas. A quick glance over the rest of his body confirmed the same thing. He was being levitated off of the ground.

And the pony levitating him? Looking back, she stood at the intersection, her horn aglow in a brilliant golden aura. Both of her guards were still at her side, making no move to come and collect him.

Over the weeks, Neil had heard of her description from ponies in the street and even seen her photo in the occasional newspaper thrown in a trash can. Both failed to prepare him for his current reality. Despite her relaxed posture, she still held a look of majestic opulence befitting the royal leader of a country. Thanks to his new eyes, however, he could see the look of motherly worry on her muzzle clearly, betraying her otherwise perfect imperial facade.

He couldn't fathom what was going on in her mind. He didn't want to understand what was going through her mind as he started thrashing about, trying to break free from the spell constraining him. He struggled, throwing his body against the pressure as best he could as he felt his joints pop. But no matter how hard he threw his body against the mystical force, it held firm, making his efforts useless.

The entire time, Celestia and her guards just stood there, two of them watching passively.

Flecks of lathered sweat dripped off Neil and onto the carpet when he finally gave up, too tired to continue. Celestia either planned for this or took it as an opportunity because seconds after he fell limp, she spun him around to face his captor. Despite his exhaustion, he met her confused worry with his own glare.

Her melodious voice broke the silence, sounding like she was beside him despite the distance as she offered him soothing words. "I don't know what happened to you, but I promise whatever it was cannot harm you here."

Instead of answering, Neil dredged up the sudden degradation in his quality of life three weeks ago, the hardships he had to deal with on the streets, and the aches and pains he suffered through and was currently suffering. He focused on all of it, bundled those emotions together, and vented all that hatred and frustration at the immaculate princess through his glare.

Celestia's expression didn't change, but Neil still caught sight of her hair... losing some of its flow? Had he caused that, or was she doing something? He wasn't the only one to notice, either. The unicorn guard flicked her eyes towards the princess, then back at him, a slight but noticeable frown adorning her muzzle.

Despite her deflated hair, Celestia continued as if this was a typical diplomatic introduction. "Perhaps introductions are in order? My name is Princess Celestia. May I ask what your name is?"

He still gave her nothing.

"I know you can speak Equish. Corporal Hearth wrote about your choice of expressive language in her report." She told him before a rolled-up piece of parchment with a broken wax seal floated out from underneath her wing. "I received Nurse Mint's report as well a little under an hour ago, detailing your awakening and how you spoke fluently."

He couldn't help it, as a hint of sarcastic incredulity slipped into his glare as if to say, 'No duh, you Bitch.'

Contrary to his expectations, her flowing hair picked up once more as she graced him with a small smile. "Good, I was starting to worry something had happened to you between then and now. Speaking of, I apologize for holding you in place without your permission. A cracked horn is very delicate, and I didn't want to risk further injuries."

A cracked horn? His mind drifted to the numbness starting at the base of his horn. He vaguely recalled the nurse mentioning a horn injury, not that it mattered. As far as he was concerned, it was fucking useless.

After a short pause without an answer, Celestia continued. "Still, I fully understand if you're annoyed with being held against your will. I promise to release you, but I would like you to tell me your name. Is that agreeable to you?"

Neil automatically quirked an eyebrow, his glare slipping away as he considered her offer. His first instinct was to spite her. 'If I do that, I'm completely fucked. But if I agree?.. Cracked horns cause terrible migraines, right?' It was a quick and dirty plan, with a small, almost insignificant chance. But it was a chance, and he could work with that. Slowly, almost begrudgingly, he nodded.

Immediately, his surroundings blurred. He felt nothing, yet in a fraction of a second, he went from forty feet to ten feet away, at most, from the princess and her guards. Had she just teleported him? Or was her control strong enough that she could drag him that fast without effort? As he blinked away the streaks of light plaguing his vision, he felt his hooves touch the carpet. The pressure from her telekinesis still remained. Once his vision cleared, he looked to his chest, wreathed in her golden aura, then back at her with a look. 'And?'

The light from her horn faded, as well as the pressure holding him in place. Neil reacted immediately, rushing forward with a hoof raised. He could escape if he could just make contact with her horn and evade the guards.

One single step was all it took. The hallway behind the princess and her two guards suddenly shifted before Neil's eyes. Shrinking from hundreds of feet in length to less than an eighth of its size in the blink of an eye, which caused severe vertigo. He stumbled over his own hooves.

However, before he could crash head-first into the carpet, he was caught once more in Celestia's golden aura. "Are you okay?" She asked, lifting him up to his full height and holding him there.

Before he could regain his footing, let alone answer as he fought to keep down the water in his stomach, the unicorn guard at her side spoke up. "Princess, we all just saw him try to attack. Now, will you end this farce and let me throw this Stallion in the dungeon where he belongs?"

Celestia seemed to pause for a second before taking her eyes off Neil and turning to her guard. "Captain Buckler, you know I value your advice. In this case, however, I find your concerns misplaced. Something has this poor stallion terrified enough to run from the guards and myself. I simply wish to know what it is so I can help him."

Neither Captain Buckler's expression nor her tone changed as she asked, "And the attempted assault on royalty we all just witnessed?"

"I told you this morning, he could have done serious harm to Corporal Hearth and Private Echo when he had the chance. Instead, he ran. This afternoon Nurse Mint-"

Between his sudden vertigo, his subsequent nausea now enhanced by said vertigo, the mild bickering between the princess and her guard, and the fact that he was caught with no chance of escape, Neil felt the beginnings of a headache. Mix that with the anger and rage he had already drummed up and the despair from his final failed attempt at escape? Neil gave up, allowing his body to throw up a small amount of water and bile as he hung limply in her grasp. "Can you just stop with your fucking bullshit and listen to your stupid ass guard!?" He all but yelled, sputtering at the taste of bile. "Or better yet, just fucking kill me now!"

The hallway became dead silent, except for a loud gasp from behind. Even with his head hanging limply, Neil still had enough curiosity to pry his eyes off the carpet and look between his dangling legs. Despite his view being turned upside down, he still recognized the blue tail and mane of the maid he snuck by earlier, though now he could see the shocked look in her sunny yellow eyes. Had the bickering lured her in for castle gossip? Even as he was, he hoped the innocent maid wouldn't disappear after seeing him.

Before he could contemplate the maid's fate any further, Celestia addressed his most pressing demand in abject horror. "Why, in the name of Faust, would you want us to kill you?"

'She really wants to know?' He thought, once more staring at the carpet he was suspended above. It's not like it mattered anymore. Working up the remaining bile in his mouth, he spat it towards the stain already there. "I've been living on the streets of Canterlot for a while now," He informed them despondently, "Ever since that weird fucking plague. I've heard your ponies praising you for some dark and disturbing shit during that time. Honestly, between being turned to fucking stone or worse, and death, I'd rather be dead."

He was expecting her to demand specifics or do something far more imperial or politician-esque. Instead, Celestia lowered herself onto her belly to be at his eye level. "I don't know what you've heard," She admitted, "But Equestria was built on the six tenets of harmony, honesty being one of them. Please trust that no harm will come to you as long as you mean no harm to my little ponies."

"Princess!" Captain Buckler interjected, "This stallion is clearly insane if he believes-"

"Captain, enough." Despite Celestia's soft tone, the captain followed her order immediately. However, it didn't stop the shorter mare from narrowing her eyes angrily at Neil.

For the most part, Neil was trying to figure out the Princess' game. He knew enough about the tenets. Not a day passed without hearing one or more ponies praising at least one aspect of their quasi-religion. The question was, why was she trying so hard to earn his trust? Why wasn't she just removing the new political rival on her doorstep? Why wasn't she locking him down in her deepest, darkest dungeon? Why?

He couldn't understand. "...Fine," He muttered, feeling like he had just signed a deal with the devil.

Celestia's motherly smile made a return as her horn lit up. He flinch, expecting an attack at first despite her words. Instead, the taste of vomit and the stain on the carpet vanished. His nausea also disappeared. "Thank you for trusting me. Now, I believe some introductions are long overdue, Mr.?"

"Neil," He offered as she stood back up. He placed his hooves firmly underneath him and lifted his head once more. He knew every pony in the hall was watching him, waiting to see if he would bolt again. Even the maid, who had surreptitiously worked her way closer to the group while dusting columns.

"Kneel?" Princess Celestia parroted back as she released Neil from her golden aura.

His muscles tensed momentarily, half expecting the vertigo that surprised him to return. It didn't. "Close, but no. Neil. As in knee and ill, but pressed together. Neil."

"Very well Neil," She said, testing out his name again. Once he gave her a limp nod without correction, she continued. "With introductions out of the way, would you care to join me for dinner?"

"Just like that? No terms and conditions, just a let's go eat?" He snarked and was about to say more when his stomach let loose a thunderous rumble. The mention of food awakened the starving beast; this time, it would not be denied.

Celestia turned away from him, suppressing a giggle. "Yes, just like that. The castle's main dining room is this way, Neil. I would also ask that you stay close, otherwise you may trigger the defensive wards again."

Neil quickly averted his eyes towards the earth pony guard's helmet as he listened. Her flowing hair and tail looked solid up to a certain distance. But up close, with her tail less than a muzzle's distance away? There was a certain opacity that revealed a noticeable outline of parts he did not want to see.

He followed closely when she walked down the hall, aligning himself with the silent earth pony guard. "By wards, do you mean whatever bullshit it was that tripped me?"

"That can be an unintended consequence," She stated before happily expanding that tidbit into a small lecture. "Perimeter Stone's Perception Perversion Ward is quite the ingenious enchantment that affects the perception of any pony not tied into the wards, increasing the length of a corridor by tenfold. And speaking of defences," She looked to Captain Buckler, "Would you please inform the castle infirmary that their wayward patient is joining me for dinner?"

Despite having the princess between them, Neil still felt the captain's lingering glare as she complied. "At once, Princess." She then peeled off towards the infirmary, leaving an empty spot on Celestia's left side.

Princess Celestia took a right at the next intersection, and the two remaining ponies followed. "I would like to apologize for my guard captain, Neil. She may be new to her rank, but she is very devoted to the job. A little too devoted at times, as you've just seen."

Neil mentally shrugged, but otherwise, he didn't really care. "No need. Between the two of you, she was the one talking sense."

That answer had the Princess glancing back, "Oh? So you would prefer being locked up in the castle dungeons?"

Neil just shook his head. "Hell no. I'm just saying, when faced with an unknown threat, she was in the right."

"I agree," Celestia stated with a knowing smile. "Captain Buckler would be in the right if there was a threat."

Neil narrowed his eyes. Did he really appear that weak to her? "I'm pretty sure I have a spear growing out of my head."

Celestia was quick to shut down that line of thought. "I would advise against using your horn for physical combat. You've already experienced feedback from a moderate crack," She reminded, causing Neil to flinch at the faint memory. "Very few unicorns manage to survive after shattering their horn. I would be horrified to see an alicorn suffer the same way."

He could tell she meant every word, which unintentionally derailed his next escape plan. That was the one weakness he knew about, given his experience, and it could kill her? More importantly, he could have died last night! But how would he escape if he couldn't disable her horn? Or would a light punch be enough? He glared at the barely noticeable tip of his horn. 'Fucking useless head prick.'

"Neil, would you be willing to tell me about those rumours you've heard on the streets?" Celestia asked, breaking the silence and his train of thought. "I would like to clear up any misconceptions and give you some clarity if it would help."

"If you really want me to, I guess? But some of it is pretty dark. I mean, turning most of your political rivals to stone over the last thousand years?" He questioned with disbelief, "Which is fucking impossible obviously. Otherwise, you'd be a walking corpse. But the name Eris kept popping up like it's some sort of monster."

Celestia looked at him oddly but responded nonetheless. "Why, thank you, I think. I've never had anypony compliment my looks in such a back-hoofed manner. However, when it comes to the castle gardens..."

She then explained that every statue of a pony, be they commoner, noble, guard, or magician, was sculpted in the likeness of friends who had passed on over the years. 'Which was bullshit. It made far more sense that each pony was a friend to the 'Celestia' ruling in that time, before the name passed onto the next alicorn Princess. But hey, a dupe was walking along with them, so he didn't call out his captor.'

He tuned back into her lecture as Celestia explained that her garden was built around the only prisoner ever kept within. Eris, the Spirit of Chaos was her name. A creature with the power to warp reality and do anything she could think of with a snap of her claws.

Equestria itself was a fledgling country, still struggling to find its identity. It was theorized that the confusion and disharmony between the pony tribes, as they slowly learned to work together as a whole society, was the chaos that initially caught Eris' attention. Once she was there, however, she quickly blanketed the land with her own brand of insanity.

Celestia then explained the many oddities from that time, describing them in such detail that Neil could see why ponies thought she lived through it. Most of her examples were cruel pranks her ponies suffered from under Eris' chaotic rule. Other examples related to animals fused together to create monstrosities, like the manticores and cockatrices of the Everfree. Some ponies lived under Eris' control to the point that they would be driven insane. Either frolicking in the cruelty or spreading even more on helpless victims. And when Eris had trouble finding new toys to play with in an area? A snap of her fingers could drive the local herds into an estrus-induced sexual frenzy.

Princess Celestia's best scholars believed that Eris ruled for over a century before Celestia and her sister, Luna, found a means of defeating Eris. Neil presumed these were the ancestors of Celestia, who started the royal dynasty. The result was the Spirit's petrification into stone on the flat mountain plateau that would later become the gardens for Canterlot Castle. Celestia and Luna were then crowned as rulers over the crumbling remains of Equestria, opting to take the title of Princess, and the rest was history.

Until Eris broke free from her stone prison the previous spring. Celestia had expected her to do as before, spreading chaos throughout Equestria. Instead, Eris showed unusual restraint by challenging Celestia's student and her friends to a high-stakes game. And the prize? The artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony, Weapons, Neil idly noted, that had initially petrified her. In the end, her student won, and Eris was once more a statue.

... Only for Celestia to go insane and release Eris a month later with the intent of reforming the Spirit of Chaos. The way she described the results was mixed but promising, despite Eris' recent relapse (whatever that was).

"... Just remember, if you ever run into Eris, I strongly suggest caution when dealing with her. She can be very... forward when dealing with stallions of any kind."

By that point, Celestia had led them to an ornate-looking set of double doors either carved from a dark wood or stained to appear like it. Each entry had a decent-sized arched window depicting one of the Princess' brands with stained glass. However, Neil didn't have long to look before they were enveloped with Celestia's golden aura and opened.

Neil had seen the spindly-looking stone bridges built between the castle towers from a distance. Not once had he thought about walking along one of them before, yet here he was. "I'll keep that in mind if I ever see her. Before I set foot on this death trap can you answer one thing?" He asked, making her pause. "Let's say I believe that this Spirit of Chaos is an all fucking powerful cosmic being," 'That might be able to send me home,' went unsaid, "The stupidity that made you think releasing Eris was a good idea. Is it the same stupidity that has me walking without chains?"

Looking back, Celestia contemplated his question for just a moment with her motherly smile. "What you call stupidity, I prefer to call an excellent judge of character. I would also like to think after one thousand years of ruling, I might have learned a lesson or two about reading ponies."

She was kind enough to wait for Neil to catch up before continuing her sedate walk. "Was that the only rumour you were concerned with?"

"No, I've got at least two more off the top of my head." He had far more than two, though the rest were minor in comparison. Instead of thinking about them, he was doing his best to keep his mind off of the fact that the bridge they were on, as far as he knew, defied the laws of gravity.

Celestia was patient, however, and opened the matching set of double doors on the other side for them all.

"I guess the next biggest one would be how you made an entire fucking empire vanish from existence just because their Tyrant King attacked you."

He was expecting another history lecture, but the biting sadness behind her words coloured the next part of their journey in sombre tones. "Before King Sombra, the Crystal Empire was ruled by a dear friend of mine. Her name was Princess Amore..."

She told him about her friend and how she ruled the empire with a powerful artifact known as the crystal heart. She then explained the artifact's purpose as an emotional amplifier and barrier against the cold. All in all, Neil thought of it as unimportant pony fluff.

However, when she got to Sombra's rule, her sentences became short and to the point. He was a self-proclaimed Tyrant King, dripping in dark magic, who murdered Princess Amore and then stole the crystal heart. He cast an empire-wide mind control spell through the heart, ensnaring all but a few citizens living along the barrier's outer edge. Those ponies who lived closest to Equestria came to them with warnings and seeking aid.

She and her sister, Princess Luna, brought an army to bear against the Crystal Empire. But with the time it took to raise their army, Sombra had mined a large stockpile of enchantment-grade crystals using his mind-controlled slaves.

When his enslaved scouts spotted their assault on the Crystal Empire, Sombra prepared. He used most, if not all, of the crystals to empower himself and his spells. Making him strong enough to take on two alicorns. His slaves, however, were forced to don armour and pick up weapons for the coming battle.

It was inevitable that their forces clashed, though Celestia and Luna managed to get within sight of the capital city. Entrusting General Pilum to the primary battle, she and her sister flew ahead to confront Sombra himself.

He was all but impossible to defeat through conventional methods. Almost every attack would dissipate against his wards and the few that connected? He would explode into shadows that corrupted the air with dark magic before reforming again, laughing at their futility.

When all other options failed, they were forced to use the Elements against Sombra. They worked but at a terrible cost. After exploding into a shadow cloud, Sombra was sealed away into a glacier. Unknowingly, the sisters thought that was the end. But Sombra had one more ward, tied directly to his living essence. When the tyrant was sealed away, he took the Crystal Empire and its people with him.

"... We couldn't possibly fathom the dark magics required to pull off such a feat. So yes, in the end, the blame was ours. We unknowingly sealed away an entire population of innocent ponies, only for them to return shortly after Eris was resealed."

".... A dead man's switch," Neil muttered absently, thinking about the absurdity of it all.

"A dead what switch?" Celestia asked, looking at him with an odd expression.

"An... unpleasant way to go," He told her, hoping that would be enough of a deterrent. "Let's leave it at that, eh?"

"If you don't wish to tell me, I can respect that. Either way, my private dining hall is just ahead." She informed him, gesturing with her muzzle towards a pair of tall, arched wooden doors with golden accents.

Once more, she opened the doors with her aura. Celestia continued onwards, unimpeded, but Neil was forced to stop. Instead of entering, the guard he was closely following peeled off to the side, almost causing Neil to crash into him. Once the guard took up his post at the doorframe, Neil took stock of the situation.

Celestia was inside, walking towards one of only two chairs set at a long, narrow table. The guard beside him was staring straight ahead at the opposite wall...

Making a split-second decision, Neil booked it. Running past the guard, who didn't even lift a hoof. Of course, it became abundantly clear why once he was far enough from the guard. The hallway elongated, going from thirty feet to three hundred in seconds. He slowed to a walk, then finally came to a stop. He was still caught up in the fucking security wards. Turning around, the guard appeared to be ten feet away. But even at that angle, Neil could see the smile in his eyes. 'Fucking Bastard.'

It wasn't long before Celestia returned and lifted him in her aura. "I would suggest closing your eyes; it's the easiest way to avoid the side effects."

Neil just stared at her, trying to ignore the cheshire grin on her muzzle. After a minute-long stand-off, however, he relented. The next thing he knew, he was being set down. Right in front of Celestia, once he opened his eyes. "I did warn you about the perception perversion wards, didn't I?"

"You did." Neil ground out, more pissed off at his own stupidity than her smirk.

"Well then, shall we eat?"

This time, Neil followed her into the dining room, noting the second table to the left piled with breakfast foods. Multiple piles of pancakes, some with melted butter and others with whipped cream and fruit toppings. He also spotted waffles drenched in syrup but somehow not soggy. But the holy grail... multiple thermos' of coffee and tea, though Neil's complete focus was on the coffee.

The scraping of wood against stone brought him out of his trance as he turned to see Celestia sitting down at the head of the table. Leaving him the chair closest to the door and to her left. He walked up to the chair, but he bit into the wood instead of sitting. He noted the acrid-tasting varnish finish as he dragged it ten feet down. Only after reaching a suitable distance did he sit at the table.

If Celestia thought his actions were a slight against her, she didn't show it. Instead, she levitated a menu to him and placed it gently on the table within easy reach. Neil quickly looked it over, noting the four main sections were different types of food. He wrote off the top left section dedicated to salads. Professionally made, or garbage tier, he didn't want any more fucking salads.

The top right was unrecognizable, with many weird, fancy-sounding names. The dishes pictured looked extravagantly garnished but were mainly thick-looking, almost pudding-like soups? He wrote off the entire section.

The bottom left had recognizable dishes, loaves of bread and pasta mainly. The loaves of bread appeared to be fancy loaves stuffed with plenty of odd-looking things.

The last panel was the dessert panel, which he passed over. No matter how much he wanted to give himself pony diabetes, if real food was an option he had to take it. He owed this alicorn body that much, at the very least.

With his order and a backup just in case, Neil looked over to Celestia. She seemed to still be contemplating what she wanted for the evening, leaving him with no idea what he should do. Did he just sit there and wait? Or did he have to poke the menu, like that one Harry Potter book? Before he could make an idiot of himself, Celestia placed her menu down.

Seconds later, a unicorn and a pegasus, both stallions, exited from a less decorative door near the breakfast table.

Whether it was a silent signal or the staff was just well-trained, Neil couldn't tell. But he gave the two ponies odd looks as they traversed the room. Both wore the same ludicrous, if eye-catching, uniform, which was barely a uniform. The central part of it looked like the flared lapel of a tuxedo, and the undershirt, both white, with a smart-looking black bow tie to finish off the classy look. At least, it would have looked classy if not for the black frilly lace accenting the edges of the lapel. It looked like a tux, an adult French maid costume, and a bondage collar had a very messy three-way.

The light bluish-gray pegasus split off from his coworker, heading towards the Princess, leaving him with the tan unicorn stallion. The unicorn swiftly approached Neil's section of the table, "May I take your order, Sir?"

"Can I order something that's off the menu?" Neil asked, hoping for a yes. After the day's events, he could use a little pick me up. A little taste of home would do just that.

"You can," The stallion assured before adding a little boast. "If we've heard of it, then I guarantee our cooks can make it."

"Sounds good," Neil admitted before lowering his voice. It was stupid but in an opulent castle like this? He felt like an idiot for ordering something so simple. "I'd like to order the biggest bowl of macaroni and cheese you can make."

Other than a raised eyebrow, the stallion did nothing to disparage Neil's choice. He ignited his horn and withdrew a piece of paper and a pencil from underneath his tux collar. He quickly manipulated both to write Neil's order, "Of course, Sir, and what would you like to drink?"

Neil thought about it briefly, but he had no idea if ponies had hard alcohol like vodka. In the end, he settled for something simple. "Just coffee is fine." Before the waiter left, Neil quickly added, "Could I have it in a bowl as well?"

The waiter made a quick change before slipping the pencil and paper back under his collar. "Of course. I'll have your order delivered shortly to you, Sir." The stallion left afterwards, quickly disappearing behind the door leading towards the kitchens.

A quick look in Celestia's direction revealed that she was still ordering. She was pointing at the levitated menu with her hoof, going from one item to the next. For a moment, Neil felt like she was ordering a feast. Still, after the fifth item, the stallion left towards the back, and she lowered her menu back onto the table.

Once the waiter passed out of sight, Celestia quickly engaged Neil in conversation. "You've finished ordering as well, Neil?" After a quick nod, she continued, "We have time to spare before our meals are delivered. In the interim, I believe there was one last rumour you would like to discuss?"

There was, and that particular rumour also spawned his worst-case scenario for capture. Something he did not want to think about while eating. "Yeah... That can wait until after we finish eating."

"Very well then," Celestia complied with an understanding nod. "In that case, would you like to answer some of my own questions?"

Neil immediately stiffened as he gave the princess a hard, questioning look. He expected an interrogation at some point. It made sense to do it now because it was just the two of them. "Like what?"

"I would like to know more about you if you would be willing to share? For example, would you like to tell me how you found yourself in Canterlot?"

"I have no fucking clue," He stated with a shrug. "I went to work, got back home, and went to bed as my normal fucking self. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a back alley as a fucking mutant horse with wings and a horn."

That appeared to pique Celestia's interest. "So you were an earth pony before ascending?"

"I don't know what the hell ascension is, but yeah, and that's all there is," Neil told her, heavily massaging the truth while laying down the groundwork for his cover story. After all, there were ponies and horses native to Earth. He just wasn't born as one of them. "No pegasi, no unicorns, and none of that fucking bullshit you call magic."

That stumped the Princess as she looked at him with a calculating gaze. "I can think of a few nations with an Earth Pony majority. Exclusively earth pony, let alone devoid of magic, however?.. I cannot think of a single country that fits your description. Where do you come from, if you don't mind me asking?"

The thought of lying passed through Neil's head. She wouldn't be able to verify one way or the other, given his country was on another fucking planet, at the very least. On the other hand, if he told her the truth, what did it matter? Other than the fact that she was a ruler and could likely pick out an outright lie like a rotten tomato. "Canada, and I've never heard of Equestria until I was fucking dumped here."

The room fell silent for a minute as Celestia contemplated what he just told her. "If you wish, I could have my most trusted researchers and scholars look into finding your country?"

Although the gesture was nice, even Neil could see how big of a waste that was. "And waste time and resources on a useless fucking endeavour?"

That seemed to surprise Celestia, "I don't see how making contact with your country and returning you home would be useless?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't. But if I stay like this? Best case scenario, I somehow evade being locked up as a science experiment and live in hiding for the rest of my life." He told her calmly as if he was talking about the weather. "The likely scenario? I'm captured, preferably killed, and they dissect my corpse. Worst case scenario? I'm tied down and vivisected, repeatedly, as the government tries to figure out what makes me tick without killing me."

Celestia didn't look it, except for her dilated eyes, but her voice conveyed her shock clearly. "Why would your government do such a thing?"

"As I just said, to figure out how all this works," He used a hoof to gesture over his body from head to chest, specifically around his horn and wings, to further sell his point. "Heh, if you think that's bad, I can think of a few nations that have done far worse for far less. On the other hand, if you did find a way home, that would be fucking fantastic. I'd just have to figure out a way to chop off the wings and shave off my horn flush without killing mys-"

"THERE WILL BE NO SELF-MUTILATION WHILE I'M AROUND YOUNG COLT!"

Neil sat frozen, mid gesture as the windows took a couple extra seconds to stop rattling.

Celestia also took a moment before lecturing him with a stern but motherly tone. "From what I've pieced together, you've had an extremely unfair experience since your first day in Canterlot. I can also understand your excessive use of foul language to help vent your anger and frustration. I will not, however, sit here and allow you to even think about removing the gifts granted to you! Don't you understand? No matter how it happened or why, you've ascended into an alicorn. If your country of Canada can't see how special that makes you, then I'm more than willing to take care of you until you can return home as you are."

Neil.... had no fucking idea what to say to that, so he said nothing.

Five minutes? Ten minutes? Some time passed in silence before both of the waiters returned. The pegasus was pushing a large cart, almost overflowing with food. Whereas the unicorn held two bowls in his magic. The smaller of the two was the size of a salad bowl, while the other was twice as big as a punch bowl. Both of them were placed on the table within easy reach.

"One alicorn-sized bowl of macaroni and cheese and a coffee." The unicorn stated professionally as if he hadn't heard Celestia's deafening yell from just a room away. "Would you like anything else?"

Despite the lovely-looking home-cooked meal before him, Neil could only shake his head in the negative. He thought that would be it, but as he leaned forward, he felt a hoof on his shoulder. Glancing to his left, the stallion was giving him a reassuring smile.

"Enjoy your meal, and I hope the rest of your evening is pleasant." He retreated into the kitchen as Neil watched, confused by the out-of-place encouragement. Glancing over at the end of the table, his coworker and Celestia were still helping each other unload the cart.

Not wanting to think about Celestia's words, he returned to his gigantic bowl. At the top of the bowl was an entire layer of melted cheese, browned to perfection, and a hint of spices he couldn't see but he could smell. A quick nudge with his nose told him it was still warm but not hot enough to burn him if he dug in. For a moment, he just basked in the warmth of his first hot meal since... Days before he appeared in this fucked up world.

Without further delay, he dove in muzzle first. His first bite could have been considered tentative but polite despite eating without utensils. Afterwards, however, he was little more than a ravenous hound. Driven by his desperate hunger and the euphoric taste of pony food as he devoured everything in his path. Quite a feat, given the size of the bowl. He only stopped once, halfway through, to drain the entire salad bowl of his coffee before he returned to massacring his pasta.

He only found one problem with his dinner, which was both a shock and a revelation. The entire bowl was empty, licked clean in his haste, leaving only his muzzle drenched in whatever savoury cheese sauce the cooks used to make his pasta. Looking down at his body, he was half expecting to see his stomach bloated. Instead, his underbelly was just as skinny as before, making him question where the hell his meal went. He didn't even feel full, though he wasn't hungry at the very least.

Looking over to Celestia's end of the table, he was just as shocked to see a stack of neatly piled dishes sitting on the middle shelf of the cart, every single one looking like they were recently cleaned, and Celestia herself sitting patiently as she watched him.

"It looks like you enjoyed your meal," She stated with her damnable cheshire grin.

"Yeah, well, after weeks of rationing garbage, a hot meal is... well, a hot meal." He told her half distractedly as he licked at the remaining sauce on his muzzle.

He almost missed the subtle shift as her grin faded to her usual smile. "At the very least, you'll never have to eat out of a dumpster again, Neil. That I can promise you."

"We'll see," Was all he said with a shrug before changing topics. "Now, you wanted to hear that last rumour? This is the one that had me avoiding you the most."

"If that is the case, I would like to disprove this rumour immediately," She encouraged him to continue as she levitated his bowls onto the top shelf of the unattended cart.

"It's up to you. You'll need to call in the guard, though; I have to ask him something first." In all honesty, he didn't really need the guard. But he was a smug prick, so why not use him as an example?

Celestia didn't question him as she opened the door with her golden aura. "Lieutenant Brass, we require your assistance." Once the guard entered, Celestia closed the door behind him. He came to a halt two body lengths away from Celestia and stood at attention.

"Neil has a question for you. I don't know what it is, but it's related to the rumours he mentioned earlier today. I would like you to answer truthfully; is that understood?"

"It is, Princess!" After a quick salute, he shifted to face Neil.

'So, I'm not worth stopping, am I?' Neil thought as he cleared his throat. A pause for dramatic tension, and... "How many times have you been ordered to fuck Celestia against your will?"

At that moment, Neil learned that spit-takes could travel at least ten feet. It might have been longer, but unfortunately, Celestia had been looking in his direction when he asked the question.

It was awkward when Princess Celestia explained that some mares had sexual fantasies about being a princess, while also abusing their powers to create a harem of stallions. Some were even bold enough to ask her in court if they could have access to the Princess' private harem, even after repeatedly stating it simply didn't exist.

It was even more awkward when Celestia asked him to explain his worst-case scenario, as he called it, in relation to that specific rumour. He eventually admitted he was terrified of being restrained in some long-forgotten hole and used as little more than a breeding stock for the rest of his life.

It was extremely awkward when the guard finally found his voice and stated, "None, um, but... if she asked? I would." While every inch of fur that could be seen through his armour had become beet red.

~~~******~~~

Later that night, long after the changing of the Sun and Moon, Celestia found herself in her private quarters. She would do her best to relax most nights, either by reading one of the many, many, early copies or first editions gifted to her no matter the genre. Or relaxing in a bath, allowing the warm scented waters to wash away the day's stress from her tired muscles. Instead, she was hunched over a slowly decreasing pile of paperwork in her private office tonight.

It wasn't the worst way to spend a night. Her long life had given her much more terrifying prospects to worry about, other than an unending pile of paperwork. However, this particular pile was taking far longer than it should have. She just couldn't focus as the Moon rose higher and higher into the sky, and her cheery little fire in the fireplace dwindled.

She quickly read over and signed yet another update on the Vanhoover dock refurbishment project, which was mainly funded by the crown. She pushed for years to have the docks reinforced or rebuilt if needed. But until recently, it was always, 'We wouldn't want to waste crown bits.' Or, 'Those bits are needed far more elsewhere.' Polite to a fault, they were. Thank Faust their new mayor had agreed with her. 'We'll get it done and under budget, eh?'

She was about to reach for the next piece on the pile but paused. Her mind shifted to earlier that day, during dinner, to something Neil said. 'Let's leave it at that, eh?'

The accent wasn't an exact match, but it was very close. Could Neil be from Vanhoover? It was a possibility, but a very low one. Too many anomalies surrounded the stallion for her to pinpoint his origin so easily. But that was a minor problem compared to the hate and rage fuelling his macabre view of the world.

She sighed, shunting that problem to the side. She needed to finish this paperwork as she reached for the pile again. And like before, she paused as the wards fluttered ever so lightly. "Eris, I wasn't expecting you to visit this fine evening."

"Oh, and what a fine evening it is!" The Spirit cheered from the inside of her unfinished paperwork pile. An instant later, papers were strewn about as the draconequus raised both of her miniature, mismatched, ink-drenched arms into the air. "It took you forever to find that little ball of chaos, and of course it took Pvt Murphy giving you a little help to do it."

Keeping a calm exterior, Celestia caught every leaf of paper in her magic. She waited politely for Eris to climb out of the page and hop onto her desk before placing the pile back where it belonged. "There isn't a single private or ranked guard member named Murphy, Eris."

"Oh please, you need to get with the times Celestia. Get out of this stuffy old tower and learn a reference, or a slang word or two!" She snapped her fingers, and Celestia, her desk, and Eris were immediately elsewhere. The buildings and the streets looked more modern, pointing her towards Fillydelphia, Manehatter, or Baltimare. "Or better yet, we could go 'window shopping' for some butt buddies. I don't know about you, but after all the times Tirek said no I could use a big, long dicking."

"Eris, I have too much work that needs to be done before I call it a night." She replied while she smiled and waved at two ponies, a stallion and a mare, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Oh, relax already!" Eris popped out of existence, only to reappear on the stallion's back. She was no longer drenched in ink but wore socks depicting lewd sex acts. "Hello, this is quite the stud you found tonight, what were his rates? If we double it, can Celestia and I join in?"

"Eris, enough!" Celestia snapped, "Leave the poor couple alone so we can discuss things back at the castle."

"Oh, isn't that adorable? She thinks you two are a couple!" Eris giggled, ruffling the stallion's braided mane. "Well Stud, it was almost your lucky night, but Celestia wants to have a nice chat with me in her private quarters. Have fun showing that Trick of yours some tricks."

Before Celestia could say anything else, the Spirit of Chaos snapped her fingers. She was back in her tower, as well as her desk. Her paperwork, however, was gone. Replaced with Eris doing her best to pose sexily on the hardwood surface.

Celestia just stared, unamused. "And my paperwork, Eris."

"Fine, you're no fun." Eris pouted, snapping her fingers. Her paperwork returned, and Eris was now floating near the fireplace. "At least somepony is getting lucky tonight."

"You didn't do anything to those ponies, did you?"

"Moi?" She asked, posing as the picture of innocence with a glowing halo above her head. "I didn't do anything. In fact, after tonight his brand is about to get a massive boost."

Celestia groaned in frustration. She did not want to track down a single stallion from one of three major metropolises. "What did you do Eris?"

"Nothing bad!" She admitted, throwing her arms up in defeat. "I just gave him a little help from Viagra. The next time he gets down and dirty with a mare, instead of four minutes, he'll give her four hours of fun."

"Four hours." Celestia deadpanned.

"Yep! Of course, if it lasts longer than that..." She snapped her fingers, and a small, blue paper appeared on her desk. "I left a copy of that glued to his front door. He can't miss it."

Celestia looked over the paper and groaned.

Viagra can cause some serious side effects...
... Yadda yadda yadda...
A prolonged erection that lasts longer than four hours...
... Yadda yadda yadda...
Visit your doctor...
... Yadda yadda yadda...

"See, he's completely safe," She gestured with her arms, suddenly wearing umpire armour, "All of his bases are covered," She then dove onto a large, white homebase, only to pop upright with a long, wooden bat she was rubbing enticingly with a cloth. "His bat will be well polished."

"Enough Eris," Celestia sighed, "There was an original reason you came here; would you like to talk about it?"

"Him, and yes, I would," She said, immediately dropping the act. "You found Neil."

"Yes, we found him after multiple reports of something large messing around with bins. Luna also found an unusual, half-formed dream in one of the shopping districts. How long have you known about him Eris?"

"I've known about him since my powers returned to me," She admitted flippantly.

"And you had nothing to do with his appearance?"

"Absolutely nothing, I can assure you. If I had known about him before my powers were stolen, Tirek would have sucked off your new Boytoy during his visit to Canterlot. And he was already here after my powers returned. Ergo, I had no way of bringing him here."

"And the chaos magic cycling through his body?"

"I haven't the slightest idea, but it gets me tingly just thinking about it!" She admitted as her lioness paw slowly inched further down her stomach. "Are you suuuure you don't want to go out and get laid?"

"I'm sure. There is one last thing I'd like to ask before you leave."

"Oh, and what would that be?"

"Leave Neil alone," She all but ordered in a no-nonsense tone. "I don't think he would enjoy your certain brand of... chaos, in his current state."

Eris' paw froze, just inches from her goal, as her eyes narrowed. "...Fine, I'll leave your Boytoy alone. For now." And with that last word, she vanished.

Celestia waited for a full minute. If Eris planned a delayed prank, it would go off in the first minute most of the time. When nothing happened, she released a long, agonizing sigh. A quick look to the Moon told her that Eris' visit cost her another half an hour of lost sleep.

Perhaps she could regain it if she pushed through her paperwork? With her goal in mind, she attacked the ever-present pile of unfinished paperwork.

Only after reading the thirteenth document did she find Eris' prank. One single 'O' on each page was intersected with an 'i', but the accent line was curved and very... splashy, instead of straight.

Celestia groaned, knowing she would have to look over every page on her desk and correct all of the misprints.

3. Oral Jousting

(October 16th: 2nd Day Since Capture)

"Rise and shiiiine~"

Neil twitched, eyes snapping open at the sudden, melodious intrusion waking him from sleep. In his half-asleep daze, he wasted precious seconds jerking his head back and forth, looking for the source of the intrusion before he realized that, once again, he was curled up in a bed like an animal with a sheet fully covering him.

Still, he needed to figure out what or who had woken him up. He was just starting to squirm out from underneath the sheet when the tension dissipated. His bedsheet was pulled down to reveal not one but two separate nurses loosening it for him, one on each side of the bed.

A quick, cautious glance told him they were both mares. The first mare had an older, no-nonsense vibe about her as she folded the sheet professionally. She had a pinkish purple coat, a colour that Neil couldn't remember the name of in his drowsy state and a darker green mane with streaks of gray. Whether natural or from age, he couldn't tell.

By contrast, Neil could only describe the second mare as a bronze bombshell. Literally, given her gleaming bronze-coloured coat, sun-blond hair, and patina eyes, which exuded a bubbly playfulness as she looked at him. She was a few steps away from the bed, allowing her aura to mirror the other nurse's efforts.

Neil's upper half was freed soon enough, allowing him just enough time to clamp his front legs down against the bed, pinning the bedsheet down before they could expose his lower belly.

"What the fuck is going on?" He groaned, trying to keep an eye on his two intruders while blinking at the suddenly brighter light streaming into his room.

The younger mare visibly flinched at his choice in vocabulary, but the prim and proper nurse was quick to answer. "The Princess felt it prudent to update your file last night after learning about your inability to use all types of magic." She stated, sounding both strict and posh at the same time. "That is why Nurse Heart and I are here, to help prepare you before your breakfast is delivered. You may call me Nurse Rose."

"Well, Nurse Rose, I can take care of myself well enough," He countered, keeping a firm hold on the sheet despite Nurse Heart's light tugging with her aura. "So if you would kindly get the hell outta here?"

Instead of being outraged or offended, the older mare raised a brow imperiously. "Yes, it was quite clear to me how well you took care of yourself. Garbage-drenched matted fur, loose and twisted feathers, and three separate ticks I had to remove. Let alone the hours I spent untangling the hundreds of knots out of your mane and tail once the specialist finished repairing your horn. You've proven yourself uniquely qualified to take care of yourself."

"Yeah, well, I'd like to see how well you fucking do on the streets without plumbing." He spat somewhat petulantly, surprised at the fact he had ticks living on him.

"Well, as much as I love the smell of a sweaty stallion, we have plumbing here! So let's get you out of bed and washed up for the day," Nurse Heart cheered forcefully, effectively stalling the burgeoning argument. "Um, could you let go of the bedsheet now?"

Was he sweaty? He was tempted to check, but not with both mares there. "I could," Neil answered for the overly cheerful morning pony. "But I'd rather get out of bed without exposing myself."

"Expose yourself?" Nurse Heart asked, confused, "If you mean your ba-"

"Heart! If Neil does not wish to reveal certain things to us, that is his choice." She chided, turning towards the bathroom door while ignoring Nurse Heart's disappointed 'Awwwww'. "Very well, we shall give you a minute while we prepare for you. Do not run away like your vain attempt yesterday."

It didn't take long for Nurse Heart to catch up with Nurse Rose and pass through the door. When it closed, he jumped out of bed and trotted to the exit. As if he was going to allow two mares, one of which was clearly a pervert, to wash him.

Once he was up close and personal, he nudged the door open with his shoulder, hoping to see the same empty hall as he had yesterday. Instead, a metallic gold took up what little he could see through the sliver. A moment later, the door was covered in a brown aura and opened fully. One stallion guard with wings was revealed to be right next to him, while a second was half-hidden by the door, his horn aglow.

"Do you require assistance?" The guard right next to him asked.

Seeing his plan unravelled before it began, he gave a hail mary. "You wouldn't happen to know where the nearest exit is, do you?"

"We do."

Neil gave him a few seconds to elaborate before prodding again. "Can you tell me where it is?"

"We can escort you there once the nurses clear you for the day." He stated with a tone of finality.

"Ah," Was all he said now that he knew his situation. He backed away from the door, and soon enough, the aura dissipated, allowing it to freely swing closed on its own. "Fucking Asshole," He muttered when he thought the guard couldn't hear him. Now what? That was the question as he idly walked to the nearest window.

There were at least two guards in the hallway. Two nurses were in his bathroom, one drooling for the chance to visually molest him. The other already had an up close and personal look while he was knocked unconscious, which made him feel antsy as hell. Her only saving grace was her professionalism so far. He didn't think she did anything more perverted than stealing a look or two.

The idea of hopping out of a window briefly popped into his head. But he shut that down, knowing he was four floors up. Even if he survived the fall from that height, he'd be unable to walk, let alone escape. The second major flaw was the amount of guards. He spotted multiple pairs on the walls, in the skies, and patrolling the grounds, all of which could easily spot him as he fell. For a brief moment, Neil thought the Captain might have had a hand in that, changing the patrol pattern to keep his room always watched. And the final flaw? He couldn't see any way to open the window.

He picked up the faintest squeak of a hinge before Nurse Rose called into the room, "We're ready for you. Hurry up, lest your breakfast shows up before you're ready."

Knowing Heart was a unicorn and that she would probably relish the chance to envelop her aura over his entire body, he reluctantly complied. She was kind enough to hold the door open for him as he surveyed what passed for modern pony plumbing for the first time.

Nurse Heart was sitting in the shower area, with multiple bottles of shampoo, conditioner, brushes, and other cleaning products sitting at the ready beside her. Just from his quick glance, he estimated four ponies his size or six more Nurse Hearts could fit inside before it felt too cramped. Why ponies needed such a large area for a shower, he couldn't fathom at the moment, but it took up an entire third of the room.

About three feet from the shower was a trough-like structure built into the floor, slanting towards the wall. A bar was set into the wall, sticking two-ish feet out and only a little below the height of his back. He might have questioned what it was without the paper roll hanging from a little stand near the front of the trough. He even spotted a small pedal built into the base of the toilet paper stand, which he assumed was to flush the pony toilet.

The sink was in the opposite corner from the shower, complete with a mirror and a fluffy hand towel. Neil only gave it a cursory glance when he entered. But as he walked by, he froze, catching the barest hint of blue. Uncaring what the nurses thought, he stepped back a few paces and veered toward the mirror.

He'd seen vague reflections of himself before, mostly at night in shop windows or the fountain he drank at. Now, however, there was an immaculate depiction standing before him. He ignored the state of his fur, hair, and wings. With his new neck, he could look at those anytime. At first, he spared a cursory glance at his horn. The bottom half was covered in white plaster, which he presumed to be a cast to help his recovery. A ring with a sapphire set into the metal was also at the base of his horn, melded into the dressing.

However, What drew Neil's attention was the large, comically sized pony eyes that stared back at him. Despite the difference in size, he recognized that particular shade of blue-grey. Those were his eyes, down to the lightening-esque patterned furrows surrounding the iris. Unknown emotions welled within him. Previously, he thought the only humanity left within him was his mind. But this proved, without a doubt, that at least one part of his humanity survived physically on this body...

Only for Nurse Rose to yank him back from his inner maelstrom as he felt a hoof press against his shoulder. "Are you alright Neil?" She asked primly, "You've been staring at your reflection for over a minute."

"I'm fine," He snapped, ripping his gaze away from the mirror and his shoulder from her touch. "Let's just get this over with."

Nurse Rose's imperious brow told him she knew something was wrong, but she didn't comment on his behaviour as they walked side by side towards the shower. Once inside the glass shower, he plopped onto his butt in the center and brought his legs together, ensuring Nurse Heart couldn't peek at him as he waited for them to do their thing.

If the younger nurse noticed his actions, she didn't react as her aura took hold of a small, unusual object. It was a piece of paper that appeared to be folded into a long cone. He only had a moment to wonder what the hell it was for before she deftly slipped it over his horn with her aura. He could hear the sound of paper crinkling, though he couldn't see what was done.

After that, her green-blue aura danced around the shower as various objects came to life. First was a brush, which she passed to Nurse Rose, and was quickly slipped over the elder nurse's hoof. At the same time, a bottle of shampoo zipped from the ground and over his head, only to be met with a detachable shower head. Water was the only missing factor, quickly remedied as the hot and cold knobs were enveloped and turned together.

Neil immediately tensed, expecting a deluge of freezing cold water. Instead, the water was mildly warm.

"Is the water hot enough for you Cutie? Or would you like me to turn up the heat?" She asked innocently, though her smile was a touch more playful than it was previously.

"It could be a little warmer," He conceded neutrally, unsure if she intended the innuendo or if it was an innocent slip.

Once Nurse Heart dialled in on his preferred temperature, she slowly levitated the shower head around his entire body, leaving him drenched from head to tail. Trailing behind was the shampoo bottle, leaving small dollops every three to four inches along his back. Near the end, she held the water spray against his legs, obviously waiting for him to move. But he adamantly denied her access to the parts she most wanted to oggle.

During that time, Nurse Rose stood on his opposite side. She started with his neck, lightly scrubbing the shampoo into his fur and hair with a small, concise, circular pattern. When the mare reached his shoulder, Neil felt himself starting to relax under her care. She was shifting to his front right leg when Nurse Heart turned off the water with a knob on the shower head and placed it aside.

A second, perhaps two, passed after that before he felt a second brush make contact with his butt. "Fuck!" He jolted upright, his tail firmly clenched as he turned, glaring at the floating brush, then at the unicorn wielding it. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

She seemed genuinely surprised by his reaction, "Um, scrubbing you down like we're supposed to..?"

Nurse Rose, who was also caught off guard and pushed aside by his sudden movement, took a moment to glance at her now damp coat in mild annoyance before adding her own opinion. "Neil, we're here to prepare you for the day. That includes scrubbing your posterior, which I might remind you, I have done once before. Still," She added, looking to her fellow nurse, "I think Nurse Heart was a little too eager in her duties, starting where she did."

Nurse Heart was more than a little eager, or so Neil thought. She was downright thirsty for some alicorn, and he wasn't willing to give. He also wasn't a fan of the way she blithely threw in his face how she washed his ass before. "And what exactly are you preparing me for?"

"Whatever it is you wish to do today, whether it be exploring the castle or reading a book," She brushed aside before adding sternly, "But you simply must look your best, or you may give the Nobility the wrong impression when you inevitably meet!"

Meeting the nobility? As if he would willingly talk with pompous assholes like them. "Why the fuck should I care about that?"

Nurse Heart was quick to offer a not-so-helpful suggestion. "Because a good first impression is a great way to make some friends?"

'Like how you keep trying to molest me with your eyes?' Went unsaid as he scoffed. "It would be better if they didn't know I exist," He then turned towards Nurse Rose. "Speaking of, now that I think about it, who knows about me?"

She didn't answer right away, clearly thinking about her answer. Why, though, Neil couldn't exactly guess. Eventually, she told him, "Right after it was confirmed you were a legitimate alicorn, the entirety of the senior castle staff, the infirmary staff, and the castle garrison were informed of your existence yesterday morning. The Princesses know as well, obviously. The only other ponies that know of your existence would be the three city guards mentioned in the report. And having been sworn to secrecy, I can only deduce that those three guards were also sworn to silence by the Princesses."

That not-so-little revelation had Neil sitting back down on his haunches. "The guard, you and the rest of the infirmary, and the castle staff?" He groaned, knowing the cat had not only escaped the bag, but shredded it to small, irreparable pieces. "Why not tell the whole fucking world at this point?"

"We can't. That's the whole point of being sworn to secrecy!" Nurse Heart oh-so-helpfully reminded him. "It's up to the Princesses when your coronation is, you silly colt."

"And what the hell is a coronation?" He asked, trying to ignore the creeping dread bristling his fur at the base of his neck.

"Oh, it's a wonderful party!" She cheered, almost bouncing in place from her excitement. "I was there for the previous one when Princess Twilight was coronated, and now there's going to be a second one. Imagine that, being alive for two coronations!"

Before he could thoroughly sift through her babble, Nurse Rose reasserted herself. "Yes, imagine that. I was alive when Princess Cadenza was crowned, you know," She informed her colleague as she returned to her scrubbing duties on his leg. "So Neil's soon-to-be coronation will be my third. Now, start from the neck and work your way down."

Neil was too busy sorting out his thoughts about this new bombshell that was dropped on him. They wanted to give him a crown? Make him a leader, just like Twilight, a princess he'd heard of in passing and this entirely new Cadenza? What the fuck was wrong with them, and why did they think he was qualified? Was this Celestia's plan all along? Play the long game, tie him down with responsibilities, and hope he goes native? Or was he jumping to conclusions again?

He kept his thoughts to himself for once as both nurses continued their scrubbing. It wasn't long before he was a single giant blob of bubbles with long, scraggly black hair and a head. Nurse Heart even learned her lesson earlier during the rubdown, leaving anything even remotely sensitive to Nurse Rose. The older nurse did her job professionally, only skirting the edge in a few areas that Neil mentally deemed too far.

Nurse Rose took a step back, giving him a quick look before signalling Nurse Heart to pick up the shower head and turn on the water. The temperature was just as warm as before as the suds covering him were washed away. Once he was done, they quickly doused their brushes and started the process again with a second bottle.

A third was added after that, this one being the first with a strong scent of mixed citrus fruits. They didn't use much either, adding small dabs to areas like where Neil's armpits should have been, his chest, and the base of his neck before rubbing it in. He assumed it was some sort of scented deodorant as they quickly finished.

Nurse Heart quickly placed everything back in its original place and turned the water knobs off with her telekinesis. Her aura didn't fade from her horn, though. Instead, it grew brighter, and she concentrated on him and Nurse Rose.

Neil was about to ask what she was doing, only for the aura to flash. One second, he felt the weight of his damp fur pulling him down towards the floor. The next second? It was gone. He was perfectly dry, alongside Nurse Rose and the entire shower stall. He thought they might have been done for a second, but then the now dry brushes were rearmed to assault his coat and make it presentable.

Two more tools joined Nurse Heart's floating collection, the first being a comb that attacked his mane. The second was a weird, comb-like metal tool with well-spaced prongs. This triggered an odd sensation as it brushed along his wings, gliding in between and sorting out his feathers. He didn't know precisely what it did, but his feathers looked straighter and smoother after she was done. Soon after, she was also done combing his hair, at which point she tried to add a ribbon. However, a glare from Neil was enough to make her back down from that course of action. She was also smart enough to pass the comb to Nurse Rose when ready, allowing the elder mare to straighten his tail without pulling it aside or revealing anything.

Neil spoke only after Nurse Rose offered the comb back for Nurse Heart to put away. "Are you done?"

"Your mane and tail are still lacking, but aside from an accent ribbon or two, we aren't stylists." She readily admitted as she walked a complete circle around him, looking for any detail out of place. "In my opinion? Yes, until you get some accessories to spruce you up, you appear as presentable as we can make you."

"What she's trying to say is you're hot, just not smoking hot. Yet!" Nurse Heart added, brushing up against his side with her rump as she trotted out of the shower.

Against his better judgement, Neil followed, with Nurse Rose taking up the rear as they exited back into his room. It was clear that another nurse had entered his room and left already. The adjustable table Nurse Mint had been working at the previous day was moved to his bed, which had been remade and had a large bowl of something sitting on it. Whatever it was, its sweet smell had had enough time to permeate the room while he was being cleaned.

Nurse Heart was already waiting for him at the far side of his bed.

"It would seem we're a little behind schedule, which is unfortunate." Nurse Rose stated while standing beside him. "Do you require our assistance, given your inability to hold items?"

"I think I can handle eating on my own," He groused, walking up to the table to see what he would be eating. It looked like some kind of pink porridge but with plenty of cut strawberries. "Otherwise, I would have starved to death weeks ago."

"Very well. In that case, Nurse Heart and I had better get a start on our paperwork." She informed him as she made her way to the door leading out of his room. It was clear Nurse Heart wanted to stay and help, but after a quick "Come along now" To prompt her along, Nurse Heart left her position to catch up.

Before they exited the room, Neil cleared his throat. "If you don't mind, I could use Nurse Heart for a minute or two." While he wouldn't say he trusted either mare, Neil felt he could rely more on Nurse Rose's professionalism.

Unfortunately, he needed Nurse Heart's telekinesis more. A decision he immediately regretted when her ears shot upright, and a noticeable shiver travelled down her entire back, all the way to her twitching tail.

She immediately turned broadside to him, a look of surprised elation painted over her muzzle.

Nurse Rose merely quirked her trademark eyebrow, as if asking about his sudden turn-around concerning her fellow nurse? "You heard the stallion. Just don't overdo it, lest he requires another shower." And with that parting remark, she slipped out the door.

Nurse Heart had just enough patience to allow the door to settle before the excitement in her eyes faded into something far more amorous. "Soooo... Playing hard to get in front of Prim Rose? You're a naughty colt. Do you want a special, one-on-one medicinal massage?" To accentuate her point, she swayed her rump from side to side as she intentionally flagged her tail.

Neil was slightly caught off guard by the sudden switch between the bubbly nurse and seductress. He was thankful that, at this angle, he couldn't see what was swaying around underneath her tail. "Actually, I need you to send a message to Celestia if you can do that?"

That simple request pulled the wind out of her sails, as her ears clearly drooped and her tail went to half-flagged. But only for a moment before she perked up once more. "Sure I can! I can also bring back her reply if you want one?"

"If she needs to reply, just leave it on the table." He offered, though he was sure Celestia wouldn't reply with a simple letter. "I won't be here after I finish breakfast."

"Oh. In that case, I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked hopefully, as her bubbly personality returned. "Anyway, let's get this letter started!" Her horn lit up, and a clipboard Neil hadn't noticed before lifted up from the end of his bed. She slipped a piece of parchment from it, with what appeared to be an empty chart on one side, and flipped it over to the blank side. She quickly positioned the pencil attached to the board by a piece of string, ready to write.

"Okay, I want you to write this down, word for word." He told her, pausing momentarily to think of the best way to say it before delivering his message. "Celestia, I've recently learned that you plan to conscript me into your government with a coronation. If that is true, I may feel the need to go for a tour along the tallest plateau in Canterlot. I might even take a dive if I feel like it."

He waited for Nurse Heart to look up before nodding to confirm the end of his message. She quickly returned the clipboard with her telekinesis. Still, she was also looking at the message, then him, then back to the message, confused.

"Is this some sort of weird alicorn code? I mean, if you want a tour of Canterlot, I could ask? I think it would be fun after being cooped up in the castle! Then after, we could go to my apartment," She offered, a touch of lust bleeding into her expression once more before she reigned it in. "If you want, of course."

Neil took the diplomatic route, "We'll see what Celestia says," Before he prodded her to leave. "So, are you going to deliver that?"

"Can do. See you later Cutie!" She flipped around and trotted to the door. Her forgotten tail was still half-flagged, forcing Neil to stare intently at his porridge until he heard the door close.

The first thing he did was release an aggravated sigh to vent some of his frustrations. He didn't know what it was, but the longer Nurse Heart talked with her perky naivety, the less he wanted to make her sad. He hated making a girl cry just as much as the next guy, but something about her proximity compounded it. Perhaps it was her weird, not-so-innocent innocence?

It was something he could think about later. For now, he had an alicorn-sized bowl to scarf down, and then... what? Besides getting out of his room, of course. He pressed his muzzle against the table ledge, pushing it away from his bed. He was tall enough that he could eat standing up. That way, he wouldn't wrinkle or accidentally spill on his newly folded bedsheets.

Once the table cleared his bed, he dove in muzzle first. Like most pony food, it was a near-euphoric experience. But he could tell right away they added more than just strawberries. It was very, very sweet to the point where he could almost imagine his human teeth rotting on contact. The fact that this was a recommended breakfast in a hospital confused him.

Despite the excessive sweetness, he still finished the bowl quickly. There was also a glass of water set aside, but he didn't want to risk tipping it over in an attempt to drink from it. Instead, he could kill two birds with one stone as he returned to the bathroom.

He found himself staring at his reflection for the second time that day, but he ignored it this time. He hooked his wrist over the knob coloured blue on the sink and pulled, turning the water on at full blast. He quickly slaked his thirst and washed the excess porridge off his muzzle before pushing the knob back off with his hoof.

Neil gave the hand towel hanging beside the sink a quick nuzzle with both sides of his muzzle, doing a decent job of drying himself off. He ignored the odd short hair that stuck at odd angles as he gave himself one final look in the mirror. He was finally good to go and leave this accursed hospital room for the last time, hopefully...

After taking care of his morning business, now that he had a private moment to think about those needs. He exited the bathroom ten minutes later, feeling far more refreshed.

His empty bowl was still on the table, confirming that no other nurses had entered his room. He couldn't carry it, and even if he could, he had no idea where to drop it off. So he left it where it sat as he pushed through his door and into the hallway.

Both of the guards were there, standing at attention. "Do you require assistance?" The pegasus stallion asked in the same neutral tone as before.

"Yes," He answered, trying to match the guard's blasé attitude. "First of all, can I leave?"

"Nurses Prim Rose and Passion Heart cleared you for the day, Sir." The pegasus guard confirmed.

That was a nice tidbit of good news for Neil. "Good. Now, can you escort me to the nearest exit into Canterlot?"

"By order of Captain Buckler, we can't allow you near the castle exits, Sir."

That tidbit of information wasn't so good. "Uh, didn't you say earlier you could take me to the exit?" He asked, swearing that the guard said the opposite earlier that morning.

"We can escort you to the nearest exit of this building, Sir."

Neil felt the sudden urge to slam his head and, by proxy, his horn into the nearest wall. "Can you lead me to the library then?"

"We can, Sir." He offered, not moving a single millimetre.

"...Fine, keep playing this bullshit game." He said, walking past the two guards. At least, he tried. The pegasus flanked on his right side while the unicorn trotted to his left before matching Neil's pace, just like Celestia's guards positioned themselves the previous day.

"Keep going straight until you hit the opposite end of the infirmary," The pegasus informed Neil without prompting. "After that turn left, go through the back exit, and keep going straight until you run into the staircase. Go down after that."

Neil followed his directions. Still, a small part of him wondered what would happen if he veered off the path. Would the guard harp at him like a cheap GPS? Or would the guard stay silent, allowing him to get lost?

He didn't experiment. Instead, he tried to ask the guards questions. Some were about the castle, others were about Celestia or Captain Buckler. None of the answers were satisfactory, being short and to the point with as little information as possible. 'I have a feeling Captain Asshat still doesn't like me.' He was split on whether that was a good thing or not.

After the stairs, which Neil took with extreme caution, the guard simply told him to go straight until a set of double doors came up on his left. Not much time passed, maybe five minutes, before he spotted the set of doors the pegasus spoke about. Both doors were a simple, two-tone brown rectangle pattern, with three red diamonds in the centre of each one.

Without fanfare, Neil went to bite down on the handle, but the unicorn was quicker. He enveloped the metal bar with his aura and pulled it open to reveal a large, open entrance hall at least two floors tall with a massive curved desk to his right.

"Well, well, it seems I have some visitors. Come in, come in!" An elderly voice called out from behind the desk. A grandmotherly unicorn with a faded yellow coat sat on a big, comfy-looking office chair. Her aged grey hair was done up in a messy bun, and she wore thick bottle-cap glasses with flimsy-looking wireframes. To help keep her glasses securely tethered, she also had a delicate gold chain attached to the frame, wrapping around the back of her neck. "You must be new, Sonny-colt. Come here so I can take a good look at you."

Unsure of what exactly was going on, Neil complied. Slowly. He noted that the guards followed him into the library instead of posting themselves at the door as he hoped they would.

"Now, don't be shy; trot on up!" The elder continued her vocal assessment as he walked closer to the desk. "Yep, definitely new. I would have remembered a tall, dark, and broody stallion if I'd seen you before. And no wonder! What happened to your horn?"

As a librarian, she was undoubtedly talkative. And her comment about him looking broody had him second-guessing himself. He wasn't broody, right? "I'm told it was cracked after I ran into a guard," He told her honestly.

"Ouch. At least you survived the experience. But why would you go and do a dumb thing like..." She paused, her comically enhanced eyes narrowing to look at him closely while leaning over to look at his right side. The next moment, her eyes widened as she likely spotted a wing folded against his side. "Hallowed hardcopy, you're the fella we were told about! The male alicorn!" She declared almost reverently. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd see a stallion to match the Princesses, yet here you stand in my library."

Neil had no idea how to handle the situation. However, just the thought that he could match Celestia in any way? He couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh, I'm not matching anyone at the moment."

"You'll get better in time. For example, I've worked in this library for nearly a century, yet I'm as spry as I was in my fifties. All in the mind, you know? Now, if I remember the briefing right, you had a foreign name. Niles? Is that it?"

"Close. It's Neil, Ms.?"

"Mrs. Tome Keeper, Head Librarian of the Canterlot Castle Archives. And before you get any ideas, Sonny-prince, I'll hold that title until I die. No retiring for this old nag, no matter what the Princesses say! So don't you start either."

"You don't have to worry about me, Mrs. Keeper," He conceded, unsure why she thought he could revoke her title. "I'm not a prince, so I can't do a thing about your job. I came here to do some research."

"Research? Well, then, you came to the right place! What are you looking for?" She asked, hopping off her chair with far more grace than Neil expected, given her frail-looking body. "I'd suggest spellwork, but you won't be touching those for a good few weeks at least."

"I'm new to Equestria, so I hoped to get some history books about the country, the Princesses, and the guard." He told her while keeping an eye on the elderly mare. He didn't want her to fall and injure herself on his account. "Also, we may speak the same language, but you have four ways of writing it. I'll need a primer for that, and the most up-to-date text covering every other country."

Tome Keeper walked about a quarter ways along her desk before her horn lit up red, and a section of the desk flipped up. "Well, if you want a primer on modern Equish, that can be found in the linguistics section right in front of my desk." She told him as she walked over to that specific section of shelves.

Neil was quick to follow, and the guards kept close to him.

"This will work fine enough," She said confidently as her red aura manifested again. This time, it covered the spine of a book near the top of the shelf before she brought it down in front of him. The Ins and Outs of Modern Equish, was the title. "But if you want the real ins and outs of the written words, I would recommend an in-depth history book focused solely on the evolution to modern Equish."

She gave a critical eye, not to the books or the shelves, but at the two guards trailing Neil. Until she pointed at the unicorn, that is. "You!" The text in her aura immediately floated over to the guard. "You're on book-carrying duty since Neil's horn is busted."

The guard quickly saluted and said, "Yes, Ma'am!" before her red levitation was replaced with his brown. He promptly deposited the book onto his back, where it surprisingly stayed as the group walked over to the history section.

Once there, Tome Keeper went to work. Pulling one book after another from the surrounding shelves. Each covered different topics that fell roughly into the categories Neil had asked for. He wouldn't be starved for information, that was for sure. At one point, after the fourth book he couldn't read the title of passed by, Neil had to admit he couldn't read certain types of writing. Tome was quick to brush his worry aside, identifying Unicornian Hieroglyphs and Sky-Writing as the culprits before boasting that almost every book in the archive had a copy written in Unified Script. She quickly and easily replaced the books he couldn't read in less than a minute. By the time she was done, three stacks of books were balanced on the unicorn guard's back.

Each stack was at least six books deep, yet they didn't topple despite his movement's slight back-and-forth sway. Neil's first thought was some form of telekinesis? The guard's horn wasn't glowing, but that was a possibility. It was also a question for another time. As it was, Neil had more than enough reading material for the next month, let alone the rest of the day, to get through.

Soon enough, Tome Keeper led them to an area where eight separate sections would have intersected if not for the large, open reading area set up. Neil's first impression was a giant eight-point compass, with each section sitting on a cardinal or intercardinal direction. Of the twelve tables there, eight were set in a loose circle pattern. Leaving ample space in between to pass by and access the final four tables in the center that also pointed north, south, east, and west. At least, Neil assumed they were pointing in the correct direction.

Either way, he was quick to claim the closest table set in the circle, not that there was any pony in the library to compete with. The guard carrying his books also took the hint as he gently levitated all twenty-one books onto the table before Neil.

"That should be enough to keep you busy for the rest of the day," Tome said with a certain amount of satisfaction. "And don't you worry none about any books you don't get through. Drop by the desk, and I'll have your library card ready. Happy reading!" She then shuffled off, back where they came from, with a happy little hop in her step.

This left Neil alone. Just himself, a large pile of books, and the two silent guards. Each of them silently claimed an end of the table to stand guard at.

Neil felt that without Tome Keeper there, his two escorts would be just as helpful as they were before entering the library. So, biting the proverbial bullet, he used both front hooves to carefully clamp down on the top book of the right pile and lower it aside. He did this twice more until he uncovered the history overview he was looking for.

If not for the title, the section it was removed from, and its thickness, Neil would have thought the brightly coloured cover of Equestria Throughout the Ages wasn't a history book. It looked more like a whimsical travel guide, with its happy depiction of a miniature Canterlot on a mountain, a knock-off New York to the side, and even a city floating on a cloud behind the title.

At the very least, it questioned the book's authority as he nudged the cover open with a hoof. Instead of a cover page, there was a short message from the author.

Greetings Dear Reader,

It humbles my heart that you would choose to read my historical textbook. I have dedicated my life to the historiography of our fair kingdom, and I take no greater pride than to share my knowledge with you. I must warn you, though, Dear Reader. Not all ages were as bright or as tranquil as our modern era. Some periods, like the Reign of Eris, were times of great evil and despair. I have done my best to document these travesties despite their unsettling contents.

I do not blame you if you wish to skip over those sections or set aside this text. I just ask that you remember, through the bravery and courage of our Princesses, their radiance always shines away the darkness.

-History Buff

This did not help his opinion on the matter. Still, misgivings or not, he pressed his nose against the paper and flipped page after page to the introductory chapter.

~~~

Neil lost track of time. Had he spent an hour reading? Or had it been hours? He couldn't tell as he slowly and methodically did his best to understand the history text in front of him. But it was hard. Even with the author going into minute details, he couldn't deny that events in equestrian history read like pure fantasy.

It also confirmed the events Celestia talked to him about, repeating her retelling almost word for word, with only a minor, if pointless, difference here and there. Neil would have thought Celestia learned from this textbook if not for two glaring facts.

First, she was often cited as the primary source of information from the Age of Eris and onwards. Of course, these could be quotes from the original Celestia. Or the current Celestia could be quoting her ancestors.

The second was a page near the end of the chapter covering Eris' Reign. An entire page was dedicated to a single colour photo, showing an authentic painting created shortly after Eris' imprisonment. Its contents revealed Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing side by side in victory, with six intricately cut jewels hovering around them. In the background, two of each pony tribe also stood, adoring the two saviours. Neil wasn't sure if it was just the painting's perspective, but Celestia and Luna looked closer in height to the regular ponies instead of how she towered over her two guards yesterday.

There was no doubt that this had to be Celestia's ancestor. But how? They were identical twins, except for their height. A small part of him needled that maybe, just maybe, it was Celestia. The current one. But then again, what did he really know about this place? Despite his time here, he hadn't seen a single kid. For all he knew, children could look like identical copies of either parent.

He was four centuries into the Great Era of Peace, when his ears perked up. The rhythmic sound of metal shoes and moving armour came up from behind him. Prying himself from his not-so-riveting text, he quickly glanced at each of his guards. Neither had reacted in any way as the new armoured pony came closer.

With a mental shrug at their apparent apathy, he turned with his neck just in time to spot the surprise of all surprises, sarcasm included: a pony with white fur, white wings, and well-fitting golden armour that had just breached the shelves. This stallion, however, was at least a few inches taller than the pegasus that escorted him and visibly muscular. He was strangely familiar, but Neil brushed it aside as all the guards were white, like a weird uniform. Or Celestia's secret kink.

The new guard stopped one body length away from Neil and saluted. His armoured hoof stopped just millimetres short of making what would likely have been a resounding clang against his helmet. And there he stayed, staring unblinkingly at Neil.

Neil, for his part, gave a pointed look at the shorter pegasus, then the unicorn, expecting them to do something. But they just stood there. Begrudgingly, Neil swung out of his chair and stood facing the guard. After a second, he also nodded to the new guard, which was apparently good enough.

He promptly lowered his hoof with a distinct clack, then spoke with a noticeable southern United States accent. "Private Bulk Order, reporting as ordered, Sir!"

Before Neil could even think of a proper response, his pegasus escort did so for him. "Reporting under whose orders, Private?"

Private Bulk was just as quick to answer while still keeping his eyes on Neil. "Princess Celestia's, Sergeant Gust."

"Carry on then," The Sergeant ordered with a touch less bluster.

Neil guessed that name-dropping Celestia meant this was something serious. Of course, it took a few seconds of silence until it finally clicked that he was supposed to jump into the conversation. "So, what does Celestia want now?"

"Beggin' your pardon, Sir, but Princess Celestia sent me here at my request." He admitted, with only a hint of... something hidden underneath his military professionalism. "I came to apologize."

"Okaaay?" Neil stretched, trying to think of some guard that seriously wronged him while he was on the streets. As far as he knew, the guard didn't even know he existed until he was found. He came up with nothing. "And what the hell do you need to apologize for?"

"I didn' mean for anything to happen firsta all," Private Bulk explained, "But I was the fella you ran into, that caused your horn to crack. I'm sorry for causin' you harm."

Once again, Neil's mind swerved back to that night. The rain, the chase, and the large, imposing pegasus that appeared out of nowhere, the same pegasus that now stood in front of him before all he knew was all-consuming pain. He couldn't help but physically flinch at the fresh remnants plaguing his mind. "Neither of us could see around that corner or react in time," Neil eventually offered diplomatically. "Anything else?"

"Either way, I feel like I've wronged you," Private Bulk apologized earnestly. "I've submitted my request to join your personal guard. Princess Celestia gave her okay, so long as you agree as well, Sir."

Neil couldn't contain his groan as he immediately spat out, "I need less fucking guards babysitting me, not more."

"... As you wish, Sir." Private Bulk offered, his visible presence deflating to match his now dejected tone. "The Princess also requests that you join her for dinner tonight." Apparently, that was the entirety of his message as he turned around to leave.

When Neil called after him, Private Bulk was about to reach the shelves. "If I say yes, are you going to replace one of these two?" It would be better to have one of his guards feeling indebted to him, at the very least, compared to none.

The large pegasus froze, then slowly turned around. "Um, not today Sir. I'll act as an attaché for the rest of the day and be a permanent guard tomorrow." He admitted, somewhat hopefully.

"What the hell is an attaché?"

"I don' know the exact meanin'," Private Bulk admitted, "But I guess I'm your personal servant for the day?"

"That... doesn't sound all that useful at the moment," Neil shrugged, turning around so he could gesture towards his book stacks with a hoof.

"Well Sir, if you thinka needin' anythin' I'm here." Private Bulk offered, sitting behind and slightly to the left of Neil's chair.

Neil was somewhat weirded out by Private Bulk's choice of spot but didn't say anything as he climbed back into his seat. He found the paragraph where he left off, something about settlers heading northeast, and continued his research.

Five pages later, while reading about the founding of Trottingham (and the following squabbles between griffons and ponies), a portrait of a mare popped up wearing a dapper-looking bowtie. Apparently, she was both the leader of the settler caravan, the founder of Trottingham and the mayor for the next twenty-three years. At first, he disregarded it as a minor fact, something he would never need to know. But the picture kept nagging him.

It wasn't until he turned back the page, looked over the miniature portrait again, and focused on the bowtie that it clicked. 'Ponies wear clothing, Dumbass!' And he now had someone to get him clothing to blend in and hide what he was.

Still looking at the page, Neil addressed his new attaché. "Bulk, I have a question for you."

"What is it Sir?" Private Bulk replied immediately.

"Do you know any clothing shops that sell in my size?"

"I know a few that deal with larger stallions like us, Sir." Private Bulk answered a little too fast. "Is there anythin' specific you need?"

"I can think of a few things I'd like," Neil shared warily, 'If I was still human, at least,' Went unsaid. "I just don't know the proper outfits in Canterlot."

Private Bulk was more than willing to jump at the opportunity. "If you want, I can help with that. Just have to hop over to the fancy places, pick up a few tuxes, maybe a tophat, and drop 'em off for the Royal Tailor. She'll have you fitted in no time Sir."

Neil immediately commented on the most startling aspect of Private Bulk's answer. "This Royal Tailor already knows about me?" After the pegasus nodded, Neil continued. "Fine, and when you say tux, are you talking about the full thing or just the front half?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that," Private Bulk admitted after a few seconds. "If you just get a flashy lapel, it covers the neck. A full tux ends about here," He gestured up and down his side, maybe an inch past his wing joint.

Neil sighed, hoping that wasn't the case. "That's just the top half of a tuxedo," He started, hopping off his seat. The alicorn then poked Bulk on his ankle just above his armoured hoof. "I'm talking the full thing, which has long sleeves starting here, covering your entire front leg, and ending about here," He then poked the stallion in the side, below where the armour plating ended, roughly where Neil felt a human waist should be. "And overlapping with a matching pair of pants."

Private Bulk just stared at him with a look of utter confusion.

"You do know what pants are, right?"

"I know what pants are Sir." Private Bulk answered, still looking at him like he'd grown a second head. "It's just, the only pony I ever saw wearin' 'em was a rodeo clown. You'd stick out like a cracked hoof in Canterlot wearin' a pair."

Of course, this fucked up world would make pants unwearable. If men wore pants, you wouldn't be able to molest them with your eyes! "Damnit. In that case, is there anything I could wear that would cover my body without looking weird?"

"If I may Sir, why do you need clothes?" Private Bulk quickly raised a hoof, gesturing for Neil to pause before he continued. "If I knew what you were goin' for, I might know a thing or two to suggest that aren't pants."

That made sense, although Neil was dubious if Private Bulk would understand the why. He took a moment to think before stating his reasons. "Okay. If ponies see this, and this," He gestured to his horn first, then to his wings, "They think alicorn and freak out, right? So, I want something that can cover my wings and crotch at the very least. Maybe a hat, too, if it can cover my dumbass headspike."

Private Bulk gave him a slow nod while obviously thinking. "I can sorta understand keepin' yourself a secret for now. Hmm... I've seen ponies all over Equestria wearin' cloaks to keep rain off. I've also seen mages wearin' robes in Canterlot, too."

Two articles of clothing that sounded like they would fit the bill? That was more than enough for Neil. "Good enough. Can you pick me up one of each today? I'll pay you back the moment I get some money."

"Ain't no store in Canterlot that sells pre-made mage robes. Those are custom fit only." Private Bulk denied nervously. "I can drop by the Royal Tailor for that, then go out and get a cloak?"

"That'll have to do," Neil said as he shifted to stand parallel with Private Bulk. Comparing heights, Neil's back was three-ish inches taller than the pegasus guard. "Just get one that hangs low enough to touch your hooves. Maybe even lower if you can find one."

"Can do Sir. Anythin' else?"

Neil hopped back into his chair before giving his next request. "Yeah. Drop the Sir bullshit. Until I say otherwise, it's just Neil, alright?"

"As you command," He paused as if suffering from indecision for just a moment before he pushed on, "Neil."

"Not bad at all," Neil joked with a smirk. "I need someone willing to say if I'm about to do some stupid bullshit like the pants thing. Just don't tell Celestia if I do it anyway, alright?"

"Neil, I'm tellin' you now it's against the law to falsify or omit information from my reports."

"See? It's already working Bulk. Now, I have to get back to my research, and you need to pick up my disguises. I'll talk to you when you get back?"

"I'll return as soon as I can Neil." He emphasized his promise with a nod, then left.

Without any more excuses, Neil returned to his oh-so-fun research. 'Era of Peace? More like the Era of Fucking Boredom...'

~~~

If he was asked, Neil would have denied it. But in the end, he skipped to the Modern Era after the next one hundred years, covering the Era of Peace. Or the Era of the Alicorns, as History Buff called it. Unfortunately, it went from boring history back into the realm of fantasy.

Plot twist. Nightmare Moon, the evil alicorn previously mentioned a thousand years earlier, hadn't just tragically defeated Princess Luna all those years ago. No, she was Nightmare Moon! At least, the book stated she was corrupted by an evil spirit calling itself Nightmare Moon. Either way, she was somehow restored to sanity by Celestia's newest student, a young but magically gifted mare named Twilight Sparkle. In fact, Twilight featured prominently throughout the book's final chapter, including the return of the Crystal Empire, which he took particular interest in.

As it was the final chapter, it had to end sooner or later. But the author chose to end with an epic climax, where Twilight's feats finally culminated in her ascension as an alicorn.

Is that what Celestia meant when she blew out his eardrums? She thought he was somehow chosen by some unknown energy of the world to lead? How? Why? He hadn't done anything nearly as impressive as Twilight Sparkle, if Twilight really did any of the things stated in this book.

Not wanting to think about it, he started on his next book. Now that he knew about his guard detail, he dug through the pile until he found a detailed history aptly titled Encyclopedia of the Equestrian Armed Forces, covering Equestria's solar guard and lunar guard.

It started off interesting enough, going into detail about the origins of the guard. This included what relatively little was known about the military might of the three individual nations that later merged into Equestria. They were known as the Kingdom of Unicornia, the Earthen Dominion, and The Roaming Empire.

In fact, after a scant few pages covering both Unicornia and the Earthen Dominion, the book's first fifth focused solely on the Roaming Empire. Most of Equestria's modern military doctrine, armaments, armour, ranks, and basic military structure came from this nation. And remained relatively unchanged, as well.

After that interesting dump of information, the rest of the book devolved into dry facts about every individual squad, company, battalion, and brigade. This included statistics, exploits, and notable leaders during specific periods, most of which he skipped over. The only exception was confirming that General Pilum led the army against King Sombra of the Crystal Empire.

He also learned the history of the castle garrison and the detachments of solar and lunar guards that patrolled the castle grounds. Dating back to Roam, every pegasus had to enlist for an unknown amount of years. This included stallions, despite the gender ratio of the time. Still, these postings were mainly utility-based or the ceremonial last line of defence inside the city. Exceptions existed, like the war hero Flash Magnus, but it was rare at the time.

When Equestria formed, the unicorns and earth ponies saw stallions being conscripted into the military as barbaric. Stallions were meant to be protected at all costs, after all! After much debate, Princess Luna offered a solution that appeased all sides. The castle garrison would be a predominantly stallion post. That way, stallions with military-based cutie marks could serve and fulfill their destinies, and the alicorn sisters could protect the stallions in turn.

Shortly after, Bulk finally returned as Neil was drowning in useless statistics about the battle prowess of the 72nd Unicornian Artillerists. The faint rhythmic clack of metal on the stone first alerted him. But soon enough, Bulk appeared from the shelves, a package wrapped in brown paper sitting lazily on his back.

"Private Bulk reportin' in. Mission was a complete success Si- Neil," He almost slipped as he saluted.

Neil quickly nodded in return, allowing Bulk to lower his hoof. "Good. The sooner I'm not nude, the better."

"Supper is also an hour away, just so you know."

Neil quickly looked at the open military book, which still had one-third to go. "Even better, that gives me an excuse to stop." And with that, he nudged his hoof under the back cover and flipped it closed.

He slipped off his chair and arched his back until he felt a satisfying and audible crack. "Much better." He then looked back to his pile of books, debating if he should check them out. In the end, after all the time and effort Tome put into collecting them, he decided to bring them back to his room.

"Uh, unicorn dude. Mind putting all the books except the military one on the sergeant? After that, can you return the military book on the shelf?" Without a word, his aura erupted around the books. All but one of them was deposited onto the back of the sergeant. The remaining one floated over to the unicorn, who promptly disappeared into the shelves.

Neil was quick to follow, however, and his remaining two guards fell into flanking positions at his sides. Neil was quick to note, just like before, that the books refused to tip over despite the pegasus' slightly swaying pace. This tentatively proved that whatever it was that kept the books from falling, it wasn't telekinesis-based.

It didn't take long for the three of them to return to the library entrance hall. The unicorn guard was already at the main desk, quietly talking with Tome Keeper, who was writing down something.

When she looked up, she immediately spotted their little group. "So good to see you again, and with a new friend! I guess you enjoyed your time in my library?"

"It was a learning experience Mrs. Keeper," Neil honestly told her, doing his best not to think about all the useless trivia and facts crowding his head.

"I would hope so," She said with a hint of finality. "Now, this kind guard was filling me in on all of your unread books. Are you going to sign them all out?"

"The sooner I read them, the better," He admitted. "So yeah, I need to sign them all out."

"Good, because I just finished writing them all under your name as you trotted up." She stated with a grin. "You need to learn as much as you can while you're young, y'know."

"I try," He told her truthfully. After all, his best lead at getting home currently revolved around the similarities between the Annex of Roam and the Roman Empire. If he could somehow find a connection between them...

"It's all a pony can do," She agreed. "Now, you have a good evening y'hear? And come back when you need more books! It's been lonely this last year without Ms. Sparkle tearing up the place."

"No worries there Mrs. Keeper, I have a lot to figure out." With their goodbyes said, Neil and his group of guards quickly exited the library.

With less than an hour to go, Neil felt it prudent to return to his room as fast as possible without risking his new hoard of books. So he settled on a light jog, which all three guards easily managed.

Once Neil returned to his room, he pushed through the swing door with his nose. Not caring at all as a minor uncomfortable twinge ran up his muzzle. Once inside, he folded himself against the door to keep it open, giving the guards enough room to enter. Only the pegasi came inside, however. He craned his neck and saw the unicorn guard had posted himself at the door frame.

Neil would have spoken up to mention how the unicorn's telekinesis might have been helpful for the sergeant. Still, when he looked back at the smaller pegasus, he was already unloading all the books onto the adjustable table. Proving once more that pegasus feathers weren't nearly as fragile as they looked and were far more flexible.

Once all the books were transferred, Sergeant Gust promptly left the room. Leaving only Neil, Bulk, and the package now sitting on his bed.

"You might as well open it Bulk," Neil offered as he walked up to see. "The best I can do for now is bite at it."

Bulk gave a quick nod, "If that's what you want," Then worked two feathers under the paper folds. Moments later, there was a satisfying rip, and Bulk deftly opened the package to reveal a vibrant green material that reminded him of an elven forest. A few more tears into the paper, and Bulk had Neil's cloak free and fully unfolded onto the bed.

The majority of it was a simple, solid green fabric. After running his hoof along it, Neil felt it was both thick and silky without irritating the sensitive skin on the underside of his hoof. The edges were trimmed with durable looking brown leather that looked authentic. But if he were to bet, his money would be on plant-based leather. He couldn't imagine ponies actually killing an animal just for leather.

The only thing that had him silently questioning Bulk was the silver clasp carved into the likeness of an alicorn.

Bulk saw his confusion and shrugged. "They said an alicorn-sized cloak deserved an alicorn clasp."

"So long as it covers my wings, it's fine." Neil bit down on what would be the collar portion of a human cloak and threw it over his back. The left edge caught on his back, folding in on itself. But shaking back and forth loosened it enough to fall down and adequately cover his side. Overall, it looked pretty good on him. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothin'. It came outta Princess Celestia's private funds." Bulk told him as he walked up and gestured with his muzzle at the hunk of metal. "Do you need help with the clasp?"

It was a simple enough contraption. There was a karabiner-like hook under each of the alicorn's wings. A thick loop of excess green material was also on each corner of the cloak's collar. One of the loops was already latched, but with only the ability to bite down and maneuver the clasp, Neil found it quite challenging to line up the remaining loop with the second hook.

He gave it three more tries before begrudgingly nodding, "Yesh pleasth." It seemed the trick was to keep the clasp still and allow Bulk to use his wing to hook the loop into the clip. With that done, Neil released the clasp, trying to ignore the taste of silver permeating his mouth.

With his cloak now secure, he gave himself one last look over. His body, and most importantly, his wings, were fully covered. In fact, if he didn't know about the wings, Neil would have assumed he was a touch more rotund than the average stallion. An added bonus in Neil's mind if some mares avoided him for it. Next on the list was his availability from the sides. Starting at the collar, the fabric cascaded down at an angle reaching in-between what would have been his elbow and his wrist on his front legs. From there, it settled for a more gentle swoop so only his hooves were revealed on his back legs.

Overall, he only had two minor problems with the garment. The first being its overall length, judging by the leather rubbing at about mid-thigh. In his opinion, the cloak was barely long enough to fold over his rump and cover the important stuff, leaving his tail to do the rest of the work. His second minor gripe was the open front. A mare could bow down just to look at his belly and sheath. But such a mare would have to be very brazen to do so in his full view.

"Any opinions Bulk?"

Bulk didn't say anything at first, instead doing a couple circles around Neil first. "You look like a pretty, overweight ranger that's been put to pasture. So you'll fit right in, here in Canterlot."

Neil disliked that he was now pretty, but so long as he fit in without drawing attention, that mattered far more than anything else. "I guess it's the dinner thing next. Should we leave now and get there early? Or wait?"

"The Princess is the first pony there, so she can greet each pony that enters." Bulk informed him as he made his way over to the table covered in books. "My suggestion? Do some more reading if you want, then we can go."

"I guess some more reading couldn't hurt," Neil agreed with a slight grin as he made his way to the door. "Mind taking the language primer? I can skim over it in the dining room while we wait."

"Neil..." Bulk started, but the tall stallion was already pushing his way out of the door. After an unnoticed sigh, Bulk deftly plucked the book from the stack with his wing and trotted out of the room to catch up.

~~~

When they made it to the dining area, Neil's small troop of guards, Bulk included, positioned themselves in the hallway. The unicorn was kind enough to open the door for him, revealing an empty room without the Princess. But after Neil technically pointed out that Bulk wasn't his guard but his attaché, the pegasus finally gave in and entered the room with him.

Still, there were some apparent differences between today and the day before. To start with, the table that was fully decked out with breakfast food the day before? Only half of the display was finished, leaving the rest of the table empty and incomplete. The second most noticeable thing was the amount of chairs around the main table. Yesterday, it was just two. Today, there were eight separate chairs.

As he thought over the implications, a hint of trepidation soon settled into him. Besides himself and Celestia, who else was she expecting for dinner today? Was she going to force him to show off in front of the elite? Foreign dignitaries? Friends of hers? Were they going to be exclusively mares, all of which would be leering at him?

Before he could complete his train of thought, the kitchen doors swung open in a familiar, eye-catching golden aura. Seconds later Celestia, wearing only a frilly pink chef's apron and crown, stepped out with an extensive array of breakfast dishes in her telekinesis. If she saw Neil and Bulk, she paid them no mind as she set down the various plates on the breakfast table and properly arranged them.

Only after she was done did she look directly at her guests with her trademark motherly smile. She offered Bulk a slight nod. "It's so good to see you again, Private Bulk. I take it from your proximity that Neil accepted your offer to be his guard?"

Bulk dropped his salute with a dull thunk against the carpeted floor. "Yes Your Majesty. Thank you for the opportunity."

"It was my pleasure, honestly. I believe Neil will need as many friends as he can make in the coming days," She told Bulk before her gaze shifted to Neil. "Moreso, if he keeps sending me distraught nurses. Two in as many days? What were you thinking when you sent me that letter Neil?"

"What was I thinking?" He bit back pleasantly as if he was commenting on a lovely day. "I was thinking hell no with whatever you plan to do with me. Giving me a crown? Really? I'm not a citizen of Equestria or qualified!" Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Besides, she thought it was some weird alicorn code when she left my room."

"She told me as much while sobbing uncontrollably in my throne room." Princess Celestia informed him, her disapproval very clear on her features. "But along the way, she remembered your inability to fly and ran straight to me. She felt your sudden urge to kill yourself was somehow her fault."

Even Neil wilted a little as he thought about it. Was her blatant attempts to stare at his junk annoying? Yes. But it was commonly accepted behaviour for mares. However, to inadvertently make her think that? No, it was only supposed to be a threat towards Celestia, if she tried to force him into whatever game she was playing. "You said two nurses?"

"Yes," She answered, removing her frilly apron with her aura. She took a moment to hang it on the corner of the breakfast table before continuing, "During your escape attempt, 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 for, and I quote, 'Failing to uphold the standards expected for the Castle Infirmary'. I dissuaded her from that course of action. I also had to dissuade Nurse Heart from resigning this morning, after consoling her."

Neil was inadvertently reminded of his Dad as she spoke. The man would never get angry. Not once in Neil's entire life, which had been strangely infuriating when he was being punished. His Dad preferred the I'm not mad, I'm disappointed route, explaining what he did wrong and then outlining the consequences. Compared to Celestia, his Dad was an amateur.

"I was planning to have this discussion with you tonight, Neil, but it appears the expectations of my staff caught you by surprise, with emotional results. All I ask is that you think about your actions and how they may affect other ponies around you. But," And her voice gained a severe edge, "If you send another distraught mare to me, there will be serious consequences. You may take your seat now and wait for dinner." She then turned to Bulk with her smile returned. "You as well, Private Bulk."

The next twenty-ish minutes passed by in uncomfortable silence. Neil had his book, but he would only manage a page, maybe two at the most, before his mind would wander back to Celestia's words. During that time, Bulk would shift from looking at him like he grew an extra head to looking at him with open worry.

Neil couldn't have guessed what was going through the pegasus' mind.

The only sound to break the silence was Celestia herself. With her scolding complete, she put the apron back on and returned to the kitchen. Every five minutes, she would come out of the kitchen with multiple plates of food orbiting around her. She would then expertly place them on the breakfast table and return to the kitchen.

Her fourth trip deviated from the pattern. First, her apron was replaced, allowing her golden peytral to shine in the light. Second and more noticeable was the six thermos' revolving around her. Once they were correctly set into the display, she cut off her aura and went to the main dining table to claim her seat.

"I have a second topic I wish to discuss with you Neil," Celestia offered after a minute of further silence. "One that is tangentially related to the position you dismissed out of hoof while also affecting both yourself and Bulk."

With a sigh, Neil gave up on his book for the rest of the night. Wedging a hoof between the cover and the table, he flipped it closed. "And what would that be?"

"I was curious if you would prefer Captain Buckler to assign your guard detail, or would you prefer a roster of volunteers like Private Bulk?"

"I think I would prefer no fucking guards," He stated bluntly, not catching the pegasus' ears wilting slightly. "But I don't mind Bulk. Why do I need more?"

Princess Celestia quickly pointed out the major flaw in his thinking as she levitated a pair of menus. "It would be unfair to ask Private Bulk to work around the clock without rest, would it not?"

Neil nodded, acknowledging her point while also digging at the unspoken one. "You want guards on my door in the middle of the night? Why? I already know how stupid your bullshit wards are."

"The wards are one reason, yes," She offered, "On the off chance you need to do something late at night or return to your room after a late night of studying. The guards will be there to escort you around the castle."

Neil had to wonder why she would bring up his studying. Was it because he brought a book to dinner? In fact, now that he thought about it, how did Bulk know he was in the library in the first place? "And the other reasons?"

"Those are... rather complicated," She gently deflected, "And something that should be discussed once you acclimatize to Equestria, I think."

"Or, you can tell me now." Neil pushed, "Otherwise, I'll find out on my own just like your coronation bullshit."

Celestia stared at him for a few seconds, or it could have been a minute. It was hard to tell as the focus of her gaze. "Very well. But first, which would you prefer?"

"If I was forced to choose?" Given Captain Buckler's stellar guard choice, Neil didn't need to think. "Volunteers, I guess."

"Excellent. I'll have an application sheet posted in the barracks immediately," Celestia informed him before shifting topics. "Now, crown or not, as an alicorn you will need to be aware of the world around you. Think of this as your first lesson in Equestrian politics..."

She started by naming the world's various species that lived alongside ponies. Equestria Throughout the Ages briefly covered the rare altercation between ponies and the griffons, dragons, and diamond dogs. That was a shock to the system, not only learning about multiple thinking species co-existing on the same planet but also the fact that most of them were mythical species.

Celestia expanded that list even further by including Abyssians, Avians, Bovines, Buffalo, Hippogriffs, Minotaurs, Yaks, Zebras, and many more as she finished with the Monstrous Peoples. She briefly summarized each, whether they established their own land or lived inside the borders of another, more dominant people. Bovines and Buffalo, for example, lived alongside ponies in harmony, with only minor disagreements here and there.

She then explained how the surrounding countries reacted when Princess Mi Amore Cadenza ascended. Allies and neutral countries offered stronger alliances to have the new Alicorn Princess as an ambassador. Some went so far as to provide an arranged marriage with their sons, hoping to strengthen ties. Celestia also felt there were other motives, including denying Equestria a second alicorn of unknown power or breeding a new, more magical tribe for their own species.

Either way, Celestia allowed Princess Mi Amore Cadenza to make her own decisions. Ultimately, she chose to become an ambassador. After years of studying, during which time she fell in love with her recently married husband, she travelled abroad to strengthen ties with Equestria's allies.

"... I would give it two months, four at the most before your presence becomes known to the world. After that, the proposals will flood in like before. Perhaps with even greater insistence, as you are the first male of the species. The thought of breeding you with their daughters-" She paused in her lecture, her eyes looking over Neil to something behind him.

But before he could turn around, a noticeable crack emanated from the double doors as they swung far enough back to slam into the stone wall. Another pony trudged their way into the dining hall without a single fuck to give, judging by the half-asleep gaze on her feminine muzzle. But Neil was immediately alert, as this particular mare was another alicorn. She had a navy blue coat, but her tail and mane emulated a similar effect as Celestia's, without the multi-coloured hues. This alicorn had a miniature copy of the night sky attached to her body in two places.

"Good evening, Luna," Celestia called out cheerfully. "We have guests tonight. I would like to introduce Neil and his guard attaché for the evening Private Bulk Order."

The only noise from the mare was a drowsy grunt as she made her way towards the opposite end of the table. Neil was so weirded out by this new alicorn's behaviour that he almost missed the nine separate dishes, mostly pancake stacks, the fake bacon he'd heard about, and all the black thermoses containing coffee haphazardly lifting off the breakfast table.

That unintentionally answered one question from the previous day.

With only ten paces to go between herself and the chair, Neil watched as she removed the cap and emptied an entire thermos of the steaming hot beverage by the time she reached the table. He was both impressed and mildly horrified as he leaned over to Bulk and whispered, "What the hell crawled up her a-"

"Neil, perhaps we should put aside the political lessons for now?" Celestia cut in as if she hadn't heard what he was whispering. "Let's all order for now, and afterwards, I'll answer any questions you might have to the best of my ability."

The process was the exact same as before, if only faster now that Neil didn't need to carefully skim over each section. He was the first to choose his order, followed shortly after by Bulk. Once more Celestia was the last to finish, and the servers came seconds after her menu hit the table. Once their orders were placed, Celestia looked expectantly at him.

'Right, questions. Fuck umm...' His eyes darted around, eventually settling on Bulk before one popped into his head. "As you've recently shown, unicorns and you two have telekinesis to move stuff around. I've also seen pegasi like Bulk fly. Then there's your mind-fuck wards. So what all can ponies do?" He asked, not noticing Luna's ears honing in on him the moment he let loose a swear.

"An excellent question, Neil. And I hope you take my answer to heart as you explore all of its possibilities in the coming months," She offered with such aplomb before adding on, "With caution and a suitable teacher, of course."

"Now, the simple answer to your question is magic," She began, entering her lecture mode. "The more complex answer follows that each and every pony has a unique gift, which allows them to be who they are. Private Bulk Order, for example, has an excellent talent for logistics and supply management with the Castle Guard. His pegasus birthright also allows him to fly and create weather. However, I must add, not to the point of other pegasi uniquely gifted in those aspects. Private Bulk, would you care to demonstrate with a cloud?"

Bulk hopped out of his chair in an instant. "At once, Your Majesty!"

He was standing at attention for the average pony guard, except his wings were outstretched in front of him and gently flapping up and down. Neil had no idea what the fuck he was doing, but this was a practical demonstration, somehow, so he sat in his chair and watched.

Half a minute passed by. Then, a minute. It was about to cross the two-minute mark before something finally happened. A small ball of what appeared to be grayish-white cotton candy started to form out of nowhere, and it quickly grew. It increasingly expanded in front of Bulk until it was about the size of a single mattress. At that point, Bulk's wings paused, and he let loose an audible sigh as they folded back into place.

For some reason, the air in the room felt dryer, as if he was suddenly moved into a more arid climate.

Then, just to fuck with Neil's entire understanding of physics, Bulk hopped on top of his creation and sat down with the audacity of not falling through. "What in the ever-loving fuck is that thing?"

"A cloud," Celestia told him, though he wasn't looking at her.

"That's no fucking cloud," Neil countered, "Clouds are condensed water vapour. If that was a cloud, he shouldn't be doing whatever the hell he's doing! He should have gone straight through."

"That is exactly what would have happened if Private Bulk was an earth pony or a unicorn. Instead, pegasi have the innate ability to sit, walk, or run on any desired cloud. They can also pass through a cloud if they so choose, but that's a skill one must learn to do."

She must have given a look at Bulk because the moment she finished speaking, he stood up and then started to slowly sink into the thing he made. Until his armoured hooves met the carpeted floor with a muted click. Then, as if it was little more than a thick fog, he walked out. His armour and fur glistened with a small amount of moisture.

"Your turn Neil."

Was she serious? He craned his head around, only to see an encouraging smile that he'd seen on multiple teachers throughout his lifetime. Yep, she was fucking serious. He then turned to Bulk, who didn't say anything. But the guard gave a gentle smile as if to say it was perfectly safe.

Thankfully, it was close enough for him to reach out without getting out of his seat. He had to twist a little, but that was enough as his hoof closed the distance. He was expecting, hoping really for his hoof to simply pass through. Instead, he felt something solid press against the skin on the bottom of his hoof. Though calling it solid was a grave injustice. It was softer than any pillow he'd ever had the pleasure to sleep on. But when he pressed harder, there wasn't much give.

He gave it a few more experimental shoves before another effect became noticeable to everyone except Luna, who was too focused on her meal. The area around Neil's hoof was slowly changing colour. Going from a puffy white cloud to more of a dreary gray. Bulk was the first to comment. "You, uh, might wanna remove your hoof Si- Er, Neil."

Since Bulk created the thing, Neil quickly listened as he removed his hoof. In a matter of seconds, the gray spot seemed to dissipate into the cloud as it returned to its original happy white.

"Interesting, I wasn't expecting that type of reaction during this particular lesson," Celestia admitted out loud. "Neil, are you feeling any strong, negative emotions at the moment? Particularly anger?"

"Mad? No," He admitted honestly as he tried to comprehend what the fuck was going on. "Annoyed as all hell? If that thing really is a cloud, then all the years I've spent learning physics in high school are a fucking waste! Yes I'm annoyed."

Before Celestia could respond, Princess Luna spoke out for the first time that evening. "Enough! Act with proper decorum, as thy station demands of thee, and stay thy foul tongue," She commanded authoritatively as she sat paused eating. "'Lest We fix it for thee."

Neil hadn't expected Ye olde English to come from her. But the small, paranoid part of his mind returned to the forefront as he bristled. This was the kind of arrogant and demanding greeting he had expected after being captured by royalty. He immediately snapped back. "And what the hell are you going to do? Cut my tongue out?"

"We have no need for such barbarity," She promised, pausing for only a moment to add, "This shall serve as a warning to Our satisfaction." Her horn flared blue for only a moment.

Celestia was quick to admonish her sister. "Luna! What spell did you just use?" Her horn also flashed as both sisters devolved into a terse-looking debate. One he couldn't hear, and neither could Bulk, apparently.

Wanting to understand what was just done to him, Neil decided to start with something simple. "Testing, testing. One, two, three." Bulk heard him if his slight nod was any indication, so he wasn't silenced.

Going over what she had recently said in his mind, it was clear that she was annoyed with a particular selection of words. So, he did the most obvious thing that came to mind. "Shit."

He wouldn't admit it was painful, but the sudden twinge at the back of his head made him noticeably flinch. Judging by Bulk's worried reaction, this wasn't something commonly done. Then again, Neil couldn't picture any pony swearing in front of either princess.

Now that he was expecting it, he experimented some more. "Fucking Bitch," He stated, looking directly at Luna. He managed to force his reaction down to a minor eye twitch, though multiple swears seemed to prolong the experience.

Whatever prevented them from hearing the two sisters also prevented them from hearing what he said. Neil could only imagine what the dark princess would have done otherwise.

The food was delivered by the time Celestia decided to light up her horn again. She looked quite stern, similar to when she raised her voice at Neil. Luna, however, was glowering at her breakfast. "I believe you have something to say, Dear Sister."

It took a long moment, but Luna eventually looked up with a neutral mask befitting her station. "We apologize for Our use of punishment. Had We known of thy denial, We would not have punished you so severely."

"I do not fucking accept your apology," Neil stated, trying to copy her diplomatic tone. Even if her punishment was noticeable every single time he swore. "Not until you remove this shitty ass, whatever the fuck it is punishment from me."

She stared at him. He stared right back at her. He could also feel Celestia's look of admonition after he denied her apology, but that didn't matter at the moment. He wasn't going to back down against those similarly light blue eyes.

Surprisingly, Luna was the first to back down, "You wield your bravado as a mare would, much to thy detriment." As her horn sparked once more.

The lingering after-pain instantly vanished. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Luna didn't respond, having returned to her meal. Celestia, however, was more than willing to talk in her place. "Neil, while Luna was in the wrong to punish you in such a manner, she did apologize and remove the spell. I believe you have something to say as well?"

"Since she removed her mild torture thing right away, apology accepted." That was all he was willing to say as he looked at Celestia.

Was it petty? Yes. Did she push him on it? Surprisingly, she did not.

Dinner passed silently from that point on, ever-shifting between tense and awkward. The only highlight, in Neil's opinion, was once more the food as he tried to avoid messily devouring his lasagne, given his inability to use a simple fork.

Bulk was the first to finish; he was the only pony with a normal-sized meal. Celestia and Luna finished nearly the same time, despite Luna starting before they even ordered. This left Neil the only one eating once again.

However, when he finally finished his last bite, before he could even attempt to lick the excess tomato sauce from his muzzle, Luna stood. "Sister, it is time for Us to lower the Sun and raise the Moon," She reminded her sister. But that wasn't all, as she added a stipulation. "We wish to have Neil join as well."

Celestia gave her sister a quizzical look but didn't comment on her sudden desire for Neil to be there. She slipped gracefully off her chair to join Luna, only waiting at the door for Neil to move.

On the other hand, Neil only had a vague idea of what was happening. Yes, he knew about the propaganda declaring their ability to move celestial objects. And she wanted him there? Why? To cow him into a sense of submission?

He was very tempted to stay right where he was if only to make them late. But then, that must have obviously happened before at some point? Wouldn't they just claim to say they did it inside? Ponies were gullible enough since they believed the lie in the first place.

So, reluctantly, he hopped off his seat to follow Celestia. Making sure to stay far enough back that her tail properly obscured certain things. Bulk followed right next to him as well, unable to contain the minor hop of excitement in his step.

The journey was admittedly short, traversing a single hallway until they came upon a golden arch built into the wall with reddish-pink curtains strung up on either side to reveal a large balcony with a solid blue stone railing. A small part of Neil grumbled at the fact that he was that close to an exit the day before, but he squashed it.

At least he knew this particular exit was here for later use.

Both Princesses quickly took up their positions, seated on large, plush-looking cushions that were immaculate even though they were sitting outside on a balcony. Neil quickly positioned himself closer to the arch. He watched Celestia as she stared directly at the sun, ignoring the standard convention to protect one's eyes. He wasn't sure what was about to happen besides the sunset. Still, it was better than looking at the alicorn burning their gaze into the back of his skull.

Unfortunately, she was determined to make sure she wasn't ignored. "Before the ceremony begins, We wish to offer words of caution to young Neil. However unwanted it may be, you have unknowingly entered an arena for which you have been ill-equipped. As of this moment, Our dear sister has been treating you with cushioned swords and words of comfort for protection. We have no such desire. Now, you know of the direction Our Moon normally rises from, yes?"

He knew well enough that the moon rose in the east as the sun set to the west, so he pointed to the east.

"Good. Tonight, you shall choose any other direction from which Our Moon shall ascend." She offered, which was a big gamble as Neil thought about it. Obviously, the moon would rise in the same direction it always rose. So why would she do that?

Adding as much bravado as he could, despite not feeling much at all, he gave her a direction. "I'm feeling a bit dramatic after all the Olde Shakespearian English being thrown about. Let's have the moon rise from the ashes of the fallen sun."

He expected her to immediately demand a change, but it never came.

Celestia's horn suddenly sparked to life, releasing an aura powerful enough to light up the entire balcony. At the same time, the sun started to move. Visibly lowering at a speed he'd become accustomed to, though he knew if the same thing happened on Earth, the planet would have been doomed.

The smallest of cracks formed in Neil's resolve. He couldn't tell which event happened first, be it Celestia's horn or the sun's movement. It was almost as if... then again, she had years to perfect the act. Timing it perfectly couldn't be that hard, could it?

Far sooner than he would have liked, sunset passed into the night as Celestia's horn snuffed out. The balcony was blanketed with comforting shadows for just a moment, only to be ousted this time by Luna's rich blue aura.

Neil ignored her despite being inside of his peripheral vision. It was much more important to keep his eyes focused to the east, knowing that the moon would peak over the horizon any second now and end this farce. Yet, as the seconds passed, the moon didn't reveal itself.

The cracks in his resolve grew as he took a peek in the opposite direction. Yet nothing was there, either. What was going on? He'd watched the rapid ascent of the moon almost every single night since his appearance. It was hard not to when he had plenty to do in the dark alleyways of Canterlot.

Half a minute later, Neil was begrudgingly glancing back and forth, waiting for something to happen. Only for a pulse of blue light to illuminate the balcony even more...

Then, the moon graced them with its presence from the west, exactly where the sun had set.

Neil was left speechless as Luna's aura faded. Shrouding the balcony in darkness, his eyes darted between Celestia, who was watching the moon, and Bulk, who was watching Neil with a look of confusion. Why? And why was it so dark? Had it always been like that? Or was it getting darker? And why was Bulk walking towards him with a look of worry?...

Neil slumped to the balcony, hyperventilating at first, only to slip unconscious seconds later. Only Bulk's fast reaction prevented Neil's head from hitting the solid stone floor as he dove forward and slipped underneath the larger stallion.

Author's Note

So, first things first. THANK YOU ALL!

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined such a reception. And while it is a bit late, I have to celebrate a very important milestone.

All hail the 666 positive ratings.

Now, with that taken care of... Huzzah? Luna made her appearance, though not in the best of moods. She clearly isn't a morning pony, or an evening pony as the case may be. Also, I was not expecting to end the chapter there. But when confronted by the immeasurable might of Best Princess, I guess Neil couldn't handle it?

Edit: Whoops! I was so excited to finally get this one up I forgot to italicize and center everything. Sorry about that. It's fixed now.

4. Rainbow Pride?

Author's Note

Wow. That's really the one thing I can say. Wow. 1k Likes, as a new story. when novels far better than mine (Life Finds a Way, for example) took years. I'm both shocked and surprised.

Editor: Dat_Random_Fur <--- Send love, or guns, or something American-ish.

And, uh, with that I hope you enjoy the next chapter. Hopefully this one isn't the one to kill the story. XP

4. Rainbow Pride?

(October 19th: 5th Day Since Capture)

Bulk felt conflicted for the first time in a long time, and the source of it was centred around his current assignment.

He was more than willing to admit that he had no idea what was happening when he volunteered for the position. His sense of right and wrong might have been called simple by the more... incorrigible nobles of Canterlot. Still, accident or not, he'd harmed Neil that cold rainy night. It was Bulk's responsibility to undo the damage and help the poor stallion back onto his hooves the only way he knew how.

Besides, so long as the stallion, a legitimate, honest to Celestia Alicorn male was in the castle, he would have access to every available resource he'd need for a full recovery. Right? And Bulk would be right there, getting those resources to him like a good logistics specialist.

Captain Buckler had seen things very differently the morning after Neil's recovery. She didn't go into details, but the Captain saw The Unknown Alicorn Male as a threat to be contained. Calling him a wildcard and a possible threat that needed to be thoroughly assessed before he was given access to the castle. Why she thought that when all he did was run from the guard, he didn't know. Either way, she denied his request to join Neil's guard detail.

That didn't sit well with Bulk or his sense of right and wrong. Which was why he drummed up the nerve to petition his case before Day Court. Had he gone around the chain of command? Definitely. Was he terrified about speaking his case directly to the Princess? Very much so.

But his Papa always told him to do right, even when it was easier to go with the flow. The same advice led him to leave the farm, despite his Mama's worries, and join the guard in the first place.

When Bulk's turn came up to explain his position to the Princess and his thoughts and feelings on the matter, he expected to be admonished for going around the Captain. He was sure he would be reprimanded. At the very least, he would be ordered by the Princess to report to the Captain so she could assign an adequate punishment for his breach of protocol.

Amazingly, the Princess did nothing of the sort. Instead, the passive smile she used when dealing with the nobles grew radiant as he laid out his case as if she was channelling the sun she was in tune with. When he finished, the Princess praised his desire to help and gave him her full blessing. She would personally reassign Bulk to Neil's guard detail, and he would report to the newest Alicorn at noon that day, on one condition.

Neil had to agree to the assignment as well.

Bulk thought the hard part was over after hearing her stipulation. And in the procedural sense, he had been correct. On the other hoof, it didn't take long for Bulk to learn Neil wasn't a traditional stallion in any sense of the word.

Neil wasn't charming, homely, or even all that friendly. He was abrasive from the get-go in an aggressive, almost mare-ish manner. The stallion also had the worst mouth Bulk had ever heard on a pony. Even griffons held back from using the harshest cuss words, yet his new charge threw them out like cheap flowers. Only his training to be an immovable guard kept him from wincing every time the Alicorn uttered a new curse.

Bulk could only imagine what his Mama would do if he uttered a single cuss word in front of her. She would likely break out the soap and wash his mouth out every morning for a month.

Still, Bulk persevered. After a little miscommunication about the amount of guards following the Alicorn, he was officially a part of Neil's detail.

His first official assignment from Neil was a very nice change of routine. It was definitely better than standing at attention all day. Bulk had to shop for clothes in Canterlot and find something that fit Neil's unique taste in garments. Obviously, Bulk went to the expensive shops on the upper shelf; anything less would be a disgrace to his new Alicorn charge. He even had the chance to cut back a little, modelling himself in fancier garments he couldn't even dream of owning on his current salary. At the end of his shopping trip, Bulk felt that if things continued as they were, it would be a mixed but positive assignment overall.

And then The Dinner Disaster happened.

In hindsight, Bulk desperately wished he remained steadfast and waited in the hall with the other guards. Life would have been much more straightforward. Instead, he allowed his charge to invite him in and received one shocking revelation after another behind those closed doors. Not only from Neil, either, but the very rulers of Equestria itself!

None of the revelations were good.

Before they were seated at the table, Bulk learned that Neil threatened suicide in a note just to avoid his rightful crown as a Prince. It pulled at Bulk's heartstrings while also hinting at some pretty deep issues lurking under the surface. Then, instead of being chastised by Princess Celestia's lecture, Neil was confrontational with her. How anypony could act that way with Princess Celestia boggled his mind.

Until Bulk's training kicked back in. Even with his confrontational bravado, Neil's body betrayed his genuine remorse when the Princess brought up the trauma he put two separate nurses through. The Alicorn's body was almost foal-like in that regard and very easy to read with his ears pinned to his scalp.

The next major revelation came with the Princess' lesson on pegasus magic. Neil clearly knew what a cloud was made of, physically, but he made his confusion and doubt about pegasus magic clear. His outright denial of Bulk's ability to make a proper cloud also hurt a little. Still, Bulk felt his words came from ignorance instead of genuine malice. It was almost as if Neil had never heard of magic before, which felt absurd for a pony.

When Princess Celestia asked him to touch the cloud, Bulk quickly reassured his charge that it was safe. Neil's shock and dismay were clear to see when his hoof made solid contact. However, Bulk still caught the hint of elation that every pegasus held when discovering the softness of a cloud for the first time. It was an excellent first flight into the world of pegasus magic in Bulk's mind since the Alicorn continued to push his hoof against the soft cloud instead of pulling it away in fear.

Unfortunately, the cloud reacted to Neil in an unexpected way after roughly a minute of exposure. Bulk quickly urged his charge to remove his hoof as the cloud slowly darkened into a thunderstorm. An accidental lightning discharge wouldn't do any actual harm to the ponies in the room, but Bulk didn't want to damage any of the expensive furniture.

This brought about a very colourful question-and-answer session between Neil and Princess Celestia, which was the final straw for Princess Luna in her tired state. She did not like Neil's cussing in the slightest and demanded him to stop.

But as Bulk was quick to learn, Neil preferred to fight fire with fire instead of backing down. This is when the next shocking revelation happened. Princess Luna, Princess of Equestria and an Alicorn ascended by Harmony itself, used corporal punishment against a stallion. Worse, she used corporal punishment against a newly ascended Alicorn stallion. It was unimaginable.

Before Bulk could fully wrap his head around it, Princess Celestia leapt into action on Neil's behalf. Just not in a manner Bulk was expecting of a Princess. She cast a localized silencing ward to prevent Neil and himself from hearing what came next. It was still evident as the Princess of the Day began to bicker with Princess Luna. They were supposed to be Paragons of Harmony, standing side by side to represent everything an Alicorn should be! Not... acting like a pair of squabbling siblings.

And the final cherry on top? Instead of reacting to the spell like an average stallion would, Neil immediately tested the limitations. Bulk could only watch as the Alicorn inflicted pain on himself, and there wasn't a thing he could do to help!

After their brief but prominent display of disharmony between the rulers of Equestria, Princess Celestia dropped her silencing spell. Both rulers were calm and composed, and Princess Luna led with an apology. However, Bulk felt it was lacking given the severity of her spell.

And what did Neil do? He ignored her apology and inflicted even more pain on himself just to make a point!

Bulk felt like Eris must have been pulling at the strings alongside this little drama. He even subtly looked around the room in an attempt to spot the errant Spirit of Chaos. But Luna relented after a brief stare down as if from a snap of the Spirit's fingers. How things deescalated so quickly after the build-up was strangely surreal, leaving Bulk feeling on edge and a little jumpy.

At least the food was delivered by that point. And while the castle staff outdid themselves, the food didn't calm him down. Looking back on the final revelation that day, it was a small blessing.

After everypony finished their food, Princess Luna surprised everypony in the room by inviting Neil to participate in the changing of the sun and moon. It was a great honour to be chosen to participate, and Bulk felt like this was a legitimate apology for her earlier use of magic, unlike her statement.

During the ceremony, however, Bulk reevaluated his thoughts as he watched Neil's reaction. His stormy blue eyes slowly transitioned from confusion at the missing moon to manic terror when it finally rose from his chosen direction. The sight tore at Bulk's heart.

Bulk knew a panic attack when he saw one, as Neil's gaze rapidly jumped between himself, Princess Celestia, and the moon. It happened once or twice with every new group of recruits in basic training. As the Alicorn stallion started hyperventilating, Bulk slowly closed the distance between them.

Then the stallion's legs gave out, and Bulk instinctively dove to catch him.

Princess Celestia had been watching the moon, but after she heard Neil fall and Bulk's metal armour scraping the stone, she acted. She was obviously worried about both of them, as she used her magic to lift the stallion's limp form off of Bulk. After ensuring he was okay, she left, heading towards the castle infirmary. Bulk followed in formation, along with the four other guards.

All of that had happened three days previously, giving Bulk plenty of time to think things over.

The morning after Princess Luna's powerful display of magic, everything changed. Any rapport Bulk built with Neil in their short time together vanished into thin air. He may have only shared a conversation or two with Neil, but they were conversations all the same. Now, Neil ignored almost every pony that entered his room.

Nurses entered and exited his room at regular intervals, either to offer help with a shower or to ask Neil what he would like to eat. He stonewalled all of them. Nothing changed when they left meals for him or picked up his empty dishes. Even Nurse Rose, the pony that managed to shower him with only minor difficulty, couldn't get through his expressionless reading.

When the first guard was sent with an invitation from Princess Celestia the morning after, Neil ignored the poor stallion. Ultimately, Bulk was forced to decline the breakfast invitation in Neil's stead and dismiss the private. Every single invitation afterwards received the same treatment.

That seemed to earn Bulk a small amount of trust because he was the only exception to Neil's self-imposed silent exile.

It wasn't often, but when Neil finished a book, he asked Bulk to return it. If he felt generous with his words, he would also tell Bulk to bring back other books that usually followed a theme. Every biography written about the Princesses made an odd amount of sense after Luna's horrible treatment of him. But every book the library had that focused on Roam, whether history or myths? Bulk couldn't make heads or tails out of that.

Unfortunately, the only book Bulk couldn't bring Neil had also been one of Neil's first requests. Given the state of Neil's horn and his inability to use magic with it, all spell-books were deemed unavailable until later by word of Princess Celestia. This included all the tomes written about protective mind magics.

That was the only time Bulk had to actively ignore his charge after informing the Alicorn about Celestia's decree. Neil let loose a potent string of venomous curses directed at both Princesses, which Bulk dared not to even think about.

He dreaded the thought that he might suffer another severe cussing as he left this morning's debriefing.

Princess Celestia herself had shown up near the end looking for him specifically. Every single invitation she previously offered to Neil had been an informal affair, as Bulk knew. It was the only reason he felt it was okay to deny the request, as his charge wasn't in any state to accept them. This morning, the Princess had tasked him with delivering a formal invitation to Neil, requesting his presence in Day Court at Princess Celestia's earliest convenience.

Bulk could only imagine why the Princess wanted to see Neil in the throne room, but he couldn't think of any reason that would help the poor Alicorn.

Celestia's missive flashed through his mind for what must have been the twentieth time over these last few days. 'It was my pleasure, honestly. I believe Neil will need as many friends as he can make in the coming days...' The question was, what could Bulk do?

Neil had no friends, and he clearly wasn't doing well in the castle. Every day that passed, the Alicorn became even more of a recluse. And who could blame him with Princess Luna's nearby presence stressing him? Bulk felt he was failing them both...

As he continued to trot towards Neil's infirmary room, Bulk narrowed his eyes. There wasn't much he could do, that was true. But he could do something to meet both objectives. He just had to hope it was enough to get Neil out of his room and meet with the Princess...

~~~***~~~

History books, biographies, and every other genre was fair game if they related to the Alicorns in power. Neil tore through book after book, looking for a check against their power. And yet, after two days of searching, the only answers he could find pointed to a single being, Eris the Spirit of Chaos. The only being that made even less sense than the Alicorns, given her ability to warp reality at a whim!

He couldn't think about that now.

Shaking his head, he forced his eyes to focus on the current book suffering under his baleful stare. At first, he had ignored any books focused on the Princess of Love due to her title. He focused on the two Princesses staying in the same castle as him. But if he really thought about it, Mi Amore Cadenza's power was no less substantial than the others.

Thanks to this recently updated biography, he knew that the Princess of Love had used her powers to enhance her husband's shield to repel a full invasion force of changelings. Even more impressive was her ability to activate another powerful artifact from the Crystal Empire and enhance its properties. Using it, she did something the other two Princesses couldn't accomplish. She dispelled Sombra's shadow form so thoroughly that he ceased to exist by all accounts.

The thought of Cadenza enhancing Luna's or Celestia's already insane abilities terrified him. His only saving grace was that she was currently ruling another country, so the chance of running into her was slim to none.

With one last chapter in this book, he looked forward to the next one. It was a detailed history text focused solely on the first battle for the Crystal Empire one thousand years ago. Hopefully, it gave some insight into how Alicorns fought, even if it was one thousand years out of date.

Two quick knocks at the door broke the silence of his room.

Neil tensed as his ears automatically swivelled towards the wooden door. The nurses had yet to arrive with his morning breakfast, but they usually didn't knock. Was it another guard with a breakfast invitation? Usually he could count on Bulk to send them away. A quick look at his recently added clock told him it was five minutes before eight. Bulk's shift usually started on the hour.

After a few moments of silence, the door swung open. The sound of metal hooves entering the room told Neil it was a guard that entered the room and was coming up behind him. He could almost imagine the pony closing the distance, only to stop one body length-

The firm tap of metal on stone was a second or two earlier than expected. He also didn't expect Bulk's voice to be greeting him. "Mornin' Neil, I hope I'm not interruptin'?"

He was, obviously. These books were his only source of information on the Princesses, and he only had a limited amount of time before he was forced to confront them again. Still, he nodded toward Bulk before he flipped to the next page.

"In that case I have to apologize again," Bulk said solemnly. "Princess Celestia sent another invitation, one you can't ignore."

Neil continued to skim the following pages as he simply asked, "Why?"

A few moments of silence passed before Bulk officially asked, "Permission to speak freely Neil?"

The fact that Bulk asked his permission when he could already speak his mind made Neil pause. Slowly, he marked his spot on the page before turning to see that Bulk was clearly concerned about something. "You already have it, Bulk."

"I can tell you're goin' stir crazy. I would be too if the mare that hurt me was in the same buildin'." He started as his wing unfurled, revealing a rolled-up piece of parchment with an official-looking wax seal. "But I can't let you ignore this official summons. You'd be doin' somethin' dumber than pettin' a wild rattler if I did." After his warning, Bulk was nice enough to walk up to the table and place the scroll on the surface.

His technique was messy, but Neil dug through the wax with his hoof. The scroll itself was as Bulk described, very official looking. It was also to the point, summoning him by name to appear before Celestia in Day Court.

After looking it over, he pushed it aside to the smaller pile of books that needed to be returned to the library. "Why exactly do I need to go?"

"Because, unlike the others, this ain't just a request. It'll look bad if you don't show," Bulk paused, trying to find a way to explain what he meant by bad. "As in, guards might be sent to escort you there, bad."

He was right; that did sound like a bad idea. Bulk was also a guard, which prompted Neil to ask, "Including you?"

"Listen Neil," He said, trying to shore up his position, "It isn't much, but Princess Luna won't be there. And, well," He paused, as if trying to find the right words.

After a few seconds of silence, Neil asked, "And?"

"If you go, I'll take you outta the castle after my shift." He conceded, doing his best to sell the offer. "Music, drinks, and no mares... With or without Princess Celestia's approval."

Neil couldn't help but look at Bulk in a slightly new light. Without Celestia's permission was a bridge too far for the castle guard on principle. And drinks? Were they the sugary drinks he'd seen in the market or the proper ones that made a person absolutely shit-faced? "You're actually bribing me?"

"No," Bulk countered immediately with conviction. "I promised to help you. That includes makin' sure you don't go stir crazy in this castle. And the best chance of gettin' you outta here includes talkin' to the Princess like she asked."

"What kind of drinks are we talking about?" Neil asked after a few seconds, considering if the concession was worth it to face Celestia.

Bulk seemed to be both confused by the question and hopeful that Neil was considering his proposal at the same time. "The kind of drink a guard needs after a hard day's work?"

The beginnings of a plan blossomed in Neil's mind. He would need to know the limitations, but if he could slip away? Great. If he couldn't, for one reason or another? He could get wasted, at the very least. And if ponies were lightweights when it came to drinking? He could get the best of both worlds, buzzed and free all at the same time. "...Fine."

"Whew," Bulk gave a relieved sigh, "You had me worried for a moment there." He then placed a wing on Neil's shoulder and coaxed him out of his seat and towards the bathroom. "C'mon, let's get you washed up for your visit. You're smelling a little ripe after two days."

"Really?" Neil snarked as he reluctantly hopped off the chair. "First you bribe me with beers, then you say I stink?"

What little concern that remained on Bulk's muzzle faded into a small but noticeable smile. "You told me to speak my mind, so I'm speakin' my mind. You smell." He was kind enough to hold the door open for the Alicorn with his other wing.

Once inside the bathroom, Neil fought once more to remove his cloak. He refused to take it off the easy way by undoing the clasp. He would require help to re-clasp it later since he couldn't do it himself with his clumsy hooves. When dealing with his cloak, he preferred to slip his head through the collar, a strategy that generally came with mixed success. Yesterday, he managed to slip his cloak on with relative ease that morning. Slipping into or out of his cloak took multiple minutes every other time, with his horn constantly getting caught.

This time, he managed to get his cloak halfway over his head before it caught against the slight grooves in his horn. After a minute of fighting, Bulk chose to step in and help. With a quick flick of his feathers, the clip came undone, and he deftly swept the cloak off of Neil and onto the sink.

Neil just gave him an annoyed look before heading towards the shower. He half expected Bulk to follow him in, just like the nurses did previously. Instead, the guard collected a few brushes and towels off a shelf with his wings and sat down. He was considerate enough to sit with his back turned as well, giving Neil some much-needed privacy. It was a welcome gesture, even if it clashed with what he knew about ponies so far.

With the prospect of a semi-private shower in front of him, Neil bit down on the knob for hot water and turned. Warm water immediately showered him from his wings to his back end, and the temperature rose quickly. He immediately twisted the cold knob, allowing the temperature to shift too far in the cold direction before he adjusted both taps towards his preference.

Once that was complete, he did something he couldn't do with the nurses. He plopped down in the centre of the cascade, eyes closed, and just let the heat of the water transfer into him. Whether a minute, five minutes, or even longer, he didn't know. This was his time, and he would wash away all his pains and worries under the relaxing barrage of water droplets...

At least, that was what Neil tried to do. An imaginary clock tick kept nagging him in the back of his mind, reminding him that he was scheduled to speak with Celestia. He stalled for as long as he could before relinquishing his relaxation. He scrubbed every place within reach with only his hooves and warm water. By any stretch of the imagination, he did a lacklustre job at best. But it was the best he could do considering his inability to pick up shampoo. Once he finished washing, he quickly bit down on the hot water knob, closely followed by the cold water one. If he wasn't awake before that, he was now as his back end was doused in freezing cold water.

As he exited the shower, Bulk quickly faced him with an unfolded towel. Was it demeaning to have Bulk dry him off? Yes. But he already suffered through that with the nurses. And with Bulk, he didn't have to worry about leering eyes molesting him or wandering hooves brushing against some inappropriate regions. That didn't stop Neil from drying off his tail and butt, even if he had to sit on a towel to do so.

The one thing Bulk didn't budge on, however, was grooming. "I don't care if you'll be wearin' the cloak. We'll be walkin' by the line and meetin' the Princess. You need to be at your best."

Neil couldn't see the point. Celestia obviously didn't care; otherwise, she wouldn't have invited him to dinner while drenched in sweat that first day. And who gave a fuck about the nobles? Only one reason made any sort of sense. "This is a bullshit military thing, isn't it?"

Bulk narrowed his eyes slightly at the slight against the guard, "If it gets your mane brushed, then yes. Yes it is. Now stand up."

Neil rolled his eyes, ensuring Bulk saw the gesture before following the command. Compared to the nurses who treated him like a delicate vase, gently brushing over the same spot multiple times, Bulk was rough but efficient. He pushed against Neil's sides with enough force to make him readjust his balance constantly.

The only exception to Bulk's not-so-gentle touch was Neil's mane and tail, which the guard left until the end. It was odd to see Bulk giving him an appraising look, but after a few moments, he asked, "Are you sure you want me to only straighten your mane? I could do somethin' nice with it."

The stallion's sudden desire to mess with Neil's hair caught him off guard, allowing his mouth to quip automatically, "Like you've done with yours?"

"You ain't seen me without a helmet as far as I know?" Bulk questioned, looking at Neil weirdly while his one free wing also felt along the edge of his neck plating for a loose strand of mane.

"Exactly my point," Was all Neil needed to say with a slight grin and a shrug.

"Are you questionin' my ability to style a mane?" He asked nicely enough, though Neil felt there might have been an underlying threat hidden in there.

Either way, if there was a chance that poking the sleeping dragon delayed or even made Bulk forget about doing his hair, he was willing to poke it. "What do you think?"

"I'm thinkin' of givin' you the bounciest mane curls you've ever seen," He offered seriously as his wing reached for something on the shelf that looked vaguely like a curling iron.

"Fine," Neil conceded his joke before Bulk could grab the implement of his desired torture. "I won't question your stylist abilities if you only straighten my hair and tail."

Bulk's wing stopped mere inches away from the device... before shifting a few inches to the right and grabbing the feather rake. He gave Neil one last offer, "Not even a few decorative knots?" But when Neil shook his head in the negative, he relented. "Alright, it's your mane..."

Neil was thankful that Bulk took his time during this aspect of grooming. He had been a little worried that the guard would tear through any tangles with the same amount of force used on his coat. Instead, Bulk worked through them with as much skill as a professional barber.

Once that part of the process was finished, he helped Neil don his cloak again by hooking the clasp to complete his look. "Dependin' on the line, we'll be there for hours. One book or two?"

As they exited the washroom, Neil already had his next book lined up. His eyes locked onto a thick, dull-coloured tome in his unread pile. "Battle for the Crystal Empire should be good enough to pass the time."

Bulk dutifully picked out the book from the unread pile and the opened scroll while Neil was forced to wait by the door.

Once the pegasus lined up on his right side with the book on his back, Neil exited his room for the first time in three days. The overall aesthetics of the hallway remained the same, but the length felt normal, unlike the way they were during his escape attempt. Regular length or not, Neil still needed help to find out where the throne room was.

Thankfully, Bulk was an expert guide when traversing the castle and pointed Neil towards the right path. The first ten minutes were spent walking around the section of the castle Neil was accustomed to. They even passed the main library doors before continuing to one of the main exits of that particular wing.

Neil found himself outside for the first time since his capture, though still within the walls on the castle grounds. The sudden burst of cool morning air left him feeling refreshed and strangely vulnerable as he exited. Now that he was outside at least twenty guards were patrolling the grounds, and if they all deigned to look, they could see him just as easily. Inside, he had a thick stone wall to obscure himself from the many armed guards, at the very least.

Despite his misgivings, he followed Bulk's directions down the yellow cobblestone path and towards the main keep, as Bulk called it. Apparently, the central palace structure held the throne room and all the other amenities required by the public. Whether that be one of three ballrooms, multiple banquet halls, a wedding chapel, public guest quarters, and other services offered by the crown, and some of the earliest government functions.

When confronted with a minor fork in the road, Bulk directed him to veer off to the right onto the slimmer cobblestone path. This apparently led to a servant's entrance just outside the castle gardens, or the Princess' prized hedge maze, to be more specific. When asked about the bigger path, Bulk quickly told him it led toward both the central courtyard and the public entrance to the palace.

Once inside, Neil was struck by the difference in opulence. The side wing of the castle he had been living in was barren compared to the striking checker-board tiles, the plush red carpet with detailed stitching that his hooves sunk half an inch into, the tapestries that covered almost every square inch of wall, and the excessive amount of golden accents. To put it bluntly, it felt over the top and gaudy, precisely what he would have expected from a long-lasting monarchy.

But he couldn't stand and gape at the decorations for long as Bulk pointed him west towards the main entrance hall. Another stark difference was the number of guards stationed every thirty feet as if they were statues for the public to gawk at. Not that there was much of a public presence this early in the morning. Neil could only imagine how much of a headache this place could be if only he showed up a few hours later.

Soon enough, he exited from a side passage into the main entry hall with a grand, golden staircase and stained glass windows. At that point, he also ran into his first non-guard and non-staff pony inside the castle. Thankfully, the purple on light-purple pony, who was also wearing a very Canadian red and white dress, was walking away from him. Unfortunately, according to Bulk, that was the same direction he was supposed to go.

So he followed the mare reluctantly. It was a little slow going at her sedate pace, but it allowed Neil more time to look at the stained glass windows as they passed. He even recognized a few of the ponies and the events depicted due to the history books he read. Celestia and her sister were prominent in the first windows. But afterwards, Twilight and her group of ponies dominated the glass panes.

After the hallway of stained glass history, Neil and Bulk entered another large chamber. It wasn't as cavernous or grand as the main entry hall, but its aqua-blue stone walls were shrouded in tapestries, and each stone pillar was flanked by a pair of guards. Another two unicorn stallions stood by the immense, sky-blue arched doors that presumably led towards the throne room.

Most of the room was taken up by golden poles with red rope woven between them to create an overlapping barrier. Judging by the winding back-and-forth path and the seven ponies already lined up near the large doors, the petitioner line could grow to extreme lengths on a busy day. The purple mare they followed quickly entered the rope maze without hesitation, and Neil followed her at his sedated pace.

Bulk placed a wing on Neil's shoulder, stopping him before he entered the queue. "The Princess wants you to wait in a private chamber as she works through the line." Neil just gave a shrug and allowed Bulk to lead him to this mysterious chamber.

The pegasus immediately skirted to the right side of the room, completely ignoring the rope barrier. Whether he liked it or not, this deviation from the norm drew the curiosity of the petitioners already waiting in line. Neil did his best to ignore the eyes on him as they passed one pillar after another.

Hidden behind the last pillar was a small wooden door painted to match the room. Instead of going through it immediately, Bulk extended his wing to the unicorn guard closest to the door. Held within his feathers was Neil's invitation, which the unicorn guard quickly nabbed with an attention-gathering lime green aura.

The unicorn guard looked the scroll over, and after verifying its authenticity, he slipped the scroll inside his breastplate. His horn flickered for only a moment, before the door was covered in the same telekinetic aura, and opened, inviting Neil and Bulk inside.

From what little Neil could see, it was a cozy-looking sitting area decorated in rich reds and purples. There must have been a torch or a fireplace inside because the warm light inside the room flickered noticeably. Either way, Bulk walked into the room, and after a quick glance back, Neil followed. Once he passed the threshold, the door closed behind him and the aura vanished, cutting off the stares from the petitioners much to his relief.

Once he was inside, the light source turned out to be a large stone hearth, with a relatively small-looking fireplace carved into the deep purple marble. Despite that, the merry little fire burned brightly. Throwing out more light than Neil would have thought possible onto the large, rich red sofa sitting in the centre of the room and its two matching love seats that flanked each side, let alone the rest of the room. Bulk was already standing at attention beside one of the love seats.

The Alicorn was quick to claim that particular seat, and without a word, Bulk offered Battle for the Crystal Empire with his wing. Neil managed to pincer the book clumsily with both hooves without pinching Bulk's feathers and half-placed, half-dropped it onto the armrest. It worked in the end, and that's all that mattered as he flipped the cover open with his snout. "There's plenty of seats available, you know that right?"

Instead of taking up Neil's offer, Bulk simply acknowledged his question with a "Yep" As he made his way to the other door in the room and took up his post. "I can't sit while on guard duty."

"I'm pretty sure standing for twelve-hour shifts is some sort of workplace violation," Neil quipped. Either that or pony endurance in this scenario was insane. Instead of answering, Bulk gave him a subtle shrug, then froze at attention like all the other guards they had just passed.

Knowing he wouldn't get anything else out of Bulk without it being a direct request, Neil settled down with his book. This was going to be a long wait, apparently...

~~~

Another day, and yet another book that over-promised and under-delivered. He had been hoping to read about the battle for the Crystal Empire itself. A play-by-play of the tactics, weapons, and abilities used by the Princesses of the time, at the very least.

Instead, it appeared the author scrounged up every single after-battle report, from foot soldier to officer, and transcribed them all alphabetically by name. There wasn't any chronological timeline or discussion of tactics. Only 'Infantry Soldier X was ordered to march into battle, and defeated Y mind controlled conscripts before they all vanished in a bright light', or something similar to that effect. And the worst of it all? Every report was written in Ye Olde English, which made Celestia's sister sound modern, forcing him to translate as best he could from Shakespearean to modern English.

It felt like every single second he spent on the book dragged on for a full minute, so Neil wasn't surprised that he lost track of time. Still, he managed to get a fifth of the way through before his ears picked up a door opening. His two furry radar ears perked up in curiosity before they focused on the source of the sound. Unfortunately, it was the door leading back to the queue area, not the throne room.

That wasn't the only sound they picked up, as he quickly noted an annoyed, almost raspy-sounding mare near the door. "...know I'm awesome, but if this is another noble trying to get a Wonderbolt to teach their foal how to fly, I'm gonna buck them off a cloud."

Just as she finished her little promise to thin out the Canterlot nobility, she walked into the room. She had just enough time to ruffle her wings agitatedly, then move them back into a resting position before the door closed.

After his brief glance, Neil couldn't decide what her most striking feature was. Whether it was the windswept rainbow hair and matching tail, the blue skin-tight body suit with yellow lightning bolts that showed off her lithe yet muscular body, or her focused off-red eyes that were staring right back at him. There was just something about her that struck him as familiar.

Once the mare figured out she wouldn't be waiting alone in the room, she immediately posed with her wings flared as if she were mid-dive like a falcon. "You want an autograph or something?" She asked, finishing the pose with a roguish grin.

Was that it? Had he seen her photo in a scrap newspaper or a magazine? Neil gave her a disinterested shrug, then turned back to the report in his book. Thankfully, whoever this Iron Shoe was, she kept her report short and to the point. He heard, more than saw the new pegasus hop onto the larger couch nearby.

"So, what are you doing here?" She asked out of the blue, pulling him away from his dry history book again.

"The Princess wanted to see me, and I was told it was a bad idea to no-show." He stated bluntly, debating only momentarily whether he should return to his book. Given how tedious the wait was before this mare showed up, he noted page 88 and flipped the book closed. "How about you?"

"I was in the middle of formation drills when Captain Spitfire pulled me out of practice," The mare told him, sounding quite smug about her profession or the position she held within the Wonderbolts. Or both. "She received a message from the Princess and chose me to fly over, so here I am."

"Ah," With the mention of Captain Spitfire, it was clear enough these Wonderbolts were part of the military. 'Just my god damn luck to skip over her unit in that book,' Was what he thought as he asked, "You get called in often?"

"Every now and then," She boasted, puffing up a little. "Normally, me and the girls go right in and talk to the Princess. I wonder if they're still on the train?"

Her and the girls? As in, more mares coming to barge into the waiting room? And Celestia called them often... Stained glass flashed in his mind of a scene he'd glanced over just that morning. A scene with six mares cleansing an ancient Alicorn enemy, one of them with wild rainbow hair, "Oh, the Elements." Neil felt his hackles raise unconsciously at the thought of six super-weapon wielding mares in the same city as him. "So, what world-ending catastrophe do you have to deal with today?"

"Don't know," She said with a shrug. "But whatever it is, me'n the girls will kick its flank back to whatever cave it crawled out of." Given her track record in the most up-to-date history texts, he could somewhat believe it if they were accurate.

Neil turned to his only other source of information, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this Bulk?"

"No idea," Was all he said without moving from his position.

That didn't stop the mare from appearing in front of Bulk within a blink of an eye, looking somewhat impressed. "Whoa! You can get the guards to talk? I've been trying to get them to do anything but stare for years."

"He's part of my guard detail," He told her, spooked at her sudden shift. He only saw a blur when she moved. "Goes where I go, answers questions, that kind of stuff. Maybe ask the Princess for a few?"

"I can't. You have to be somepony important staying in the castle to get a guard detail," She told him absentmindedly before sticking her tongue out at Bulk. When he didn't react, she flapped her wings and lazily returned to the couch. "Speaking of, who are you? I haven't seen you before."

"No one important," He said, perhaps a touch too quickly if her perked ears were anything to go by. "Just a stranger in an even stranger country."

"Strange?" She asked, looking at him as if he was the strange one. "What's strange about Equestria? It's awesome!"

"You need to stop a world-destroying threat every few months," He pointed out bluntly. "Does that really sound awesome?"

"Buck yeah!" She cheered, clearly boasting once more. "'Cause me and the girls always win in the end."

Neil was quick to point out that falsehood. "From what I've read, Princess Cadenza defeated the changeling invasion after you were captured."

Her only counter was to stick her tongue out at him. "Bah, we just needed some time to get free. Then we would have kicked the bug's flank."

Neil didn't believe her claim, but he also couldn't refute it with the information he had available. So, he kept silent on the matter.

Rainbow must have taken his silence as a win because she stretched lavishly on the couch before circling back to a previous topic. "You still haven't told me your name."

She was right, he hadn't. "You haven't told me yours, either."

The mare just shrugged before puffing out her chest as much as her skin-tight suit would allow. "Rainbow Dash, fastest pegasus in Equestria and Wonderbolts reservist." She said with as much pride as she could summon.

She was also looking at him with a keen eye. After a few moments, he gave her the same information he gave Celestia. "My name is Neil. Pronounced like knee-ill, not kneel."

"Okaaay," She dragged out, sounding somewhat unimpressed. Was she looking for a title or a job description? "So Neil, what do you do around the castle?"

"I read," He told her honestly, given that was his sole focus over the past two days.

That was the wrong thing to say as Rainbow groaned, "Not another Egghead."

Neil was just about to correct her assumption by pointing out he was more than a simple egghead, when the door Bulk was posted at slowly opened with the faintest creak. A guard stallion without wings or a horn stood there, his hoof pulling the door open. "Princess Celestia will see you both now."

Just the two of them? Or would the other Elements be waiting in the throne room? And if they were, why was he brought in with the group? It didn't make sense to Neil why he'd suddenly be thrown into the mix with them of all ponies.

Rainbow was the first to speak out between them as she hopped off the couch. "Are the rest of the girls already waiting in the throne room?"

"No," The guard told them bluntly. "This is a matter between the two of you and the Princess."

The answer given felt both ominous and confusing. Why would Celestia request a meeting between the three of them? He wasn't connected to this mare as far as he could tell. He couldn't remember stealing anything that wasn't Skyport crates or garbage, so it couldn't be that. Right?

After she passed by his seat, he hopped down and followed Rainbow into the throne room. He also noted, thankfully, that Bulk fell in line before the door closed so he wouldn't be entirely alone.

Looking around the throne room, it felt diametrically opposed to the rest of the castle, at least with its theme. Whereas the main halls were whites, purples, golds, and reds, the throne room was graced with shades of blue and grey and accented with much darker reddish purples. Specks of golden yellow also dotted the ceiling but as interpretive stars instead of gold inlay. If not for the golden throne with a sun, upon which Celestia sat expectantly, as well as the stained glass sun mural behind her, Neil would have thought this room would have been Luna's private throne room.

As they approached the multi-tiered dais, Neil fixated on the built-in water fountains. He could see the water overflowing from one tier to the next, but he couldn't hear it for some reason. It was unsettling, but soon enough, the earth pony guard leading them veered away and took up a standing position in front of the lowest fountain basin on the right.

Both Rainbow and Bulk were quick to bow before their Princess. Neil didn't know what he was supposed to do. He didn't want to bow to the monarch of a foreign country, but this was an official meeting. Also, given Equestria's position on Alicorns being royalty by default, was he required to bow? After glancing quickly between his companions and Celestia, who watched all three of them, he shrugged and gave her a slight nod.

Apparently, that was enough as Celestia nodded in return. That was all it took for the other two ponies to stand up again, though he caught Rainbow sneaking a look back at him with confusion.

"Good afternoon, my little ponies. I'm glad you both could make the trip in such a timely fashion." She officially addressed them as she stood up from her throne and slowly traversed down the steps. "Rainbow, I see you've kept to your training regimen with the Wonderbolts. I apologize for removing you from your practice drills, but I feel you are uniquely suited for this assignment."

Given Rainbow's wide eyes, giant grin, and vibrating wings, she was excited because she was singled out for this assignment, whatever it was.

And then, Celestia turned to him. "It's also good to see you out of your room, Neil, though I regret it had to be under the premise of a summons. Due to your current injury, I felt it was only right to start training your passive magics first. So, without further delay, here's the reason I've brought you two before me. Neil, you'll be learning the basics of flight with Rainbow Dash as your instructor."

Neil had been expecting quite a few scenarios. The two main options were a reprimand about locking himself in his room to avoid her or a lecture about how he somehow wronged Rainbow before his capture. Sudden flight lessons never crossed his mind, leaving him flabbergasted.

However, Rainbow gave him a quizzical look after Celestia revealed her assignment. "Uh, Princess... He kind of needs wings to fly. So, unless you plan to use a spell to give him wings..." Rainbow pointed out before something clicked in her head, and her pupils dilated as she looked between him and Celestia. "Or is he...?"

Neil could hear the unspoken question as clear as day and quickly blurted out, "No." At the same time, Celestia answered her question with an encouraging "Yes."

It didn't matter though. Celestia's answer seemed to hold far more weight than his own as the excited mare immediately zoomed in front of him. Her muzzle almost touched his own as she exclaimed, "You're an Alicorn and you didn't tell me? That's so awesome! Is that why you're wearing a cloak?"

Neil quickly stepped back from her sudden appearance, accidentally bumping into Bulk as he did so. "No. I wear it because I like cloaks," He told her somewhat sarcastically, now that Celestia told another pony about him.

"And speaking of your cloak Neil," Celestia chimed in, her horn starting to glow. "It needs to be removed; otherwise, it will hamper your flight lessons."

A quick flash of light sparked from her horn before Neil could even get a word out in protest. The warmth of his cloak vanished from his back, leaving only the cooler air of the throne room to caress his now exposed wings. After frantically glancing around the excited pegasus before him, Neil spotted his cloak hanging off of the decorative golden waves set behind Celestia's throne.

Celestia chose that moment to sit in the centre of the carpet, conveniently blocking the stairway up to her throne and his cloak. "I will ensure your cloak is cleaned and waiting for you in your room by the time your lessons are done."

Doing his best to ignore Rainbow's not-so-subtle 'Oh my goshs' with her eyes glued onto his wings, Neil narrowed his eyes at Celestia. "Or you could give me back my cloak, Rainbow goes back to her practice, and we all forget about this."

"Neil, as much as you might doubt me, you need to learn how to control your own body. While I would prefer to start with your magic, we might as well start with your wings due to your injury." Celestia informed him with a stern, motherly tone. "Rainbow Dash previously taught my former student Twilight Sparkle when she ascended. She's more than qualified to teach you as well."

Apparently teach was the trigger needed to release the excitement inside the pegasus mare, as one firm flap of her wings sent her feet into the air. "I get to teach another Alicorn how to fly? Buck yeah, I'm awesome!"

This drew the Princess's and Neil's attention onto her. It may have been a pony swear, but the fact that she was willing to swear in front of Celestia raised his opinion of her just a bit. A small part of him also noted how slowly her wings flapped to maintain her hover.

It took a few moments for Rainbow to catch onto what she said before the blue of her uncovered muzzle turned a bright red. She was clearly embarrassed by her outburst and promptly landed on the carpet again.

Celestia seemed to be more amused by her outburst than anything else. "And it would be best to start this lesson sooner rather than later. I can only hold Day Court up for so long."

Seeing how the winds were going, Neil took a deep breath and simply told Celestia, "No."

Celestia had stood up from her sitting position and was just starting to return to her throne when he gave his answer, which caused her to stop mid-way up the stairs. She took just enough time to look into his eyes with a look of disappointment and say, "If that is your choice, I cannot force you to learn how to fly with Rainbow Dash," Before she returned to her throne. "You are more than welcome to leave this chamber whenever you wish, but I must resume my duties sooner rather than later."

"And my cloak?" He asked, pointing his muzzle in its direction. He did his best to ignore Rainbow's look of shock as if he denied her a Wonderbolt's promotion.

"I promised it would be cleaned and waiting for you on your bed." Another quick flash of her horn, and his cloak was no longer hanging from the back of her chair. In fact, it wasn't in the room at all, as far as Neil could tell as he looked around. "It's currently waiting for you in your bedroom."

"Or You can bring my cloak back right now," He outright demanded, "Otherwise, how the hell am I going to leave this room without your asshole nobles seeing me?"

"You could go through the main entrance or the side room, respectively," She informed him. Both options would have him walking in full view of the ponies waiting in line, making them useless from the get-go. "Or you could go through either set of curtains behind me. Those lead to the balconies overlooking the garrison training grounds."

Which meant he would need to learn how to fly just to get off the fucking balcony. Or jump and maim himself, at the very least. His eyes narrowed. "Fine," He growled, not in the mood to have another drawn-out fight as he stomped around the fountains and towards the curtains. "And a happy fuck you to you too!"

With his back turned to the throne, Neil didn't notice the small muzzle gesture Celestia gave to both Bulk and Rainbow, telling them to follow before she dismissed them with a nod. Thanks to his training, Bulk gave her a crisp salute and trotted towards his charge now that he was dismissed. Rainbow stayed for a few more seconds, looking towards Neil, then Celestia, before she made up her mind and took off after the male Alicorn with a flap of her wings.

Princess Celestia sat on her throne, looking as regal as she always did while watching over the retreating forms of her little ponies. Once all three of them were through the curtains, she gave a nearly imperceptible sigh and whispered to herself, "Perhaps in a decade or two, if you've forgiven me by then."

~~~

After passing through the throne room curtains, a warm autumn breeze caressed Neil, confirming the hours wasted inside the little side room. But he paid little mind to that as he immediately went to the railing. By his guesstimate, this particular balcony was an easy three stories high, perhaps even four from the grounds, so jumping without injury wasn't an option. On top of that, there had to be fifty ponies at least doing various training activities down there. Even if he managed to land with only a minor injury, he would be mobbed almost instantly by worried ponies and likely shipped back to the infirmary.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he missed the loud flap of wings and the ripple of the heavy waterproof curtains. It was much harder to ignore the pair of hooves that suddenly pushed him against the railing, keeping him pinned. "Who the hay do you think you are, talking to the Princess like that!?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about the pony that had his cloak stolen by a petulant Princess?" He snarled back, quickly repositioning his hooves to find better leverage. Even then, he couldn't find enough force to push back against the mare even though she was hovering in the air.

Thankfully, he was quickly reminded that he wasn't alone. Before Rainbow could respond, a third body forced its way between them. Breaking her hold against Neil but also keeping him pinned against the railing by proximity. "Both'a you calm down now!"

If that wasn't enough, a fourth booming voice was added to the chaos. "Day Court shall now recommence! Bring in the next petitioner."

Seconds ticked by as Neil watched the irate mare flap her wings. She didn't say anything but didn't move to do anything else either. After some time passed for them to cool off, Bulk was satisfied enough to remove himself from Neil. Giving him some much-needed breathing room to stand up.

"Now, both of you have to work together," He told them both, looking at Neil first, then at Rainbow. "So I want both of you to apologize to the other."

"Apologize?" Neil blurted out, slightly confused. "I haven't even done anything to her."

"Neil. I don't fully understand you feuding with both Princesses," Bulk explained calmly, "But spoutin' off about it in front of others ain't right."

Neil was quick to snap back. "What's not to understand? I've been captured and forced to stay in the castle! You were there that night, if you remember," He added as a more personal snipe.

"I do." He agreed, visibly deflating a little. "I also remember a stallion in excruciatin' pain that needed medical help that night. I had to hold your flailin' limbs to stop you from hurtin' yourself even more. And I'm still here doin' my best to help you," He stated in a heartfelt manner, "But sometimes you make it really hard Neil."

... First Celestia outdoing his Dad with the disappointment gig, and now Bulk. Something about these ponies made him feel like an absolute capital-A Asshole. He took half a minute to calm down before telling them both, "I'm sorry about fighting in front of both of you."

"Apology accepted," Bulk told him right away, before turning to the mare. "Right?"

"Yeah," Rainbow offered as she slowly descended onto the balcony. "And I'm sorry for marehandling you. It's just nopony speaks to the Princess like that, so..."

"Yeah. Stranger in a strange land, remember?" Neil reminded her as he extended a single limb towards her as a peace offering.

She quickly crossed the space between them and accepted, her hoof clacking against his own before she shifted back to the main reason they were there. "So what do you know about flying?"

"If you mean flying with these things?" Neil asked, moving his hoof back to poke at his useless wings, "Absolutely nothing."

That answer confused the mare as she looked at his wings, then at him. "Nothing? Don't they teach you the basics about pegasi where you come from?"

"Besides myths and legends? Nope." He answered with a shrug. "We don't have pegasi or unicorns where I'm from."

"No pegasi? Then how do you-" She stopped herself before adopting a slightly more stern look, almost like a discount drill sergeant. "That can be later. I guess I'm starting with the basics, so do you mind extending your wing?"

That was going to be a problem. "Uh.. how?"

"By... extending your wing?" She answered as if the answer was obvious.

"Yeahhh. I haven't been able to move the stupid things since I woke up with them." He told her honestly.

This earned him a small moan of despair as the mare's hoof met her forehead. "Even Twi wasn't this bad. Okay, before I start, I need to know if I can touch your flight muscles."

"If you need to, I guess?" He asked, unsure as to why she even had to. "Why are you asking?"

"Because it would be inappropriate otherwise," Bulk said from the sidelines. "My Ma and Pa are both earth ponies, so I had to have my Schoolmarm teach me. It can get, uh, pretty intense." He admitted, looking over the balcony railing.

It was hard, but Neil still caught the blossoming red on Bulk's muzzle despite the helmet and the angle he was looking. Rainbow also had a hint of red along the uncovered portions of her muzzle for some reason, though he couldn't understand why. As far as he could tell, this was just a massage.

"Yeah, what he said. Just, uh, if you want me to stop, I'll stop," Rainbow promised before hopping a few feet into the air. "You might want to get on the ground while I do this."

Shrugging, Neil followed her instructions. Once on the ground with all four legs folded underneath him, he looked at Rainbow. "Okay. Ready when you are?"

"Okay. I know about all of this," She boasted as she flew over to him and positioned herself behind his wing joint. "I'm a wonderbolt for a reason. But I can't really remember the long names, so just focus on my hoof."

"Now, this is the something-dorsi muscle," She told him as her hoof pressed down against his back, a few inches away from the joint. Neil immediately tensed at the sudden, weird sensation that spontaneously erupted from her touch. "It's the muscle that keeps your wings held against your sides. You need to relax it so your wings can move." And as she said that, her hoof started to move in a circular motion, coaxing out a different, almost... pleasurable sensation.

After roughly half a minute, he was drawn out of the daze she put him in when a mild pain shot up from his... elbow? He swung his neck around to look, but his leg was perfectly fine. Instead, his partially unfolded wing was flopped onto the ground.

Rainbow removed her hoof from his back. "Your wing is released. Now tense the muscle to pull your wing back into a resting position."

This took far longer, a few minutes at least, as he tensed and strained various back muscles. It was odd, trying to flex something he never knew existed a minute ago. And more than once, he simply tensed a muscle he was used to, like his shoulder. Almost by mistake, he stumbled upon the newly discovered dorsi muscle. With a faint swish of feathers against stone, which felt uncomfortably coarse, his wing was by his side again.

"Awesome," She congratulated him as she moved her position to his shoulder. "Now release it on your own this time."

It took less than a minute this time, and Rainbow was there to gracefully catch his wing with her own. In fact, the feeling of feathers against his own reminded him of the feather comb, but more... Something. Enough to send a slight tremble down his wing, at least. She then took a few steps away from him while keeping hold of his wing. Extending the appendage to its full length.

She even gave his wing an appreciative look, though Neil could only guess why. Perhaps they were a good size for flying? Or did ponies find wings attractive?

"Next, I'm going to focus on the muscles to keep your wing extended and off the ground." And that's how the next half an hour was spent.

She switched from her hoof to her own feathers for the muscles in his wings. Apparently, the nerves in the wing had to be sensitive enough to feel the wind currents flowing over and adjust to any changes without conscious thought. He was skeptical, at first, until she brushed what she called a flexor muscle. His whole body was left shivering from a single stroke.

Bulk had been right. That was intense.

After that, she started from the tip of his wing and moved inwards. As the lesson went on, it became harder and harder to concentrate as she told him to tense and relax this muscle and then the next muscle. Despite that, he managed to catch another flexor and some muscles he recognized, like the triceps and biceps (though wing variants).

She moved back to his body once he could hold his wing out on his own without touching the ground. She placed a hoof against his side, underneath his wing. "This is your flight pectoral, the muscle that pulls your wing down to generate lift. Don't tense unless you want to slap your wing against the balcony."

After all the other sensations she gave him from a simple feather, that was the last thing he wanted to experience, "Got it," He told her, trying not to picture the pain from his horn enveloping both of his wings. However, it did raise a related question. "Uh, while we're on the topic, how painful would it be to break a wing?"

"It's not that painful," She told him with a shrug. "I've broken my wings a few times over the years."

That didn't make any sense to him after what he just experienced. "How does that work, given how sensitive they are?"

"Instinctual flight magic," Rainbow told him as if it were obvious. "Don't get me wrong, it still hurts like hay. Just nowhere near as bad as a cracked horn," She added, her eyes flicking toward his plastered horn.

"Now, there's one last muscle you have to know about. This is the supra-something, and it pulls your wings up." Just her touch against his wing joint sent a jolt up his back, forcing his wing to twitch upwards by a foot at least.

"Okay, you need to stand up now!" She ordered while also prodding him in the shoulder. "Once we get those wings flapping in sync, you'll be hovering in no time." To prove her point, she gave both of her wings a single, light flap that sent her up about twice his full height into the air. She lazily flapped her wings after that, keeping her position stable without any vertical change.

As he retracted his one wing, a stray but intense thought came to him. How bittersweet was it that out of the billions of people who dreamed of flying under their own power, he would be the one doing it? He always dreamed of flying for as long as he could remember. How could he not when his Dad was a S.T.A.R.S. helicopter pilot? And here he was, about to live the dream.

A dream he would have to give up if he ever wanted to go home.

He tried to force the thought out of his head as he positioned his front legs underneath himself to sit up. He succeeded in a roundabout manner as he started to stand up. He gained six or seven inches off the ground, with his back just starting to curve upwards like a cat before a new sensation caused him to stop. It was both familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time, as he felt skin rubbing against weathered marble and skin being brushed by his soft belly fur at the same time.

Confused, he glanced underneath himself to see the mottled black and grey head of an alien equine cock nestled into the fur of his belly. Multiple words flowed through his mind in an attempt to describe it. The primary descriptors were strange, wrong, national geographic, and hung like a horse. Yet he knew it was just as much a part of him as the rest of his mutant equine body. He also knew he was outside, nude, and staring at his own barely hidden hard-on.

He immediately flattened himself onto the ground, doing his best to ignore the sudden pressure and the burning warmth on his face.

Rainbow also picked up on his sudden change in direction as she called out from above him. "Hey Neil? I said stand up, not lay down."

Given his current predicament, he chose not to look up on the off chance she shifted into a more revealing position. "I heard you. I just have to... rest for a bit first."

"Really?" She asked, obviously unconvinced. "We don't have time for that. The faster you get hovering, the faster you get to flying. So up!"

"And I said no, so back off for a minute." He countered, still staring at the marble in front of him.

Bulk jumped in at this point with a comment directed toward Neil. "There's no need to be snippy with Rainbow over that Neil."

'Snippy with Rainbow over...' And then it occurred to him. With Bulk standing off to the side and facing the way he was, he had a clear view of everything between Neil's front legs. What little of his face that wasn't set on fire burned a bright red. Even his ears radiated heat as he processed the fact that he accidentally flashed Bulk.

"Over what? Is this some sort of stallion thi... Oh," Rainbow caught on from the sounds of it as she landed lightly beside him a few paces away. "Uh, I know I don't come off as the most gentlemarely, but I can, uh, help you with that. If you want, that is."

"Really? That's what passes for gentlemarely in Equestria?" He snarked as he covered his muzzle with his front legs. Of course mares offering to give free blowjobs was considered polite here. "Just... Give me a bit to settle things."

Rainbow awkwardly shuffled over to Bulk, giving him plenty of space to lay there and wait out his problem. That helped, probably, but Neil still caught whispers coming from their general direction. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but the fact that the mare kept giving him not-so-subtle glances his way told him he was the main subject of discussion.

That didn't help his embarrassment of the situation at all. But after a couple of minutes, he felt the unusual sensation of his cock slipping into his sheath. He took an extra minute to allow his blush to die off, but it never did. So, still red in the face, he slowly stood up again. He also took a second to double-check and ensure things were put away while feeling Bulk's and Rainbow's eyes watching him before fully standing.

"So what's the deal about flapping?" He asked, doing his best to divert the subject.

In a blink of an eye, any lingering awkwardness on Rainbow's face vanished as she did her best Flash impression and reappeared in front of him. "First you need to extend your wings."

He did so slowly. It was odd, not only feeling the weight of both appendages as they extended out from his body but also how they both felt balanced against one another. He imagined a tightrope walker with a pole likely felt a similar sensation.

With his newest objective complete, Rainbow spun around so that her tail was facing him and extended her own wings.

"Next, I want you to look at my wings and copy what they do. Alright?" At which point, she mimed a wing flap's entire up-and-down cycle in a prolonged, easy-to-follow manner.

For the first cycle, Neil never took his eyes off her wings. He picked out every obvious pull and release of her muscles under the skin as they lowered and raised. By the third cycle, he did his best to imitate. It wasn't even a close comparison. Where her movements were fluid, perhaps even caressing the air, his were janky and stilted.

Which led to the next ten to fifteen minutes of Neil glancing at her wings, then at his own. Rainbow had to stop to give her own critique every couple of minutes, whether he was mixing up steps in the pattern or his wings were falling out of sync. But eventually, he improved enough in her opinion to finally move on.

"Your wing beats aren't smooth at all," She pointed out, watching him go through another slow, stuttering wing flap. "But I can tell you have more power than Fluttershy, at the very least. With practice they'll even out, so let's get to practising already!"

Neil didn't match her cavalier attitude, but she was the trainer. "And how do I do that?"

She trotted right in front of him, looking him in the eyes as she told him, "First, I want you to close your eyes." That was an easy step, but the next steps he needed to follow weren't so cut and dry. "After that, focus on your wings. Every twitch of your muscles, every ruffle of your feathers, the blood pumping, all of it. Then I want you to feel the desire to fly, to flap your wings and go!"

With each step he completed, he gave her a small nod. At which point she moved to the next. However, while focusing on his wings, he felt a subtle anomaly. He thought it was a sudden spike in blood pressure the first time he felt it. But it continued, every thirty to fourty seconds as his blood pulsed throughout his wings... and his ears too, now that he was focused on it. He thought about mentioning it for a moment, but it didn't hurt, so he continued with the lesson.

Rainbow had one last thing to say when he psyched himself up to fly as she instructed. "Good. Now I'm going to count you down. Three... Two... One!"

Her forcefulness on the last number surprised him as Neil jerked his wings downwards. A small part of him expected to be met with a painful slap of his wings against the stone. Instead, he no longer felt the weight of his body resting against his hooves. Had he really done it? He felt no sudden, upward momentum like a roller coaster against his body. Though he felt a light breeze against his wings. As he contemplated this, a small but essential piece of advice from his Dad fluttered to the forefront of his mind. 'Flying blind is an easy way to get yourself killed'.

He opened his eyes at the perfect time to see the last of his upward momentum bleed away and for gravity to pull him back towards the solid-looking stone balcony. Before he could even think about flapping his wings again, his body tensed as all four hooves slammed into the balcony, and his front legs buckled. Surprisingly, by the time everything stopped, he wasn't in any pain. But he ended up in a very submissive-looking position with his face down and ass up.

He quickly rectified that, doing his best to ignore Rainbow's snorts of laughter. "Yeah, laugh it up. What's next, almighty Wonderbolt?" He snarked, flapping his wings a few times to return to the cycle he'd been practising.

After a few minutes, he regretted asking that.

~~~

Mini Author's note at the end of the chapter:

I'm proud to present:

An artistic rendition of Neil's first attempt at flying off of the palace 'balcony'.

5. Friends in Low Places

(October 19th: 5th Day Since Capture)

"C'mon Neil! Just ten more wing-ups and you're done for the day. Ninety-one, ninety-two, ninety-three..."

Neil collapsed onto his chest, his breath partially expelled by the force before he gulped in more air to replace it. His wings and back felt like they were literally on fire. To an average person, that meant they pushed themselves too far with their training. Unfortunately for Neil, Dash didn't think like an average person.

No, for her, the burn was a good thing. And the worst part of it all, she was there by his side every step of the way.

After teaching him a new exercise, she would set an arbitrary number and join him. Pushing him to the extreme while she remained barely winded.

Even now, after hours of sprints, flaps, push-ups, wing-ups, and other pony-specific exercises Neil didn't even want to think about, there was barely a hint of moisture running through her patches of exposed blue fur. Was this just a warm-up to her? That was possible. It was a much kinder thought compared to the other option. He did not want to imagine what it was like underneath the skin-tight suit if that was the case.

"Just seven more. Or are you going to lie down and give up right at the end?" She asked somewhat condescendingly, "You really want to show all these guards you're a quitter?"

Whether it was his lack of breath or a stray amount of dust from the training grounds, when Neil went to respond, the urge to cough caught his words in his throat. Still, he persevered and garbled it out near the end of his fit. "-Uck, cough, you."

"Buck me?" She continued, going so far as to get right up in his face with her best drill sergeant smirk. Given her pony features, it looked absolutely ridiculous. "Too late pretty boy. You had your chance on the balcony and passed it up. Now give me seven more wing-ups!" She jeered as she lowered herself onto the ground with her wings.

Neil remained on the ground, panting, doing his best to reclaim all the oxygen his body demanded. Still, she didn't seem to care about the dust blowing into her face. Her eyes were locked on his, challenging him. Waiting for him to lift himself up once more, against the better wishes of his burning appendages.

Deep down, as he forced his wings to straighten out, something boiled within him to prove he wasn't just another Equestrian stallion. That he was something else. Uncomfortable jolts passed through his trembling wings and up his spine as he slowly, shakily lifted himself up once more. And Rainbow was there, imitating his slow momentum, until he finally crested.

"Ninety-four!"

What should have taken less than a minute ended after six when Rainbow called out his one-hundredth wing-up. As if she flipped a switch, the hard-ass drill instructor she tried to imitate was gone as Rainbow grinned and stood up. She didn't go far, only taking a few steps before she sat down at his side and extended a wing to rub his protesting back.

"You did really awesome today! Not as good as me, obviously, but better than I was expecting for your first wing session."

Neil wasn't really listening to her words, however. He was far too focused on her circular wing motions that lessened the aches and pains along his spine. Until the movements stopped, and she lightly tapped the side of her hoof against his shoulder a few times.

"Let's get you back to your room," She offered while looking off to the side. "Um, Guard Dude, mind helping me with Neil?"

He may have been run into the ground at that point, but Neil wasn't incapable of standing on his own. He shifted his splayed legs underneath himself through sheer stubbornness to protest Rainbow's suggestion. But his wobbly legs only managed a few painfully slow inches before he felt Rainbow's wing wrap under his left side. Bulk copied the action on his right, and they both lifted him up with ease.

Once he was standing upright, the wings released. "I was managing fine on my own, you know." He pointed out, giving each of them a look that showed how much he appreciated being manhandled.

Bulk just shrugged placatingly, "You were-"

"But you were taking waaay too long." Rainbow flippantly finished for him. "So, which way are we going?"

"I don't know where my room is from here, but Bulk does," Neil told her, giving Bulk an obvious head gesture to lead back to the infirmary.

Bulk took his regular position by Neil's side, then pointed towards one of the open arches to Neil's left, leading into and out of the training yard. With the correct direction, Neil eased forward. He did his best not to flair the pain in his abused muscles and ignore the watchful eyes of the off-duty guards.

"The better question is, why are you following us?" Neil asked as Rainbow fell in on his other side, shoulder to shoulder.

"I'm not going to let my new trainee break a wing by falling down some stupid stairs." She answered as if her explanation was a foregone conclusion. "Besides, I need to know where you are for tomorrow's training session."

"Tomorrow's training session." Neil deadpanned, not wanting to believe the audacity of Rainbow's delusions. Did she expect his body to miraculously heal all the strain he underwent overnight and become as good as new?

She must have found his lack of faith humorous as she took one look and failed to stifle a snerk. "Trust me, you'll be perfectly fine by tomorrow; Twi was during her flight training."

"Well that's good; there's just one little flaw, though. I'm not her." Neil pointed out as they exited the training area into an unfamiliar and secluded area of the castle grounds. At least he recognized the outer edge of the hedge maze on his right.

"Obviously. Twilight's still normal sized, but you're a little taller than Big Mac is," She explained. He didn't know who Big Mac was, but he didn't care as he felt Rainbow's eyes tracing over his body. His tail unconsciously pressed into his rump.

"You've got way more muscle than she does, and your wing span is bigger, too. Once your control is good enough you'll be an awesome flyer- Just not as good as me."

He tuned out her following boasts as his thoughts turned inward. The most annoying premise kept a prominent space at the forefront of his mind. Did he want to become an awesome flyer as Rainbow said?

His final lesson on the balcony had been how to properly lock his wings during a glide. After that, Rainbow concluded their warm up as she put it, and told him to hop up on the railing. Like an idiot, he did just as she asked.

When she pushed him off the balcony to glide without warning, that was one of the most terrifying and exhilarating moments of his life. However, the true addiction came after the spike in adrenaline that shot through his body.

The subtle allure of wind flowing over his sensitive feathers, teasing him to alter his trajectory with a single flap, or to fold them in and increase his speed. Anything to turn that tingly little caress into a raging river of sensations. That feeling was definitely a top three life experience, right up there with the first time his Dad took him flying in a helicopter.

His body might have automatically followed the siren call if not for the terror keeping his wings locked in a glide. Seconds later, Rainbow took up the position in front of him as the lead flyer while keeping her eyes locked on him. She wasn't shy about barking more orders, either, taking his mind off his fears as she directed him to glide in a lazy circle around the perimeter wall of the training area.

Bulk, also joined the flight about five to ten feet below Neil, likely as a safety measure in case he needed to be caught.

At that point, he started to understand the joy of flying under his own power. Of course, it was just a little taste as he followed Rainbow's orders without question. The sky was her domain, and he was the untrained idiot waffling about in the air.

He locked his eyes on Rainbow's wings and immediately imitated their movements to the best of his abilities. Not long after, Bulk flew up to his right side as the ground grew closer.

Once his hooves made contact with the well-packed dirt, with only a light stumble, and his wings were no longer carrying the bulk of his weight, he couldn't repress the delightful shivers that travelled along his back. His wings also unconsciously ruffled his feathers back into alignment.

However, Rainbow didn't give him much time to revel in his newfound feelings as she started her beginners training program.

The training sucked, obviously, as he trudged along. Each of his legs and his body protested against moving with each step. But; he played sports as a teen, he was sure he could get used to a regimen again.

As long as his trainer didn't push him off the deep end like Rainbow's preferred method.

Tuning back in, Rainbow was boasting about a wonderbolt's performance of some sort. Going from a triple wing blitz, whatever that was, into a sonic rainboom. Neil didn't understand any of it, but he knew what a basic sonic boom was. The speed required for such a feat and the sheer force of the air flowing over his wings...

His wings ruffled against his sides, forcing Neil to stop and regain control of them. For being little more than an immovable accessory just that morning, they were a little too active for his tastes now.

Rainbow also must have noticed as she prodded his shoulder with her hoof. "Yeah, I'm that awesome. If you do well tomorrow, I might even show you some of my tricks," She promised.

"If I don't feel like absolute shit tomorrow," He added, catching a glimpse of her ears twitching as he looked around the grounds. Thankfully, Bulk was there to point toward the perimeter corner of the hedge maze. Once they rounded that particular corner, his view of the infirmary wing of the castle was no longer blocked by the hedges.

As they approached the main entrance, Bulk was kind enough to trot ahead and open the door for the group before taking up his original position at Neil's side. This entrance hall was smaller and less grand than the main palace entrance. But that was to be expected, given its status as a side wing of the castle. After that, it was a simple matter of following Bulk's directions back to his room.

Surprisingly, Rainbow kept quiet as they traversed the building. And despite her predictions, he didn't trip on the stairs as they made their way up to the third floor. But soon enough, the three of them found themselves at his door without any problems.

"Welcome to my cage," Neil offered neutrally as he pushed into the room with his snout. The first thing he looked at was his bed. True to Celestia's word, his cloak sat there, folded and looking freshly cleaned. Even from the door, he was surprised by the faint scent of marigolds. Not the most pleasant-smelling flower, but one that reminded him of his grandmother's garden.

"Eh, at least they let you out of your room," Rainbow said from the door, looking the room over before she walked over to the table piled with books. "Last time I broke my wing, they almost tied me to the bed until it was healed. So what'cha reading?"

"Anything that catches my interest," He told her as he approached his bed. Once there, he bit down on his cloak, confirming it was the source of the marigold wafting through his room. Not that he could do anything about it, as he set it aside on the nightstand beside his bed.

After that, he practically collapsed onto his bed. Was he filthy? Yes. Did he care at all? No. Despite his body's protest at the impact, the following ease of tension in his sore muscles more than made up for it.

A moment passed as he curved his neck upwards to keep an eye on the mare in his room.

Not that he really needed to, as she looked over the books in his current collection. "History books, Princess biographies, boring. I guess Roam is kinda cool since Daring Do and the Ruins of Timbucktu covered it a little..."

Her ramble was paused momentarily as Bulk slipped Battle for the Crystal Empire out of his armour and placed it on the table.

"Uhg, you need better interests than that," She complained as she turned away from the table. "I still remember Twilight reading those battle reports out loud on our first trip to the Crystal Empire."

He couldn't really disagree with her as he recalled his morning reading. "Did she say anything about Alicorn battle tactics?"

"Nah," Was all she offered at first as she hopped onto the folding chair. "She was focused on Sombra and his mind-controlled soldiers. Not that it mattered since we kicked his flank easily."

"I'm sure you did," He offered, having recently read that Cadenza was the one to vaporize Sombra's shadow form in the Crystal Empire. "So now you know where I am. Are you going to put me through more torture? Or do you still have time for some Wonderbolt drills?" He asked, hoping she took the second option.

"Nope. Drills ended over an hour ago, and there aren't any night flights planned," She told him, looking over him and out the window. "But there's still a few hours of daylight left, so I guess I could practice some tricks. Want to watch?"

The newly awakened, flight-addicted part of his brain was tempted. But the rest of him smothered the urge with the soreness of his muscles. "I'm staying right here until the pain stops."

"No problem. Just means I get to show off my awesome tricks tomorrow," She said, hopping off the chair and heading towards the door. "See you later." And with that, she slipped out, leaving him on the bed and Bulk positioned by the door.

After a few moments of silence, Neil addressed Bulk without moving. "I'm probably going to pass out now. Mind waking me up an hour before your shift ends?"

Given his current situation, Bulk's response was short, to the point, and as reassuring as possible. "Can do Neil."

With his impromptu alarm set, Neil closed his eyes. Even with the daylight streaming through his windows to brighten up his room, it didn't take long for him to pass into the realm of sleep.

~~~

... Only for something hard and vaguely hoof shaped to press into his shoulder and shake him lightly. "...il. Neil? Are you awake?"

Neil's first impulse was to tell off the person trying to wake him, but as his mouth rushed in before his brain could think, his articulate response was muffled. Something was clamping down against his muzzle, preventing him from speaking. His eyes shot open- Only to see his own fur.

Sometime during his sleep, his body took the initiative and curled itself into its preferred sleeping position like a dog. His muzzle was lodged between his body and one of his rear legs. He exhaled forcefully through his nose, venting his alarm again for waking up in a panicked manner.

"'M up." Neil told the pony, whose voice sounded like Bulk's, before removing his snout from the crevice it found in his sleep. He ignored the smell of stale sweat and dust that had marinated into his muzzle's fur as he craned his head towards the voice. A set of golden armour shimmering in the light of an evening sun met his gaze, forcing his eyes to blink before he focused on the pony encased in the armour, Bulk.

Bulk must have noticed since he stepped to the side and removed himself from the direct beam of sunlight. "It's a touch earlier than you wanted to be woken up, but I figured you might wanna eat before we go out drinkin'."

At the mention of food, Neil's stomach let loose its opinion with a commanding rumble, answering for the half-asleep Alicorn. In fact, now that he thought about it, he skipped lunch entirely. Whether it passed while he and Bulk were in the waiting room or Rainbow worked him through it, he couldn't recall.

But, he hadn't eaten since breakfast this morning, and right next to Bulk was the movable table with a huge sky-blue salad bowl sitting on it.

Neil still couldn't wrap his head around the concept of Alicorn-sized meals. Sure, an Alicorn was slightly larger than the average pony, but not to an insane degree. But, thinking about the sheer volume Celestia put away that first night? The image of Celestia as the Ghostbuster marshmallow monster strolled through his head, and he couldn't help but snicker.

Of course, the thought of marshmallows triggered another, lesser response from his stomach, drawing him back to the food. Sitting up, there were a few noticeable snaps and aches throughout his body. But less than he was expecting compared to earlier that day. That might have veered his mind towards another improbable tangent, that Rainbow could be right about his recovery, if not for the sight of his dinner.

Salad bowl was proven to be an apt description since his expertly cooked meal for tonight wasn't cooked at all. Large leaves of lettuce and a few other sliced vegetables topped with croutons and shredded cheese greeted him. Despite the quality, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at yet another salad.

"No worries. Gives me more time to get ready I guess." He offered as he shuffled across the bed towards his meal.

Bulk simply nodded, then turned to go back to his post. "Call me when you leave the shower; I'll do up your mane again."

Neil nodded in return automatically, despite his muzzle already being buried in his evening meal.

Now that his stomach's demands were being met, his mind drifted back to his body. He experimented lightly, shifting this way and that to bend his spine or stretch a leg. He noted the general soreness still in his limbs and then compared that to the pain he remembered earlier that day. There was a noticeable improvement, far more than he was really expecting...

Was Rainbow right? Would he be perfectly fine for more training tomorrow? He spent about five minutes contemplating the benefits of rapid recovery and the cons of seeing Drill Sergeant Dash with her smug smirk.

The audacity that any pony felt they could look threatening, given their overall adorable features. He couldn't help but snort as he shovelled another mouthful of salad with his fork...

It took a full second before his mind clicked that he was, indeed, somehow using a fork. With his wing. Just like he would a normal hand, even considering the odd angle his new limb was stretched at. Now that he was conscious about his wing, the two primary feathers holding the fork twitched and dropped the silverware into his half-finished salad. As if they were caught and throwing away the evidence.

Intrigued by his newfound ability, Neil abandoned the fork to its fate. He turned his attention to something bigger and a little easier to manipulate, if a bit more precarious. The glass of water off to the side was the perfect size to experiment with. Neil slowly extended his wings, then flexed the various muscles that interacted with his feathers.

They shifted precisely as they should have- if he was flying. Not a single feather curved as if it was a finger, though.

Was he overthinking it? He didn't have to consciously think about every little twitch of a finger or twist of the wrist. And his own wings just acted like hands without conscious thought. An odd idea struck him. Rainbow made it clear he needed the desire to fly to actually fly. That, or the desire not to fall and die at the very least. What if he desired to pick something up?

So he closed his eyes and focused on the placement of the glass. Just the distance between him, the drink, and the simple desire to pick it up. He did his best to exclude everything else but still suffered from the occasional distraction when his wing twitched. Time passed, and nothing significant happened... until he felt his fingers wrap around the cooled glass.

Shocked, he opened his eyes only to see his wing extended and his longest primary feathers wrapped around the drink. How his success came about didn't matter at the moment. The sudden endorphin rush of pride swelled up within him. He wasn't completely helpless or invalid by pony standards.

He also didn't need to pick things up with his mouth anymore! Of course, it would take some fine-tuning, but it could be done.

He immediately willed his wing to lift the glass, only for his rush to lessen as the wing did not comply with his order. In fact, that may have been the wrong thing to do, as a few feathers started to straighten out and lose their grip. Closing his eyes, he focused once more on what he wanted and desired: to take a simple sip of water.

The sensation of glass against his feathers, or fingers as he thought of them, never left. But soon enough, a cool touch against his lips brought him out of his intense focus. So close and yet so far as his wing held itself steady as if waiting for something. Going all in with a shrug, Neil parted his lips as usual for a drink, and as if it was an automatic reaction, his wing finished its task. Tipping the glass far enough for a small sip.

Desire, without thinking. A novel concept that would make his time here much more manageable. In a way, it reminded him of typing, having your fingers dance across the keyboard with both speed and accuracy, without thought. He was never good at that, so he was going to practice with this new ability of his nice and slowly, beginning with his fork.

It was an easy enough task, munching on his salad until the handle was uncovered. After that, he kept his eyes open to watch this time as he desired to pick up the fork and use it for the rest of his meal. Amazingly, he watched as his wing extended on its own, far enough for his feathers to reach the utensil and pick it up. He felt both the metal and the vinaigrette dressing on his feathers. It was one of the weirdest things he'd ever done.

'Was this how Doc Ock felt? And now I'm comparing myself to a fictional villain. Great.' At least his wings didn't have a corrupt A.I. brain to alter his mind, right? With those types of thoughts and his newfound skill, Neil slowly finished his dinner before checking the clock.

He still had an hour and twenty minutes before Bulk retired for the night and switched with the two lunar guards that patrolled around his door. There was plenty of time to wash the sweat and grime of his training and the salad vinaigrette away.

Hopping off his bed, Neil did just that. It was a strangely invigorating experience, with the hot water leeching away even more muscle soreness and his newly regained abilities to do basic hygiene tasks. He even managed to wash his hair and tail independently after picking out the least feminine scent from the various bottles.

In fact, out of the fourty-ish minutes he spent in there, over half of his time was used up by brushing. His coat ended up good enough by his standards. A single pass from spine to belly was all he needed to do, then adjust his wing a few inches over and repeat.

But his hair and his tail? Those were two annoying beasts to tame since he didn't have Bulk's finesse. He managed to untangle roughly half of the knots in his hair. The other half felt like they were accidentally ripped out at the end of his ordeal. But he managed all the same.

Now that he was looking at himself in the mirror with his damp hair straightened out, Neil couldn't help but feel like he was looking at a cross between an 80s hair band and an emo singer. His monochrome colours leaned into the style, though it wasn't his preference. Still, it was better than doing nothing as he spun around and exited into his hospital room.

A quick look at the clock told Neil he still had half an hour to go as he crossed the room. Bulk wanted to know when he was ready to go, so he might as well keep his guard informed. But first, he used his new replacement hands to properly cloth himself with his cloak. Placing it on his back was a breeze, though the clasp was still fiddly.

He had to bite down on the metal to hold it still while his left wing struggled to properly latch the clip. He knew Bulk could do it, and eventually, he persevered with a satisfying, metallic click.

Unfortunately, when he pushed the door to the hallway open, things didn't go as expected.

Bulk turned his head at the sound of the door opening and gave him a quick look over. Before Neil could say anything, he offered a firm "Nope." Neil was then corralled back into the bathroom, where Bulk touched up his mane.

The pegasus only used the same brush that Neil did, but somehow, instead of lying flat to his neck, looking plastered on, his hair came out looking more elegant and with far more volume, as if a tiny pillow was hidden underneath. In the middle of his repairs, Bulk was also kind enough to comment positively about Neil's attempt. But overall, it felt like a compliment made out of pity.

He could not deny that Bulk's styling looked far better than his own attempt.

So, with less than ten minutes to go, Neil joined Bulk in the hallway and sat down. The wait was tedious but manageable, given his recent experience sitting in storage crates all day. Before long, a bat pony mare with golden brown eyes, or thestral as they were properly called, came around the corner on his left and into view. Followed by a second, then a third, and finally a fourth.

Typically, only two lunar guards would replace Bulk for the night, so having double the amount of guards sent up a few red flags in his mind. Looking to his right, Bulk took it in stride as the lead thestral quickened the pace of her approach and broke off from the group.

"As the Sun sets to rest, the Moon rises to continue our everlasting vigil," The mare offered in a perfectly posh Canterlot accent once she faced Bulk.

And to Neil's surprise, Bulk matched it, "May your vigil be forever peaceful," Then finished with a salute.

When the mare returned the gesture, Bulk visibly relaxed his stance, and as if a switch were flipped, his entire demeanour became more casual as he turned to Neil. "Well, we're free and clear. I'll drop my armor off, then we'll head to the bar." He turned to leave, only looking back long enough to make sure Neil followed.

Neil quickly fell in behind the pegasus, though after his first step, all four thestrals fell into a protective detail around him with two guards on each side. He might have been taller than all four of his new guards, but their formation gave him the feeling of being walled in. Two of the mares were far enough to the front that their heads were aligned with his own. A quick look at the other two revealed they were only half a foot behind the front two mares and flanking his... well, flanks.

As they walked, he couldn't look back to see what the back two mares were doing without making it obvious. But the front two mares? He kept an eye on them while Bulk led the way. By the time they exited the infirmary wing of the castle, he caught the guard on his right looking at Bulk's rump twice. He could only imagine how many innocent glances he would have earned without his cloak.

Instead of heading towards the main castle, Bulk turned towards one of the stone buildings fused into the perimeter wall. The square front face was comprised of medium-dark purple stone. As far as Neil could see, there weren't any windows on the ground floor. The only way in or out was a broad, white marble stairway leading to a single set of wooden double doors.

A pair of lunar guards stood at attention on either side of the stairway. The next floor had four slim windows as far as Neil could see, but they were too thin to allow a pony to squeeze through.

Above the second floor, also melded into the wall, was a small, stubby-looking, turret-styled watchtower. If not for the fact that Bulk led them directly towards the building, Neil might have missed the three lunar guards decked in purple armour amongst the ramparts.

Why would the barracks be stationed outside, away from the main throne room? Neil thought keeping the garrison as close to royalty as possible made the most sense. But the ponies felt otherwise, apparently? And five guards for a single entrance? That felt excessive.

Bulk didn't seem to care about that as he walked up the stairs and pushed through the thick wooden doors. After a cautious look at both guards flanking the stairs, Neil followed. If he wasn't allowed in, then at least one of the nine guards surrounding him would stop him, right? None of the guards made a move to do so.

If anything, the mare on his right perked up a little as the group passed through the doors and into the castle barracks.

Why, though, Neil couldn't tell as the inside hallway felt the most... barren of all the castle interiors he'd seen so far. With only a few torches anchored to the wall that burned brightly, along with a single expansive golden tapestry that had the garrison unit's emblem stitched into it.

There were no other decorations, leaving much of the old and chipped stone walls bare. In fact, the only smoothed stonework on the inside was the floor itself, and Neil suspected that was only due to centuries of use.

Neil didn't have long to contemplate the sparse decor before a single, sturdy-looking oak door appeared. It had a simple brass door handle and a golden plate in the center. Soon after, a second and a third door appeared, revealing a decent-sized grouping down this particular hallway. As Neil passed the first door, he noted the name Lt. Heavy Metal etched into the plate with unified cursive.

Neil's best guess identified this area as the officer's quarters since only one name was etched into each plate. Either way, Bulk walked right on by. After the cluster of doors, the hallway returned to its blank, rough-cut stone walls, with only the odd torch to keep things adequately lit.

A minute later, another set of double doors appeared, with a torch on each side and a sign above it that stated in thick unified script, Cafeteria. No need to guess what that was for as they passed by. Muffled conversations interspersed with booming laughter came from behind the door, hinting at where most off-duty guards went after shift change.

It was another minute or so before they ran into another much more extensive cluster of doors that were a little more spread apart than the officer's quarters. As Neil passed the first one, he noted the change in writing, as the golden sign was etched with the earth pony rune for the letter 'A'. The next door was a 'B', and so on.

Bulk slowed as the door labelled 'H' came up and turned long enough to say, "I'll just be a few," Before disappearing behind the door. Leaving Neil alone with four lunar guardsmares in an empty hallway.

Neil opted to sit and wait since his legs still felt worn from earlier. None of the guards saw fit to copy his action, leaving him surrounded by mares that were thankfully still below head height even in his new position. But a certain amount of awkwardness crept into the following silence, which was only made worse by the two random ponies that walked by.

The first was an older, rusty red earth pony. He walked by as if a small guard detail taking up most of the hallway was a regular, everyday occurrence. But as he did so, he looked Neil in the eye with a raised eyebrow, almost as if he was questioning whether or not Neil could handle his current company.

The second was a pumpkin orange unicorn with a jaunty gait, lost in a melodious hum. The unicorn gave Neil the impression of a pony that swung for the same team, though he didn't know the proper pony term. When the stallion looked where he was going, he blushed at the large group he nearly ran into and quickly trotted past, presumably to the cafeteria.

Thankfully, it wasn't long after that when the door opened to reveal... Bulk? The stallion coming out of the room was a pegasus, and he was also the right height and build to be Bulk. But the pegasus' pinewood-coloured coat and his short, curly, dark brown hair were entirely wrong.

His surprise must have been evident since the pegasus just smiled. "The white's part of the uniform, just like gray is part of the Lunar guard." He said, sounding precisely like Bulk while gesturing towards Neil's current guard detail.

Neil knew that, at the very least. It was impractical and unethical to think about the kind of hiring practice that required only white or gray coated applicants. But he assumed that a guard had to dye themselves the proper colour. Now that he knew it wasn't the case, his mind immediately jumped to solve it. Was it some sort of mini perception ward, but tied directly to the armour?

He shook his head before he dug too deep into those thoughts. Now wasn't the time for speculation. "Well, you're ready. And I'm definitely ready to get wasted. Let's hit the fucking bar already, eh?"

Bulk nodded in agreement as the stallion exited his room and walked by the group to take his place as the lead once more.

Neil quickly followed but couldn't help but notice Bulk's emblem as he strolled by. In reality, ponies called them cutie marks, but Neil couldn't get past how juvenile that made them sound. Either way, emblems tended to match the pony's name. How or why that happened, he couldn't figure out. Donut Joe, for example, had a donut. Simple.

Bulk Order's emblem was strangely fitting since it was a simple wooden crate with the top popped off. The sharp end of a spear and the plumage crest of a pony helmet were also poking out of the opening.

It gave him something new to think about as they exited the barracks. His list of ponies with names and an emblem tied to them was small, but he worked with what he had. Parsing the information behind the name and the picture stamped to their butt as a sign of destiny.

Donut Joe was easy. His name was Donut, his mark was a donut, and on top of everything else, he made donuts in a donut shop.

Bulk was also easy to guess since Celestia mentioned his specialty in logistics. He probably dealt with shipping supplies and arms in and out of Canterlot before taking up his current position.

Celestia wasn't so cut and dry. Yes, her name likely alluded to celestial bodies like the sun. And yes, her emblem was of the sun itself. But was it just the sun she could control? History books referenced her control of the moon as well multiple times. And, if she could move both at once, what about the other celestial bodies? The stars? The very planet he was on, at that very moment?

He shivered. At least the other princess only had access to the moon, apparently. Though given Nightmare Moon's desire to tidally lock the sun and moon, it only limited her potential to kill off all life on the planet. Or she could just slam the moon into the planet like a toddler smashing building blocks together.

He shoved that cheerful thought out of his mind as they approached the main gate.

At least, he thought it was the main gate? His perspective from the Canterlot market district only allowed him to see the top half of the castle walls. The horseshoe-shaped gate they were currently approaching definitely did not reach that far up the wall. In fact, it was only a quarter of the height by his guesstimate. A third of the wall, at most, if he was generous and added the pointed gatehouse roofs into the equation.

Whether it was or not, Neil managed to pass through the gate and the six guards that stood watch without hassle. As they crossed the drawbridge, a small thought managed to worm its way to the forefront of his mind.

Maybe, if he was hopeful, he was allowed to exit the castle whenever he wanted? But, it was quickly squashed because he would still be surrounded by guards. That had to be the only reason he was allowed to leave, with the expectation of returning later.

After the drawbridge and moat sat a small nature park that only took five-ish minutes to pass through. It held a pleasant tranquillity that reminded him of the other park he frequented over the weeks. But this one had plenty of naturally running water instead of just a simple fountain feature.

And then, as if hitting a brick wall, they transitioned into the upper shelf of Canterlot. The area was reserved for the highest tier of nobility and the rich, alongside designer shops and custom boutiques, if the fragments he heard from the market were correct.

At that very moment, they were entering a high-end neighbourhood with what could only be described as miniature mansions. Each building was three or four floors high and walled off with tall perimeter fencing.

Some of those walls were topped with decorative bars, and a couple were low enough for him to peek over. Allowing him to see immaculately trimmed lawns and bushes. Nothing looked out of place, no matter how gaudy of a decoration. Even the cobblestone roads they were walking along looked premium compared to the streets of the lower shelf he lived on. It felt... wrong, in a manner he couldn't place at all.

And then there were the groups of ponies since the rich only seemed to travel in groups at this time of the day. All the mares wore fancy night dresses and gowns, usually topped with jewellery he couldn't even dream of affording back home. The stallions, what few were out then, wore full tuxedos (at least, full for ponies) and tophats.

Most of the groups stared. Whether they thought Neil might be important or a criminal under guard, he couldn't even fathom. But they usually gave a wide berth, except for the more snobbish ponies that turned up their noses with a prim and proper 'hmph!' in contempt.

Not that Neil cared.

After his fascination with the architecture wore off, he focused more on the guards surrounding him. Or, to be more specific, their reactions to the nobles. Which amounted to nothing in the end.

Bulk took notice, though, and sped up a little. It took the group about ten minutes at his increased pace to move out of that wealthy neighbourhood and abruptly halt in front of... A tall, wide church-like building with a bell tower? It had simple wood siding painted white, and from what he could see, two large arched windows on the front of the building that were... blacked out?

At the base of the steeple, but above the front doors, hung a rather large sign with two stylized brass bells mid-swing carved into the painted wood. Underneath that, written in golden unified cursive with a black outline, the sign read The Brass Bells.

Neil couldn't help but groan.

Bulk either didn't notice or care as he waved Neil towards the front door. "This here's the only bar in Canterlot exclusive to guard stallions and whoever they bring along."

Neil reluctantly followed though he noticed his guard detail coming to a halt five feet from the door. Confused, Neil stopped and looked at the guards, then at Bulk.

"The odd mare gets invited in from time to time, but normally it's guard stallions only." Bulk explained before opening the door. Muted bass thumps usually reserved for dance clubs flared out from the door. He waved for Neil to enter a second time.

This time, Neil didn't stop. As he crossed the threshold, he couldn't help but look back and notice two of the lunar guards taking up a position flanking the stairs. The other two took off into the night sky and out of sight, their destination unknown.

The inside of the building didn't feel like a bar. It was warm and inviting with its assortment of rich, varnished redwood accents and painted yellow walls. Along the right wall was a large wooden bench made of the same redwood and a polished wood counter to his left. Behind the counter sat a single forest green stallion with a book floating in his purple aura.

He had just enough time to put his book down before the front door closed, and Bulk walked up to the counter. "Private Bulk Order signin' in with a plus one."

"So good to see you again, Private, and your plus one is... Ne-il, was it?" He asked, without any hint of surprise.

Which meant the stallion was in the know for some bullshit reason. "Close enough." Was all Neil offered, as the green unicorn wrote both names down in what he guessed to be a visitor log book.

The stallion quickly finished with a flourish of his quill, then closed the book. "Very well. I hope you both have a wonderful night and please drink responsibly."

'Not if I have any say in the matter,' Was all Neil could think before the stallion's purple aura enveloped the door leading into the bar and opened it. Allowing the dance music at full volume to flow over Neil's ears without overwhelming him. It was definitely club music, but at sports bar levels instead of being set to migraine-inducing.

Neil could live with that as he closely followed Bulk into the business proper. The first thing that caught his eye was the odd C-shaped layout.

The right side was set up as a restaurant, with about ten tables that he could see and likely more that he couldn't. A few were occupied by ponies eating and chatting despite the music volume. And at least one server was walking around, wearing a frilly uniform similar to the castle staff.

The left side was more like a club, with most of the space dedicated to a large, empty, square dance floor. However, the closest corner of the dance floor had been replaced with a hole sunk into the floor, with what looked like plush pleather-like seating circling the entire area. Both walls were lined with semi-private booths, except for two doors between some of the booths on the far wall.

In the center, less than fifteen feet from the door sat an excellently crafted fourty feet wide bar that could have been ripped straight out of an English pub. Two ponies stood behind the bar. One was a cyan pegasus stallion who wore a simple tuxedo collar.

The second was a peach-coloured mare with light grey hair and a tail wearing a barmaid's uniform. Behind them, the entire wall was covered in shelves and bottles. The only exception was a single door leading into the storage area, or so Neil presumed.

In fact, Neil took a few steps into the club section of the bar to confirm the storage area ran all the way to the back wall. He also caught sight of two separate stages. A small triangular one with a single microphone stand. The second one was raised near the roof and sunk into the storage area.

The D.J., a white pony with blue hair seemed to be jamming to their music, oblivious to the lack of dancers.

Now that he thought about it, it wouldn't surprise him if the kitchens were also set up in the storage area. Either way, he slowly returned to Bulk, who was now sitting at the bar and conversing with the pegasus.

Which left Neil with the mare as he approached. "Welcome to the Brass Bells! I'm Mousey Poise; what can I get you today?"

"I'm not sure, exactly," Was all he could say as he scanned over the shelves. He wasn't expecting to see a brand he would recognize. But he at least expected something with a similarly named horse pun?

Unfortunately, their liquor seemed exempt from that cursed aspect of the world. "What's the strongest drink you have?"

"Our strongest?" She questioned before diving behind the counter. Seconds later, she popped back up with the tip of a menu booklet held in her hoof. She placed the book on the counter and quickly shifted through it until she found the drink she sought.

"Well, our iced fireball is really popular at the moment. That's got a nice, spicy kick to warm you up even with all the crushed ice." She offered, pushing the menu to him.

The picture reminded him of all the times he went to 7-Eleven after school just to cool off with a slurpee. Except the dark red, fruit-punch flavoured slush was poured into a large-looking glass instead of a plastic cup. But a drink to get wasted on? Neil was sure he'd suffer from brain freeze before any sort of buzz set in. His opinion only solidified as he looked at the ingredients list.

One ounce of spiced dragon-breath, whatever that was, for a sixty-ounce, pitcher-sized glass?

"That's not exactly what I'm looking for," He told her as he clumsily flipped through the menu with his hooves. Every drink he came across was a fruity cocktail of one sort or another, and all of them were stingy on the alcohol. Or held no alcohol at all, judging by the apple cider he stumbled upon. Eventually, he gave up and flipped the menu closed as his hidden wings ruffled in agitation under his cloak.

"Do you have any drinks that aren't mixed? Even if they're just whisky or vodka shots."

"I've never heard of whisky or vodka before, Sir," She told him apologetically before he picked up a hint of confused trepidation. "But it sounds like you want something to drink from the mare's menu?"

Neil felt a solid urge to slam his head into the bar but restrained himself. It wouldn't do to have his horn get stuck in the wooden countertop or, worse, break. "I would like to look over those drinks, Please," He offered, exasperated that even drink menus were separated by gender.

She reclaimed the stallion's menu, then ducked under the bar again. When she came back up, she held another booklet in her hoof. It was noticeably less thick and had a light amount of dust on the cover. She quickly placed it down in front of him.

"There you go Sir. I, um, also couldn't help but notice some trouble with your hooves and horn. Are your wings also hurt? If so, I could page through the menu if you want me to?"

Neil paused for a moment after being called out in such a casual manner. The greeter might have been a coincidence, but the bartender as well? "Does the entire bar know about me?"

"Yep!" She answered casually before catching his less-than-impressed look and explaining in detail. "We received a royal missive a few hours ago, which was quite a shock to the staff, let me tell you. A new, male Alicorn? Oh, I can't wait to see how some of the uppity mares around town react.

But, don't worry, we're all retired guards or under NDA, so your secret's safe with us." Once she finished explaining, she flipped over the cover to a list of thirty-some drinks to peruse.

A quick look over confirmed that he didn't recognize any of them. "Let's look at this one," He offered, as his hoof pointed to one of the first ones labelled Applejacked.

As she flipped the pages, his thoughts were elsewhere. How many more ponies was Celestia going to tell? Or was this a subtle hint that wherever he went, Celestia would forewarn all the ponies about the new Alicorn?

He had little time to think before Mousey flipped to the proper page. Unlike the other menu, which had a single cocktail per page, this one showcased the barrel-like bottle of liquor in the top half, then listed the drinks available on the bottom half of the page.

The applejacked page listed the details for five separate, proper-looking drinks. The old-fashioned, jack rose, appleshine, and applejack-rabbit were served in normal-sized glasses. Applejacked shots were also listed at the bottom of the page.

"I'll start with that one," Neil told her, pointing at the appleshine. It was a half-and-half mix with a drink called moon shine and a touch of lime juice. Whether or not it was the same moonshine as Earth, he didn't know, but he was about to find out.

Mousey flipped the menu closed and put it back under the bar. "I'll have your appleshine ready for you in just a minute," She turned around and disappeared into the back.

"Finally found somethin' you like?" Bulk asked, drawing Neil's attention away from the door slowly closing.

"Yeah, something called an appleshine," He told the pegasus before noticing the large, orange drink in front of Bulk. "What did you get?"

"A Manehatten Skyline, it's one'a my favourites from home." He explained, just before wrapping the drink in his wing and taking a big gulp from the brightly coloured straw. "How about we go find some seats while we wait for yours to finish?"

This was Bulk's home turf, so Neil just shrugged and nodded as he went along. The pegasus headed into the louder club portion of the bar instead of the restaurant side, which Neil thought Bulk would have preferred. Soon after, a wing shot out from the seventh booth away from the main entrance and started waving excitedly.

An exuberant voice followed the wing, calling above the music, which caught Neil's and Bulk's attention. "Hey Bulk, what'cha doing here tonight?"

Bulk immediately altered his course, heading towards the booth with a smile. "Showin' a friend the best place to order drinks that ain't in Manehatten. How about you two?"

The scarlet pegasus with a sky-blue mane and orange eyes was easy to spot since he was waving his wing like a maniac to get their attention. But as they got closer, the second pony Bulk alluded to came into view. He was a river blue unicorn stallion with a grey mane just a little darker than Neil's fur and green eyes.

He was resting against the red pegasus with a serene-looking smile. The calm yin, to the energetic pegasus' yang. Or more, if the close physical contact meant anything significant.

"Oh, you know us. We're either enjoying a quiet night drinking here or having a rowdy night of free drinks at Star Light's." The pegasus answered with a smooth tenor.

"You get free drinks, Brother, by teasing all the mares." The second stallion chimed in, sounding almost exactly the same, "I pay for mine at the very least."

The pegasus looked aghast at the mere idea of passing up free drinks. "But, freeeeee!"

By that time, Neil and Bulk made it to the table. "Squall Rider, Calm Water, you likely already heard about my new charge Neil," Bulk offered, waving his free wing close to Neil's chest. "Neil, these two are the most dependable pair of pansies I've had the pleasure to work with," He finished by gesturing to the open side of the booth, offering to get in.

"So you're the new Alicorn twisting the Captain's tail?" Calm Water asked as Neil slid into the booth a little clumsily, finally ending up at the back apex of the curve. Bulk quickly slipped in afterwards, inadvertently locking him in while setting his drink on the table.

"You know it's not that, Calm. The Captain was antsy before Neil showed up." Squall paused to take a sip from a similar-looking drink as Bulk's, though half finished before he snorted loud enough to be heard over the music. "I bet she hasn't had a good bucking since her promotion!"

"Squall! She's the Captain, for Celestia's sake," Calm said, pushing off his brother and settling an equal distance between Neil and his brother. "With everything that happened over the last year, Captain Armor's elevation, and now the new Alicorn, I'm sure she's just dreading when, not if, the next horseshoe is going to drop." His point finished, the unicorn took a small sip from his clear margarita-looking drink.

"If the next horseshoe is going to drop," Squall countered, shifting a few inches into the booth. "We've had enough excitement for the next century or two. What do you think Bulk?"

"I worry one day at a time," Bulk brushed the question aside before taking a large gulp of his drink. "Don't need to waste my focus on some new Tirek or Eris poppin' outta shadows someday."

Even without Bulk's introduction, it was clear that the three ponies knew each other quite well. Had they worked together before he was captured? And who was Tirek? Something niggled at the back of his mind as if he'd heard it once or twice throughout his time as a pony, but he couldn't remember why.

"Nope, you just have to worry about the first stallion that's bigger than you for once!" Squall jeered playfully, ending with a tipsy giggle before looking at Neil. "And speaking of the newest big boy of Canterlot, what's your story?"

"My story?" Neil asked, confused. What story was he digging for, specifically? His life story? That was long, personal, and something he would never tell a pony. Or was he asking for something else? "What do you mean by that?"

"Y'know, your story. How you ascended." He explained, lazily waving a hoof at Neil's hidden wings. "Celestia's student recently earned her wings by discovering a new type of magic, so how did you do it?"

"Not that you need to tell us," Calm butted in while looking at Neil. "If you don't wish to. My brother is just being nosy."

Squall didn't seem to mind as he bounced against his brother again, leaning into the unicorn's side. "How else are we supposed to learn about the new guy if we don't ask?"

"Sticking to small, safe topics like a normal pony?" He answered, while otherwise ignoring the red pegasus' antics.

"But that stuff's boring." After a few seconds of silence, however, Squall seemed to concede without a care in the world and looked to Neil. "Fine, you can stick to the boring stuff if you want to."

Thankfully, the play-by-play gave Neil more than enough time to decide what he was going to say. Going with the same information he gave Celestia would be good. "I went to sleep in my bed at home, where there isn't any pegasi, unicorns, or magic."

He gave a pointed look to each brother, respectively, and watched their reaction to his words. Given Squall's incredulous expression, that tidbit about him wasn't given to the guards. Calm, however, held true to his name.

"The next thing I know? I'm waking up changed in a back alley. You also mentioned a name, Tirek. Who were they?"

However, Squall wouldn't let him change the subject, "Forget Tirek for a moment! You only have Earth Ponies where you're from?"

"Yep." Was all he needed to say, as it was the truth. Earth did have regular ponies. He'd even had the good fortune to ride on one when he was nine. They just couldn't think or speak like the ponies in Equestria.

"Wierd," Was all he had to say before firing off another quick question. "But how would you get anything done without magic?"

Neil was tempted to tease a few advanced technologies, particularly ones he missed about home, but then thought better of it. The point of being here was to get wasted and forget for a while, not dredge everything he missed from home. "Technology. Now, who is Tirek?"

Calm thankfully jumped in before his brother could and answered the question. "The latest tyrant to trample through Equestria, with the help from a certain chaotic spirit. He could syphon the magic from a pony, leaving them barely alive while bolstering himself. Princess Twilight and the Elements eventually defeated him."

Siphon magic? To do that, a pony required a horn. Which meant Tirek had to be... "Another power-mad unicorn like Sombra?"

"Tirek ain't a unicorn," Bulk corrected, "He's a centaur from the Monstrous People's far to the south and a big one at that."

A centaur? Neil was just about to ask for the specifics to make sure they were talking about the same mythological creature, when Mousey Poise came into view with a large drink tray in her mouth.

"Sorry to interrupt your night, Gentlecolts," She apologized perfectly as if her mouth wasn't occupied with an object hanging precariously from it. She was still quick to place it on the table before she continued speaking, "I have an appleshine and a group-sized order of cheese toast here."

Bulk was quick to grab both off the tray with his wings. The left wrapped itself around the drink and passed it down to Neil, while his right placed the food in the center of the table. "I think that covers everything Ma'am."

She gave him a bountiful smile for his actions. "Thank you Bulk, you're always so helpful."

While that exchange was happening, Neil gave most of his attention to his new drink. Even in the room's low light, he could tell the tumbler full of liqour served to him was a clear, darker brown liquid, but that was the only thing he could discern.

The next step was to try it and see if this mare drink measured up to his expectations.

Despite everyone in the bar knowing about him, it still felt wrong as he extended his right wing from underneath his cloak and into view. But he ignored that feeling and focused on the drink he ordered. It also wasn't hard to notice the entire table watching him as his feathers wrapped around the small glass.

Even Mousey stayed to watch, her eyes shifting from him to the drink with a hint of worry. Why, though, Neil could only guess. Was she worried the drink would be too strong for him? Once the cool glass reached his lips, he took a small sip. He was immediately hit with the strong taste of apples, but harsher, with an added, simmering warmth of alcohol on his tongue, much milder than some of the drinks in his Dad's liquor cabinet.

Whatever Equestrian moon shine was, it wasn't the fabled Louisiana moonshine he'd wanted to try for years.

Or was it due to being an ali-bullshittery-corn? If this body ruined drinking as well as everything else... Well, there was only one way to find out. With a shrug, he tipped the whole glass back, swallowed- and immediately regretted the action a few seconds later, as the burning kick of spiced apple roiled back up his throat.

He somehow managed to keep hold of his glass during the ensuing coughing fit. Once he regained control of his breathing, he slowly placed the tumbler back on the table and slid it around the food platter towards Mousey. "Another appleshine, please."

Her eyes flickered one last time between himself and the glass before she placed it back on the tray. "I guess I'll be right back, Gentlestallions." She then bit down on the tray's slight overhang and turned to leave.

"You gonna be doin' shots like that all night?" Bulk asked after taking a sip of his own drink.

"I don't plan to," Neil told the pegasus truthfully, now that he knew what he was getting into. "Why?"

"Makin' sure," Bulk offered with a shrug before nabbing a slice of cheese toast. "Just in case I need to carry you back to the castle."

"You won't need to carry me back to the castle Bulk," Neil told his guard as the pegasus bit down on his snack. "That first taste was deceptively mild. Now I know better."

Before Bulk could swallow, Calm jumped in on the conversation. "Is that normal where you're from, to just down a whole drink in one go?"

"Not really... unless you're really drunk," Neil said with a chuckle, as the topic sparked a particular memory from high school. "I remember waking up one morning after a bush party with an almost empty bottle of pineapple sourpuss. Pineapple's disgusting, but Kris and Abby told me I drank the whole bottle on my own."

"Sourpuss?" Squall asked immediately, ears perked. "I haven't heard of that before."

"Yeah, I didn't recognize anything from the mare's menu either. Tell you what, stop me if you recognize any of these drinks. Vodka, whisky, tequila..." Neil listed everything he could think of off the top of his head, from brandy to grog, but they only stopped him twice for wine and champagne. Even beer passed by without a sound, leaving one last drink on the list. "... And cider, which I saw in the stallion menu."

"That's an extensive list," Calm noted as he grabbed a slice of toast with his green aura. "Have you tried them all?"

"Oh hell no," Neil answered with a slight chuckle. "We'd drink whatever we got a hold of. Cheap beer mostly, but if we were lucky, we'd get something like sourpuss or cheap vodka."

Squall lifted his glass up to that. "Any drink's a good drink if you're drunk enough, hehe!" He then lowered it back onto the table so he could latch onto the straw and take a long sip. "But if you want to drink with us full-time, you need to give up some vital intel." He stated, waggling his eyes.

Neil could only wonder what sort of vital intel he would be looking for and how it would tie in with drinking? With his curiosity piqued, he took the bait. "What would you like to know?"

"Nothing too exciting," He stated before taking another long sip. "I'm just wondering if you prefer plump, plush, or perky?"

Before Neil could even begin to wrap his head around the question Squall asked, Mousey appeared with his refill. "There you go!" She cheered as she quickly set down the tray and passed his drink as far as possible. His wing took it from her, pulling the glass closer until it was a few inches from the edge. "Should I stay until you need a refill?"

As she spoke to Neil, Squall surreptitiously gestured his head towards the mare, but Neil still couldn't figure out his meaning. Sure, plump and perky drew his mind to less-than-clean thoughts about a lady's chest. But he wouldn't say plush was an apt descriptor for boobs. That, and mares were not equipped in that regard, as he quickly looked over Mousey's extra fluffy chest. So, what else could it mean?

Once she finished speaking, he pushed that thought aside and gave Mousey a shrug. "No need; I'm going to take my time with this one."

"Okay. I'll be back in a bit. Or you Gents can just give us a wave if you need anything." She told them as she left, with a bounce in her step that Neil was pretty sure hadn't been there before.

As she turned to leave, Squall made one last, overt gesture with his wing outlining... something round.

It was at that point Bulk leaned towards Neil and quietly told him, "He's askin' about a mare's rear end."

Neil groaned. While sitting in his crates, he'd seen more than a few mares without clothing walk by an alley entrance. Once he got used to the idea that fur acted as clothing around Equestria, he hadn't given them a single thought. But that was always at a distance.

After his time in the castle, with maids, nurses, and guardsmares? Frozen memories he'd rather not see flashed unbidden into his head. Others were not so still. Even Mousey's soft-looking rump joined the mix before shifting into the largest-looking backside of them all- Celestia herself, when he was forced to walk behind her.

Instead of looking at the other stallions at the table, Neil leaned over and looked down at his drink. The perfect angle for his hoof to lightly smack into his forehead, thankfully to the right of his horn. A small part of his mind urged him to just forget the question and down the whole drink in one go. Again. But he resisted. "No comment."

"No worries Neil," Squall brushed the topic aside at first. "With the way you were looking at Mousey's chest, you're clearly a fluff stallion," He added with a girlish giggle.

At this rate, tonight was going to be a long night.

~~~

Hours later, with six more drinks down his gullet- or was it eight? Either way, Neil was feeling pretty good at the moment. His surroundings were just starting to go out of focus if he wasn't concentrating, and the familiar happy numbness finally settled into his head, silencing many of his errant, unwanted thoughts. Most of which were spawned from Squall's inappropriate topics.

After delivering their third order of cheese toast, Mousey Poise had just left. Neil vaguely recollected, wondering out loud if an alicorn could over-eat. He even mentioned the insane amount of food Celestia devoured in front of him and Bulk, shocking both Calm and Squall after Bulk reluctantly confirmed his statement. After that, Squall challenged him to see how much cheese toast he could devour.

After one and a half platters all to himself, he couldn't really say he was full. But he wasn't hungry at all. Neil downed the last half of his drink and looked around at his drinking buddies, "I think'm good. The rest of the toast is yours, but I, uh, gotta empty the tank, eh? Bulk, mind moving?"

Bulk nodded and quickly hopped out of the booth. Allowing Neil to slowly and clumsily crawl out. Once his hooves were back on solid ground, he stood a little straighter, masking his tipsyness. Unfortunately, a quick look around the club half of the bar revealed nothing that looked even remotely like a bathroom.

Bulk must have known what he was looking for and pointed directly behind Neil. "Turn left at the far end'a the bar, and go straight. Washrooms are past the door in the corner."

Neil nodded and promptly spun around slowly so he didn't make himself dizzy. He stopped just long enough at the bar to drop off his glass and request another refill from Mousey. Something she was more than happy to do, and she hopped to it right away as he continued onwards.

As he passed into the restaurant half of the bar, the volume of the music cut in half immediately, making Neil pause mid-step. He hadn't been expecting that at all. But then again, it made a weird sort of sense. Who would want loud, pounding dance music while enjoying a meal? After a few seconds he continued forward, keeping the dark wood swing door Bulk mentioned in his sights.

Once Neil pushed beyond that, he was met with a small, sparsely decorated hallway. On his right were two more swing doors, each with a sign. He was fairly sure these were the bathrooms, but he couldn't understand the signs themselves. The left door was a simple teardrop-shaped oval, while the right had two symbols. A curved 'L' that was flipped and laying on its side, with an oddly shaped 'U' to the right.

But he didn't focus on either of those signs for long. At the end of the hall was another door, and above it was a sign he immediately recognized. It was a red exit sign, which was almost exactly the same as the ones from home.

Immediately, his plan to escape popped into his head. He was alone, without guards to watch him for the first time in days. They were all at the front door, waiting for him and Bulk to leave. This was precisely the opportunity he was looking for!

... Once he finished in the bathroom, of course. His bladder was feeling quite full at the moment. In his haste, he picked the closest door to the exit and quickly took care of his business.

When he returned to the hall, Neil gave the exit door and the surrounding area a good look. As far as he could tell, there wasn't any fire alarm or any other type of alarm. There weren't any apparent locks either. It looked like a simple, if sturdy wooden door. He put his hoof against it and applied a small amount of force. The door swung out easily, without any type of latch to stop it.

Looking through the crack, it was obviously dark outside. Allowing the moon to bathe the surrounding buildings in faint moonlight. But even then, he recognized the colour of standardized cobblestone used throughout the alleys of Canterlot. He was back on his home turf, in a manner of speaking, as he slowly pushed his neck through the door.

Looking to each side, the alley was completely empty except for a few trash bins. Most importantly, there wasn't a single pony in sight. Good. He could just slip away, hunker down, and eventually escape Canterlot. The old castle where Nightmare Moon reappeared could hold some ancient, forgotten knowledge on Roam.

It was a better shot at getting home than listening to gossip, at least, or looking at a restricted list of pre-authorized books.

As he slipped out the door, and the gap expanded to allow his body through, an odd squeak emanated from... the door? The surrounding area? Neil froze, and his hackles rose. Something felt off, but he couldn't explain what, exactly.

He looked up only after a second, thorough look to the left and right. His eyes first caught sight of some loose strands of hair hanging through the metal grating of a fire escape above him. Following that, he quickly passed over the rump sitting on the metal and all the exposed parts before finally focusing on the slitted, golden brown thestral eyes looking down at him. "Do you require any assistance, Sir?"

Before he could even answer, two more silent shadows swooped over the roof of the building to join the first thestral right next to the fire escape.

Neil pounced on the first idea that came to mind and did his best to sell it. "Just, uh, taking a moment for some fresh air."

The thestral's fanged grin widened. Whether that was a good sign or a bad one, Neil couldn't tell. But the mare took just enough time to look at the hovering guards and give them a sharp nod. They immediately landed, their hooves clacking against the cobblestone flanking each side of the door. He vaguely recognized the guard on his left by her blue eyes. She was the same mare that kept stealing glances at Bulk's ass.

A few seconds later, the mare on the fire escape also swooped down. It looked like she was going to land just like the other two, loud and hard, but at the last second she halted her descent with a broad sweep of her wings. This left her hovering about a foot off the ground, at eye level. "Well? Will you join us for some cool, refreshing air this lovely night, Sir?"

Neil was caught in his own lie. Whether it was the buzz of the alcohol in his system or her knowing smirk, he also felt compelled to meet her challenge as he stepped out of the doorway and into the alley. He barely heard the faint rub of the door against its frame as his only escape fully closed behind him.

"So, you all know who I am," He said slowly, trying his best not to slur any of his words. "Who are you three?"

"You may call me Sergeant Amber Sight, Sir. May I also introduce Private Ice Fang," She gestured a hoof towards the blue-eyed pervert, then to the guard on his right with gray eyes. "And Corporal Silent Wing. Still stationed at the front door is Private Night Wish."

"Ah. Well it's good to meet you then, Amber, ladies." He offered, giving each mare a slight nod. "It's also good to have real names instead of stupid nicknames to go by. I hope I didn't, uh, interrupt anything?"

"Only another quiet, yet beautiful night given to us by our Princess," She offered before her perfect Canterlot accent slipped a little, hinting at the odd accent he heard the night he was captured. "But is not the night also full of surprises?"

Neil could only shrug since the only experiences that came to his foggy mind were bad ones during his Equestrian stay. "Only bad ones over the last few months for me."

"That is such a shame," She began, touching down lightly on the cobblestone without a sound. "But, tonight perhaps is the night to change such luck?"

"Besides getting shit-faced drunk, I don't see how I can." Neil flat-out told her, hoping she wasn't suggesting anything amorous.

"A good night drinking with a friend is always one way, yes." She offered before she held her bat-like wing straight up to the sky. "Another, I find, is to sit, relax, and enjoy the stars in the sky. That is what I was doing, before your... not unexpected escape attempt."

Neil immediately tensed at her words but didn't say anything, allowing Amber Sight to continue.

"Normally, it is the Corporal Silent wing and Private Night Wish one night," She explained, raising her right wing. She then dropped it to raise her left, "Then myself and Private Ice Fang the next. However, upon hearing of your desire to leave the castle, the Sun Princess asked for your nightly detail to be doubled."

At that point, she raised both wings together with a slight shrug. "Add to that your first reported escape attempt, and here we are, enjoying the night together, yes?"

Given the fact that his horn hasn't been bashed in so far, it wasn't his worst night spent with a guard. But he couldn't truthfully say he was enjoying that exact moment of the night. "So what happens now?"

"That is up to you, Sir. We may escort you to the front door so that you may rejoin the nightly festivities with Private Bulk Order. Or, we could remain here for however long you may wish..." Her ears perked up, and her eyes shifted slightly to look at the building behind him. "Or the Private may have become worried, to the point of looking for you."

Seconds after her statement, the back door slowly opened to reveal not Bulk's but Squall's muzzle poking out. "Well hello there, Gentlemares. I hope you don't mind if I borrow Neil for a moment?"

"If he wishes to go with you, then be our guest," She answered before looking Neil straight in the eye. "We shall remain outside until your night of festivities has finished. Until that point in time, enjoy yourself very much Sir." Neil gave her a nod, which she, in turn, gave a nod to Corporal Silent Wing and took off, with the second thestral following right after her.

This left just Ice Fang and himself in the alley, with Squall giving them both a confused look as if things weren't what he assumed they were.

Either way, Neil did not want to be left with the pervert of the thestral group and reached for the door with his wing. Squall was also quick to step aside as he entered the bar again. "So, what did you need me for?"

"Well, Bulk was starting to get a little antsy, aaaand I needed to get a refill. So I offered to help ya out," He explained before brushing up against Neil's side. As they walked down the hall, he quickly put a red wing over the Alicorn's cloak-covered shoulder.

"And it's a good thing I did. One of my bunk mates recently got with a bat pony. Don't get me wrong, their wings are exotic-looking. But those fangs? He said she nibbled him with those in allll the wrong places. And you were gonna try your luck with three at once?"

"Are you saying...? Of course you are. I wasn't going to fuck any of those mares," He told his companion vehemently while noting how the wing on his shoulder partially jerked away when he swore. "I just wanted some fresh air, and they're my guards."

"Whatever you say," Squall offered as he trotted ahead to push open the door. "Your refill showed up while you were away, and mine should be ready by now, so let's go!"

Neil shrugged and followed behind Squall at a sedate pace. If he really wanted his drink so bad, he could run ahead. Instead, the pegasus cycled between looking back and fluttering his wings impatiently as they crossed through the restaurant section.

Once at the bar, Squall quickly ran ahead to pick up his refilled drink in his wing. He also exchanged a quick word or two with Mousey that Neil couldn't hear above the music. Still, a few exaggerated brow wiggles told him Squall was probably flirting with the barmaid.

"... Anyway, now that the slowpoke made it back, we're off to enjoy our drinks." Squall finished just as Neil came up to his side.

Mousey had a few parting words of her own as they left. "And don't forget to call if you need a refill, Gents!"

However, as they crossed into the club section, Neil was reminded of something odd. "Hey Squall, what's with the second stage? Is it for karaoke night or something?"

"Karaoke?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused. "I've never heard of that before. But the small stage in the corner is for heartsongs. Y'know, if a stallion is feeling sad, lonely, or depressed and just wants to get it all out?"

A pony just singing out their emotions? That reminded him of the musical he almost suffered from a few weeks ago. "Isn't that when everyone is compelled to sing along?"

"Sometimes," Squall conceded without a care, "But those are usually big, emotional celebrations. They're pretty fun most of the time."

Fun. Sure. Only if you grew up in a world where ceding control of your body to an unknown force was normal. "And ponies go up there and do it voluntarily?"

"Yep," He answered bluntly as they neared their table.

Neil shook his head and did his best to ignore the shivers going up his spine. At least the bar was pretty much empty of patrons tonight. Otherwise, he'd have to keep a strict eye for any ponies willing to initiate one of those heartsongs. "I'd have to be stupid drunk to even think of doing that."

~~~

It might have been two or three hours later. It was so hard to keep track of time without a clock. Not that Neil would be able to tell the time without putting his muzzle right up to it. Everything was blurry. Hell, the only reason he could tell his drinking buddies apart was due to their colours. And even then, three separate pairs shared a colour out of the six.

It was very inconsiderate of the Bastards, but being the excellent drinking companion he was, he put up with it.

"I wash shaving up to learn how to fly, y'know? At leasht, one way to fly," Neil told the group as he zoomed his half-empty glass through the air in front of him with daring feats, sound effects included.

"But I thought you said no pony had wings?" The two red blobs asked, sounding far too drunk for his own good. Neil idly wondered if Mouseley was going to cut them off soon? "You can't just fly without wings!"

"Hells yesh we can!" Neil immediately countered while also putting his drink down. "Sho, let me tell you alls how to fly without flappy wings, shokay? You start with, ah... yoush have trains, right? Okay, think of a reeeeeally long train car. Like my body." He offered as he climbed onto the table. They needed to see his body clearly for the demonstration, right?

"Then put a really long, flat rectangle on each shide, but shwooped back kinda like ma wingsh," He extended both wings out from under his cloak and held them out at the... relatively correct angle, with only a little wobble. "Then have an engine on each shwoopy fake wing shucking air in and pushing it out back. Add in shome compla... complica... fanshy physhics, and wala, flight!" He decreed, pointing a hoof forward... And suddenly, he felt as light as air, given the ticklish green aura covering his belly.

"Is that the way you were learning to fly?" Calm asked, drawing Neil's attention to him and the fuzzy green and blue blur growing out of his head.

"No, it washan't. My Dad's a pilot. He flew hella... helio... Choppers. He flew choppers. Think of a shmall, bubble-like shape with a big, sharp fan coming out the top that shpins really fasht. Yeah, my Dad's a hero!" He told them all as he was tipped over, back into his seat by the fuzzy green aura that disappeared immediately.

"He took sheriously injured peo... poniesh from shmall towns to bigger shcity hoshpitals. I wanted to fly with him, sho bad. But now I can't," He admitted to himself and the others around him while a sudden, deep sadness filled his chest. He wanted the fuzzy green aura back to replace the sad.

"You've got wings now," One of the two red blurbs said, though Neil couldn't tell which one. "Why can't you fly with your Dad?"

"I can't get home. And if I did?" He asked, more to himself as his vision became even blurrier and warm all of a sudden. "The govort... Governen... Libs or Cons will call me a fucking freak and cutsh me up into teeny tiny piecesh, jusht to shee how I work!"

The next thing he knew, he was lying on the table. But he couldn't understand how or why. Just that he almost tipped his drink over... Or maybe he did. His face and chin were feeling pretty damp.

Something pressed against his shoulder, and he was sure it was one of the Bulks since it was a tan hoof. It felt... comforting? But it wasn't enough. "I jusht wanna go home. But no, I get locked up inna cashtle inshtead."

He also didn't want to feel like this anymore. Drinking helped fix emotions, right? Or was it drinking that made him like this? He couldn't remember, but he felt his wing fumbling around the table until it found the glass near his head. Encasing the entire glass with his whole wing, he carefully brought it to his lips and found it empty.

He set the glass down with a drunken moan of despair and looked to the tan blobs, "Refill Pleashe."

One of the Bulks took the glass but set it aside in the blurriness beyond his vision. "Neil, I'm thinkin' you've had a mite too much as it is tonight."

He was immediately reminded of Abby. She always told him when he drank too much, and she was usually right. But then she moved out of town to university. And there was no way in hell she could see him here. Not that he wanted her to see him as a freak of nature. Those blurry thoughts increased the sad feeling in his chest. But if he couldn't drink it away, then what?

And then it hit him. The stage. Squall said he could use that to get rid of the sadness. And if he was the one singing, he couldn't be sucked in to sing along, now, could he? It was a perfect idea, as he turned to the Reds. "Shinging helpsh, you shaid?"

"It does," They both said. "Sounds like you could use it too, Bud."

"Then I'm gonna shing," Neil declared, putting one, then both of his front hooves onto the table. For a moment, he contemplated climbing over the table. It would be the easiest way to get out of the booth without making anyone else move for him. But then he saw both Bulks slide out for him, giving him enough room to stumble and slip out of the closed-in seating.

Once free, he took a good, long look around the empty club. He vaguely recognized the bar, with its blurry, multicoloured bottles, and the main stage, with its flashing club lights. But he couldn't pick out the smaller stage from the otherwise hazy background. Going off his fuzzy inner-compass, he chose a direction and started going.

"Hold on, I got this Bulk," Squall said from behind him, and the next moment, one of the reds was pressing into his side. Diverting him more to the right, towards another corner. It was that corner! Not the other one. Stupid memory.

With one of the Squalls guiding him, it didn't take long to get to the stage while avoiding the comfy-looking giant hole in the ground. Why anyone would put something like that near a dance floor, Neil would never know.

But, that wasn't important, as he was now climbing onto the stage. For some reason, Squall stayed off the stage, and he was now joined by the other red blob. Odd, Neil didn't remember being guided by both of them. But he was on the stage, ready to remove the sadness choking him!

He stumbled towards the microphone as the overwhelming beat of the club started to fade away. Neil paused and looked to the main stage. Were the D.J.s staring at him? He couldn't really tell at this distance. Was it a good thing if they were? He didn't know, but he was so close to his goal that it didn't really matter one way or the other.

Once he reached the all-powerful artifact, he planted his butt on the stage for some much-needed stability. It wouldn't do to fall in the middle of his song, now, would it?.. After a few seconds, he lazily blinked and looked at the only multicoloured booth. Shouldn't he have started by now? Or was something wrong?

There probably was. He wasn't a real pony, after all. You probably needed a proper pony soul to start one of their stupid songs. But no, he was just a foolish human lost in another world... He needed a drink.

That was the only way he knew how to get rid of his emotions. The better, human way! Instead of whatever he was doing up here. He suddenly didn't want to be there, didn't want to be in Canterlot or Equestria at all. He wanted to be home but couldn't, bringing another resurgence of sadness and despair to overwhelm his strained emotions...

And then he heard it. A slow, mournful-sounding string. He had no hope of placing the instrument in his current state, but the second instrument sounded like a synth piano, adding a hint of hope to the otherwise depressing rhythm. As more instruments joined and the volume grew a sudden clarity came over Neil's mind. Words and thoughts strangely formed in his mind, giving him a direction to take if only he was willing to do so.

That was the whole reason he was up here, right? The moment he accepted, a second, more mellow-sounding string instrument joined along as he felt something take over.

~
When I fall asleep, I see it in my dreams,
The answer of it all.
~

Words were coming out of his mouth, but he wasn't the one in control. It would have been terrifying if not for the knowledge that these were his words and that this was his song, straight from his emotional core.

~
Just blend into the crowd, but I'm compelled to stand out,
And answer to the call.
But everything is changing, the winds that I've been chasing, got me suffocating,
To live up to the name.
But what did I get into? I can't seem to break through, playing by the old rules,
But you changed the game.

There's so much I can prove.
And I don't wanna lose!
~

With a deep thrum, drums finally joined the medley. Triggering an increase in speed and excitement from the accompanying instruments, as well as Neil, who was singing.

~
All the songs have been sung, but I don't hear a sound.
All the noise is the same.
All the air in my lungs, I'll finally let it out.
Let the wind show the way; the wind will show the way.
~

Seconds passed as the uplifting feeling from the previous chorus bled away. The song scaling back down to its more depressed base, except for the added deep, ominous rumbling from the drums.

~
Lying wide awake, everything is changed,
A stranger in my skin.
Broken from my past, fallen from my path,
A poison deep within.
But what if it all breaks down, struggling for air now, need to find a way out,
Fighting through the pain.
But what did I get into? I can't seem to break through, playing by the old rules,
But you changed the gaaame~
~

For a second, the instruments cut out entirely. Giving a slight glimmer that the song might have finished, only for Neil to continue singing alone.

~
There's so much I can prove.
And I don't wanna looose~
~

As if they were summoned by Neil himself, the more uplifting string of instruments came back with force.

~
All the songs have been sung, but I don't hear a sound.
All the noise is the same.
All the air in my lungs, I'll finally let it out.
Let the wind show the way; the wind will show the way.

Oh-oh-oh-oh,
The wind will show the way,
Oh-oh-oh-oh.

The bridge might burn down,
But my spirit won't burn out...
~

As the final word faded from his lips, so did all the instruments in the background. Whatever took hold of Neil released him from its fluttering wiles while leaving him just a few seconds of pristine clarity. Two whole seconds, which he used to look at the booth where Bulk and Calm were seated and gauge their reactions.

From what little he could glean, Bulk was watching him intently, though he couldn't guess why. As for Calm, the unicorn was holding a piece of cloth or a napkin in his aura, and he was using it to dab the bottom of his eyes? Was what he'd just done really that sad? He didn't think so, but as he thought back to the words, things started getting fuzzy again.

Perhaps his last good idea, before the blanket numbness of being drunk settled in, was to jump from the stage while he still had some coordination remaining. He managed to stumble only a little when he landed and bumped into Squall's side, which held firm. Or trigger his trap, as both wings wrapped around Neil's larger form.

"You sounded like you needed a hug, so here's a hug, Bud."

For the first time since he came to Equestria, he didn't really mind the contact. In fact, Squall was right. He could really use a hug. So he leaned into it and wrapped a wing around Squall as well. "Thanksh," Was all he could say as his happy drunkenness finished settling in for the night.

Author's Note

Well, it's the end of another chapter. The end of training for the day, more castle exploration, and a bar scene that I had no idea how to write since I don't drink or visit bars!

Going to be completely honest here. While doing the chapter formatting here on Fimfiction, and re-reading it one last time, I can't help but feel that something is off with this chapter. Like it's 97% there, but I don't know what that last 3% is. Really hoping this wasn't the chapter to kill the story. XP

As a heads up, I'll be doing Nanowrimo starting today, and ending on Nov. 30th(or whenever I hit the minimum required 50K). At which point, I shall continue on with chapter 6! So I'm still expecting a December chapter, but likely around the middle/end of December. We'll see how it goes.

An interesting tidbit. After posting this chapter, AAA has officially become my longest story(Beating out Just Luck, a Nanowrimo concept that was 62.5K words).

Also, the song is a light edit based on this one from Nerdout. I'm an idiot when it comes to song writing, and most of the verses tied in with Neil so much there really wasn't much to change.

Editor: Dat_Random_Fur <--- Send love, or guns, or something American-ish.

6. Morning Glory

(October 22nd: 6th Day Since Neil's Discovery)

Given how well the morning had progressed, Celestia couldn't help but smile. Like clockwork, she felt the pull of her Sun an hour before dawn, which woke her up from another set of pleasant dreams constructed by Luna. Even a year later, every night felt like a blessing compared to the intermittent nightmares she had persevered during her time alone.

In return, she always used that extra hour to prepare a veritable feast of breakfast foods for her sister after a long night of work. The first few weeks had left the castle staff a little strained with her actions. It was unbefitting for a pony of her station to do something as menial as cooking a meal, more so when she had a professional staff to do it for her.

But in time, they understood it was a way for her to inadvertently provide for, interact with, and share time with Luna. Time that was marred yet again by another perceived failure on Luna's behalf.

It was a minor ongoing problem that had recently popped up, though it might still prove to be a blessing in disguise. Either way, Celestia could tell it vexed her sister to no end every night. That problem went by the name of Neil, or to be more specific, his dreams.

Every single morning since he was found, Luna would vent her frustrations at his wispy, almost malformed, reoccurring nightmares. They both knew the likely cause. It was the chaos magic circulating throughout his system.

Over the last week, Luna had admitted more than once that she could see faint images at the edge of his dreams. Even rarer, she sometimes caught momentary glimpses of the themes haunting Neil. But, her ability to manifest the nightmare into a cohesive structure so that she may enter?

Every attempt to touch his wispy, almost malformed dreamscape with her magic caused it to collapse as if flour were sifted through a sieve. Then, his dream would either reform instantly, creating an entirely new vision that soon devolved into another nightmare. Or it would remain shattered, forcing Neil to rest with nothing but a black void for company on his nightly journey.

It was no different from Luna's few attempts to contact Eris through a dream. Luna's dream magic and Eris' chaotic nature were wholly incapable of mixing. A shame, really. Despite Eris' nature, Celestia could only imagine what her dreams must have been like.

Besides that little hiccup, breakfast went smoothly as court gossip and other idle topics were discussed. The main subject of discussion that morning, the royal delegation from Yakyakistan, was also why she had missed their shared meal yesterday evening.

Not only had Princess Twilight and her friends kept Ponyville relatively intact, but the delegation was so impressed they even revoked the traditional declaration of war after each visit! Soon enough, however, breakfast ended as it always did, with a sleepy Luna stuffed from a freshly home-cooked meal and teleporting straight to her bed.

Before Celestia could even attempt to do any cleaning, the castle staff were already doing their jobs. Robbing her of another small but meaningful pastime. With a smile and a 'thank you' to her staff, she stood up from the table and leisurely left the room.

She hardly noticed as her assigned guards for the day, Lieutenant Hammer and Major Bow, took up positions beside her as she walked. It was quite unfortunate that no matter how nice the day, there was always work that needed doing. In this case, a pile of ever-growing paperwork required her signature and sorting by the end of the week. With a full hour before the start of today's Day Court, perhaps it was best to get a start on it now?

Without thought, her hooves took the well-trodden path toward her private office while her mind focused on the various aspects of her schedule for the day. As far as she knew, today's workload would be fairly easy. Raven had yet to mention any ambassador or dignitary meetings scheduled for today. If everything worked out, she could also earn some free time after her court duties. If everything worked out.

After ruling Equestria for centuries alone, the predictability of the average minor emergency popping up or a petition becoming far more complex than it initially seemed? It usually happened twice a week, robbing her of her valuable scant free time.

The thought of teleporting briefly fluttered to the forefront of her mind to save a minute or two of her precious time. Still, in the end, she disregarded it. She barely had the opportunity to walk freely nowadays, let alone fly, and she was almost to her destination. Just one last corner and her office came into view.

Most ponies wouldn't expect the vast majority of her work to be done behind such plain, unassuming doors. But after centuries of opulence and extravagance, a small touch of normalcy did wonders for her well-being.

In the blink of an eye, she directed her magic towards the door handles and opened both doors moments before she would have run into them. As was routine, both of her guards peeled off as she crossed the threshold, taking up positions at either side of the door until she decided to leave.

Everything was as she left it the previous night, except for two essential things. First, as was the regular routine, Raven sat on the single chair in front of her desk, enjoying her morning tea. She was immaculately groomed, as was expected from her personal assistant.

Still, no matter how good her ability to hide her emotions, Celestia already noted multiple signs of stress. The subtle roiling of her pink levitation spell as she daintily hovered her almost empty teacup and the stiffness of her back hinted at an interruption already in her daily schedule.

The other important change was her pile of unfinished paperwork. Every morning, it would grow, of course. But today, sitting at the very top, were two unusual-looking items.

One was an envelope sealed with blue wax. Off the top of her head, Celestia only knew of three ponies in Canterlot that would choose such a colour. Judging by the illustriously decorated and fragrant envelope, her choices narrowed down to a single stallion. Had Blueblood uncovered yet another conspiracy by the nobles to slip tax breaks through the Lunar Court again?

The other piece of paper, a long, thin bill that seemed to be curling at the ends, looked far too mundane to be placed on her desk.

"Good morning, Raven," She greeted as the doors closed behind her with a light click. "I see you've met with Blueblood this fine morning. May I ask what sort of plot my Nephew has uncovered today?"

"The Prince never mentioned anything of the sort this morning, Princess," Raven said after finishing her tea. "No, today it's a luncheon invitation."

"An invitation?" Celestia's curiosity was piqued immediately. It was uncommon for her Nephew to send her a formal invitation. Those invitations were reserved for events Blueblood believed she needed to be at. Brushing aside the bill with her telekinesis, she picked up the envelope and turned it to view the front... And to her mild surprise, it wasn't addressed to her. No, this invitation was addressed to Neil of all ponies.

For a moment, she wondered why her Nephew felt the correct way to send Neil an invitation was through her. Afterwards, she remembered who else was in the hallway during their fateful first meeting and smiled. "It appears Neil is going to have a very eventful luncheon. Do you think my Nephew will introduce his full entourage?"

"Do you expect him to do anything less than a full first impression?" She asked, her skeptical tone hinting at the answer they both knew.

That did not bode well at all, knowing how volatile Neil's frayed attitude was. "Do you think it would be improper of me to join? Just to make sure events do not erupt into arguments that would ruin their time together?"

Raven's professionalism broke as the mare gave an apologetic look, spelling doom for that hopeful idea. "That's not possible, Princess. Tax Break has scheduled a lengthy presentation just before noon today, so your lunch has been rescheduled for one o'clock."

Celestia passed her desk and sat in her centuries-old, worn, but very comfortable chintz chair. "Perhaps we could reschedule?"

"Unfortunately, we've already rescheduled his presentation once already," Raven answered her with a commiserating head shake. "To do so a second time in a row would be very rude."

Celestia sighed as she placed the invitation on her desk. "If that is the case, then I hope my Nephew can show some form of restraint."

"...I'll draft the funeral arrangements after lunch, then." Raven offered seriously, almost causing Celestia to snort as her telekinesis shifted to the bill.

Knowing what Neil and Private Bulk had planned to do the night before, she had been expecting such a thing. And knowing her own tolerance towards the occasional glass of wine or champagne, she had expected Neil to build up a long list of drinks. What she was surprised to find out as she reviewed the bill was the amount of drinks containing hard liquor and the overall cost written at the bottom.

There wasn't a chance in Tartarus of making a dent in her personal account. Still, the total was far steeper than she was expecting. It almost equalled the cost of his cloak, a quality article of clothing from a high-end boutique!

As much as she would have loved to get started on her paperwork, a much more pertinent task needed her attention. Reluctantly, she stood up from her chair and shuffled the envelope and the bill under her wing with her magic. "It seems I need to speak with Neil this morning. I'll see you at Day Court in forty five minutes, Raven."

"Of course, Princess," Raven nodded while hopping off her chair. "Your full schedule will be available for your perusal before Day Court begins."

"Thank you, Raven," She said while opening the doors for her most trusted aide. Celestia followed closely behind the unicorn.

As she exited her office, she noted the confused side glance from Lieutenant Hammer due to her earlier-than-expected exit before her guards slipped into their positions at her side. She mentally chuckled at that. Spontaneity was one of the few things that kept life interesting for an old mare such as herself.

Raven Inkwell veered to the left towards the throne room at the end of the short hallway. Knowing her, she was likely to drop in unannounced and help direct preparations for today's court session. She, on the other hoof, turned right, back towards the dining hall she came from. Even further along that path was the bridge attaching the infirmary to the castle's central section and Neil's temporary room.

But then she paused mid-step. As much as she would have enjoyed the walk, she had much to do and insufficient time to be appropriately rationed. She gave each of her stone-faced guards a slight glance before offering a warning. "Prepare yourself; I'm about to teleport all of us."

By the time her words were said, her horn had already accumulated the magic required to cast her spell, and that's just what she did. In a flash of gold, their surroundings changed. Gone was the extreme opulence from over one thousand years of doting ponies, only to be replaced by simpler yet still extravagant purple stonework and the main entrance to the Castle Infirmary.

She gave each of her guards another, more motherly scan this time. She knew few ponies were accustomed to the feeling of teleportation, most of them being well-trained mages. Most ponies felt disorientated or nauseous from the sudden shift, making them unsteady on their hooves.

Her current guards were standing firm, however, even if their last experience with teleportation would likely have been during boot camp. The Major even gave her a nod to affirm his status as she finished.

With time ticking away, she pushed open the swinging double doors to the infirmary with her magic and entered. The transition back to white marble, with simple wood accents, felt calming as she looked over the room. The wall to her right had three arched windows, allowing plenty of morning light to bathe the waiting area. There were another three sets of simple double doors, each with a little golden plaque which read staff only, surgery, and patient recovery. Finally, the front desk was nestled between the employee lounge and surgery doors, which she approached.

Usually, when she entered a section of the castle unannounced, there was an underlying frantic excitement or a sudden jolt to look proper and professional if they were caught reading or filling out paperwork.

The mare behind the desk, Head Nurse Prim Rose, instead looked at her expectantly as if she had been waiting for an appointment. This expectation threw her off just a tad, but she didn't show it as she smiled at the Head Nurse. "Good morning, Nurse Rose; I've come to visit Neil. Are visitors allowed?"

"Of course you may, Princess. Also, there's a package here addressed to you from the Element of Laughter." The Nurse informed her as she placed a colourful, confetti-laden box on the counter with a bow on the lid. She also set a card down next to the package.

That would explain Nurse Rose's lack of surprise. But, why would Pinkie leave this here when she visited Ponyville the previous day?

As much as Celestia enjoyed the decorations on the box, she whisked away all the loose confetti with her magic. Having little pieces of paper lingering within the infirmary wouldn't do. Next, she picked up the card in her magic and opened it.

Inside the card was a simple message written in coloured pencils with child-like enthusiasm.

To: Princess Celestia
Open box in case of an Adorable Emergency!
From: Pinkie

Odd, but not nearly the most outlandish experience she ever received from a party pony. That crown belonged to Sir Cake-A-Lot and the gala festival of five fifty-eight... Never before had she woken up from a party only to be covered in so much delectable cream. Taking both items, she placed the box onto her back for safe transport and the card under her left wing to keep it separate from the bill and the invitation.

"Thank you, my little pony," She told the Head Nurse with an appreciative nod. "On the off chance I don't see you on my way out, I hope you have a wonderful day."

As she turned to head further into the infirmary, she heard Head Nurse Rose call after her, "You as well, Princess Celestia, and don't let Neil give you any of his usual attitude!" That was the hope, though she expected some venting no matter how much she disliked his choice of vocabulary.

Her magic captured the pair of swinging doors labelled patient recovery and gently pushed them aside, allowing her and her guards to pass through. After that, the route was easy to follow. All she had to do was walk along the outer wall and bask in all the natural sunlight allowed into the hallway by the multiple windows facing out towards her beautiful Sun.

She turned the corner two minutes later, expecting to greet Private Bulk. Instead, she paused mid-step as she caught sight of Sergeant Amber Sight of her sister's Lunar Guard, standing at attention beside Neil's door.

Both confused and intrigued, she regained her momentum and walked up to the Thestral. "Good morning to you, Sergeant Sight."

The mare immediately gave a strict but formal nod in return. "Sun Princess."

Sergeant Sight may have been alert, but Celestia could still see the strain in her eyes. However, she didn't know whether that was from tiredness or the bright sunlight. "I fear this may sound rude, but I was expecting to see Private Bulk standing here this morning. Nothing happened to him or Neil last night, correct?"

"Correct, Princess. Both Neil and Bulk returned to the castle unharmed." Sergeant Sight informed her in perfect Canterlotian. "Neil is in his room with an entourage, Bulk included."

Hearing that Neil and Bulk returned safely to the castle allowed a moderate amount of relief to flood her system. However, that froze the moment Sergeant Sight mentioned an entourage.

Immediately, Celestia's mind went back to the conversation she had with Bulk while Rainbow and Neil worked on his flight training exercises. Bulk implied he would take Neil to the Brass Bells for a relaxing night of drinking and stress relief.

Did he take Neil to another bar, instead? Or did they change locations after running up the bill? If so, why wasn't there a second bill to greet her? Unless this entourage offered to pay for their drinks?

Is that what Bulk meant by stress relief? She couldn't deny the faint twinge of emotion at the audacity of another mare taking advantage of either stallion in such a state. It was unbecoming of a mare! Not only that, but she would need to do some damage control.

She had to find out how many of her little ponies now knew about Canterlot's newest Alicorn and see if they would be willing to keep it a secret. And she would only do that by entering his room and talking with these mares...

"Thank you for telling me, Sergeant Sight," She offered while covering her emotions with a calm smile. She did, however, stand a little taller. "As the Moon wanes in the morning light, the Sun shall illuminate the darkness. Go and get some rest, my little pony."

Sergeant Sight's eyes widened, almost comically, before she saluted. "May your vigil be forever peaceful."

Celestia returned the salute and allowed the tired mare to take off and fly down the hall.

Once the Sergeant was out of sight, she turned to Lieutenant Hammer, "As of this moment, you are to guard Neil until relieved by Private Bulk Order. At that point, you may return to my side in the throne room. Is that acceptable?"

"Of course, Princess," He answered professionally, breaking away from her side and taking up the Sergeant's recently vacated spot.

With that minor complication taken care of, she faced the door to Neil's room and steeled herself for the after-effects from a night of stress relief. At the same time, Major Bow took up his position on the other side of the door.

She only hoped the ponies inside hadn't woken up and resumed having sex. That was always an awkward experience, watching ponies in various states of arousal breaking off from their lewd activities to offer bows or curtsies. With one final, subtle, calming breath, she opened the door.

Her nose was assaulted with the scent of heavy drinking, a potent mix of both alcohol and salt lingering in the air. But the pungent smell of estrus and semen was missing entirely from the room. Hopeful, she stepped into the room... And had to keep down the urge to coo at the sight before her.

Sleeping on the oversized hospital bed designed for a Minotaur, was Neil and three other stallions. A rare sight to behold outside of the stallion barracks. Neil was at the bottom of the pile, with his wings and rear legs haphazardly sprawled out while he slept on his side.

The other three stallions positioned themselves around the Alicorn, whether intentionally or not, to protect him during the night. She immediately recognized Bulk's pine-coloured coat, as his large size covered Neil's entire back end like a muscular blanket.

A red wing belonging to Corporal Squall Rider covered Neil's shoulder from behind as the pegasus curled against his back. She spotted Bulk's head using Squall's flank as a pillow. Finally, Sergeant Calm Water protected Neil's front, acting as the little spoon to Neil, who held the blue unicorn as if he were a large plush.

She also spared a small amount of attention to note two hospital tables in the room. The first was parked out of the way, up against the wall beside Neil's nightstand. It had Neil's breakfast on top and two grass-green pills beside a glass of water, which she recognized as hangover medication.

The second table was pushed into the northwest corner of the room. It was laden with multiple history texts and Princess biographies.

'Open box in case of an Adorable Emergency!'

She failed to stifle a giggle as the random thought, coloured with Pinkie's energetic voice, popped into her mind and drew her back to the cuddle pile. She didn't know how a party pony like Pinkie, or any party pony, could predict such an event? Nor did she ever want to know, lest she lose one of life's few remaining joyous mysteries.

Heeding the thought's advice, she slipped the lid off the box with a few deft feathers to reveal... a journalist's camera stored and ready to use. She quickly fished out the compact device and positioned it in front of her muzzle with her wings. She wasn't an expert by any means regarding new technology. That was usually relegated to scholars, court mages, and Twilight.

However, over the years, she'd seen hundreds, if not thousands, of reporters using this style of camera. She quickly emulated their movements and captured the whole scene in the frame of the lens.

Once satisfied, she pressed the red button on top, and a mechanical click sounded a fraction of a second before the flash went off.

Sergeant Calm's back leg jerked, but none of the stallions noticed the bright flash. It was tempting to take a second and a third photo at different angles just to cement this adorable moment for her personal photo book(and Pinkie's, once Neil went public as an Alicorn). But, she also didn't want to abuse his privacy too much, so the camera returned to its box with the lid on top.

Now came the part she disliked, reprimanding. Raising her voice to a mild shout, she called out, "Good morning, Gentlestallions!"

Three of the four immediately jolted back to consciousness, but Neil didn't. His response was to give a loud, snort-like snore in defiance of her call as he slept on.

All three guard ponies quickly assessed their situation, and once they spotted her, they acted on their training. Only two ponies managed to hop off the bed and stand at attention in her presence. Sergeant Calm wiggled against Neil's grip and gave up shortly after with a feeble attempt to salute instead.

"Now that three of you are awake, good morning, my little ponies. If I recall correctly, Sergeant Calm Water and Corporal Squall Rider are off duty for today," She offered, looking at the two brothers before focusing on Calm, "So you have no need to stand at attention."

Celestia watched as two of the three awake stallions dropped their stance immediately. Neil must have also felt Calm relax in his sleep because he unconsciously pulled the blue unicorn into his chest fluff.

Sergeant Calm opted to go with the flow and snuggled into Neil's chest, which was adorable in its own right. She was so very tempted to take out the camera once more. But she couldn't. She still had to address the remaining stallion, currently awake and at attention, with a perfectly good clock on the wall behind him.

"Private Bulk Order, I dislike doing this, but I have to ask. What time is it?"

"I currently don't know," He stated, his first words allowing his charming country twang to bleed through before correcting himself to Canterlotian, "My apologies, Princess."

"Apology accepted. However, despite how admirable it was to cover Neil's flank from prying eyes in his sleep," She started, noting how his thigh covered his groin from view at this angle. However, two steps to the right would allow her to see how well he stacked up to or exceeded other stallions if she were so inclined. But she didn't. Multiple nurse reports revealed that mares staring at that specific area of his anatomy triggered an adverse reaction for unknown but likely cultural reasons. That was the hope, at least. "I still expect you to report at the proper time for your shift. Sergeant Sight was forced to cover for you while you overslept."

"My apologies, Princess, it won't happen again." He stated with conviction.

"As much as I believe your word, I have doubts." She admitted, looking directly at Neil. "However, I do not blame you, not really at least. Judging by the bill I received this morning, Neil enjoyed himself last night. All I need to know is, did it help him, and should this become a regular occurrence?"

"Permission to speak freely, Princess?" He asked, to which she gave him a nod. "It, uh, took a while, but Neil eventually told us some stuff. It doesn' feel right sharin', though, since it's private. Just, uh, know that he drank a lot."

Squall chose that moment to add his own two bits while watching his brother's situation with a grin. "If any other stallion drank that much, I'd say they have a bit of a problem, Princess."

"Good to know. I do not wish to jeopardize your friendships everypony. If the trip to the bar helped, it helped, despite all of the bits spent." She informed all three stallions before turning to Bulk with a warm smile. "Now, I believe you should make yourself presentable for the rest of your shift, Private Bulk."

Understanding his dismissal, Private Bulk saluted, a gesture she gladly returned. He quickly left the room after that, and she wouldn't be surprised if he was already guarding the door once she left the room.

Once the swinging door stopped, she addressed the remaining two guard stallions. "Calm Water, Squall Rider. Neither of you are required to stay while I talk with Neil. But if you do, I would like to offer you both an opportunity afterwards."

"Well, Calm's stuck," Corporal Squall joked while sticking out his tongue at the elder sibling. "So I guess we're staying Princess."

Celestia was about to say something else but held herself as Neil started to shift. At first, it was a simple wing flutter, followed by a long stretch of his back legs, and finally, a not-so-subtle nuzzle into Calm's mane... "Abby, your hair smells... different?" He mumbled. A second later, the Alicorn took a long, audible sniff, then sneezed, bringing himself another step closer to consciousness.

Even with the mention of an unknown mare named Abby, Neil's unconscious actions were adorably cute as she watched the full-grown stallion act like a sleeping colt. Calm's reactions only enhanced the picture, but after Neil's sneeze, she took pity on the blue unicorn.

Magic swelled around her horn and the smaller stallion at the same time. She fully enshrouded Calm in her magic before releasing it all in a single short-range blink. In a dazzling flash, Calm found himself standing beside his brother, who couldn't hold in his mirth any longer and laughed.

It was likely a combination of the flash, Squall Rider's laughter, and the loss of his cuddle partner that finally dragged Neil into the waking light. And a likely hangover, judging by his pained groan soon after.

Neil's now free hoof immediately went to his forehead as he attempted to open his eyes. "Who fucked with my head?"

"I believe that would be the excessive amount of alcohol you drank last night, Neil." She informed him with her best bedside manners.

He paused, then attempted to open a single eye this time. He failed to keep it open for long, but in the few seconds he held it open, he focused entirely on her. She could even tell the moment he recognized her from the dilation of his pupil only a fraction of a second before he closed his eye again.

She couldn't understand why, but his first reaction to her presence was always one of fear, and today was no different as he hastily rolled onto his belly. That wasn't his only sign of alarm, as his ears folded towards the base of his skull. Even his wings joined the display for the first time as they flared out to cover his entire back half.

"What are you doing in my room Celestia?" He asked, both clearly in pain and without patience this morning as his hoof lightly massaged one eye, then the other.

"While I would like to say I came for a social visit, the truth is I'm also here on business. I have a few things to give you, Neil, starting with these," She told him as her wing unfurled, holding Blueblood's invitation and the bill between separate pinion feathers.

It took Neil a few seconds longer to open his eyes and keep them open in the brightly lit room. But once he was able, a tempestuous wing shot out and grabbed them both from her feathers. She was mildly impressed by how far his wing training had advanced. However, the effect of his emotions on that control was just as disconcerting.

Neil quickly looked at the invitation and just as quickly flung it onto the bed in favour of the bill. He used both wings to straighten out the slim piece of paper and started reading each item down the list.

"Before you ask, you have no need to worry about the bill. The Brass Bells has already been paid through my personal account."

Despite his hangover, he still had the mental faculties to read and ask questions simultaneously, "And that means what, exactly? That I owe you money now?"

"No, you don't owe me a single bit. In truth, the Brass Bells is a place for guard stallions to relax away from the hustle and bustle of the castle, the staff, and most importantly, myself. Even I'm not allowed to enter the Brass Bells without an invite." She explained before catching Squall Rider's eyes light up at her last words. Knowing precisely what he was planning to do, she continued, "And if I was offered an invite, I would probably decline to respect the privacy of my guards."

As Neil reached the end of the bill, he fed the paper through his feathers until he reached both ends, then folded the entire thing in half, twice. He made the bill's length much more manageable as he placed it on the nightstand while revealing his dexterity, which was impressive for a former Earth Pony. "And the point?"

"The point is that I am unable to spend my money there, normally." She said softly, spelling out the point for him. "I enjoy the fact that you can spend it for me and support my retired guards through your patronage."

"... Does that mean I can leave the castle and go drinking now?" He asked calmly after a pause, though his perky ears betrayed the hope behind his request.

A request she was more than willing to give, within reason. "I could be persuaded to allow you out of the castle if you take some friends with you and drink responsibly."

It would have been mildly comical, watching his ears go up then down if he were an average pony. Instead, a small well of melancholy settled in her chest as his ears angled back aggressively. To think such small concessions brought up his guard once more...

After allowing him time to think in silence, his eyes eventually narrowed with determination as he answered, "Fine. Do I just tell you when I'm leaving? Or do I have to schedule that in advance as well?"

"A few hours in advance should be plenty of time to assign a proper guard detail." She informed him, focusing on his eyes and ears as he considered her offer.

"Fine," He eventually conceded before pushing on. "Is there anything else?"

"Two quick things, and then I'll leave so you can enjoy your breakfast and get ready for the day. First, your invitation," She told him, pointing the tip of her wing at the envelope.

Neil didn't even look at it as he answered. "I'm not going to join you for a luncheon."

"I regret to say I'm busy with Court during lunch today, so I'll be unable to attend. That is an invitation from Prince Blueblood, my nephew. You can tell by the compass insignia pressed into the blue wax seal." She hoped that her lack of attendance might have sparked an interest. Instead, mentioning her nephew's royal title raised his eyebrows with curiosity.

"Prince Blueblood?" He asked immediately, "You mean there's another Alicorn stallion?"

"Prince Blueblood is a unicorn," She corrected him, though she didn't want to put out his spark of hope. "Though he dearly wishes to ascend into the form of an Alicorn one day. To be precise, he is the direct descendant of Princess Platinum, the last ruler of Unicornia."

"So he's a prince of an old, frozen-over kingdom," Neil groused. "Why does he want to meet with me?"

"I have no idea. However, if I were to guess, my Nephew is excited to meet another stallion. Being the lone prince surrounded by princesses can be quite tiring for him at times," She concluded, not knowing exactly why her nephew offered Neil an invitation.

Intentionally or not, her answer seemed funny enough to earn a snort of laughter from Squall Rider. This earned him a look from everypony in the room, and the pegasus bashfully looked aside after meeting her eyes.

Still, Squall's levity did the trick since Neil gave the envelope a second, more inquisitive look.

"And the last thing?" Neil asked bluntly.

She pointed to the table beside his nightstand. "If you look over to your breakfast, you'll see two green pills. Once you take them, they should clear up your hangover in five to ten minutes."

He didn't look, but she caught his right eye twitch once before his eyes hardened. Slowly, he turned to face Squall and Calm before asking. "Is she telling the truth?"

Squall Rider was quick to jump to her defence. "Of course the Princess is telling the truth. I've got a bottle of 'em at home, so I recognized them when I woke up."

"He needs them at least once a week as well," Calm added, earning a small whap to his side from his brother's wing.

"Okay," Was all he offered for their assistance before returning to her. "And since that was the last thing, you're done now?"

"I believe that was everything I needed to cover," She admitted before giving him one last chance to express some of his grievances, "Unless you have something you wish to tell me?"

"Nope," Was all he said to her before turning to Squall and Calm. "I'll ask Bulk to send a message the next time I go out drinking unless you send a message to me first."

It looked like Squall was going to answer, but Calm beat him to the kick. "We'll work something out. Until then, we should leave and let you have your breakfast, in peace," He said, that last part clearly directed at his younger brother.

"Yeah, see ya later Neil!" Was Squall's parting words as they both started walking towards the exit.

Celestia had a feeling her farewell wasn't going to be reciprocated. However, it was still the polite thing to do, "I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, Neil."

He remained silent as she exited the room.

Once outside, she noted three guards standing in full armour outside Neil's door. Two of them quickly fell into place by her side, leaving Private Bulk standing at attention in front of the door.

She gave the pegasus a quick but courteous nod and a polite smile. Afterwards, she turned and walked towards Sergeant Calm and Corporal Squall, basking in the sun pouring through the closest window. Once within five feet of the whispering duo, their conversation paused as they looked at her. Calm was exactly as his name implied, whereas Squall was curious.

"Gentlestallions, about that opportunity I mentioned..."

~~~***~~~

Neil watched and waited for the door to close as it swung back and forth. Each apex of the door's swing felt it was in sync with the throbbing pain originating from the inside of his skull. However, the moment it fully came to rest was when he allowed his anger and frustration to vent into the empty air.

"God damned Celestia..." He growled under his breath as he hopped off his bed and closed the small distance between himself and the table holding his breakfast. "Of course, she leaves the fucking hangover meds until last. Probably did it intentionally, too."

After all, any politician would love to catch their opponent on a bad day. Without thought, he clamped down on the two green pills with his lips, twisted his head back, and released his hold, allowing gravity to do the rest. A few gulps of water afterwards, and Neil looked at the clock.

Five to ten minutes from now... He would have preferred Bulk to be there and confirm what they were, but he didn't really believe the pills were some sort of poison. Celestia had a week so far to slip something into his food if she really wanted him dead. On the plus side, if this did kill him, at least he'd never have to suffer any more hangovers.

With his fate sealed, one way or the other, he turned to the large salad bowl on his table. Today's breakfast appeared to be porridge, but this time, it was coloured a light shade of purple-blue, which sparked a touch of curiosity within him.

He gave the mixture a small sniff and pinpointed a berry-like sweetness to it. Almost like a pie, though he couldn't say exactly which kind. In the end, he hopefully settled on blueberry, hooked his nose under the table, and dragged it to his bed.

It wasn't blueberry, though the taste was still exquisite like most pony food. Neil took his sweet time to savour the meal. Not to say that he was lax, however, as he also took the opportunity to practice his fine wing control. He fed himself with his right wing, but at the same time, his left wing was stretched over the bed as he slowly went over the only simple pen trick he knew with a fork.

His han- wing-eye coordination was far from perfect since he dropped the fork multiple times. It still amazed him how flexible his feathers could be. When dormant, they were just regular straight feathers. However, bending them in such a way should have snapped the shaft.

But, it didn't. In fact, he may have been a bit too focused on possible evolutionary paths to allow such movement, without magic, that it caught him by surprise when his spoon came up empty. He promptly fumbled his form and dropped the fork. Again.

Pausing his wing training for the moment, he looked to see the entire salad bowl was more or less empty. As well, though he could still feel and hear the blood rushing along his ears, the thrumming pain he associated with it was also gone. A quick glance at the clock revealed less than ten minutes had passed.

With breakfast now finished, Neil's thoughts shifted towards his daily obligations. He was getting sick with his current path of nonstop research. It was always either a book so dry that simply dropping it would make the tome crumble into dust, or it was written as a whimsical, happy-go-lucky fairy tale. So far, any books he found with a rock-solid, professional foundation were scarce.

He also had the threat of training hanging over his head if Rainbow came through on her promise from yesterday. However, she didn't specify a time or place, giving him a little wiggle room to sneak out of her training regime if he wasn't in his room. Whether or not she searched the entire castle for him, he placed the odds at 50/50.

Which finally brought him to the gaudy-looking envelope lying on his bed. Celestia had painted her nephew as a lonely stallion looking for another peer willing to complain about the Princesses. But something about Squall's reaction painted a different story. One that he couldn't quite figure out.

Picking up the fork with his right wing and the letter with his left, he pried the wax seal loose with the silverware. He momentarily pictured a vaguely blue, pompous-looking stallion decrying his lack of decorum and proper respect with such an act, which earned a snort.

If Blueblood was an elitist bastard like he imagined, he'd just walk out immediately.

After placing the fork on the table, he pulled out the invitation which was little more than a card. The entire cover of the card was taken up by an embossed image of a gender-less unicorn rearing up on its hind legs. The style reminded him of a flag image or maybe a British family crest. Either way, the crest was unique because the unicorn was encircled by jewels and medieval weaponry, hearkening back to when the three tribes were more warlike when dealing with each other.

Flipping the cover open, Neil was half expecting something as fancy as the cover. Instead, he was greeted with simple but illustrious hoof? writing, written in excessively loopy unified script:

Salutations Neil,
It is with great pleasure that I, Prince Blueblood Platinum, Direct Descendant of the Platinum Line, Heir to the Throne of Unicornia, and Equestria's Unrivalled Arbiter of Aristocratic Excellence and Peerless Prowess, do request the pleasure of your company at our esteemed and private luncheon on this day, the twenty-second of October, the year of our Princesses 1001.

The guard stallion assigned to your personal service should know the way to my private dining hall. If not, reveal this invitation to the nearest castle staff and request their assistance.

In the bottom right corner sat a detailed blue ink stamp that looked like another compass, almost identical to the compass in the wax seal.

Neil flipped the card closed. Whatever grand impression this Blueblood was trying to make, he failed. Aristocratic Excellence and Peerless Prowess sounded like an elitist asshole to him, though more of the posh, British variety. On the other hand, this was an otherwise unknown royal who might give Neil some insight into the Princesses. And he could avoid the torture of his upcoming flight training.

With a relieved groan, Neil stood up on his bed and took the time to stretch out his limbs and work out any remaining kinks in his muscles. After that, he hopped off and made his way towards the door.

If he was going to act stupid and attend this lavish luncheon, he needed a second opinion. And the only opinion he remotely trusted in that fashion was Bulk's if the stallion was at the door like he was supposed to be. His memory was hazy after a certain point. Still, a glimpse here and there showed the pine-coloured pegasus had been just as tipsy as he was later on in the night... Or was that Squall?

~~~

When it was time to leave, Neil had the inclination to believe that the private dining hall had meant another room set aside within the palace. Perhaps a space just as grand as Celestia's but not nearly opulent enough to upstage the princess. That assumption started to crack when, instead of taking him over the skinny bridge directly connected to the palace, Bulk escorted him through the ground floor entrance hall of the infirmary wing.

From there, Neil followed as Bulk matched his speed with all the other guards patrolling the grounds at a sedate pace. When confronted with the same fork in the path from the day before, Bulk opted to go with the other option, which slowly expanded into the main walkway alongside the palace.

He didn't mind the warmth of the daytime sun heating up his cloak and, by proxy, his back. Or the gentle fall breeze that kept him relatively cool everywhere else. But the constant shimmer of gold from all directions was another reminder of how trapped he was inside the castle.

He was almost looking forward to entering the palace, even if that meant walking through the main entrance.

Then again, as they neared the grounds before the large double doors, he spotted a small quartet of fancy-looking, well-dressed mares. It was clear they spotted him and Bulk when they walked through the gate and when the first mare gestured with her muzzle after speaking, drawing the attention of the other three. However, the four mares were polite enough to wait for him to be a certain distance away before fluttering their eyelashes enticingly.

For the second time that day, Neil tried not to think about the swooping, voluminous curls that Bulk had given him when the pegasus offered simple styling with his mane and tail.

Sadly, he might also have to deal with the group since their speed increased to intercept him and Bulk as they entered through the main doors.

This was when his assumption about the luncheon was proven wrong for the second time, as Bulk walked by the large doors without a glance. Neil looked at the open doors and the inviting interior just beyond before mentally shrugging. He was slightly tempted to look back as well, just to see whether or not the mares were put out or perturbed at their missed opportunity, but opted not to.

Putting the group of mares aside, this turn of events also left him in the dark. Where else would they go for this luncheon if not the main palace? Taking stock of their current trajectory, the path continued onward, following the wall of the palace until it curved to the right.

At that point, the path branched off in two different directions, though both stayed the same width which was odd. The right branch curled around the wall, and disappeared. By what Neil knew of the grounds, he was sure that path would eventually lead to the training grounds?

The other branch continued straight at first, but it slowly curved to the left in the distance and vanished into a copse of short-looking oak trees. Above which, he could see a vast, low-sloped manor house roof, far larger than the manors constructed just beyond the castle gates.

Neil allowed the silence to last another minute between them as he listened for anyone following closely behind them. Once he was almost sure the mares hadn't followed, he gave a surreptitious glance back to confirm they were relatively alone when he asked, "Where exactly are we going?"

In response, one of Bulk's wings quickly unfolded and pointed to the mansion enshrouded in trees. "The building over there is the ancestral home'a the Platinum line, called The Platinum Estate."

Meaning they were almost there as the castle wall vanished from his peripheral vision, and they transitioned onto the left branch of the cobblestone path.

For curiosity's sake and his mental map of the grounds, Neil looked to his right. In the distance, jutting out of the palace wall, was Celestia's large balcony leading off the throne room. Below that was the decorative wall encircling the training grounds. He couldn't see them, but he knew just beyond that was the hedge maze.

The estate he was just about to visit was the only missing piece to his mental map if he also discounted the multiple buildings he'd seen built into the wall, similar to the guard barracks.

It wasn't long before they breached the treeline and slipped onto the naturally shaded estate. Looking around, the trees were thick and healthy, and the leaves were still a vibrant green even with the slight autumn chill. It appeared, at first, as if he immediately transitioned into a forest.

But, the longer he looked, the immaculate, almost manicured appearance of the trees and the perfectly positioned bushes revealed it to be little more than a facade. A show of wealth to put on for guests and hide the upcoming eight-foot tall perimeter wall and the polished golden gates, which were conveniently left open.

After passing through the two-foot thick marble wall, they passed another ten or so trees before the forest abruptly stopped, revealing a relatively large clearing mostly taken up by a majestic, ancient-looking medieval-styled stonework manor that could have been ripped straight out of Britain.

Neil's eyes danced across the large structure, hopping from one oak-framed window embedded into the stone to the next. Eventually, however, he settled upon the entryway, which had one of the two large doors open.

Standing in the doorway, dressed in what appeared to be a pony version of a cyan ball gown, was a mare that struck him as vaguely familiar. Though he couldn't remember off the top of his head seeing a mare with that particular shade of pale pink fur. The styled blue mane with a pale pink horn poking out of it hinted at a memory. Still, it was when he locked onto her sunny yellow eyes, no longer full of shock, that he remembered.

She was the maid from the day Celestia captured him. A small bubble of stress popped as relief spread through his chest. It was good to see nothing terrible had happened to the poor maid, though he was a little confused about why she was here. If she was here as a maid, wouldn't she be required to be in uniform? Or did the prince require a more lavish dress code?

At the very least, he was thankful that the ball gown covered her entire rear end. There wouldn't be any accidental flashes today if the whole staff was dressed like that.

"Good morning to you both!" She greeted as they reached the small stairway leading up to the doors. "I'm Dainty Doily, and I'll be escorting you to the dining hall today. Do you have your invitation, Sir Neil?"

He did, and the envelope that held it was currently stored underneath his right wing. However, instead of traversing the stairway immediately, Neil casually glanced to his left to gauge Bulk's reaction.

The pegasus guard was as stoic as all the other guards they had passed on the way here, without any hint that something was off.

That was good enough for Neil as he looked to Dainty again and ascended the steps. He was still wary, however, as he reached the top. The mare in front of him had not only been informed about him as part of the castle staff but also saw him without a cloak that day. Still, he was worried about being seen by a stray pegasus flying overhead or something else while he was in public.

Once he was within reach of the door, his wing ruffled about underneath his cloak, causing multiple small tremors in the fabric until he managed to pinch the envelope between his two largest primary feathers. After that, he pushed half of it out from under his cloak, ready for Dainty to take with her telekinesis.

It took a few seconds for her to clue in. Still, the moment she did, the envelope was surrounded by her tingly, sunny yellow aura as it brushed aside his feathers and created a buffer against his chest. Without further delay, it zipped the short distance between him and Dainty.

She quickly extracted his invitation and gave the front only a second long glance before nodding to herself. "Thank you, and welcome to The Platinum Estate," She curtsied and stepped aside simultaneously. Allowing him more than enough room to step inside. "Prince Blueblood has been eagerly awaiting this meeting with you and was quite pleased to find a space this early in his schedule."

Neil slowly entered the grand hall as she spoke, with Bulk behind him. Looking around, he didn't know what to focus on first.

For the first time, his hooves stepped on a well-polished, but not at all slippery wooden floor. At a glance, he guessed it was oak, maybe even from the same trees planted outside, but he couldn't be sure. Also, unlike a human-made floor, there weren't any gaps or seams that he could spot. It was like the floor was one giant slab of wood, including the knots and other imperfections that added character.

The first three feet of each wall, which wasn't covered by fancy hand (hoof?) crafted wood furniture, was clearly built up from the same stonework that covered the outside. It may also be connected to the foundation itself. After that, however, the stone somehow melded smoothly into rich, dark-stained oak panelling that reached all the way to the ceiling.

From which hung a large, circular crystal chandelier. It held a significant spherical light source in the centre through unknown means, which filtered through each crystal, creating a dazzling display while evenly distributing plenty of light to show off all the life-sized portraits hung tastefully on the walls and the rest of the room.

Everything screamed old wealth and rich character, but in a distinct way, far different from the castle that Neil couldn't quite comprehend. He took notes on the off chance he ever won the jackpot if- when he got back home.

Pulling his eyes away from the grand display, he settled once more on Dainty, who waited patiently with a cheerful, almost proud smile on her muzzle. "If you would kindly follow me, the dining room is just over this way."

She deftly spun in place, lifting the skirt of her dress an inch or two off the ground before she came to a stop facing the far right corner of the room. Neil followed her gaze, and nestled near the corner was a particular pair of carved doors depicting a feast between a pair of unicorns and, judging by the beak-like faces, a pair of griffons. When her dress ruffles settled back down, she hopped off, lazily trotting in that direction.

Neil followed since he had nothing else to do, though it was a short distance to cover. Once they reached the doors, her yellow aura spiralled along one of the door handles until it was covered entirely, and she silently opened it up for him.

At the same time, Bulk decided that was as far as he would go and automatically posted himself at attention in front of the door frame, just on the other side of Dainty.

"Uh, Bulk, what are you doing?" Neil asked, not at all expecting this particular turn of events.

"I'm standing guard, as I'm trained to do." He answered in his Canterlotian accent while his eyes glanced to Dainty.

... Which made absolutely no sense. Bulk acted like himself in front of other maids and guards, so what was the difference now? Something didn't sit right with the situation, but he was too deep now. "Dainty, would it be okay if Bulk joined us for lunch?"

He was initially met with a look of confusion before her eyes brightened, and her smile returned bigger than ever.

"Of course, he can! I'm sure Blue- Prince Blueblood wouldn't mind hosting a plus one. Come on in, both of you," She offered as she opened the second door with her aura and briskly trotted in.

The first thing Neil noticed as he entered was that the wood panelling did not transfer into the dining area. No, the primary material used in the design of this large, open room was stone, stone, and more stone. Even the arched ceiling, which looked far too tall compared to what he saw on the outside, was made entirely of the greyish-blue slate. The floor was still wood, at least, this time stained a reddish hue.

A pair of long tables ran along the east and west walls, both of which were at least thirty feet long and covered by a white and red patterned tablecloth. Each seating position was already prepared with the finest-looking silverware and dinnerware Neil had ever seen. Even the plates looked to be made of purple and pink crystal, which perfectly matched the glasses. It all looked odd to Neil, but he still assumed they were worth a small fortune combined.

At the far end of the room was a smaller but even more lavish-looking table set perpendicular to the other two, creating a stretched 'C' shape. It was covered with a royal blue tablecloth and loaded from end to end with multiple dishes. Some Neil recognized, like the cheese wedges set aside on their platters. Still, he had no clue about the rest other than that they appeared vegetarian.

Dainty stopped near the blue table, just to the left of the lone, unclaimed seating position he could see that had been set on that side of the table. She quickly and efficiently transferred one of the chairs from the red and white table to her left and the entire placement to the blue table.

Neil was mildly impressed as he watched her work, as he slowly closed the distance with Bulk behind him. After she was done, instead of trotting off to the kitchen like a servant, Doily pranced around the table and sat down, joining the other three ponies on the other side.

Judging by his squared chin, the pony she sat beside was the only stallion at the table. He was a unicorn with a pure white coat and a golden brown mane. His attire was a simple tux collar but with a blue bow tie that matched the tablecloth. This, Neil presumed, was Prince Blueblood.

Seated next to him was an Earth Pony mare with a puffy, eye-catching two-tone pink mane. From what he could see, she wore a purple dress, which did nothing to hide her eggshell white coat that matched Blueblood's almost perfectly. The thought that they might be siblings popped into Neil's mind for a moment. Even their eye colours were similar shades of blue, though her eyes were a darker sky blue.

Last but certainly not least was the most imposing of the ponies there. Her greyish-white form was draped in a golden dress that matched Bulk's armour perfectly. But that wasn't enough to hide how stiffly the unicorn sat, similar to how Bulk usually stood at attention.

The way her amethyst eyes, framed with war-god red locks of hair, stared at him also cemented his idea that she was a guard. It felt like she was studying him for weaknesses, something he didn't care for.

"Welcome, Sir Neil. Please have a seat," The stallion offered boisterously once Neil was close enough. "My wife, Apple Frosting, decided to pull out all the stops and cooked up a feast for us to enjoy." He all but bragged while gesturing to the white and pink mare beside him.

"It was nothin'," She shot back while blushing, the barest hints of a Southern accent still clinging to her voice.

"If this is nothing, then I fear to see what the kitchen would look like after you put some effort in Honey Apple," He teased, giving the mare a quick peck on the cheek.

That was the wrong thing for the prince to do, as the guard mare who had been watching him the entire time cleared her throat authoritatively.

"Ah, right, introductions first. But before that, please sit, both of you," Blueblood quickly gestured to the two chairs closest to Neil and Bulk.

A little confused, Neil gave Bulk a mental apology and extended his wing out of his cloak towards the chair across from Dainty. This left the original chair, the closest to the guard mare, for his pegasus guard.

Once they were both seated, Blueblood continued. "Now that we are all seated, I want to introduce you to my herd. On my right is Dainty Doily, one of the brightest maids, if not the brightest, in the entire castle. You've briefly met before, from what I've heard." He said, gesturing to the lightly blushing maid, who gave Neil a slight nod.

"It's good to see you doing better than how you were feeling that day." She added.

After a second, Blueblood continued. "On my left is Apple Frosting, my favourite patissier in the castle, who also sneaks me my favourite snacks out of the castle."

"He means a pastry chef," Apple Frosting quickly corrected him before correcting him with too much information. "And ye know darned well my plot doesn't count as a snack. It's a full-on experience, Bluey."

That brought a hint of rose to Blueblood's cheeks, but otherwise, he continued on as if his wife hadn't just dropped some bedroom topics. "And sitting near the end is Major Crystal Shield, my final wife and one of the best guards in all of Canterlot, in my personal opinion."

"For an Alicorn vexing the Captain, I was expecting... more," She stated while giving him a small, polite nod.

A small silence fell over the table after that as Neil looked at each pony across the table. He didn't know exactly what was happening, except that Blueblood was looking at him expectantly. Was he supposed to introduce himself? They already knew his name and what he was, so what was the point?

Mentally shrugging, he went along with it anyway. "As you know, I'm Neil. To my right is Bulk. I'm going to be blunt with you. I have no idea why I'm here or why you invited me."

If Blueblood took any offence to his bluntness, the stallion didn't show it at all as he answered. "To be candid, this is a celebration in your honour, Sir Neil. After all, you're an Alicorn. Not only that, you're the first male Alicorn. It's been years since I've been this excited, and it's all thanks to you!"

Brushing aside all the bullshit about what he was and how that somehow earned this stallion's adoration, Neil opted to focus on the last part. "What do you mean by, all thanks to me?"

"Why, passing on my title, of course!" The Prince stated with unbridled excitement. "It's been my burden and a burden on my herd for years. But now you're here! Please, let's all dish up. While we talk about the fine details, there's plenty of food to enjoy."

In that regard, he was absolutely correct. At least fifteen different dishes were set across the table, and that wasn't counting the side dishes. Of which, he could only name a few, like the standalone wedge of gouda or the spaghetti dish with what appeared to be some sort of white cheese sauce and herbs. In fact, whether pasta, salad or something else, it seemed as if the common theme among the dishes was cheese...

Apple Frosting must have guessed his thoughts because she piped up while dishing her plate. "When ye work in the kitchens, ye tend to hear certain things. Fer example, a new Alicorn showing up outa the blue with a taste for cheese pastas?" She paused long enough to give him a teasing grin before filling up the rest of her plate.

"So when I heard ol' Bluey here invited ye for vittles, well, my specialty may be desserts, but I think you'll find everythin' here to yer likin', includin' this."

She then took a spatula to what he initially thought was a vegetarian lasagne baked in a dark purple crystalline casserole pan. After carving out a decent-sized chunk, she lifted it up to reveal a baked macaroni and cheese, almost exactly like he requested that first night he ate with Celestia.

... Neil may have only eaten a few hours ago, but his stomach vetoed the thought of a light meal right then and there with a deep, rumbling growl.

This earned a chuckle from Apple Frosting, "Well, at least one of ye appreciates my cooking," She joked as she sat down with a full plate.

She wasn't the only one. A quick glance revealed that Neil was the only one without an ounce of food on his plate. Even Bulk had started now that most of the mares, the Major included, had finished dishing themselves up. He seemed to be holding his plate with his hooves while his wings used spatulas, spoons, and knives to portion out his plate.

Neil didn't think his wings were that dexterous yet, and he still hadn't unlocked the magnetic properties of his hooves, so he knew that was out. But as he thought up a possible solution, the entire edge of his plate was suddenly surrounded by a yellow aura.

"I can dish up your plate for you if you like?" Dainty offered as his plate levitated a few inches above the table. "Just point out what you would like to try."

Somewhat reluctantly, Neil pointed out three of the main dishes at first. The baked macaroni, which felt like Apple had made specifically for him, was the first thing added to his plate. After that, he chose the spaghetti dish and ended with a salad resembling a Caesar and taco salad hybrid for the main dishes. With only a tiny sliver left on his plate, he then pointed a hoof towards the one cheese he recognized.

"An excellent choice, if I do say so myself." Blueblood chipped in uninvited. "That particular cheese was made in Minos at one of their oldest and most respectable creameries. The current Minotauren ambassador's brother works there, and brought it as a personal gift to myself after years of working together to better our two nations."

Blueblood wasn't done after that miniature monologue, as he quickly pointed out a second wedge of white, somewhat flaky-looking cheese. "But don't let that deter you from some of Equestria's finest cheeses. That is a cloth cheddar made specifically in Trottingham and one of my favourites. Though I must admit, the crown for my absolute favourite has to go to Prance for their most delectable brie," He finished, pointing out a third wedge that looked like a bunch of poutine cheese curds that were compressed together (but just starting to come apart along the outer edge).

Unfortunately, with the addition of the gouda to his plate, it was already full. But Neil made a note to try them both on his next plate. If he was allowed to stick around for a second plate, as Dainty gently placed it down in front of him.

Neil gave her an appreciative nod, "Thank you," To which she offered a happy, "You're welcome!" He extended his wings to take up a fork and a knife, which were probably the wrong choices for these types of food.

Before he dug in, though, he turned to Blueblood. "I still don't get why you invited me to this celebration of yours. I'm going to be blunt right now. Like hell am I going to take your title of Prince. I don't want it, and I don't need it."

The sound of cutlery scraping against plates and the small talk between Apple Frosting and Major Crystal Shield ceased. Every single pony in the room looked at him, and silence reigned supreme for an entire second... Before Blueblood let out an oddly girlish giggle, which evolved into outright laughter.

"Oh, my-. You think-," He managed to say, in-between gasps of breath. Apple Frosting also joined the scene, chuckling as she watched Blueblood's inability to control himself.

Dainty continued eating but seemed to lighten up even more from the nearby source of laughter.

Bulk and Crystal took the opposite approach, hiding their emotions behind their professional, if passive, guard masks.

This went on for a good minute or two before Blueblood finally managed to calm himself down. "Oh my, I haven't laughed like that in ages," He confessed, grabbing a napkin in his baby blue aura and dabbing at the corners of his eyes.

"Ages ye say?" Apple Frosting asked, a teasing glint in her eyes as she zoned in on Blueblood. "I seem to remember a little feather of ours that had you'n Crystal laughing uncontrollably just a week ago."

That slight hint of rose already gracing his cheeks from his indecent display of boisterous laughter fully blossomed into a blush at her suggestive reminder, all but confirming the indecent meaning behind the message. Neil had just enough time to also confirm the faintest blush on Major Crystal's cheeks before Blueblood continued with a slightly more serious tone.

"Yes, well... Sir Neil, even if I wanted to pass on my title of Prince to you, I can only pass my crown down to my eldest unicorn colt by ancient law. Or, if I were to sire only fillies, my eldest unicorn daughter," He corrected a touch condescendingly.

"The title I'm referring to isn't official by any means, but it's a title I've won year after year in service to my dear Auntie Celestia. In my wild youth, I dare say it served me quite well," He admitted with a smile that hinted at many fond memories as he shared a look between all of his herd-mares? Herd-Mates? Wives?

"But now, with a loving herd, it has become rather cumbersome at times, I must admit. Of course, I'm talking about the Most Eligible Bachelor in All of Equestria award."

Neil had been expecting something profound. Something life-altering. Something that he would have to deny outright, in no uncertain terms that would likely sour his reputation for all the ponies in the room, except perhaps for Bulks. And then Blueblood revealed this entire celebration was about some stupid bachelor award?

Neil's mind experienced a disconnect as he tried to process that tidbit of information as if his operating system suffered from a momentary freeze.

Which allowed Blueblood to continue on, "You being an Alicorn, of course, would make you a shoo-in for the award even with your... less than appealing colouration."

"That ain't fair, and you know it," Bulk jumped into the conversation between bites, to defend him. "Neil didn' choose to be born with those colors, just like the rest'a us."

"I know, and I don't mean to blame the poor colt. But to be born with such dreary monochrome colours..."

"Blueblood, Dear," Dainty chirped sweetly, "You're voicing your inner opinions out in the open again."

"Oh, right, sorry, Neil. But I'm just trying to say a streak of navy blue dye in your mane and tail would help out so much, given," He gestured with a hoof in Neil's general direction.

"Wait, are you saying I'm ugly?" Neil asked, somewhat shocked at the accusation. The amount of side-eyes and blatant amorous stares he received from some of the mares on staff alone had hinted otherwise, let alone the few looks he received from upper-class mares.

"Oh, Celestia, no! You're an Alicorn. Your build is the pinnacle of physical beauty for a stallion. I daresay, even Crystal was quick to comment about your horn length and wingspan when she finished her shift yesterday," He added, shooting a quick, teasing side eye to the guardsmare, who remained impassive while eating. "Only your stamina needs some work, which is odd given you ascended as an Earth Pony, correct?"

Neil quirked an eyebrow at that tidbit. There were a lot of guards yesterday, and most of them were in armour. But he couldn't remember too many mares working at the same time he was.

"Yeah, but which is it?" He answered before switching away from the topic of his ascension. Besides, a small, vain part of him was curious whether he was ugly or not. "Am I ugly or good-looking?"

"Bright colours that compliment one another are the pinnacle of visual beauty, with the only exception to the rule being white for obvious reasons," He stated imperiously before pointing at a portrait of Celestia on the wall. "While black and all shades of grey tend to be seen as darker thanks to the likes of Sombra and other villains throughout history."

Which evoked a certain male stereotype in his mind. Greasers, bikers, and a few other fictional characters popped into his mind before shifting toward real-life examples like Paul and other womanizing teammates from high school hockey.

"Ye got bad colt vibes comin' out the wazoo," Apple Frosting dropped, voicing his own thoughts for him out loud. "And plenty of rumours runnin' about the kitchen at least to back it up."

Before he could stop it, a single word slipped out that voiced his entire opinion on the matter perfectly. "Fuck."

Blueblood dropped his silverware at Neil's blunt exclamation, looking visibly shocked, though he was the only one. Dainty and Crystal flinched, though the maid's reaction was far more apparent. Bulk seemed to have built up an immunity to his word choice as he ate slowly.

Apple Frosting, however, had the oddest reaction of all as she pointed and laughed, "Hehe, just like that!"

The urge to slam his head into the table was there whether or not he'd get a face full of food, but he resisted. Instead, he tuned out the mare's almost cackling and focused on eating.

Once the prince regained his composure, he took Neil's silence as a hint and gave the Alicorn a momentary reprieve.

A reprieve that Neil took gratefully since it allowed him time to actually enjoy his meal before him. Apple might have mentioned this wasn't her specialty, but it was just as divine as all the other pony food he tried.

As the minutes ticked by, one obvious thing about Blueblood was that he constantly engaged others at the table for conversation. He discussed topics with everyone else while leaving Neil alone with his food. When a topic went stale or someone (mainly Bulk) didn't know how to answer, he would deftly switch to something new and engaging.

Somehow, he was also oblivious to the compliments and mild insults he would throw out to everyone at the table. However, Dainty was there to chime in if something egregious came out.

Even with those faults, the longer the Prince talked, the more he grew on you. Yes, he was snobbish and sounded mildly spoiled. In fact, Neil was positive the prince was spoiled rotten at one point, but Dainty was there to call him out on his bullshit.

A part of him wondered how long that dynamic had been going on. Overall, Neil rated the prince as chummy, like a drinking buddy, once their filter disappeared.

Eventually, the topic went back to the bachelor award, which caught Neil's interest.

"... And that's why I remain the Most Eligible Bachelor in Equestria, even though I already have three mares in my herd. It's not common knowledge outside of the castle; otherwise, I would lose standing with the nobility. But, it's a hit to my reputation I'm willing to take. It all depends on the date Neil is willing to reveal himself to the general public."

Neil suddenly found himself the centre of attention again, this time with a mouth full of spaghetti that he quickly swallowed before answering. "I don't."

"Pardon me, but you don't plan on revealing yourself?" Blueblood asked, slightly confused at the idea.

"Nope, I plan to go home and for-" He tried to explain before being cut off.

"Blue," Crystal Shield interrupted, alert as her purple aura turned almost static-like along her horn. "The perimeter wards tripped. We have an-"

She was also interrupted as the entryway to the dining hall slammed open. Standing in the door frame, slightly panting, was a light blue pegasus with a familiar rainbow mane and tail. Neil noted she was without her flight suit today, as her red eyes locked onto him.

"You're late for flight training!" She yelled, her raspy voice echoing throughout the hall.

... It would seem today's torture session was inevitable.

Author's Note

Well, another chapter finished. I don't feel like I jumped the shark with this one. Then again, it was only fancy dialogue, and some insight into the basic routines in the castle.

But hey, we had some fun with Celestia's POV, had a small glimpse at what Luna's dealing with, another hint at the timeline, and took blackm-photographs of a mortifying cuddle pile that Neil shall never, ever, find out about. :trollestia:

After which, was Neil's first meeting with Blueblood. And the poor maid wasn't put to death for seeing state secrets! Hooray!

And, since Neil allowed Bulk to gussy him up a bit it would be a shame not to share these here:

And no lighting/shading:

Alas, no more imagining studly images based off of Neil's rump in the cover art. :rainbowlaugh:

... Unless you want the NSFW versions. <.<
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7. Dream-Ministrations Part 1

Author's Note

New chapter! And the first official episode chapter, I believe. Let me state it here and now. After this, I shall forever dread any and all future episode chapters. Their content is massive, and much words are needed to properly cover them. XP

So much so, that you all voted to split it up into two chapters.

But other than that, I hope you all enjoy the chapter! ^^
(Hopefully I didn't jump the shark this time. If I did, any and all praise should go to the writers of the original episode! ;P)

Edit:
I linked some art in this chapter. Have fun, and I hope you enjoy it. ^^

7. Dream-Ministrations Part 1

(October 24th: 8th Day Since Neil's Discovery)

The scene was as she remembered it in modern times. The meticulously crafted stained glass windows were shattered. Cracked and sundered stonework blocks were strewn throughout the hall, accompanied by piles of rubble underneath holes blasted through the walls and ceiling. What few tapestries still hung were torn and riddled with shrapnel holes and burns.

The only significant difference was how new everything appeared. This wasn't the abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters, left to rot for one thousand years from uncontrolled weather. No, this was relatively new. A castle that had been built less than a century into her and Celestia's shared rule.

This was her home, in all its ruined glory, as Princess Luna stood in the decimated pulpit in front of their shattered thrones. How could she have been so foolish? So shameful as to delve into those spells without thought? To spit on her friendships, as few as they may have been?

Much to her shame, she knew exactly how such an event came to be. It was, after all, the very reason she was here.

A scene emerged from her distant, murky memories as Nightmare Moon. A stray beam during the confrontation that night from so very long ago, as it missed her Sister. No, it missed her target as it cut through the castle kitchens. At the time, she hadn't spared a second thought. She was too focused on her goal. Her triumph.

Now, however, she directed her focus on the castle kitchens and one of her friends who always treated her well. Poor, doddering Tea Kettle. The stallion would have been making Celestia's morning tea while mixing her hot chocolate to help her sleep that day...

The casualty report from that night was one of the few papers that Celestia had classified as above even the Princesses, preventing anypony from reading it.

If not for the fact that this was a dream, Luna was reasonably sure she would have broken down. How many ponies had she killed that night? Why wouldn't her sister just tell her?

A tiny, navy blue wisp of distant stars flew up and out of the stonework to her side like an eager puppy. Luna knew exactly what it was and that it was drawn to her anger and self-loathing. A reminder of events yet to play out, as she focused on the dream and the other ponies within.

The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony had already passed the main gate, braved the overgrown courtyard, trampled through the grand entrance, and were making their way through the entry hall. Mere moments from now, they would smash their way into the throne room.

Knowing this, Luna turned to the wisp with an order. "Greetings, Tantabus; I am ready. Do your worst."

The small spirit of energy known as the Tantabus seemed to undulate with excitement before it dutifully served its mistress and floated above her. It settled in the shattered stained glass window that once depicted the shared unity between her and her sister. It instantly transformed into a dark, spherical crystal large enough to blot out the sun. In a single pulse, it ripped control of the dream from Luna. Day turned into night as the spirit fired multiple beams of darkness into an expectant and unmoving Princess Luna.

The energy seared through her fur and burned her skin as it was absorbed into her body. Even then, she knew what was going to happen. What this power would do to her. This is what she wanted, as the burning sensation seeped into her spine and then raced throughout the rest of her body. The pain was almost overwhelming, but not enough to shatter the dream. It was exactly what she deserved, as tortured cries were ripped from her throat.

Any excess power that couldn't be absorbed soon formed a cocoon of darkness around her, blocking more and more of her vision. However, she just caught sight of a door being kicked off its hinges before she was fully enveloped.

"Princess Luna is turning into Nightmare Moon, again!"

Some aspect of her managed to hear Twilight's cry of despair. By then, the powerful corruption had traveled up her spine and was starting to physically convert aspects of her head. She felt the spiral that was her horn as it forcefully corkscrewed another few inches out of her skull. At the same time, her teeth elongated, pulling at the very nerves that anchored them as they went.

In comparison, the alteration of her eyes was a light tickle that hardly registered if not for the maniacal laughter filling her ears. Was she the one laughing? Why?

"Yeah? Well, we've got the cure for that!" Loyalty called out cockily.

She didn't know how she knew, but her mind knew the transformation was winding down inside of her now comforting cocoon of darkness. The pain subsided, only to be replaced by an overwhelming euphoria-inducing power that coursed through her magical pathways. The only part that remained of Princess Luna, the last desperate holdout that was purely her, was her heart as darkness started to ooze into her veins...

Only for the darkness to be shredded as a white flash tore through her cocoon.

The pain instantly returned as Princess Luna barely held her eyes open against the light emanating from the six floating mares before her. No, not mares. Friends. They were her friends, not adversaries to be defeated- or defeated by, as this nightmare was supposed to go. What was happening?

"Wait!" She cried, though to the Tantabus, the Bearers, or herself she couldn't fathom. Still, she pushed through the pain, and her horn pulsed, forming a clear shield around herself.

Luna had only a moment to look back at the Tantabus, which seemed to be defying her order in an attempt to escape. "What is it doing!?" It was an insignificant spirit under her control, her command. It should have been incapable of tearing through the dream's backdrop, yet it was doing precisely that.

Before she could fully comprehend the implications, the might of the Bearer's Rainbow Power struck against her shield.

Luna was forced to divert all of her focus into maintaining her shield as the bright, multi-colored lights surrounded her and obstructed her view.

Her shield miraculously held out against the onslaught but dissolved with the remnants of a purifying rainbow that sparkled and faded away into the surrounding space. However, Luna didn't have the time to care about that. The Tantabus was nowhere to be seen, as was the hole it had torn into the background.

A new, genuine fear pickled along the base of her skull as she yelled, "No, it's gone!"

Immediately after she uttered those words, Luna's very existence was overwhelmed by a moment of burning, purifying pain, only to be soothed by an endless void of calming white. The experience was exactly how she remembered it to be... when she was originally freed from the Nightmare's corruption?

By the time the rest of the world came into focus, she found herself not only back to normal but surrounded by the Bearers of the Elements, her friends.

That wasn't how things were supposed to play out, as she looked into the eyes of each mare. Why wasn't she sealed in the moon? Or petrified? Or, most deserving of all, executed for her crimes?

Why were Princess Twilight and her friends looking at her with happiness and joy? At the very least, she deserved to be looked at with scorn and disgust for her failings!

Something was wrong. Something was missing. Where was the... The Tantabus!

Ignoring their smiling faces and non-stop chatter, Luna sent a pulse to scan her dream. The wave rippled through everything she could see, starting with the mares against her, none of whom seemed to notice, and the surrounding walls. Seconds later, the wave bounced off the limitations of her current dreamscape without any positive trace of the parasitic spirit.

The Tantabus was no longer in her dream. Giving one last concerned look at all the dream constructs representing her friends, Luna focused her horn and collapsed the dream into darkness...

She awoke immediately, startled and sweaty inside the ostentatious crescent moon bed gifted to her by her sister. "What?" She asked herself, between gasps as she tried to control her breathing.

Looking up, she stared at the one aspect of the bed she liked besides the mattress. An oval lantern designed to give off a pale white-blue glow, perfectly adjusted to emulate the light of her moon. Once she was calm, she turned back to self-reflection. "My dream ended happily? How? Why?

Very few answers made any sort of sense, and all of them pointed towards flaws in her spell-craft. The first possible mistake was the Tantabus' limited ability to siphon negative emotions from her self-inflicted punishment. If she made the siphon too strict, it wouldn't be able to sustain itself over the long term. Was that why it tried to escape into the dream realm? It was starving and tried to find another source of anguish before expiring.

On the other hoof, the siphon could have been too generous, allowing the spirit fragment enough energy to... expand itself? To naturally generate a more significant presence and a sense of self? But she would have noticed, wouldn't she, if that were the case?

No. "That. Can not. Happen!" She said firmly to herself. But she had to be thorough. The clock on her nightstand read 2:30 PM. Not only did she need her rest, but if the Tantabus still lived, it was likely now prowling throughout the dream realm. She needed to find it and anchor the free-roaming sliver of a spirit back to herself as soon as possible.

Laying back down, she drew the covers back over her chest and closed her eyes...

~~~

(October 25th: 9th Day Since Neil's Discovery)

Whether asleep or awake, Luna spent the rest of the day and the following night searching for her errant spirit fragment. Even her Lunar Court had been adjourned early in search of the Tantabus instead, not that it mattered. No petitioner had signed up in advance, and no pony in need showed up within the first hour.

All of it was for naught. Whether scans were looking for active disturbances in the dreamscape or specific tracking spells, none showed any signs of the spirit. There wasn't even an increase in nightmares that occurred naturally during the night. It was relatively slow in that regard. Luna was thankful for the unexpected boon, as she cared for her dreamers as usual.

As Luna removed her shoes, her tired eyes settled on the bed before her. After spending her entire dinner discussing upcoming plans for Nightmare Night with her sister, she looked forward to a full day's rest without looking for the Tantabus. It was with absolute certainty that the spirit fragment must have used its last drop of energy in an attempt to escape the dream and withered away. A sad ending for the tiny sliver of herself.

She was just snuggling into the cool embrace of her blanket when a small but significant alarm triggered from her shuttered window. Her eyes snapped open, only to see a small puff of smoke flying towards her through the dull light. Very few creatures could send her messages via dragon-fire, and judging by the spell matrix... As she expected, the smoke reformed above her bed and dropped a perfectly normal-looking scroll bound with Princess Twilight's seal.

Curious as to why she would be the recipient of such a letter and not her sister, Luna grabbed the scroll with her magic and opened it.

Dear Princess Luna,
Last night, my friends and I all dreamt of a creature made of blue smoke. I'm sure you're very busy, but yawn; when you have the chance, please let me know if you have any idea what it could mean.
Yours yawn,
Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Her blood froze. It wasn't possible. There was no way for the Tantabus to evade her notice in the dream realm. And yet, the Bearers all reported the impossible to be true. She reread the letter once more, this time taking note of the words crossed out. Whatever these dreams were, Princess Twilight did not earn a good night's rest at the very least.

But why now? And how? She could guess the answer to the second question easily enough. The Tantabus learned of the bearers through her dreams, and now not only was it infecting them, but if it learned of more ponies through the Elements...

It could infect all of Equestria without her notice.

Without thought, her horn lit up. She quickly gathered magic until her horn overpowered her moonlight lamp, illuminating the room in a darker blue light. Once she collected enough to cast, she released all the magic into a single, almost explosive teleportation spell. One moment, she was lying in her bed, and the next, she found herself plummeting in the skies above Ponyville without a single cloud to land on.

With focus, she spread her wings out to halt her descent immediately with a single flap, then focused. She sent out a quick tracking pulse, weak enough to cover Ponyville without alerting the average unicorn citizen but strong enough to find the Bearers. Thankfully, the pulse came back positive from directly below, within the market district. Each pony she sought was visiting Lady Rarity's Carousel Boutique.

Gathering far less power this time, she blinked to the front door of Rarity's business and opened it without warning. Seeing the gathered ponies, she quickly asked, "Which of you saw the creature of blue smoke in your nightmare?"

Strangely, the first mare to respond was the most unlikely and timid of the group, the Bearer of Kindness. Though she looked far more tired than timid at the moment, "Wow, that was fast."

Princess Twilight, however, quickly answered for them all. "We all did-"

Only for her chipper-looking dragon assistant to leave a well-manicured white feline on a table and interrupt, "Not me!" As he walked towards a tub full of water and a tortoise.

"We know." Three mares, Loyalty, Generosity, and Honesty, groaned simultaneously.

Princess Twilight quickly brought the rest of the group back to the topic at hoof as Spike started tending to the reptile. "So, you've encountered the smoke monster too?"

Though Luna was ashamed to admit it, she knew the best policy would be full honesty, given the monster she inadvertently set upon the mares before her. "The Tantabus is a creature of my nightmares. It escaped from my slumbers yesterday," She admitted truthfully once she walked into the gallery and closed the door.

Fluttershy was the first to respond, worry marring her normally beautiful expression. "But, how did it get into ours?"

Luna looked down, avoiding each mare's gaze at first. "The Tantabus is like a parasite. My dreams must no longer be enough for it. Now it seeks others to infect and corrupt!" To emphasize the point, she looked to and pointed at every mare in the room. It would have been far easier to explain without seeing the torment of the previous night's unanswered nightmares in each mare's eyes. "It must have learned of you six by seeing you in my dream."

Luna could feel the guilt bubbling in her chest... Ashamed, she turned away, but not before seeing Spike walking towards her with an odd look of a... kicked puppy.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," He spoke, gesticulating with his claws. "So what you're saying is you dreamt about all of them and not me?" He finished with a particularly heart-wrenching whine that urged her to turn to him and, by proxy, the group again.

However, Rainbow Dash spoke up before she could hug the sad hatchling while crossing her forelegs against her chest. "Uh, so Smokey gave us bad dreams. No biggie."

Luna shook her head sadly as she scooped up Spike in her magic. She hugged the poor dragon whelp into her fluff, both for him and herself, as she pictured the ghastly, worst-case scenario if she should fail. "I saw that the Tantabus had grown more powerful, but I did not realize that power was enough to enable it to escape my dreams. If its power grows, it could very well find a way to escape into the real world. It could turn all of Equestria into a living nightmare!"

"Okay, okay, okay, I take it back," Rainbow relented as her hooves slipped down her cheeks. "That does sound bad. Really bad!"

The tension slowly polluting the room rose to its highest peak, but only briefly before Twilight slammed her hoof to the floor. "But we aren't going to allow that to happen, are we girls? Princess Luna, what do you need us to do?"

Luna was quite thankful for Princess Twilight's initiative but took a moment to collect her thoughts. She also gave Spike's shoulder a light pat before removing him from her chest and lowering him back down to the ground.

"For now, all of you may go about your day," She told all the ponies involved. "The Tantabus should lay dormant until an infected pony begins to dream. However, tonight, I will require a room large enough for us to sleep together so that I may track down and end this threat."

Each mare looked around the room, silently questioning one another before Twilight volunteered. "My bedroom in the castle should be more than big enough for everypony. I just need to set up enough spare beds."

Rarity perked up right after and fully supported the idea. "Twilight, Darling, I can help you with that. I have plenty of spare bedding that should help."

"I can help carry some of that as well!" Spike added as he rushed over to the white and purple mare with a look of blatant adoration.

After that, the three of them quickly left the gallery, heading up the stairs and leaving Luna with the four remaining Bearers.

"Well, if we're sleeping in the castle tonight, then I need to head back to the farm," Applejack admitted as she broke from the group and walked past Luna towards the door. "Plenty to do if I'm comin' back to town by the end of the day."

"I should leave too," Fluttershy added, following right behind the orange Earth Pony. "So many animals need to be taken care of by tonight."

Once the door closed, only three mares stood in the gallery... Though Rainbow Dash was flying, and Pinkie Pie was bouncing in place with boundless energy.

"I'm supposed to help the Cakes with baking this afternoon," Pinkie gleefully cheered, "But until then I'm free!"

"Very well, do as you normally would. I'll try to lure the creature into my dreams today," Luna told the energetic mare, "With luck, I'll be able to subdue the Tantabus before nightfall. If so, these precautionary measures will no longer be required."

Contrary to what she thought would happen, Pinkie Pie's bouncing slowed with a look of innocent confusion. "If that happens, will our Save-All-Of-Equestria-Slumber-Party become a regular slumber party? And will you still be there?"

Luna blinked as she replayed the party pony's words in her head. "If that is what you wish after all the stress I have put you through."

"Yippee!" The pink pony bounced higher than Rainbow Dash, only to land and leap forward just as high a second time as she passed over Luna. "I have a sleep-over to prepare for. See you later, Princess!"

With one final bounce, she pushed open the front door (without impact or injury, as if it was unlatched) and disappeared.

Now, it was herself and Rainbow Dash as the mare's confident facade suddenly melted away into a more nervous disposition. "Uh, Princess Luna, before you leave?"

"Yes, Rainbow Dash?"

"Well, you said Smokey learned about us through your dreams, right?" She asked, giving the stairwell Generosity and Magic ascended a paranoid look before continuing. "Could it also learn about another pony through my dreams?"

Luna felt a sudden jolt of fear as the situation suddenly worsened. Still, she held onto the small sliver of hope that Rainbow wouldn't add another innocent to the Tantabus' web. "It could. Tell me Rainbow Dash, who is this pony from your dreams?"

"Well, I was teaching Twilight how to fly, but Smokey already knows about her." She explained nervously before flying in close enough to whisper, "But, uh, she wasn't the only 'Alicorn' I was teaching."

With only five Alicorns alive, it took Luna no time to narrow down which Alicorn Rainbow Dash was talking about. Her eyes hardened with resignation. "... Neil," She guessed quietly, only for Rainbow to nod and confirm her worst-case scenario. "Very well. Head to the castle and wait for us," She ordered the Element of Loyalty, "I shall return shortly with the stallion."

In the blink of an eye, Rainbow Dash was gone, leaving an open door as the only sign of her exit.

Only one new objective remained unfinished before Luna could return to Canterlot and retrieve the newly infected pony. She needed to inform Princess Twilight that one more bed would be required with special, chaos-dampening enchantments upon it. If she still couldn't breach the stallion's dreams after that, but the Tantabus could? The stallion could become a nigh unlimited source of power for the parasite.

It was an unpleasant thought she dared not linger upon as Rarity once more entered the gallery with Twilight in tow...

~~~***~~~

As far as days went in his lavishly gilded cage, today was pretty good, or so Neil thought. None of the ponies woke him up, leaving him to laze in his hospital bed until the allure of still-warm chocolate chip pancakes drew him out. After which, he enjoyed a long shower as his wings went to work, requiring only moderate attention.

During his shower, however, his mind had latched onto a small but interesting tidbit of information about the Princess of Love that fuelled hope and anguish for his chances of getting home. The beginning of her official biography was vague, stating that she was found as a child near the edge of a forest near an Earth Pony settlement. The forest and settlement went unnamed, but the book stated they were both north of Vanhoover.

At the time, he was disgusted by the pony pun based on Vancouver. To the point he brushed the information aside as a cover-up for her true origins. But that morning, the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was too much of a coincidence. Sure, she had shown up as a foal near a random town. A pegasus if the snippet at the beginning of the book was to be believed. But after saving the village from a love-stealing witch, she somehow ascended into an Alicorn.

In comparison, he showed up, thankfully fully grown, in the middle of a bustling city. The thought of reliving childhood as a pony was mildly terrifying. But the common aspect of their stories had them appearing out of nowhere. Leaving Neil to think perhaps there was more in common between them. Was Princess Cadenza a human, like him, forced to grow up and adapt to this insane world? Did she know of a way back? Or was it a mere coincidence?

That persistent group of thoughts led Neil to the library after his shower. After returning the books he already read to Mrs. Keeper, he wandered the shelves for more information on the elusive Princess of Love.

Fifteen minutes later, he found a single book that fit his requirements. Its pink cover and on-the-nose title promised to be the answer to all of his unanswered questions. With The Mysterious Origins of Princess Cadenza safely secured under his wing, he paused his search and returned to the reading area.

That had been twenty minutes ago, and so far, the book hadn't answered a single question he had before opening the cover. Instead, it spawned far more about the world's sanity. A secret, long-lost daughter of Princess Amore? With the foal trapped during her escape attempt under the same curse Sombra used to banish the Crystal Empire. And how did this foal escape the curse? An unknowable, miraculous flicker in the spell that only affected the ponies at the absolute edge of its limits?

After the introduction with its outlandish claims, the author started with Princess Cadenza's fuzzy childhood memories, linking them to the well-documented amnesia suffered by all of Sombra's victims in the Crystal Empire (Though if Neil's hypothesis was correct, perhaps the princess remembered her childhood well enough).

However, the sound of metallic hooves echoing off the shelves caught Neil's attention, forcing him to pause his reading.

Each step was faint at first. But as the seconds passed, they became more refined, with a strict cadence that told Neil all he needed to know as he put down the book and hid his wings. Chances were the incoming pony was just another guard. However, if another pony was escorted, perhaps a pegasus flying indoors or a naturally quiet pony on their hooves, it was better to be safe than sorry.

He had not expected to see Luna's whimsical, almost misty dark blue mane drift around the corner. Followed shortly by her horn and then the rest of her as she was illuminated by the tendril-like locks sparkling with little, distant stars. When she fully turned around the corner of the bookshelf, his tense eyes locked onto hers.

Even though he felt nothing but disdain for the princess, she approached with a calm, if slightly haughty, expression on her shadowed muzzle. Each step that brought the princess closer was stiff but authoritative and complete with purpose.

Almost as if she was leading a procession of some sort, though Neil couldn't imagine why. Even Bulk noticed her gait and straightened his posture. However, Neil couldn't tell if it was to appear on his best behavior or to stay alert for an upcoming confrontation.

She closed the distance at a measured if strict, pace that only stopped when she stood on the other side of the table he was currently occupying. The entire time, she kept her eyes locked on him. "Private Bulk, Neil, I would have preferred to meet under better circumstances. Instead, I bring ill tidings to you both. Equestria is under threat from a parasite known as the Tantabus."

Bulk's physical presence was already on high alert. Still, when Luna stated that Equestria was under threat, Neil could have sworn the pegasus became even more tense than even he felt.

Neil, on the other hand, mainly felt confused. The Tantabus, whatever the hell it was, didn't ring any bells in his mind. Meaning it wasn't a monster from history. More important, however, was why the dark princess would be approaching him of all people. Also, where the hell was her annoying, olden-time English? She sounded more like her sister now, the very same sister who needed to know about this far more than he did. "And you came here, why? Shouldn't you talk about this with Celestia?"

"I have already sent a priority message to my sister to keep her informed," Luna informed them before her aura started collecting around her horn. "But in the grand scheme, she has no part to play in this unless we fail. Though unfortunate, the part you play is far more crucial."

"What are you doing?" Neil asked, slowly slipping out of his chair as his eyes focused on her horn. As she spoke, the glow hadn't been all that noticeable since it nearly matched the colour of her horn. But now, her aura encompassed the entire bone, becoming more vibrant by the second.

"Transporting all of us to where we need to be," She offered cryptically as Neil managed to sidle up against Bulk's side. He felt a little safer with the guard between himself and Luna, though he still didn't understand the nonsense spewing from her mouth.

"Transport?" he asked, confused. Was Luna calling for a cart? And if so, was it a ground-based one or one of the flight-based ones? "Where and how?"

"To Ponyville," She simply stated before her aura exploded outwards in a flash, blinding Neil to everything but the single colour of blue while also feeling the most indescribably uncomfortable feeling he'd ever experienced.

When the light subsided, the only trace of one or more ponies ever being there was an open pink book describing one side effect of dark magic exposure: amnesia.

~~~

Neil had no fucking idea what the hell was going on around him, which almost pushed him into a near-panicked state. The only reason he didn't was the clank of armor coming from his left, signaling that whatever he'd just experienced, Bulk did as well.

As Neil looked around, his sight was blurred from whatever he had just experienced. But amidst the fuzzy purple structure he now found himself in, there was also a green blur with a round brown shape underneath it.

Without thinking, Neil dove for it and felt the rim of his newly befriended plant pot dig into his chin as he lost control and vomited up his breakfast. He had no control over the sounds and smell as he was forced to retry his chocolate chip pancakes for the second time that day. As he did, though, an errant thought flittered throughout his mind, mocking him during his current predicament, 'But horses were incapable of throwing up, right?'

At least he wasn't alone in his misery. By the second, or was it the third wave of upchuck, he felt his cloak pushed aside before a cool metallic object pressed lightly against his back. The shape indicated a horseshoe, meaning Bulk was the one rubbing circular motions into his back to ease his nausea. It was a kind thing for the Pegasus to do, but not entirely effective as he was overwhelmed by another automatic response.

Minutes passed before his void of a stomach felt it had emptied most, if not all, of its contents. During this, Neil had managed to clear his sight and learn that the plant he had been fertilizing had a brown stem that was nearly an inch thick with an almost bark-like texture.

After a few firm coughs to clear the dregs from the back of his throat and a final spit, he slowly removed himself from underneath the decorative bush. He looked to his right, ready and willing to thank Bulk for his attempt to ease his stomach at the very least, but paused. It wasn't Bulk sitting beside him with his hoof on his back. It was Luna, with a mix of emotions from calm professionalism to... concern?

Neil instinctively pulled away from the mare as his wing shifted defensively into the newly formed gap between himself and her hoof. With the animosity between them, he would have expected her to sit back with a smirk at his obvious discomfort.

So why was she the one who tried to comfort him? Or did she feel responsible since she was the cause? That was the only logical conclusion, as Neil quickly stood on all four hooves and turned away from the princess.

Now that he could see, it was clear that he was no longer in the library. He didn't recognize where he was at all. Whether it was a castle or an elaborate mansion, the purple-blue walls, made entirely of crystal, were rather bare of decorations. Neil couldn't see a single portrait or tapestry as he looked around, not that they were needed.

Somehow, the faceted crystal structure naturally reflected light in the form of stylized clouds, mountains, and trees across the walls.

It wasn't just the walls. The decorative pillars that appeared to grow out of the floor, the floor itself, which was relatively smooth compared to everything else, two separate sets of stairs, and the arched ceiling far above... Everything was made from multi-faceted crystals of various purple hues. The only exception was the windows, whether placed into the walls or inside the doors, which were carved. Formed? from green crystal instead.

There weren't any apparent seams in the rock, leading him to believe the entire building he now found himself in was carved from one continuous piece. But that was impossible. Who in their right mind would cut a multi-floor building out of crystal? Where would they find a large enough piece?

Beyond that, there wasn't much inside wherever he was that could be construed as not crystal. The railings running along each stairwell appeared to be made out of gold, along with the wall sconces and the door frames. But other than that, it was just the reddish-brown carpet branching off in three separate directions, two leading down short hallways to the right and left, only to end at the stairs.

Bulk wasn't far away, either. Standing beside the door, his guard appeared at ease instead of alert. Neil quickly brushed his cloak over his wing and approached while asking, "Where are we?"

"Goin' by descriptions I've heard, I'd say we're inside the Castle of Friendship in Ponyville," Bulk told him honestly, if a little confused.

"Ponyville..." Neil muttered to himself, skipping over the last few minutes of discomfort in his recent memory, back to what Luna said before the flash. "You said we needed to be here. How?" He asked, directing his accusation towards Luna. "How did we go from Canterlot, to here in a fucking blink of an eye?"

Any concern on her muzzle evaporated when he swore, leaving only her impassive, professional mask. "I felt it prudent to get here as soon as equinely possible, so I teleported all three of us into the entry hall."

"Teleportation?" Neil asked incredulously, more to himself than anyone else in the room. Was he the first human to survive being instantly transmitted from one place to another? And what if something had gone wrong?

"Y'know, fuck it all, why not? You ponies have telekinesis, you destroy the laws of physics; why not instant teleportation on top of that? So did you dematerialize us, essentially killing us in the process, only to rematerialize us all here?"

That got a reaction, though slight. A noticeable hardening around Luna's eyes as she responded. "Before you fully devolve into another immature, curse-ridden tantrum, know that Rainbow Dash is nearby and will explain the situation to you." By that time, Neil caught sight of another ominous glow building up around her horn. "I will see you tonight."

Before he could respond, Neil flinched away as a second flash originated from Luna's position. However, this one was dimmer than the one from the library. After a few blinks and a lack of nausea-inducing discomfort, he looked to where Luna was standing just a moment ago, only for her to be gone.

Irritation welled inside his chest, to the point where he poorly mimicked her haughty, imperious tone. "Devolve into a curse-ridden tantrum," He snorted, somewhat regretting the action immediately as he was hit with a fresh hint of bile at the back of his throat. "Well fuck you too, you stupid Bitch."

"Neil, that's enough," Bulk reprimanded, finally breaking from his position at the door as he came closer. "She ain't here no more, and I know for a fact that at least one young'un lives here with Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"Oh great, another princess," Neil exhaled with a growl, venting a small portion of his frustration from the strange situation he suddenly found himself in. "So, do you know what the hell is going on with this Tantabus thing? Or are you just as blind as I am?"

"I don' know a thing about this Tantabus," Bulk admitted as he looked between the hallways branching off from the crystal castle's entry. "But, I know the Princess wouldn' do this unless it was important, so let's find Ms. Dash and figure out what the hay is goin' on."

Neil gave him a slight nod in agreement. He didn't feel like braving either set of stairs, on the off chance his nausea returned with a vengeance. And he wasn't going to sit around and wait by the door like an idiot. So he took the only remaining path, a hallway that delved deeper inside the castle by a mere twenty feet before branching off into a T-intersection.

On the plus side, it had a little alcove hidden away with a bench for guests and even a tapestry to stare at while you wait.

Sadly, both of those paths were just as long as the halls leading to the stairs, but these two ended in dead ends. 'Pretty pathetic for a castle,' Or so Neil thought. Was it a castle? Multiple books pointed out that Twilight was an avid researcher and a gifted student under Celestia before becoming an Alicorn.

Was this instead a wizard's tower carved out of a single, massive crystal spike protruding out of the ground?

Neil quickly put that idea aside in his mind as he heard a muffled thud from his left, through one of the green crystal doors. Bulk also heard the disturbance and faced toward the source of the noise. His armor plating made multiple small, distinct tangs as he quickly overtook Neil as the lead pony.

Without saying a word, Bulk slowly closed the distance from the source of the unknown sound. Neil followed right behind the armored pegasus. Before either of them reached the door, however, it opened. Allowing a relatively diminutive bipedal lizard creature covered in purple scales and wobbly green ear-like fins to exit with an absurdly sized mass of cylinder-shaped pillows held above its head.

When it spotted them, the creature came to a stop as well. Judging by its expression, it was more confused than shocked to see them. And then, to Neil's mild surprise, it spoke with an almost childlike voice. "Uh, hello? If you're here to see Twilight, the castle is closed today. But you can try again tomorrow if you want!"

Bulk quickly answered for them both, "Princess Luna teleported both'a us here and told us to find Ms. Dash. You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you Spike?"

"Princess Luna?" The lizard child known as Spike questioned, "That means you know about the...?"

"The Tantabus?" Bulk finished for him with a firm nod, "Yup."

"Well, Twilight said another pony would be joining us," Spike admitted as he shifted the giant pile of pillows balanced on his head. "I guess that's one of you two?"

"Me, apparently," Neil admitted, trying to mask his annoyance. It wouldn't be right to take his frustrations out on an innocent kid. "So where's Rainbow?"

"She's helping Twilight and Rarity set up for tonight. Follow me!" He darted around the two of them with far more agility than Neil would have given him credit for, heading towards the main door. "Hurry up!"

Shrugging, Neil spun around and followed Spike at a brisk jog. Bulk followed him as well. Of course, when Spike turned the corner and made a beeline for the right stairway, Neil couldn't help but groan. He hated climbing stairs with four hooves.

While the staircase looked a little on the steep side, Neil received a mild surprise after the first step. The entire stairway might have looked like smooth crystal, but on closer inspection, each surface was made up of hundreds, if not thousands, of slightly off-angle facets.

This gave Neil ample grip as he slowly made his way up the wrap-around staircase. Even stranger, while there was an occasional green crystal window, they were built into the inside wall. This allowed a person to look into a circular room made entirely of crystal with a large table and seven separate thrones inside.

Eventually, he cautiously made his way up to the top, with Bulk sticking by his side every step of the way. The area they found themselves in wasn't at all grand, or spacious, as Neil would have expected of a castle. Instead, it was little more than a short, ten-foot stretch of floor between the top of both stairs. To his left was a small alcove with benches, likely for guests to rest after the climb. To his right was a wide-open archway leading out to a well-lit area.

Spike was kind enough to wait for them, though he looked a little impatient when they finally crested the last step. "Are you sure you're looking for Rainbow Dash and not somepony a little slower like Fluttershy?" He asked innocently enough.

Neil thought he might have caught the faintest hint of a smirk as if his comment on their speed might have been a joke. But he didn't know who or what Fluttershy was. It could have also been the lizard's facial structure, so he brushed it aside. "Pretty sure we were told to see Rainbow."

"Okay. Bedrooms are this way," He told them, gesturing towards the arch with his head.

That much was obvious, but the moment Neil passed through the arch he received his first real piece of evidence that he was no longer in Canterlot. To each side was a reasonably wide hallway that curved out of sight, roughly the same size as the halls in Canterlot Castle.

Right in front of him was another archway decorated with purple fabric curtains that opened up to an outside balcony and the skies beyond. The balcony itself was pretty large and made of some unknown type of brownstone. But it was the view beyond that captured Neil's attention.

He could see hundreds of buildings, or at least their quaint-looking thatch roofs, all centered around a taller, multi-story building with a steeply angled brown roof. It was as if an old European village had been ripped out of the countryside, though the central building wasn't the only odd shape he could see.

There were quite a few in that regard, as his eyes darted from a roof that looked eerily like a jester's cap to a steeple in the shape of a cupcake judging by the pink, icing-like shingles. But other than a single mansion a distance away from the town itself, there wasn't a single sign of excessive wealth. Just a quaint little village with some odd design choices.

He felt the rush of multiple emotions as he turned away to follow Spike. Elation at being away from Canterlot and, by proxy, the princesses was the greatest by far. However, it was tempered with worry solely because he was in an unknown place, and he was brought here for a specific reason by the one princess he'd rather avoid the most.

It wasn't long before Spike stopped in front of a pair of doors made out of blue crystal, marking them as different from all the others inside the castle. Instead of waiting or calling out for assistance, Spike only gave them a quick look before giving one of the doors a light push with his foot.

Immediately, as if a switch was flipped on, a slightly posh female voice emanated from the room as the door swung inwards. "-do you think we should place the extra- Spikey Wikey, there you are! We were starting to worry."

Before Spike even managed another step into the room a different female voice spoke, sounding just as worried as the first. "It normally doesn't take long to travel up the tree. You didn't fall and hurt yourself, did you?"

As the second voice spoke, a pinkish-red aura surrounded the large supply of pillows Spike was carrying and lifted them all into the air. Freeing Spike of his payload and revealing a curved set of green plate-like spikes on top of Spike's head gave him an oddly adorable, baby Godzilla look.

"No, I didn't fall in the storage room this time," He groused, keeping one clawed hand on the door to keep it open while walking inside. "Hey, Twilight, you know the pony Princess Luna talked about? He's here with a guard. You didn't tell me they were a stallion, though."

"A stallion?" The posh voice asked, going from worried to curious in an instant. A light blue aura took hold of the second door, making it appear like an inner power source was emanating through the crystal before the door swung into the room. Less than a second after that, a pony's head peeked out into the hallway, with their horn aglow in blue.

It was clear to Neil that the mare before him took exemplary care of herself. There wasn't a single flaw in her well-brushed white coat. Her swooped and voluminous curled hairstyle looked complex, without a single purple hair out of place. Even her eyelashes looked meticulously brushed and evenly spaced, as her critical blue eyes quickly locked on and scanned over them before lighting up with genuine joy.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Gentlestallions. You may call me Rarity. Please come in, both of you. I'm sure Twilight doesn't mind having a few tall, well-dressed stallions in her room," She offered with a coy smile before looking back into the room. "Do you Twilight?"

While Rarity was introducing herself, the second mare, now identified as Twilight, was already addressing Spike. "Luna only mentioned a pony, Spike. But, if he's the pony Luna told us about, he's infected by the Tantabus just like the rest of us." She then called out a little louder, "We're just about finished if you'd like to join us?"

Neil quickly glanced at Bulk, only to see the Pegasus was in his professional guard mode. So, with an ambivalent shrug, more to himself than anyone else, he casually made his way towards the room.

Once they were moving, Rarity quickly retreated into the room. However, she was kind enough to keep both doors open as her aura also transferred to the other door. "Oh, I wonder which of you will be meeting the literal stallion of your dreams? Do you think it's Fluttershy? I could see her meeting a dashing young stallion during her stint as a fashion model."

Neil was just getting his first glance at the room's crystal interior when Rarity turned to look back at him, flashing the triple diamond emblem on her rump, as if she planned her words and actions perfectly. "You wouldn't happen to work in the fashion industry, would you, Mr..?"

"Neil, and I've never worked in the fashion industry." He told her honestly if a bit bluntly, diverting his eyes away from the white mare and onto the slightly narrowing eyes of Spike. Even if he was, what would he do? Model seasonal clothing in the local Co-Op flyer? Pushing that errant thought aside, he quickly looked around the rest of the room.

Like the rest of the castle, the walls were made out of crystal ranging from purples to various hues of blue. What wasn't expected was the sheer number of beds cluttering the room. Up against the wall, beside the door, was a fancy four-poster bed, perhaps a little larger than his bed in the infirmary. But eight more beds were fanned out in a circle from that base, taking up most of the room's space.

Each bed looked to be large enough for only a single occupant. Oddly enough, however, a ninth bed was off to the side, right next to a bronze and blue telescope.

That's where he saw the final occupant of the room, her horn glowing the same pinkish-red that relieved Spike of his pillow pile. She wasn't holding pillows, though, not anymore, at least. Judging by the strong scent permeating the room, what appeared to be black permanent markers danced around the final bed as she drew a complex circle with odd-looking symbols around it.

That must have been Princess Twilight, judging by her glowing horn and partially flared wings as she concentrated on her task. Neil had to admit he was expecting the purple mare to be taller, at least as tall as he was, though more in line with Celestia and Luna. Instead, she was as tall as Rarity.

However, the one mare he was expecting to see was suspiciously missing from the room. "I was told Rainbow was here? She's supposed to explain what the Tantabus is and why I'm even here."

"Rainbow? She was here just a moment ago," Rarity admitted as she quickly looked around the room. Once that failed, she walked to the four-poster bed and thoroughly checked it. "I do find it odd that Princess Luna would ask you to speak with her instead of Twilight..." Her eyes lit up as she looked at the canopy before she looked towards the ceiling. "Rainbow! What are you doing up there?"

Following Rarity's gaze, Neil spotted Rainbow hovering against the domed ceiling. Each hoof held a rag as she polished the crystal above. The pegasus took a few seconds to finish buffing a patch of glistening crystal before looking down to answer Rarity. "Cleaning. What? I said I'd help, and cleaning's helping."

"But polishing the ceiling?" Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow, only for her eyes to widen, and a small, but playful smirk grew on her muzzle. "Unless Neil was a part of your dream?"

Neil looked up to gauge Rainbow's response, but she was already gone by then.

Returning his sight down, he found Rainbow was already on the same side of the bed as Rarity. She looked a little flustered but still countered the unicorn's accusation. "Nuh-uh. No way! Don't you dare think I have frou-frou dreams about stallions!"

Before the topic could devolve into a full-blown argument between them, Neil cut into the conversation. "Rainbow, what does she mean by part of your dream?"

That seemed to do the trick as she looked towards him instead of the white mare. "Oh, uh, Princess Luna had a dream about us. That's how Smokey learned about us and invaded our dreams. Then I had a dream about-" Rainbow cut herself off, looking slightly panicked before turning back to Rarity, who was now sporting a victorious if slightly teasing grin.

Ignoring that, Neil finished that line of thinking for her. "Okay, and through your dream, I'm now infected." He found the whole situation insane. An evil dream monster? What was next, an unkillable murderer with a hockey mask and a machete? "So if I were to dream about Bulk," He hypothetically asked, gesturing toward the pegasus beside him, "He would be infected by the next night? That's how it works?"

He was expecting either Rainbow or Rarity to answer him. Instead, it came from the other side of the room as Twilight finished whatever she was doing and sealed the markers held in her aura. "Essentially correct, though the Tantabus would likely reach out and infect Bulk soon after he appeared in your dreams."

"So this thing spreads fast, too. But why does that matter? What does it do?" He asked, trying to balance the severity of their reactions (Except for Spike, who was now reading a comic on one of the beds) to an admittedly fast-spreading but otherwise benign sounding... parasite? Though he had to admit, the thought of a parasite swimming around in his head that very moment...

He brushed aside that particular thought as Twilight began to speak. "Once the Tantabus infects a dreamer, their dream changes into a nightmare. Allowing the parasite to feed on the negative emotions and gain power. The more dreamers it infects, the faster it can do so. Once it has enough power, Princess Luna thinks it will be able to escape from the dream realm into the real world and turn all of Equestria into one massive, never-ending nightmare!"

... Which was bad. Really bad, Neil had to admit, if the threat was real. Thinking back to his previous night's sleep, he couldn't remember whether or not he had a nightmare. He didn't wake up in a cold sweat, at the very least. "One last question then. How are we going to stop this thing?"

"With luck, we might not need to do anything," Twilight explained as she opened the top drawer of her modest dresser and stored the markers. "Right now Luna should be sleeping. As the only infected dreamer, the Tantabus should be drawn to her dream and attack it. If it does, she can capture it. If not, all the affected dreamers will sleep here while Luna tracks down the Tantabus in our dreams."

Neil's entire body tensed. Luna was going to be in his head? He knew she could do something similar after her anti-swearing stunt. But if she could delve into his dreams, why not his memories? What sort of secrets could she discover about him? What would happen if she found out he wasn't a pony? What could he possibly do to stop this!?

"" Neil felt a hoof touch his shoulder, and more out of instinct than conscious thought, his head jerked to see Bulk looking at him with worry. "You alright?"

"Fine. Just fine," Neil admitted, though his body felt a bit... twitchy; His wings especially, as he all but forced them against his sides to prevent movement. Ignoring that for now, he glanced around the room to find that he was not only the center of attention, but the mares were either looking at him with worry or poorly hidden disbelief. "What?"

Rarity was the first to speak, her calm voice attempting to put him at ease. "Darling, please don't take this wrong way, but you appeared to zone out right after Twilight explained tonight's plan."

"He-he, yeah..." Rainbow Dash laughed awkwardly, looking nervous all of a sudden. "I mean, we're used to this kind of stuff because we're awesome," She admitted, gesturing to herself and the two other mares with a wing before pointing to him. "But he hasn't done anything like this before."

Neil couldn't understand why she called him out like that, but he felt mildly affronted by it as she diverted the room's attention back to him. She didn't stop moving either, as she spread her other wing and gave both a light flap. She easily launched herself over the canopy bed mattress before gliding the rest of the way next to him. "Tell you what. You girls finish setting things up. I'll take Neil and Private Bulk into Ponyville for a tour or something."

"Oh, of course, Darling. We wouldn't want to overwhelm Mr. Neil or his guard stallion during their first End of Equestria as We Know It event," Rarity conceded before her eyes lit up. "And if you feel a bit peckish, there's a quaint little cafe at the end of Stirrup Street. Rainbow knows where it is. Just tell them Rarity offered lunch, my treat."

Midway through Rarity's offer, Rainbow made her feelings about it and the situation they were in quite clear. She butted her head against his cloak-covered shoulder and managed to push him along the crystal floor and out the door without much issue. "Sure thing, Rarity. See you later Twi."

It was an odd feeling, having the crystal slide underneath his hooves while Rainbow somehow found enough grip to push a stallion nearly twice her size. By the time he slipped into the hallway, Neil had assumed the same magnetic hoof ability that allowed ponies to pick up items as if they had hands, allowing Rainbow to grip the floor.

Bulk, his ever-vigilant guard against all threats to his well-being, followed diligently as well. Once all three left the room, Rarity gave one final wave of her hoof before her aura surrounded both doors. The last thing he saw was Twilight silently questioning him with a look before the doors closed with a light thud.

Rainbow let loose a frustrated groan right after and removed her head from his shoulder, looking him directly in the eyes. "You'd better be thankful. Rarity's going to hold that over my head for at least a month."

Neil had an inkling of what she meant, though he couldn't understand why he should be thankful to Rainbow and not Rarity for the free meal. But now that he was out of sight, he took the opportunity to loosen the stranglehold on his wings. Allowing the appendages to ruffle underneath the cloak before settling back down. "Hold what over your head?"

"She thinks I'm having frou-frou dreams about you, and now she offered to pay for a date." She groused, correcting his minor misconceptions before looking to the door with her ears perked. "Let's get this tour going."

Having just met her, he could imagine the posh unicorn pressing her ear against the door to listen in, if she was the matchmaking type. "You know what's going on better than I do. Lead the way."

As Rainbow led them out of the castle, Neil was half expecting her to make them detour and glide off the balcony he had passed earlier. Strangely enough, she didn't; instead, she opted for the stairs like an average pony. Still, the blue Pegasus was a flight junkie. So once he and Bulk braved the first few steps, she lazily hopped into the air and flew beside them the entire way down.

Once they reached the base of the stairs, she was even kind enough to fly ahead and open the front door as he and Bulk jogged along the short hallway. Everything seemed perfectly normal until he passed the threshold outside. Immediately he was bombarded with multiple unexpected noises, most of which were drowned out by the sound of crashing water as if a waterfall was nearby.

He could hear numerous birds whistling to his left, and a quick look confirmed a small flock of sparrows hopping along the surrounding crystal... roots?

Indeed, the surrounding crystal formation looked exactly like tree roots. His curiosity spiked, and Neil looked up. They were directly under the balcony, but the support structures to the right and left of it resembled thick, almost oak-like branches. It was the weirdest structure he'd ever seen, including his recent stint in Canterlot.

"Hey Neil, you coming?" Rainbow called out, drawing his attention away from the castle and towards the mare already a fair distance down the dirt path presumably leading to Ponyville. "Or are you going to stand there all day?"

"I'm coming! Just hold your... sails," Neil flubbed, as he stepped out of the doorway. Bulk followed closely behind, closing the door behind him with an outstretched wing. He knew they had horseshoes. But what about actual horses? So far there was no mention of them in any book he'd read.

Once he caught up to the hovering Rainbow, Neil asked, "So why are we suddenly taking this tour?"

"Because," She stated, giving the castle one last look back, "A part of the deal being your flight instructor was not revealing your secret. When you froze, I saw your wings twitching under the cloak. I'm sure Bulk did as well, right?"

"Yep," Bulk agreed, backing her up. "I knew somethin' was goin' on after the Princess was mentioned. It's why I jostled your shoulder."

He could only recall pausing for a second, maybe two at the most at the thought of Luna traipsing in through his memories. But if he almost gave away the fact that he was an Alicorn... "Did the other two notice?" He asked, glancing warily at the cottages they were passing by at the edge of town.

"If they did, they didn't say anything." Rainbow shrugged as if it was no big deal. "But I got you out of there, and now you owe me one. I'm thinking of more flight training to make up for lost time." She finished by spinning around. Her speed and trajectory didn't change as she flew backward, but her crossed legs and smug grin told him he wasn't getting away this time.

"After the tour, right?" He asked, keeping his eyes locked on hers without looking downwards. Given her current position, her entire underbelly was in open view as her tail trailed limply in the minute breeze their pace created. "Where would we even go so I'm not seen?"

Rainbow didn't notice or care about her unintended flashing as she shrugged. "I have a few spots I like to practice." Thankfully, she flipped back around so that her tail was at least covering the essential bits while her hoof pointed slightly to the west of the pointed brown roof. "But there's one spot near the Everfree that nopony goes to."

"The Everfree?" He perked up almost immediately upon hearing that. He had no idea that Ponyville was near his primary target.

"Yeah. You've heard about it?" She asked, looking back at him confused as the cottages around them became more dense.

"Only that it's a very dangerous forest where the old Castle of the Two Sisters remains." He offered nonchalantly as if it was just a bit of trivia he knew.

"A very dangerous forest, yeah. But me and the girls go in there all the time." She bragged, buffing a hoof against her chest even though her back faced him and Bulk. "You just have to avoid the cragadiles, cockatrice, ursas, manticores..."

Most of the monsters she listed, he had no idea what they were. But he knew what a manticore was, thanks to high school D&D sessions. There was no way they were the exact same creature. That was impossible, right? After all, unicorns were in no way near what the D&D version was. "... Timberwolves, plundervines..."

And, of course, he tuned back in the moment she said plunder-vines. Since his mind was already centered around his high school buddies, it immediately veered in an entirely different direction. 'Thank you, Ken, and your anime obsession for that less-than-appealing image.'

"... And star spiders, which are pretty harmless if you leave them alone." She finished as she took a left.

They were in the town proper now from the looks of it. Cottages of different shapes and sizes surrounded them, with randomly sized yards and spacing between buildings. Some were surrounded by low hedges, or picket fences. But most eschewed any sort of barrier entirely. Neil could even see a few businesses in the mix as well.

To his right was a square building with large oval windows and a large billboard on its thatched roof. The sign didn't say anything, per se, but it advertised... burgers and sodas. That had to be a mistake, right? Or it was a vegetarian alternative since he could only see the lettuce portion of the burger. As far as he knew, ponies avoided meat.

He thought he saw a second about one to two blocks in front of him. A jewelry shop of some sort, named 'Diamond In-' before the rest of the sign was cut off by a cottage. Unfortunately, he couldn't see if the shop was named after the well-known Aladdin cliche as he followed Rainbow and turned left.

Quite a few ponies, mostly Earth Pony mares, were walking around this area of town. Rainbow would give them a wave as she passed, and most would return the gesture. But more often than not, once their eyes shifted towards himself and Bulk, there would be a pause in their step, a raised eyebrow, or they would suddenly become nervous.

Thankfully, Bulk's gleaming armor was drawing most of the attention. A few caught sight of his horn, however. Those mares tended to flinch or look at him with pity, both of which he ignored.

A little down the street, they turned right at a two-story building that looked to have a storefront on the main floor creatively named 'Bon Bon's Bonbons'. He didn't have much time to look into the shop, but the sweet scent of sugary goodness that awaited inside the open door was tantalizing. Up above, a quaint little balcony was attached to the second story.

Folding chairs took up most of the space and a music stand suggested that it also housed an apartment or a living space. Weird, but not the oddest thing he'd seen.

The final street they traveled down was a little cramped for walking side by side and curved around more than a few buildings. As if they were built without considering their neighbors or before proper regulations were put into place. Rainbow swerved around the obstacles with ease.

At the end of that last narrow, shady street, the town opened into a wide open plaza. Everywhere Neil looked, ponies of all kinds were walking this way and that or stopping at small tents set up throughout the open area. The circular, four-story tall building with the pointed roof stood in the plaza's center. To Neil, the first two floors looked vaguely like a cake, with decorative lines made from wood planks and pink windows for accents.

He could see two signs facing separate directions from where he stood, with 'Town Hall' clearly written. Rainbow lazily hovered towards the building, her wings barely flapping to keep herself above the crowd as she went. Normally, Neil would have followed without a thought. But there was a veritable crowd of ponies barring the way. He'd seen crowds of ponies before, almost every single day since he'd shown up in Equestria. But that was always at a distance, hidden away in a crate. Actually, traversing through a gigantic mass of ponies? That was something he never had to contend with before...

Looking back to Bulk, who was as calm as always, Neil clenched his wings into his sides, took a deep breath, and pushed forward. The same phenomena that happened before when Bulk was spotted in his shining armor occurred again. Neil ignored it, though, fully intent on catching up with and walking next to Rainbow. He almost managed to catch up with the Pegasus as well, as she started to curve around Town Hall.

However, a medium-sized group of small pony children caused a break in the crowd as they followed a dark pink mare with smiling flowers on her flank. Thanks to them, he was allowed to see a strange phenomenon that gave him pause.

A fountain was sitting between the town hall building and the cottages wrapping around the plaza. In the center was a pony carved out of stone, balancing on a ball. But it wasn't the fountain itself that caught his interest. No, it was the light teal unicorn sitting at the fountain's edge as she played her harp very peculiarly.

It might have been a rash decision, but Neil veered towards the fountain. The unicorn was holding the harp and playing it with her aura. That was normal enough, Neil presumed. But, as he got closer, the more vindicated he felt. The unicorn was manifesting hands to play her harp, and not the three-fingered Minotaur hands he had seen in textbooks. Hers had four slim feminine fingers and a thumb, almost perfectly matching a woman's hand.

The tune she was playing was rather enchanting as well. An uplifting sort of ditty, that fit the cheerful market almost to a tee. Neil glanced to his side, noting that Bulk had followed on his little detour. "Is it normal to hold something like that?" He asked quietly, gesturing towards the harp.

"Some unicorns shape their magic in odd ways, yeah," Bulk whispered back, "I can't tell what sort of creature paw she's usin', though."

They even moved as they should, as the golden ethereal hands danced across the strings. Plucking one string after another with dexterous ease. Neil was convinced he knew the exact creature they belonged to. After all, he used to be human. And if it happened to him, perhaps she was a victim of circumstance as well. He wasn't going to voice that out loud, however.

"Hey, I thought we were on a tour. Why'd you stop here?" The slightly perturbed voice of Rainbow Dash asked from above, only for her to add a quick, "Oh, hi Lyra," When the music stopped.

Neil swore he felt the shift of Lyra's eyes and the crowd's as they all converged on Rainbow, Bulk, and himself. "Well, I rarely see street performers where I'm from. So, I thought I'd listen for a minute or two," He answered before giving a polite nod to Lyra. "You play your harp very well, by the way."

"Thank you! But it's a lyre technically," She corrected mildly before greeting the mare hovering directly above him. "Hello Rainbow. You don't normally stop and listen. How are things going for you today?"

"Well enough, I guess." Neil could hear the lazy shrug through the tone of her voice. "I'm giving these two ponies a tour of Ponyville at the moment."

"You did mention a tour. Welcome to Ponyville, both of you." Lyra beamed as a few mares, and even a light brown stallion in the crowd welcomed him and Bulk to town. "Did you come here on the morning train?"

"Nah, we didn't take the train," Neil admitted, "Me and Bulk were teleported here against our will about... a little less than an hour ago, I'd say. That about right?"

"Yep," Bulk agreed.

Neil had been expecting some sort of reaction, but beyond a few looks of curiosity or eye rolls, there wasn't.

"Against your will? Was it another of Twilight's failed experiments?" Lyra asked, looking at Rainbow.

"Nah. It's just another Tuesday sort of thing," The Pegasus explained as if it were an everyday situation.

Whatever Tuesday meant, that caused a more noticeable change in the nearby ponies. Ears perked up, and eyes glanced this way and that as the vicinity became more alert. Some even left, like the stallion and the two mares at his side, as if they were escorting him to safety.

"But, me and the girls are taking care of it." She continued casually, as if she doing her spring cleaning.

"That's good to know. Well, I hope you enjoy your stay," The musician offered, sounding a little more wilted. In that short amount of time, the crowd was cut in half. "It seems like I might be ending my performance a few hours early at this rate."

Luckily, Lyra didn't pack up right away. After taking a deep breath, she posed, closed her eyes, and started playing... not a happy tune. But not a sad one, either. As Neil listened, the best way he could describe it was alert, but with a hint of... the Mission Impossible theme? He sat there for an extra minute, just listening, but it was there. Odd.

Looking up, he was glad to see Rainbow was hovering horizontally instead of vertically, as he quietly asked, "Hey Rainbow, how much is an average month's rent in Ponyville?"

"Uh, most ponies pick a spot and build a house in Ponyville," She answered, a little louder than needed but not loud enough to disturb Lyra a second time. "If I had to guess, maybe fifty to a hundred bits a month? Why?"

"You'll see," He whispered before turning to the pegasus beside him. "Bulk, do you still have access to Celestia's account?"

"I have a few slips on me for emergencies," He confirmed after looking around at the diminished crowd. "I'm guessing you wanna make up for the crowd Rainbow chased away?"

"Yeah. Celestia likes it when I spend money on her ponies," He admitted quietly so only Bulk could hear. "How does... double the max rent for an entire year sound?"

"That sounds like you're tryin' to impress the mare or spend the Princess' bits like an idiot." He whispered back, clear enough to voice his disapproval. "You sure?"

"Definitely, to all three," Neil joked as he watched Bulk lean away before both wings dug into his armor. Seconds later, he had a slip of parchment in one wing and a quill and ink bottle in the other.

Even if Celestia didn't personally approve, what would she do? Taking the money back would rend her carefully constructed image as the perfect ruler. Even if this helped a fellow castaway adrift in a sea of ponies only a little, he was more than willing to help.

Once the Mission Impossible-esque song ended, Bulk quickly placed the folded slip of parchment into the instrument case, which was propped open against the fountain.

Lyra watched the guard with a hint of confusion as Bulk placed the parchment alongside a few golden coins, then retreated to Neil's side.

"A tip and an apology from the three of us for thinning the crowd," Neil clarified for her, "But, as much as I would like to stay, Rainbow still has a tour to finish."

He then turned away from the musician, to the south. The direction Rainbow headed initially, before his little diversion. However, before he walked too far, he craned his neck back to tell Lyra one last thing. "Oh, and don't peek until after your performance ends for the day."

Hopefully, she followed his advice. If Bulk was right, and she was impressed by the amount, he wanted as much of a head start as he could get before the mare tried chasing him down.

Thankfully, Rainbow was more than ready to go as she swooped ahead of him. Leading the way once more as they curved around Town Hall and angled themselves towards a dirt path leading towards a darker, wilder, and ominous-looking wall of trees in the distance.

The hairs on the back of Neil's neck stood upright. A faint sense of wrongness welled up inside of him. Somehow, on some instinctual level, he knew without asking that the forest before him was the Everfree Forest...

His current goal looked a little more dangerous than he initially anticipated, as Rainbow brought them ever closer.

~~~

Neil's legs protested through sheer agony as he continued to run. Around and around, lap after lap, with nothing but the smell of torn-up grass, freshly exposed earth, and his own sweat to keep him company. And the worst part was that he and Rainbow knew that no matter what she put him through, he'd be perfectly fine by tomorrow morning.

That was why he was running as many laps as physically possible around the not-so-small clearing in the woods Rainbow had picked out.

"Thirty-four!" Rainbow yelled as he passed the starting position, the large tree branch she was currently lying on like a puffed-up, self-important Cheshire cat.

He desired to be back in town, listening to Lyra's music. That had been much more relaxing compared to this, even if he was surrounded by an unknown amount of ponies. But that had been three, perhaps four hours ago, judging by the sun's current position?

Then, as had happened so many times before, the inevitable caught up to him. His front left hoof slammed into the ground at a slightly wrong angle, causing a minor hitch in his cadence that snowballed from there. One moment, he was upright, gasping for breath as the outside edges of his vision faded to black. The next, he was sliding along the grass as dirt and plant matter intermingled with the foamy sweat on his belly before he finally stopped.

Rainbow was on him immediately, giving him about a second of rest to catch his breath. "Thirty-four and a quarter. Not bad for your third set of laps," She congratulated, patting a hoof against his burning shoulder. "Let's move on and focus on those wings again. Another hundred wing-ups, now!" She commanded before blowing a whistle.

Where she even picked up the infernal thing, Neil didn't know. But he managed to slowly extend his wings, each joint popping with discomfort, with only a small groan. It was a never-ending cycle. When running, his wings would get a short break.

Now that she decreed wing-ups, his front legs would get some time to recover. Unfortunately, his back legs and thighs never got a break. He suspected that was intentional on Rainbow's part.

"Who knows," Rainbow continued, with the whistle no longer pressed against her lips. "Another couple hours of this, and you might get off the ground on your next session. Then I can start teaching you the good-"

"TWENTY-FOUR HUNDRED BITS!?" The faint but shocked sound of Lyra's shriek wove through the trees.

... Clearly, Lyra had finished playing for the day as Neil collapsed into wheezing, gasping laughter.

8. Dream-Ministrations Part 2

(October 25th: 9th Day Since Capture)

The sun was just about to peak at the final leg of its evening journey when Rainbow called his torture- training session to an end. Any minute now, Celestia would supercharge the giant ball of flaming death's trajectory and banish it beyond the horizon, as was typical in Equestria.

But Neil couldn't give a single fuck about the absurd physics that ran the world at the moment. He was far too focused on taking things one step at a time as he slowly turned towards the direction he thought the castle might be. Of course, he wasn't the only one making the journey back. Bulk quickly found his place at Neil's right side now that Rainbow called their session. Rainbow was also flying nearby. He could hear her wings flapping somewhere above him, but he didn't have the energy to look up and track her movements.

He had to admit, after all the times he collapsed in this field, a not-so-small part of him wanted to curl up right then and there in the foot-high grass. It was softer and far more comfortable than a shipping crate, at the very least. But he knew Rainbow and Bulk wouldn't allow him to do that as he slowly approached the treeline.

Speaking, or thinking of the ice-cold blue devil as the case may be, Neil felt Rainbow gently prod his sore left shoulder with a hoof. Adding an extra little spark of burning pain on top of everything else as she spoke. "Uh, Neil. If we're going to make it to the castle before sunset, you're going to have to move faster."

Neil only gave her an irritable grunt as he continued forward. If she wanted to get back to the castle within a timely manner, she should have thought about that before running him into the literal ground time and time again.

Her lazy flaps shifted to his right, hovering around Bulk. "You think I might have overdone his training?" She asked quietly, though he still managed to hear her.

"Yep," Was Bulk's not-so-silent response.

"Okay, that might be my bad." Rainbow conceded as Neil broke through the treeline at a snail's pace. "Uhhh... Hold on, Alicorn, duh! Just give me a second," She offered, giving up on the quiet approach as she shot off into the sky.

Neil would have shrugged at her sudden disappearance if he knew it wouldn't hurt. Instead, he focused all of his remaining energy on listing lazily towards the left of the nearest tree and its cantankerous root system poking out of the ground.

He managed to pass another three trees slowly but steadily before Rainbow returned at a more sedate speed than when she had left. The reason was obvious, however, as she pushed a fluffy white cloud about the size of a trampoline in front of her. "Hop on! This way you can take it easy, and we can get to the castle faster."

His first rebellious instinct was to veto the idea outright and walk the rest of the way despite her training. But then, his memory flashed, reminding him how soft the cloud Bulk created in the castle felt. If this one was anything like that... He couldn't deny that sort of comfort was something he could use at that point.

A hint of nervousness broke through Bulk's guard facade, but otherwise, he said nothing one way or the other about Rainbow's idea.

So, with aching muscles and a few noticeable pops from his joints, he climbed onto the unnaturally formed cloud mattress. Unlike before, he didn't notice any of the white fluffy clouds darkening into a dreary grey. But he didn't care, either, after his first step. Once he was near the center with all four hooves on the cloud, he couldn't resist. The soft allure was too much as he collapsed into incomprehensibly soothing water vapor. Allowing the cloudy sea of white to support his weary body as if he was one giant fuck you buoy in the name of physics.

It could have been his aching body speaking for him, but this was by far the best mattress he'd ever felt. He made a priority note to himself in the back of his mind. If, for some reason, the ponies never converted clouds into beds, he would do just that (If he couldn't find his way back home).

He didn't feel a thing as all three flew above the treeline. He barely even saw it, as his eyes were level with the cloud's cottony texture. For some reason, it was a struggle to keep his eyes open as he constantly blinked away the dark fuzziness at the edge of his vision...

By the time the sun fell, only to be replaced with the ever-glowing moon, Neil was out cold and gently snoring. Quickly and silently, both Rainbow and Bulk pushed the cloud through the clear evening sky toward the Castle of Friendship.

~~~***~~~

Luna could have had a better evening. Between informing her sister of the possible scenarios where the Tantabus could grow out of control, the raising of her Moon, and cancelling Lunar Court for a second night in a row, she only managed to wolf down a single thermos of coffee and a lone plate of pancakes. Nary enough to last through a whole night's work, but it would have to do as she teleported directly to Twilight's castle.

She chose the map room, as that was the most likely spot for everypony to gather. In that regard, she was correct. Mostly. As the light of her spell dissipated, she found five of the six Elements and Spike the hatchling sitting in their respective thrones around the table.

They had been talking while enjoying an open box of baked goods sitting on the table. But the moment Luna's presence was noticed, all noise ceased. At least, it would have if one of the Elements had not been a party pony. Laughter immediately bounced in front of her with a white confectionery delivery box. "Hi, Princess! I thought you might be hungry, so I made these for you."

Before she could reply, Pinkie Pie had already opened the box, revealing twelve large double chocolate chunk muffins baked to perfection. The scent alone had her mouth watering as she graciously took the box in her magic and placed it on her back. "I thank you for the gift."

"You're welcome," Pinkie answered, suddenly back in her throne and bouncing with another two boxes resting on her back.

"Unfortunately, we have no time to spare." She warned the ponies who were present. "I was unsuccessful in my attempt to lure the Tantabus into my dreams, which means I must now hunt it through yours."

Princess Twilight quickly spoke up, "Princess Luna, we've prepared everything exactly as you've requested."

"Good," Luna appraised her prompt work. "As everypony slumbers, I will pursue the creature into whichever of your dreams it infests."

"...But as you can see, Rainbow still hasn't returned with Neil and his guard," Twilight continued, pointing out the flaw she had noticed earlier. "Shouldn't we wait?"

While a problem she did not foresee, it was a minor one at most. Gathering magic into her horn, Luna focused her mind on the same tracking spell she used earlier in the day. This time, she keyed it towards the essence of Rainbow Dash, Bulk Order, and Neil before releasing the spell.

She didn't have to wait long for a response. All three were in the airspace over Ponyville and moving towards the Castle of Friendship. What alarmed her the most was that Neil's essence was already tethered to the dream realm. "They are travelling here as we speak. However, we must hurry if our plan is to succeed. Neil has already fallen asleep."

"Aye, aye, Ma'am!" Pinkie Pie saluted, wearing a combined white captain's hat and sleeping nightcap with a pom-pom that matched her coat. "Operation Princess Sleepover is a go. Wheee!" With that, she joyfully pronked across the room and out the door nearest the stairs.

"I reckon we might as well get comfy while waiting on Rainbow and those stallions Twilight mentioned." Applejack seconded as she slipped out of her throne and followed Laughter out of the room.

Each pony left the map room one by one until only herself, Princess Twilight, and Spike, who was riding on Princess Twilight's back, remained near the door.

Twilight was next to go but paused at the threshold long enough to look back and ask, "Speaking of Princesses, aren't you going to ask Celestia for her help as well?"

"She has been informed about the situation, but there is nothing my sister can do," Luna informed her, following right behind the other Alicorn. "She has no power in the realm of sleep. Only I can move from dream to dream. I am afraid nopony can help me tonight."

Twilight's ears wilted a little upon hearing that. "Even us?"

"Especially you," Luna stated, reinforcing the notion as they made it to the stairs. "You have all suffered so much because of me. You need only slumber while I hunt the Tantabus in your dreams."

A contemplative silence followed as they ascended the steps. However, once both Alicorns reached the landing above, Luna felt an odd sensation. One she remembered from her more adventurous lovers who had long since passed, but hadn't been reacquainted with in the modern era since the end of her banishment.

Looking to her side, she saw a slightly nervous but determined Spike release the lock of the ethereal mane he'd just tugged on. "Um, Princess? I know you said nopony can help, but I'm no pony. I'm gonna stay up and watch over you guys, just in case."

Twilight smiled as she took the lead to her bed chambers. "Aww, thank you, Spike."

Despite the impropriety, Luna couldn't help but smile at the dragon hatchling's offer as well. The likelihood that he could stave off sleep was unlikely, but she appreciated the gesture all the same.

After a short walk, the two Alicorns approached the doors leading into Twilight's bed chambers. One of them had been left open, allowing both to hear the last of what Applejack had to say. "...Shouldn't be too hard to fall asleep now."

"Are you kidding!?" An overly excited Element of Laughter countered, "This is so exciting; I don't know how I'm ever going to- Zzzzz-hoooo..."

Only three of the nine single beds were occupied as they entered the room. Kindness and Generosity were already sleeping in the two beds closest to the entrance. For some unknown reason, Honesty and Laughter had both claimed the same bed, leaving plenty still available to choose.

As Twilight shifted towards her bed, Spike hopped off her back and scuttled across the room quietly to claim the bed furthest away from Fluttershy. Once on top of the covers, he braced himself against the pillow in a sitting position. Allowing him to watch over the room easily, as he promised he would.

Now, it was a waiting game as Luna watched her fellow princess drift off into the realm of slumber. It would be counter-productive to cast the spell now and exclude Rainbow and Neil. Doing so would allow the Tantabus multiple free havens to escape beyond her tightening net.

Thankfully, she wouldn't have to wait long. If she correctly guessed their current rate of speed, then the three remaining ponies should reach the castle...

A faint tapping could be heard on the window next to the telescope. Glancing to her right, Luna saw Private Bulk Order and Rainbow Dash hovering next to the glass with an errant cloud behind them. Peeking over the two pegasi, she noted Neil's messy, dirt and grass-stained form unmoving on the cloud.

It was just as she feared, as her magic unlatched the window and pulled both panes aside. This allowed Loyalty to swoop in silently while Private Bulk flew around the cloud before pushing it carefully through the window.

"We have no time to waste," She whispered to Rainbow while gesturing towards the many unused beds. "The Tantabus may already be on the move, but you must be asleep before I can cast the spell required to capture it."

Rainbow did just that. With only a quick nod, she hopped to the open bed next to Generosity and threw the cover over herself. Within seconds, Luna felt her essence link with the dream realm and knew she was asleep.

By then, Bulk had maneuvered Neil above the bed closest to the window, exactly where the Alicorn stallion needed to be. As the guard lowered the cloud, the bed disappeared into the mist without resistance from underneath. Only for the bed to break through the top layer and lift Neil off the cloud, as the cloud pressed against the floor.

When Neil touched the sheets, the entire cloud began to glow a faint, dull orange. With Neil in place, the chaos ward activated. This would hopefully neutralize any trace of chaos magics circulating through Neil's system. Allowing her to bolster and then enter his dream without shattering it.

With Neil in place, Bulk quickly removed the remnants of the cloud. Allowing the glow to become slightly more prominent now that the active glyphs were uncovered.

But she had no time to appreciate Princess Twilight's glyph work. With everypony in their proper place, it was now time to dutifully play her role as the hunter. With a silent flap of her wings, she found herself halfway up the room. Giving her clear sight over all the ponies she needed to tether herself to.

Unlike most castings, she first needed to focus on the spell. Only after that could she gather magic to fuel her will. Every drop was filtered into the spell, preventing the typical casting aura from appearing. Instead, a single ethereal thread that only she could see wove around her horn. Once it reached the tip, the thread split. Several separate threads then spread out, each finding the forehead of a pony to tether to. This allowed her rapid access to a pony's dream and to lay more potent wards to detect unwanted beings.

The moment Rarity was connected, she felt the foreign essence of a spirit. At long last, she had irrefutable proof she could track the Tantabus down. She only had to wait a moment for all ponies to be connected before the chase was on.

When the final thread reached Neil and pressed against the base of his horn, Luna felt something different and entirely new. His dream was just as wispy and frail as before, but now it felt as if the instability was typical for him. However, without the chaos magic interfering, she could now strengthen the framework, so to speak, and allow herself into his dream without a collapse.

If she was required to do so. She focused on the thread connected to Rarity and dove into the unknown.

~~~

...Almost. If not for her moment of hesitation, she would have surely captured the beast inside Princess Twilight's dream. Alas, after chasing the Tantabus through multiple dreams, its power was far greater than she initially anticipated. After shattering its prison of crystal, the beast immediately dove into the nearest book as an escape into the next dream. She followed soon after, leaving poor Twilight to fend for herself against an army of animated texts.

Not her proudest moment, to be sure, as the scent of decay almost overwhelmed Luna in the dark and decrepit stone passageway she now found herself in. Once her horn was lit, she could tell at a glance the structure would have been magnificent at one point in time. Now, the grand blocks of stone hewn from purest white marble were the foundation for layers of slime, mold, and moss, except for a singular, lightly trodden path.

To the average dreamer, the expectation would be to follow the path, wherever it may lead. But for Luna, she instead sent out a faint pulse to find where the dreamer was currently residing. After all, if she were to find the pony, she would also find the Tantabus, as had been the case the last six times.

Within a second or two, she felt a flutter as her magic reacted to the north of her position, leading her directly through the moldy stone wall. A problem, to be sure, if she wasn't the most skilled dream-walker to ever exist. She shot another quick application of magic into the facsimile of a wall and watched as the stone became as malleable as clay while a portal to the dreamer slowly formed.

She never knew exactly what form the gateway would take. Only that it would fit the theme of the dream, or in this case, nightmare, as the material transmuted itself into an old, thick, rusty metal door fit for a dungeon. Thinking on it, this dream's framework reminded her of the tales parents would use when she was but a filly to scare their foal into compliance. Grogar, the Vile Father of Monsters in particular, going by the decrepit state of the dungeon.

Would she find herself beset by horrific monsters dripping in blood while Grogar transformed the dreamer against their will? With the door almost complete, she would find out soon enough.

As soon as the hinges formed, Luna pushed open the barely functioning metal door with her magic. Oddly, she stepped through without even a single squeak from the rusty hinges into another passageway.

This one was far brighter, with two lit torches casting an acceptable amount of light from a distance. The stonework was also cleaner, but not by much, revealing platter-sized patches of bare white marble instead of being fully covered by grime. At the very least, the fungal scent was overpowered by the smoke from the torches and a noticeable hint of iron and rust.

Yet, no living creature was in her sight. Odd. Usually, she would be transported directly to the dreamer... No, now that she was closer, she could feel his essence. This was Neil's dream, which miraculously hadn't shattered. Meaning the chaos suppression wards worked. Now, if only she could find-

"Oh look, Dear Sister, it appears as if our new toy is finally waking up for some fun."

Though she barely heard the words, Luna recognized the voice immediately. There was no doubt in her mind that the voice belonged to Celestia, her sister. However, not once in her entire life had Luna ever heard her sister speak in such a taunting, almost playful tone... Whatever type of dream construct it was, it wasn't her sister as Luna quietly trotted toward the torches.

Silence passed, allowing Luna to get closer to the torches and the open passageway they flanked before another pony spoke. This time, it was Luna's voice she heard. "Prithee, dost thou wish to claim the first ride?"

'Toy? Fun? Ride?' Something about this dream didn't sit right with Luna. Why was her sister acting so odd? Why was she speaking ancient equish? She had become much more proficient in the modern vernacular over the last year, to the point she and Celestia could hold entire conversations... But that was beside the point as she attempted to get closer.

Annoyingly, once she reached a certain point, the passage started moving along the wall at the same speed away from her.

"Nay, Luna. After your prolonged exile, I felt it only fitting for this to be a celebration of firsts. Go, enjoy yourself."

Moments later, she heard a third voice join the mix, this one distinctly Neil, though woozy. As if he was still partially sedated or worse. "What's goin' on... Hey, what're you- Get the fuck off of me, Sto-Mmph!" The escalation of fear in his words drove a spike into Luna's heart. She may not have liked the stallion much, but the sudden shift in tone alluded to something horrific. What set fire to her hooves was the sudden cut off of his angry yell.

Luna ran as fast as she could, quickly gaining on the torch-flanked passageway. Whatever made it move could only go so fast, but not fast enough as she closed the distance. Once near the passageway, she gave her all in one final leap. Her wings extended as much as they could in the passageway before providing a single, mighty flap, pushing herself past the threshold and through the entrance into a large ritual chamber.

She might have clipped the tip of her wing against the unusually clean stone, but that was a small price to pay as she looked up into the room.

All thoughts of the moving door quickly departed from her mind as her eyes took in the depraved scene before her.

~*~
Graphic Content Warning.
Search 6969 to skip.
~*~

Neil was on the ground, forced to lie on his back. Each of his limbs, front legs, back legs, wings, and tail were spread out and held down with iron straps bolted into the stone floor. Even his neck had a metal collar affixed just below his chin, which was not only attached to a short chain (That was also bolted to the stone floor) but was the base for a large leather gag stuffed into his snout.

The only appendage that wasn't bound in some form or another... was his rather large and erect black and gray penis, which was currently being massaged by an exact dream replica of herself. The fake Luna allowed Neil's tool of fornication to glide up and down between her perky posterior cheeks, all of which were slick with her feminine arousal.

The entire room reeked of genuine leather, looking at all the various straps, restraints, and toys lining the walls. But the unmistakable, almost overpowering scent of Alicorn musk and estrus was a notable contrast.

None of the ponies in the room reacted to her presence. Not even Neil, whose terrified eyes were firmly affixed on Celestia as she made her way up from a spot on the wall that seemed to be empty. To Luna, she looked exactly as her sister should, except for two very un-Celestia-like details. The first was the maliciously playful grin on her muzzle as she slowly pranced up to Neil, clearly savoring the fear in his eyes. The second was a massive, fake purple phallus attached to the underside of her belly with leather straps. It was even more significant than Neil's girth as it bounced and slapped against Celestia's belly, slicking her fur with pre-applied lubricant with each lurid step.

"Did you know, Dear Sister, that massaging a stallion's prostate not only enhances his endurance but the volume of his seed?" Dream Celestia asked the fake Luna, who appeared to be more focused on lubricating Neil's member and her entire rump with her physical lust. "So please, take all the time you need and enjoy this. By the following morning, both of us should be pregnant with the next generation of Alicorns."

Celestia had closed the distance by the time she finished speaking, blocking Luna's view of the most explicit actions taking place. However, there was no room for interpretation of what Dream Celestia was planning to do as she positioned herself behind Neil and started lining herself up. "Even so, that doesn't mean we can't practice for the next set of foals after tonight. Neil won't be going anywhere for a long, long time, will you, Stud?"

The thought alone must have aroused Dream Celestia since she gave a fervid wink as she spoke. Unfortunately, Neil didn't give her a proper answer. He couldn't, given the gag stuffed down in his snout. But that didn't stop his panicked, unintelligible yells during Celestia's speech.

Throughout the brief exchange, Luna stood frozen as she watched everything but couldn't quite process what was happening before her. This was an insult to everything she and her sister stood for! To know that these were the sorts of nightmares Neil was having, daily? That his greatest fear was to be raped by herself and Celestia?

No. Just as Luna had done in Pinkie's dream, she quickly charged the two fake Alicorns, gathering as much magic as possible to the tip of her horn while focusing on a cleansing spell. Once she was close enough, she released a shock wave of dream magic to undo the corruption brought about by the Tantabus.

Dream Celestia, fake phallus included, took only a second to fade out of existence. Long before any actual penetration happened to the poor stallion's exposed orifice. The same thing happened to Neil's muzzle, though the rest of his restraints remained. The fake version of herself, however, did not fade away. Instead, her form seemed to lose shape and shift until it was little more than a starry void in the vague shape of an Alicorn.

The Tantabus' malformed head looked back directly at her, uncaring of Neil's terrified plight underneath it. A mouth-like void opened up, releasing a warning hiss akin to a chimera's. Immediately afterward, the Tantabus jumped down, forcing its amorphous form down a panicked and swearing Neil's throat-

~~~***~~~
6969
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Neil reacted on instinct, gasping for much-needed breath as he shot up. His recently freed wings immediately formed a protective shield around himself. Both hooves rushed to his chest and neck, looking for any out-of-place bumps or bulges that may or may not have been the monster that...

His mind shut down that thought, instead focusing on the fact that there weren't any out-of-place, tumor-esque lumps expanding out of his body as far as he could tell. Though he couldn't see due to his wings, he finally noticed he wasn't alone, as his ears picked up a voice.

"That... that was terrible," An unknown, soft-spoken mare said. "I- I never want to have that nightmare again!"

"Me either," The familiar voice of Rainbow Dash seconded, informing him there was at least one person in the room that he knew.

Was that a Tantabus-induced nightmare? It felt so real, the way the metal dug into his skin despite the layer of fur or the pain that tore through his muscles as he tried to break free from his restraints. The warmth from- A shudder ran through his entire body as that image flared into his mind. Nope. Ignore that and focus on the room around him.

"But, Luna caught it. Didn't she?" Spike asked from the same area as the soft-spoken pony, his voice tinged with worry.

"I am so sorry, my friends," Luna spoke, her voice originating from the ceiling. Neil immediately looked up, over his wings, to see a strange sight. Instead of the cold, almost formidable presence that he was used to, she lowered herself to the ground with her eyes closed as she spoke. Sadness and failure radiating off her in the strange, orange shimmer that reflected off the ceiling. It was a shocking contrast compared to the perverted glee from mo- 'No!'

"I failed," She continued as her metal horseshoes made contact with the crystal. She then started to walk around the room methodically, as if each step enhanced the point she was trying to make. "It will be back to infect your dreams the next time you sleep, again and again, every night until it grows powerful enough to infect the waking world!"

Peeking over his wings, he noted that Luna had ended her warning near the window next to Twilight's four-poster bed, and she also had the rapt attention of all six ponies in the room with him. Rarity, Rainbow, and Twilight, he recognized. From the direction of the soft-spoken voice, he could see a yellow mare with a pink mane. She had partially wrapped herself in her bed sheet and was still visibly shaking from the ordeal she just survived.

He couldn't tell much of the other two other than the fact that they were sleeping in the same bed. One had a puffy pink hairstyle and ears that were a lighter, less vibrant shade of pink. Squeezed next to the pink hair was a pair of orange ears with a small amount of blond hair. Strangely enough, hanging off the curved headboard, somehow, was a cowboy hat next to the orange mare.

"It'll be okay," The pink mare cheered despite her nightmare as she raised a hoof high. Enough to be seen over the headboard, at least. "Everypony makes mistakes."

"Spike, please send a letter to my sister. She is no longer safe from the Tantabus' reach," She ordered as she turned and walked back to the center of the beds. For a moment, her eyes caught his with a flash of unknown emotion, before she looked to the rest of the ponies with... genuine resolve? Or it might have been a facade, he couldn't tell. "However, as long as none of you dreamt about any other ponies, the Tantabus remains confined to a set number of dreams."

A gout of green flames sprouted between Rarity's and the soft-spoken mare's bed, temporarily lighting the room with a bright green glow. "I still have a chance to catch it before it's too late.

"Phew, that's good to hear," The pink one said with a relieved sigh, airing the feeling throughout the room... Only to then burst everyone's bubble as she torpedoed Luna's hope with the speed of a machine gun. "Although after you left I did have a dream that I was eating a giant ice cream cone with all of Ponyville and taking a test I didn't study for. See? What did I tell you, everypony makes mistakes."

Neil couldn't follow her jumble of words but caught ice cream, Ponyville, and test. However, the look of abject shock on Luna's face hammered the message home. The entire town. All those innocent ponies who had nothing to do with this, whether adults or children, could be having the same severity of vivid nightmares that he had just suffered?

"But that means the Tantabus could be turning every dream in Ponyville into a nightmare!" Twilight shouted with worry, the very same expression marring her face.

"It is far worse than that," Luna warned, spinning to look over each of them as she spoke. "Infecting all of those dreams gives it more and more power. Soon, it will be able to escape into the real world and infect Equestria with its nightmare plague."

"Then you must let us help you stop it before that happens," Rarity demanded, sternly, her determined eyes locked onto Luna.

"But how?" The yellow mare asked as she slowly unwrapped the blanket from around herself. "The Tantabus would be able to escape Luna when it only had seven dreams it could get to."

"It is true," Luna conceded, looking lost. "With so many dreams to hide in, I do not know how I can catch it."

The room fell into a slight lull of silence and defeat at her words, except for the tiny pitter-patter of feet against crystal Neil associated with Spike. He followed the sound and caught a glimpse of purple and green scales between multiple headboards as the little lizard climbed onto one of the unused beds.

After that minor distraction, he looked across the room once more. None of the mares seemed to be moving. Twilight was deep in thought. He couldn't see anything of Rainbow beyond her still hair above the headboard. Rarity was watching Luna closely. And the yellow ma- Neil froze.

The yellow Pegasus' wings were partially flared, and her cyan eyes, looking directly at him, were wide with shock.

'Fuck!' Neil thought as he quickly ducked his head under his wings. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Why in the world did one of them have to look his way?' He thought, fuming at his stupidity and lack of vision as he stared at his interwoven feathers.

Thankfully, Twilight chose that moment to come up with a bright idea. "What if everypony in Ponyville were having one dream?"

"I... can create shared dreams, yes," Luna admitted, with both hope and worry intermixed in her voice. "But for so many ponies at once? I have never done anything like that. The amount of power it would take..."

The mare who spotted him spoke up next. Strangely, she did so without mentioning him as she encouraged Luna. "Well, it is worth a try, isn't it?"

"I agree with Fluttershy, Luna," A new mare spoke up with the opening of a door, one that sent a spike of dread through his chest. The visage of a malicious grin that promised a whole night of forced pleasure and pain clouded his mind. Celestia was now in the room. "Anything is worth a try to save our little ponies."

The following silence was marred by the sound of metal horseshoes against crystal. Neil felt that it might be Celestia, but he couldn't be sure until it stopped, only to be followed by the strain of an Alicorn even larger than him settling down on a bed that was too small.

There was a muffled giggle that might have been from the fast talking, hyper sounding mare, but he didn't know for sure. Once that died down, however, a country twang that gave Bulk a run for his money spoke up. "Uh, not to take away from the current crisis everypony, but who in tarnation is that?"

Neil's nerves spiked. He wasn't positive, but he felt that question was directed towards him like a spear.

"That would be Neil," Luna supplied neutrally. "Please, leave him be for now. The nightmare wrought upon him by the Tantabus was particularly... savage." She finished with a hint of anger in her voice.

Still, the country mare continued, sounding more confused than anything else now. "Twi, didn't you say that Neil fella was a unicorn?"

"Neil is an Alicorn like myself, Luna, and Twilight," Celestia told the room, dropping his secret like a bombshell as anger sparked within him. "We can discuss that later, however, after the current crisis as Applejack put it."

"Agreed," Luna followed immediately afterward. "All of you must now go back to sleep. And hope... that I can create such a dream."

Go back to sleep? With the current mix of emotions roiling throughout his system, there was no way in hell he could go back to sleep! However, the rest of the ponies in the room had no such qualms. He heard ponies yawning as they shifted in their beds. How? How could they go back to sleep with the pressure of an entire town at stake and the visceral reality that they had to take on a monster eerily similar to Freddy Kreuger?

He didn't have to wait long before a sudden weariness fell over him. It was almost as if a switch were flipped internally, as his wings limply fell to his sides and his body sagged. At that point, as he fought to keep his eyes open, he could see Luna hovering in the air with her eyes closed in concentration. A faint part of his mind guessed that this was some sort of mind magic bullshit. That same part tried to spark something. Anger, rage, anything to fight against it.

Strangely, he settled into it instead. Of course, she would use some sort of mass sleep ward as a precursor. An entire town was at stake. And he couldn't allow anyone else to suffer a similar fate... he...

~~~

Neil jolted, surprised to find himself awake and standing outside in a strange, almost mystical version of Ponyville after dark. However, he wouldn't describe the night as dark with the amount of silver light the moon gave. Strangely, the moon now looked like a pale blue-white sun at a glance.

But what was he doing there? Why was he outside? Wasn't he in bed, in the castle?... Actually, now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember climbing into bed in the first place. But that wasn't important. He had to figure out what the hell was going on, and quickly.

Looking around, he was somewhat surprised to find himself in an area of Ponyville he knew. He didn't know the street name or any of that nonsense, but it was the cramped street between the candy shop and the town hall plaza. Not wanting to deal with any possible crowds, Neil turned around, heading north towards the candy shop despite the lateness of the night.

The castle was at the northwest edge of town. Logically, if Neil went northeast, he should reach the edge of town in roughly the same amount of time. And from there? He could figure out what to do once he was safe and secure.

At least, that was the thought until Neil walked past Bon Bon's Bonbons. As he turned the corner, he immediately spotted Lyra, the musician from earlier that day, and another mare colored a pale yellow, with hair in equal amounts of blue and pink, standing not even ten feet away from him. However, that wasn't the shocking, jaw-dropping aspect that made him freeze like a statue. No, that feat belonged to the fact that both mares were somehow two front halves connected at the belly as they hugged as if they were a strange pony facsimile of the old CatDog cartoon.

Unfortunately he stood at the spectacle, frozen, for just a little too long as Lyra opened her eyes and spotted him. Her already content smile blossomed even more as she immediately pointed a hoof at him. "That's the stallion I was telling you about Bonny! The one who tipped the huge pile of bits."

Lyra's... other head? Whose name was Bonny, turned to look at him, not looking nearly as enthused as she raised an eyebrow. "You failed to mention this generous stallion of yours was an Alicorn, Lyra."

'Alicorn!?' Neil thought as he immediately panicked. He whipped his head around to look at his back, only to find his cloak wasn't there. To add insult to injury, his stupid wings choose that moment to ruffle sheepishly as if to say, 'It ain't our fault, Boss.'

As he turned back to the two-in-one pony, something wasn't adding up. "And you don't find anything odd with, well, that?" He countered, waving his hoof vaguely at where they were connected.

"I do. I mean, Bonny and I are close; really close. But this is a little ridiculous," Lyra admitted with a faint blush as she used the same hoof she pointed at him to poke at their connection.

Then, to add to Neil's confusion, a pink Earth Pony mare with vibrant yellow hair crested over a nearby roof... with a rowboat? Both oars were rowing along at a decent clip as the mare looked up into the starless sky with a dreamy expression.

Lyra also spotted her quickly broke the mare out of her daze with a greeting and a wave. "Hi Cherry!"

"Hi Lyra, Bon Bon," The mare named Cherry called back as she looked towards land, taking a break from her flight as she released the oars. The boat immediately slowed down but continued coasting at a more sedate speed. "I always knew you two were tied at the hip. Making your herd official anytime soon?"

"Why do you ask? Want to join in on the fun?" Bon Bon countered, sounding equally flirty and snarky as if this was a familiar exchange.

"I don't know. I think I prefer to keep my back end, bits, and bum included; thank you very much." Cherry teased right back, shaking said rump at the two conjoined mares. "Besides, you know my one true love is the sky."

The three mares clearly would have enjoyed talking the night away. Something Neil would have taken advantage of to slip away if not for the blaring voice loud enough to cut through all of Ponyville.

"PONIES! THERE IS NO TIME FOR BOWING MY FRIENDS. THERE IS SOMETHING COMING. SOMETHING TERRIBLE!"

It clicked right then and there. This was a dream. Not only that, but Luna was here. Despite her misgivings, she must have succeeded. Every single pony, mare, stallion, and child were all in a dream...

"NO, IT IS ALREADY HERE!"

... With that Thing.

Neil's eyes narrowed as he felt the smoldering coals of rage reigniting in his chest. Luna's voice came from the town hall plaza. The monster was near her. And this time, he wasn't chained to the fucking ground.

Before he ran off, however, he looked at the three confused-looking mares who just had their conversation interrupted. "You three, get somewhere safe. Believe me, this thing is a fucking nightmare!"

His warning delivered, he spun around and ran back down the cramped road he came from.

"I AM SO SORRY, I BROUGHT THIS UPON YOU." Luna called out again, her voice covering all of Ponyville. "BUT I WILL END IT NOW!"

An incomprehensible wail of amalgamated pain came after her statement, only to be followed by the distant screams of terror from regular people.

His mind raced as he galloped around the sharp corners of the tight, winding street. He didn't have any supernatural powers. He could barely even attempt to fly. What, exactly, could he do against a nightmare monster? Only for the answer to jump out at him immediately. 'Nightmares and dreams are all in your head, aren't they?'

Suddenly, as he swerved around an unusually sharp-looking corner, a realm of possibilities opened up. He could potentially do anything if a shared dream followed the same rules as a regular one. Magic, sci-fi, power armor, 'weapons'-

He felt himself weighed down immediately as his mind jumped to the first compatible armor and weapons combination. An extra thirty to sixty pounds of perfectly fit armor coalesced around his entire form. He might have thought a sudden change like that should have been uncomfortable, except it wasn't.

His whole body was cushioned by a gel-like substance he couldn't quite place. This included a fully enclosed helmet that blacked out his vision for a fraction of a second, only for the lens to become transparent again with a very familiar VISR start-up sequence.

Curved lines of dull gold filled his vision, forming a simple but informative HUD straight out of Halo: ODST. Grenades? Fully stocked. Weapons? His favorite combination, each indicating infinite ammo. His visor updated, flashing an urgent message underneath the scrolling compass at the top.

Objective: Find Luna.

Simple enough. Neil was already heading south towards her voice as he turned a final corner and caught sight of the plaza. Even though it was just a small piece of the overall picture, he could still see the absolute chaos as ponies ran in all directions, chased by flying vampire cupcakes, or buildings turned into monsters.

Once the severity of the situation dawned on him, the smoldering coals inside his chest burst into flame as he charged down the rest of the street and into the fray. Mimicking Lyra, Neil ignited his horn. He didn't feel anything different, but a dull gold aura burst into being just out of view of his visor.

In the bottom right corner of his HUD, his weapon selection switched to the shotgun as two ghostly hands ripped the weapon off his back from between his wings and brought the instrument of death next to his helmet.

He had no idea how to aim a gun as a pony. But thanks to his VISR system, his targeting reticle followed wherever he aimed the barrel. So when a terrified pair of ponies swerved around him, putting him between themselves and the large, cat-like cottage with dagger-like fangs for a front door, he instinctively placed the reticle over the monster's window-shaped eye and pulled the trigger.

He not only heard but felt the dampened explosion of the shell right next to his helmet as the window shattered. The monster cottage, structural integrity be damned, immediately came to a stop as it curled in on itself. Screeching, cat-like yowls of pain emanated from the beast building, informing him that it was injured, not killed. But it wasn't chasing anything anymore, and he had more pressing matters to attend to as he ran into the chaos.

Terrified screams intermixed with various monsters' yowls, hisses, and growls. The cacophony of sounds would have been almost overwhelming if not for the dampening provided by his helmet. Not to mention the clouds of vampire cupcakes chasing pegasi through the air, the random homes coming to life, or the occasional murderous-looking lamp post with spindly, whip-like filigree arms he put out of commission.

Still, Neil ran through it all toward the most unusual aspect of the dream. It was a bundle of white-blue ethereal threads, reaching into the sky and connecting with the moon. He knew Luna was there, not only because of the symbology between Luna and the moon but also because the diamond shaped objective marker hovered over the base of the beacon-like oddity.

The fact that the starry, house-sized amorphous form of the Tantabus was also harassing the area made it a foregone conclusion. It wasn't allowed to assault Luna with impunity, however, as the monster was being attacked from multiple angles.

Both Rainbow Dash and Celestia were attacking it from the air. Rainbow was physically punching through it with her speed as Celestia wove around the beast, firing golden lasers from multiple directions.

At this distance, he couldn't tell, but Celestia also had some sort of staff or pole-arm circling about her, decimating anything hostile that came too close. On top of that, even more reddish-pink lasers shot holes into the Tantabus' form from below.

Neil's brief scan of the upcoming battlefield didn't come without consequence. He was brought back to the here and now as something heavy slammed into his side and pinned him to the ground. His first instinct was to thrash and kick at the creature, but whatever it was, it was big enough to pin all of his limbs.

He could feel the barrel of his shotgun pressing against his neck, unable to move. He was sure some of his bones would have already snapped under the weight of the creature if not for his armor.

The only thing he could do in his enraged but panicking state was wrench his head around and take a look at the monster he was at the mercy of. He first noted the gigantic, pinkish-purple paw that held him down, thankfully without claws. Following the gangly, curved, and almost cartoonishly proportioned limb, he was met with a giant gingerbread-looking building.

Except it wasn't just a building, as the cupcake steeple leaned over the gingerbread roof. Its single circular window eye leered at him with unbridled triumph.

Images from his previous nightmare flashed in his vision. Thoughts of once more being bolted to the ground, powerless, as another monster looked at him with glee... The decorative icing just below the railing grinned, revealed many foot-long fangs. Another gangly limb, a wooden arm with a warped metal weather-vane pony as a hand reached down...

Only for a large, but blurry mint green and pale yellow bola to latch itself around the monster's neck. Neil couldn't see much more due to the gingerbread roof. Still, judging by the building's sudden wailing and choking, and the sound of hooves smashing against wood, it was caught by complete surprise from the attack. So much so that it reared back, taking a half step back before it regained its balance.

That half a step was a godsend, as Neil suddenly found himself free. Rolling onto his back, he instinctually took aim and unloaded on the beast. His first two shots each took out a window, sending shards of pink glass everywhere before the remaining seven shells were emptied into the front porch. By the time his shotgun refused to fire, the entire door was gone, along with the candy cane columns and most of the steps.

That was apparently enough, as the gingerbread house gave one last piteous whimper before the foundation slammed back down to the ground. The sound of snapping timber followed before the cupcake steeple started to sag away from him like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

as Neil slowly stood back up relishing a few deep, unrestricted breaths, he also discovered what the odd-coloured bola was. Lyra and Bon Bon, still firmly attached at the hip, hopped down from the roof and landed right in front of him. "First lesson when dealing with a Ponyville Tuesday," Bon Bon stated, her words immediately digging into him, "Never run off on your own."

"Yep! It's a lot easier getting through a Tuesday when you have a friend," Lyra seconded as she looked him over with a hint of concern. "Speaking of, are you alright? I can't imagine having Sugarcube Corner standing on you was any fun."

As he looked at the deceased building, Neil could only guess that was the business's name. While the two mares spoke, he allowed his ghostly hands to autonomously reload his shotgun. He might have been wearing the damn thing, but he had no idea where the reserve ammo was stored in his suit of armor.

"I'm fine; the armor protected me." He told them before making a sudden, rash decision based on Bon Bon's words. "If you're going to stick with me, I need to get where the Tantabus is, which is over there," He finished, pointing towards the rising threads.

"The evil-looking smokey star monster thing is called the Tantabus?" Lyra asked, looking towards the beacon.

As Lyra asked, the final shell on his ammo counter lit up, confirming his weapon was fully loaded. Neil took control of his ghost hands and, with a satisfying ka-chink, loaded another shell into the chamber. "Yep, and we need to stop it. Hurry up!"

Neil took off running towards Luna again, though he was far more cautious this time as he continuously scanned his surroundings for monsters. Nothing stood out as a direct threat, but he caught sight of a nearby, almost black pegasus stallion with a small grey foal held in his front legs doing his best to fight off a flock of vampire cupcakes. Without thought, he aimed and unloaded a shell.

It didn't do much, but the sudden splattering of muffin remains caused all the others to scatter in confusion. Giving the stallion a slight reprieve to fly away before Neil focused on the road ahead.

The distance toward his objective counted down reasonably quickly. 250m, 200m, 100m... Strangely, the closer he was to Luna's position, the fewer monsters there seemed to be... Only to hit a veritable wall of them patrolling around the 50-meter point. Most of the monsters were facing inwards, their eyes drawn to Luna's position, allowing Neil to rush up to and fire on an animated chaise sofa. All but destroying it as he, Lyra, and Bon Bon broke through the enemy lines, much to the enemy's shock.

A matching chair and footrest tried to follow, perhaps to avenge their larger sibling, but a single shotgun shell each made quick work of them.

While Celestia, Twilight, and Rainbow kept the Tantabus occupied, the other four Elements appeared to have created a safe zone around Luna. Rarity and Applejack were the two ponies primarily keeping the monsters at bay, with the posh unicorn firing off beams of blue energy or diamond shards at the various monsters. Applejack preferred to be up close and personal, taking on any groups willing to push the line with kicks strong enough to dent his armor and multiple conjured lassos.

On the other hand, Fluttershy and the pink mare would fly off or just vanish. Only to return a short time later with another pony or two, adding to the growing crowd. As Neil, Bon Bon, and Lyra trotted up to the townsfolk, Fluttershy flew over them, leading the pegasus stallion and his foal from earlier.

Unfortunately, that looked to be the only good news. Luna was surrounded by some sort of translucent bubble ward. She appeared to be under severe strain if the sweat dripping down her brow was any indication. An untold number of ethereal threads were connected to her, all centred on the tip of her horn as she focused. However, her unblinking eyes were locked onto the Tantabus' position.

The VISR system chimed, startling him briefly before text flashed underneath the compass again.

Checkpoint... done.
You have reached Princess Luna.
Hold position. Defend the Princess. Defeat the Tantabus.

.... Easier said than done, after what the ponies used against it. If lasers and physical attacks didn't do anything, what would ballistic weaponry do to the Tantabus? Tickle it?

Neil put that thought aside for now. Three of the Elements were gathering around Twilight, and he could see both Rainbow and Applejack coming into the safe zone at a distance. Something big was happening if the line was left practically unguarded except for a few of the braver citizens... including a large red Alicorn decked in gold and jewels while flying about and blasting vampire muffins.

As much as he wanted to listen in on their plan, he also knew one of his objectives was to hold the line. Besides, his bullets still worked on the minions, at least. And he would need a lot of bullets, as he switched the shotgun out for his favorite weapon from the very first game, the 'ol spray and pray battle rifle.

Glancing to the side, he was slightly surprised to see Lyra and Bon Bon still there before looking back at the prowling animated monstrosities. "You can rejoin the townsfolk if you want. Maybe see what the Elements are planning?"

"And leave you alone again? I don't think so." Bon Bon countered as she and Lyra took positions near himself and Luna.

"Suit yourself. Just cover your ears or something," Was all the warning Neil gave as he spotted a pair of quadrupedal dresses slip over the line. It was as simple as pointing the gun and pulling the trigger. Allowing the rifle to do what it does best, as it riddled the dresses and an unlucky armoire behind them full of holes.

Many of the monstrous eyes staring at him looked a little less bloodthirsty and a little more wary as he allowed his hands to automatically load a new clip. He didn't dare look back to see how the ponies reacted.

"... Know when it's able to escape?" The voice of Applejack suddenly fed through Neil's helmet. It sounded a little tinny, but having her voice come out of nowhere still shocked him.

Rainbow Dash was the second to speak, sounding worried. "Oh, I think we'll know."

It was the pained grunt from Luna that finally convinced Neil to look around. A giant gash marred the starless sky, allowing bright light to pour in from an unknown source. Rarity quickly fired a beam at it, sealing the rift almost immediately. But it was clear to Neil. Too much of that, and Luna would lose control of the dream.

Celestia was fighting with the beast currently, keeping it occupied as Luna called out, "HURRY MY FRIENDS!"

Once more Neil was very glad that his helmet had automated sound dampening.

Rainbow quickly flew off and engaged the Tantabus again while Twilight fired off supporting lasers to help keep it occupied. Seeing they were back in the fight, Neil turned to the line again. He was happy and a little annoyed to see that no monster was willing to cross the line.

Fluttershy's voice was the next to come through his speaker as he finished his first sweep across no-man's land. "Please, we need your help too!"

Twilight's voice followed almost immediately, backing her up. "Fluttershy's right. We've all got to work together to stop it from escaping!"

Neil was half expecting someone else to talk, but nothing came through for at least ten seconds before Rainbow's voice came through. "That's true, in Ponyville!"

By then, Neil was reasonably sure he was missing a good chunk of the conversation. But why? Why could he only pick up the Elements on his radio and no one else?

"But this here isn't Ponyville," Applejack continued, building upon Rainbow's statement. "It's a dream."

"And not just any; this is your dream. Anything you can do in your dreams, you can do now!" Twilight affirmed with quite a bit of force behind her words.

What followed next confused Neil as he heard the roar of a giant... kitten? His curiosity got the better of him as he turned around a second time, only to be dumbfounded by what he saw. Spike, the little lizard dude, was not so little anymore. Now, he was dressed in knight's armor and launching into the air on the back of a giant grey pegasus with offset golden eyes.

Half the townsfolk were cheering with renewed morale as things started to get wild.

In contrast, a frustrated roar blanketed the entirety of the dream as the Tantabus rippled... in anger? Fear? Neil had no idea, but it felt as if something changed. It sped away from Celestia, outpacing the Alicorn as it circled around the town at speeds he'd only seen Rainbow accomplish. Once it was far enough away, a pseudo-pod sprung out of its mass in the shape of scissors and cut another tear into the sky.

Celestia was too far away to prevent its escape, and Neil had nothing designed to fire at that range. For a moment, it looked as if the Tantabus had the perfect opportunity to slip into the newly formed tear and escape.

It was Spike, armed with a jousting lance and his mighty pegasus steed, that saved the day as they swooped up from below. The lance easily tore through the Tantabus, nearly ripping it entirely in half before the monster recoiled away and reformed into a single mass.

Reinforcements had also arrived in the form of a stallion riding a wave of gold coins. Once the stallion interposed himself between the Tantabus and the rift, he simply raised a hoof and released an absolute torrent of gold coins, blasting the beast away with the strength of a fire hose.

Seeing its opportunity lost, the Tantabus ignored the pests around it. The monster formed a second claw-like appendage to tear another gap into the sky. This time a little orange foal with giant wings simply blew away the inky mass before Rainbow of all ponies flew up next to her and... transformed into a superhero before sucking it into a tornado? Ponies had those?

All the while, Rarity was solely focused on the various tears. Stitching each up with a giant needle and thread, which she conjured and controlled with expert ease.

"It's working!" Rainbow's cheer rang through his helmet.

Neil had to admit, even he was feeling better about their odds as he watched the tornado spin on the opposite side of the plaza.

Only for a worried Twilight to cut in, "But it's not enough!"

She was, unfortunately, correct as the Tantabus extricated itself with a bloodcurdling roar.

"Then do more!" The normally happy-sounding pink mare urged from right beside Neil, shocking him. He hadn't even noticed the mare walk up to him! "This is a dream, remember?"

She then gave him a smile and bounced... somewhere out of sight. Pushing that out of his mind, she was right. This was a dream. And while an ODST was the best of the best, not including Spartans and their horrific augmentations and genetic experimentation, he could think of one thing better.

Seconds later, the earth shook as a sixty-plus-tonne scorpion tank landed beside him. Gasps followed, coming from the few remaining ponies unwilling to fight. Neil had to blink, amazed at how it worked... before an uncontrolled giddiness took over. He leapt onto the armour plating of the tank and dove into the cockpit without a thought. An actual chance to drive a (relatively) real scorpion tank!

The metal cage came down automatically, and the roar of an engine that matched the Tantabus' worst overwhelmed his speakers momentarily. And then, as if to add a cherry on top of the scorpion's turret, an artificial female voice spoke.

"Hello, and thank you for activating the M808 Main Battle Tank. You may call me Sheila."

Neil would forever deny that he squeed as his golden hands went on autopilot for him. They took hold of the human-styled controls and quickly sorted through the proper start-up sequence for him. Sadly, that cut off Sheila's tutorial, but he didn't have time for that.

"I CAN NOT HOLD THIS DREAM TOGETHER MUCH LONGER!" Luna cried out in agony. This distracted Neil from his exciting new toy, only to see tears falling down Luna's pained face. "EQUESTRIA WILL FALL... BECAUSE OF ME AND MY WEAKNESS!"

Neil immediately thought that by summoning weapons, superpowers, and otherwise powering themselves up, everyone put too much strain on Luna's control. However, that thought was just as quickly pushed aside as the sky behind Luna darkened into a starry void as the Tantabus, once the size of a building, now grew in size to match the entire fucking town!

Not only that, but its amorphous form was shifting. It was becoming less of a blob... and more like the form it took at the end of his previous dream, as a horn sprouted from its half-formed head.

Twilight landed beside his tank, ignoring him as she spoke over the rumbling engine. "I think it's feeding off your guilt, Princess Luna!"

Even if she only had seconds to come up with her theory, Neil couldn't deny it as he watched the Tantabus' new horn rip another gash into the remaining untainted sky. But he couldn't sit back and listen, either, as he kept his eyes and the targeting reticle locked onto the Tantabus' head while his hands activated the turret.

Celestia was still trying to fight the beast, firing beams of golden light against the darkness. Unfortunately, by that point, she was little more than a gnat compared to both its size and power.

"If that is so, then perhaps that is how it grew strong enough to escape in the first place," Luna admitted as the gears controlling the scorpion's turret finally stopped. However, her strange admission started the gears in Neil's head, almost distracting him from his main focus.

Thankfully, it only took a small, almost insignificant thought for his ghost hands to pull the trigger.

BOOM!

The main gun fired, leaving a trail of smoke for every single pony in the dream to follow as the tank shell ripped through and completely severed the Tantabus' horn from its head. The following bellow of pain was somehow even louder than the tank shot, as the lesser cloud that was once a horn fell from the tear and back into the dream as a formless blob. Even in pain, the monster still had the frame of mind to catch and reabsorb the piece with one of its pseudo-hooves.

A new horn quickly replaced the old one before the next shell was loaded.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Neil yelled, his thoughts frayed by both her admission and the apparent ineffectiveness of his tank.

Whether it was the shock of the tank firing or the strain of the dream itself, Neil didn't know or care. But for some reason, Luna heard his demand and answered him. "I created the Tantabus to give myself the same nightmare every night. To punish myself for the evil I caused as Nightmare Moon."

"But why would you do that?" Twilight asked in a more concerned and sympathetic tone.

"To make sure I never forgave myself," She admitted, her voice strained from the pressure of the dream. "For how much Equestria suffered because of me. It seems I have not learned my lesson; for now, I have only made you suffer more."

"You fucking think so!?" Neil yelled as he kept his eyes on the Tantabus, watching as it and the hole it tore into the sky swelled in size with every word Luna spoke. A second resounding BOOM! shook the town as he fired another round where its eye should have been. It blew a hole through the monster's head, inadvertently creating an eye hole too small for its form, but it did little else.

Frustrated, he slammed his armored hoof on the marked cage release button. The protective cage sprung into its open position with a loud clang, allowing Neil to abandon the still-running tank and jump to the ground next to Twilight.

By that point, Luna had almost collapsed under the strain. Tears streaming out of her closed eyes. It was a pathetic sight, to be sure, but at that moment, Neil only saw the creator of the Tantabus. "So because of a fuck-up one thousand years ago, you decided to repeat the same damn mistake and create that fucking thing? To torture yourself? How does that make any fucking sense!?"

Slowly, her eyes opened up, and she looked directly at him. However, even that small action seemed to be a trade-off, as her back legs lost their strength to stay upright and collapsed. "You're right... How can I forgive myself? I am no better now than I was then. My creation is about to turn the world into a living nightmare!"

Once more, as if the suit sensed his boiling anger at the mare before him, it flashed his objectives underneath the compass.

Hold position. Defend the Princess. Defeat the Tantabus.

The reminder may have been subtle, but it was needed as it caused a fracture in his anger. Was this beaten, downtrodden, whimpering mess of a mare before him really a princess? Where was the Imperial Bitch that demanded his obedience and respect? Where was her holier-than-thou attitude and the power to raise the moon?

"Like hell, it will!" He lashed back at her, causing her eyes to grow even wider. "What? Are you going to give up now? Are you going to allow that Thing to molest every single innocent mare, stallion, and foal in Equestria? Or are you going to man up, learn from your stupid fucking mistakes, and put that piss ass monster in its place!?"

"Yeah, you just got to stop feeling bad about what you did!" Rainbow added, landing right next to him. Neil wasn't sure how much she heard over the idling tank engine. Still, she decided to back him in a more positive fashion, at the very least.

On the other hand, Twilight had heard everything he said. If not for the situation, Neil was sure she would have glared at him the entire time. Instead, she took advantage of Rainbow's uplifting message as all the Elements gathered around her. "Look at what you're doing! Nightmare Moon would have wanted the Tantabus to turn Equestria into a nightmare. You're doing everything you can to stop it! Don't you see? That-"

BOOM! Another tank shell fired, causing Neil to spin around with a loud "Fuck!"

He expected to see a tank with an empty cockpit, possibly under the full control of Sheila's AI system. Instead, two foals were clamoring around in the seat while the small orange pegasus with her gigantic wings sat on the cage. "You missed!"

One of the foals in the seat with a country accent yelled back at her, "I don't know how to aim this thing!" Unfortunately for them, the tank turret was still aimed at head height, so the shell passed well over the Tantabus' hips.

Neil felt the urge to berate Luna some more. But between that and preventing an unintended death like Church, Neil felt the latter was more important as he jumped back onto the tank. "I need you three to get out of my tank. Now." He asked as politely as he could, suppressing as much of his anger from his voice as possible.

As he did so, he heard the conclusion of Twilight's little speech through his radio over the collective, disappointed Awww from the three fillies. "Everypony here knows that Nightmare Moon is in the past. We all trust you, Luna... Do you trust us?"

"... I do."

It was so simple. So easy. With only those two words, the Tantabus let out a confused shriek. Then, before anyone could even fathom what was going on, the Tantabus was shunted back into the dream as if they were an annoying pet being pushed back inside before the door, or rift in this case, closed on them.

Celestia, pulling on a telekinetic lasso attached to the base of the Tantabus' tail with all of her strength, was entirely caught off guard by the sudden shift as the Tantabus' rump slammed into and pushed her back instead.

And the cherry on top? When the Tantabus looked back towards the town in confusion, with a single, too-small eye and a jagged, fanged mouth, a final BOOM! cut through the town. The shell impacted the Tantabus, but unlike the others, it exploded on contact instead of passing through it's ethereal skin. Creating an even larger eye amid the smoke cloud that looked particularly dopey.

"I hit it, I hit it! Did you see that?" The white unicorn filly cheered with a squeaky voice, ecstatic at her accomplishment. Only for Neil's golden hands to scoop her up and place her outside the tank's cockpit for a second time. They must have somehow switched from armor-piercing to high explosive during their fiddling. Something he didn't think was possible with the scorpion.

By the time he collected all three of the fillies and put them well away from the cockpit (and the machine gun turret), the Tantabus was little more than a pony-sized speck in the distance. Neil was still wary, however, as it flew towards them with Celestia nipping at its heels. That was the only reason preventing him from putting one final round down range and finishing the thing off for good.

Instead, to prevent any further accidents, he gave one of the giant treads a firm pat. This earned him odd looks from the Elements and the surrounding townsfolk, but he didn't care. "It's been good working with you, Sheila."

"Thank you, PMC Davidson. It's been a pleasure to work with you as well." The tank blared through its speakers, shocking some ponies and confusing others.

Neil was both mildly shocked and annoyed that the tank knew his last name and that it was stated out loud for all the ponies to hear. But, he intended to finish what he started. So he closed his eyes and focused on vanishing the sixty-ish tonnes of death from the dream before something else could happen. It took a few seconds, but he knew it worked when the loud rumbling of the engine suddenly ceased.

When he opened his eyes, the tank was gone. Vanished into thin air, or whatever held this dream together. With one less risk to worry about, he turned around. Even though it was a span of seconds, Luna was already looking better. Sure, the fur on her face was matted with tears, and multiple pieces of her royal finery were sitting lopsided, but she was standing upright, relatively speaking while hovering inside her bubble.

As he looked around to see how the rest of the ponies were doing, he quickly picked out a pair of eyes looking at him with nothing less than contempt that belonged to none other than Twilight. The moment his visor paused on her, she stepped towards him.

"Do you know what you could have done, saying all those mean things towards Princess Luna?" she asked, not loudly, but loud enough to catch a few of the closer townsfolk off guard with her accusation. "If not for Rainbow-"

Luna was quick to intervene. She sounded tired, but there was a firmness to her words that made Twilight stop. "Hold, please, Princess Twilight, before something is said that we all may regret. Neil's words were harsh, but they were truthful. I needed to hear them just as much as I needed to hear about your trust in me in order to... What was it you said? Man up?"

"Yes," Neil confirmed, giving Twilight one last look before turning to Luna. "But that still doesn't make up for the fact that you created that fuc- Ouch!" He cried as a hoof hit him square in the back of the head. Pushing the unconnected data port built into the back of his helmet into the base of his neck.

"What did I say about swearin' in front'a the foals, Neil?" Asked an irate and tired voice with a very familiar country twang. "Or is it Davidson now? Either way, you've earned yourself a thorough scrubbin' when we wake up."

Ripping off his helmet with a ghostly hand, Neil turned to see Bulk standing in his natural colour. He was still wearing his golden armor, but most, if not all of it, was smeared with cupcake icing, half-cooked batter, and chunks of baked goods. He was also sporting a very long, pointy tan upgrade, adding him to the small but growing ranks of Alicorns stallions... at least in this dream.

"I was wondering where you went," Neil fibbed a little as he rubbed the spot where the data port gouged him. In truth, once he realized this was a shared dream, he assumed Bulk was the only pony left awake to guard the door to Twilight's bedroom.

"I was patrollin' the area with my cousin, keepin' as much of those flyin' varmints away as I could," He stated before looking to the Elements, and Applejack in particular, as he gave her a slight nod. "Good evenin' Cousin."

"I wasn't expectin' to see you, Bulk, but boy howdy I'm mighty glad you're here." Applejack returned in kind with a big smile. "How's the family up in Manehattan?"

Before the scene could devolve into pleasantries, Luna stood up even taller and with more authority as she looked to the north. She kept her smile, however, as the Tantabus... not flew, but hovered over the crowd of ponies towards Luna under Celestia's watchful eye. It came to a complete stop only a foot from Luna's shield.

Neither spoke, though Neil was sure the Tantabus couldn't talk in its natural form. The urge to pull his battle rifle from his back and riddle the thing full of holes was also there. Even if it was useless, Neil knew it would have felt gratifying. But he held. Contrary to what Twilight said, he didn't trust Luna, not really, at least. But this was her creation, so he could give her the benefit of the doubt, for now.

Ultimately, his wariness went unwarranted as the void Alicorn walked into Luna's shield and... dissolved itself in light? That's what appeared to have happened until it was gone entirely. At which point, the moon on Luna's peytral flashed a bright white.

"Thank you. Thank you all!" Luna cheered over the crowd as a softer light emanated from her horn. The ethereal strings started to disconnect rapidly from her horn. And with each string that faded out of existence, so too did one of the Ponyville townsfolk. Even Lyra and Bon Bon, though they faded away together. Neil suspected it wouldn't have been a pretty sight if only one had faded away.

By the time all of Ponyville was evacuated from the dream, he was expecting to see the Elements fade away. Or to see how it looked and felt to be removed himself. Instead, the light dimmed from Luna's horn, leaving exactly nine threads left tethered. Six for the Elements, one for Celestia, and two for himself and Bulk.

"Now, before I release you all," Luna began, looking over each of the remaining ponies in the dream before she paused on him. "I believe there are some topics that need to be discussed."

"Oh, oh! Is it a We-Defeated-the-Tantabus-and-Luna-Doesn't-Feel-Guilty-Anymore party?" The pink mare asked, bouncing in place with the springy sound effects included.

"A party sounds wonderful, Pinkie Pie," Celestia cut in while finally giving him the name of the final Element. "But I think my sister Luna was talking about the Alicorn stallion in the room, as they say."

All eyes shifted to him, while Neil did his best to ignore that and looked to Bulk... who was back to being a regular Pegasus guard with pristine, sparkling armor.

"Are we talking about the whole don't tell anyone about me rule?" He asked, knowing his chances of escaping the upcoming Q&A session were slim to none. "The one you two in particular keep breaking?" He finished, looking directly at Celestia and Luna.

"That is one of the topics," Celestia admitted, slightly glancing toward Rainbow Dash. "Though I was curious about the loud war machine you created in defence of my sister."

"Or which of your names is your real one," Rarity jumped in, surprisingly. "Is it Neil or Davidson?"

"Or what's the meaning behind your strange cutie-mark?" Twilight asked as well, pointing to his butt.

Even in full armor, he couldn't escape the wandering eyes of a mare. But a cutie mark? His curiosity piqued, Neil looked to his own flank. There, emblazoned in gold against the dark steel grey of his armor, was the outline of an ODST drop pod. Not only that but etched into the gold was a flaming human skull and a ribbon, which proudly displayed ODST.

"That's the ODST insignia." He told her bluntly.

"And what does O.D.S.T. stand for?" She followed up immediately.

Before Neil could even contemplate an appropriate answer, another pony responded to the question for him as she popped up next to Twilight. "Silly filly! Everypony knows it stands for Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, some of the most elite United Nations Space Command soldiers. Riding in a drop pod would be super fun!" She cheered, jumping high into the air... only to come crashing back down next to him hard enough that he felt it through the ground. She didn't even flinch. "...Even if I don't like the one in fifty odds of burning up during reentry. Anyway, which name is your real one, Neilie?"

If this wasn't a dream, Neil was pretty sure those super-human feats would have scared the piss out of him. But, the fact that she knew that much about a sci-fi series that didn't even exist in Equestria? That made him wary of the mare as her face loomed closer to his. He was forced to take a step back, his confused mind partially reeling from the fact she knew all of that about Halo but didn't know about his name.

"Both," He admitted, sidestepping closer to Bulk. "Neil is my first name. Davidson is my last name."

"Ohhhhh. Okay. Well, I'm Pinkie Pie." Pinkie offered, ignoring what little of his personal space he had left as she bounced beside him and hugged his armored neck. "Pinkie is my first name, and all my friends call me Pinkie, and you can call me Pinkie too!" But then, her mane seemed to deflate just a little as she got in really close. "Unless you go all Meanie McMeanie Pants again." She whispered.

Before he could answer, she bounced away, emulating a prong-horned antelope perfectly as she landed next to Fluttershy.

After a second or two of silence, Celestia cleared her throat, bringing most of the attention back to her. "And that machine?"

Neil just pointed to the unimaginable being in the form of a pink Earth Pony. "Same as the armor and everything she just said. It's all fiction, just part of a story I enjoy."

"Fiction? Does that mean you like to read?" Twilight asked, any traces of confusion, anger, and suspicion being replaces with a cautious curiosity.

This earned a melodious little chuckle from Celestia. "Neil has spent most of his days in the castle doing nothing but reading. It reminds me of a certain young filly I used to teach." She teased, looking at Twilight.

Despite the light blush peeking through her fur, Twilight was now staring at him. Almost as if she was analyzing him. For a mare that hated his guts just minutes ago, Neil was feeling even more nervous about the desire for knowledge now smoldering underneath her purple eyes.

'Waking up in the same room as her is going to suck.'

9. Dreamy Aftermath Part 1

(October 26th: 10th Day Since Capture)

"...is ready. Could you please wake up?"

Neil groaned as the hazy transition between sleep and wakefulness slowly cleared away. Enough for him to recognize that the muffled sounds his ears managed to pick up were, indeed, soft-spoken words and not random noises. That, complemented by a gentle touch against his shoulder, was more than enough to drag him reluctantly into the waking world.

"Um, Mr. Neil?" The soft voice spoke again, sounding vaguely familiar though he couldn't place where from.

"Whassa fugs goin'..." Was his attempted response, only to find his muzzle's movement somewhat restricted? The urge to yawn also compounded that problem, as his muzzle opened as far as it could while wedged between his body and one of his limbs. Once that autonomous body function finished as best it could, so did he, "On?"

He cautiously opened his eyes, half expecting the morning light to blind him as usual. Instead, the world was surprisingly dark, something he was more than thankful for, given how off his body felt. His muscles felt sluggish like he'd stayed up far too long playing video games the previous night, only to get three, maybe four hours of sleep before work.

But that begged the question: Why would he be woken up that early? His mind shifted to the events of the previous night. Was it something to do with the Tantabus? In fact, why couldn't he see the mare talking to him? Why did the darkness surrounding him also feel off? Was he still in a dream?

"Um, sorry to bother you, Mr. Neil, but breakfast is ready." The voice informed him quietly, sounding both nervous and worried at the same time. Why? A mild hint of worry sparked in his mind as he wondered what would cause her to sound like that.

"I was wondering, along with the rest of the girls, that is, if you would like some while it's still warm?"

While the offer of food was always tempting, Neil's sore muscles felt rather apathetic to the thought of moving. His stomach, however, was quick to rail against the idea of lazing about. It went on the warpath with a threatening murmur that seemed to rally other parts of his body into wakefulness.

His bladder, chief among them, demanded his attention immediately. With his body rebelling against him, his desire to stay in bed had lost the short but brutal war. Now, it was replaced with the need to go to the bathroom.

He withdrew his muzzle from where it was stuck but was mildly surprised to feel his ears brush against... feathers. It wasn't a blanket; he was reasonably sure about that since he only felt his cloak on his back. Looking up in the not-quite-darkness, he could make out the faint lines denoting the separation between the various feathers on his wing.

'Huh, built-in sleeping bag. Where the hell were you in the streets, wings?' He thought before focusing on the desire for his wings to fold back into place, preferably without getting tangled up with his cloak. Once that not-so-strenuous task was complete, he automatically grabbed his cloak with his mouth, ignoring the distinct taste of grass and dirt, and covered his wings with the garment.

The entire time, a yellow and pink pegasus mare waited quietly near the circle of beds... 'Fluttershy', was the name mentioned last night. At least, Neil was pretty sure that was her name as he looked in her direction.

"What's for breakfast?" He asked, somewhat absentmindedly, as he dragged himself to the edge of the bed. He'd rather not admit it, but he was feeling starved. Besides the breakfast he had lost, his only other meal yesterday had been when Rainbow stopped his training for a single lunch break. Even though she mentioned getting him a Twilight-sized meal, it was slightly less than he had expected.

"Oh, Pinkie and Spike made us all pancakes with whipped cream, fruit, and syrup," She happily chirped before she paused, then added, "If that's okay with you?"

He may have had pancakes yesterday, but Neil wouldn't pass up the opportunity again. Whatever witchcraft ponies used in their cooking, Neil was more than willing to admit he had an addiction. His stomach showed its agreement with another growl of approval. He only hoped he wouldn't have to re-experience it later today.

Once he reached the edge of the bed, he firmly placed both front hooves on the crystal and lifted his front half, forcefully stretching his muscles and joints with a few faint pops. Only after that did he notice something below that made his heart skip a beat. Unlike all the other beds in the room, a faint orange glow emanated from multiple shapes on the floor surrounding his.

Two quick memories from yesterday flashed in his mind. The first was Twilight drawing something around one of the beds with her aura. Incidentally, that bed and the one he was currently lying on were the same. The second memory was from the middle of the night, during Luna's controlled descent amidst a glowing orange ambiance from... somewhere.

That only sparked more thoughts and questions. Why were they glowing? Was this what a ward looked like? And most important of all, what were they doing? Pulling his eyes from the glowing mystical shapes, he looked to the only other pony in the room for an answer. "Do you know anything about this?"

She was quick to respond, both verbally and non-verbally, as she shrunk into herself a little. "I don't, sorry. I think Twilight said it was a spell for chaos magic, but I'm not sure. I could bring her up if you want me to?"

A ward against chaos magic? As in Eris? Were they worried about her meddling while taking on the Tantabus? If that was the case, why only his bed? He couldn't remember seeing them around any other bed during the night.

But, the most important question on his mind was, why did she flinch? Was she worried he might do something if her answer wasn't good enough?.. Was she worried he might do something this entire time?

Neil shook his head. After only being awake for over a minute, he had far too many tangents running through his mind. Plus, the thought of dealing with a princess this early in the morning didn't sit well with him. "No need to bring her up here," He offered, lifting a single hoof and stretching as far as he could in front of him.

If she was lying and this was some sort of force field to keep him trapped, it would likely activate the moment his hoof reached the outer edge of the symbols. If it did, Neil hoped it would activate as a simple, solid wall without the painful shock or worse. His hoof neared the edge... and then passed over the invisible line without resistance. A small amount of relief swelled in his chest. He wasn't trapped in that regard, at least.

Nothing at all happened until he stood up from the bed and removed his final hoof. There wasn't a sudden flare of energy or, thankfully, a sudden feeling of intense pain to indicate his body had just been bisected. The orange glow stopped, leaving behind well-drawn symbols in black marker on the crystal floor.

That didn't stop Neil from hopping his back half over the perimeter like a startled jackrabbit, just in case. The sudden movement also inadvertently cracked his spine and hips with a few audible pops, followed by the clack of hooves landing on the crystal floor.

At least he was free from whatever ward that was, as Neil quickly looked over his cloak. Everything was covered, but the jump made it a little lopsided again, so he fixed it. He also noted that Fluttershy stood quietly to the side the entire time, watching him around her long pink bangs.

There wasn't much he could do about it, however. She already knew he was an Alicorn. The entire group of Elements knew after the events from the previous night.

Once his adjustments to his cloak were finished, he quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused on the door. "We might as well get this over with," He offered begrudgingly, a little put off at the thought of eating with the entire group.

Without waiting for a reply from the Pegasus, he started walking towards the door.

Fluttershy gave him a slight nod from underneath her veil of hair and joined him as he walked by.

Neil was a little over halfway across the room when an errant glance caught sight of someone who made him pause. In between the circle of beds, sleeping at the center, was the one pony he wanted to see the least that morning. Luna was practically sprawled out on the floor, with only a few cushions propped underneath her for comfort.

The embers that had gone dormant after the Tantabus' defeat stirred to life once more. She had been the one to create that fucking thing. She had been the one to lose control and torment others with her mistakes. And now she was sleeping with a smile of contentment plastered over her smug muzzle?

Neil glared at the unconscious princess. He was sorely tempted to wake her and lash out against the mare again, but he didn't. Despite his annoyance, he couldn't help but pity her as well. He experienced a single graphic night under the tender mercies of the Tantabus.

She lasted under her self-inflicted torture for much longer- possibly even an eternity if a person's perception of time could be altered in a dream.

He probably would have spent more time glaring at Luna if not for the gentle hoof that pressed against his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Neil answered, a little louder than he meant to before he covered the rest of the distance towards the closed crystal doors.

As neither he nor Fluttershy had access to a working unicorn horn, Neil expected the doors to be quite heavy as he paused in front of them. To his surprise, instead of the hundreds of pounds of force he was expecting to use when he pressed a hoof against one of them, the door swung open with only the lightest touch.

He didn't waste any time pushing past the door and into the hallway, only holding the door long enough for Fluttershy to follow him through with a faint 'Thank you' before allowing the door to swing itself shut.

He was immediately met with another, more mild surprise, though a welcome one, as the sound of metal-clad hooves came up to him on his right. "Mornin' Neil. Or do you prefer Davidson now?"

Neil had a morning greeting, but it was cut short by an unexpected question. However, Bulk inadvertently confirmed that his vivid dream about Ponyville was truly a shared dream. Otherwise, Bulk wouldn't have learned about his last name. "Neil's good," He answered after taking a moment to regain his composure.

Bulk gave an affirmative nod, then fell in on his right side, which was standard procedure for the Pegasus guard.

After that, all Neil had to do was wait for Fluttershy to take the lead and direct them towards breakfast. However, after five to ten seconds of standing in the hallway, it was clear that the Pegasus mare was content to stand by and allow another person to lead.

Knowing that Neil shrugged and took the only path he knew, which led to the stairway going down to the first floor. Fluttershy followed quickly, staying at least a few body lengths to his left.

"Fluttershy, is there a bathroom on the way to..." He paused, trying to recall if they passed a dining hall or something similar yesterday, "Wherever it is we're going?"

"Oh, yes, there is." She answered, gesturing ahead of them with a hoof. "It's just down the hall from here."

That was good to know, though he couldn't remember seeing a sign or a label stating there was a bathroom yesterday. Mentally shrugging, he continued down the hall, trusting that Fluttershy would point it out.

"I would also suggest a shower," Bulk added, glancing at Neil's dirty cloak. "After all that movin' yesterday, we both could use one."

Neil didn't give Bulk an immediate answer. Still, after a surreptitious sniff as he nudged his cloak, he couldn't deny the accusation either.

It wasn't long after that before Fluttershy called their little group to a halt. By then, they had passed roughly ten unmarked crystal doors. As they were about to walk by the eleventh door, Fluttershy pointed towards it with a wing. "Well... this is the bathroom. Should I, um, wait for you?"

"There's no need for that," Neil quickly answered. He honestly didn't expect the shy mare to do anything untoward. But, after dealing with the nurses in the castle, he'd rather not have any mares nearby. Besides, it wasn't fair to let her breakfast go cold. "You can go have your breakfast while it's still warm. Just, where is it exactly?"

"Oh, sorry!" She quickly apologized, as if she had committed a heinous crime before telling him and Bulk. "We normally have breakfast in the map room."

"The map room," Bulk confirmed, giving the mare an appreciative nod. "Don't you worry, Miss Fluttershy, I'll get him there soon enough."

After giving his word, Bulk veered off from his flank and opened the unmarked door. With a quick farewell nod to Fluttershy, Neil entered the larger-than-average bathroom.

~~~

Twenty minutes later, a clean and refreshed, if slightly embarrassed Neil was escorted out of the bathroom by an equally fresh Bulk. When he entered the room made entirely of crystal, he had expected something bold and grand. Unfortunately, that was precisely what he received, just not in the manner that he expected.

Instead of, perhaps, private stalls bejeweled in opulence, he was met with yet another sizeable communal shower. Only this one was twice as spacious as the one in his infirmary.

To save time, he and Bulk shared the shower. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. One does not play hockey without getting used to locker rooms and group showers. But Bulk insisted on scrubbing them both down. Even worse, he somehow wielded the bar of soap as if it were a cheese grater, making the entire process uncomfortable. The only upside was that he no longer smelled like stale sweat.

Sadly, there wasn't much to be done for his cloak or Bulk's armor.

So, adorned in his dirty cloak but otherwise cleaned and groomed, Neil stood before a set of green crystal double doors. They were twice as tall as the other generic doors throughout the castle. The crystal they were made from appeared to be soundproof as well since he couldn't hear anything coming from the room on the other side. But, thanks to the windows along the staircase looking into the map room, he knew at least three other ponies were inside.

All of whom, he recognized from yesterday's events, and now knew about his secret. Most importantly, there was food available.

With only a hint of trepidation, Neil took a deep breath, released it, and pushed open the door. No sound emitted from the hinges as the door swung open, allowing him to silently enter. Only the faint taps of his hooves against the crystal and the fact that Rarity had a perfect view of the door gave away his not-so-grand entrance.

Rarity was quick to react as he walked into the room. She daintily put aside the fork she held in her aura, only for a cloth napkin to levitate up to her muzzle simultaneously. After a few quick dabs, she called out to him. "Good morning Neil!"

Neil gave her a quick "Morning" in return, though he was slightly confused. Yesterday, Rarity had greeted both him and Bulk with elated professionalism. So why would she ignore his guard this morning? A quick look around revealed that Bulk was nowhere to be seen. His guard hadn't entered the room with him.

He was alone in the room, except for the three mares seated at the crystal table. It was not the worst situation he'd ever been in so far- but he didn't know what to expect. The table was fairly cluttered, with books, boxes, and plates stacked high with pancakes (two stacks were nearly triple the size of the others).

Unfortunately, he also couldn't just stand there all day, either. So he approached and claimed the nearest empty seat.

Thinking of it as a simple seat was underselling it a bit. Each place to sit around the table was no less than a crystal throne, each adorned with an emblem tied to a single pony. Looking up and behind him, he was mildly surprised to see he had claimed Rainbow's seat at the table.

He would have guessed Rainbow would have preferred a much firmer cushion unless all the thrones were as plush as this one.

His attention was drawn back to the table when the faint but distinct sound of crystal tinged beside him. Twilight's reddish aura was slowly dissipating from one of the giant stacks of pancakes placed right in front of him, along with an accompanying set of cutlery wrapped in a cloth napkin. Also, a white box with a pink envelope on top had been placed well within reach to his left.

Despite that, Twilight acted as if she was oblivious to everything but the open book she had propped up against her pile of academic texts. Her eyes darted back and forth over the contents, skimming it before flipping to the next page. She was still eating, but judging by the loaded fork floating by her side, it was a distant thought at most.

She appeared to be distracted, but Neil was still a little cautious. She was perceptive enough to pass his breakfast over to him.

Neil might have taken more time to gauge the princess' strange mood, but the scent of pancakes and fruit lured him and his stomach to the main reason he was there. He couldn't deny the dish looked good, with whipped cream and various fruits decoratively topping the stack and dark brown syrup drizzled along the sides. He was very tempted to throw etiquette out the window and just take a bite... But, he restrained himself and extended both wings from underneath his cloak.

He cautiously used his feathers to unwrap the silverware from the cloth napkin they were held in. It made sense to take his time and do things properly. That way, he wouldn't look like a complete idiot or, worse, garner looks of pity from the mares who weren't nose-deep in a book. It was during that task that Rarity decided to address him.

"Neil, if I may ask, how are you doing this morning?" She asked politely, in an apparent attempt to start a conversation.

Neil paused in his task, the fork partially withdrawn from its cloth prison as he thought of an adequate answer. "Tired, but fine. Why?" He asked in return.

"Well, as Rainbow so gingerly put it the day before, this was your first experience dealing with a threat to Equestria." Rarity admitted, sounding genuinely concerned. "I'm just a little worried about your well-being, Darling."

"Eh," He deflected as he removed the butter knife and transferred it to his other wing, "I wouldn't even call that shared dream thing a nightmare. Again, I'm fine," He stated with a hint of finality as he placed the still-rolled napkin and spoon on the table.

Thankfully, that seemed to... not assuage Rarity and Fluttershy's shared look of worry, but at least keep them from talking about that as he finally dug into his breakfast.

The moment from his first bite, both his mind and stomach were in agreement. These pancakes were glorious with their multiple complementary layers of sweetness, whether from the whipped cream, syrup, or the pancakes themselves.

All the while, there was a savory hint mixed in that he couldn't place until his fourth bite when he caught sight of something both small and pink in the pancakes. Some sort of shredded herb he couldn't identify, which he spotted multiple times now that he knew what to look for as he demolished his breakfast.

He was so lost in the flavors that he was surprised when his fork made a small but resounding crystalline 'ting' against his empty plate. That, along with a demanding growl for more from his stomach, broke him out of his breakfast-induced trance. He also didn't miss the faint but mirthful giggle from the mare directly on his right.

Rarity also caught it but wasn't afraid to air her thoughts as she teased him and Twilight. "Well, he can most certainly match Twilight's new Alicorn appetite- when she isn't distracted by a book, that is."

Neil had no urge to deny it, either, as he caught sight of her refined, teasing smile. He was still weirded out by the amount he could eat now, though even he paled in comparison to what he saw of the princesses. "If you think I'm bad, you should see Celestia. She can make an entire feast vanish in a blink of an eye."

Whatever Neil may have expected from that kind of comment, it wasn't the sound of a book being snapped shut. All eyes in the room immediately pivoted to Twilight as she slowly removed the thick text at the top of the pile and replaced it with the book she had just closed with a focused calm.

After a few seconds of uneasy silence, during which Twilight started reading her new book, Rarity spoke up, "I'm guessing there wasn't anything of use in that book, Twilight?"

"Not even a hint of what Princess Celestia asked me to find so far," Twilight answered with a hint of frustration. However, Neil was fairly sure the emphasis was directed at him as she scanned through the new book.

Neil had no interest in getting involved with or asking about whatever she was searching for. However, he was still curious enough to give the text a cursory look. Thankfully, the angle at which she propped up the new book allowed Neil to see the cover.

Unfortunately, while it had some recognizable cloud structures on the cover, it was written in nonsensical scribbles. At least, they were nonsensical to him. Twilight had already managed to skim three pages as she spoke.

Rarity must have sensed the end of that particular conversational topic as she quickly drew her attention back to him.

"Yes, well, if you're still feeling a bit peckish Neil, Pinkie left a box of muffins for you." Rarity offered, gesturing towards the white cardboard box he'd ignored. "Your invitation to tonight's party is sitting on top of it as well."

'Pinkie... Wasn't she one that knew about Halo lore?' Neil thought with no small amount of anxiety. He set aside the fork in his left wing and carefully picked up the envelope. "Why would she invite me to a party?"

"From the way Pinkie described it, tonight will be a bit of a victory soiree for the town," Rarity explained, allowing a hint of excitement in her voice. "Knowing her, everypony has received their invite by now."

'And since I was dragged into it like most of the town, I also received an invite,' He thought as he sliced open the envelope with his butter knife. Was that the best way to open it? Definitely not, as he noted a small amount of syrup on the paper. But it was good enough as he set aside the knife and pulled out a folded card.

Colorful was the first thing that came to mind, followed closely by festive. It was a hand- hoof-drawn card, and surprisingly well done since the waxy smell revealed it was done in crayon. Bits of confetti were also glued on the front. There wasn't too much written on the cover, but what little there was only increased his dread. It read:

To: Neil S. Davidson
From: Your friend Pinkie Pie!

How did she know to put an 'S' there? Not once, in all his time here, did he let slip his middle name. How did she know he had one, let alone the correct letter to use!?

Not only that but once he overcame the shock of his middle initial, he noticed a second red flag in her writing. She wrote his card in proper English. Instead of the weird accented 'i's ponies used in place of a regular 'i' or a proper 'e', she wrote both of their names normally, as he would.

With mounting unease, he opened the card. The inside didn't have any confetti, whether drawn or glued on. It would have looked rather bland if not for the rainbow of colors Pinkie used to write. Still, it had written instructions inside, explaining where to go in proper English again.

You've been invited to the We-Defeated-the-Tantabus-and-Luna-Doesn't-Feel-Guilty-Anymore Party!
Please show up by 7:30 PM.
Can't wait to see you there! :pinkiehappy:

Ever so slowly, Neil folded the card closed, slipped it back into the envelope, and put it aside. Until then, Neil hadn't put much stock into the insanity theory. He didn't want to imagine himself tied up in a straight jacket, living some hallucinated dream life. But his brief interactions with Pinkie were pushing the envelope- hard.

Unless her close friends knew something about her that he didn't? Perhaps, but how could he ask without giving away this new information? After a few moments of silence, he found a reasonable way to ask. "You all know Pinkie fairly well, right? How did she know about all of that info on ODSTs? I haven't seen any trace of the Halo series at all."

"That's just Pinkie being Pinkie, Darling," Rarity reassured him as if she were discussing the weather. "But I must admit, Pinkie knowing such a grim aspect also surprised me."

Twilight, on the other hand, took a moment out of her reading to give him a commiserating look, "Please don't try to make sense of Pinkie. I did, and all I earned in the attempt was a migraine. She's, well, just Pinkie."

That admission did not bode well for his sanity.

Something about him must have hinted at his thoughts because Twilight put aside her book and looked directly at him. "Putting Pinkie aside for the moment, there was something else I wanted to discuss with you."

Neil was quick to grab hold of the lifeline she offered. Anything to get away from questioning his sanity. "And that would be?"

"I've been going over everything that was said last night," She admitted, and the brief respite he felt vanished as he listened cautiously to her words. "I still disagree with what you said to Princess Luna. Yelling at her like that could have given the Tantabus the power it needed to escape! But, she forgave you after the Tantabus was defeated."

"Twilight, I'm afraid Fluttershy and I only caught the end of Rainbow's speech," Rarity cut in, sounding slightly confused. "Before you continued off of what she said. Was what Neil said that divisive?"

This was much different from how Neil imagined his breakfast going. So, before Twilight could misrepresent his position and paint him poorly, he cut her off. "She was breaking down, the Tantabus was getting bigger, and I just learned she made the bloody monster. So yeah, I was angry, and I yelled at her; Pretty much told her to stand back up and get her weak ass back in the fight."

Fluttershy gasped loudly at the end of his explanation. Even Rarity went wide-eyed as she brought a hoof to her muzzle. Before Neil could comprehend why, however, Twilight interceded.

"That wasn't all you said, but it is an accurate enough approximation without going into the vulgar details," She accused. "Also, please refrain from using that language in my home. I don't want Spike to learn that sort of thing."

"It's best not to use such vulgar language at all!" Rarity seconded immediately before he could give his answer.

"I already try not to swear around kids, and Spike isn't around," Neil conceded before pushing Twilight for a reason behind this topic. "So why are you bringing this up?"

Twilight momentarily gave him a critical look before dropping that particular subject and continuing. "Both you and Luna said something that made me worried. First, we were all awake when Luna said, and I quote, 'The nightmare wrought upon him by the Tantabus was particularly savage.'"

"Yeah, and?" Neil asked, not liking where this was going. He did not want to think about that dream or what Celestia had almost done to him! "That's what the Tantabus was designed to do. You were standing next to me when Luna admitted that."

"I was also there while you were yelling at Luna," Twilight countered, her worried gaze locked onto him. "Asking if she was going to allow the Tantabus to molest every single innocent mare, stallion, and foal in Equestria. Neil, I don't mean to pry, but if you need help..."

Neil was genuinely shocked and surprised she went there, and he wasn't the only one. Whatever traces of disgust or disappointment remained in Rarity's and Fluttershy's eyes vanished, replaced with worry and just a flicker of naked pity in Rarity's gaze. More than anything else that emboldened Neil to shut this topic down as soon as possible.

"I'm going to be blunt. Whatever you think happened, you're wrong," He said with as much finality as possible. However vivid that nightmare may have been, it never reached that point. "It was just a nightmare, and the Tantabus is dead now, or unmade, or whatever happened to it. As far as I'm concerned, it's over and done with. So, drop it."

After his declaration, the table fell into an awkward, almost oppressive silence. All three mares still appeared worried, and Twilight and Rarity had something to say on the matter, but neither of them voiced their thoughts.

That, more than anything else, surprised Neil. Between Celestia's careful questioning and strict control, as well as the pushy Nurses during his first few days in the infirmary (until he managed to get his wings working), he had to fiercely guard his privacy. It was an odd and strangely relieving experience to know that some mares still respected his privacy, even if he had to be upfront about it in the first place.

Unfortunately, the silence was also getting to him. To distract himself, he turned to the box Pinkie left him. Whether genuine or just out of morbid curiosity, Neil was tempted to open it just to see what was inside. Before he could, however, Twilight shared an obvious look with Rarity as if to ask the prim and proper Unicorn to say or do something to neutralize the silence.

Rarity was more than up to the challenge. She politely cleared her throat, drawing his focus away from the mystery box and the entire room's attention. "Neil, if you don't mind me asking, where did you find your cloak?"

"I have no clue," He answered honestly since this felt like a relatively safe topic. "I asked Bulk to get something to hide my wings, and he got this for me."

"Well, I can assure you Guard-Stallion Bulk has fine taste," She complimented while focusing on the alicorn clasp. "If I'm not mistaken, that garment was made by Material Mirage, one of Canterlot's premier stallion clothiers. I can't help but wonder what happened to it?"

"What happened to what? My cloak?" Neil asked, suddenly nervous. He hadn't noticed any holes or tears that might have revealed his wings earlier in the morning. But, just as he was about to look over his cloak, Rarity answered.

"Well, yes. Yesterday, it was nearly pristine. And yet, this morning, it's covered in grass and dirt stains!" She decried, as if stains were a crime for merely existing. "I can only imagine what Rainbow put you through."

"Flight training," He and Twilight groused simultaneously, which was weird. Neil had to remind himself that Rainbow had been chosen to train him precisely because she had trained Twilight first.

"Well, it's unbecoming to wear such a fine garment in its current state. If you want, we can go to my boutique, and I can wash it for you?" She tentatively offered.

While not his first option, he could picture how out-of-place grass and dirt stains would look on a full tuxedo. If he stood out that badly, he wouldn't mind getting his cloak cleaned, preferably without leaving the castle. "Celestia just zapped it clean once. Would either of you know how to do that?" He asked, looking between Twilight and Rarity.

"As much as I would like to know it, such a spell is not part of my repertoire, as it were," Rarity admitted, looking slightly embarrassed about her lack of knowledge.

Twilight also shook her head in the negative, "I've never needed to know everyday cleaning spells."

Another silence started to settle over the table when Fluttershy spoke up for the first time since he had sat down. "Thank you for letting me stay for breakfast, Twilight, but I really should get back home. My animals are probably wondering where I've been all this time."

"Of course, Fluttershy," Twilight answered right away, putting aside her book. "You know you're welcome to stay here any time."

"I know," She assured Twilight as she hopped out of her chair. However, instead of walking by, she also paused at his chair. "And, um, I hope your day goes better than it did yesterday, Mr. Neil."

"Uh... sure?" He offered, somewhat weakly. He hadn't expected Fluttershy to focus on him, and he wasn't entirely sure how to respond.

It must have been enough because the yellow Pegasus continued walking until she pushed past the green crystal door and exited the room.

"As much as I would like to stay, I also have a few orders that need to be finished if I'm to show up at Pinkie's party tonight," Rarity admitted as she hopped out of her seat. "Breakfast was lovely, as always. Give Spikey-Wikey my regards?"

"I will, don't worry," Twilight promised before her smile grew slightly. "Unless you stop by the kitchen and tell him yourself?"

"Twilight! I wouldn't want to fluster the poor colt while he's working," Rarity accused as if Twilight suggested something scandalous.

"You and I know a few shattered crystal plates don't matter. After Prince Rutherford's visit, I've been experimenting," She explained with an odd gleam in her eye. "The castle somehow fuses plates, bowls, and glasses back together within an hour or two, negating any damage done to them. The same thing happens with the doors and everything else made out of crystal I've tested so far."

"That sounds quite interesting, but I really must be going if I'm to be on time." Rarity admitted before turning to him. "Neil, have you decided whether you would join me?"

As much as he disliked the thought of going out in public again, getting stuck inside, alone, with Twilight as she was now? He gave Rarity a quick nod and hopped out of his chair. "It won't take long, will it?"

"A single cloak won't take much time to clean," Rarity assured him as her horn lit up. Her aura pushed open the same door Fluttershy recently used. She also picked up the box and invitation Pinkie left for him and brought them to her side as she waited for him to join her.

At the very least, Bulk quickly rejoined him as they exited the room and then exited the castle.

~~~

The journey through Ponyville with Rarity at the lead was a far different experience than it had been with Rainbow. Where the Pegasus was content to fly ahead and speak about anything that came to mind, Rarity opted to weave through the streets with expert ease. Any pony that waved or said hello, Rarity would return the gesture. She also pointed out one shop after another as they traveled south, giving him a general description of each store, her favorite products they produced, and even the name of the owner or owners.

This included the quaint little Cafe at the end of Stirrup Street she mentioned the day before. It was smaller than Neil had expected, little more than a compact-looking, square corner store you'd expect to see in a bigger city. However, he could agree that the outdoor patio area looked rather quaint in an outdoorsy date kind of way.

He gave a mental apology to the owner, Savoir Fare, for the fact that he would not be visiting the Fare Cafe anytime soon.

After the Cafe, the streets quickly changed from shops and businesses into residential buildings. Homely-looking cottages to sturdy-looking homes surrounded him as they continued south, each with an excessive amount of colour that brightened up the streets like a rainbow. It was odd compared to the small city he grew up in, but knowing the town's inhabitants, it was fitting. Ponies came in all colors of the rainbow, so why not their homes as well?

The streets were also less packed, allowing him to hear the distant noises, laughter, and cheers coming from the town plaza on his left. Thankfully, Rarity seemed to be sidestepping that part of town, opting instead for the most direct route to her place of business. Soon enough, their small group passed the final block of houses on either side, and the packed dirt street abruptly cut off.

If Neil didn't know better, he might have thought this was the edge of Ponyville. However, thanks to the bright pastel, if oddly pointy, tents ahead of him mixed in with the trees, he knew this was a park of sorts. At least, that's what Rainbow said when they crossed over the river to the northeast of here. Still, he followed Rarity as she transitioned onto a narrower, lightly used path winding into the trees.

Less than five minutes later, Rarity stopped in front of a tall, multi-story building dressed like a dollhouse. Like the tents, it was also painted with pastel shades. But unlike the tents, it was more... gaudy wasn't the right word with its pastel pinks, purples, blues, and gold highlights. Dainty felt more fitting as he caught sight of an out-of-place, normal-looking closed sign sitting in the diamond window of the front door.

At the same time, Rarity turned around grandly. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique!" With her slogan proclaimed to the world, her aura surrounded the door as she stepped aside. The door quickly opened on its own, revealing a fraction of the full picture inside, with even more swirls of pinks and purples and multiple golden mirrors built alongside a raised platform.

Neil couldn't deny the sudden blast of girlishness held under a single roof was giving him second thoughts about the whole thing.

Rarity must also have spotted it, as she quickly reassured him. "Please, come in. My small-town boutique isn't as prestigious as the Royal Seamstress, but I stand by my skills."

Against his better judgment, Neil slowly walked into the establishment. Once inside, he saw other items that added a small business feeling to the shop. By his count, there were seven slimmer, more mare-like mannequins stored either in corners or half-covered by curtains. Some wore nothing, but most had half-finished dresses hanging off their white frames. Directly to his left sat a rack of colorful, sparkling dresses that appeared complete. And finally, there were multiple stalls along the left wall, each outfitted with a counter, a mirror, and a...wash tub?

The front door closed with a firm but muffled click as Rarity entered her business shortly after Bulk. However, the second click caught him by surprise as he looked back. Rarity's aura had already removed itself from most of the door. However, a small patch was dissipating from what was a deadbolt. The open/closed sign was also left untouched.

"There, now we won't have any surprises." Rarity stated as she trotted by him.

Her horn lit up again as she passed, and for a moment, Neil wasn't sure what she was doing. But then, he heard the clasp of his cloak unlatch, and the familiar weight of his cloak pull away from his back. He watched nervously as his garment was lifted into the air and floated over to the closest of the four washtub stalls. Once his cloak was positioned over the wooden tub, the other half of the clasp was released, allowing it to fall while the clasp itself was placed on the counter.

"I'll start the wash in a moment, but first, I would like to start on your new cloak. One more befitting your... unique charm," She admitted, catching him entirely by surprise as she pointed a hoof toward the raised dias surrounded by mirrors. "Would you kindly hop up onto the platform?"

This was definitely not part of their agreement, as Neil stood rooted in his current position. "Why exactly do I need a new cloak? My current cloak is perfectly fine as is."

"It's fine enough, Darling, and there's no doubt the quality is top-of-the-line. But the brown and green? It just isn't you. I'm offering a cloak that would better complement your-" She paused momentarily as her eyes opened with a glimmer of imagination. "Idea!"

Her horn flared with the most prominent aura he'd yet seen from the Unicorn. Throughout the room, drawers started to pull out, and items began to fly about. Tape rulers of various lengths and colors, a set of pencils, a pad, pins, needles, thread, and even full-on bolts of cloth. They all sprang out of seemingly nowhere, some of which almost hit himself and Bulk. But the most out of place of them all was a single novel floating in front of a very inspired-looking Rarity with a shadowy figure on the back cover.

"Yes, this could work. Just a small dash of Femme Noir's classical styles to compliment your regal mystique, with the colors to match! Oh, I have to sketch this out," She rushed, as one of the pencils caught in her grasp attacked a nearby sketchbook. "I could do an entire line! The dresses, the coats. The veils? No, those would be too much Noir. Hold for just a moment, please!"

One moment, she stood near enough that he could almost read the text on the back of her book. The next, she darted through the showroom, around the open frame near the back, and vanished with some tools still trailing behind her. What wasn't needed immediately was set aside on the counters in her haste but still left out in the open.

Though he couldn't see her, the sound of her speedy retreat traveled through the walls. Eventually, her hooves emanated from the ceiling itself before they died off.

Looking away from the ceiling, Neil turned to Bulk, feeling both confused and slightly apprehensive about his experience so far. "So, am I the only one thinking she's a little... excessive?"

Bulk merely shrugged from his position near the door. "Miss Mirage was a touch more lively, believe it or not. Once she learned I was shoppin' for a larger stallion with a coin pouch to match, she was hankerin' to meet you for a full wardrobe fittin'."

That new piece of information didn't soothe his nerves. The thought of another mare even more excitable than Rarity desiring to meet him? With his already tumultuous morning, he didn't need any more surprises like that. "And you're only telling me about this now, because?"

"I figured you didn't want another pony knowin' about your wings, so why waste time telling you?" Bulk admitted with only a hint of embarrassment. "Was I wrong?"

He wasn't wrong. Neil would have avoided the mare like the plague just to keep his secret. "No, you're right. But, I'd still like to know about stuff like that in the future. There aren't anymore, right?"

"None yet," Bulk informed him, "But with the way some of those noble mares were looking, expect some invitations soon."

Before he could ask what Bulk meant by invitations, the speedy trot above their heads returned and retraced its steps back down to the main floor. Soon enough, Rarity gracefully passed through the open frame at the back, with a veritable armada of fabric bolts behind her and an even larger sketch pad held in her aura by her shoulder.

"Well, are you ready to look your absolute best, Darling?" She asked with a gleeful smile.

Cornered as he was, Neil didn't see an easy way out of this. And he knew Celestia could afford it. So, with some resignation, he opted to just get this over with as he nodded. "Just to make sure. This will help me blend in, and stay hidden, right?" He countered, emphasizing why he wore a cloak in the first place.

"Of course! Wearing an outfit that wasn't uniquely tailored specifically for you? I can't think of a worse way to stand out in Canterlot," Rarity explained as she shuffled the various bolts of cloth around. "With this, you will blend in and shine as you were meant to! Now, up on the stage, please."

Rarity almost convinced him, but she raised a major red flag at the end of her little sales pitch. "And if I don't want to shine? That's the exact opposite of hiding."

She was quick with a rebuttal to his worries, "Neil, if I may be so bold, every pony who's anypony in Canterlot is doing their absolute best to express themselves with the latest trends. Which pony would stand out more? The one wearing garments designed to express their inner beauty? Or the pony with ill-fitting garments?"

As much as he hated to admit it, that was true- for the Canterlot nobility, at the very least. Normal ponies still wore everyday clothes and work clothes, though that normally amounted to a light shirt at most, but usually less. Plus, being held in the castle all but forced him to bump into the nobility. After a moment of contemplation, he turned to his guard. "Any thoughts Bulk?"

"You were gettin' some pretty odd looks when we made our way to the Brass Bells," Bulk admitted with a slight shrug.

"... Fine. I would prefer subtle over shine, though," Neil stated as he hopped onto the raised platform and made his way to the center. He was acutely aware of Rarity's new viewing angle and what could be seen with a simple glance. So, without prompting, he sat down on his haunches and brought his front legs in close to prevent any visual mishaps.

"Of course! I always take my customer's taste into account," Rarity assured him as she glanced from one bolt of fabric to the next. "Now, let's begin."

Rarity was quick to unwrap a certain amount of orange cloth from the first bolt and hold it up against the left side of his body in various places with a critical eye. She held it beside his chest, hair, and face the longest before the fabric spun over to his right side, and she repeated the process. Only this time, Rarity's eyes were focused on the mirrors.

With a slight, negative shake, Rarity set aside the bolt and brought the next one forward. What came next was a flurry of cloth and colors as fabric after fabric twirled around him. Most joined the first bolt of orange in the largest reject pile. However, two more piles emerged in time, much smaller than the first. These held various shades of blues, purples, and a few pinks.

However, Rarity's most visceral reaction came with the first bolt of vibrant red. The moment she placed it against his chest, she didn't hide the look of revulsion on her face. Or the not-so-subtly muttered, Too Sombra, Before the multiple shades of red held in her aura joined the pile of rejects.

In total, it took between fifteen minutes and half an hour for Rarity to work through her supply of fabrics and jot down all her notes in the sketchbook. Once the last bolt, a thin, soft-feeling pale lavender cloth, was finally placed on the smallest pile. She flipped her book closed and slid the pencil she used inside one of the coils that bound the book together.

Over time, her horn had dulled in brightness as bolt after bolt was added, forming into a neat pile. Now, it regained some of it’s luster as she enveloped the smaller piles in her aura and lifted them into the air.

"Well, I think that should cover the basics. As promised, I'll clean and dry your cloak within twenty minutes. After which, I think I shall start on your new cloak. Until then, please take a seat and relax," She offered, waving her hoof towards the multiple stools throughout the showroom floor.

With that, she all but pranced through the open frame with an excited giggle and disappeared upstairs for a second time.

Now that he was in the clear, Neil finally allowed himself to stand properly. His body was inundated with several small cracks and pops as his legs and back shifted and stretched. After that, he hopped off the raised platform and claimed the nearest stool as his own.

If Rarity's estimate was correct, he had less than twenty minutes to waste. Overall, it would be a short wait, but he intimately knew how time could drag on with nothing to do. He didn't have a book to read, and he couldn't leave, either.

Bulk remained near the door, standing at attention, even if it was just the two of them now. Unless Neil found a compelling subject to talk about—chances were, Bulk would remain in guard mode.

That left his thoughts. More importantly, he left with a single, glaring question. What was the next important task on his agenda?

It was just his luck that the Everfree Forest was next to Ponyville. The same forest he needed to explore to find the Castle of the Two Sisters. This was the closest he'd ever been to his first and only objective of getting home, no matter how flimsy it may have been. Unfortunately, given the information he knew from books and what Rainbow had told him yesterday, he knew it was a perilous place to go.

Unbidden, a caricature of Celestia's worried voice wove through his mind, 'It's too dangerous for the unique, disabled, one-of-a-kind Alicorn stallion to go.'

Bulk would also veto any attempt to get close to the Everfree Forest; there were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Unfortunately, that left an unanswerable question in his mind. When would he get another opportunity like this in the future? Knowing Celestia, the odds were against him. She'd keep him locked up in the castle or babysit him with an entire platoon of guards, removing any hint of privacy for his research.

No, if he was going to do something, this would be his best shot. He just had to find a way to distract Bulk and quietly slip away. Then he could go into the Everfree, find the castle, search the library, and find a way home. Nice and simple...

Thinking of simple things, didn't Bulk introduce one of his cousins during the shared dream? If he went that route, it would be, admittedly, a little underhanded. However, desperate times called for desperate measures, right?

Neil kept the idea in mind for now. If he thought of a better one, great. If not, at least he had one option. He hopped off the stool, hooked a wing around one of the legs, and dragged it next to Bulk before sitting down again.

"You didn't join me for breakfast. Are you hungry?" Neil asked as he swiped the box of muffins from Bulk's back. Surprisingly, there was even a hint of resistance as he grabbed the box, but not enough to prevent him from pulling the box away.

Bulk's eyes flickered off the open frame at the back of the room, to the box itself, then back to the open frame. "Maybe later. I'm on duty right now."

"That's entirely up to you," Neil said as he eased the box open. He expected to see a grab bag box where a person could find at least one appetizing item. Instead, he was met with six perfectly baked banana and chocolate chip muffins.

Before he could even comprehend that Pinkie had guessed his favorite type of muffin, the overwhelmingly sweet scent hit him. Even though he had just finished breakfast, his stomach was quick to demand more with a short grumble.

Before he devoured the whole box, he gave Bulk one last chance. "You sure?"

"I'm sure," Bulk confirmed, although he was tempted by the scent alone.

Neil made a split-second decision to keep two set aside for Bulk before digging into his second breakfast. After devouring his first glorious muffin in just two bites, he also remembered why he came over in the first place. "Hey Bulk, you said you have family living here?"

~~~

Rarity was true to her word in one regard. In less than twenty minutes, she came back down with his cloak looking even better than the day it was bought. He didn't know how she made the forest green look even more vibrant, but he assumed it was some sort of trade secret.

Either way, he could leave the boutique without fear with his cloak returned to him. Which he did.

Thanks to his short but informative chat with Bulk, he had the next stop on his list: Sweet Apple Acres. From what he was told, it was a reasonably expansive orchard to the southwest of Ponyville. Not only would they be able to go there without cutting through Ponyville again, but as an added bonus, their orchard butted up against the Everfree at multiple points! It almost felt as if Neil won the jackpot in that regard.

But after a brisk twenty-minute trot, a large, multi-story red barn slowly rose above the evenly placed apple trees, signaling just how close they were to the farm itself. Soon after, the trees ended as the white fence curved inward towards a large, welcoming arch that opened to the main property. The effect created a welcoming alcove, with potted plants evenly spaced along the entire fence. There was even an old antique bathtub and a few washbasins full of shrubs,all of which were well cared for.

Just off to the right of the gate sat a chicken coop, with almost a dozen chickens milling about near their home. A good thirty to forty meters behind that were four decent-sized sheds lined up side by side, all surrounded by hay piles.

To his left was a decent-sized vegetable garden and a well, shortly followed by what he originally thought was a barn. It still looked like one, with the main entrance covered by a pair of large barn doors. But judging by the multiple windowsill gardens and the stone pathways leading to both the large and small doors, he was starting to have second thoughts about that assumption.

Finally, a few hills beyond that, he caught sight of an orange building with prominent carrot-shaped decorations, even at that distance.

Overall, if a person added an ordinary-looking house between the barn and the carrot building, it would look like a very homely, down-to-earth place to live.

"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! It's not as big or as fancy as Orange Groves down by Manehatten, but my cousins hold their own," Bulk proclaimed.

"It's a pretty nice place," Neil agreed before voicing his main question, "So, do we wait here for someone, or can we just go in?"

"Go right on in," Bulk offered without a hint of doubt. "I can't think of a single pony that ain't welcome besides a pair of well-known swindlers, that is."

With Bulk giving him the go-ahead, Neil walked through the gate. The area was serene, if a little empty. The only sound came from the chickens happily clucking to his right and a rhythmic, odd wooden thunk that echoed out from the orchard to the west every minute or so.

It was only as they approached the smaller of the two entrances that Neil picked up a third sound- a faint, if constant wooden creaking that grew louder the closer they walked to the half-open, Dutch-styled door.

Once he was close enough to peek inside, there wasn't much to see. The walls were bare planks like one would expect from a barn, with a couple of framed family photos hanging to decorate the space. The floor was covered in somewhat dirty floor mats, likely from ponies walking in. Finally, dozing next to one of the windows was an elderly-looking, light green pony with gray hair rocking back and forth in an old, squeaky chair.

Looking back to Bulk, he made a knocking gesture with his hoof before shrugging. "Should we knock and wake her, or..?"

Instead of answering, Bulk walked right past the smaller door and slipped around the corner, heading towards the back of the barn. He didn't go far, only a few steps at most, before he stopped and waved a hoof at something. "Good mornin' Cousin!"

Somewhat curious, Neil followed. There was little in the way of decoration, besides a third door at the back of the barn. But, twenty-some meters away, another building had been previously concealed by the barn. A mid-sized structure, perhaps equal to three of the sheds combined, with an unbroken fence surrounding the only entrance to create a medium-sized pen. Inside the pen were four large, happy-looking pigs being fed by Applejack.

Once she finished emptying the bucket in her hooves, she set it aside, looked up, and hollered, "Well howdy Bulk! What brings you and Neil to the farm this fine autumn day?"

"Neil wanted to pass the time and see the farm," Bulk bellowed back just as loudly. "I'm guessin' that's Mac bucking in the orchard?"

'Bucking?' Neil mentally replayed that word as yet another distant thwack could be heard. What the hell did that even mean? Whatever it meant, he could only hope it wasn't a euphemism for fucking, at the very least.

"Eyup, there's a small section of Pink Ladies that are just starting to ripen up. Big Mac should have 'em all bucked by mid-afternoon," Applejack explained, making it sound even dirtier as she walked up to them. "So, anything in particular you want to see?"

He suppressed the first answer that came to mind, instead opting for the less crass and more accurate motives behind his visit. "Well, I did want to see the farm, but that isn't the only reason I'm here."

"Oh? You have some sort of business that needs doing?" Applejack asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Sort of," Neil answered, as he gave a side look towards Bulk. "You see, Bulk's been working every day since he was assigned as my guard. So, when he said he has family in Ponyville, I figured, why not give him a day off?"

"Well, that sounds like a mighty fine idea!" An older, crotchety-sounding voice spoke up from right behind him. Turning around, Neil immediately spotted the older green mare from the rocking chair. "Not often we get family drop'n by just to drop by. And who are you, Sonny?"

By then, she had sidled up to him, putting herself between him and the barn wall. "I'm Neil, Mrs...?"

"Aw, none o'that!" She lightly chastised while focusing her wrinkled eyes up at him. "My name's Granny Smith, but everypony just calls me Granny."

"Well, uh, it's nice to meet you Granny?" Neil asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"Nice to meet you too, Neil," She said genuinely before turning to her... daughter? However, judging by appearances alone, granddaughter was more appropriate. "Applejack, why don't you go ring the bell and call Big Mac for an early lunch?"

"Can do, Granny," Applejack offered before turning around and jogging towards a pole with a cowbell on it.

"Now, are you two strappin' young lads up for escorting this old mare to the kitchen for an early lunch?"

For the first time, it was Bulk's stomach that betrayed him. It gave off a noticeable rumble the moment Granny Smith mentioned food. "Sure thing, Granny."

With that settled, Neil and Bulk flanked the elderly mare and escorted her into the house to the sound of a cowbell ringing.

Once Granny Smith was escorted to the kitchen, both he and Bulk were shooed out. The kitchen wasn't a place for stallions as they were assigned to set the table. With his wings, the plates, glasses, and cutlery were easy enough for him to manage if he was careful.

Applejack entered the kitchen shortly after the bell stopped ringing. Without a word, she zipped through the dining area and straight into the kitchen. Soon after that, one dish after another started to flow out of the kitchen and onto the table. The first few dishes were warmed-up leftovers from either breakfast or the night before. But after that, every pot and pan looked and smelled as if they were freshly baked. How they were sending out dishes so fast, Neil couldn't guess.

The table was creaking under the weight of all the dishes by the time the third and final adult member of the Apple family appeared with heavy steps (from far enough away that Neil managed to hide his wings with ease).

Big Mac was a vibrant red Earth Pony that lived up to his name as he walked into the dining room. Neil offered a quick hello. Big Mac gave a silent nod in return before quickly taking stock of the situation and placing the last few pans in a manner that would still keep everything stable.

A few minutes later, the mares exited the kitchen, with Applejack holding the door for Granny Smith. As the elderly mare approached the nearest seat, she paused, giving him and Big Mac a slow, quizzical look before a grin spread along her muzzle. "He-he, I knew it! You are a smidge taller than Big Mac, even without your horn."

Put on the spot like that, Neil couldn't help but look around Bulk at the red stallion sitting two seats down, only to see Big Mac also looking his way. Seeing a pony that wasn't an Alicorn look at him without looking up at him was a little odd. But taller? That he wasn't so sure about.

Big Mac didn't seem to care too much about it either, as he shrugged with an "Eeeyup" and then started to dish up food onto his plate. Bulk and the rest of the Apple family followed suit, whereas Neil struggled a little. Without his wings, he was forced to resort to his hooves. He managed when it was something like a ladle or a serving spoon that he could pincer between his hooves. But he was forced to avoid everything else unless he wanted to risk causing a mess.

He tried to keep his problem under the radar while everyone else was busy, but Granny Smith quickly called him out once she was done serving her plate. "Havin' some troubles, Neil?"

Before he could answer, Bulk deftly snatched the serving spoon from his hooves and placed the apple dumpling onto his plate. "Nothin' we haven't dealt with before, Granny. One of the reasons I was assigned to Neil is his hooves and horn."

It was a little humiliating, but Neil recognized the save for what it was as he nodded along. Thankfully, his plate was mostly full by then, so he didn't need Bulk's help for much longer.

"Well, if yer havin' trouble with yer hooves, don't worry about the cutlery," Granny added as she watched Bulk place an apple fritter onto his plate. "Dig in and enjoy."

"Will do, Granny," Was all Neil said as he considered her words. Did she say it was okay to eat like an animal? As much as he wanted to keep his wings a secret, they itched to be used rather than having to eat like a dog. A quick look around the table showed that none of the others seemed to care, however.

So, forsaking some (but not all) of his manners, Neil joined in.

From the food alone, he quickly learned that 'Apple' wasn't just a name. For the Apple family, it was also a way of life. Apple fritters, apple cobbler, apple pie, fried apple slices, even apple dumplings. Every single dish had apples in it, one way or another. And, much to his surprise, all of them were good. Though his all-time favorite from the samples he gathered was decisively the apple turnovers.

As lunch came to a close, it was Applejack who broke the content silence of their meal. "Neil, I've been wonderin'. You said you wanted to give Bulk the day off for family, but he's your guard. What were you plannin' on doin' without him?"

"I don't know... wander around for a bit, I guess?" Neil answered, caught off guard by the question. Then again, Applejack knew about his wings and the real reason Bulk was assigned to him. "Maybe listen to Lyra if she's playing, or go read a book? As far as I know, I'm stuck here until it's time to go back to Canterlot."

As he answered, Applejack looked at him oddly- but only for a moment before Granny Smith cut in.

"Applejack, y'know you could always go with him if yer that worried," The elderly mare added.

"I still have chores around the farm that need doing, Granny," Applejack countered, sounding as if she had already had this discussion multiple times.

"I know, I know, I'm just sayin'," Granny acquiesced before attacking the same topic from a new angle. "Besides, judge'n by his size, he definitely has some Earth Pony in him, and I ain't gettin' any younger, y'know."

"Granny," Applejack grumbled as she passed her plate to a retreating Big Mac, who was clearly the smartest stallion in the room since he did not want to hear any part of this conversation.

Neil, being one of the core subjects, also felt like leaving. But, he was also morbidly curious enough to stay as Granny carried on.

"What? Can't a mare ask for some great grand-foals before she kicks the bucket?" She asked, confirming Neil's earlier thought that she was their grandmother instead of their mother.

"Not like this," Applejack stubbornly stated while meeting Granny's gaze. "Besides, even if we wanted to, estrus is over a season away."

"That just means you have plenty of time to practice!" Granny cackled before she turned to Neil. "Unless that ain't working for ya either?"

Up to that point, it had been both an enlightening and fairly entertaining conversation, knowing that some things stay the same. But Neil did not expect to have such a blunt question thrown at him like that, and answered accordingly as heat swarmed over his cheeks, "As far as I know, it is?"

"Granny! You know it's rude to ask about a stallion's virility these days," Applejack chastised the elder mare before looking at him. "Neil, I apologize for that. Maybe you an' Bulk should join Big Mac while Granny and I continue this privately."

Seeing the opportunity to escape for what it was, Neil quickly stood up from the table. "I wouldn't want to break any of your dishes, given... So I'll just step outside for some fresh air. Bulk, you don't mind helping, right?"

"Eyup, I'm on it," Bulk said, nabbing Neil's plate and placing it on his own.

With that established, Neil quickly exited the house. By that point, the mid-day sun was bearing down on the farm, making the day feel warmer than it should have during the autumn season. It was nice, in a way, to be able to lean against the wall as the sun warmed his cloak when compared to sitting hunched over in a dilapidated shipping crate within the shadows of an alleyway.

Unfortunately, the thoughts buzzing around in his head were the same. He couldn't quite tell how long he stood there, just thinking. He was thinking about how this would be his last good meal for quite a while when Applejack exited the house.

She looked to her left, toward the arch, first. When she didn't spot him, she looked to the right. Once she saw him leaning against the wall, she trotted over. "Once again, sorry about that, Neil. Granny can be a little in her ways at times."

"Eh, no worries," Neil shrugged the apology away, knowing exactly how she felt. "It's odd being in the spotlight, but my Grandma did something similar once."

"Oh? Was it as bad as what Granny just did?" She asked as she sat down with her back against the wall.

"Maybe? It happened during grad for my final year of high school. First, we had our school graduation ceremony in the afternoon and then our prom dance in the evening. During the ceremony, my grandparents wanted to meet my date for the prom, so I brought her over," Neil explained before reaching the finale of his story, "Everything was going fine until my Grandma pointed out that the size of her breasts could cause health problems later on in life."

"Breasts? You mean her teats?" Applejack asked before her eyes widened with a slightly panicked look, "Wait, was she carry'n a foal at the time? Was it yours?"

"Nope, she always had larger teats than most girls, that's all," Neil answered quickly before she traveled further down that particular path of assumptions. "She was kind enough to still dance with me at prom, but we went our separate ways after that."

"Oh. That does sound a little worse than what Granny did." After a few seconds of awkward silence, Applejack moved on to a different topic. "I also talked with Bulk an' Big Mac. After dishes they'll be heading off to finish the section of pink ladies together. You sure you'll be fine on your own?"

"Positive. I just have to follow the path, yeah?"

"Eyup, but be careful, though. Just because we had our big bad of the month doesn't mean Ponyville still can't get a little rowdy." She warned as she stood up, with a few noticeable pops from her well-defined muscles. "Anyway, I have some fencing that needs to be repaired."

And with those parting words, she was off, heading towards one of the sheds.

Neil, however, was internally cheering as he lightly pushed off the wall. Bulk deciding to enjoy the day with his family without any extra discussion was an added bonus he hadn't expected. Now, he could just leave and go wherever he wanted.

'After all,' He thought as he passed under the arch and turned onto the main road, 'All I have to do is follow the path... Into the Everfree.'

~~~***~~~

The past week had been a hectic one for Twilight.

It started well enough six days ago. She and Spike had been dutifully re-shelving the magical education section of the library when Spike received a missive from Princess Celestia. As the Princess' student, Twilight immediately paused their current task to read the letter.

It could have been a call for help against the next great threat against Equestria. Or, even worse, it could have been a surprise exam! Contrary to her predictions, it was a simple letter asking how she was doing and if she was willing to partake in two extra assignments.

The first assignment of the two, welcoming Prince Rutherford and his Yak delegation from Yakyakistan, was marked as a high-priority task. The second assignment may have been marked as low priority, but it was primarily a research project, something Twilight enjoyed immensely. Without considering the consequences, she promptly sent a letter accepting both.

And so, that's how she spent the following week after altering her schedules and checklists. First, she had to prepare for and survive welcoming Prince Rutherford and his Yak delegation from Yakyakistan. That had been a harrowing wake-up call in the realm of politics. Thankfully, Pinkie somehow managed to avert a war from starting (a first in recent history, much to Twilight's surprise), which should have led to a few days of peace and quiet and, most importantly, research.

Instead, the Tantabus sprung up, threatening not only Ponyville but also Equestria if it could escape into the physical realm. In the end, Luna managed to quell her feelings of doubt and self-loathing and prevent the threat from her creation. However, even a threat to Equestria couldn't resolve itself smoothly! A new Alicorn, known only to a select few (including Rainbow Dash, surprisingly enough), revealed himself.

Never in a million years would she have predicted a stallion could ascend. Then again, until her ascension, she never would have predicted any pony could do so. She didn't have much of an opportunity to interact with him so far, but what little amount of time she did made her concerned. He didn't appear to embody any aspect of friendship. He was distant, surly to the point of insulting most ponies around him, and lacked trust in anypony.

In fact, given his lack of a cutie mark, Neil didn't appear to embody any aspect of power. That was a conundrum in and of itself since she couldn't recall any pony reaching adulthood before earning a cutie mark. What did that mean?

Hopefully, he wasn't a burgeoning threat to Equestria like Sombra. Admittedly, they had similar appearances, but that was only a superficial comparison.

Either way, she had the opportunity to talk to him later at Pinkie's party. For now, she had a few hours scheduled for pure, unadulterated research. And such a challenging topic it was, too! Whether her search categorically fit into history or geography, she didn't know. But Princess Celestia tasked her with finding any trace of a country called 'Canada'.

So far, every attempt to find it over the previous week came up with nothing.

It vexed her in a challenging, almost pleasurable way. Her mind drifted to the moment in time when she would finally find the answer for Princess Celestia. Just herself, alone in the library, surrounded by the books that helped her find out what, exactly, Canada was... And the locked bottom-left drawer of her desk, which only she knew the contents of.

However, that kind of celebration was for later! Now she had to focus on finding the mysterious land of Canada...

~~~

Twilight groaned in frustration four hours later as she added the Esoteric Encyclopedia of Ancient Equine Nations to the ever-growing pile of books without any trace of the name Canada. As much as she wanted to push on, she needed a break to refocus, and a glass of lemonade would be the perfect solution... if she could leave her desk.

Looking around, there wasn't so much a book pile but a book fortress surrounding her. At least half of the books that were originally stored in the geography and history sections were no longer on the shelves where they belonged. Had she really gone through that many books already?

Apparently—she had. She shook her head and focused. With the exact amount of magic gathered in a fraction of a second and the correct formula locked in her mind, she released her spell. One moment, she was surrounded by books, and the next, she stood beside Spike's check-out desk. Blinking may be limited to line of sight, but it was much more efficient compared to teleportation.

However, her eyes fell upon the small bookshelf behind the counter. She looked over the specific books set on the special shelf with a nostalgic fondness. Whether for functional or sentimental reasons, Twilight couldn't find it within her to allow those particular books to be checked out. Most of them were damaged or burned and were recovered from her old home after its destruction. But a few were relatively more intact, like the brown and gold spine of Sunset Shimmer's inter-dimensional journal...

And just like that, an idea sparked in her mind. Sunset Shimmer was Celestia's student before Twilight. By all accounts, she was a well-practiced and powerful mage in her own right- perhaps even more so than Twilight had been at her age. She also had access to more esoteric tomes (that Princess Celestia locked away after Sunset's betrayal). Perhaps she heard about Canada in one of those books?

It was a long shot at best, but it was worth the risk as Twilight grasped the book in her magic and placed it on the counter. She flipped to the first unused page, uncorked the nearest inkwell, and grabbed one of Spike's recently used quills.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

How are you doing in the human world? Things have been pretty hectic here in Equestria with my Princess duties and other assigned duties. Speaking of which, I've been tasked with finding any historical or geological trace of a country called Canada. Have you heard of it during your studies under Celestia?

Hope you're doing well,
Twilight Sparkle.

Once the ink was dry, Twilight closed the book, re-shelved it, and exited the library. It was hard to calculate the exact time of day, or night it was in the human world. If she was lucky, she would get a timely response. If not, she may have to wait until tomorrow to receive an answer from Princess Celestia's former student.

Either way, she had a glass of lemonade waiting for her in the kitchen.

Once her basic hydration was taken care of, along with a sugary boost in the form of a mid-day vanilla cupcake, Twilight returned to the library. At least, she tried to return to the library. She only made it halfway up the stairs before a wrench in the form of Rainbow Dash's frantic voice echoed throughout her castle and tore through her perfectly scheduled plans.

"Twilight, Neil's missing!"

10. Dreamy Aftermath Part 2

(October 26th: 10th Day Since Capture)

As Neil walked along the gravel road, he did so with a light hum from his chest and a small skip to his steps as a chipper song by TheFatRat played in his head. For the first time in quite a while, he was alone and feeling pretty happy with himself. There were no guards nearby to babysit him or all-powerful princesses to keep him locked up in his gilded cage. He was free to do what he wanted and go wherever he pleased, so long as he did it quickly.

Which was why he was currently trotting along the road heading towards Ponyville.

Even if he considered the times when he was left alone to do research, he hadn't felt like this in days. As he thought back over his entire time in Equestria... He couldn't remember ever feeling this happy. One memory that came close was the content, almost euphoric desire for Equestrian cooking, whether fresh or not.

The only other activity that came to mind was his brief stint of gliding, but even then, that was more of a rush and an elation at the fact that he could fly. Not to mention the almost addictive feeling of correctness as the air flowed over his wings. And yet, another part of him railed against it. Flying under his own power wasn't right; It wasn't human at all. He had to follow his true dream and fly as a pilot, right?

The more he thought about it, the more he reaffirmed his positions. He'd never been truly happy in Equestria, not once, until now.

That's why he took a right when a slightly smaller, lesser-used road appeared. As far as he knew, it would curve around the edge of the Everfree and meet up with the eastern road he had taken with Rainbow the previous day. The ponies back at Sweet Apple Acres might think he was heading back to Ponyville to relax, but he had another objective in mind.

Along the way to her secret training spot, Rainbow had pointed out two smaller paths leading into the Everfree Forest. The first led to a home deep in the forest owned by a pony named Zecora. The second, however, threw him for a loop when she said it followed the outskirts of the forest to Fluttershy's home.

Why one of the most timid ponies he'd ever met would live near a forest that instinctually sent shivers down his spine, he couldn't understand. But in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter, as the first path was his main focus. Rainbow told him a group of foals called the Cutie Mark Crusaders used it occasionally to visit Zecora. And, if it was safe enough for a group of foals, it was probably safe enough for him.

He wouldn't have to worry about anything- unless he diverged from the path.

After a quick ten-minute jaunt, where he studiously avoided looking at the forest on his right, the smaller path merged into the eastern road. He could already see the unpaved dirt trail cutting straight into the forest in the distance. Sooner rather than later, he would finally take his first hopeful step towards the journey home.

As he veered onto the unkempt trail, he only hoped it was the right path. Now that he was facing the bowels of the untamed wilderness that was the Everfree, the unease at the back of his neck grew with each prickly hair that stood.

'Another thing to add to my list of unknown bullshit about the world,' He thought, ignoring his instinct and walking forward. He could understand the locals having an ingrained reaction like that if they grew up with horrible stories about the forest. However, he didn't have that excuse as he slowly progressed. Twenty feet, ten, five... the moment he crossed the threshold and entered the forest, something unexpected happened.

As if a switch had been flipped in his head, the tension in his neck muscles and the impending feeling of doom vanished. It was intriguing and a little worrying in its own right, as a mild sense of giddiness? replaced it. Either way, without the baseless fear weighing him down, he found his steps much lighter as he travelled into the forest along the path.

Not to say the forest itself suddenly looked like sunshine and rainbows. Living in Saskatchewan all of his life, Neil only had a little experience with forests. The Everfree was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. He was used to tall, narrow pines, aspens, and the occasional, more normal-looking poplar trees. He didn't recognize any of these moss-covered trees, with their thick dark brown or brown-gray barks. They stood tall while also twisting in unusual ways.

Reaching into the dense canopy and blocking most of the sun while vines hung limply from their branches. The remaining foliage was forced to survive in quasi-shadowy lighting that enhanced the unsettling atmosphere. Judging by the leafy bushes and weed-like plants, they not only survived, but thrived in the environment. Each plant coalesced to create a thick underbrush of dark greens and silvery blues that stood out in the otherwise dark crevices. He even spotted groups of orange and red shelf-like fungus growing along fallen tree trunks.

The only indication that he was travelling deeper into the forest, beyond the passing of time, was the overall dimness of the light. Presumably, the canopy was becoming thicker, which allowed even less light to pass through. As a consequence, everything became darker. The shadows cast by the trees elongated, crossing the path more frequently. At the same time, the many twisted limbs around and above him seemed to appear more shadowy and alive, almost as if they were preparing to pin him into the ground, like-.

He shook his head. There was no need to think about that when he was surrounded by a whole new biome of flora and fauna... But, now that he thought about it, there weren't many animals around him. At most, he was surrounded by the occasional hum of insects like the buzzing of beetles. But so far, he hadn't heard a single bird singing or the scuttle of a small creature in the underbrush. It was rather odd...

Neil pondered that thought for a fair distance before he spotted something even odder: a beacon of light filtering through the nearby tree trunks. It wasn't enough to lure him off the path, but he was heading in roughly the same direction, so there wasn't much need to. A few minutes later, the trees thinned enough to reveal a clearing.

It was a reasonably uniform circle, roughly house-sized if he had to guess. The outer half of the clearing was taken up by prairie grasses and wildflowers, precisely what he would expect to see along the untamed outskirts of his home city. But in the center, as if acting like a small, life-giving pond, was a large patch of flowers.

It was very intriguing, to say the least, as he looked upon the waves of petals. Each was light blue except for a line of darker blue running down the center. Was there something about the clearing that prevented the trees from growing, thus allowing the flowers to grow? Or was there something unique about the flowers that acted almost like Penicillin against the trees?

Without thought, he took one step and then another, angling away from the path as he slowly approached the clearing.

Another oddity he noticed was the lack of insects anywhere near the center of the clearing. He spotted a few small, black, fly-like bugs and even a few bees flying around the outer circle but quickly brushed that aside. For some reason, he was far more focused on the blue flowers- what they would smell like and, most importantly, what they would taste like.

He was halfway through the outer ring before some critical thoughts reached the forefront of his mind. 'Why do I want to know what they taste like? Why did I leave the path? And why am I still walking towards the flower patch!?'

A part of himself didn't know why he needed to force his legs to stop moving. But he managed to halt himself with only three feet remaining between him and the blue flowers. Now that he was thinking more clearly, something about these flowers held him enraptured.

There was an urge to go into them, to sniff and nibble on just a few petals in the name of science. Almost as if he was enchanted, like a DnD trap. No matter how hard he tried, the fact that he couldn't pull away his gaze only cemented his opinion.

The best he could do was slowly walk around the flower patch, making sure he moved no closer to the danger but unable to move away. During this time, he tried to think of anything that described the flowers, whether from Rainbow or the books on the Castle of the Two Sisters he skimmed. Nothing came to mind.

He might have been on his second, or maybe it was his third, lap around the flower patch when a small amount of terrifying providence made itself known. He could not look at the source, but he definitely heard the unmistakable growls of a creature nearby. Whether that was the cure for his plight or the shock to his system he needed to break free, the blissful giddiness in his head vanished.

Neil tore his eyes away from the plants and shifted onto the... four plants? growling from the other side of the clearing. Each plant was crouched down on all fours as if threatening to pounce at him at any moment. Except, as far as he could tell, they weren't made of flesh and fur. No, their dog-like bodies were made almost entirely of sticks and bark in various states of mossy decay. The only thing not made of plant matter was their eyes, each glowing like a luminescent firefly nestled in the otherwise empty socket.

Rainbow's gloating also played through his head, identifying the creatures before him with some manner of disbelief. 'There's also timberwolves, but me and AJ handle 'em easily enough.'

Timberwolves. Neil assumed she meant regular wolves, but of course, nothing could ever be that simple in fucking pony world! Even worse, the wolves had placed themselves between him and the path. He was essentially cut off from safety if, and that was a big if, the wolves would give up the chase if he managed to reach the path. Even in his head, that plan sounded stupid as he took an unconscious step away from the pack.

All four wolves sprung into action like Neil had stepped onto a trapped pressure plate. Two plant monstrosities charged to the right, and the other two, including the largest wolf, charged left to avoid the patch of blue flowers entirely. That gave him just enough time to turn and run, allowing instinct to guide him as he headed deeper into the forest.

He didn't have the luxury of looking back and seeing how close the wolves were. His sight was focused, darting to his left and right to find the path of least resistance when available. And when it wasn't, he bulldozed his way through the underbrush. Bushes, weeds, and thorns? None of that mattered as he quickly accrued multiple shallow cuts and scrapes.

What mattered was the sound of thunks and cracks as rotten wood chased him. Even worse, though it was only his ears tracking his pursuers, he could tell they were gaining on him. It wouldn't be long before they were nipping at his heels. He needed something- a distraction, an obstacle, anything!

A growl came from behind him and to his left. Neil instinctually juked to his right, plowing through a patch of thistles as the snapping of fragile wood slammed into the ground. Even then, he resisted the urge to look back. Was that one less wolf? He hoped so as he shifted to his left, aiming to slip between two-

Pain erupted from his back right hoof as what felt like dozens of small wooden spikes pierced through his skin and fur into the muscle beneath. With a roar of anger, pain, and fear, Neil forcefully ripped his leg out of the wolf's jaw as he continued forward. Besides a minor stumble, Neil managed to weave between the two trees as another conglomerate of wood tried, and failed to pounce on him as it smashed into the tree on his right instead.

Two wolves down and two to go. Even then, Neil knew he was at a disadvantage now. He could feel multiple shards of wood grinding in the wound each time his back hoof made contact with the ground, sending multiple jolts of pain up his spine. Reminding him of his dire situation, along with the unknown amount of cuts and scrapes covering his chest.

He was frantic, looking this way and that, trying to find an escape route. And if not that, then anything that could act as a deterrent for the wolves still thumping and barking excitedly through the underbrush behind him. Did they smell his wound? Could they smell his wound? He didn't know as he pushed off with his back legs and leaped into the air.

His injured leg almost collapsed from the pain as his muscles spasmed, but it held, allowing him to soar over a fallen log. Judging by the scrabbling of multiple monsters behind him, he might have gained some much-needed ground. But, it wasn't enough since the wolves were still on his trail.

He wasn't going to give up his brief respite, though, as he scanned the surrounding area. Not to look for the path of least resistance but a proper escape.

Nothing stood out as he looked from left to right. However, whether it was dumb luck- or the fact that he should have been paying attention to where he was going, he burst through the treeline. His chosen path suddenly came to an abrupt and steep-looking end, with the ledge of a cliff not even five feet in front of him.

Neil's first instinct was to try and stop as he dug his front hooves into the dirt. However, his forward momentum wasn't so easily diverted as his hooves slipped over the edge. For a moment of abject terror, Neil felt as if the world had slowed down. He could see the ground below, a veritable field of stone boulders and torn-up dirt, with the odd thick tree standing upright, almost as if there had been a landslide recently. Unfortunately, said the landslide was at least fifty feet below his current height.

There was no way he was going to survive that kind of fall- Whumph!

A sudden strain against his back pulled him back into reality, and he noticed that he wasn't falling- fast at least. He also felt the familiar, addictive feeling of air flowing along his feathers as he glided forward. Gathering his wits, Neil locked his wings in place, just like Rainbow taught him before another catastrophe could happen.

Unintentional as it was, he couldn't deny the sudden elation erupting in his chest and overriding his previous terror. The chase had been far too close, but in the end, he had won. The sky had been his unintended escape, and as far as he knew, plant wolves couldn't fly. Now, his only problem was finding a place to land.

The landslide might have cleared a decent chunk of tree cover in the surrounding area, but that still left large swathes of shattered rock, some of which looked relatively jagged and sharp. However, there was one rather large, somewhat round boulder that looked ideal.

With little else to choose from, he slowly banked towards it.

Neil still had to circle it twice before he bled enough of his elevation away to land on the rock. When he did, he made sure not to put much pressure on his injured leg, which was still painfully throbbing. Now that he had a solid stone underneath his hooves, he immediately looked over his injury.

It wasn't pretty but, it also wasn't the worst thing he'd seen—thanks to the internet. He found himself to be somewhat befuddled to see not just wooden shards sticking out of the wound, but an entire upper jaw made of wood anchored into his flesh by its teeth. He couldn't help but poke it, only to hiss in pain as he moved the teeth still wedged deep into his leg.

Neil knew he had to remove it at some point; otherwise, it would likely get infected. But, for the moment, he just wanted to sit and rest. So that's exactly what he did as he spun around on his three uninjured legs and plopped his butt down while facing the cliff.

Pacing along the edge of the cliff, looking both pissed off and disgruntled by their posture alone were the four timberwolves that chased him. He knew it was them not only due to the one larger wolf but also because one of the smaller ones was missing half of its upper snout.

Neil released a smug snort at their frustration. It may have been close, but he still snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Literally, given the jaw embedded into his leg. "That's right, you Pussy Ass Bitches! I won, and you lost; now fuck off!"

They must have heard him clearly because the largest one paused. Though Neil couldn't see it, he felt the wolf's glare. But, they couldn't do anything. They were stuck at the top of the cliff, and he was sitting on top of a boulder. He was perfectly safe as the larger one resumed its movement and walked by one of the smaller ones.

Only to swipe its paw and push the smaller wolf off the cliff.

Neil watched in confusion as a second and a third wolf followed the first to their deaths, each shattering into a hundred or more wooden shards against the rocks before the larger one finally took the plunge.

'What the fuck?' Was all he could think after watching the murder-suicide of an entire timberwolf pack. Why would they do that? It made no god-damned sense at all...

Only to feel a searing pain in his leg as the upper jaw tore itself out. "Fuck!"

He could still feel some of the teeth wriggling inside the wound, trying to remove themselves on their own somehow. In response, his leg spasmed in extreme pain as his front hooves clamped down on the wound. Without the jaw and the majority of teeth to staunch the bleeding, a small amount of red flowed through his fur and stained the top of the boulder.

Even worse, he tracked the jaw as it half flew, half crashed over the shards of broken rock until it finally vanished near where the timberwolves fell. As if they were powered by some sort of necromancy, Neil watched as the shattered pieces of wood merged together again and reformed with other pieces into the rough shape of a body. The process took minutes, but soon enough, all four wolves were standing, fully formed as if nothing had happened, including the large one that looked particularly smug.

By the time the teeth stopped moving, the pack had already covered most of the distance between the base of the cliff and the boulder he was currently resting on.

Neil's recent good feelings vanished like smoke in the wind, leaving only the thought that, at the very least, the boulder was eight to ten feet taller than the surrounding rubble- too tall for the wolves to climb, he hoped. But even then, that meant his only option was to wait and outlast the wolves.

If he could even outlast them. For all he knew, they survived on photosynthesis and used the corpses of animals they killed as fertilizer. If that was the case, he was screwed…unless he somehow unlocked the secrets of flight. He now had plenty of time to learn, so long as he didn't make a mistake and fall into the waiting jaws of his hunters.

'Could this day get any worse?' He complained mentally, unwilling to taunt the larger wolf in case it thought outside of the box for a second time that day.

As if to answer his silent plea, the sound of wooden claws scrabbling against the side of the rock answered him. Shortly after, a pained growl followed as gravity dragged the creature back down into the ground. It wasn't much, but Neil took some delight from the creature's pain after its failed attempt.

It became almost rhythmic as the wolves repeatedly attempted to climb the rock, only to constantly fail. Scratching, cracking, and finally frustrated growling, only to repeat. He didn't know how much time had passed as he sat on his boulder, but it was long enough for most of the blood in his fur to darken and dry and his wounds to start scabbing over.

However, the sound of an out-of-place yelp quickly caught his attention. Enough for Neil to slowly spin in place, then slide up to the edge for a quick peek. A substantial part of him was expecting to pull back to avoid an attempt to bite his face off or some other sort of trap. Instead, one of the three smaller wolves (the one that bit his leg judging by the blood still staining its upper jaw) was just standing there stiffly.

It didn't even look up at him as he reached the edge. No, instead, its gaze was transfixed on the gap between the boulder he was on and a large rock that had split in half at one point. Perhaps during the landslide, after slamming into the boulder he was sitting on? Either way, there was something very peculiar about the wolf as it stood there whimpering. Even weirder, the other three wolves were nowhere to be seen.

It wasn't until the wolf's shoulder stiffened that Neil noticed the subtle colour difference that had crawled up its leg and was now converging over the timberwolf's entire body. Strangely, Neil's first thought was of the three trolls in the Hobbit movie. Why would it change now if it was allergic to the sun? Perhaps there was something in his blood? But if that was the case, wouldn't the change start from the wolf's muzzle? It was clear whatever had caused the wolf's legs and body to lock up started from its feet.

The hopeful part of Neil thought there might be a time limit for a wolf to last before it had to reattach or rejuvenate itself somehow. Maybe there was an evil tree they had to connect to and recharge from, like a cursed roomba dock? That would also explain why the other wolves ran away.

Whatever the case may be, Neil watched as the lighter shade of brown slowly crawled up its neck and finally across its entire head. The ethereal green specks in its eye sockets simply vanished as if they were little candle flames that were snuffed. If the timberwolf could die, Neil was pretty sure that was the moment it did as the transformation finished.

Now, he was all alone with an odd-looking statue of a wooden wolf. At least, that was the thought until he heard an odd chirp from below. Instinctively, Neil looked down, only to see an inquisitive-looking chicken staring up at him with red eyes.

It gave a confused series of clucks as it looked at him for quite a few seconds... before its beak somehow curved into an unnerving smile that caused the hair at the back of his neck to stand on end. It revealed multiple small, sharp, and pointy-looking teeth that did not belong on a chicken.

Neil's first instinct was to move away from the edge, but just like the blue flowers earlier that day, he couldn't look away. Unlike the blue flowers, however, he wasn't feeling hazy or befuddled. He also noticed when the pain from his leg simply vanished, as if the bite had never happened.

By that point, the chicken started to cluck in an almost cackling manner before it took a step out from between the crevice. Its head might have been that of a chicken, mostly. But the rest of its green, almost slimy-looking scaled body was not. With its scaled wings and tail with red spikes, Neil was reminded of a twisted version of Spike in a way. It was as if this creature was some sort of hybrid...

Not that Neil had much time to think such things. He was thoroughly panicking as he lost feeling in his shoulders and hips. It was clear that this thing killed the wolf, and the same thing was happening to him. He tried to pull away, to move, anything! But he couldn't, transfixed on those large, evil red eyes.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck!' Was all that tore through his mind as his chest stiffened, and it became harder and harder to breathe. Any second now, only his head would be left unfrozen as he took a deep breath and held it. Hoping, praying for a miracle to appear, and save him from his fate as his neck stiffened up-

A glass jar full of yellow liquid shattered against the side of the boulder, splashing everywhere, including the small reptilian monster, as it gave a terrified squawk.

The shift was immediate as Neil felt the monster release its mysterious hold over him. His eyes immediately tried to look in the direction where the jar came from, but he couldn't see far enough. Even then, it was too late, as he felt his ears stiffening. The last thing he heard before the sounds of the forest vanished and his vision became black was an oddly lyrical female voice.

"Begone, foul cock! Flee, and find a new lair to flock!"

~~~

Only for his senses to return to him immediately, as Neil found himself submerged in some sort of thick, warm liquid with the viscosity of syrup. His muscles felt sore and stiff, but his limbs were no longer frozen as he lashed out to orientate himself or, better yet, find the surface! Whatever he was in, he quickly found out it was relatively small.

All four of his hooves slammed into the side of the container with a wooden thunk, revealing it was barely large enough to fit him inside. This included his back right leg, which sent a welcome jolt of searing pain up the limb- confirming he wasn't dead just yet.

He would be soon, however, if he didn't find the surface. His lungs weren't burning yet, but he also didn't want to experience drowning as both of his front hooves felt further and further along the wooden wall. His right hoof was the first to feel the lip, and he quickly hooked his wrist over the edge as he pulled himself up and over.

His entire nasal cavity felt like it was clogged with the muddy gunk covering him, leaving an unpleasant, slimy, almost chalk-like taste at the back of his throat. Thankfully, whatever it was, it didn't act like glue since he was able to part his lips and gulp down one deep breath after another of fresh, valuable air...

Only to have his entire head assaulted with a stiff and coarse feeling towel. Whoever it was, they sounded similar to the voice that yelled moments ago as she muttered, "A stallion traveling alone in the Everfree? You must have a brain the size of a pea."

As she finished her scathing rhyme, the towel pulled away. Neil could still feel a trace of slime on his fur and up his nose, but he could at least open his eyes. A single mare took up most of his sight, though she wasn't like any pony he'd seen before. Her coat colour was strikingly similar to his own, but unlike his at the same time, with multiple darker stripes covering her body.

The oddly patterned pony also had a thing for gold, judging by the numerous loops she wore around her neck and hanging from the base of her ears. She also looked at him like an errant child lost in a supermarket.

Glancing to his right, he found himself in a relatively large, if roughly hewn, wooden interior. He was inside a house somewhere, though he wouldn't say it was built to any standard. The walls curved and shifted, with many African-esque masks hung in odd places as decoration. Shelf space was also plentiful, though most of the shelves were carved into little nooks and crannies and taken up by bottles and jars. To put it bluntly, it felt almost like he was inside a tree.

But if that were the case, then the tree had to be as massive as a redwood, which would then collapse because most of the support would be carved out to make this kind of living space. It was very odd as Neil turned back to the pony, now wielding a fresh, if just as stiff-looking, towel.

"If you're done gawking at my abode, perhaps you can say why you turned down the Everfree road?" She asked as she scrubbed the back of his head and the half of his neck that wasn't submerged.

However, Neil wasn't interested in answering questions- not when he had far too many of his own that needed answering, as they all jumbled out. "What was that thing? Are you the one who scared it away? Do you have some more of whatever that was?.. How am I still alive?"

Her drying paused for a second, perhaps two, before answering. "The foul beast you looked upon was a cockatrice. Its evil gaze turns victims to stone in a minute or thrice," she informed him before throwing the second towel into an empty basket along with the first.

"I was out gathering herbs when I heard your boorish, gloating call," She continued, as she walked up to a small alcove stocked with nothing but coarse-looking towels. Without pausing her rhymes, she started loading them onto her back. "Worried, I followed the source of the voice, only to witness an Alicorn's fall. Without thought, I threw my Everfree repellent, and overwhelmed the cockatrice with a smell most unpleasant."

"Now you awake inside of my home- safe within the depths of the Everfree loam," She intoned. Once she had enough towels, the mare returned to the wooden tub he was currently occupying. With expert ease, she unfolded one towel after another with her lips, then placed them on the ground between the tub and a large cast iron pot. "But first, before you leave, we need to clean you of my potion. Tracking it around my home would be an impolite notion."

By that point, Neil knew without a doubt that the mare's rhyming was intentional. There was no way anyone could accidentally end their sentences like that, again and again, by mistake. However, he couldn't deny that her style of talking was also soothing, especially with her strange, almost African accent. So much so that Neil only felt a small bubble of panic when she mentioned finding an Alicorn in trouble.

Then again, he just woke up, without his cloak, in a wooden tub filled to the brim with warm blue-gray slime after a near-death experience. Was he subconsciously latching onto the mare's voice for support? Or was she yet another trick he had to worry about messing with his mind? He wouldn't put it past this mind-fuck of a forest as his eyes slowly narrowed at the mare.

"Who are you?" He asked, unable to hide the hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Most ponies know me as The Wanderer, The Zebra, The Shaman, etcetera," she offered, continuing to coax him out of the tub with slow, calming gestures. "But, my friends in Ponyville call me by my name, Zecora."

Zecora. That was the name Rainbow mentioned, for better or worse, meaning he was relatively safe for the first time since he entered the forest. Unfortunately, his witness-free escape was also compromised now. It was a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things if it meant avoiding being turned into a permanent statue.

"Yeah, Rainbow mentioned you live in the forest," Neil admitted as he dragged himself out of the tub. He was a little self-conscious about his exposed wings, but there wasn't much he could do about it (as always seemed to be the case). A second quick look around Zecora's home didn't reveal the location of his cloak, either.

Once he removed himself from the tub while also favoring his uninjured legs, Zecora unfolded one of the remaining towels on her back and went to work without a word. His neck, shoulders, sides, and back were all scrubbed to remove most of the potion sticking to him. She also seemed to avoid certain areas like his wings, though she wasn't averse to brushing them aside with her hoof to clean underneath. Thankfully, she ran out of spare towels sooner rather than later, well before she could reach anywhere sensitive as the last one was thrown onto her growing pile.

"Good, now quick, into the pot. I promise you the water is room temperature instead of hot," She informed him before the barest hint of a playful grin revealed itself. "...Unless you wish to remain covered in dragon snot?"

Snot. He was drenched, head to toe, in dragon snot. His throat tightened, and an overwhelming sense of nausea passed through him as his mind focused on what, exactly, he had been bathing in. He braced himself, fighting against the urge to puke for a second time in just as many days.

Zecora must have seen the obvious change in his expression and stance because she was quick to supply him with extra, and in Neil's opinion, unwanted information: "Dragon saliva helps break down jewels, rocks, and metals. This helps ensure their elemental meal settles. Dragon mucus has a similar property, which leeched the petrification magic from your stone body. Complain all you want about my ingredient choice, but by being alive, there's much to rejoice."

Neil did not comment; instead, he did his best to ignore the potion still covering him in places and wait for the nausea to pass. Once it did, however, he was quick to heed her instructions and make his way to the large metal cauldron. To Zecora's credit, the cauldron was three-quarters full with what appeared to be regular water once he dipped a hoof in without any negative reactions.

Zecora chose that time to collect the remaining towels and add them to the now overflowing hamper. Then, she threw a long-handled scrub brush on top and dragged the entire thing out the front door with her mouth.

By then, Neil had climbed in and fully submerged himself. During this time, Zecora returned and placed two planks over the steps leading to her front door. It was a little confusing why she would do that until she butted her head against the wooden tub and pushed it over the planks and out the door with little effort. As she passed through the door, her tail swished aside, grabbing the door handle and exposing an unexpected amount of vibrant pink flesh as the door closed.

Doing his best not to think about the parting image Zecora gave him, Neil cleaned himself up using his front hooves and wings to scrub himself down as best he could. Thanks to her previous work, he only needed a light scrubbing to remove the remaining sticky feeling from his hair and coat. Unfortunately, his tail, wings, and a few unmentionable places required far more work.

Once that was complete, he stepped out of the cauldron and onto the two remaining towels Zecora left for him. Looking over himself, was it the best job he'd ever done? The poor state of his wings was answer enough, with a definite no. Whether it was the petrification process or the cure, his feathers looked even more dishevelled than when he lived on the streets.

If Bulk could see him now, the Pegasus would balk at the overall state of his hair and tail. Neil couldn't care less, as he focused on his back right leg and the amount of blood that was oozing out of the bite wound. Without the slime to help act like a poultice, he was bleeding out again, though not nearly as fast as it did when he was sitting on the boulder. He was thankful for that as he hobbled over to the alcove where Zecora kept her clean towels.

Neil hoped she wouldn't mind, as he grabbed one with a wing, unfolded it, and quickly wrapped it over his leg to staunch the blood flow. He hissed as the additional pressure caused even more pain but knew it was for the best as he returned to the towels on the floor and sat down.

As much as he wanted to leave, Neil knew he was in no condition to do so. Adrenaline was the only thing that allowed him to run on his injured leg. Without that, he was little more than an unhappy meal delivering itself to the nearest timberwolf pack, or something equally bad. No, he had his chance, and he fucking blew it all because he fell for those stupid, idiotic flowers!

Neil spent at least five minutes fuming at himself and holding the towel in place before the door opened, revealing Zecora with only an empty hamper held in her mouth. A hamper she promptly tossed aside (and somehow landed upright next to the steps) when she noticed the blood-stained towel around his leg.

"You failed to mention an untreated injury!" She scolded as she rushed down the steps. Once she was by his side, she gently brushed aside the hoof holding the towel in place, and started to unwrap it. "How did you earn this in the Everfree?"

"It's only a wolf bite. Besides- Ouch!" With the towel unwrapped, she lifted his leg even higher to look at the wound. "Easy with the leg... You didn't ask."

"Asked or not, you can do without the petulant inflection," She stated pointedly as she wiped away some of the excess blood with a cleaner part of the towel. "Left untreated, a timberwolf's bite can lead to massive infection."

Each pass along his bite caused a moderate jolt of pain, which left him clenching his jaw with each twitch of his leg. However, he waited it out. He didn't know much about first aid beyond the basics, and she seemed to know what she was doing. Sooner rather than later, she folded the dirty towel and lowered his leg onto it like a pillow.

"I see at least one tooth left inside," She informed him, before heading towards another small alcove dominated by jars and small wooden boxes. She pulled a white box with a red cross on it from the shelf and made her way back. "It would be best for you to lay on your side. I'm sorry to say, but you're in for a painful ride."

Reluctantly, Neil did as asked. First, however, he ensured his tail properly covered everything private as he extended his injured leg. He expected a similar amount of pain from when she was cleaning his wound. However, with the way she braced one hoof just under his knee and the other firmly gripping his hoof to keep his leg in place, he was proven wrong when Zecora leaned forward with a pair of tweezers in her mouth and grabbed onto the largest shard still poking out of his leg.

His leg immediately jerked back. At least, it tried to, as he felt the jagged wooden tooth tearing at his flesh as Zecora carefully pulled it out. Somehow, she managed to hold his leg firmly in place, if one discounted the pained spasm of his muscles.

"Fucking hell!" Neil cried, shocked by the sudden spear of pain impaling him. It hadn't hurt nearly that much when the damned wolf bit him! Even worse, it was a continuous pain as over an inch of rotten, serrated wood was pulled out of the wound. Despite the pain, she expertly manipulated the tweezers with her lips and chucked the tooth aside.

She did this again and again, carefully checking every puncture wound with the tweezers and removing every shard of wood she found. In the end, she had a collection of nine full or partial timberwolf teeth before declaring him splinter-free. Afterward, she poured a sap-like purple potion (which she claimed to be a disinfectant) on a large leaf, pressed it firmly against his leg, and then wrapped the entire thing with a bandage to hold it in place as it burned.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Neil couldn't deny his eyes were watering. From the pain alone, this was one of the worst injuries he'd ever experienced. Including the one time he accidentally spilled a pot of boiling water on himself as a kid. When the burning finally started to subside, Zecora must have felt his muscles beginning to relax as she placed his leg back down and released her hold.

"Now that the worst has passed, I'll make us some tea," She told him as she placed everything but the tweezers back into her first aid kit. "Maybe then we can both relax, and you can tell me about your folly in the Everfree?"

Neil didn't answer one way or another on the matter. He shifted into a more comfortable seating position that didn't expose him as she pushed the large cauldron aside to reveal a well-built fire pit. After that, she set up a grate and placed a dull silver teapot on it, which was well-blackened on the bottom. Lastly, she picked up an old-fashioned striker in her hoof and somehow squeezed her hoof hard enough to create sparks with it.

On the fourth attempt, the pre-placed kindling caught fire. With her work done for the moment, Zecora put the striker back and sat on the opposite side of the fire, her eyes watching him expectantly as the fire happily burned between them.

Neil opted to watch the fire, but even then, he felt Zecora's eyes on him. It felt like she was trying to piece together why he was in the Everfree, with or without an answer. 'Would it be bad to tell her?' He mentally asked himself as he weighed the pros and cons of such an action. 'Best case scenario, she might act as an escort to the castle without telling the ponies of Ponyville?' Even in his head, that sounded farfetched.

On the other hand, he couldn't think of a consequence that would balance out his most optimistic notion. Not after all the time and resources she spent to unpetrify him and clean his wounds.

His mental debate continued for a minute or two before he finally gave in. "I was looking for Celestia's old castle."

She looked at him skeptically over the fire as she responded. "Did you risk the monsters hidden in their crannies and nooks, just to give the old castle ruins a look?"

Yes. It was both a simple and obvious answer. But it also painted him as an idiot without explaining in detail what he was looking for and why he was looking for it. He was unwilling to share his status as a human-turned-pony with anyone.

He must have been taking too long because Zecora spoke up again. "Most would call it stupid, some would call it brave. I'll simply point out that your quest almost led to an early grave. If you need some help, tell me what you crave," She proposed, before her eyes narrowed slightly, "Unless you're trying to play me as a knave?"

He understood the first two lines but was puzzled over where her accusation came from. If not for her, he would have been petrified, which was close enough to death? It still left him feeling a little unsettled, whether he was actually dead or not. "I'm looking for ancient history and information about Roam," He finally divulged to her.

"You attempted to traverse forest and brook, just to find a specific book?" She asked, her skepticism evolving into a fully incredulous look. "Why not ask Princess Twilight? She would give you access to her library if you were polite."

Neil felt the sudden urge to facepalm at Zecora's solution for obvious reasons. "I'm sure Twilight has a nice library now that she's a Princess, but I've looked through the library at Canterlot Castle already. I need something with older books and information, like the old castle in this forest."

"Twilight copied every single book in the castle that was traceable," Zecora countered, not at all phased by his explanation. She was more focused on the teapot that was starting to percolate as she moved it closer to the edge of the grate and further away from the flames. "After that, she sorted them into her library and made them safely available."

... If that was true, then his main reason for escaping into the Everfree, besides vanishing without a trace, became invalid. If it was true. "And how would you know that?"

"For a good friend and a favour paid, I helped cart to Ponyville all the copies she made." She explained as she stood up and made her way over to the towel alcove. Instead of opening the closet, she opened a cabinet with plates, saucers, glasses, and a complete tea set. With practised ease, she took the latter item, biting down on the serving tray with her mouth before returning to the fire.

Neil stayed silent during her work, both annoyed and somewhat pissed off. Whether it was at himself for being a god damned idiot, or Zecora and Twilight for invalidating the reason he came here in the first place, he couldn't tell.

Whether or not Zecora noticed his sudden change in mood, he didn't know or care. She moved from one alcove to the next, gathering one ingredient after another until her back resembled one of the many shelves in her home. Once she collected everything she needed, she sat back down and prepared two cups.

At the very least, this allowed him plenty of time to reign in his temper.

However, after she poured the hot water, it didn't look like any tea Neil knew about. It looked more like a vegetable broth, with what appeared to be red watercress leaves floating on top.

Zecora must have noticed his dubious look as she passed him one of the saucers with the cup sitting on top of it. "This tea is made from a watery herb called manticore's mane. The taste is unpleasant, but it should help numb the pain."

'In other words, more herbal medicine,' He mentally groused as he took hold of the small plate with his wing. As much as he disliked the thought of drinking it, Zecora hadn't done anything malicious to him. Quite the opposite, which was why he took a sip once after allowing the tea to cool down.

As she warned, the taste wasn't great. It was like drinking the most bitter stalk of celery he'd ever tasted, making it bearable, but definitely not something he would enjoy.

At least it wasn't as bad as the day's old salads he rationed in Canterlot.

"Once you're finished, we'll make a trip to Ponyville that's long overdue," Zecora offered before taking a sip of her own cup without any hint of distaste on her muzzle. "Does that sound fine to you?"

With the exact location of the old castle still a mystery to him, and an unknown number of monsters between him and the knowledge he was looking for... Twilight's library seemed relatively safe in comparison. If she actually copied every book available, there wasn't much of a choice, was there?

Resigned to the fact that he was going back to Ponyville, Neil took a massive gulp of his tea to finish it faster.

Hopefully Bulk and the others had yet to notice his disappearance?

~~~

Neil's second trip through the forest, for the most part, was uneventful.

True to Zecora's word, the tea soon took effect after he finished, dulling the pain in his leg to the point that he could walk on it. After that, she was even kind enough to return his cloak as they exited her abode. It wasn't all smooth sailing, however, as she hooked herself up to a cart with the intent of hauling him back to Ponyville.

After a terse discussion, Neil's stubbornness actually won out over her pointed rhymes. Still, Zecora took the cart along anyway, stating she needed it to carry supplies for the return trip home. At least, that's what he assumed with her somewhat cryptic way of speaking.

The only significant interruption came roughly half an hour into their walk when Neil caught sight of a very familiar clearing in the forest. He froze, his muscles tense as he preemptively prevented himself from being pulled off the path by the alluring blue flowers. Strangely, the enticing feeling that drew him off the path earlier that day never came.

Zecora was confused by his reaction. But, after some digging, he caved and explained the events that led up to the moment she found him. She found his explanation fascinating and pointed out that he was the first she heard of to have such a reaction... He didn't know how to feel about that. Perhaps it was something that only happened to humans?

Either way, this led to Neil asking why she was out in the forest, which Zecora was more than willing to answer as they continued. It seemed that her entire supply of dried mountain berries had vanished without a trace. It was a little late in the season, but she still found a small amount of berries here and there that weren't already eaten or too rotten as she scoured the nearby cliff ledges. That's when she heard him yelling defiantly at the timberwolves and went to investigate.

In the end, if not for Zecora misplacing one of her ingredients, he'd still be a stone statue sitting on top of a rock. With that unsettling feeling, Neil fell into an uneasy silence as they continued down the forest path...

The silence lasted for at least half an hour before Zecora broke it. She transitioned to a three-legged gait, slowing her walking speed slightly as she pointed to an odd-looking bush. The plant's most striking feature was its long, almost dagger-like silvery leaves, which he hadn't noticed before. "We're almost there, looking at the sword-leaf hedge. It only grows within the boundary of the Everfree's edge."

Hearing they were almost out of the forest was welcome news to Neil. Zecora's painkiller tea was starting to wear off, and her offer to ride in the cart looked even more tempting by the minute. The only reason he was still walking was pure, bullheaded stubbornness to prove a point.

Before he could respond, another sign that they were reaching the forest limits echoed through the trees as a familiar, raspy voice. "...You mean we have to wait? Neil could be hurt right now!"

The voice was too faint for Neil to understand what was said, but he recognized it. If Rainbow was somewhere nearby, the others probably were, as well. He couldn't help but muffle a groan at the implications, as he and Zecora followed the path as it lazily curved around a copse of dense trees. It was the only thing blocking sight between them and the entrance to the Everfree.

As expected, when the curve ended and the path straightened out, Neil spotted a group of ponies huddled together just outside of the forest entrance. Rainbow was the most obvious pony since she was the only Pegasus hovering three to four feet above the group. The distinct mix of colours left no doubt in his mind as to who was looking for him. His guard, Bulk, was also there, standing off to the side and scanning the forest.

At least, the stallion had been watching the forest until his stoic eyes locked onto Neil and Zecora. "Princess! I'd say our missin' pony ain't missin' any longer," He called out, gathering everyone's attention while also pointing.

As one, the entire group of mares paused whatever they were doing, looked over to Bulk, and followed his hoof down the path. "See! I told you he was fine," Pinkie cheered amidst a sudden cloud of confetti.

The next moment, Neil was forced to stop as he was confronted face-to-face by a prismatic mare who looked mostly relieved but with a hint of annoyance underneath the surface of her red eyes. "Dude! I flew all over Ponyville looking for you, and you've been in the Everfree this entire time? Are you crazy? You can't even fly yet! What if you ran into a manticore or a pack of timberwolves?"

"I did," Neil stated, not wanting to deal with her overprotective bullshit as he ducked his head and walked underneath the hovering mare.

"You did?" Rainbow asked, sounding confused, worried, and strangely enough, excited all at the same time. Still, she remained hovering in place instead of confronting him about his answer.

He used that time to try to catch up with Zecora, but the zebra mare sped up upon seeing the group waiting at the Everfree entrance. The rescue group also split apart in that short amount of time, with Twilight trotting up to meet Zecora halfway.

"Zecora! I'm so glad to see you," Twilight greeted with a hug once the two mares met along the path. "We weren't sure if Neil went into the Everfree, but thank you for watching over him."

"Twilight, it is good to see you," Zecora stated, gladly returning the hug with a slight chuckle, "And this time, you brought the entire crew. Besides the stallion's propensity to cuss, there was little to no fuss."

Before he could listen in to more of their conversation, Rainbow chose that moment to zip in front of him once more. This time, she was considerate enough to hover at the same speed he was walking. On the other hand, her upright, almost standing posture left her in a very risque position with little coverage. More so when she starts enacting moves to show off her martial prowess.

"You really ran into a pack of timberwolves? Were you like, wham! Pow! As you bucked the hay out of 'em?"

"Something like that," He begrudgingly admitted, trying to focus on the mare's upper half. He was more focused on surviving his encounter. Still, he thought he managed a few strikes with his back hooves, at the very least, while running through the forest like a spooked deer.

"Awesome," Rainbow told him before she started reenacting all the times she had taken on a pack of timberwolves (with Applejack's help on occasion). By the time he finally exited the forest, he had listened to three of Rainbow's clearly exaggerated tales. She was halfway through the fourth when a nearby shriek interrupted the Pegasus.

"Neil! What in the world happened to you?" Rarity asked, devastated, as she all but galloped to his side and began studying him. "Your mane, your tail, your moderately well-groomed coat!" She decried, somehow pulling a hoof-full of each and giving them a close examination.

"This is a disaster," She stated, far too emotional for the situation before she not-so-casually peeked under his cloak without asking. "And your wings!"

"Yeah, yeah, so he's been in a scuffle," Rainbow scoffed as she landed beside the distraught mare. "You're making a big fuss out of-" Only to pause when she looked under the portion of cloak Rarity was holding for her. "What happened to your wings?"

"Not just his wings, Darling, but everything else as well. This is the worst! Possible! Thing!" She cried as she stood up dramatically on her hind legs, only to swoon and fall onto an oddly familiar chaise sofa that wasn't there a second ago.

Since Rarity was no longer holding onto his fur with her hooves, Neil promptly put some distance between himself and the two mares. Incidentally, this put him closer to Bulk, who wasn't acting as he usually would. "It isn't that bad. Zecora just gave me a potion to soften things up a little," He admitted, trying to play things off as if he was talking about a new shampoo.

Unfortunately, by that time, Twilight and Zecora were well within hearing distance. "As unflattering as the description may be, I can do little but agree," Zecora spoke up, "My treatment made his fur a little more loose, after being turned to stone by an angry lizard-goose."

"You ran into a cockatrice?" Rainbow asked, fully shifting back to worry. "Didn't you listen to what I said yesterday?"

Before he could answer, Bulk spoke up, drawing attention to the one thing the mares hadn't noticed yet. "Not only that, but Neil's leg is bandaged up tight."

Whether Bulk intended it or not, he brought on another flurry of activity as Rainbow, Twilight, and Fluttershy all encroached to look at his injured leg.

Bulk also walked up but did so in a way that felt off. He was distant but also professional as he addressed Twilight. "Princess Twilight, if I may suggest, Neil shouldn't be walkin' right now. He should be restin' in the cart, if Miss Zecora don't mind haulin' him the rest of the way?" He suggested, turning to the shaman.

"There's no need for the question," Zecora answered with a nod, "That's exactly what I told Neil, though he refused my suggestion."

"And as I told Zecora, I can walk just fine." Neil countered, though it fell on deaf ears as Twilight's aura surrounded him, lifted him above the small group surrounding him, and gently placed him in the cart.

"You really shouldn't be walking if Zecora says so. What if you hurt your leg even more?" Twilight lightly reprimanded before she looked towards Bulk. "Do you mind joining Neil and ensuring he stays in the cart to rest?"

"Of course, Princess!" Bulk saluted before fulfilling her orders with a flap of his wings. Seconds later, he landed in the cart, making the limited area a little cramped with two prominent stallions taking up space.

Applejack also chose that moment to approach the cart, "I can haul the stallions to the castle if you want me to?"

"Thank you for the offer, Applejack," Zecora said before pulling at one of the straps with her mouth. "By chance, do you know when Applebloom will be back?" Their conversation soon dissolved into common, everyday topics as they switched positions.

But Applejack wasn't the only mare to approach the cart. Rarity also made her way up to the side he was closest to. She didn't stay for long, however, just long enough to impart a few words before trotting over to Pinkie, "Don't worry at all, Darling. Once we get to the castle, I'll have you looking like your proper self in no time. I also have your new cloak ready!"

With Neil held in place near the front of the cart, there was little choice when it came to seating. However, Bulk chose to sit down and brace his back into one of the back corners. Once the stallion was properly seated, Twilight finally released her hold.

'Fan-fucking-tastic,' Neil mentally groused as he withheld the urge to swear at the mare. Manhandling or not, he needed access to those old books on Roam. And to get access, he had to play nice. Without a word, he stiffly sat down, taking care not to put undue pressure on his injured leg on the off chance it might rile up the surrounding mares.

It wasn't long after that before the cart started to move. Most of the mares were walking, or flying in Rainbow's case, as a group about ten feet ahead. The conversation they were having was quite animated from what he could tell. He couldn't hear everything, but from what he picked up, they asked Zecora about what happened in the forest and got her side of the story.

Neil was more than willing to fume in silence with his less-than-polite thoughts as they turned onto the larger road heading toward Ponyville. The sound of gravel crunching under the cart's wooden wheels was the perfect cover for the rare growl that escaped his throat.

Unfortunately, Bulk had a similar thought as he shifted closer to Neil's position. "Sooo, there a reason you abandoned me on the farm? Or did you just want to get rid'a me?" He asked, low enough that only Neil heard him.

This topic wasn't something Neil wanted to deal with. However, with nowhere to go, he audibly exhaled his frustration and composed himself enough to answer. "You've been working nonstop for over a week, Bulk. I just thought you needed a break, and I needed to do something in the forest."

"Was that somethin' in the Everfree so important that you needed to go alone?" Bulk countered almost immediately.

"Yes," Neil stated authoritatively. "If you knew where I was going, there's no way in hell you would have let me go into the forest! It's just my god damned luck that I-"

Neil found himself unable to continue talking due to the golden hoof somehow holding his mouth shut.

"I don't know what's in that crazy head'a yours," Bulk accused with a flicker of genuine anger in his otherwise stoic eyes, "But don't you dare say I wouldn't be willin' to go wherever you need me to go. I ain't no coward."

Neil quickly brought a hoof up to Bulk's and pushed. However, no matter how much force he put into the gesture, the golden hoof didn't budge an inch or let go until the Pegasus finished speaking.

"Really?" He snarked, ignoring the fact that he could only speak due to Bulk's charity. "You'd go into the Everfree with me? Isn't it your job to stop me?"

"As your guard, my job is to go where you go for your protection," Bulk told him after a few seconds of tense silence. However, his eyes softened slightly as he added, "As your friend, I would'a helped if you just asked."

Neil opened his mouth to say something, To tell the bastard lackey he had no friends in this fucked up world, but the words caught in his throat. Some part of him vociferously vetoed giving even a hint of his origins, and he'd regret it the moment it was out in the open. Another smaller, more trusting part of him also acknowledged that it may have only been a week, but Bulk was always in his corner when he needed it.

Hadn't he managed a reprieve from the castle for a night just because Bulk thought he needed a break? In the end, Neil shut his mouth, and looked away, watching the various types of apple trees as they passed by.

The silence lasted significantly longer before Bulk released an audible sigh. "After today, though, I don't know what's goin' to happen."

Neil didn't feel like talking. But he also couldn't deny the small spark of curiosity brought about by such a statement. Without looking, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"I wasn't there when you needed me, was I?" Bulk countered sadly, "Not just an injured leg, but turned to stone? They'll throw me back in ‘boot if I'm lucky, or they'll just throw me out'a the guard if I'm not."

What was there to say about that? 'I won't let them fire you!' or perhaps 'I'm sorry I got you fired. Do you want to be my freelance bodyguard?' Both sounded pathetic in his head as the cart continued to roll on.

No matter how he looked at his situation, he fucked up.

~~~***~~~

After the events of the previous night, Celestia found her attention being diverted throughout the day. Whether it was meetings in the castle, Day Court, or her scheduled appearance in Restaurant Row to boost the local economy, her mind kept drifting. If not for the Elements of Harmony and the brave citizens of Ponyville, what would Canterlot look like at that very moment?

Would the Tantabus' reach be strong enough to cover the mountain after breaking the veil of dreams? Or would it still be contained only to Ponyville at that point? What exactly would it have done to her country? Even more importantly, what had it already done to her sister?

And why did the surprise embrace of the Tantabus' amorphous, pillowy flanks feel so strangely good?... She knew the answer to that last thought but refused to engage with it or any other libidinous thoughts. It had been more than a century since her previous herd. If she were truthful to herself, her estrus cycles over the last decade had been pure Tartarus to work through.

Plus, with Neil now in the picture... She was not looking forward to this upcoming spring.

A few days of autumn remained, and the entirety of winter stood between then and now, giving her a brief glimmer of positivity. A solution to Neil's problem was sure to be found by then. It was only a matter of whether she liked the results and if they managed to help the poor colt. If not... she could only hope he settled into whatever path Harmony had laid out for him.

Sighing wistfully, she looked out the window of her office, which was perfectly aligned so she could watch her sister's Moon during its slow journey through the sky. Even with a clock, she still preferred the old ways of judging time. Using the celestial object's position within the sky, it was a little after eight at night. Pinkie Pie's celebration would still be ongoing for a few hours. As much as she wished to be there, she had been forced to decline her invitation that morning. There was just too much work to do.

With that thought, she turned away from the window and returned to her desk. An appropriations bill for S.M.I.L.E. sat there, waiting for her approval. As much as she agreed with the agency's goals, monster attacks had drastically fallen over the last couple of centuries. In addition, with the Elements of Harmony living in one of the few remaining hot spots of monster activity, there was even less need than normal.

She dipped her quill into the bottle of ink sitting at the corner of her desk and went down the list. The current salaries for all of her remaining agents? Approved. A repair and restock request for equipment? Approved. An increase in funds for recruitment? To her recollection, it would be another two or three decades before most of her agents would reach retirement age. Denied.

Her magic washed over the paper, instantly drying the ink as she set the bill on top of her completed pile. She then pulled the next piece of paper from the pile that towered over her completed paperwork and looked it over. Her eyebrows rose in mild surprise, not expecting to see a guard transfer sheet for the final position of Neil's guard detail, pre-approved by Captain Buckler herself. Her new Captain made their views on Neil very clear from day one.

Was Captain Buckler approving this to avoid the same mistake she made with Bulk Order? Or, perhaps there was something else going on below the surface? The form itself looked standard, and the information listed was also up to par. The mare in question held the rank of Corporal, making her equal to Squall Rider. She had been hoping for a more experienced guard to fill the position, perhaps an officer, but with Calm Waters this could work...

Before she could delve into more details, the doors to her private office opened without a knock or any hint of a request to draw her attention. Celestia was caught off guard by the sudden intrusion but acted calmly as she placed the paper aside and looked up to find her sister radiating royal stoicism.

"Luna, I wasn't expecting to see you for another hour or two," She admitted as her sister walked in and closed the door behind her. "Tell me, how was the party in Ponyville?"

At first, she remained silent. But once the doors to her office closed with a distinct click, her demeanour sagged, revealing her true emotions, something reserved only for their more private moments. "The party was fun, and though I wish to have stayed longer... There is business to attend. I presume you were planning to stay awake until we could talk?"

"You presumed right, Lulu, and there's much to discuss, I think. After reading your reports on the Tantabus and seeing the creature for myself..." Celestia dropped her mask, laying bare her own worry and desire to know. "Why would you force yourself to suffer an affliction like that, night after night?"

Luna's tired eyes met her own as her sister slumped into the smaller chair normally reserved for Raven. "Because I felt it fitting to punish myself for my past misdeeds."

Luna's admission immediately raised her hackles. She had been banished, forced to live alone for one thousand years on the Moon! Not only was it harsh, but Celestia felt it was an undeserved punishment since Luna was also a victim of Nightmare Moon. Celestia opened her mouth to say as much, but Luna cut her off.

"Before you berate me for my stupidity," Luna stated in a self-deprecating manner, "Know that Neil already did so during the confrontation with the Tantabus. If not for him and Princess Twilight Sparkle correcting my path, the battle would have been lost due to the depths of my despair."

That did not ease her mind in the slightest. She knew how venomous Neil's vocabulary could be from previous outbursts. "What did he say to you, exactly?"

Instead of answering, Luna closed her eyes and gathered magic around her horn. Within seconds, a wispy illusion appeared over her office doors, revealing the plaza of Nightmare Ponyville from her sister's point of view. In the background stood the Alicornified Tantabus, taking up most of the skyline.

Celestia even spotted herself, little more than a small, white pony, floating in the background as she did her best to harry the giant monster to admittedly little effect... A less than adequate showing from this perspective, she was willing to admit to herself. Perhaps she should talk with Raven tomorrow and schedule some light combat training.

Even though the image was frozen, it was clear that Luna was barely standing. The strain of the dream with an entire town's worth of ponies, let alone a monster trying to break free? It was obvious her sister was drawing on her last reserves.

Catching her sister's eyes, she nodded. The image started moving, and the sound of loud, deep rumbling washed over the entire room. Within seconds of the illusion starting, a jarring clang caught her attention as a cage flipped up on the giant machine. After that, Neil quickly removed himself from the machine and jumped down, landing next to Luna and Twilight.

With the strange helmet on, she couldn't see Neil speak, but she could hear him as clearly as he yelled above the noise created by his machine. "So because of a fuck-up one thousand years ago, you decided to repeat the same damn mistake and create that fucking thing? To torture yourself? How does that make any fucking sense!?"

Celestia gasped. A harsh slap to her sister's muzzle would have been kinder than that! But still, the illusion played on as Luna spoke. "You're right... How can I forgive myself? I am no better now than I was then. My creation is about to turn the world into a living nightmare!"

"Like hell, it will! What? Are you going to give up now? Are you going to allow that Thing to molest every single innocent mare, stallion, and foal in Equestria? Or are you going to man up, learn from your stupid fucking mistakes, and put that piss ass monster in its place!?"

The image froze afterward, with her sister nodding to his words strangely enough. "Harsh, but true. If not for his words shocking me out of my anguish, I might not have been in the right place of mind to listen to Princess Twilight's uplifting follow-up."

Celestia had to remind herself she wasn't there at the time, and if Luna took no fault with his words... She took the time to cycle through his outbursts a second time, doing her best to ignore the vulgarity and focus on the overall message. Even if she hated to admit it, there was some truth underneath, most notable his worry for Equestrian citizens. However, one choice word stood out to her, giving birth to a spark worry in her chest.

"What did Neil mean when he accused the Tantabus of molesting our little ponies?"

Luna's response didn't ease her mind when she gave a forlorn sigh before explaining. "The Tantabus was designed to create a nightmare from the dreamer's deepest, darkest fears. Mine is to relapse and become Nightmare Moon once more. Every night under the Tantabus' control, I would do just that. From that point forward, it would become the Nightmare's worst fear, failure. The Elements would show up and defeat her. Neil's worst fear on the other hoof, is us."

The illusion morphed, replacing Ponyville with a slimy, decrepit-looking stone passageway. The image was frozen, revealing Luna as she darted through a passageway flanked with torches but little else. As she looked closer, she could pick out well-carved marble underneath the fungus and muck. Not only that, but the size and shape of the blocks were similar to the stones used to create parts of her castle.

"Luna, what do you mean by that? I could partially understand Neil being afraid after your first meeting, but I see no reason why he would be afraid of me?" And yet, a part of her knew that wasn't exactly the truth. His unconscious reactions around her spoke volumes compared to his words and short temper, and those had started before Luna's introduction.

"I do not think Neil's fear of me stems from that incident. No, it's what we could do to him that makes him terrified of us." And without further warning, the image unfroze with the point of view following directly behind dream Luna...

Celestia felt like she was going to throw up.

Even then, she could not remove her eyes from the scene until it abruptly transitioned to pitch darkness. She had heard her own voice saying such playfully cruel words. Watched her own body prepare to do an unspeakable act against the poor stallion with pure, raw arousal...

Luna's horn released its magic, dispelling the illusion to reveal her double doors once more. "His paranoia feeds into his fear that we will chain him down, and use him for our own enjoyment against his will. In a way, I can not blame him. Thinking back on the day he was found, from his point of view he was captured by our guard. Now he's under our strict watch in the castle, is he not?"

"Yes, but to protect him from such a fate!" Celestia yelped before she took a moment to compose herself. "Imagine if the changelings had found him before we did? Their Queen would be using him to breed a larger and arguably stronger army with an alicorn as a sire."

"You and I both know that," Luna affirmed, "But does Neil know? After the events of today, he clearly does not trust us enough not to do such things to him."

Events of today? Celestia hadn't seen anything that would suggest something else happened after the Tantabus. She gently placed a hoof against her brow. Much more of this, and she knew the added stress would cause a headache. "What happened today? I haven't received any reports out of the ordinary."

"Princess Twilight told me of the day's events. Neil gave his guard a reprieve to visit with family," Her sister informed her, "A kind gesture at face value, which he then used to sneak off to our old castle in the Everfree. For what reason, I do not know. Nevertheless, after some misfortune with the Everfree wildlife, he was found and returned to Ponyville before I awoke and attended Pinkamina's victory celebration."

The veins under her hoof, near the base of her horn, pulsed as her blood pressure spiked. Of all the stupid, idiotic things a stallion could do! Wandering into the Everfree alone, without access to his magic, proper flight training, or even his guard? He could have gotten himself killed or worse!.. But if she considered his reading materials, it made a strange sort of sense. He was obsessed with history, whether it was the Princesses, the formative years of Equestria itself, or ancient kingdoms predating her kingdom.

Unfortunately, it was a fool's errand. She knew first hoof that Twilight had scoured the old castle for every book available and diligently made a copy to place in her own library. Her student had originally planned to move the originals, but she had suggested otherwise. It was best to keep those old books stored on their enchanted shelves in the Everfree. If Neil wanted access to those old tomes, however, all he had to do was ask...

Which was something he normally wouldn't do because he just didn't trust. Were all ponies from his homeland just as paranoid? It seemed like such a sad existence...

Celestia refocused her mind. "At the end of the day, Neil returned safe and sound," She said under her breath in an attempt to quell the depressing thoughts fuelling her burgeoning headache.

She then looked to her sister, "You've had more time to think about this newest development," She conceded, "What would you suggest as a solution?"

Luna closed her eyes and took a moment of silence before offering her thoughts. "It's clear to me that Neil is chafing against his restrictions, not unlike a rambunctious colt trying to escape his Dam's overly cautious gaze," She stated, giving Celestia a knowing look. "If it were up to me, I would offer Neil a position that gives him both the freedom he desires and enough responsibilities to keep him safe and protected, similar to what you did with Princess Cadenza."

"That was my original thought," Celestia admitted as she removed her hoof from her brow and placed it on her desk. "Neil would have years, possibly even decades, to learn about Equestria as an ambassador after his coronation, with all the rights and protections that entailed. At the same time, we could find and establish relations with Canada and reveal if Neil's fears of experimentation were accurate or not."

She paused, not fighting the urge to snort due to his absurd reaction. "Instead, he blatantly refused any position of power in the kingdom, citing his lack of citizenship specifically. Without a crown granting him that privilege, it could take up to a year if he even applies for citizenship at all!"

"Then we must think of something else, and soon, lest Neil attempt another scheme that ends in a worse outcome," Luna urged as she stood up from her chair. "Unfortunately, I also have Night Court to attend. If my court is as barren as it normally is, then I will ponder on the situation."

Gathering magic to her horn, Luna gave her a small smile. "Have a good night, Sister."

Celestia managed to get a quick "You too, Lulu," Before Luna disappeared in a brief, blue flash of magic. A brief check of the wards after revealed her sister to be in the throne room, likely ordering her lunar guards to receive petitioners for the night. Hopefully, she would have a few legitimate ponies in need of help, instead of the nobility trying to slip already failed legislation past her.

But that wasn't her main concern, as she once more focused on Neil's situation. Given what she just learned, something had to be done quickly. But what was the problem? The avenue she used for Cadence was shut to her; that much was true. And she refused to bend the laws of the land to expedite Neil's citizenship on his and her behalf. There was also the obvious question of whether or not he would agree.

An aching pulse of dull pain enshrouded her forehead. If only his age lined up with his apparent lack of maturity. Then, she could have adopted him, similar to what she had done with Cadence. But no, their initial medical scans revealed his age to be just a touch over two decades...

That line of thinking was a path less traveled. Without citizenship, her government couldn't officially hire him. He could work, but he would have to apply for a permit and get a job in the private sector. Both would reveal his tribe to the general population, which Neil was sure to veto. He could remain a guest of the crown almost indefinitely, but sooner or later, the nobles would notice and start prying.

Judging by Bulk's reports, he was already catching the eyes of some noblemares. She would have to inform her staff and keep her eye out for any surreptitious digging. More so from the various embassies established in Canterlot. She could only imagine the flurry of accusations if the Minos or Griffonstone ambassadors learned of the sudden existence of an Alicorn stallion...

But, now that she thought about it...

A sudden spark of inspiration took hold. An avenue that allowed Neil both his independence and the protection of the Equestrian government blossomed into her mind. But to properly sell the image...

With a playful smile, she reclaimed the application for Neil's V.I.P. guard detail in her magic and reread the form. The corporal may not have been the best fit, and Captain Buckler could be playing politics, but this was an opportunity Celestia couldn't pass up.

11. Bilateral Pact

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

12. Nightmare Nightrave

(October 30th: 14th Day Since Capture)

The next few days had been an adjustment period for Neil. The infirmary may have only been a single room with an oddly large bathroom attached, but honestly, that was all the space he felt he needed. Now, even though he knew it would have otherwise sat unused, he couldn't help but feel like he was wasting the space assigned to him.

After taking some time to roughly measure the living room's dimensions (when taking a break from reading another useless book), he discovered the living room alone was large enough to fit his entire apartment in Swift Current. The excess given to him was absurd, in his opinion, and that didn't even take into account the other rooms of his suite.

For obvious reasons, the room where he spent the next most amount of time was the bedroom. Besides the comfortable reading nook in the living room, it quickly became his least disliked. The blue slate theme from the living room carpet extended into the bedroom and overtook the entire theme. Not a single trace of eye-burning white had entered the room, leaving only blues, purples, and greys to mix and create a shadowy cavern effect. A small amount of polished silver was used to trim the dark-colored furniture and the glass doors to his balcony, adding an illusion of silvery ore running through the 'rock'.

Overall, it was on the gaudier side of things. But, his new four-poster bed was the gaudiest piece of all. The midnight drapes and the comforter sparkled like stars, while the pale grey pillows eerily matched the color of the moon. His first evening sleeping in his new bed, he couldn't deny waking up in a cold sweat due to its similarity to Luna. However, he begrudgingly overlooked the night theme by his second evening. Whatever they used to make the mattress, he swore if he could steal, patent, and bring it back home with him, he would.

The next room over was a second spare bedroom, designed to look the same as the first. The only difference he noticed from his quick examination was that it was slightly smaller and lacked the personal balcony of the master bedroom.

In stark contrast was his least favorite room in the entire suite, the dining area. The blue slate carpet had been cut off at the door, only to be replaced with polished white hardwood flooring. Whether that was its natural color or it was somehow stained or bleached before being varnished, he didn't know. But, to continue the theme, in the center of the room sat a giant table made from a single slab of white wood, easily large enough to seat twelve of him with the same amount of chairs to match. Above that, a large golden chandelier with an uncountable amount of clear crystals was hung from the ceiling to refract the light it offered throughout the room.

The walls were cold; hard, polished, white, marble. But—underneath the finish—charcoal trees had been sketched and sealed. Their trunks weren't incredibly thick, and their branches were few. Still, they appeared healthy enough, judging by the aurora-colored fruits they bore.

There was only one other source of color in the room, coming from the two china cabinets, each covered by full glass doors carved into the wall. They were stocked with the finest-looking quality crystal plates, glasses, and whatever else a person could need. All of these were kept to the same aurora-themed color scheme. He avoided the room entirely by eating at the coffee table in front of the fireplace instead.

It was easy to see the overall theme of the suite. In Neil's opinion, even a dunce would pick up on the not-so-subtle design choices centered around Celestia's and Luna's unique appearances. His only question was if it was an intentional show of power. A constant reminder of the Royal's presence in the castle? Or was it something else? Either way, the final two rooms thankfully rejected that trend.

The fourth room, he quickly learned, was a smaller, cozy-looking office that looked reasonably standard in an older, aristocratic way. Most of the room was taken up by a beautifully carved brownish-red wooden desk with a high-backed, brown faux leather office chair behind it. Four wooden chairs made from the same wood as the desk, which also had cozy-looking fabric cushions that matched the blue carpet, were placed between the door and the desk. Instead of walls, sturdy-looking polished wood bookshelves enveloped the entire room from floor to ceiling.

And, last but not least, the final room could only be described as a Caribbean getaway built into an extra-large bathroom. From the ludicrously large sink counter and everything below it, most of the room was covered with expertly cut sandy tan tiles. However, the extra-large hot-tub-sized bath and massive shower were tiled with differing shades of aquamarine gems that shifted to look like the ripple of gentle waves.

He was normally a shower guy, but Neil couldn't deny that having the chance to relax in his new bath had been the highlight of his first day. He had been tempted by its array of twenty scents and soaps along the ledge, opting to use and doze off to the scent of coconut (to match the tropical theme).

Not everything was fun and relaxation, however.

That very evening, Dainty delivered not only his supper but an inch-thick stack of papers formally detailing his rights and obligations as an Ambassador. She also informed him that within the pile were multiple documents that required his signature, all of which were marked, to finalize his position. Not one to put it off (for long, that is. His food came first), he attempted to power through it before bed that night.

The sheer amount of legalese and unfamiliar political jargon quickly put that plan on pause. He was forced to call Dainty back and ask her to bring a specific kind of law dictionary that translated words like indemnity or jurisprudence. Many of the terms and agreements were temporary and loosely based on traditional agreements created between Equestria and its allies centuries ago. Even with the dictionary to help, it took hours to get through and sign all the required documents.

However, the worst thing that came out of the documents had nothing to do with them. Every mention of a five-year limitation or need for renewal hammered home the very real possibility that he wouldn't be making it home any time soon. That he might need all that time, and more, to find a way back to his friends and family... if they were willing to wait that long for him.

In the end, he would rate that pile of documents as the worst thing he ever had to read, including the battle reports within Battle for the Crystal Empire.

Then, after his late night dealing with documents, there was the fact that he was woken up the very next day at six in the morning by a serene-looking Calm. His eyes were barely open when the Unicorn promptly informed him about the changing of the guard (something Bulk normally did at eight in the morning). That wasn't a fun experience. After a short, if frustrated, back and forth, Neil learned all about the minute details and reasons behind the shift in schedule.

When it was just Bulk, he worked for twelve hours, from eight to eight, all six days a week (which had been news to Neil, learning that the ponies only had six days a week). After that, two of his four Lunar guards would work a six-hour shift, then change with the other two. Now, with an entire patrol of Solar guards, shift change was at six in the morning for Calm and Squall, at noon with Bulk and Hearth, then at six in the afternoon, and finally at midnight for the Lunar guards.

Calm also pointed out that the only exception was the weekend. During those two days, instead of pairs, there would be a solo guard through each six-hour rotation, allowing one guard from each pair to take the first day off and then switch around for the second day.

Needless to say, after having all of that dumped on him at too fucking early in the morning, without even a cup of coffee to stimulate his brain, he ordered Calm to inform him about the change at a more reasonable time. Then, once the Unicorn was gone, he went back to sleep.

Over the next few days, he learned that Dainty wasn't the only maid assigned exclusively to his suite. There was Dust Cover, a polite if a little timid, white unicorn mare with a grey tail and mane. Next was Feather Duster, a darker brown pegasus mare with a flamboyant magenta mane and tail, who never seemed to touch the ground. She unconsciously hovered around at eye level no matter what she was doing. And finally, the odd one of the bunch, an Earth Pony stallion with an unusual sheen to his otherwise light grey (at least, lighter than his) coat, with a silvery curled mane and tail, aptly named Silver Platter.

Thankfully, they seemed to take their jobs just as seriously as his guard. So, unless the maid currently on call was summoned with a little bell placed on the living room coffee table, they were pretty discrete about being seen when attending to their other duties. Still, he couldn't deny the annoying undercurrent at the back of his mind that a pony could just sneak into his room at any moment, for whatever reason.

At least in the infirmary, the nurses politely knocked before coming in.

Despite all of that, however, his days went exactly as if he was still in the infirmary. He would spend hours skimming through an increasingly useless number of books, now bolstered with encyclopedias containing information about the world's flora and fauna (plenty of which was bat-shit insane), until he was bored. After that, he would request the pile he read through to be returned and replaced with unread books related to his slowly expanding list of research topics.

Squall was... Neil didn't know if kind was correct, but the Pegasus was eager to drop by after sunset each day. He would usually barge in with an excited grin and a back laden with various adult beverages to share (Neil insisted they were put on Celestia's tab). The drinks themselves were typically fruity, with only a few having an unappealing hint of salt. Still, none of them ever gave him a buzz. It was something to do besides reading, at the very least, as he listened to Squall gossip on and on about the ins and outs of barracks life and the embarrassing shenanigans his fellow stallions got up to.

Each night, he asked about the costumes Squall picked up, but the Pegasus brushed off his question each time to keep it a surprise. The only hint Squall had given him was that they would be dressing up as a matching theme, an answer that did not ease his worries in the slightest.

The only exception to Neil's newly established schedule was a mid-afternoon visit on his second day. He had been reading a biology textbook in his nook, only to be interrupted by a heavy set of taps on the glass next to him. Surprised, he found Rainbow Dash without her skintight flight suit hovering beside his window. When he let her inside, she gave him a note from Twilight (detailing her next available slot for research). She also announced a surprise strength and endurance training session to celebrate his new living arrangement before she was too busy bringing in winter (whatever that meant).

Needless to say, he was even more appreciative of Squall when the stallion dropped by with drinks later that night.

Now, however, Neil was suffering from a quandary he'd never experienced before as a pony. The group discussed plans for Nightmare Night the same day he had moved in. The afternoon shift would trade-off with the Lunar Guards and change out of their uniform in his suite. The morning shift would also show up roughly around the same time. Once everyone was there, they would order a quick dinner, put on their costumes, and leave for Star Light's. It was a simple plan without any possibility of screwing up, or so he thought.

Any minute now, Bulk and Hearth would finish their shift. And yet, Neil found himself sitting in front of the unlit fireplace, holding an animated botany textbook in his wing. His inability to focus on the words in front of his face was only matched by a severe bout of nerves.

Why, though, was the question? Sure, back in Swift, he had friends and family over at his small apartment before (though not at the same time, thankfully). But this time felt very different, almost like he had to act as the host for the evening. Perhaps it was due to his surroundings. Was the opulence of his new room getting to him? Or, maybe it was the fact that he hardly knew anything about the ponies that made up his guard?

Did he even want to get to know his guards? They weren't his friends, obviously. They were hand, or in this case, hoof chosen by Celestia to watch over him. Whether that be to protect him or relay every hint of information they gleaned from him to her, was not up for debate. Yet, some part of him kept insisting they could be his friends if given a chance. On top of that, if he was stuck working alongside these ponies for one to five years...

Whatever the case, he was really looking forward to getting completely wasted later that night. And he knew that if he screwed things up, the chances of going out were slim to none. An outcome he wanted to avoid at all costs since he desperately needed a night to just relax without thinking.

When the clock he requisitioned from the infirmary chimed, marking the time as six in the evening, Neil set his book down on the coffee table. Even if he could focus his attention, the current section he was staring at, the harmless Worm-Roots of Minos, failed miserably at holding his interest.

With a small sigh, Neil stood up, out of his chair, and went to the front door. However, he only made it halfway before three sturdy, if polite, taps originated from his destination. Bulk, and by proxy Hearth, must have been relieved and were now waiting to be let in. He unconsciously trotted the rest of the way, shaving the time they had to wait by a few seconds before reaching out with a wing and opening the door.

"No use waiting out there, you two. Not sure what you need, but, uh, the shower's there," Neil told Bulk and Hearth as they walked in, pointing a wing towards the bathroom for a moment before shifting it towards the fireplace, "And if you're hungry, tonight's menu is over there. Just ring the bell, and one of the maids should show up... Which you already know, obviously." He finished, mentally berating himself.

"Thanks for allowin' us to change here, Neil," Bulk said, giving a small wave with his wing as he made a beeline for the bathroom.

"Yeah, it's a major time saver for me, Si- Neil," Hearth seconded as she followed Bulk into the room. "Saves me a five-minute flight to Watch HQ and back. And that's not even taking into account asking for an escort to walk back here," She added, following Bulk until he vanished behind the bathroom door.

"You need to ask for an escort?" Neil asked, both surprised and curious as to why, while he closed the door. "Even though you work here?"

"Without our armor, we aren't tied into the wards anymore," She informed him as her horn lit up with an amber-orange aura that quickly surrounded her helmet. With well-practiced ease, she removed her helmet without contacting her horn, allowing her blue mane to fall free, though it didn't remain blue for long. When her curled mane fell into place against her neck, its color had changed to a mix of maroon and burnt orange, whereas the white fur underneath shifted into a deep yellow. "That's probably why Sergeant Calm and Squall aren't here yet."

By the time her helmet settled against her back, Hearth had chosen the door to the left of his bathroom and quickly looked back at Neil. "Do you mind if I use this room to change?"

"Go ahead. It's the office, though, so it's a little cramped." Neil warned, even though he knew there should be more than enough room with only a little rearranging.

Apparently, that was good enough for her as she slipped into his office. The door closed behind her with an audible click, once more leaving him alone in the living room, wondering what, exactly, he needed to do. Should he ring the bell so that his current guests could order immediately? Or would it be proper to wait for the entire group before ordering?

'Another problem I never thought I'd run into in fucked up pony land, and why the hell am I even fretting about any of this!?' With a loud, equine snort, he turned around and, with an outstretched wing, quickly entered his bedroom. But only for a moment, as he scooped up the cloak Rarity made for him with a wing, and threw it on. After a few minor adjustments, he slipped the loop around the clasp to secure it in place and exited into the living room once more.

Before he could decide what to do next, another recognizable pair of knocks issued from his apartment door, leaving little to his imagination who it was. With a fretful energy, he trotted over to the door, only stopping long enough on the way to pick up the bell from the coffee table and give it a quick ring.

However, before he even reached the door, it was pushed open by an eager-looking Squall carrying a stiff red and black shopping bag with each wing. "... Won't mind, Bulk and Hearth are already inside. Hey Neil! Ready for a night of loud music, dressed-up mares, and booze?" He asked, looking for the closest surface to put his bags down.

"Mostly the booze, but yes," Neil answered as he watched the red Pegasus prance into his suite. In fact, the display calmed his nerves slightly, almost in a grounding manner, as he watched Squall disregard all the opulence brought about by his newfound title and just act like an excited, if girly, kind of dude.

Calm followed, his horn already flared, and he politely closed the door with his aura before giving Neil a quick nod in greeting. "Sorry, Squall's been waiting impatiently all day for this."

"And who wouldn't be?" Squall countered as he made a beeline toward the fireplace and placed the bags next to the menu. With that done, he promptly sank his butt into the nearest chair. "It's Nightmare Night! Let loose and have some fun for once."

"That Squall I hear yappin' about like an excited farm pup?" Bulk interrupted suddenly as he stepped out of the bathroom, looking refreshed in his natural colors. He also carried a large bundle of golden armor on his back as he exited.

"Bulk!" Squall immediately waved, gesturing for his fellow pegasus to sit on the couch beside him. "How'd the afternoon shift treat you? Anything exciting happen?"

Bulk returned the wave with a wing and gave Squall a short but cordial answer in return, "Just the norm," Before he looked to Neil, and shifted his body to the side to better show off the bundle of armor, where each piece seemed to be magnetically attached to itself. "Where do you want me to store this?"

At the same time, Neil caught a glint of orange emanating from the office door knob as it opened, revealing Hearth without her armor at all. "You can store it next to mine, Bulk," She offered, already halfway into the living room, before suddenly pausing. "If you don't mind us storing our kit in here, S-Neil?" She asked, her slip-up almost going unnoticed.

"The office or the spare bedroom, whatever works for you two," Neil answered with a shrug as he watched Hearth stand aside to allow Bulk through. With that taken care of, he made his way over to the fireplace.

With Squall claiming the only chair (which he had personally moved there), that left the two couches, one of which Calm had already claimed. Neil was tempted to claim the other one for half a moment but thought better of it. He wouldn't mind sitting with Bulk, but Hearth was still unknown, and she was partially why they were drinking as a group. So he sat next to Calm, claiming the other half of that couch.

After a quick look to confirm neither stallion seemed to mind, his focus settled on the red and black bags on the coffee table. "So, what's in the bags?"

"Our costumes," Squall supplied with a good-natured grin. "Yours and mine are in one bag, and Calm's is in the other."

"So I can finally see what you picked up?" Neil asked, his curiosity sparked as he reached out with a wing to the nearest bag.

Although Calm was between them, that didn't stop Squall from suddenly extending his wing to block him, "Nope!" The smaller Pegasus didn't have the reach to block his attempt at the bags, but Neil stopped and listened to Squall's reasoning anyway. "Not until after we eat."

"Really?" Neil asked, allowing a hint of his irritation to slip through. However, if Squall wanted to keep teasing until the end? An extra hour made little difference overall. Still, he couldn't help but turn to Calm and ask, "Do you know what they are?"

"I don't have the slightest idea beyond hearing something metallic." The elder brother informed him with a mild shrug. "Squall's the one who enjoys shopping for outfits, not me, and he tends to do well enough... most years."

Before he could push the subject any further, Hearth exited the office. She took quick stock of the room, noting everyone already sitting beside the fireplace, and approached the unclaimed couch. Bulk followed right behind her the entire way, no longer burdened with his bundle of armor, and claimed the only remaining spot next to her.

It might have been that they were now off duty and out of their armor, but Neil couldn't help but notice that Hearth looked particularly pleased with the situation.

Once everyone had settled into their seats, Squall opened up with a question for everyone, "So, what're you all looking forward to the most?"

Each of them answered in turn, whether they revolved around relaxing, dancing, drinking, mares, or a mix. But, as the conversation expanded to other subjects, Neil chose to sit back and listen. He learned a few interesting things in that regard, like the fact that Calm and Squall were technically half-brothers.

They both came from the same herd, meaning they shared the same Sire, but their Dams were different- except all four mares in the herd were still their mother. A little confusing and strange, but he already knew that aspect of Equestrian society was messed up.

To add to the confusion, Squall also mentioned he had five sisters, four older and one younger. Neil struggled to comprehend how one could live in such a chaotic-sounding household.

Compared to that, Hearth was on the opposite side of the coin when she shared her upbringing. She had three mothers total in her parents' herd. But, for a reason, she never found out, only her Dam chose to have foals. So, she only had a younger sister growing up. This, in turn, led into the story of how she earned her emblem, a cozy-looking brick fireplace, by taking care of her younger sister, which spawned the next topic of discussion.

Bulk was quick to speak up after her, sharing how he grew up on an orange farm that sounded very similar to Sweet Apple Acres. He quickly found a role he enjoyed, cataloging the supplies needed and filling out orders for their business partners. Yet, he always felt something was missing.

However, before Bulk could describe precisely what that was, Silver Platter appeared. The conversation was put on hold as the menu quickly passed from pony to pony, and Silver took down their orders. Given it was the Equestrian version of Halloween, Neil treated himself to a large order of spinach ravioli smothered in a creamy pumpkin parmesan cheese sauce.

As soon as the ordering was done, Silver gave a professional bow and excused himself, slipping out of the suite as quickly as he appeared.

Squall then asked Bulk to continue, and it was as if they were never interrupted in the first place. Ultimately, it took a misplaced shipping crate full of armor and spears to show up at the farm. Bulk returned to the train station with the crate and helped them trace the correct route, only for his mark to finally appear. From that point on, he joined the guard, and the rest was history.

Of course, when it came to Neil's turn, he had it easy. He remembered telling everyone at the bar that emblems weren't a thing where he came from. But, to bring Hearth up to speed, he reiterated. No magic, as ponies called it, meant no marks. As far as he was concerned, he didn't want or need one, and having one would be another way to mark him as different when he made his way home.

It wasn't long after that when dinner was delivered by not only Silver, pushing an extra-large cart in front of him but Dainty, who was also pushing two medium-sized carts in front of her with her aura. Unfortunately, no matter how big the coffee table was, it wasn't large enough to seat everyone. So, as Silver and Dainty pushed into the dining room, Neil reluctantly stood up and led his guest into the sterile-looking white room.

The dinner itself was, thankfully, a short affair. The food was excellent, as always, but it was clear Neil wasn't the only one who was antsy to get dressed up and go. Everyone was eating fast enough that Neil could imagine Blueblood grimacing at their lack of decorum. Even Squall, who seemed to delight in prolonging the costume reveal for as long as possible, appeared to be keeping up with the rest. Of course, as the only one to be delivered an Alicorn-sized meal, along with his relative inexperience in using his wings for refined control, he was still the last to finish.

The following clean-up went quickly and efficiently as they stacked their dirty dishes onto the carts, allowing some to reclaim their seats in the living room with a few exceptions. Hearth went directly to the office instead, opting to change into her costume immediately. The same went for Bulk, though he veered off towards the bathroom.

Squall, however, bounced up next to the coffee table. With an excited exuberance that was more childlike than adult-like, the Pegasus picked up one of the bags and held it out to his brother. "This one's for you. Care to guess what it is?"

At first, Calm simply tilted his head as he focused on the bag. Only for his horn to light up with its ghostly aura a second later. "Something more durable than last year's costume?" He asked, as he took the bag from his brother and opened it up a few inches away from his face.

"Well, yeah," Squall conceded, as they all watched Calm remove... a smaller brown paper bag stapled shut at the top by a slim, if colorful, piece of folded cardboard. The side facing Neil didn't reveal what the costume was. Still, it had a smiling pumpkin taking up one side with 'Designed to fit a medium stallion's build!' printed clearly in a speech bubble next to it.

"You were supposed to guess what it was first!" Squall pouted as he set aside the now-empty shopping bag.

"A bard?" Calm asked teasingly as he flipped open the cardboard top. The costume quickly hovered out of the bag in two separate parts. The first and smaller of the two was a floppy, if slightly flat-looking cap. It had a repeating pattern of white and orange stripes that began at the center of the floppy part and stretched out until it was sewn into a firm, white rim. There was also a large white feather sewn into the side.

The rest of the costume was a single audacious-looking garment in the rough, if shrunken, and shriveled shape of a pony. In a way, it reminded Neil of Rainbow's flight suit. However, where hers was sleek and uniform, the costume held in Calm's aura was a mish-mash of orange, white, and sky-blue fabrics, with unusual stitching that made the blue fabric parts poof out in a baggy-looking manner.

After a minute of shifting the costume around, looking at it from different angles, and stretching the scrunched-up orange and white fabric, Calm gave a firm nod and a smile. "Yeah, I can work with this," He said, giving his approval before he gestured towards Bulk and Hearth. "With those two rooms taken, is there anywhere else I could change?"

"You can use the spare bedroom if you want," Neil offered, pointing a wing towards the offered room.

"Thanks," Calm said as he stood up. His costume trailed behind him as he crossed the living room and claimed the spare bedroom as his own.

That left him and Squall as the only people remaining in the living room.

With an excited grin, Squall used his free wing to dig around in the second bag. Once he found what he was looking for, he pulled out another package similar to Calm's but twice as large. And, unlike Calm's, Neil, clearly, heard the distinct chink of lightweight metal brushing against metal as Squall held the package out to him.

Neil took the package in his wings, curious and worried, expecting it to have a certain amount of heft. Instead, the package was unusually light given its size as he brought it closer and flipped the cardboard label over. The first thing that caught his eye was the cropped shoulder-and-up image depicting Luna of all ponies. She was shown wearing a scant amount of armor, just a set of pauldrons, an exaggerated chest piece, and an open-face helmet while striking at an unseen target with an elaborately bejeweled spear made of silver.

On closer inspection, however, he felt more confused than anything else. He quickly realized it wasn't Luna, but an Alicorn stallion that looked strikingly similar. In an attempt to look for an answer, he glanced down at the two lines written at the bottom of the label.

'On behalf of the moon, will you right your wrongs and triumph over evil as Lunar Spear?' The larger of the two lines asked in extravagant, flowing script that gave away the name of the character on the label. Underneath that, in smaller plain text, it also stated, 'Included wings and horn are guaranteed to magically match the color of your coat! Spear sold separately.'

Flipping the label over, he saw the same smiling pumpkin on the back with a similar line written next to it. 'Designed to fit any stallion's build!'

It wasn't much to go off of as Neil looked back at Squall. "Lunar Spear?"

"Yep!" Squall answered with glee as he pulled out and proudly displayed another package of equal size. "And his older brother, Solar Sword! Both come from one of the longest-running graphic novels ever written, Solar Eclipse. Lunar Spear was only introduced a year ago, but he's still become one of Inky Black's most popular characters. It's my favorite series."

As Squall gushed over both characters, Neil took the opportunity to look over the white Alicorn depicted on Squall's package. There were similarities to Celestia, but the mane colors differed significantly, unlike the Luna clone on his costume package. Instead of the flowing aurora, Solar's gravity-defying mane was a mixture of red, orange, and yellow, imitating a fire. He was also drawn in a defensive posture, deflecting a sickly-looking green laser with his golden sword.

Overall, Neil had some mixed feelings about Squall's costume choice. At the very least, he felt more than a little repugnant at the thought of going out dressed as a Luna knock-off and representing her brand in any way. "Squall, is there a specific reason why you picked these costumes out?"

"A few, actually. First, I noticed you use your wings for everything. So, I needed to find a costume that wouldn't cover up or hinder your wings. Second, if you dress up as Lunar Spear, then ponies should hopefully assume your injured horn is part of the costume." Squall explained as he counted each reason on his wing.

After the second, however, there was a slight pause before Squall gave a third reason with a hint of embarrassment. "And, well, this is the first opportunity I had to dress up with a friend as my favorite character."

Neil couldn't deny the logic behind Squall's first two arguments, but there were also a few glaring problems with the costume. The lack of armor, or any proper clothing in general, is the worst reason. There was also something off about Squall's last reason. Something else, besides the fact that Squall somehow considered him a friend so quickly. "It sounded like you and Calm go out all the time. Shouldn't he be the one doing the themed costumes with you?"

"Most of the time, yeah, we do," Squall admitted quickly, "But Calm thinks the Solar Eclipse series is stupid. There's no way in Tartarus he'd dress up with me like this, which is why I was hoping..."

As Squall trailed off, his general demeanor changed ever so slightly. His posture shifted, making him look even smaller than he normally was. At the same time, his eyes widened, and his grin quickly changed to a despondent pout as he brought the package underneath his chin, as if he was begging like a...

And then it clicked. 'Squall's really trying to guilt me into this with puppy dog eyes?' He thought, unable to deny the Pegasus looked even more pathetically adorable than the average pony normally would. However, the blatant manipulation had the opposite effect on him.

"You don't need the pity act Squall," Neil groused, taking another look at the label of his costume. "Just, weren't there any other costumes that fit the bill? Why did it have to be princess knock-offs?"

"Princess knock-offs?" Squall asked, confused for the moment as his act slipped away. Only for his grin to come back as he connected the obvious dots. "Oh yeah, you haven't read Solar Eclipse. I can see how you'd think that about Princess Luna and Lunar Spear. But, to answer your question, Ripple also had a few villain costumes available. They're all mares, though, so you would have been fully exposed down below."

"Besides," Squall added, attacking Neil's princess problem from another angle, "Without his iconic weapon, it's just stallion armor, right? If you want, we could switch. I just thought you would look better in silver compared to gold."

"There's no need for that," Neil relented as he stood up and repositioned the costume underneath his wing. If these were the only options available, then it wasn't really Squall's fault. "I'll try it on. If you want, the dining room is available now. Or, you could wait for Bulk or Hearth to finish?"

"I'll wait for one of the rooms to free up," Squall offered as he opened the bag holding his costume. "Don't want that cute Pegasus maid flying in on me half-dressed now, do we?"

"I could only imagine her terrified screams if that ever happened," Neil countered in a half-sarcastic, half-joking tone as he crossed the room towards the main bedroom. Before Squall could respond, he was already passing through the door as he attempted to loosen his cloak clasp with a single wing. By the time he managed to work the loop of the button, the door faintly clicked behind him.

Now that he was alone, he released a haggard sigh as he placed the package on his bed. His cloak soon followed as he removed it with both wings and threw it. The garment landed at the end of the bed, partially hanging over the edge. Given the time the others already had to change, it was best to get this over with as soon as possible. He picked up his costume with one wing and tore the cardboard label off with the other.

The first thing he saw as he opened the bag was a pair of folded white wings attached to a flimsy-looking fabric harness, which conveniently covered everything else. Given his pair of somewhat functional wings, they were not needed. So, without further ado, he dumped the bag's contents onto the bedspread beside his cloak.

Honestly, he had been expecting more from Squall's assurances. The large wing harness, which he tossed aside, took up at least half the package folded as it was. There was a spindly-looking fake white horn about an inch or two longer than his own, which he also placed in the useless pile on top of the wings.

After that, only five pieces of armor remained to complete the look. The first and most eye-catching was the decorative collar-breastplate thing he'd seen both Luna and Celestia wear. This one was made with half the thickness, at most, but stretched out to cover an average stallion's entire front. It was still slightly small for him, but usable. However, as he slipped it on, the light, tinny-sounding metal wouldn't be affording him any real protection.

The shoulder guards were the next to go on, though they were a little finicky to deal with. Each had a loop of stretchable fabric attached to the underside, along with a long strip of the same material attaching the two. A pretty basic set-up overall as he placed the strap on his back, allowing a pauldron to dangle on each shoulder. Next, he slipped his front legs into their respective loops and pulled them back up to cover his shoulders. The overall fit was snug against his fur, but a few quick stretches showed there was still some give left in the backstrap.

Next was the flattened helmet, the only piece of armor that seemed to be broken, or so Neil thought at first. Upon closer inspection, the helmet appeared to have some actual craftsmanship worked into the design. Inside, there were a fair number of small, intricate-looking hinges that allowed the metal plates of the helmet to collapse for storage. A light pull from his wings popped the helmet back into shape with a satisfying little clink.

It took considerable force on both sides to pop the hinges loose and collapse the helmet again. Reforming the helmet a second time was just as easy, after which he placed it on his head. His horn slipped through without a problem, even with all the plaster and the suppressor ring near the base. The open face didn't impair his vision at all, either. Unfortunately, it wasn't a perfect fit. Despite the large ear holes, he felt the metal edges uncomfortably digging into his ears, but he could deal with that for a night.

All that was left was one remaining piece not shown on the label, and for good reason. At first glance, a more innocent person might mistake it for underbelly armor with a unique design. On the other hand, Neil could only describe it as a decorative codpiece at its best. Just from looks alone, the part that acted as a cup (vaguely sculpted to look like a large pair of balls) more than lived up to its design with ample space and plush cushioning inside. The four-foot half-pipe (with two separate straps designed to wrap around his body and hold it in place) extended off the codpiece to cover his sheath and underbelly, however...

Glancing at the full body mirror in the corner, it looked like he was sporting a massive fucking silver erection that pressed against almost the full length of his belly. He actually felt dirty wearing it, like he was some sort of male stripper in a knight costume, compared to just free-balling it. He also couldn't ignore the feeling of soft, plush velvet caressing and cradling one of the most sensitive parts of his anatomy.

'This has to be some sort of a fucked up gag,' Neil thought, remembering all the assurances Squall gave him about his costume and how it would stick to his Canadian sensibilities. 'Of course, Squall would think it's funny to try and cover up. He grew up in a culture where flashing your balls was second nature!' That was the only logical explanation, unless... Squall really thought costume armor designed to exaggerate the size of his balls and dick counted as covering up?

Unbidden, the image of Squall decked in armor with the same codpiece, at the same size, came to mind. If true, the domed tip would be pushing past the Pegasus' front legs.

As he shook that image out of his mind, another crazy thought came to him. What if it was designed this way to hide an actual erection? Was that a problem stallions encountered often? He hadn't seen anything like that on the streets, but he hoped to Hell not!.. Then again, a club full of half-drunk mares like Nurse Heart? All rubbing against you, trying their best to rile you up? That sounded a little like Hell now that he thought about it- as a pony, at least. If he was normal and surrounded by hot women? That would have been a great night out.

Shaking away his thoughts, Neil reached for one final, unintended piece to add to his costume. His cloak wasn't designed to go with armor, but it would give him peace of mind when it came to being exposed. Unfortunately, when he tried to put it on, he felt like an absolute idiot when the loop couldn't stretch over the breastplate and catch the button. In the end, he had to remove the helmet and then the breastplate, which finally allowed him to fasten his cloak with some minor adjustments around the shoulder guards.

Once he put the breastplate and the helmet back on, he gave himself one last, slow three-sixty look in the mirror. He could see more than a hint of silver underneath his tail at a certain angle. Still, despite the feelings it stirred, both mental and physical, that was arguably better in his mind than allowing anyone to see him au naturale. With his mind made up, knowing he was as ready as he ever would be and quite desperate for a drink, he made his way to the door. Without further ado, he reached out with a wing to grasp the doorknob, twisted it, and pushed it open.

Immediately, as if a set of speakers were unmuted, Calm's voice cut into the silence. "-ease tell me you didn't give Neil a matching costume." He said, sounding exasperated before he stopped talking.

Poking his head into the living room, Neil found himself to be the center of attention. Everyone was sitting around the fireplace and looking his way, with Calm and Bulk looking worried about something, and Hearth looked slightly confused. The only exception was Squall, who was standing. He also noticed everyone else had already finished changing into their costumes.

Calm looked to be the only pony fully covered from head to... toe? back-hoof? Either way, Neil had been correct with his original assumption. The striped white and orange fabric clung to his entire body like Rainbow's skintight flight suit. The only exception was the poofy blue fabrics strategically placed at each of Calm's significant joints. That wasn't the only thing that was blue about his costume, however. Strangely, the white feather in his cap had shifted to match Calm's fur as well.

Hearth's costume offered the next most coverage. She dressed up as the pony equivalent of a cowboy, judging by her black and red cowboy hat. To complement the look, she also wore a thick, durable-looking red denim vest with decorative black stitching and a black bandana around her neck. And, despite the Equestrian culture's crusade against pants, Neil was surprised to see a pair of (ass-less) faux-leather chaps covering her back legs, which had a cut-out large enough to reveal the emblem on her flank. To complete the look, she was wearing a set of fancy black and red cowboy boots, one for each hoof.

Despite his large size, Bulk's costume choice leaned towards the skimpier side. At first glance, Neil thought he made a sensible choice dressing up as a construction worker. He was wearing a white construction helmet with a grey lightning bolt stenciled on it and a pair of safety glasses. The thin, limp-looking, unbuttoned flannel tan vest was an odd choice, but it worked well enough since it exposed his muscular chest. Unfortunately, Bulk was also facing him directly, making Neil see something he never wanted to see on a guy, ever.

Instead of a pony equivalent of a tool belt, Bulk was wearing what he could only describe as a denim jean-string (with a complimentary ball pouch). If he had been generous, they could have been classified as jean short shorts... but with what little they covered, that would have been a lie.

Needless to say, Neil quickly averted his eyes, only to land on the final member of the group.

Squall blinked once, then twice, which caused his long and spindly red horn to wobble and tap against the hornhole cut into his helmet. However, that didn't stop the giant grin from slowly spreading over his muzzle. "See, I told you he wouldn't mind Calm!" He gloated slightly as he pointed a hoof in Neil's direction.

Lifting his leg like that gave Neil more than enough opportunity to see they were wearing the same costume (except Squall's armor was gold tinted), including the extended codpiece. Strangely, despite the apparent difference in body length, both codpieces stopped short of their front legs by about two inches.

"I wouldn't mind what?" Neil asked, averting his eyes from Squall and focusing on Calm as he stepped into the room. Even so, he didn't miss the Pegasus' grin faltering a little as he stepped out in his fully cloaked costume.

"Dressing up as a character out of a porn comic?" Calm questioned, looking over his costume.

Whether Calm was questioning his choice to wear the costume in the first place, or the addition of his cloak to cover the lewder aspects of it, Neil wasn't exactly sure. But, before he could say anything, Squall spoke up.

"How many times do I have to tell you it isn't a porn comic!" The Pegasus protested, with a look of betrayal as he poked his brother in the shoulder. "It's a best-selling graphic novel."

"Okay, it's a graphic novel," Calm conceded with an eye roll and a nonchalant shrug as if they had these types of arguments all the time. "It's just a coincidence that the heroes rut the villains into submission more often than not."

"Really?" Squall countered immediately, "And how would you know that since you never read them?"

Calm gave a pointed look at all the other ponies in the room before saying anything. "I don't think you want me to answer that with present company."

"Oh no," Squall shook his head and pressed his hoof into Calm's shoulder to pressure his brother into answering. "You started this, and I'm going to finish it. Do you read my graphic novels in secret?"

Calm slowly shook his head as his horn ignited. It formed an aura around Squall's hoof, which he removed from his shoulder, making it look like Squall was pointing at Neil again. Strangely, his aura didn't dissipate after that, instead keeping his brother's hoof firmly in the air as he answered.

"Fine, but just remember you asked for it. I know because we share an apartment with fairly thin walls. I can hear well enough when you reach the epic battles at the finale," Calm explained, as Squall's face turned pale, at first, from the obvious implications, only to shift to a slightly deeper red compared to normal. "Why do you think I'm always out running errands by the time you finish?"

Squall wasn't the only pony, either. Hearth was doing her best impression of a Pikachu dressed up as a cowboy outlaw, with how red her cheeks had become. She was focused solely on the empty fireplace as if locked into an epic, life-or-death staring contest.

Bulk also had a stern glint in his eye as he spoke up before things could escalate further. "Now hold on, both'a you. We've all seen and heard worse in the barracks, right Calm? So drop it," He rebuked, looking pointedly at Squall's held hoof. Getting the point across, Calm immediately released his hold, allowing Squall to stand on all fours.

Bulk allowed a few seconds of silence to pass as he watched both Calm and Squall, just to make sure things remained calm before he continued, "We're all gussied up and ready to go now, so why don' we go?"

"I'll second that," Hearth quickly followed up, "We could all use a few drinks to cool off, then get to know each other... without the embarrassing details."

Calm was quick to nod in agreement.

Squall took a few moments to straighten out his golden collar and shoulder pauldrons to calm down before giving Bulk a reluctant nod. As the other ponies stood up from their seats, however, the Pegasus opted to trot over to Neil.

"Before we go, I just want to know if I picked the wrong costume. For next time, y'know?" He asked, hopefully, though Neil saw his ears were wilting noticeably. "If there is a next time..."

"There might be a next time. It all depends on how long it takes to find a way home." Neil confirmed, cementing that thought in both of their heads. "No offense, but so far, everything I've seen and dealt with is bat-shit crazy. If it wasn't for the alcohol, I'd lose my mind."

He idly noted two separate twitches from Hearth and Squall while Bulk seemed to be used to his foul language. But, before he could be rebuked, he answered Squall's original question. "The costume on the other ha- hoof..." He paused, thinking how best to put his words. He could have been blunt, but after Calm's revelation, it would have felt like kicking a depressed dog... after it was scolded for humping a couch pillow.

"I would have chosen something with a little more coverage. Something similar to..." He was about to gesture towards Calm, but now that the Unicorn was standing upright and walking towards the door, Neil noticed two disturbing things about the bard costume he hadn't before. First, the tail-hole was aligned so that Calm's tail was flagged almost vertically. And secondly, unlike Rainbow's skintight flight suit, which was designed to slim her figure for aerodynamics, Calm's did the exact opposite. The fabric seemed to grip and spread his butt cheeks, allowing the seam to press into the resulting gap and paint a picture that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.

"... None of the costumes in this room," He admitted, quickly diverting his eyes up toward the ceiling.

With nothing else to say, Neil quickly joined the three closest to the door, with Squall following beside him. Thankfully, once he was close enough, he could shift his focus to Bulk's helmet or Hearth's cowboy hat without having to worry about seeing anything unsightly as they left.

As much as he was craving a drink, Neil was starting to have second thoughts about a dance club full of ponies wearing costumes that were even more slutty.

~~~

It was a strange twist of fate that the path Squall directed their little group along also passed through an area of the city Neil knew very well. At first, he initially thought the dance club they were heading to would be situated somewhere on the upper shelf, similar to the Brass Bells. Instead, Squall had taken them south to the nearest stairwell to the business shelf. The very same shelf that Neil haunted for weeks. They weren't close to where he was captured, which was closer to the southern ledge. But Squall took them on a quick stroll through a busy Restaurant Row.

Seeing the ordinarily bland, if busy in the daytime, street transformed into a Halloween theme park was shocking. Not only that, but the street was also bustling with activity despite the moon rising an hour ago. The sidewalks were lined with themed stalls, each with unique smelling foods and piles of candy or games of chance with cute and terrifying toys available to win. Ponies of all shapes and sizes were trotting about or waiting in line at one of the stalls, primarily in large groups of three to four adults and at least that many children. And, to no one's surprise, most of them were dressed up in costumes.

What was surprising to Neil, at least, was the fact he recognized quite a few staple costumes. From clowns to witches and various animals, both real and mythical (though real enough in Equestria). Some were minimalist, like the green mare he saw wearing only a white flower collar with large petals surrounding her head. On the other hand, some were quite complex, like the two-headed chimera costume worn by two foals waiting to bob for apples.

As they walked along the street and swerved around the various groups, Neil momentarily worried that the group's costume preference might draw the ire of some of the parents. But, beyond a few curious looks directed at the pair of lunar guards escorting their group, there was nothing of the sort. He was quick to spot quite a few costumes that were even worse than anything they were wearing, in his humble opinion. One of the mares he saw opted to dress in lacy, vampire-themed lingerie and little else. And, even that was mild compared to the Frankenstein-themed stallion and his glowing, electric green ball-sack. The sooner he could drink away that image, the better off he would be.

At the very least, the only ponies wearing slutty costumes were adults. He counted that as a small blessing.

After they passed through Restaurant Row, Squall turned left down a street that eventually led them toward the Skyport. As far as Neil was concerned, that was the edge of his territory. He never felt the need to travel beyond the port, mainly due to the increased security at all times of the day. The occasional drunk he spotted in the middle of the night, originating from beyond the port, also added to his conviction to leave the area alone.

Squall, ignorant to all of that, simply walked by the Skyport as if nothing was wrong. He even waved to a pair of steel-clad, grey-furred night guards, who continued their patrol without waving back. Silent Wing and Night Wish, his two lunar guard escorts for the night, also ignored the two other night guards.

Now that Neil thought about it, were the night shift for the city watch detachment classified as lunar guards? Or were they still part of the solar guard? Despite the dull material, their armor design mirrored their daytime counterparts.

Before he could delve too deep into that train of thought, he was distracted by something he had never experienced. A faint, if consistent, pulse in the air made his ears stand on end and his fur bristle. However, whether it was a sound he could barely pick up or a steady pressure being blasted into the air for some unknown reason, he couldn't tell. He only knew that it was pretty fast, whatever it was.

As they passed another city block, not only did he feel the increase in pressure as the power behind the pulses pushed past his fur and caused his body to vibrate, but he also picked up the deep, rumbling tremors of bass. If it had only been a little louder, Neil was sure the nearby windows of the buildings they were passing would have rattled in time with the beat.

"We're almost there," Squall told the group as they turned one last corner, though he was looking at Neil when he called out over the bass filling the air. And by almost there, it was clear he meant within view as they transitioned from closed buildings made of brick and stone towards a cluster of five, two-story tall, warehouse-like buildings.

Four of the five warehouses Neil could see were dreary-looking, square wooden shells standing forlornly in the darkness, their almost flat roof overhangs enhancing the shadows. The final building, however, drew in his eyes due to its unique and flashy look. Underneath the purple neon light of a sign that read Star Light's Starbright, he could see clouds of various shapes and shades of purple painted over a deep, almost black shade of blue with metallic flecks reflecting the sign's light.

Below that was a set of large, neon purple double doors, with welcome written across them in silver unified script. To finish the look, standing off to the right side of the doors was a single Unicorn wearing a set of shades and a suit, looking quite bored. As they moved closer, he noticed that the pony was a mare with a fancy-looking lock as an emblem on her flank.

Squall broke from the group and trotted ahead to engage with the bouncer. Thanks to the barely contained music, Neil couldn't hear what was being said. Still, as they approached, the bouncer's horn emitted a faint golden light that was almost overpowered by the sign above her. The door was surrounded by a similar light as it was pushed inward, and the bouncer gestured for them to go in.

Following the group (minus his two lunar guards who broke off to flank the door), Neil found himself in a medium-sized waiting room drowning in reddish-pink light, with plush-looking purple benches on either side. On the opposite side from the doors they had just walked through, there was another matching set, but this time, they had enjoy your night written on them in the same silvery script. Strangely, despite being inside the building, the volume of the music barely increased at all.

The why was answered soon enough when the doors they had just passed through closed behind them. That was apparently the trigger for the second set of doors to slide open on their own, disappearing into the walls as they allowed everything from the raucous cheers and hoof-stomps of the crowd to the music's full volume to assault his eardrums.

Thankfully, they didn't get the total bass onslaught since the song was winding down. High-pitched synthetic sounds carried the majority of the tune, with touches of piano interspersed here and there as they walked into the club.

Contrary to the outside, the club's interior could only be described as sleek and curvy. The booths set against the wall, the tables set next to the swerving dance floor, the bar, and even the lit-up shelves that displayed all the bottles of alcohol, Neil wasn't able to spot a single sharp edge (unless you counted the out of place looking metallic DJ equipment). Everything was curved, rounded, and circular in a wavy fashion. It was as if someone overlaid what they thought was a galaxy on top of a large, round pool and made that into a club. Even the ceiling added to the effect, having been painted pitch black and dotted with small, randomly placed lights of various colors that acted like stars.

As Neil looked around and took in the sights, Squall addressed everyone loud enough to be heard above the music. "I'm going to stop by the bar and come back with some menus. Why don't you all go find a booth to sit in?"

As he was speaking, the bass undertones of the song were slowly building back up, hyping up all the ponies on the dance floor, and plenty who weren't from the sounds of it. Being the tallest of the group, Neil quickly scanned all of the nearby booths he could see from the entrance. Most were taken, but he was able to spot two that were currently unused.

Strangely, both were flanking a booth taken up by another pair of red and blue ponies. Unlike the Brass Bells with Calm and Squall, this time they were both Pegasi judging by their obvious wing gestures. Neil pointed them out to the group anyway. "There's two free booths over there," He half shouted above the music, pointing a hoof in the free booth's general direction.

Bulk and Hearth looked in the direction he was pointing, and upon spotting the booths in question, Bulk gave a firm nod. On the other hand, Calm watched his brother as Squall made his way over to the bar. Still, he followed the group as Bulk took the lead and guided them to the closer of the two booths.

One by one, they sat down as the speed and build-up of the song reached its apex. First to sit was Bulk as he slid to the centre, shortly followed by Hearth, who stayed reasonably close to him. Next was Calm, who slid up next to Hearth, leaving just enough room for one more pony on that side. Neil chose the other side as he slid into the booth. And as he did so, he swore he heard an oddly familiar voice mixed into the song:

~
No chit-chat. Time is candy!
~

Looking over to the DJ booth, he could tell the grey pegasus stallion, whose mane was split evenly between white on his left and black on his right, was having the time of his life. He was shredding three separate disks, two with his hooves and a third with his wing, to the frantic beat he was playing to the crowd. Neil had no idea whether that was the DJ's natural colors or if he dyed himself to match a specific character or costume. But the music was interesting, to say the least.

"So, Neil, what do you think of Star Light's so far?" Calm asked, raising his voice enough to be heard over the music.

He didn't have much of an opinion one way or another yet, but he answered all the same. "It looks nice, at least. But I'll know better when I'm buzzed. What about you two?" He added, looking to Bulk and Hearth.

"I prefer the Brass Bells, myself," Bulk offered with a nonchalant shrug. "It's quieter, makin' it easier to talk."

"I'm not a stallion, so my regular waterhole is the Overflowing Flagon," Hearth informed the group after Bulk finished.

Calm apparently, knew something about the bar she mentioned because he quickly followed up with a question, "Isn't that, basically, the unofficial City Watch HQ?"

"Buck yeah, it is," Hearth proclaimed, sounding quite proud about her regular establishment. However, there was a hint of teasing accusation in her voice as well. "Us regulars don't qualify for a private upper-class bar like the Brass Bells you stallions have."

As they were talking, Neil also watched as Squall broke away from the bar. However, he wasn't alone as a pink-colored Pegasus mare, wearing nothing but a witch hat, a set of spiderweb stockings on each leg, and what appeared to be the pony version of a corset (that puffed up the fur of her chest), followed him from the bar.

"What's this about the Brass Bells?" Squall asked as he approached the booth, beating his brother to the punch.

Bulk quickly filled Squall in as the Pegasus slid in beside his brother, making himself cozy against his sibling. "Hearth was just sayin' how the Bells is an upper-class bar for us elites livin' in the castle."

That earned a laugh from Squall, who quickly corrected her opinion. "Upper-class? You're thinking of one of those chateaus where the nobility sits around all day, acting all high and mighty as they sip on grape juice."

At the same time, the Pegasus mare that followed him waited patiently at the side of the booth. Her one wing shifted back and forth until he saw a set of large, thick, almost cardboard-like menus poke out from under her wing. Once Squall finished talking, she cleared her throat loudly to get the entire table's attention.

"Good evening, and a happy Nightmare Night to all of you!" She greeted in a loud but bubbly voice. "My name is Peach Fizz, and I'm one of the roaming servers tonight. Just wave me or one of our other adorable witches down, and we'll deliver your special brews to you in the blink of an eye."

As she went through her rehearsed speech, though she sold it very well, her wing holding the menus extended and placed them all on the table in a single pile. "Let's see, we have four gallant Gentlestallions," Peach stated as she began handing out the menus.

The first was given to Squall, who eagerly grabbed it with a wing and started looking it over. She worked her way around the table from there. However, after handing out the first three with colorful and fruity drinks showcased on the cover page, the fourth revealed more mundane, traditional-looking drinks, which gave Peach Fizz a reason to pause.

"And a rowdy-looking Cowmare tonight," She finished, sounding slightly confused as she split the last two identical-looking menus. "Pardon me, I seem to have miscounted my menus by one. I'm short a stallion's."

"I'll take that one," Neil called out before the waitress returned to the bar to switch it out for a stallion's menu.

She glanced at the menu, then up at him, giving him an odd look before sliding the menu over. "If you're sure, Your Majesty," She teased before digging out a small pad and a pencil. "Anypony ready to order yet?"

Calm already had his mind made up as he asked for a lime saltini, and the others soon followed as Neil perused the menu. Despite the amount of bottles displayed at the bar, the mare's menu was only half as thick as the other one. Still, there was enough choice to make things interesting, even if he didn't recognize a single drink on the menu. Most of them had fanciful names like moon's desire, radiant flare, or lover's embrace.

He didn't feel any sort of pull to a specific drink one way or another. So, after Hearth ordered a cloudy day, he turned her way. "You probably know more about these drinks than I do. What's the strongest drink you've had?"

"That would be a heat quencher for sure," She told him offhandedly, only for her eyes to widen at the admission before she quickly backtracked. "But, that's only offered during certain times of the year... The strongest drink on the menu?" She asked, more to herself as her aura quickly brought her menu back up to hide her embarrassment. What, exactly, she was embarrassed about, Neil had no idea.

"I'd say the wrench in the gears," She offered after a few moments of frantic searching, though she had an odd look to her as she lowered the menu. "But, it isn't the most pleasant thing. Are you sure?"

"If it hits as hard as it sounds, then that's exactly what I want," Neil confirmed before picking up his menu and looking it over again with more care. He didn't know how he missed a drink like that the first time, but he was willing to fix that mistake.

"If that's everything?" Peach asked, allowing a few seconds to pass before continuing, "Then I'll be right back with your drinks!"

In the end, he found it hidden on the third and final page, mixed in with ten drinks with boring joke names like Ice to Meet You, Greener Pastures, and Sheep Lover. Despite the boring names, however, a few of them looked to pack a serious punch. If the wrench didn't work out for him, he had a few others he could try ordering, at least.

Squall, however, waited just long enough for the waitress to get out of earshot before succumbing to his laughter. "I can't believe- hehe- you offered Neil a heat drink!"

"To be fair, you can't deny how strong they are," Calm lightly chastised his brother while elbowing the Pegasus under his foreleg. "I'm more surprised that Hearth admitted to having one."

"It's part of being a member of the Watch, and I'll leave it at that." She stated with a hint of finality. "Besides, I'm sure you castle types have your odd traditions?"

"A few," Bulk conceded before switching the subject to her childhood and the town she grew up in, as the current song's synth tones gave way to one final crash of a cymbal before fading away into the background noise of the club.

The rhythmic stomping of hooves became more prominent, but even that receded with the faint beats as a fair number of dancers slowed down in anticipation of the next song. Some of the dancers, who were strutting on two legs, flopped back to all fours while others appeared to dismount from their dance partners. Only when the DJ stood up to his full height did the sounds of the club become replaced with whoops and cheers for the performance.

However, Neil picked up something else a little closer to his booth when that died down. Another conversation coming from the booth directly behind him, which could only be described as the drunk whining of a high-pitched stallion. "-Ut mares are so adorablllllle! I just wanna hug 'em, and snug 'em, and nibble on their cute little eeears!" The stallion wailed before trailing off to a whimper.

Not that the relative silence lasted long before the second stallion sitting behind him spoke up with a slightly deeper, calmer, and smooth-sounding voice. "And that's why we're here, Open. There's plenty of mares out dancing in their adorable Nightmare Night costumes. We just have to find you the right one tonight."

"But, most mares just wanna suck me off," Open lamented, "Or scratch their itch with a quick buck. Nopony wants to snuggle afterwards... I'm sorry, Crimson. You could be enjoying time with your marefriend, but instead, you're stuck here with me."

"Well, that's where you're wrong. Mid's on patrol tonight, so I only had two options. Either I dragged you out for some fun and drinks, or I could have bought whatever lacklustre candy the shops had on sale after my shift and give that out to the foals. You know I don't do lacklustre, Open."

"Yeah, I know. You're so pretty, and rugged, and cute. It's no wonder why you found a great mare like Midnight. Knowing you, Crimson, you'll find a whole-" Unfortunately, he couldn't catch everything Open said due to the DJ earning a rousing cheer from the dance floor. "...A single mare willing to snuggle with me," He finished, sounding quite sad.

"Honestly Open Air, all you need is a little more confidence, and you'll find yourself a wonderful mare. And yeah, Mid might have asked me to scout another potential member for our herd, but tonight is all about finding a cute mare for you," Crimson encouraged, with a firm slam of his glass against the table. "So let's finish up our drinks, and-"

"Here you all go!" Peach Fizz chirped, drawing Neil's attention back to his own booth. She had a platter with five distinct-looking drinks balanced on her back, which she deftly removed with a single wing before sliding it onto the table.

"First, we have a saltini for the striking bard," She offered, passing a slightly curved martini glass that was two hooves wide over to Calm. It was nearly filled to the brim with a bright green liquid, leaving only a few millimetres of the glass, inside and out, covered in light pink salt. Once Calm accepted the glass with his aura, she quickly passed out all the other drinks.

Bulk ordered the same looking drink he had at the Brass Bells, a Manehatten Skyline from what Neil could remember. Squall ordered a big glass that was half ice and half what looked to be pure iced tea, only it was called an amber chill. Hearth's cloudy sky was a cloudy grey liquid that almost matched his coat served in a regular-sized whisky glass, but it also had streaks of a sunny yellow... syrup somehow stuck to the inside of the glass.

As for his drink, it was an even darker grey, almost metallic-looking liquid, served in a goblet nearly twice the size of Hearth's drink. As he took it from Peach with his wing, he noticed not only how slowly the drink swirled in the glass, making him think of a thick, almost viscous oil, but that there were also little silver flecks of something in it that reflected light. In the end, he concluded it wasn't the most appetizing-looking drink on the table as he placed it down on the table in front of him. Still, he ordered it, so he wasn't going to pussy out.

Before he could build up the nerve to give it a taste, Bulk lightly prodded him with a hoof just underneath his shoulder guard. "It ain't right to eavesdrop on others, you know that, right?"

"Yes, I know," Neil stated unrepentantly as he intentionally rolled his eyes. "Call it a force of habit after spending entire days just sitting and listening to ponies as they walk by. You learn some interesting things."

It looked like Bulk was going to chastise him some more, but Hearth cut in before him. "Wait, how in Celestia's sunny flanks did you manage that? We would have been drowning in unknown Alicorn sightings if you were that close."

Neil's first urge was to dismiss or outright ignore her question. However, he took a moment to actually contemplate it. What did it matter if he told them how he did it? It wasn't like he was planning on returning to the streets of Canterlot if he had to abandon his current position. He had multiple leads he could follow up on, most of which were outside of the city.

"Simple. The Skyport we passed on the way here?" He reminded them, gesturing his head in the vague direction of that particular business, "I took empty crates from there and placed them near alleyway entrances. That way, I could sit and gather info all day and watch places like Donut Joe's to know when it was safe to grab a meal."

As Neil finished explaining, Calm placed his drink on the table and asked, "What do you mean by grab a meal, exactly?"

"Dumpster diving," He stated bluntly, much to his amusement, as all the ponies turned a little green, except for Calm, who was looking at him intently. "What? Do you really think I would break into a place like Donut Joe's and bring all of you down on my head? I was trying to keep a low profile."

"That would explain why Private Echo found you in a dumpster," Hearth admitted before taking another sip from her drink. "I thought you were just trying to hide from something."

In a sense, that was precisely what he was doing. He was trying to hide from an entire city full of alien ponies, of which he was now a member of. Only, it was with his crates instead of dumpsters.

Before that thought could infest much deeper into his mind, he grabbed his oily-looking drink with his wing and brought it to eye level. He was here to lose himself and his worries by drinking and trying not to think for a night. And yet, he hadn't taken a single sip. A problem he quickly rectified as he tipped the glass and knocked back at least a quarter of it down his throat.

It was as thick as it looked, and besides the obvious burning of alcohol, the first thing he identified was the taste of something he hadn't experienced since he was a young kid. "Why the hell," He paused, coughing lightly at the metallic taste still clinging to his mouth, "Does it taste like I swallowed a bag of nickels?"

~~~

After Neil managed to down his first drink, Squall quickly informed him amidst giggles that it was mixed with alcohol tailored for more draconic tastes. Upon learning that, he was more inclined to avoid another wrench in the gears in his near future as he hopped around the mare's menu to try other drinks. ice to meet you was a silvery blue liquid that burned somewhat like whisky while also being overly sweet and tasting like blue raspberry. After trying Hearth's preferred drink, he found out the syrup on the inside tasted like mango.

Over the next hour, he even took suggestions from the others at the table. Calm and Squall were curious enough to point out drinks and ask how they tasted once he tried them. After Squall suggested he try a greener pasture, however, he was less inclined to consider the Pegasus' future offers. It was a smoothie that masked any hint of alcohol mixed within while also tasting like a mix of grass and asparagus. Calm suggested a radiant flare, which tasted like an orange creamsicle but had a nice, almost peppery burn afterward.

Was it best practice to mix and match drinks? Definitely, not. But after his sixth uniquely shaped glass, a pleasant, almost hazy buzz started settling into the forefront of his mind. Blurring out and muddling all of his useless, insignificant thoughts that he normally had to actively ignore. It was nice as he relaxed into his seat and allowed the conversation of his guard detail and the music to wash over him.

There wasn't much need to contribute, either. The rest of the booth were comparing the most embarrassing moments in their respective garrisons they walked in on. And, since he wasn't part of the guard, all he had to do was sit back and try not to imagine the scenes playing out in his head. So far, in his personal opinion, Hearth held the crown after she supposedly walked in on five superior officers having an orgy in the showers. However, the fact that she joined in on the action and brushed that aside as an afterthought made him think she wasn't being entirely honest.

Beyond the conversation, he also found the spotlights and colorful lasers catching his eye. They constantly drew his attention to the dance floor as the beams of light cut across and illuminated the stomping mass of ponies. More often than not, he would pick out and watch ponies that were dancing in an almost human-like manner or focus on the DJ's janky tech that looked like it might have belonged to the '70s. Only for one of the ponies next to him to point out that his drink was almost finished and suggest another one.

Neil was halfway through his thoroughly unpleasant asparagus smoothie when he noticed something unusual by pony standards. A new pony entered the club, alone, and dressed up in a black, loose-fitting, full-body cat costume that reminded him of a onesie. He couldn't tell if they were a male or a female pony judging by size alone. Still, due to a noticeable bump from the oversized cat hood, he could tell they were a Unicorn at the very least. And they acted out their costume as they slinked exaggeratedly across the open floor on oversized fake cat paws.

In the end, the mysterious pony chose an empty table between his booth and the dance floor, only stopping long enough for their vibrant green aura to pull the chair out and curve their articulate costume tail into a proper seating position for a cat.

Over the next half an hour, he didn't exactly keep an eye on them but kept them in his peripheral vision at the very least. Something about the way they acted threw him off. They just sat there, sipping on a tall but skinny cyan drink and watching everything around them. Or how they would occasionally fixate on other ponies, they could see from their vantage point.

That included his booth, as he caught the pony's reflective, almost cat-like green eyes staring in his direction no less than twice from underneath their oversized hood over the last thirty minutes.

After ordering a round of refills for the group and a new drink that Bulk had pointed out called a bottom of the barrel for himself, he felt a large enough lull in the conversation to point out the odd pony to the rest of them. "Is it odd for a pony like that to be staring around at everyone else? I think I caught them staring at us at least two times now."

Squall, being one of the ponies waiting for a refill, answered after a snorted chuckle. "It's not odd at all since all of us, excluding Calm, sorry, are smoking hot! Besides, aren't you doing the same thing?"

"He's got you there, Neil," Bulk said, siding with Squall before adding, "But, I saw her prowl on up to that table, same as you. Let it be for now," Were his final words of wisdom before taking a sip from his drink.

Contrary to Bulk's words, however, a waitress stopped at the pony's table with not one but two orange drinks on her tray. Once the pony paid for both and the waitress walked away, they hopped off their seat and locked eyes with his table. Making their intentions very clear, as they strutted over in a very cat-like manner with both drinks held in... her green aura.

Thanks to a spotlight partially illuminating underneath her hood, he knew from the soft curve of her jaw that it was a mare making a beeline to their table. Bulk and Squall were also watching the show, while Calm and Hearth were, at the very least, acting nonchalant about the whole situation.

Once she was close enough, she drew her hood back, revealing a muzzle that was as black as her costume and a vibrant orange mane that was braided and kept flat against her neck. "Good evening, Gentle-Stallions and Lady," She greeted with a distinctly noble accent before her eyes shifted towards his and Bulk's side of the table. "I couldn't help but notice some of you keeping a watchful eye over me. Instead of simply returning the favor, perhaps I could join you this festive night?"

Neil's first inclination was to say no, but Squall beat him to the punch as he spoke up. "Sure! The more the merrier on Nightmare Night, right? Got a name for us, Cutie?"

At the same time, he also noticed Calm giving his brother a look that asked what he was doing.

"My name is Hallowed Eve, which some of you might know." She answered as both of her drinks, which Neil now recognized as solar flares, settled onto the table right next to him.

In response, he not-so-subtly shifted a few inches closer to Bulk.

"I think so?" Squall confirmed, clearly thinking as to where he heard it. "Pretty sure Ripple mentioned your name."

"The Risque and Reward?" She countered and, upon Squall's nod, gave one of her own. "I would hope so if that is where you went costume shopping. After all, I made three of the costumes worn at this very table."

Before anything else could be said, the back edge of her costume lit up in her green aura. Initially, what Neil thought to be a fully encompassing body suit turned out to be bottomless, revealing the back half of her thighs and rump from the knees up. It just blended in so well with her fur he hadn't noticed. Still, she pulled the fabric past her thighs, revealing not only a matching orange tail tightly tied up in an almost unnoticeable flat bun, but a familiar smiling pumpkin emblazoned on her hip.

Of course, with her tail done up in such a manner, he easily caught more than a hint of pillowy black flesh, its sheen distinct enough compared to her well-groomed fur. He quickly jerked away, only to catch Hallowed Eve's green eyes looking directly at him.

"At least, almost three of the full costumes at the table," She continued, giving no hint of anger or embarrassment that she caught a stallion peeking under her tail. "I find the alterations to your large friend's Lunar Spear costume quite intriguing. I hope you don't mind if I ask what inspired you to change it, Mr.?"

"Neil," He answered, short and to the point, as he tried to ignore the mild heat building up on his cheeks at being caught. After all, it wasn't his fault she all but shoved her ass into his view.

"It's good to meet you, Neil," She offered, pulling her costume back to its original position. Afterward, she hopped into the seat next to him in a very cat-like manner, claiming it as her own. "Also, I would like to thank you for watching over me while I sat alone," She continued, as her aura covered one of the two drinks she brought with her and slid it in front of him. "A reward for gallant behavior."

'...Am I being flirted with right now?' Was all he could think, considering the mare's bold, up-front actions. It certainly felt like he was being flirted with, though from the opposite side of what he was used to. "Uh, thanks?"

Looking around at the rest of the group, there were some mixed feelings about a random mare joining the table. Calm and Hearth looked the most opposed, though Calm also looked resigned as if this was normal. Squall had a grin of approval firmly placed upon his muzzle. And Bulk was neutral overall, offering a subtle 'it's up to you' type of shrug.

"Sooo, this is Bulk," Neil started, introducing everyone as he tried to fish a proper topic out of the light, alcoholic haze covering his brain, "And that's Squall, and his brother Calm... Why were you sitting on your own and just watching everyone?"

"Good evening to you all, and that's simple, really," She said with a mirthful chuckle before taking a sip of her drink. "For a single night of the year, I have the chance to see my creations move and weave as if they were alive! Whether it be a spooky coven of witches brewing potions or a gallant knight watching over me. Nightmare Night is simply a delight to behold," She finished as she lost herself in her inner whimsy.

"So true. But, do you want to know what's more fun than sitting?" Squall asked as he wove a wing around his brother's shoulders. "Dancing! Speaking of, c'mon Calm. Let's go find some mares to add to our adventuring party!" He begged, trying to drag his brother out of the booth with him.

Begrudgingly, Calm followed, but only after he used his aura to remove Squall's wing. "He's been getting antsy for the last ten minutes. Anypony else want to come along?"

"Yeah, the more the merrier!" Squall cheered, loud enough that he was heard three booths down, judging by the heads turning to look.

"I'm not nearly drunk enough to attempt any sort of p- dancing," He admitted. However, he managed to catch himself before saying pony at least.

"I'm with Neil on this one," Bulk seconded, "If it ain't square dancing, then it ain't for me."

"Go ahead, Sir Squall, and Calm the Bard," Eve confirmed for the group, clearly enjoying the chance to delve a little too deeply into the role-play aspect of Nightmare Night. "We shall watch your backs from afar as you brave the battlefield of rhythm!"

Neil watched as Squall eagerly bounced and bobbed to the dance floor, his mane and tail flailing in time with the fast-paced music. As for Calm, he lived up to his name the entire way down as he sedately walked next to his brother. Once they reached the edge, both of them waited for a lull in the beat, then vanished from sight as they slipped into the crowd. At least, Squall vanished. He could still see Calm's floppy cap moving in time with the mob.

"Miss Eve," Hearth spoke up, drawing his attention back to the booth. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what are you expecting to happen tonight?"

"Honestly? Just Eve is fine, and I don't expect anything to happen tonight," She told Hearth. "I just want to have a few drinks, enjoy the festivities, and maybe ask Sir Neil about his costume, if he'll let me?"

"Ask about what, exactly?" He asked, suddenly feeling wary about the proximity of the mare beside him.

"Why, the detail and the precision of the enchantments on your costume, of course! I'm no slouch when it comes to making a costume if I say so myself. But, the enchantments can be very fussy at times," As Eve explained, she brought a hoof up to her forehead just above her horn. Once it was there, she started rubbing the spot with a pout.

"For example, a mild sticking enchantment on the prosthetic horn is included with your Lunar Spear costume. If I make the enchantment too strong, the customer risks pulling their fur out when they pull it off. Too weak, and it could fall off willy-nilly. I've settled on a relatively weak enchantment, but it flops around like Squall's horn. Your horn and cloak, though, I can feel the craftsmareship of the enchantments just sitting here," She admitted, her eyes flickering from his cloak to his horn as she mentioned them, only to go wide as she added, "-But only if you want to!"

"Maybe later," He quickly compromised, terrified at the prospect of this random mare finding out about his status... As well as the fact that his cloak was laced with enchantments or wards or whatever the hell they were! Perhaps she could identify what those were.

At the same time, he noticed Bulk leaning into Hearth and whispering something in her ear. After which, they both started scooting out of the booth. "Bathroom break, don' mind me any."

Once Bulk was free, Hearth slipped back into the booth on Neil's side as she pressed against Eve. "I hope you don't mind us mares cuddling up a little and letting the stallions have the other side?"

Eve quickly scooched further into the booth, to the point where she was almost pressed against him as she gave Hearth enough room. "I don't mind at all, Miss Hearth, being an equal opportunity cuddler myself," She all but purred as she joked.

Neil quickly slid himself and his drink down to the apex of the booth's curve, giving both mares all the room they needed as he wondered what was going on. And how did he end up alone, in a booth, with two mares that were being very friendly towards one another?

And, to top it all off, seconds later, a pale lavender Unicorn wearing the club's witch uniform showed up with a heavily laden tray full of drinks held in her bright pink aura. "Pardon me, mares, but is this entire order for the three of you?"

~~~

After that crisis was averted and the drinks were sorted, things calmed down in their little booth.

Bulk returned a few minutes later, apparently refreshed and full of vigor. He quickly slid back in and reclaimed his spot next to Neil. Between him and Hearth, they held a decently long conversation with Hallowed Eve that mainly revolved around her work and what she did in the off-season.

Roughly an hour after that, the DJ stallion finished with a speedy techno song before switching out with a bright green mare who sported a large bubblegum pink afro and looked half covered in paint that reacted with the lights. By that point, Neil's vision was getting a little hazy. At the same time, Squall and Calm returned from the dance floor with a trio of giggly mares trailing them, of which Neil couldn't remember a single one of their names.

All he knew about them was that two were wearing skintight superhero costumes. One was black and based on lightning, while the other was white and purple. The third mare wore a massive green wig, apparently having dressed up as their evil arch-nemesis. And finally, to sit at their booth, they had to pull up three unused chairs from another table. It was hectic, but Neil felt good about himself as long as he had a cup of booze in front of him.

Until he made the mistake of opening up his big, dumb mouth.

"I dunno how to dance," He admitted to the table, and whichever mare had asked him why he hadn't gone to the dance floor yet. It was the truth, after all, and one he didn't mind telling them at the time.

However, girls being girls, they couldn't just let it go as every one of them, except Hearth, burst into excited chatter. Neil couldn't follow as drunk as he was, but he understood a few snippets revolving around teaching him how to dance.

Even Squall joined in on the discussion, "The next song just started, and it sounds pretty slow. That's perfect for beginners!"

That sealed the deal for Squall's three mares and Eve while sealing his fate. With Eve's helpful aura steadying him, he managed to slip out of the booth without making an unsteady fool out of himself.

At the same time, Squall managed to hop out from his side of the booth on his own, and with two of the mares flanking him on each side, he made his way down to the dance floor. Leaving just him, Eve, and the Unicorn mare wearing the lightning superhero suit. Once he felt ready to go, Eve came up on his right, while Lightning Mare came up on his left before escorting him to the dance floor that was less packed at this late hour.

~
If you like the fast lane don't be slow,
'Kuz I'm giving you the green light to go.
~

"Now, dancing is easy," Eve told him, sounding just as drunk as he felt before she pressed the side of her body against his. He might have tipped over just from that if not for Lightning Mare on his left, who also pressed into him. "Just swaaay in time with the music, and tada! Dancing."

~
If you got something you wanna show,
Show it to me!
~

At first, it felt more like he was being shoved by both mares. However, each time he closed his eyes, it was hard not to focus on the music's vibration flowing through him, as well as the mares pressed against him. In two or three blinks, it was starting to feel less like he was being pushed around and more like he was flowing in time, lost in a trance.

A fourth blink and the empty space to Lightning Mare's left was filled by Squall and his two mares. With how close they were, it looked like they were one large group, swaying in time with the slow beat...

Only for the bass to speed up as the DJ mare transitioned to another, faster song. Without thought, the group matched the new pace, sweeping Neil along with them.

The next half an hour, at least, was a haze to Neil. It was a roller coaster ride of fast, then slow, then fast again. At some point, Squall left the dance floor, bringing all three mares and leaving him alone with Eve. Not that it bothered him too much. He was starting to get tipsy in his moves without the added stability. But she was just as drunk as he was, and together, they somehow managed to prevent catastrophe while experimenting with new dance moves they saw other ponies doing...

Only for the current song they were dancing in time with, to suddenly shift into a faster one without any warning.

~
One, two, three, four!
Gimme more, gimme more.
~

The sudden change shocked his mind, giving him an unusual amount of clarity at that moment. Enough for him to note that both of his front hooves were firmly gripping Eve's lower back, even though he didn't know how to hold things with his hooves, and that his extra long codpiece was fully entrenched between Eve's uncovered and decadently plush cheeks. Both were swaying and grinding in time to the new upbeat bass.

Before he could react or pull away from his downright disgusting performance, he heard an unknown female voice whispering clearly in his ear, even with the loud music. "You're such a delightful little morsel. Just a touch of alcohol, and you become a macro head with a micro brain. Oh, I simply cannot wait until we officially meet. But, until then... Farewell, Mon Capitaine!"

At the same moment the voice stopped speaking, he felt a large, scaly something whip against his ass with enough force to topple both himself and Eve. He inhaled painfully, as a stinging, almost searing sensation spread across both cheeks, as Eve quickly pulled herself out from under him.

"Neil, are you alright?" She asked, leaning close to him and steadying him on his belly with her aura. "Are you hurt? Did you pull a muscle?"

Unfortunately, what clarity of mind he had was already gone, replaced with the alcoholic haze he nurtured for most of the night. "Maybe," He muttered, trying to remember exactly what happened and somewhat failing, "I think I'm done dancing f'r the night, though."

"That's fine," She said, wobbling as she stood back up. Then, with her green aura, she helped him up as well. "My legs are starting to feel a little sore, too. You're really big, y'know?"

Author's Note

Who knew Ponies had such a simple calendar? 6 days a week. 5 weeks a month. 3 months in a season. Four seasons in a year. None of this messy 28-31 days a month mess, eh? ;P

.... I was this close to calling the chapter Mares Like Big Balls. because I'm an immature idiot.

P.S.- Really worried this chapter is where I jumped the shark.

13. Unexpected Exhibition

(November 1st: 15th Day Since Neil's Discovery)

Since time untold, friendly debates and awkward squabbles have come to pass between ponies, no matter their status in society. Some would proclaim to notice a distancing of the sun compared to the previous day. Some of the more foalish Nobility even went so far as to claim through gossip that Celestia herself informed them that they were correct. That she intentionally pushed the sun further away to cool the world.

Others would argue that it was a super secret weather plot brought about by the Pegasi and the upper echelons of the weather factory. After all, they used extra-long winters as a threat during the tribalist era. Why not keep it as a reminder, purely for tradition's sake, of course?

For Dainty Doily, she didn't care one way or another as she made her way to the kitchens. Today was another glorious morning brought about by both of her Princesses and thanks to the cool draft that nipped at her fetlocks throughout the halls, it was, without a doubt, the first day of winter. The only thing she could complain about, not to say there was much in that category, was her unchanging uniform. She wouldn't mind something thicker, maybe with extra frills and fabric, to combat the unforgiving chill during winter.

That wasn't enough to get her chipper mood down, however. Dainty felt like the luckiest mare alive for the past half a week! She had the privilege to serve not one but two princes within the castle. A rare honor indeed for a simple mare like her. Maybe even the first in recorded history since one was an actual, real-life, living and breathing Alicorn. Not that she expected to be written about in a stuffy old history text.

Still, before her giddiness could get out of control, she stopped and took a deep breath. Prince Neil, or just Neil as he preferred, wouldn't like it if she slipped up and called him by his title or anything besides his regular name. It was one of the biggest puzzles about him she just couldn't understand. And, after his display in the hall when she first saw him, she didn't know if she wanted to solve it. She still remembered him looking back at her with those sad, dead eyes, ready to give up on life...

That flash of memory only reaffirmed her desire to help him as she stood up straighter and continued to the kitchens. Whether or not she solved the mystery, she could, at the very least, help heal whatever mental wound caused those dead eyes. Even if it was one menial task at a time, like going to the kitchen, picking up today's menu, and placing it in Neil's suite for his perusal whenever he woke up. She could also get some light cleaning done as he slept, depending on how rough and tumble the room was after their night-time drinking excursion.

As she approached the kitchen staff entrance, she devoted a fraction of her focus to the door, wrapping it in her magic and pulling it open just as she entered. As she crossed the threshold, the serene silence of the hallway was replaced with the near-chaotic clashes and bangs of pots and pans being tossed about. Unless she watched an individual trajectory, she could never tell whether that was onto one of multiple stove tops or into strategically placed sinks. Accompanying the big bangs was the background noise of various foods cooking and sizzling away in their pans, metal whisks brushing against metal, and water sloshing as two ponies attacked the dirty dishware in the sinks.

Above all, multiple ponies shouted politely, asking for somepony to grab this herb off the shelf, that ingredient from the fridge, or take over watching a boiling pot.

It was a well-practiced dance between ponies who've worked together for years. One Dainty wasn't excluded from, as one of the closer chefs turned to her. "G'morning Dainty! Before you grab today's br'kfast menu, one of the guards left a r'quest on the board for you."

"Oh? Thank you for the heads up, Pastry!" She somewhat yelled above the din as she made her way over to the order board. It usually was reserved for the various orders throughout the castle, as the name implied. However, even with all the meticulously spaced pieces of paper aligned near the top, one was set aside in the bottom right corner. Expecting that to be hers, she removed the pin with her magic and brought it over.

To the staff assigned to Ambassador Neil,

By request of Sergeant Calm Water, please have a morning after special delivered to Ambassador Neil's suite by 9 AM or upon being summoned, with enough to serve five ponies, including Ambassador Neil.
Judging by my own headache, extra water would be appreciated.

Thank you.

A rowdy drinking excursion, indeed. Not that Dainty was expecting anything different since it was Nightmare Night. The extra water might be a bit of a problem. She could have placed the entire order onto two carts without that. But three? It would be a struggle, but she could manage it. However, that was a later problem to solve. It wasn't quite eight in the morning, leaving her an hour to spare.

She could go to the room now and see the state it was left in or, if anypony was up, see if they would like anything. On the other hoof, as she looked around the kitchen, a few sinks were unponied, and the dishes were piling up. As she watched, one of the chefs shoveled an entire pan's worth of hay bacon onto a platter with their spatula and tossed the used pan with expert precision to land on top of an ever-growing pile of pots.

It was a no-brainer, as her desire to clean honed in on the mess before her. A few thankful nods from the kitchen staff were her only acknowledgment as she joined the dance and trotted to one of the unattended sinks. With a scrub brush, a cloth, and a bottle of soap as her chosen weapons, she filled the sink with hot water and attacked the mess with delight!

So much so that the next hour had passed without her notice. Not until she felt another pony tap her shoulder and bring her out of her little cleaning bubble.

Pastry stood beside her with a big smile and a slightly dirtier apron. "The breakfast rush is almost over, and if I r'member right, your delivery is set for nine, right?"

"Nine by the latest, yes, but I haven't heard the bell chime." She confirmed, wiggling the ear with her enchanted chime slyly hidden against it. Honestly, she was slightly confused as to why she was interrupted. Until she looked over to the clock, which gave her a minor shock when she read the time as ten minutes to nine. "Oh my goodness! I must have lost track of time. Oh, I'm going to be late!"

"W'rry not Dainty; with all the help you've given us, we alr'dy prepped the carts," Pastry stated, pointing to a set of three gleaming silver carts with a hoof. The two larger carts had giant, party-sized silver platters and buffet-style hot plates stored on all three tiers. The top of a third, smaller cart was packed with water pitchers and glasses and had regular-sized platters in the bottom half. "You just need to rush that rump up there and deliv'r 'em."

"Oh, thank you, Pastry," She said while giving her a quick, joyful hug as she did her best to avoid Pastry's dirty apron. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

"Nah, with your help, we're alr'dy ahead of schedule for the lunch rush," Pastry informed her as the Pegasus mare extricated herself from the hug. "Now go, unless you want to be late?"

Taking Pastry's advice, Dainty quickly trotted to the carts as her yellow magic took hold of all three by their handles. With the two larger ones in front of her and the smaller one directly behind her, she carefully directed her miniature convoy out of the kitchen and towards the nearby servant's lift.

Even if she took things nice and slow for the trip, she would have a few minutes to set up and display everything correctly. In that regard, she was very thankful for how close the ambassadorial suites were to the kitchens. If she had to deliver this meal to the Infirmary, where Neil had stayed previously? Even at a trot, it was likely she would have been late.

The lift chimed, and the gate lowered automatically, allowing her to quickly exit before she pulled off each cart one at a time. Once all the carts were realigned with herself in the middle, she steadily made her way over to Neil's suite. And, with more than enough minutes to spare, his door came into view with a single guard standing at attention.

"Good morning, Sergeant Water was it?" She asked, putting on her best smile. "I have Neil's breakfast here and ready to go. Permission to enter?"

Normally, she would receive a short but professional nod from the guards on duty when entering an occupied room. However, this morning was shaping up to be anything but typical, as the guard's horn lit up with his sea-foam coloured magic, but the door did not. For a fraction of a second, she felt like she'd done something wrong... only for a newspaper to be withdrawn from the guard's breastplate and offered to her.

"Thank you for reading my suggestion, Mrs. Doily," He said, looking over the cart filled to the brim with water pitchers. "You might want to deliver this to Neil as well. There's an article that involves him."

"Of course," She agreed as she split off another sliver of focus and took the paper in her magic. "And don't just stand here and suffer yourself. There's plenty of water here if you need a glass."

"Don't worry about me. I had two large glasses and some hangover pills while getting ready for my shift," Sergeant Water told her as his magic surrendered the paper, took hold of the door, and opened it for her. "Ambassador Neil and the others need it far more than I do."

Given how late in the morning it already was, she had been half expecting to see at least one or two ponies up as she pushed into the living area. Instead, she was greeted with the remnants of a Nightmare Night party. The furniture was still in place, and thankfully, nothing was turned over or set askew. The only real mess she could see was parts of various costumes strewn about, accompanied by the faint smell of salt, sweat, and alcohol.

Once breakfast was set, she knew exactly what she needed to do next. She made it to the dining room quickly enough, only having to skirt around a few pieces of gold and silver costume armour and a construction helmet along the way. After that, it only took a few minutes to set the various platters on the table, with multiple pitchers of water evenly spaced between them (while leaving everything covered to preserve the heat).

With that done, Dainty exited the dining room with only the newspaper in her magic. She figured it would be best to deliver it when she woke Neil up. First, however, she had a living room to clean. After placing the newspaper on the fireplace mantle, she quickly scoured the room for anything unusual. Every piece of costume armour, both silver and gold, including the golden codpiece she found half-wedged underneath the couch, was collected and piled up next to the fireplace itself.

All four black and red cowgirl boots strewn around the room randomly were placed next to the door. Any articles of clothing that seemed to match the cowgirl theme were nicely folded and placed on top of the nearest display cabinet. She also put the construction helmet and a plaid vest she found on the same cabinet, but on the opposite side.

Neil's purple cloak had somehow landed on the reading nook seat. The added weight of the fur-lined hood stayed on the seat, but the rest hung over the edge and piled on the carpet. Instead of folding it, she hung the garment nicely over the back of Neil's regular sitting chair near the fireplace. While standing next to the nook, she cracked the bay windows open as far as they could go to allow some fresh air into the room.

Oddly enough, she even found a long, black cat tail that seemed to sway and react to her magic almost whimsically when she first picked it up. She found the accessory intriguing- At least, until she noticed the specific way it had to be inserted, to be worn. Once she noticed that aspect, she quickly placed that costume tail in the bathroom to be thoroughly cleaned.

Once all of the costume pieces that she could find were adequately sorted, she picked up the newspaper once more in her magic and made her way over to the door of the master bedroom. Obviously, she couldn't hear anything, but she wasn't going to assume Neil and the rest of his guards were asleep and barge in. Lifting a hoof, she gave three small, quick knocks and waited. If anything was happening on the other side of the door, a minute would be more than enough warning.

However, a minute passed, and nopony came to the door. She repeated the process again, only to receive the same response. With two warnings given, she eased open the door with her magic. She was immediately assaulted with an even more pungent smell of sweat and booze, as well as the not-so-subtle snores of a stallion.

There was a total of five ponies resting on Neil's large four-poster bed.

Teetering at the very edge of the base was Neil himself. He was lying on his back with one wing hanging over the edge and half-sprawled on the floor. All four of his legs were all over the place, revealing his entire stomach and groin, which was fully encased by a rather large silver codpiece. Still, she couldn't deny getting an eyeful of his cute, Alicorn-sized ponut. Bluey's was smaller since he wasn't an Alicorn, but his features were far more adorable in her admittedly biased opinion.

Neil’s neck was braced against the side of an unknown mare wearing a cat costume, curving along and on top of her belly so that Neil's head rested between her upright back legs and on her perky teats. The snoring she heard also came from the mare's groin as Neil blissfully slept the morning away.

On Neil's other side was a small cuddle pile made up of the three other ponies in the room. The red Pegasus she knew to be Squall Rider had his rump pressed against Neil's other wing, keeping it folded against his side. He was lying in the right direction but failed to reach the pillows leaning against the headboard. Not that it mattered since he was using Warm Hearth's flank as a pillow. The unknown mare also curved around to use his belly as a pillow.

Hearth was lying on her side with her back pressed against the headboard. She took full advantage of the pillows on offer, except where she placed her head, which was buried into, and unconsciously nuzzled against Bulk Order's sheath in her sleep. Unfortunately, this had the poor stallion shifting and mumbling in his sleep, causing his half-stiff erection to bob lazily in the air with each movement.

Both of Bulk's wings were fully extended, one of which was stiffly hanging over the edge of the bed and pointing at her. The other curved against Squall's side, ending up pointed into the air towards the canopy. As the pile came full circle, poor Bulk had his neck snugly wedged in the crevice between Squall's rump and Neil's side so that his head went up and over, ending up on Neil's chest where a small puddle of drool was collecting.

If not for the unintentionally erotic scene caused by an unconscious Warm Hearth and Bulk Order, Dainty would have found the entire situation before her adorable. As things currently sat, however, perhaps it was best to wake everypony up before things became too messy. That would allow everypony to take care of their morning business in a more private manner, at the very least.

She cleared her throat, coughing three times at a polite volume to gather the room's attention. Beyond a few unconscious ear twitches in her direction, she received no response. Not that she expected too much after the night of drinking they must have endured.

She tried the same thing a second time, but this time, she also spoke after clearing her throat. "Good morning!" She trilled, to minor success, as the head of the unknown mare turned to rest on her cheek with at least one ear perked while the other was caught in her cat hood. It took a few seconds before a lazy cat-green eye opened halfway to greet her.

Being polite, she gave the mare a wave of her hoof and a smile to match the sunlight streaming in through the uncovered balcony doors. "Good morning. Would it be fair to assume you're a guest of Neil's, Ms.?"

The mare closed her eye and held it like that for a couple of seconds before fully opening it and looking around in a limited fashion. "My name's Hallowed Eve," She groaned with an upper-class accent, clearly dealing with the effects of a headache. "The big guy mentioned nothing about hired staff last night."

"Oh, Neil doesn't pay me," She told the mare with a slight titter, "Everypony living in the castle is assigned staff to keep their rooms tidy."

Miss Eve hadn't been expecting that as her head shot up. She looked at her with shock and a hint of excitement mixed in. "I'm in the castle!?" She asked loudly. But, as quickly as her excitement came, it faded as her cheeks took on a greenish tinge, and her head fell back onto Squall.

Of course, this garnered an unwelcome whine from the stallion below her as his body shifted and kicked off the process of waking up.

"You are, and please, try not to vomit," Dainty begged, not wanting to add after-party cleanup to her list of duties that morning. "Once everypony is up, I'll take you to the dining room where I have breakfast and hangover medication waiting for you."

"... Somepony say hangover pills?" Squall asked as he opened his eyes, only to protect them from the sunlight immediately afterwards by raising a hoof. "Morn'n Dainty."

"Morning Squall," She greeted, answering his question with an affirmative nod. "Your brother sent me up with a morning-after buffet when you're ready."

"Celestia bless that stick in the mud, heh," He laughed painfully as he started to slowly extricate himself from the cuddle pile with the help of his wings.

With two ponies up, Bulk and Hearth didn't take long to join their compatriots outside the realm of dreams. Though, judging by their reddened cheeks and Hearth's awed exclamation at the erection brushing against her nose, perhaps they would have preferred a little more time to allow certain things to settle.

Poor Bulk quickly left the room after removing himself from the bed, presumably to take care of his morning glory on his own. Hearth looked torn, at the very edge of offering to help with his problem as he left. Dainty knew that feeling, having stumbled upon Bluey in similar situations long before he even had a herd. However, the poor guardsmare stayed in the room, making the right decision in Dainty's mind. Best to wait for a stallion to ask for your help with such problems instead of pushing your help on them and possibly forcing things too quickly.

That's how it worked out for her, at least.

Pushing her stray thought aside, that left two ponies still in the bed. Of them, the only pony still asleep was Neil, with his head firmly lodged between Miss Eve's back legs as his consistent snoring filled the room. Miss Eve made one last attempt to slowly remove herself without using magic, but because his muzzle and horn were nestled against the joints of her legs, she gave up in the end.

"So, are we going to mare up and wake the big guy?" Miss Eve asked after her latest failed attempt, half resigned and half looking forward to her fate, "Or am I stuck here as his pillow for the rest of the morning?"

"Well, the sooner Neil is up, the sooner I can serve you all breakfast," She told the poor mare while also thinking, 'And, the sooner you can down some hangover meds so I won't need to clean up after you.' After all, there was still a tinge of sickly green to the mare's fur from overdrinking.

Dainty activated her magic and grasped Neil's shoulder with it. With the amount of noise they already made, it was clear that it wasn't affecting him. So, she moved on to the next step as she applied her magic in a circular, rubbing motion. Light at first, but as the seconds passed, she applied more pressure. "Time to wake up Neil."

Miss Eve also seemed to catch on as she reached out with a hoof and started brushing along his neck and mane. After about a minute, they received their first indication that their efforts weren't in vain. Neil's body flopped on its side, now dangerously close to the edge, in an attempt to escape their touch. At the same time, his legs pulled themselves up against his body. No matter how adorable he made himself look, his unconscious movements were ineffective. A pony couldn't get away from magic that easily as the pressure continued.

"Breakfast is ready and waiting, Neil," She continued, adding another power boost to her magic. Doing her best and apparently succeeding in her attempt to push the stallion into a more wakeful state as his exhale was cut off midway through.

~~~***~~~

"Lemme alone," Neil mumbled at the odd sensations annoying him in his somewhat unconscious state. He felt, more than thought, that his body needed more sleep, and he was in complete agreement. However, the rusting of fur along his neck and the pressure rubbing against his shoulder just wouldn't let up, no matter what he did.

As he was further drawn away from sleep, he also started to notice other things. Like an odd softness his head was resting on. It was a little firmer than the pillows he used over the previous two days, but almost as good. There was also a slight pressure underneath his muzzle as if his chin was hooked against a bedpost. But that would be hard, wouldn't it? Confused, he pressed his chin against whatever it was and felt some give.

At the same time, the pressure on his shoulder increased, becoming even more annoying. He heard a flap of a wing, which might have been his own, but he felt nothing. Whatever it was, there was nothing connected to it. That oddity finally drew him out of his sleep with a grumble as he pressed his cheek into the soft pillow underneath him. "Fine, I'm up."

As he finished speaking, though, his lips closed around something small and soft, yet firmer than the rest of his pillow. Something that intimately reminded him of Abby as his not-quite pillow started to squirm underneath him. Regardless of the sudden pain, his eyes shot open. His bloodshot vision took in a blurry, sunlit mess of colour that reminded him of his room, but with a good chunk of solid black both underneath, and surrounding his head.

Surprised to find himself not resting against Abby's breast, Neil ripped himself away from whatever he was on in the blink of an eye (as he tried to stem the pain coming from that front at least). At the same time, he tried to roll onto his belly. Unfortunately, he quickly found out he was also at the edge of the bed, as he promptly rolled off it.

The next thing Neil knew, he was lying on his right side, with a wing pinned into the carpet underneath him as it rebelled in pain against his current position. He quickly fixed that by rolling onto his back, releasing his wing as he brought both of his hooves to his eyes to block the light from filtering through his eyelids and lightly rub away the pain.

"Neil!" The overly loud voice of Dainty Doily assaulted his ears as she ran up next to him, telling him there was at least one pony in his room without permission, besides whoever or whatever he had been sleeping on. "Are you alright?"

"What the fuck is going on?" He half spat, half groaned in pain, both from his sore throat and his voice as it echoed through his muddled skull. At the same time, he managed to pick up more than one sharp intake of breath as he continued, "And why're you all in my room?"

"Well, to answer your first question, breakfast has been served in the dining room," Dainty told him softly. He could tell she was almost whispering, but she still sounded unusually loud to him. At least her words weren't painful, as his ears turned to focus on her. "Including hangover medication to ease your obvious headache. As for the second question, I can only assume your guards are waiting for you out of politeness while Miss Eve was stuck underneath you as you slept."

"Not to say I disliked being your pillow, Big Guy." A voice he vaguely recognized from last night said from somewhere above him. "I'm still amazed your horn stayed in place throughout the night."

It felt like a bucket of ice had been dumped over him, chilling his nerves as the image of how he was lying and everything a mare above him could see blossomed in his mind. On instinct, his body pulled in on itself. First, his tail flipped onto his belly, covering everything as best it could before his back legs folded in, pinning it against the large, metallic codpiece that was thankfully still in place.

"I had another pony sleeping in bed with me!?" He lamented, half-terrified by the drunken possibilities that could have happened the night previously. The only thing that kept his mind from full-blown panic was the single piece of metal still strapped onto his body and currently pressing an outline into his groin.

"It wasn't just me, but everypony..." Whatever the mare above him- Eve! Hallowed Eve, the pony dressed as a black cat that prowled into the club alone, was about to say as she trailed off for some unknown reason. "Why are you all shaking your heads? I don't see anything wrong with a group of ponies cuddling up in the same bed."

A full group? As in, his entire guard squad sleeping with him? In his bed? What the hell happened last night!... And, was this the first time? By that time, all the frantic thoughts coursing through his mind nigh on doubled the pain pounding throughout his skull, evolving his headache into an almost migraine.

He really needed some medication as he forced himself to roll onto his belly. Not only to further cover himself from any mares that might be looking inappropriately but also to give his legs a firm foundation as he mentally prepared himself to stand on all fours.

Squall chose that moment to jump in with a simple request. "Before this gets out of hoof, can I just say one thing?"

It was very tempting for Neil to snap at Squall and say no as he forced himself to stand on wobbly legs. But, given his lack of memory from the previous night, there was a good chance he might have jumped to conclusions that may or may not have happened. Once his legs were firmly locked in place and his chance of falling was slim, he half-opened a painful eye to test the waters as he looked over to Squall. "Fine."

"You drank yourself into a stupor last night," Squall stated, dropping a harsh truth at the beginning before he continued, "To the point Bulk had to carry you all the way back to the castle. Eve was on a similar cloud, and we couldn't understand what she said when we asked for her address. So Hearth carried her here, as well. By the time we made it, it just made sense to crash on your bed y'know? It's large enough for everypony to sleep on. And as far as I know, that's all we did."

"It didn't smell like anything untoward happened when I entered the room," Dainty seconded, adding weight to Squall's version of events.

"They're right," Eve added, choosing that moment to finally hop off his bed and slowly walk towards the door. "Honestly, with the number of stallions in your little group, I was half expecting to wake up feeling both stretched and very satisfied. At the very least, I wouldn't mind being covered in stallion seed after last night's drinking, but no. I was unlucky in that regard, unless you count the small patch of drool on my teats," She teased at the end with a slight chuckle.

"So it wasn't the costumes?" Neil asked since he was reasonably sure he remembered when and why she joined their table the previous night. "You were just looking for a quick lay instead?"

"On the contrary, I find it quite invigorating to spend time with ponies who enjoy my work," She countered as she reached out with a hoof and opened the door manually. "If I can give said ponies an extra reward we both enjoy at the end of the night, why not?"

She exited the room but remained near the door with a graceful spin as she held it open for the rest of them, "Now, I have a splitting headache to the point I dare not use my magic. With the amount you downed, I can only imagine the pain you're in, Big Guy, let alone your compatriots. Perhaps we should medicate ourselves before we continue this conversation?"

With multiple confirmations from somewhat trustworthy sources, Neil was fairly sure nothing overly sexual had happened during the night. Besides waking up in a very compromising position, that is. But, whether or not he settled on being annoyed at Eve for being complicit or clearing her as an innocent drunk, she hit the nail on the pulsing, painful head with her desire to get rid of their collective hangovers.

With a half snort, he turned around to properly face the door, making sure his tail stayed in place as he did so. "Sure, medicine first, figuring out last night later."

"Before I escort you all to the dining room, there's one quick matter I need to take care of first," Dainty spoke up before a newspaper he hadn't noticed, which was held in her yellow aura, made itself known by levitating towards him. "Sergeant Calm mentioned a story about you in today's paper."

Neil was familiar with the newspapers distributed around Canterlot. He'd picked quite a few out of the garbage on the streets if they looked relatively intact. They served as another source of information about the society around him if it was written in a script that he could read. The Canterlot Castle Herald was one such paper, as he extended a wing and plucked it out of the air once it was close enough.

Still, he wasn't even awake for ten minutes and already felt like he was being pushed to the edge. First, he woke up with a skull-splitting headache. Then he found out that he apparently slept with not only his guard detail but used a mare he had only met the day previously as a pillow. Now, there was a news article about him. He couldn't see the entire front page with the way it was folded, but it was enough to read the title and sub-title for the main story.

Diplomatic Relations Declared!
Lost Stallion a Long Way From Home.

Underneath that, taking up the rest of the space on the folded page, was the top quarter of a photo, which showed off not just his hairstyle but also his injured horn against the opulent stonework of the castle in the background.

He couldn't help but groan loudly as he folded his wing and slipped the paper underneath it simultaneously. Things were about to get even more messy, but he could deal with that later. For now, all he had to do to fix his hangover was down some pills and survive breakfast. After that, he would escort Hallowed Eve out of his apartment, and Calm, or whoever the current guard station at his door, would escort her out of the castle. The chances of seeing her again after that were slim, and he could forget all about mistaking her for Abby in his sleep.

When he started moving towards the door, Dainty hopped to his side. Squall and Hearth also chose to exit at that moment. Squall made their way towards the dining room since he already knew where it was, but Hearth stood by the door, waiting for him and Dainty for some reason. It didn't matter, though, as he exited the room, and as a group, he and the three mares around him all followed Squall...

With only a minor detour, he grabbed his cloak off his chair when he saw it and threw it onto his back in a haphazard manner. Was it lazy? Yes. But as he walked back, Dainty surprised him by straightening out his cloak with her aura and fastening it properly. Though she did it without asking or saying anything, the assurance from knowing he couldn't be gawked at like a piece of meat so quickly by the mares around him outweighed the minor annoyance from her unannounced initiative.

When everyone was seated in the dining room, Dainty's aura went into overdrive, filling the room with a yellow glow. Plates, cutlery, glasses of water, and small saucers, each with two familiar green pills, settled down by every occupied chair. Platters of food already sitting at the centre of the table had their lids removed. Heaping piles of scrambled eggs, toast, hashbrowns, pancakes, and even bacon appeared one by one. The familiar aroma of a hearty campfire breakfast filled the room.

She even set an extra place for Bulk, presumably, even though Neil had yet to see any sign of the larger Pegasus. It felt odd to him to be in a room of ponies without Bulk there to act as a silent buffer of sorts. Still, no one else made a fuss or called out his absence, so he let his focus slide toward more pressing matters. Mainly the pills that promised relief in ten minutes or less, sitting on the saucer in front of him.

Once they were both downed, along with most of the water in his glass, he turned to Squall, who was also chugging down his entire glass. "Do you know where Bulk is?"

"I'm pretty sure I know where he is," Squall said with a grin, loud enough for the table to hear him once he placed his empty glass on the table. Instead of saying what he knew, the Pegasus looked over to Hearth on the other side of the table. "But you might want to ask Hearth just to make sure."

Hearth didn't look Squall's way, too focused on serving herself eggs and hashbrowns. But she also answered briskly before Neil could repeat his question. "Bulk's in the bathroom. When he woke up, he was feeling a bit off compared to the rest of us."

He took her answer at face value, hoping Bulk would recover soon and rejoin them. Otherwise, if his hangover meds didn't kick in soon, the overwhelming smell from all the food on offer might force him to join Bulk in the bathroom as well. In an attempt to ignore the nauseating feeling in his stomach and allow his meds to kick in, Neil unfolded the newspaper and focused on the front page.

As expected, most of the paper was taken up by a large black-and-white photo of himself. He even recognized where it was taken since he was ascending the grand staircase in the castle entrance hall. The photographer (cited as Quick Capture) managed to catch a decent shot of his face as he looked back and down at the crowd of nobles with his entire guard detail surrounding him. Oddly, he couldn't remember seeing anything remotely like a camera flash as he ascended the stairs that day.

The story itself started on the next page.

Late last night, with only an hour of sunlight remaining before Canterlot's Nightmare Night festivities were set to begin, we at the Canterlot Castle Herald received an official missive from Princess Celestia. While vague on some details, the Princess has opened up negotiations with a foreign...

As the story unfolded, he learned that Celestia had been exceedingly reserved with any information she put in her missive about him. She only allowed the basics to be revealed, like his name and a simple description of his looks. Celestia even declined to release the name of his country, which he found to be more than a little odd. One would think a diplomatic news article would reveal the name of the country to which they were opening diplomatic ties. Still, she was keeping that close to her chest.

After that, the article devolved into speculation about how he ended up in Equestria. An unnamed court mage with Celestia's complete confidence offered a few educated theories. The Canterlot Castle Herald seemed to latch onto Tirek's assault on Ponyville as the cause after he stripped Eris of her essence. From there, the story explained how no pony could contain all that chaos magic, not even Tirek. This could then lead to unstable chaos portals opening up across Equestria. One of these portals could have formed near him and possibly dropped off in the middle of Canterlot.

In the article, he was painted as a poor, unlucky victim of the Tirek assault. A stallion in need of help, which wasn't too far from the truth as much as he hated to admit it. As the benevolent and charitable leader of all pony-kind, Celestia was more than willing to take the wayward stallion under her wing and help him in the name of friendship. After skipping two paragraphs of adoration and praise for her royal ego, the story felt more like a propaganda fluff piece than breaking news.

Thankfully, the praise was near the end of the article. By that point, the pulsing pain in his skull was gone, and the scent of food wasn't bothering him anymore. In fact, the thought of breakfast was becoming increasingly appetizing by the second as he folded the newspaper back up and placed it face-down on the table. As he looked over the spread, his stomach became known with an appreciative, if demanding, growl.

Before he could even settle on the first dish he wanted to try, the underside of his plate gained a yellow glow as it lifted an inch off the table. "Is there anything in particular you would like this morning, Neil?" Dainty politely asked from behind.

"Bacon and eggs," Was the first thing that came to mind since he was still slightly surprised that bacon existed. That had to be the first meat product he'd seen since he arrived. The only downside he noted was the lack of breakfast sausages to complete the greasy breakfast trifecta. Still, he was more than willing to point out a stack of pancakes to fill up the rest of his plate.

The food, as always, was addictive, though he found the bacon had a strange texture. It tasted good, of course; otherwise, he wouldn't have eaten it. But he couldn't deny that this was the first pony food that wasn't categorically better in every way compared to home. Perhaps the ponies had an odd way of preparing their bacon? Still, with everything else that was on offer for breakfast, he easily overlooked that minor detail.

Shortly after Dainty filled his plate the first time and set it down in front of him, Bulk quietly pushed into the room. His hair was damp, hinting that he must have recently finished showering. Even then, he still looked slightly off, confirming Hearth's earlier words about how unwell he must have felt. Without much fanfare, Bulk was quick to claim the only open spot across from Neil and down the pills sitting there without hesitation.

Beyond that minor interruption, however, breakfast trundled onward. At first, only the sounds of silverware scraping against plates and ponies enjoying their food filled the room. However, Squall was quick to change that by filling the room with small talk.

He started with Eve by asking her, "Now that Nightmare Night's over, what do you plan to do today?" And moving on from there. Eve planned to do inventory on the costumes she hadn't managed to sell to shops around Equestria and plan for next year. Bulk was next, and he only had a little planned since his shift started in a few hours.

Squall even asked Neil himself, and he had to take a moment to think. In the end, the very room they were in gave him an idea. "Furniture shopping, I think. To replace all the eye-burning white in the apartment."

Squall was quick to offer his services and tag along.

Given Squall's costume taste, Neil was uneasy about relying entirely on the Pegasus. But he had yet to learn what shops were the best, let alone where any of them were. And, an extra guard hanging around, even if Squall was off duty, would be helpful if someone recognized him from the newspaper article. So, he reluctantly agreed.

Once that round of questioning was finished, Squall shifted to needling Hearth about the differences between the castle garrison and the city watch garrison.

When Eve wasn't being asked a question or getting otherwise distracted, she also had the odd tendency to sneak looks at him. He remembered her doing the same thing last night at the club before joining their table. Unlike then, however, he wasn't pleasantly buzzed with alcohol. Now, he found it slightly annoying whenever he'd look up and see her green eyes abruptly shifting away.

He ignored it for now. All he had to do was stick to his plan, and everything would work itself out. As he carefully dished himself a second plate full of scrambled eggs and a few pieces of toast, he once again caught Eve looking at him.

Instead of looking away like she normally would, this time, she waited for him to finish as he placed his plate down before addressing him. "You're rather dashing in your Alicorn costume, Big Guy, but it's also quite distracting," Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly in concentration, as she looked at him. "Do you mind if... I..?"

At first, her eyes shifted slightly upward, focusing on something specific before her horn lit up, only for them to widen in shock and confusion half a second later. Simultaneously, for the first time since the night of his capture, Neil also felt a sensation originating from his horn. A light tug at the very base, as a faint green glow emanated from just above his eyes.

The entire room went silent. Bulk and Squall paused mid-bite, eyes fixated on what was happening between him and Hallowed Eve. Hearth also paused but quickly and silently set aside her fork before her aura vanished from the silverware. However, her horn remained shrouded in orange light as she slipped out of her chair and stood, tense and ready for anything.

Hallowed Eve didn't seem to notice any of that, too transfixed on what she was doing, or... what she just learned about his horn in particular. "That isn't a simple sticking charm. That's an honest-to-Celestia suppression ring. But, with the plaster- that would mean..." She said, more to herself in shock, as her eyes darted between his horn and his functional wings, which rustled irritably against his side.

"I'm sorry for touching your horn, your Highness!" She cried without warning as she jumped out of her chair. Instead of running, she ducked under the table just as quickly, disappearing from his sight.

While everyone else in the room reacted to her sudden panic in different ways, Neil locked up, feeling slightly dumbfounded at her sudden shift.

Bulk and Squall jumped from their chairs and took to the air. With a single, mighty flap, Bulk pushed himself across the room and towards the door before he stopped and turned around. In a way, Bulk's hovering stance reminded Neil of a goalie protecting a net. Squall took the opposite approach and, after a tight loop, slipped under the table as well.

However, the star of the show was Hearth. Without moving, the orange aura around her horn flared. And, a second or two later, Hallowed Eve, restrained in a bowing position due to Hearth's aura, hovered back into view above the table.

"She didn't try to do anything. Miss Eve just dropped into a bow, Sir," Hearth informed him immediately.

Squall, who was still underneath the table, was quick to verify her claim. "I'll second that. She didn't do anything aggressive."

Without a doubt, Neil's little charade was over as he groaned, frustrated, at how close his plan came to fruition. "God fucking damn it," He muttered to himself, causing Dainty beside him to squeak. 'All I want is one thing, just one thing, to go right! Obviously, that's not allowed in fucking horse land.'

As he sat there thinking to himself, he couldn't help but keep a watchful eye on Eve as she hovered level with the table, squirming against the aura restraining her. It was unsettling to watch and reminded him of his first day in the castle when Celestia herself held him mid-air in a similar position.

Before his building unease became too much, he gave Hearth a snap order, "Put her down, please."

Without a word, Hearth altered Hallowed Eve's posture into a sitting position and placed the mare back in her chair. After which, the aura surrounding both Eve and Hearth's horn faded away, dissipating into the air as if the black and orange unicorn had never been held at all.

"Thank you, Your Highness, thank you!" Eve rushed, the moment she was able to speak, "A thousand apologies for-"

"Stop! Before you get any stupid ideas in your head, I'm not a king, a prince, or any sort of nobility whatsoever. At most, I'm an Ambassador," He sneered with a not-so-small amount of vitriol for his title, "Of my home country, even if it's a stupid plot cooked up by Celestia to keep me here in the castle."

"But, can't you leave the castle whenever you want?" Squall asked as his head poked out from underneath the table. Shortly followed by the rest of his body as he reclaimed his seat. "Don't forget, you have that trip to Ponyville in a few days!"

"A trip, meaning I have to return here eventually," Neil groaned as if he was explaining things to a toddler... Only to catch sight of Squall's teasing grin. "Anyway, we have more important things to deal with."

"If you mean Miss Eve knowin' about you, that ain't much of a problem." Bulk cut in as he casually walked back to the table and reclaimed his seat next to Eve. "She'll need to sign a document like Hearth did when you were first found, but that's about it."

"Yeah. But, the sooner she signs the NDA, the better." Hearth added, keeping an eye on the nervous-looking mare. "Calm and I can take her to the archive after breakfast."

"Hold up," Neil interrupted, remembering his night at the Brass Bells when NDAs were mentioned for the first time. "Hearth I can somewhat understand. She exposes me, and losing her job is the least of her worries. The same probably goes for the rest of you. But how's a stupid piece of paper going to stop Eve from telling the world about me?"

"Our NDAs are enchanted contracts?" Hearth half-told and half-questioned while giving him an odd look. "Unless somepony is already in the know, telling them about you would, well, let's say it would be undeniable that we broke our word."

"Enchanted?" Neil countered, exasperated by the uncertain way the entire world, perhaps even the universe, worked. "You mean, more B.S. like the perception wards?"

"Similar, though wards tend to be carved into permanent structures and draw in ambient magic from the environment for power," Hearth explained as she sat down at the table, her fork relighting with her aura as she picked up where she left off. "Enchantments are a little more specialized and take a different skill set to create. A skill set I'm not the most studied on. I remember Miss Eve boasting about her enchanting abilities last night, though. Would you like to explain?"

During the entire exchange, Hallowed Eve's head twitched back and forth, focusing on one speaker after another with an unmistakable, nervous energy about her. She was clearly terrified that something besides signing an NDA would happen, and she squeaked when Hearth shone the spotlight on her.

However, she was also quick to recover. "Um, I could, but I'm also a little confused about the subject at hoof?" She questioned, glancing nervously around the room from one person to the next before settling on him. "Your High- Neil? Sir? Is an honest-to-goodness Alicorn. But, with all this talk about NDAs, it means he's supposed to be kept a secret? At the same time he's also a public ambassador? Is that correct? I'm also confused as to why you would keep your horn in a plaster cast?"

Neil took a deep breath and slowly released it as he went over her slightly frantic questions. There was no use snapping at her because she was just as much a victim of circumstance as he was. "First, it's just Neil. Second, you'd have to ask Celestia. And third, I ran into Bulk and almost snapped the useless thing off."

He expected more questions in response to his short and pointed answers. After giving his final point, however, Hallowed Eve physically recoiled at his admission. Visibly curling in on herself a little, as if to form a protective bubble... before stopping and looking towards him again with a new emotion. One he did not care for in the slightest, even if he couldn't determine whether it was sympathy or pity.

"In that case, I hope you get better soon, then, Neil."

He gave her a quick, noncommittal nod to her well-wishes as he avoided her gaze. He glanced around the table for something new to focus on before settling on his cooling breakfast. "Anyway, the sooner we finish, the sooner I can get some peace and quiet."

To further his point, he took a big spoonful of scrambled eggs and chomped down, signalling his unwillingness to continue talking.

The rest of the ponies around the table slowly picked up where they left off. Some, like Squall, even increased their pace since he was talking less than he was previously.

Still, he couldn't help but pick up Eve, whispering excitedly to Bulk, "Would this make me a member of a super secret club? Or even better, a royal conspiracy?" To which the large Pegasus merely gave her a shrug as he finished off his plate.

When everyone else had finished, Dainty quickly collected all the dirty dishes and stacked them neatly on one of the carts. At the same time, the breakfast leftovers were placed on the second large cart. This left the third cart empty, revealing how much the small group had managed to devour.

With one final cue, Dainty held the door to the living room open, allowing everyone but her to exit. Neil assumed she had to do some extra cleaning but preferred to do so out of sight, which was okay with him.

As everyone exited his apartment, Neil felt he was finally allowed to sit in his chair and enjoy some much-needed peace and quiet as he thought over the newspaper article. But, as the door slowly closed behind Squall, who was the last to exit his apartment, he couldn't help but hear him ask Hallowed Eve in the hallway, "So, what's it like to be the first mare in history to sleep with an Alicorn stalli-"

Only for his voice to cut off as the door slipped closed with an affirming click. 'Fuck my life.'

~~~

Beyond a few sparks of recognition and whispers in the streets, Neil's afternoon seemed to be going better than the disaster that had been his morning. Despite his worries, no pony approached him to ask about the article or introduce themselves. He had no idea whether that was because he had a guard escort or because the Canterlot Castle Herald's Sunday edition wasn't that popular. Not even the Sales Representatives he spoke with knew anything about him, which he was perfectly fine with.

Not to say everything went swimmingly. Some of the lower-end furniture boutiques Squall had pointed out to him had accent pieces in the colours he was looking for, whether they be faded purples, blues, greys, or blacks. But for the most part, everything in Canterlot had to be authentic. Meaning the majority of wooden furniture he was looking to replace, like his dining room table, had to be custom-made and shipped from a town called Hollow Shades. The only place in Equestria where naturally grey wood grew.

Of course, the first shop he visited, he suggested staining the wood grey as a simple and practical solution... only to be escorted out and banned by the deeply offended proprietor from shopping there ever again.

Nevertheless, he learned from that mistake. When it came to common sense and simplicity, it was best to keep his mouth shut when dealing with up-their-own-ass-upper-class ponies. After hours of walking and browsing multiple shops, he filled a quarter of the cart Bulk was pulling behind him.

The rest, unfortunately, had to be ordered in. It would take at least a week to build the furniture to Neil's specifications and ship it to Canterlot by train. Thankfully, Bulk dutifully took every order form from each shop and slipped it inside his armour for later organization. Now that he was on a budget given to him by the Equestrian government, it was going to be a nightmare keeping track of every little thing he spent.

Shortly after Neil finished his last order in a middle-class shop Squall thought to bring him to, two out of the three of them found themselves resting in a park. Despite offering, Bulk refused to unhook himself from the cart and stood at attention while Neil and Squall sat on a nearby park bench.

As they sat and enjoyed the cool breeze blowing through the air, Neil couldn't help but think something was missing. Something that wasn't just furniture or rugs to replace and cover things up. Perhaps he could buy something to hang on the walls? That felt like the right direction, but given the other shops in Canterlot, a single painting would probably blow his budget out of the water.

However, before he could pinpoint the exact idea in his mind, a sudden, booming whoosh overwhelmed the area, shocking him out of his thoughts. Looking around, he wasn't the only one affected by it. Bulk was suddenly on alert, inching himself and the cart closer to the bench. While Squall instinctively shot up five feet into the air, swivelling around to find the source.

The few ponies milling about in the park were also looking around, when-

BOOM!

That blast had enough force to rattle Neil's bones, but he knew it came from the south. On instinct, he spun around in his seat. He couldn't tell if it was awe-inspiring or goddamn terrifying, but he had just enough time to see a white, nuke-like pillar in the distance reaching up into the clouds.

In a matter of seconds, his vision was blocked as Bulk managed to spin the cart around and position it between Neil and whatever had happened. After that, he tried to unbuckle himself from the restraints.

Bulk was too late, though, as seconds after he stopped, one building, then another, and another vanished into a rapidly approaching cloud of white. Was it fog? Something else? Neil couldn't comprehend, and his legs were unwilling to move...

And then Bulk, the cart, and Squall disappeared as it hit. A sudden blast of cold tore through his fur and knocked him off the bench, only for everything to fade to black.

Neil couldn't quite tell if time had passed or if it hadn't. It didn't feel anything like the night he cracked his horn, and he didn't feel any pain. It was getting a little hard to breathe, though, being buried under whatever he had been buried under. It wasn't hot, like ash. It almost felt like... snow. Had Canterlot been hit by a random avalanche?

Whether it was or not, the moment that word popped into his mind, he remembered his basic safety. He shifted and squirmed, creating the largest air pocket he could while restrained. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he didn't know which, he felt the ground against his wings. Informing him that he was at the lowest possible depth. At the very least, it gave him an idea.

After some wriggling, he managed to get one of his front legs underneath him. With that and both of his wings, he pushed up. It wasn't a wing-up, exactly. It was the opposite, but it worked as he managed to poke his head up out of an unexpected layer of snow now blanketing the entire park. He wasn't the only one, either.

Bulk had already half-dug himself out of the snow. And Neil could hear Squall groaning loudly to his right. Turning in that direction, he saw Squall's rump sticking out from the green leaves of a nearby tree.

"I'm guessing this doesn't happen often?" Neil asked, suddenly feeling rather faint after what just happened.

"Eeenope," Bulk all but growled as he finally unhook himself from the cart. After which, he slowly pushed through the snow towards Neil.

At that point, Squall managed to get himself unstuck and flopped down into the snowbank at the base of the tree. "I hate to contradict, but whatever that was, it came from Ponyville."

By that point, Bulk was close enough that Neil could hear him grumbling to himself, "O' course it did," before pushing aside the snow burying Neil with his wings.

Ponyville. That one small town seemed to be the center of multiple catastrophes. First, it was the Tantabus, and now it was what Neil could only describe as a snow nuke. The very same town he was set to visit in a few days... Suddenly, he wasn't looking forward to his trip away from Canterlot nearly as much as he had ten minutes ago.

~~~***~~~

Whether you called it by its official name, the Mountainside district, or its unofficial nickname, the Outskirts, chances were any pony could find close what they were looking for in the area. Unlike the other sections of Canterlot with strict zoning laws that relegated specific colors, themes, and zoning types, Canterlot's newest district was a loose hodgepodge of small business and residential buildings intermixed in a strange pattern of unique, unrestricted colors and architecture.

One such building was Sunny Side Residential Apartments. When the ten-story building was designed and built two decades ago, it was state-of-the-art. Some decried it as looking too blocky and uniform, but the designers managed to fit plenty of small but cozy-feeling apartments into the building despite its more moderate size. With its Manehatten-styled exterior and sun-yellow stucco to catch the eye of prospective renters, the business had been a success- at first.

Over the last ten years, the building was beginning to show its age. Whether it was from a lack of maintenance due to stingy owners or another reason entirely, nopony knew. It was a shame, too, as chips and cracks formed in the now faded, almost sickly shade of yellow stucco exterior, making the building look dilapidated and abandoned. The only arguable upside brought about by the building's appearance was the cheap rent, which drew in an odd assortment of desperate and/or quirky denizens willing to live there.

As the day slowly came to a close and the sun was about to set one such resident was frantically running about her apartment. Each window in the apartment had been closed shut and sealed, with the curtains drawn to block out all light from entering- all but one, which allowed a sliver of light to peak through the curtains and reflect off of a full-body mirror, the only piece of furniture in an otherwise sparse bedroom.

Despite the near-absolute darkness imposed upon the apartment, the owner navigated around the furniture and other obstacles with expert ease. 'Anti-scrying wards, check!' She thought to herself as she pressed a hoof to the rune carved on the underside of her kitchen table. A brief burst of green, almost fire-like magic erupted from the wood, lighting up the otherwise ordinary-looking kitchen before vanishing.

'That should last the next two hours, at least,' She thought to herself, going over how much magic she pumped into the array a second time in her head. Without question, she fed it a consistent amount of magic over the last month.

But that didn't mean she could relax as she skittered to the living room. She couldn't waste a single second, lest she risk punishment or worse tonight. Once she was in the room, she honed in on the couch. Her horn burned with magic, overwhelming the blackness of the room with a comforting green glow from multiple sources as she ripped the removable cushions off her couch.

When she first moved in, she had been impressed by the building's natural insulation and sound-dampening properties. However, given her line of work, a drone could never be too careful as she approached and looked upon a second rune array. This one was different in many ways, but activating it was the same as she pressed her hoof to the edge. Again, more green fire burst to life without damaging the surface. However, a small emerald glow became briefly visible in every corner of her apartment for only a moment. This included the living room, drawing her attention and confirming the sound-dampening runes were active.

Now that she was relatively safe, she dropped her pony disguise. It was rare for her to indulge in her proper, superior form, but tonight was one of those nights as she replaced the couch cushions. Once that was done, she lovingly extended her wings, stretching them for the first time in a month, then took off. Relishing in the opportunity to buzz through the air and fly through the open door of her ritual room.

Once inside, she came to a mid-air stop and closed the door. Superfluous magic use was a waste for any Changling, especially her, as she landed and sat in front of the mirror. The transition between day and night would happen in less than a minute, giving her a brief but critically vital reagent to enact her ritual.

And, just as she thought about it, what little light creeping through the room faded away as Celestia's fiery orb in the sky withdrew itself from yet another day. Magic flooded her horn, creating a high-frequency buzzing sensation across its entire length. Still, she needs to release the built-up power. She had to wait since the timing of the ritual had to be perfect.

'5, 4, 3, 2, 1...'

A beam of moonlight pierced the sudden darkness, hitting the centre of the mirror and reflecting to illuminate a small black orb of crystal placed on the ground. With only seconds to spare as the moon rose in the darkened sky, she released her magic. A fraction of it was used to spark two blackish-green resin candles on either side of the orb, while the rest flooded the small circle array connecting the orb and the mirror.

For a second, black smoke wafted up from the candles... Only for it to be pulled by an unperceived but focused wind and be drawn across the orb. When the smoke reached its destination and caressed the orb, it somehow became more ominous, with its mere presence becoming darker. She shivered at the sudden drop in temperature and released the rest of her magic. At that moment, where once there was a reflection of a dark, empty room with only a sitting bug-like pony, it changed.

Light flooded through the glass, revealing a well-lit, expansive chamber carved from a black-green, obsidian-like substance she knew to be Changeling resin. In the center of the room, sitting on a raised dais, was the Queen's large, green, pod-like bed (a luxury that very few Changelings in the hive earned). From previous reports, she knew her mirror would connect to the mirror closest to the Queen.

This time, she was connected to the Queen's personal vanity, one of the few luxuries Queen Chrysalis allowed herself in the otherwise open room. However, an imposing black form took up most of the mirror before she could take in much more of her Queen's chambers. Like her, the being sitting in front of the mirror was covered in black chitin. Unlike her, however, Queen Chrysalis was more significant, with a captivating, elongated neck from which grew her enchanting cerulean mane.

"Calyce, I've been expecting you," Queen Chrysalis stated in a deceptively happy tone up front. At the same time, her Queen's undertone clearly demanded pure obedience and servitude. "Anything to report on Operation Sunset? Any new breakthroughs on infiltrating the castle?"

Calyce had already been seated stiffly before making the connection. Now that her Queen was demanding new progress and knowing how little progress had been made over the last month, she was rigid with fear. "No, My Queen."

"No?" She asked, sounding quaintly perturbed before her voice grew darker and darker as she continued to speak. "Are you telling me Operation Sunset has not made a single advancement in the last month? Do I need to remind you of the risks you put yourself and the hive in with every day spent on this operation?"

"No, My Queen," She spoke honestly, hoping beyond hope that she could inform the Queen about her discovery before being replaced and demoted to a lowly digger. "I understand perfectly, but-"

"But what, Calyce!?" Queen Chrysalis shrieked harshly, causing all the glass in the room to vibrate. "Is impersonating a pitiful pony too much for you? Should I send a replacement with the proper training?"

"N-No, My Queen!" Calyce stuttered, desperate to share what she had learned, "In fact, I have important news unrelated to the operation!"

What was sure to be a long and abusive tirade was cut short as Queen Chrysalis took one second, then another, to sit back down in her seat with a contemplative look that promised extreme punishment should she be disappointed. "Very well, tell me. This news better be life-altering to compensate for your lack of progress."

With a slight tremble along her spine and a minute quiver in her voice, she finally told her Queen. "There's a new Alicorn, My Queen!"

What came next sounded more like an explosion than a question as the resin chandelier behind the Queen shook from the power of her voice. "*WHAT!?*"

Never before had she heard Queen Chrysalis reach anything close to the fabled Canterlot voice. But, at that moment, she was very thankful she had a sound-dampening ward running instead of relying only on the insulation in the walls, ceiling, and floor. "Indeed! And better yet, this newest Alicorn is a male."

Male. That one simple word brought about the Queen's undivided attention onto her, as if Queen Chrysalis was staring lasers through her small drone body. "Tell me everything you know of this new Alicorn, NOW!"

"I don't know much about him, My Queen," She apologized upfront before quickly vomiting up every little detail she picked out during the night. "I fear he might be confined to the castle and that he was only allowed out yesterday due to the pony holiday. But, until he was well inebriated, he felt unlike any pony I've tasted before. He was conflicted and distrustful of the ponies around him, including the group he spent most of the night with. And, his level of paranoia rivalled that of a fellow Changeling."

With each detail, Queen Chrysalis' eyes seemed to narrow. Until she mentioned the Alicorn's paranoia, at which point her Queen lifted a hoof, all but ordering her to shut up. "Are you sure this wasn't a rogue masquerading as an Alicorn during Nightmare Night?"

"I'm positive, My Queen," She affirmed before explaining, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to taste his drunken lust when he was dragged to the dance floor."

The hoof she held slowly lowered to her chin as she began rubbing her chitin in thought. "... And you say he's paranoid of his fellow ponies?"

"Yes," She confirmed as her horn lit up, bringing a single rolled-up newspaper from the corner of the room and unrolling it for her Queen to see. "According to the Castle Herald's report, he's a foreign Ambassador from an unknown land. Princess Celestia herself confirmed he isn't from Equestria."

Calyce knew her Queen was listening to her words, but her eyes were focused on the picture shown in the paper, which showed off an unusually tall, but otherwise injured-looking unicorn wearing a cloak. "Calyce, show me exactly what you saw."

Knowing exactly what her Queen wanted, Calyce threw aside the paper and transformed, filling the room with swirling green fire as her body grew almost twice its size. When the spiraling flames dissipated, there was no longer a simple drone sitting on the floor. Instead, a living, breathing, identical replica of the unicorn in the photo was standing proudly... without his cloak, which revealed his majestic wings to Queen Chrysalis.

"He was drinking with his wings," Calyce spoke with the Alicorn's smooth, mellow voice, without the cocktail of negative emotions mixed within. "Which makes me think his horn was injured somehow. Or, like when the Princess of Food first appeared, he doesn't know how to use magic yet."

"Excellent work finding this invaluable piece of information, Calyce," Queen Chrysalis complimented, causing his temporary Alicorn heart to skip a beat. It was rare, indeed, to receive any sort of positive reinforcement. "Now, present yourself. I wish to see everything this Alicorn male has to offer."

Without question, Calyce turned away from the mirror and lifted his tail. If his Queen wished to see everything this form had to offer the hive, that was her right. As the Queen cooed at this form's virility, he thought about the many heated trysts he experienced in Canterlot, harvesting love from the ponies to survive. Before long, his sheath began to stir and expand, allowing his erection to slip free, much to his Queen's obvious delight.

"Yes, this new Alicorn will be more than adequate to father a new generation of changelings. You may sit, Calyce," The Queen stated seductively, and he did as ordered. Still, he couldn't help but notice his Queen's eyes were glued to the bobbing rod of flesh attached to his form, even when he sat down with its fleshy head pointing towards the mirror.

The Queen took a few extra seconds to appreciate his form's erection before composing herself. "Due to your lack of progress, I'm still removing you from Operation Sunset."

Before Calyce could even get a word in, Queen Chrysalis lifted her hoof one more, forcing him to sit silently and obediently as his Queen eventually continued, "However, you are to remain in Canterlot. You will watch for and learn as much as you can about this male Alicorn. And, if the opportunity presents itself, abduct him for transportation to the hive. Enjoy your reassignment to Operation Allure Agent Calyce."

Author's Note

This month has been rather hectic. Between helping family members slowly distribute and move my late Granny's belongings from her house, taking care of the property with my Uncle, the sudden explosion of DnD 2024 content previews, getting the Minecraft bug again, and finally the experimental release of 7 Days to Die version 1.0, I haven't had the most time to write.

On the plus side, I haven't been called in to cover at work much this month, either, which is a bonus. Still, it's been very on and off, trying to find a decent time to write. D:

Hopefully next month will stabilize a little bit more, and I can get back to a decent writing schedule (That I can then squander on video games ;P).

Also, surprise! Since last chapter didn't have a perspective shift, I decided to give you two in this one.

And Snow-mageddon from Tanks for the Memories because:

15. Picking Up Chicks

(November 6th: 20th Day Since Capture)

For the third, or maybe the fourth time that morning, Neil placed An Explorer's Guide to the Tenochtitlan Basin down on the coffee table and sprung out of his chair. He didn't know what was happening or why he felt like he did, but he couldn't sit still. His muscles felt like they were constantly tensed with pent-up energy, as if he'd had an expresso shot injected directly into his veins for breakfast.

It was nearly impossible to sit for longer than ten, maybe fifteen minutes at most before he was once more on his hooves and jogging around the living room to bleed off excess energy. Why, though, was the question? He hadn't had this problem before. Most of his time in the castle had been wasted away, reading as many useless books as he could get his hooves on with barely a frustrated twitch.

Perhaps Celestia did something to him? The option was ludicrous, but Neil did decline her politely worded, if entirely optional, dinner invite from the previous night. Then again, even he felt that particular thought was a bit too outlandish. This wasn't the first optional invite he declined, and she never retaliated against him before. Why would she start now? Also, this wasn't exactly a new feeling. Yesterday, he had been feeling restless as well, but it wasn't to the point where he had to run off his frustrations!

Within ten minutes of jogging around his mismatched living room, Neil couldn't help but slowly lose himself in the midst of a daydream. Instead of the mismatched furniture of whites, golds, blues, and greys, he pictured himself once more in the air. Weaving around little clouds of cotton fluff or floating obstacles as if he were running a race. Without his cloak to hamper their movement, even his wings joined in on his distraction, half extending to the point he could almost feel the wind rushing over his extra appendages.

For but a moment, he felt the freedom of flight running through him once more, as if it was the very blood pumping through his veins. Only for his illusion to shatter as a series of harsh, loud knocks tore through his living room. Neil immediately came to a stop between his reading chair and the sofa, unmoving except for his wings, which closed, folding back into their normal resting position.

What followed next was ten seconds of tense silence before a second set of knocks emanated from the door. Somehow, they sounded even more impatient than the first set. He also didn't recognize the pattern, meaning someone he didn't know was possibly at the door. Instead of answering and revealing himself to a stranger, Neil darted towards his bedroom. Once there, his wing reached out and snagged his cloak off its hook before throwing it on. Exiting his bedroom, he did his best to adjust his cloak with the few seconds he had left. Was it haphazard? Yes, but it covered his wings as he stopped at the front door.

Unfortunately, he still had to discretely manipulate the door handle with an unfurled wing. When it clicked, he quickly stowed his wing and replaced it with his wrist before opening the door.

As he peeked around the partially open door, he first saw an appendage not even six inches away from his face, ready to knock for a third time. It wasn't a hoof, though. Instead, it was a scaled fist of four thick, curled yellow fingers, each ending with large, deadly-looking talons. Behind which, instead of the face of a pony, he saw an equally yellow beak that curved into a vicious-looking scowl. It was surrounded by white and pinkish-red feathers along with fierce, purple, feminine eyes.

Despite the apparent anger levelled at him, he felt confusion more than anything else about the unusual being in front of him. At first, his mind latched onto the feathers and beak, assuming the creature before him was an Avian. However, as he glanced beyond her possibly blood-covered face, he noted her body shifted abruptly around her shoulders into that of a grey feline body with a white underbelly, reminding him of a snow leopard (with only the occasional spot).

Automatically, he was just starting to voice, "What the f-" To the Griffon in front of him before he caught Warm Hearth at the edge of his peripheral vision. She was stationed next to the door on his right side and minutely, if rapidly, shaking her head from the side, almost as if her head was trembling. Taking a second to recover from her odd behaviour, he cleared his throat and reconsidered his words. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

As Neil asked that, he also took note of two other Griffons flanking her sides. Both of them carried a spear and wore what appeared to be a leather brigandine covered in splint plate. Its styling was vaguely reminiscent of a Roman centurion and a gladiator but mashed together for maximum mobility and moderate protection. The only real distinction between the two he could pick out was the green feathers highlighting the left Griffon's facial features, compared to the orange feathers on the right. Otherwise, they looked identical, making Neil think their armour might also be enchanted before he shoved that thought aside.

"My name's Giselle; I'm the Griffon Ambassador of Griffonstone," She stated imperiously. At the same time, her eyes slowly narrowed at him before she demanded, "You, were going to tell me to flock off a second ago, weren't you?"

If she was trying to piss on his parade, he was definitely not in the mood for it, as his unexpelled energy still roiled within his chest. But, he was more than willing to flip his dick out and return the favour, metaphorically at least, as he glared right back at her. "And if I was?"

Neither moved, but the tension between their groups quickly grew. Neil heard more than saw the guards' shifting as they tensed, standing even more at attention if at all possible to increase their size or stature. All the while, Giselle's beak glacially morphed into a sneer. "Then you best say it to my face, Pony," She started, stepping towards him.

Though he wouldn't say it, Neil was somewhat intimidated by her boldness. Despite her shorter stature by half a head, she was forcing her presence like an angry terrier, just without the yappy barking. Unfortunately for her, he was used to confronting her type on the ice as he bumped the door open with his shoulder, matched her step with one of his own, and lowered himself so that he was face to face with her. He promptly ignored Hearth's gasp as he pressed the pointed tip of his horn against the Griffon's forehead.

"You slam on my door, interrupt my morning, and now you're puffing up like an angry little sparrow?" He asked in the heat of the moment, calling her the smallest bird that came to mind. "As you so kindly put it: Flock. Off."

Honestly, he had expected the gloves to come off right then and there. And, without any formal combat training as a horse, he knew he would have to rely heavily on his Unicorn guard's overpowered auras to get out of the upcoming scrap relatively unscathed. He was mentally debating whether it would be better to charge the Griffon or let her charge and slam the door in her face when something unexpected happened. Instead of taking offence and starting a fight, her predatory eyes lit up with... not quite mirth, but they were similar to Rainbows after challenging him to do something stupid.

"Finally, a pony with a bit of backbone," She chuckled, her tone shifting from imperious to friendly as she leaned back and sat on her haunches. "I returned from Griffonstone only last night. Care to guess the current rumours taking the castle by storm?"

"Since you're here, I'm guessing it has to do with me?" He questioned as he took a slow, controlled step back into his apartment. Being on the receiving end of games like that typically pissed him off to no end, to the point he was tempted to slam the door in her face right then and there. However, the mention of rumours floating around the castle stayed his hoof for the moment.

"Yes. I was told a new Ambassador named Neil was stationed inside the castle, which is unusual." She explained, watching him with her keen, eagle-like eyes. "To learn about my new neighbour, mainly you, I felt it prudent to offer an excursion into Canterlot for lunch."

If that was all she heard, then that was a mild relief. Though certain ponies like Dainty and the rest of Blueblood's herd seemed trustworthy (when it came to Celestia's orders), it was nice to know the rest of the castle staff were holding true to their promise to keep his wings and the status that came with them, a secret.

Now, all that remained was to deal with the Griffon ambassador before him as he asked, "You expect me to just go with you?"

"Yes," She stated confidently, affirming her feline entitlement.

Unfortunately for her, he didn't feel like going out and dealing with a snow-laden Canterlot or a pretentious Griffon this early in the day. "Why should I?"

"As a fellow ambassador, we're going to do this meet and greet sooner or later," She explained, keeping her mask of pretentious confidence. However, her tail started twitching agitatedly, repeatedly slapping the floor on either side of her haunches and giving away her irritation. "It's inevitable, which is why I want to do it now."

"That's funny. When I was reading the documents for the job, I'm pretty sure it said that I only deal with Equestria," He explained with faintly veiled sarcasm. "Not Griffonstone, Minos, Farasi, or any other Equestrian allies. Just Equestria."

"That might be the case, officially," She countered as her eyes narrowed once more, "Unofficially, we meet regularly to ensure we're all on the same page. When dealing with the Princesses and the Equestrian government, it doesn't help our case if we accidentally step on our fellow allies' claws, paws, or hooves."

"In other words, you what? Make deals with each other behind Celestia's back?" He asked, genuinely surprised that she would admit such a thing out in the open.

"Is it really behind the Princess' back if she knows about and encourages us all to work together?" She offered, giving him some insight into Celestia- if true. "Either way, this isn't about the Princess. This isn't even really about politics. This is about getting to know my new neighbour."

"And how best to use me for your own bullshit political gains." He snarked, brushing aside her obvious excuse with a wave of his hoof. "I already have to do this song and dance with Celestia. What makes you any different?"

Without warning, her tail slammed into the tile, creating a painful-sounding thwack that filled the hallway as her beak shifted into a frown. "To start, I am not an all-powerful being in control of this world's sun. First and foremost, I am a mother. Since we now live near each other, I have a single warning to give. If you utter such foul language near my daughters, I promise to show you how I earned my position with excruciating detail."

To further her point, she tapped a single talon against the floor.

Both Unicorns stationed at his door not-so-subtly shifted at her threat, taking it seriously, unlike himself, as he spotted a coloured light flickering at the base of each of their horns. The two Griffon guards also took notice and reacted in kind, lowering their profiles as if getting ready to pounce and ruffling their wings, shifting their well-polished and deadly-looking spear points an inch or so toward Calm and Hearth.

"Sounds like you agree with me then," Neil snapped before things could escalate further. "You ignore I exist, and I'll do the same for you."

"As much as I am starting to wish that was an option, it is not," Giselle groused as she gave both guards a side-eye. Silence permeated the hall after that until both her guards finally relented and returned to a more at-ease position. "Now, as Bronze Adonis often says, back to the task at hand. What will it take to talk with me without all the vitriol?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Calm's head twitch. One questioning eye was looking his way, while the other was likely aligned with and watching the Griffon guard with green feathers. Guessing what Calm was asking, he nodded, at which point Calm's aura and Hearth's half a second later vanished as both unicorns relaxed their stance.

Once everything had settled down and returned to a somewhat tense normal, Neil asked, "You aren't going to drop this, are you?"

"No, I am not," She said with finality, though he sensed a hint of her previous smugness.

That alone made it tempting to tell Giselle no and slam the door in her face. In the end, he chose not to. Otherwise, he'd be forcing Calm and Hearth to deal with at least one angry Griffon and two more that were likely sworn to protect her. The thought of doing that left a foul taste in his mouth.

"Fine. Let's say I go with you," Neil hypothetically conceded, "What's in it for me?"

Giselle raised an eyebrow at that before subtly leaning to her right and looking further into his room. "Are you sure you're a pony? You sound part-griffon," She... joked? Only to return to the main topic, "As to your question, a free lunch. You might also learn a thing or two about Griffon culture."

A free lunch sounded like a decent consolation prize, so long as it wasn't another gourmet salad. However, Neil felt he could pass on the culture lesson as he added another stipulation to their negotiations. "After which, you don't bother me ever again?"

"Better yet," She said, sidestepping his offer as she gave him the option of something arguably better. "I will recommend to Bronze Adonis and the other ambassadors that they only reach out to you for dire emergencies."

"Deal," He confirmed, snatching away the option to change terms from his fellow Ambassador as he stepped into the hallway. When he did so, Calm and Hearth disengaged from their posts and took up their regular flanking positions around him. "So, where are you dragging me?"

"If you're expecting Restaurant Row, prepare to be disappointed," Giselle remarked as she stood up, exaggerating her fluid, feline flexibility with a stretch, before making her way down the hall. "We're going to the Outskirts."

~~~

One would think two ambassadors, each with their own set of guards, would draw the attention of the nobility around the castle. And, in a way, they would be right. As he and Giselle exited onto the grounds, plenty of eyes, noble and staff alike, were on them. Some were more surreptitious with their veiled gazes, while others not-so-subtly watched. However, no pony got in their way or tried to get their attention. Whether it was due to the guards surrounding him and Giselle or just the predatory presence exuded by the Griffons he was travelling with, they were allowed to exit the castle unimpeded.

Even within the city, its streets bustling with ponies going about their business, the crowd parted and scattered well ahead of them on their side of the road. This gave Neil, following directly behind Giselle and the rest of their group, an easy time passing through the familiar territory of the primary Market District. With one notable exception.

"Hey, Neil!" The distinct voice of Hallowed Eve suddenly cut through the background noise of the city, originating from somewhere on his left. "Over here, Big Guy!"

Coming to a sudden halt, which also forced his guards and the Griffon contingent to do the same, Neil started to look around for the source. Within seconds, he spotted a set of three shopping bags held in a green aura above the crowd on the opposite side of the road. Looking directly under them, he spotted the bouncing curls of an orange mane and an eerily glowing black horn that wove between the crowd of ponies. When Eve broke free on the other side of the road, she eagerly waved at him, "I wasn't expecting to see you out of the castle today."

"I wasn't expecting to leave the castle today, either," Neil called out as he angled his head and gestured towards Giselle and her two guards. "Not until I was dragged out to lunch by her, at least."

"Lunch?" Eve asked, watching as the carriages passed, one after another, until a wide enough gap allowed her to trot across to his side. "I've been shopping all morning. If you don't mind some company, I'd love to join you!"

During their brief exchange, Giselle's fierce eyes turned to watch Eve's every move as she waited for her opportunity to cross the street. After that, she addressed the mare imposingly, "And you are?"

"Hallowed Eve, I'm a friend of Neil's," She offered in a friendly manner, giving the Griffon a polite nod. "What's your name?"

"Giselle, the Ambassador of Griffonstone," The... hen? returned in a professional manner that sounded well practised, if a bit tired. "I'm afraid, Hallowed Eve, that this is official business between ambassadors. It was nice to meet you, though."

Unfortunately for Giselle, Neil wouldn't allow her to dismiss Eve so quickly. He wasn't exactly happy to surround himself with ponies, but if it put a damper on Giselle's plans, he was all for it.

"I don't mind if Eve joins us," He started, latching onto something that Giselle herself had said, "After all, didn't you say this wasn't about politics, it's about getting to know your new neighbour?"

"I did," She admitted, looking at him with a quirked eyebrow. "But, as a one-on-one session."

"With four guards hovering over our shoulders? That doesn't seem very private." Neil countered, pointing out her preference wasn't as confidential as she described. As her brows furrowed, likely searching for a counter, he turned to Calm to further seal the deal. "Do you mind carrying Eve's stuff for a bit?"

"Can do, Neil," Calm confirmed, giving a firm nod before shifting his gaze to Eve. "Miss Eve?"

"Are you sure I won't be a problem?" Eve asked, giving Giselle one last worried look before she walked up next to Calm. Her bags followed in her green aura, though she didn't immediately place them on Calm's back.

"Nah, the more, the merrier," Neil answered before he turned to look at Giselle, not even hiding his victorious grin. "At least, that's how I see it."

He knew he won the exchange when Giselle gave up and rolled her eyes. "If that is how it has to be," She said, though she marred his victory with an extra stipulation, "I'm only paying for your meal, not hers."

If that was the cost to reduce the chances of a fight while earning an extra Unicorn on his side if a fight still broke out, he was okay with that. "That's fine."

With a slight huff, Giselle spun around, taking the lead as the group continued toward... wherever they were going. Eve settled next to Calm, giving her shopping bags one last critical look before asking, "So, where are we going for lunch?"

"No idea," He answered with a shrug as he watched Giselle's ears shift towards them. "All I know is, it's in the Outskirts."

"The Outskirts? That part of Canterlot isn't known for its fine dining," Eve filled him in as she lost herself in thought. "I know there's a Hayburger, but I can't recall any other restaurants in the area. Is that where we're going?"

The moment Eve mentioned the Hayburger, Neil couldn't help but hope that it was a franchise name. Even then, the name invoked an unappetizing image of a pair of buns stuffed with straw hay and a single, sad leaf of lettuce on top of it all. He didn't even try to imagine the taste; otherwise, it might have thrown off his appetite.

Before he could respond, however, Giselle's head turned ninety degrees, almost like an owl to face them. "That's because most ponies don't care to know about this place."

"Oh? Mind telling me what it's called?" Eve asked, sounding genuinely curious. "I'd like to know about it."

Strangely, Giselle matched her curiosity with a smile of her own. "You'll find out soon enough."

After her mysterious answer, the group settled into a questionable silence as they continued. Neil didn't mind as he looked around, hopping from one shop to the next, remembering his nightly escapades. Whether he was darting into the alleyway next to the hardware store to avoid a nearby guard patrol that caught him unaware or ducking underneath the window ledge of a jewellery store because the owner or an employee was restocking displays late into the night.

They even passed Marigold's, which was surprisingly still open. Even though it was winter, with a light powdering of snow on the window frame, flowers he didn't know the name of still bloomed on the other side of the glass. Unfortunately, the flowers weren't enough of a distraction as his eyes glanced over to the alleyway entrance. He vividly remembered the night of his capture. How he recklessly darted around the corner, only to run into a just as surprised Bulk and the pain that followed. Unbidden, his mind summoned up a jolt of pain that arced through the length of his horn.

He knew he shouldn't feel anything with his horn ring on, least of all pain. Yet it still caused him to flinch as he quickly looked away. But not before he caught a knowing, if sad, look in Hearth's eyes. As he looked across to the other side of the street, he also caught Eve watching him with a concerned look. Thankfully, neither spoke up as they continued walking.

At least, neither mare spoke up about that particular topic. Once Neil calmed himself and forced those specific memories out of his mind, Eve asked him a question, "Neil, just so I know, is Giselle part of... how do I put this? The group?"

Blindsided by the question, Neil had no idea what she meant by a group. He wasn't part of any group, official or otherwise. "What group are you talking about?"

That earned a questioning brow from Eve. "You know," She started, looking very pointedly at his body. He followed her line of sight, settling where his wings would be if they weren't covered by his cloak. "That group."

"No," Giselle stated with a hint of disgust. Her head spun around as she also looked at his body. "I have not laid with him. I have no inclination to sleep with soft ponies or join any herds."

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant at all!" Eve exclaimed, shocked at the secondary implication. "Even if we've slept together after a long night of heavy drinking and-"

"Eve," Neil spoke up exasperatedly, cutting her off before returning to a more normal volume. "To answer your question, no. Secondly, Giselle doesn't need to know about that." With that out of the way, he finally looked towards a neutral-looking Giselle. However, there was a hint of something behind her predatory eyes. "And for the record, we didn't have sex."

"If excessive drinking was involved, I would expect not," Giselle responded, as a grin formed on her beak. "Liquor tends to make males... flaccid and unappealing."

"I don't know about the first part," Eve cut in, answering for him. "But, I can say without a doubt, dressed in the costume I made, Neil was very appealing."

Giselle flicked her eyes and gave him a quick once-over, saying, "I do not see it."

Though he refused to say anything else about his looks, he begrudgingly sided with Giselle.

~~~

It didn't take much longer for the group to transfer from the middle-shelf, down the guarded stairway, and into the uncharted area of the lower-shelf. During Neil's time on the streets, he had the occasional opportunity on some nights to sneak up to the edge of the middle-shelf and look at the shadowy buildings below. He always assumed that's where most of the ponies in Canterlot lived. However, he never had the opportunity to study the more modest-looking, middle-class district closely until now.

Compared to the upper-shelf and its mansions, the difference was night and day.

The homes here were smaller than the most modest mansion built near the castle. But that didn't mean they were small. Each home was similar in size to a three, or four-bedroom house back in his hometown. Perhaps even more if these homes had basements. Another thing he quickly noticed was that these homes weren't pristine. They were well kept, to be sure, but there were obvious signs that they were lived in, unlike their upper-shelf counterparts. Walls and fences were less popular here, too, leaving it at a 50-50 ratio as to whether or not their relatively small front yards were closed or open.

It was the openness, however, that painted such a contrasting picture. Groups of younger foals happily played together by building snow forts, crafting snow ponies, or just running around and playing games. Looking down one street, Neil even caught sight of a pair of hockey nets set up, along with a few stallions on the sidelines joking and cheering their children on.

In all honesty, on top of everything else, this was Neil's first glimpse into the average life of a stallion. The foals were often watched by two or more stallions, who were avidly talking nearby. He assumed they were the stay-at-home parents, though it wasn't entirely exclusive. Occasionally, a mare would also be perched and watching over the foals.

Chances were, if he looked into the large, front-facing picture windows standard to these types of buildings, the curtains would be pulled aside to allow sunlight in. This also revealed the home's inner workings, which normally included a stallion going about their daily business. Whether that was watching their foals from the warmth of their living room, reading a book in the sunlight, or doing some type of cleaning was a toss-up. But, among the stallions cleaning, they had a strange tendency to wear an apron. Whether the apron was frilly, plain, or covered in hearts was entirely up to chance.

Of course, as their group passed through the neighbourhood, more than a few foals stopped what they were doing and stared at their entourage. This also attracted the attention of their parents. Giselle opted to ignore them all and just walk on through. The guards also maintained an air of professionalism and ignored the looks they were given. But Eve was more than willing to wave or say hi to anyone who would glance their way. More often than not, she earned a jubilant wave or hi from the foals and a slightly more subdued, if polite, response from the parents in return.

Beyond the housing and the ponies, there was little else to see along the route Giselle took. Neil spotted at least one building on a corner with advertising that appeared to be a corner grocery store. There was also a park with a similar design to the one found on the middle-shelf, but smaller. Much smaller since they walked from end to end in a couple of minutes.

As they curved around the mountain and drew closer to the edge of the lower-shelf, the first thing that caught Neil's attention wasn't the tall, mismatched variety of high-rise buildings, though they were an easy second. It was the massive, gaping, cavern entrance those buildings had been built underneath that kept his eyes transfixed. He'd never seen anything like it before; Not even photos of majestic cave structures from Earth could compare to the sheer scale he was looking at as the back of the entrance slowly curved into the shadows of the mountain itself.

A small but terrifying thought immediately popped up at the back of his mind. The reason nothing like this existed on Earth was likely due to cave-ins and collapses, hinting at a possible disaster that could happen at any moment. If such a collapse occurred, he couldn't really fathom the devastation. At the very least, it would be just as destructive as the Frank Slide in Crowsnest Past, if not more so. The thought of being crushed underneath the weight of an entire mountain gave him pause. Only for another part of his mind to point out, if a collapse were to happen, then the shelves of Canterlot would likely also fall, dooming him no matter which part of the city he was in.

With that not-so-comforting thought, he pushed through his momentary freeze and caught up with Giselle.

When they reached the edge of the lower-shelf, which led into the Outskirts proper, there wasn't a stairway connecting the two as he initially expected. Instead, a smooth-looking brick ramp stretched from the side of the mountain to the naturally formed cliff edge of the Outskirt District. Pegasus guards hovered overhead, watching as ponies went up and down the ramp without issue. However, he noticed a larger cluster of guards hovering near the edge.

It was also apparent that the high-rises weren't the only building to say fuck it to Canterlot's typically uniform district themes and designs. Each building he looked at differed from the next, whether built from stone, wood, concrete, bricks, or even metal. The only thing they had in common was that each building was perched next to a smoothed stone road carved from the cliff, which branched out from the ramp like spokes on a wagon wheel.

Giselle and her guards gave no qualms about the ramp as they strode down it with ease. Not wanting to hesitate and draw even more attention to himself and their little group, Neil followed suit. He expected the ramp to feel slippery underneath his hooves. Instead, the smooth stone bricks felt as coarse as sandpaper, offering a firm grip as he descended the ramp. Once their ragtag group found themselves at the base, Giselle turned towards the mountain, making their destination clear as they headed towards the gaping maw of the cavern entrance.

It didn't take them long to reach the cavern, which loomed overhead. The road underneath was marked with a decorative blue brick line set into the stone. It curved with the edge of the cavern's massive shadow, giving the illusion that the line was holding the darkness back from spilling into the day. However, it had no sway over Giselle, the guards, or himself and Eve as they walked over the line and slipped into the shadows.

There was a noticeable dimming of the light, just not as much as Neil originally expected, as multiple small orbs of orange-white light burst into being on the cavern ceiling. They created a grid of tiny, sun-like dots that lit up the entire cavern while also creating an artistic display of multiple faint shadows stretching from the base of the buildings and overlapping each other on the street. It was enough to distract him from his more terrifying thoughts as he followed Giselle deeper into the cave.

At least until she abruptly stopped right next to the cavern wall itself. Though it wasn't entirely a wall anymore, as Neil looked around. The residents clearly didn't know or care that their survival relied on the structural integrity of the wall and the cavern as a whole. Instead, they carved into the stone, creating even more space for businesses, including the restaurant they stopped in front of.

The most eye-catching detail about the restaurant Giselle had led them to was the sturdy-looking, egg-shaped, red-stained door with a doorknob in the centre that Celestia could easily walk through without trouble. Above which, a long, rectangular sign hung from two metal pegs pounded into the stone. He couldn't read it since it was written in a thick, accented sky-writing. But, the pair of raven heads carved and painted at each end gave him an odd feeling about the place. The design of the two circular windows on either side of the front door reminded him of the Flintstones. Looking through them also revealed the establishment's red and dark green interior.

After a second or two, Giselle nodded towards her green-feathered guard. Promptly the Griffon walked up to the door, took hold of the knob, and pulled on it. Within seconds, Neil picked up the scent of spices, barbecue, and smoked meats. Almost involuntarily, he remembered hot nights in the backyard of his home with his Dad and Grandparents as they seared steaks and cooked homemade burgers on the grill.

Unnoticed by Neil, a small smile formed on his snout as Giselle passed through the open door. "This is the Murder Most Fowl, one of the best restaurants in Canterlot."

Giselle's second guard followed in right after her. The first, however, held the door open and looked at Neil and his entourage expectantly as he waited for them to pass through. Feeling an odd mix of anticipation and nostalgia at the thought of freshly cooked meats, Neil slowly walked through the entrance to the Murder Most Fowl with Eve and his guards following right behind him.

Unbeknownst to Neil, all three ponies were giving him an odd look.

After peeking through the windows, Neil thought the main dining area would have been a little larger than it actually was. However, given how empty the establishment was, he figured that wouldn't be a problem. Of the ten small tables set out, only one was taken by a navy blue Pegasus and a Griffon to his right. The other five were open, and if they pushed three of the tables side by side, Neil figured everyone could sit down with room to spare.

At least, that's what he thought until he noticed Giselle heading towards the left side of the building with her guard, where three large booths were built into the stone wall. Shrugging, Neil followed after her. It would be a little cramped if she wanted everyone to sit in a booth together. Or, they could claim two and split up. Preferably, one for the Griffons and one for the rest of them. Unfortunately, Giselle stopped at the last table before the booths, which was only five feet away from a pair of swinging double doors that led into the kitchen, judging by the slightly more pungent smell of spices.

As if it were routine, the guard next to Giselle pulled out one chair for her, which she quickly slipped into. Once she was properly seated, he pulled out the chair across from her and gestured for Neil to sit. It was a little odd, but Neil figured it was some sort of Ambassador pomp and went with it reluctantly. After sitting down, the guard stood beside and behind Giselle instead of pulling out a seat for Eve.

Not that it seemed to matter, as Eve's horn lit up, and her aura pulled the chair back for her.

Within seconds, everyone had settled down. Giselle's two guards were standing next to and just behind her. Glancing to his right and then left, Calm and Hearth stoically mirrored the position of Giselle's guards. Not only did that seem unfair to both pairs of guards, but as he looked at the empty table to his right, he noticed they were drawing attention.

The pegasus across the room tried to hide it, but he was giving them a curious look. Of course, when Neil caught the stallion looking, he turned back to the Griffon he was eating with. "Y'know, we could pull one more table over. It might be a little cramped, but then everyone could sit down?"

"Don't worry about the guards," Giselle shot down his suggestion almost immediately, "They're on duty, and it would be unprofessional to join us for lunch."

With that said, Giselle settled her eyes on him as she waited and watched. However, Neil had no idea what she was waiting for as he looked away from her gaze and over to Eve.

She seemed just as clueless but took the initiative either way as she politely cleared her throat. "I live in the Outskirts, but I've never been here before. Do we just wait? Or do we have to do something specific to get some service?"

"Within a minute, two at most, one of the staff should appear," Giselle informed them, as she briefly glanced towards Eve, then back at him. "So you know, there are pony options on the back of the menu."

"That's good to know," Eve said, sounding pleasantly surprised at the Griffon's admission, with a hint of relief as well. "I was admittedly starting to worry as I walked into this establishment, but then I saw the stallion over there with a salad."

"Now that you have been reassured about the edibility of the food," Giselle started, sitting just a little more upright and stiffer as she focused her gaze back on him. "Neil, I read the news article about you. But, it was sparse when it came to certain details. For example, what country are you the Ambassador of?"

"Ask Celestia," He blurted out bluntly, as he was caught off guard by the sudden focus back on him. Still, he was quick to follow up and explain. "I don't know why she didn't name my country. But, if she wants to keep it under wraps, that's up to her."

"Yes, she is quite the dragon regarding specific, dangerous information. If you are sworn to secrecy or don't wish to share, I can't make you," Giselle admitted with ease. "Perhaps you could name a nearby country we both might know?"

'Sure. There's this little country called Fuckoffistan just south of your ass,' Is what he wanted to say as he felt a slight throb at the base of his horn. Hinting at the beginning of a possible headache as he told her instead, "That's not possible. I may have been a jock in school, but I didn't skimp on science or math. Without a doubt, from Thestravania to Equestria, none of your countries are on the maps I studied."

"You play sports?" She asked out of the blue, instantly, in an unsettling manner as her eyes darted down to what little of his chest was exposed. "Given your height and lithe build, I could see that. Distraction aside, you failed to exclude Griffonstone, the Dragonlands, Minos, Farasi, Prance, and other important countries."

"From Thestravania to Equestria, implying every single country in between," He explained for a second time, slightly annoyed. "The entire Equestrian map is new to me. I'm not going to say every single name on it."

"If that's the case," Eve interjected, "Maybe your land lies in the Undiscovered West?"

"Maybe," Neil said, unconvinced. Though even he had to admit leaving a land bridge unexplored like that was very suspect on Celestia's part. "But does it matter? I could draw a map from memory, and none of you would recognize a single border. It's no different than me asking if you know about Denmark, Russia, or the USA."

"Den-Mark?" Giselle asked quizzically, sounding out the country's name. "Do you have a sizable Diamond Dog colony near your lands?"

"If there are, I haven't met any," Neil admitted with a shrug, hoping the non-answer would further alleviate her curiosity? Suspicions? And, if he were lucky, maybe even stop this impromptu interrogation.

"So the paper was right in that regard; you truly are lost and far from home," She said to herself. Whether that was a good thing or not, Neil didn't know as she shifted gears and asked, "In that case, do you know how you got here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine? As I said in the paper, I went to bed one night and woke up in a Canterlot alleyway." He told her, completely honest, "And before you ask, yes, it was during Tirek's attack."

Neil might have continued, but at the mention of Tirek's name, Giselle reacted as if he had threatened her life right then and there. Her wings, which had been relaxed moments before, unfolded a few inches from her body before tensing. Whether it was to make her appearance larger and more threatening or preparation to fly or pounce, he didn't know. He focused more on her eyes as her pupils shrank to half their normal size.

Before anything happened, however, Giselle managed to regain control of her emotions. "Yes, Tirek..." She half muttered, half cursed as her wings slowly returned to her sides. "That is an experience I do not wish to relive. Let us move on to another topic."

Before she could think of another topic, the swinging doors burst open to reveal another Griffon. This one stood a foot taller than Giselle and half a foot taller than her two guards. Black and brown feathers intertwined across the Griffon's entire face, only to flare out impressively behind his head like a massive crown. The same pattern travelled down his neck into a smart-looking button-up suit, only to fade into black panther-like fur. In Neil's opinion, the only thing detracting from his looks was the long, drooping, almost whisker-like pencil moustache sprouting from his beak.

The first thing he did was look towards the entrance, but only for a split second. When the waiter caught sight of the occupied table next to him, his head jerked in their direction. There was a momentary nervousness as he scanned the table. Upon seeing Giselle, however, his posture relaxed, becoming friendlier as he brought his platter, stacked with menus, in front of him.

"Madam Giselle," The waiter said in an all-too-familiar tone as he bowed to the table. "What an unexpected surprise to see you today of all days."

Giselle returned the waiter's greeting almost immediately in an off-hand, distracted manner that deliberately ignored the hidden meaning behind his words. "Yes, Gerard, it is good to see you as well. May I ask, who is overseeing the kitchen?"

"Why, our illustrious owner Gabe is in today," Gerard told her, sitting back on his haunches as he grabbed a pencil with his now free claw. "Should I inform him of your arrival?"

"You may," She agreed before adding with a slightly lighter tone, "Since Gabe is here, I'll order my regular dish. I can trust him to do it right."

"Very well. One steamed lemon-garlic chicken for you," Gerard said to himself as he wrote down Giselle's order. When he finished, he shifted his attention around the table, looking at each seated individual as he asked, "And what about your guests? We rarely have ponies here, and now three in one day? May I get your names?"

Eve was the first to answer as she gave him a polite nod. "I'm Hallowed Eve, a well-known costume designer here in Canterlot."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Eve," He returned with another bow, though not as deep given his seated position. "And who's this dashing stallion with you tonight?"

Given the type of society he was in, Neil would have expected to hear that, or something similar, from a female Griffon or a mare. But from a fellow male, Griffon, or otherwise? That type of statement caught him by surprise. However, another voice beat him to it before he could correct Gerard's outlandish assumption.

"This is Ambassador Neil if you've read the Herald." Giselle interrupted, beating him to the punch as she informed the waiter about him. "He recently received the title from Princess Celestia herself."

After listening to Giselle's explanation, Gerard turned to address Neil. However, something about his expression must have portrayed his distaste at being called Eve's stallion. The moment Gerard looked at him, the Griffon was quick to apologize. "My apologies, Ambassador, for the mistaken identity. Here's your menus," He added, quickly offering Eve and himself a menu. "Please, take as much time as you like. I'll be back shortly with some complimentary wine for you all."

As Gerard retreated back into the kitchen, Eve flipped the menu over with her aura and started scouring the recipes on the back. Neil, however, only half-watched as he looked at the front page of his own menu. All of it was written in the same squiggly sky-writing as the sign outside, but that didn't matter. Instead, he focused mostly on the mouth-watering food pictured between the text blocks. His second thoughts about this place and its staff were quickly discarded between the large pork roast, the grilled ribs drenched in a savoury sauce, and the stir-fried chicken.

Within days of appearing in Equestria, a little thought at the back of his mind kept haunting him. Every time he raided a garbage can or a dumpster, he only found food that hinted towards ponies being strictly herbivores. Only for that worry to be dampened slightly when he discovered Donut Joe's. The existence of baked goods, which required an egg to cook, hinted at a more omnivorous existence. But, even then, it wasn't until he had the oddly prepared bacon in the castle that he put the nail in the coffin for that particular theory.

As Neil appraised the carnivorous menu before him, he knew he would thoroughly enjoy the opportunity presented to him. To experience a full, meaty meal, even if he had to limit himself to a regular pony-size one to keep with his disguise. Before he could fully commit himself to a single dish, Eve lightly pressed her hoof into his shoulder, drawing his attention away from the menu.

Glancing up, he noticed she was looking at him slightly confusedly as she withdrew her hoof. "Since your horn is still injured, do you want me to turn the menu over for you?"

"No thanks," He replied, giving her a slight head shake in the negative before returning his attention to the pork stir fry and the ribs displayed on the menu. "I've pretty much narrowed down my selection to two things."

"Oh, okay," She said, sounding just as confused as the look she gave him. "Speaking of your horn, Neil, mind if I ask how long it will be until your cast is removed?"

"Four more days from the sound of things," He told her, reflecting on the message he received the day before. "At least that's when they scheduled my appointment."

"That's something to be excited about. Two more days, and you get your magic back!" Eve cheered as she set aside her menu. "Maybe we can go out as a group for celebratory drinks?"

Neil couldn't deny the offer of drinks sounded good to him. However, that mainly depended on what happened after the removal of his cast. "Maybe. As tempting as drinks are, knowing Celestia, she has something planned that'll give me a headache for the rest of the day."

Unfortunately, he may have let slip too much as he caught Giselle's apparent interest again. "Interesting. Why do you think the Princess will put aside time for you and your horn?"

"Previous experience," Neil deadpanned, hoping to stall further questioning.

However, luck was on his side as Gerard eased out of the swinging doors before Giselle could ask about anything else. His serving tray was noticeably more full than it had been previously. A glass pitcher full of ice water was now sitting in the centre, with six glasses, three regular and three long-stemmed wine glasses, and his pad and pencil around the edge. Not only that, but sitting on the Griffon's back, held in between his wings, was a basket overflowing with puffy-looking breadsticks, along with an ice bucket with two separate bottles of wine poking out from beyond the metal rim.

"I see every creature is ready to order. Before I take care of that, may I offer you all a sweet cherry wine or a red merlot of Madam Giselle's preferred vineyard and vintage?" As he spoke, Gerard slowly unloaded his serving tray. He started with all six glasses, then filled the three regular ones with ice water before setting the pitcher down in the centre of the table. After that, he reached back and hooked the bucket's handle with a single claw.

Giselle was the first to speak up. "I'll have a red to start, Gerard."

When she finished her request, Gerard placed the bucket on the table and, with expert precision, popped the cork with a claw before slowly pouring her a glass of red wine. Once he was done, he gently placed the glass before her and looked to Eve for her preference.

Eve took a second to decide after that before finally settling. "I think I'll start with the cherry if you don't mind?"

With the exact same speed and precision, Gerard repeated the process. However, this time, an amber red liquid poured from the bottle instead of the deep red wine that Giselle had received. Once Eve's glass was filled, he gently placed it in front of her, before finally turning to him, "And you, Ambassador Neil?"

"No need for the ambassador crap; Neil's good enough," Neil admitted as he looked between Giselle's glass of wine and Eve's. He wasn't a big fan of wine, having tasted the basic red and white boxed variety. But he couldn't remember ever hearing about cherry wine, let alone trying it. Then again, he was usually so wasted he couldn't remember what he drank half the time. "And I don't think I've ever had a cherry wine before, so I'll try that."

"As you wish, Neil," He started, quickly pouring the third and final glass before placing both bottles back in the bucket. He wasn't done either, as he plucked the bread basket from his back and put it next to the water pitcher. "And, as a further apology, here's a large serving of our baked mozzarella buns to tide you all over as we prepare your meals. Has everypony decided on what you would like to order?"

Eve gave Neil a small but questioning look as if to ask if he would like to go first? However, he gestured for her to go instead. "I'll try the chef's gourmet salad, thank you."

"An excellent choice, Miss Eve," Gerard told her as he wrote down her order. Once he finished, he turned to Neil and asked, "And for you, Neil?"

"I would like to order some ribs, please," Neil told him while pointing his hoof at the picture of mouth-watering ribs in the center of his menu.

"You want... a platter of sweet smoked pork ribs?" Gerard asked somewhat uncertainly, as he double, then triple-checked to make sure that's what Neil's hoof was pointing at.

"Yep. It's been months since I've had a good rack of ribs," Neil explained, as he looked up from his menu... only to be met with everyone nearby staring at him. Even one of Giselle's guards, the Griffon with orange feathers, broke decorum and was looking at him strangely. "What?"

"Once more, my apologies, Neil. It's just..." Gerard paused momentarily as if searching for the right word before continuing, "Odd for a pony to order meat."

"Well, it's not odd where I'm from," Neil told the table with an uncaring shrug. "Besides, they serve it every morning at the castle."

"I don't remember any..." Eve said softly, primarily to herself, before her eyes widened. "Unless you mean the bacon?"

"Yeah. It tastes a little odd," Neil admitted, thinking the kitchen staff had an odd way of preparing it. "But bacon is bacon no matter how you slice it," Neil joked, trying to disperse all of the attention fixated on him.

"Very well, one chef's salad and one platter of ribs," Gerard said uncertainly as he wrote Neil's order down. "Gabe is already preparing your meal, Madam Giselle. I'll be back soon when all of your meals are ready."

Once Gerard vanished beyond the kitchen doors for a second time, Giselle pounced on the topic of his diet as she asked, "Do the ponies of your country regularly eat meat?"

He wasn't really sure if he should answer that, but he couldn't see the harm in it, either. After some thought, he opted to go for the middle road. "It depends, really. The average person eats both, but some are strictly vegetarian. Then there's a few that'll only eat dairy, or fish, alongside their vegetarian diet."

"In that case," Giselle continued after listening to his answer, "What's the most exotic creature you've eaten?"

Immediately, his mind jumped to two things. One for the rarity and the other for the oddity. Thankfully, as far as he knew, neither option was considered sentient or sapient in Equestria. "My Dad was given a pheasant once, and those are pretty hard to get legally. He tried to cook it, but it didn't turn out that great in the end. Then there's calamari, or fried squid, served at a local Korean restaurant."

"Squid?" She asked, sounding genuinely surprised by his answer. "I've never heard of any creature cooking and eating squid. Do you know the recipe by chance?"

"Besides turning out crispy like a small onion ring and tasting like chicken? I have no idea." He told her honestly. Besides the end step of deep-frying, he really had no idea how calamari was made.

While Giselle was distracted by the thought of edible squid, Eve quickly jumped in with a new topic before the Griffon ambassador could continue down her food-based line of questioning. "Neil, you mentioned playing sports in school. What teams did you play on?"

Neil couldn't help but smile at the sudden switch to sports. He hadn't played in years, not since he turned eighteen and graduated from high school. However, he still knew the system by heart as he explained, "Unlike most children's sports, hockey isn't separated by school. Whatever age bracket you're playing in, be it peewee, bantam, or midget, each hockey team is separated into a district..."

And it wasn't just the one question. After explaining one thing, Eve would latch onto something else he had just brought up. What did he mean by peewee, bantam, or midget? That's how they categorized players by age. What age did he start playing? He started playing as a forward at age seven. However, he spent an entire year playing as a defenseman at eleven. On and on, one question after another, with only a sip of wine (which wasn't nearly as bad as he was expecting it to be) or a quickly downed cheese bun as a reprieve.

Even Giselle seemed to be paying some attention to the conversation as she listened in. Whether she was genuinely interested or trying to find valuable bits of information to use at a later date, he had no idea. Still, she jumped in with an odd question every now and then, like asking how good of a player was he? Neil felt he was an above-average player, but not by much. He was far from the likes of Joe Sakic... He then had to explain who Joe Sakic was and his relevance to the sport on a national level.

Another question she asked focused on why he stopped playing, which caught him out of the blue. He still loved the game, but there wasn't much money in it playing for a local team. Plus, if he was ever drafted or traded to another team in another city, he'd be obligated to move, which was something he didn't want to do- not when he had other things to focus on.

As much as Giselle was paying attention to their conversation, Neil also noticed she was paying just as much attention to the Griffon and the Pegasus on the other side of the dining area. Often, she would lean back with her wine glass and not-so-subtly look across the room while her ears remained focused on him and Eve. Why she did so, he hadn't the slightest idea.

This continued until Gerard pushed past the swinging kitchen doors with three large silver platters balanced along his back and held between his wings. "I have returned! Hopefully, with a dish that all three of you will enjoy," He offered boisterously as he carefully set all three platters on the table. "One steamed lemon-garlic chicken for Madam Giselle, cooked by Gabe himself. One chef's gourmet salad for the lovely Miss Eve. And finally, for the Ambassador with interesting tastes, one slab of sweet smoked pork ribs, cooked to perfection. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"I think we're good," Neil told him, as he was more than ready to dig into his meal. The platter before him wasn't the picture-perfect set of ribs displayed on the menu, but in the end, did it even matter? The glazed meat was already falling off the bone. Not to mention, the intertwining smell of smoke, honey, and a mixture of spices vaguely reminding him of one of his Dad's preferred steak rubs was already making his mouth water in anticipation.

"Very well. I shall return shortly," Gerard said with a bow before going around their table, as well as Calm and Hearth, and heading towards the only other occupied table in the restaurant.

Not that Neil really noticed as he pincered the closest bone between his two hooves and pulled. He felt no resistance as the bone slipped free without a single ounce of meat. Undeterred, Neil quickly put the first bone aside and grabbed the next one. This time, it pulled free with a sizable chunk of pork attached. That was another reason he settled for the ribs instead of another dish. This way, he wouldn't need to ask for any help, even if he looked a little foolish as he bit down on the bone and stripped it clean in a single go.

The taste was everything he imagined and more. He didn't even care that Eve and Giselle paused, watching him as he slowly savoured the intermingling flavours he had predicted less than a minute ago from the scent alone. Yet another dish forever ruined by the Equestrian curse of tasting too good. Too soon, he swallowed as he placed the second bone down and prepared to pull off the third...

And before he even knew it, he was setting aside the final bone from the entire slab, feeling unfulfilled. He wanted at least three more, just to sate his Alicorn appetite. However, he knew he couldn't so long as he was eating in public or with people who didn't know about his wings (as they irritably ruffled underneath his cloak). With a solemn calm, he clamped down on the long wineglass stem with his two hooves and downed the rest of his wine with a single gulp.

At the very least, Giselle and Eve were almost done, so he didn't have to wait too long. And to help pass the time, he had a question for Giselle. Whether she would answer or not was an entirely different question. "I couldn't help but notice you were stealing quite a few peaks at the other table. Any particular reason why?"

"Yes, but that is none of your concern." She answered with a tone of finality as she speared the last of her chicken. She quickly swallowed it down, then turned to her green feathered guard. "Graffa, please give my regards to Gerard and Gabe, then take care of our side of the bill. We're leaving."

Caught unaware by Giselle's sudden emotional shift, Neil looked to Eve, who appeared to be just as clueless as he was. All she could offer was a simple shrug as the recently named Graffa pushed his armoured head through the kitchen doors. Less than a minute later, he returned and levelled his gaze with Giselle before lightly hitting his chest with his right claw.

After which, Giselle slipped out of her chair. Still, she spared a few seconds for Neil as she turned to face him. "It's been an... interesting time with you, Ambassador Neil. Have a good day, and I shall inform the others."

He watched as the three Griffons confidently approached the front door and exited the establishment. Was that normal here? Or was it still considered rude to enter the kitchen area uninvited? For a moment, he was tempted to ask but disregarded it. Even if it was disrespectful, he could just say he was copying Giselle as he turned to face Calm. "Calm, mind covering our side of the bill as Eve finishes?"

"Will do," Calm accepted with a firm nod before following in Graffa's footsteps.

While that was going on, he turned to Eve. "At least she left the wine?"

~~~

Three hours later, long after he returned to the castle from his odd lunch excursion, Neil found himself confined to his admittedly larger-than-average bathroom. At the time, he would have said getting the chance to eat meat again would have been worth any cost. Now, he wasn't so sure as he learned with agonizing detail on the porcelain throne why ponies don't normally eat meat.

~~~***~~~

Cadence was a flurry of emotions as she flittered about her personal dining room. She knew everything was already perfect, just as it had been half an hour ago. Still, she couldn't help but trot around the room, adjusting the placement of the plates, the cutlery, and even the sealed platters that held Shining's favourite meal. She knew she shouldn't be worried, that Shining would easily accept the news she had. But her worries were getting the better of her once again.

Not even two hours ago, as she sat on her throne and listened to an important dispute between two nobles and their houses, a priority letter appeared next to her via dragon fire. Few knew that spell, and even fewer knew how to reach her. But only Auntie Celestia's magic could warm her up like a sunny day, giving away the sender's identity and the letter's importance. After adjudicating the minor dispute between the two houses, she closed her court early and retreated to the Royal quarters to read her Aunt's letter.

It wasn't the threat to Equestria she initially assumed it would be, for which she was very thankful. With everything else going on in her life, she couldn't imagine another Tirek-like figure rampaging about. Still, it was an important summons to Canterlot. One she would heed with the respect it deserved, only... It was a solo summons, meaning Shining would feel duty-bound to stay in the Empire.

When such devotion was directed at her, she absolutely loved him for it. Yet, when it came to his life's calling and the danger he put himself in, she hated it. Two sides, and emotions, both reserved for the same precious coin that was her husband. She couldn't help but muse as she shifted a napkin just a smidgen closer to his plate. She knew he would feel duty-bound to hold the fort and protect their ponies from harm without him being asked for in the letter.

That same duty also made her husband half an hour late to dinner. Shining was always late whenever he did drills with the Crystal Guard, not that she could blame him. Most of the leadership within the Crystal Guard that survived Sombra's reign of terror were commissioned noble-mares. Most of them were competent at their job but felt it unbecoming to take orders from a stallion. Even if that stallion was the Prince of the Crystal Empire himself. Shining took it upon himself to correct their views and ensure they understood he was an integral part of the military chain of command, only second to herself in matters of authority.

As she refilled her glass with fresh ice water, her ears picked up the tell-tale signs of a door opening and the haggard clanking of plate armour. She immediately put down the glass and pranced into the living area, where she spotted an absolutely filthy Shining Armour leaning against the wall. "Another duel?"

"Unfortunately." Was his response, as his horn lit up with magic. At the same time, the straps underneath his ceremonial officer's saddle started to undo themselves. "Ruby Hoof was frustrated and questioning my unorthodox training regimen, again. It got to the point where she eventually challenged me in the pit. She managed to get in a kick or two, but I forced her to concede in the end."

"Stubborn mares," Cadence growled, doing her best to disregard the negative emotions boiling inside her chest. Instead, she focused on removing Shining's dirt-caked helmet and gently sat it down on a nearby table. "They're always dragging you to the pit, and for what? To claim dominance over my husband? I wish we could abolish the whole system and start from scratch."

"I wish we could, too, believe me," Shining admitted as he undid the final strap and lifted his saddle, revealing even more armour and padding that needed to be removed. "But throwing away everything they know isn't how I'm going to earn their trust. If I have to slog through..." He paused, censoring the term they were both thinking of before he found a far nicer replacement, "Antiquated traditions to lead our people, I'll do it. Even if I have to beat every officer in one-on-one combat."

And each time he did so, she had to deal with the aftermath during court. Except she, and hopefully Shining, would be unavailable when the time came. "Which means the Matron of House Ruby will be gracing us with her presence tomorrow?"

"Us?" Shining asked, turning to look at her with a slightly bewildered glint in his eyes that reminded her of the lovable doofus underneath all of his pomp and armour.

"Yes, us." She continued, focusing on the armour covering his powerful, well-toned flanks. She also took the time to gently raise his tail and inspect everything underneath it. No honourable mare would dare harm a stallion there, but with each and every challenge, her worries grew. Thankfully, his large, white orbs were pristine, if a bit dusty and sweaty. "I need you with me in the throne room tomorrow. And, if she doesn't show by then, I'm afraid she'll have to meet with my personal assistant."

Shining knew something was up as the armour covering his chest fell away. However, instead of clattering to the ground, he caught the plate with his magic. He placed it next to his helmet as he asked, "Why would Emerald Quill be standing in for us after tomorrow?"

"Well, Silly, if you were here on time, you'd already know." She teased as she removed the final strap holding the armour covering his haunches in place. As she sat that aside, it only left his shoulder pauldrons and the sweat-drenched padding underneath, which she started to peel off of him. "Auntie sent me a dragon fire letter, but we can discuss that during dinner."

"Or, maybe my lovely wife could tell me about it right now?" He asked, pulling off both of his shoulders and the padding underneath in a single action, before separating the two in the air. The shoulders joined the rest of his armour, while the padding was placed in a hamper tucked behind the table his armour sat on.

Oh, there were so many things she wanted to tell him. Later. Now that he was wearing nothing but his birthday coat, the heady scent of her handsome and very desirable stallion was starting to fill the room. Uncontrolled, she felt her tail flick, the first inklings of a delightful night. But, for now, she leaned forward and gave Shining's firm butt a very pointed nip. "First, you need to take a shower. Unless you want me feeling all hot and bothered as we eat?"

Taking her advice, he pushed off the wall with a slight groan, likely caused by his sore, aching muscles. "Can do, Cadence," Before he left to wash away his aches and pains, though, he caught her by surprise as he spun around and firmly pressed his lips into hers. Instantly, she surrendered to the kiss of her big (though not as big as her), strong, sweaty stallion. Even going so far as to part her lips and tempt him into furthering his passions right then and there.

Only for her cheeky stallion to pull away instead. "I've been waiting to do that all day," He admitted with a satisfied, teasing grin. "Give me ten, and I'll join you at the dinner table."

His piece said, Shining spun around and happily trotted off to the bathroom before she could respond. Not that she could think of much to say, given his raised tail and the pair of merrily bouncing balls on full display.

It took a few seconds after the door closed behind her husband before she noticed her own flagged tail. She wasn't even in heat, yet she acted like it as she rolled her eyes and forced her tail down. Oh, how she wished she could have something more potent than apple cider. But she couldn't, as she had more than a few essential topics to tell her husband. Knowing he wouldn't even take the full ten minutes, no matter how sore he was, she returned to the dining room.

Not long after she sat down, Shining's rosy pink magic took hold of the dining room door and pulled it open. Revealing her slightly damp stallion as he pressed the last remnants of water out of his mane with a towel. Just before he entered the room, without even looking, he threw the waterlogged towel toward the living room hamper. "So, what dire circumstances are we dealing with? Princess Celestia doesn't normally send letters by dragon fire."

"There aren't any sort of circumstances, threats, or villains, dire or otherwise," She quickly informed him by the time the door swung closed. "Instead, Auntie Celestia asked for my unique expertise. The thing is, we need to be in Canterlot by tomorrow night."

"It hasn't even been a year, but it's still weird for me to think of her as anything other than a Princess," Shining admitted, excusing himself as he sat beside her. Although he clearly rushed, Shining no longer smelled of sweat. Instead, she picked up the faint trace of his favourite lavender raspberry shampoo as he continued. "I take it she's going to send the friendship express with the royal carriage out of Canterlot tomorrow morning?"

"If I remember correctly, it took less than three months for you to stop calling me Princess," She pointed out, remembering how adorable he was during that time, as she slowly broke him out of that habit at the start of their relationship.

Shining was quick to counter as he leaned into her side. "And, if I remember correctly, we were bucking at the time."

"So, in order to stop calling our Aunt a Princess, you need to buck her as well?" She asked, watching as his white-furred cheeks instantly turned a deep red. The thought of being with The Princess Celestia was a forbidden taboo that all adolescent colts dreamed about at some point in their young lives. Not even her husband could deny having such perversions as a teenager, though she knew he would never act on them. Still, it was a fun string to occasionally pluck and tease Shining with as she draped her wing over him. "How very bold my Shiney is, thinking he can handle two princesses at once."

She could only imagine what sort of images spawned from his adorable little head, but she had an excellent guess judging by his dazed, if perverse, stare. Unfortunately for him, she knew after one thousand years of life, Celestia was easier to please in some ways and far harder to please in others when it came to matters of love.

After a few seconds of silence, Shining finally broke away from the visions of her and Celestia in bed as he asked, "A-anyway, what does Auntie Celestia need me to do?"

Unfortunately, that was the one question she didn't want to answer. But, if she ignored it or sidestepped it, Shining would suspect the answer either way. "Auntie only asked for me," She admitted, unfurling her other wing and holding the letter out to him so he could pluck it from her with his magic. "But, I would really appreciate it if my husband came with me as moral support?"

"If she only needs one of us, then you know as well as I do that the other needs to stay and ensure the Empire runs smoothly. It's our duty as Princess and Prince to protect our citizens," He stated, saying the one thing she hated to hear- because she knew he was right.

Sighing, she pulled him in for a tight snuggle as he finished the short, if somewhat vague, letter. "She needs your expertise, but she didn't say why?"

Cadence nodded, knowing he'd feel it before retracting her wing and letting him go. "If you're done reading, you know just as much as I do."

Instead of answering right away, Shining focused on the letter. He moved it over to the unlit fireplace. A safe distance from them both before his magic pulsed and the parchment incinerated. "You don't think Prin- er, Auntie Celestia found a herd, do you?"

"If she did, I doubt she'd need my help. Honestly, I don't know why she needs me of all ponies," Cadence admitted, allowing Shining to hear one of the worries that had been eating away at her since she read Celestia's letter. "Outside of my domain, anything I can do, she can do ten times better."

"You know that isn't true," Shining intervened immediately as his soulful, loving eyes looked up into hers. "I don't think babysitting falls under your domain, but I couldn't imagine Princess Celestia watching over Twilight the same way you did."

"You know how much I love foals, and Twilight was absolutely adorkable as a child," She said truthfully as she skirted another topic that worried her to Tartarus and back. "Kind of like another dork I knew back then who had big dreams of being a hotshot guard."

"Well, with a little perseverance and a little luck, I think I earned that hotshot title, don't you?" He asked jokingly before giving her nose a quick peck of a kiss. "Just relax, take it easy, and you'll be able to do whatever Prin- Auntie Celestia needs you to do. Now, is there anything else we need to talk about? If not, I'm absolutely starving."

'There's one last thing,' She wanted to say. It was such a simple string of words that she wanted, no, needed to say. And yet, like every other night she tried to say those exact words, her muzzle smiled, and she shook her head as her doubts won out again. "You've had a long, hard day. Eat up, and then we can finish what we started in bed."

With that, Cadence focused on her magic and unveiled what lay beneath the platters. She usually wasn't one for spicy foods, but Shining absolutely loved it. As such, she had the castle chefs make her husband's favourite dishes, admittedly, with a Crystal Empire twist. Between the large bowl of chilli, a whole pot of black bean soup, a platter of bell pepper fajitas, and a tray of milder white cheddar frittatas for herself, there was plenty for the two of them to go around.

Shining took one look at the supper she ordered, then turned to look back at her. "You really want me to go with you to Canterlot."

"I do," She admitted with a sigh. "But you're right, even if I don't like it. One of us has to stay."

Instead of digging in right away, Shining wrapped a foreleg around her and leaned in, squeezing her thoroughly with a tight hug. Still, she noticed one of the fajitas lift off its tray and float toward her husband's open mouth, which was uncomfortably close to her fur. After taking a large bite and swallowing, he looked up. "Feeling better?"

"A little," She conceded as she leaned down and kissed his grinning muzzle. Not for long, though, as the moment she made contact, she felt the mild burning sensation of bell peppers. "Now hurry up and finish; otherwise, I might eat all of your spicy stuff before you do."

That was all the cajoling Shining needed to finally dig in, and she followed in a somewhat controlled fashion. That was another thing that made her chuckle. The Twilight household might have been minor nobles, but they sure didn't eat like they were as Shining piled a little bit of everything haphazardly onto his plate.

The food was excellent, as always, and so was the overall meal itself. When it came to dinner topics, both of them tended to avoid anything work-related. Instead, they focused on topics about things that brightened their day, even if they were small. For example, during Shining's lunch break out in the countryside, a small flutter of butterflies decided to rest on one of the stallion recruits, which focused the attention of all the nearby mares on the poor guy in an awkwardly adorable manner.

In return, Cadence didn't have too much to say. She received the performance reports for the newest batch of maids-in-training, all of whom were showing potential. Including the extra glittery sapphire blue Crystal Pony mare that seemed to catch Shining's eye whenever she walked by. Sky Feather had yet to earn her mark, but in Cadence's honest opinion, she was a hard worker and quite beautiful. An excellent addition to their herd if Shining was willing to give her a chance.

In response, he blushed and mumbled something she couldn't quite hear.

It wasn't until after they finished supper and were getting ready for bed, that Shining came out of their attached bathroom with renewed worries about Celestia's letter. "Cadence, I just thought of something."

"Oh? And what did you just think of? Was it my perky butt?" She asked, turning around. Only to see a look of concern on his face.

"No, but I am now, which helps a little." He admitted before voicing his thoughts. "What if the letter has to do with him?"

There were quite a few hims regarding Shining's list of worries. Primarily, it was Sombra and the chance he might return from whatever the Crystal Heart did to him. Tirek was also a close second on his list since the Centaur escaped from Tartarus once. The likelihood was slim, but never zero, that he could do it again. Still, it was probably best to make sure which him Shining was talking about. "Him, who?"

"You know, the new Alicorn with the odd name," He answered, wiggling his body in a silly little dance as if he was unfurling a set of wings. "Kneel."

"I don't think that's how you pronounce his name," She chided lightly, remembering the strangely written word from Celestia's letter two weeks ago. "But, you saw the same letter I did. Auntie never mentioned him once."

"I know, but I'm just saying this all sounds similar to Princess Amore's diary entries," Shining admitted as he looked over to the bookshelf full of ancient, restricted books they had pulled from the Crystal Library. "Sombra had a grey coat and a darker mane, just like Kneel. Sombra appeared at the edge of the Empire's barrier, and Kneel appeared out of thin air in Canterlot. It's too similar."

"That's true," She admitted, going over their similar stories in her mind. "But I also think you're forgetting two small but important details, Shiney."

"I am?" He asked, confused, turning back to her.

"Sombra appeared as a child, and so did I, as far as I can remember," She reminded him as she thought back to her own childhood, and the earliest memories she could remember. "Let's not forget I was found near the Earth Pony village of Evergreen as well."

"We don't know how you appeared there," Shining pointed out, "Unlike Kneel and Sombra."

"We also don't know about Sombra's sudden appearance, only that he was found like me." She corrected, remembering how the guard found the evil king near the barrier. And, when nopony claimed him as their own, they shipped the poor foal straight to an orphanage for care. "Either way, I think I turned out fine. I'm willing to give this new Alicorn a chance."

"Okay, fine," Shining conceded with a slight pout, the exact same one that came out whenever he lost an encounter in O&O. "What's the second detail I missed?"

"Oh, nothing much," Cadence brushed aside as she slowly turned to face the bed. "Just the fact that Sombra and I share a colour."

"What colour?" Shining asked, confused, as he looked appreciatively over her body. "You're a lovely rainbow of pink, purple, and pastels. Sombra was grey, dark grey, and even darker grey."

"He also had red eyes and a red horn," Cadence reminded him as she placed her front legs on the bed, kneeling so that her rump was sticking in the air. At the same time, she began to sway her hips from side to side, alluringly while her tail slowly lifted, drawing his eyes right where she wanted them. She couldn't help but wink as she imagined what he was about to do to her. "Which will match my red flanks once you've pounded them senseless."

Author's Note

Well, I was shocked when we reached 666. I was even more shocked when we reached 1000. How the hell am I supposed to feel now that we've hit 1900 likes, and 20,000 views!? Just short of 200,000 words!?!? Mild panic? I think that's what I'm feeling. Either that, or lightheaded elation. I don't know.

You guys and gals absolutely blow me away. (Figuratively, not literally. I think I'd feel more relaxed if the latter was the case.)

And now that the numbers rambling is out of the way, I guess I'll say I love certain aspects of this chapter, and dislike some others. Every day I went to write Giselle, I had a different feel and vibe about her, making her feel a bit bi-polar in my head? I tried to keep it from the chapter, and likely failed. If I wasn't nearing my monthly deadline, I probably would have given this a couple of days to sit, read over the chapter, and rewritten aspects.

Instead it'll stay until like this until the eventual rewrite. But hey, that's after I complete (Book 1) and see where the story went. :D

Other'n that, a wild Cadence and Shining have made their appearance! And during their private time, no less. Why did Celestia call her to Canterlot? Will she ever manage to tell Shiny the thing she needs to tell him? Will her butt really end up that red? Who knows? ;)

...I do. At least for the butt thing. Shining left her feeling sore and satisfied, just the way she likes it. :twilightblush:

Thanks to Dat_Random_Fur for editing. He's American, and filters my story through a Trashy English filter for you all, so throw him a toy gun or something as thanks?

Also, if you want to chat, or just do whatever, our quirky discord can be found here: https://discord.gg/JhhwM89VPY

Anyway, given mine and Neil's abysmal luck, along with the introduction of Shining and Cadence, I felt it fitting to end with this thing that has no relation to the story at all:

16. Feeling Horny Part 1

(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? :pinkiecrazy:

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. :rainbowlaugh:

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. :pinkiecrazy:

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. :trollestia:

17. Feeling Horny Part 2

(November 10th: 24th Day Since Capture)

Gasping, Neil tore his eyes open as he found himself in what appeared to be his living room. It was hard to perceive through the cold, misty haze that settled over his eyes. But, as he frantically looked around, he eventually recognized the walls and the furniture around the fireplace as his. Not that it helped much, given the strange, frozen disconnect entrenched throughout his body.

Beyond his sight, he could feel a shivering numbness that overwhelmed his entire body. He did not feel himself sitting firmly planted on the carpeted floor, nor the irritating itch that was caused at the base of his tail. He didn't know that both of his back legs were numb from not moving for over an hour. None of that pierced through the cold as he jolted upright into a precarious position, only for his back legs to give out partway and fall back on his ass.

Undeterred, Neil stubbornly tried to stand again as he did his best to ignore the numbness and the uncontrolled shaking. At the same time, he heard Cadence's worried voice breach the cold veil around him, "Neil, are you alright? What happened?"

It might have been little more than a distant whisper to his frozen ears, but he still heard her words. And his own voice soon followed as a confusing, disjointed jumble of words fell out of his mouth, trying to describe what had happened as best he could. "I don't know. I found myself..."

Honestly, he was too busy ensuring he was back in his room to shut himself up. He was double and triple-checking everything as the haze slowly lifted from his eyes. Identifying familiar things like his chair or Cadence herself, again and again, to make sure he was safe and sound, and most importantly, not dead.

Before Neil could attempt to fully stand for a third time, he felt a sudden, jarring warmth as his whole body was encompassed by a pair of pink wings and two firm, surprisingly muscled legs that held him in place with a hug. For just a moment, his skin felt like it was being seared from the temperature difference alone. If not for the added weight forcing him to remain seated, Neil would have collapsed, trying to escape.

After the initial burn, however, her warmth seemed to radiate inwards, counteracting the cold that had settled into his body. That's how Cadence held him throughout his explanation. From the cold, dark void he found himself in, the unending ice glacier he had to walk across, suddenly finding himself standing in water, and finally, the explosion.

With Cadence's neck pressed against his own, it didn't take long for the mist in his eyes to clear away from her body heat alone. Returning clarity to his vision as he finished his tale, "The light closed in. I felt the cracking. There wasn't anything I could do. And then, there was an explosion that threw me up, into the darkness. I thought I was dead..."

"Neil," Cadence stated firmly, giving his body a solid squeeze that made it slightly more challenging to breathe, "I can say, without a doubt, you aren't dead. You're alive and well, and I'm here for you. After that experience, though, maybe we should end your lesson here."

Despite her firm hold over him, Neil vociferously shook his head in the negative. "No."

That answer seemed to have given her pause as she partially withdrew from her hug and looked at him with concern. "No?"

"No," He reaffirmed as he carefully shuffled the rest of the way out of her grasp. "The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can put horn crap aside and forget about it."

Cadence gave him a long, crestfallen sigh, "Neil, you're not going to finish your lessons in a single day. We can continue if you want, but you've already made exceptional progress by finding your center."

"Speaking of," Neil piped up, eyes narrowed at her accusingly. "Why didn't you warn me about that?"

"Honestly, I didn't think it would be a bad experience. Every foal I've ever taught reacted with sheer delight when they found their center," She explained before a distant look came over her with the faintest blush on her cheeks. "When I discovered mine, well, it's kind of hard to explain? Maybe we experience things differently since we're Alicorns?"

Unwilling to let her off the hook, Neil pressed on with the topic, "What happened when you found yours?"

Cadence took a deep breath to center herself, then began her tale once she was ready. "The moment I touched my center, I found myself unable to move, tangled in an unending web of red strings. You might think that would be terrifying, but it honestly wasn't. Not only could I feel every other pony around me through the strings, but it was also like I was living their joys through my center. I was the conduit for their emotions. It was simply euphoric..."

She paused as her wings gave an involuntary ruffle against her sides, and her blush became as prominent as her warm smile. "Although, that might have been due to the head butler and one of his herd-mates who worked as a maid. They chose to take their break in the room above and showed their love for one another with a passionate bout of lovemaking. I woke up shivering after finding my center for an entirely different reason."

"So, you found your center and got off while I almost died finding mine," Neil groaned, succumbing to his urge to facepalm... Only for his hoof to glance off his horn and hit him just above his eye. "If that ain't my fucking luck."

He was cut off momentarily by Cadence's half-stifled gasp, likely caused by his crass choice of words. When she didn't say anything, however, he continued. "So, what's the next step?"

"If you're sure you want to continue?" She repeated, only to continue when he gave her a firm nod. "The next step is finding the pathway connecting your center to your horn. After that, you simply need to draw magic from your center and collect it in the area at the base of your horn."

"Before you start," She added, holding up a hoof before he closed his eyes, "I would also like to say this. When using magic, your wings and hooves act more passively. They automatically take your desires and, for the most part, turn them into action. Your horn, however, is a very different type of focus. It's more interactive and thought-dependent, which leads to the art of spell-casting, being quite complex. Luckily, there are a few spells that can be performed instinctively. Telekinesis is one such spell, and we're going to use that to our advantage today."

"That sounds good and all, but I can already pick stuff up with my wings." He told her, as the feathers on his left-wing visibly curled around an imaginary object to support his claim. "What are the other things I can do?"

"Thanks to our Unicorn ancestors, who instinctively used magic to collect food and ward off predators, bolts of raw magic and simple barriers also fall under that category." She told him while slipping in a small history lesson. "Unfortunately, it's much harder to cast those spells without a nearby threat to focus on."

"That's good to know," He told her honestly, filing that interesting tidbit away for later. Had his horn been free, perhaps he would have fared better against the timberwolves or even that cockatrice? It was food for thought as his mind turned to a much closer threat. "Do you think that's why Celestia left? She didn't want to be here for target practice?"

"I may not be the best at combat, but in all our years of sparring, I still haven't managed to hit her once," Cadence explained with a hint of chagrin, either embellishing Celestia's combat prowess, admitting how bad she was during combat, or both. "I would be absolutely shocked if you hit her with a magic bolt. Now, unless you've changed your mind, let's settle down, relax, and find your horn."

That was something he could agree with, at the very least. Before he followed her instructions, however, "One last question. After I find this pathway, how do I draw magic to the base of my horn?"

"That's something each pony has to discover on their own," She admitted before describing her own technique to draw upon her magic. "I focus on the red string going directly from my center to my horn. After that, I gently pluck it, and the vibrations draw magic out for my spell casting. I also tighten up the weave near the base of my horn so the magic can collect for larger spells."

With all that information swirling around in his mind, Neil closed his eyes and relaxed as his consciousness faded into the absolute darkness. Once he found himself in the right frame of mind, he brought into being the base replica of his body and angled it to get a good look at where his neck should have been.

His magical pathways weren't currently visible, but thanks to the radar-like blips earlier, he knew if he focused on an area, they would flow beyond the false skin of his replica if certain extremities weren't added. With that in mind, he knew he could be slightly more lax with his modeling.

That change saved him a fair amount of time as he fashioned a basic neck-like cylinder and placed it onto the torso where it belonged. A crude, horned head that intentionally lacked ears followed soon afterward. He knew the proportions were off, but all he had to do was single out one specific pathway from the rest.

The next step was to shift his focus back to the pulsing sparks, but only a little. He didn't want to be blinded as he focused and started to pick up the odd vibration in his chest, neck, and head. Seconds later, he found the sweet spot as inky black dots began to appear, filling in his pathways throughout the parts of his body he was focusing on. It worked as the dots colored in two major pathways running through his neck.

One passed along the underside of his throat, close to where his jugular should have been, or so he thought. The other, strangely enough, materialized like a coiled spring as it appeared to wrap around his spine. There was just one problem. He couldn't tell which pathway flowed into his head and which one was flowing away.

He could only think of a single solution, as well. Resigning himself, Neil bolstered his mind as he focused solely on his neck and allowed the sparks to shift into their next phase. As quickly as he could, he watched as the sparks jumped all over the place throughout his neck. However, by the fourth Prench Rose flash, he was fairly certain he had to draw on the pathway near his jugular.

With his mind made up, he allowed the colors to fade away. Leaving a single pathway that flowed into a clustered knot at the base of his horn. Similar to the pathways circling his center, that was an entirely different mess he didn't know what to do with, but he'd get to it later. His main priority now was to focus on his chosen pathway and force magic through it. The only question, however, was how?

His first instinct was to draw on it by pulling. At least, he imagined himself pulling on it. But, like partially melted ice, he couldn't get a firm grip on it. The pathway held firm under his imaginary, spectral hands. His next idea was a completely different attack vector. If he couldn't pull from the outside, he could pull, or more accurately, siphon magic through the inside. In the end, that work about as well as an inept redneck trying to steal gas out of a car.

With two failures under his belt, he felt his frustration growing by the minute until he was hit by a literal spark of inspiration. The things he was tracking through his system were sparks. They may not be made up of actual electricity, but maybe if he focused on his horn to magnetically attract his magic to it? After five minutes of nothing but a rising tension in his veins, he was also willing to write that idea off as a flop.

This particular step was becoming far more irritating than he initially thought. Even worse, he knew any minute now, unless he came up with an idea, Cadence would force him to wake up, and calm down before he could take another chance. Unfortunately, after those three failures, every idea after that was so stupid he dismissed it out of hand. Imagining a lightning strike on his horn? Sure, that would work- if he was Thor or wanted to die.

What was he missing? Cadence even explained to him that ancient Unicorns evolved to do this instinctively. This was a part of biology, so why couldn't there be a single, uniform, and, most importantly, easy way to do this! Was he overthinking this?.. Or, maybe he couldn't do it because he wasn't really a pony?

Gritting his teeth, he swatted that aside as he tried to ignore the thrumming of the blood flowing through his ears. And then he heard it. The faint mixing of slush in a glass, or maybe the bending of a half-frozen garden hose, echoed in his head. He thought his imagination was running rampant for a split second until he felt a sudden, electrifying chill. Cold ice water flowed through his neck, caressed his forehead and the base of his horn with an unpredictable swirl, then traveled up and back down his horn before literally sending shivers down his spine.

Once the cold feeling faded into his body, Neil took over a few seconds to process what had just happened. He was well and truly frustrated; that much was clear. And then... the mixing of crushed ice and water? Was that it? No, that didn't make any sense. His pathways were clear, solid ice... But so was the glacier he walked upon until it wasn't. Pressure built up underneath him, and then it exploded. Was pressure the answer?

Apparently, it was, as the pathway twitched and flexed under his amateur control. It did the job as he heard the mixing of crushed ice in water before he felt another near-constant stream of cold flowing through his chest and neck. Neil released his control once it reached his horn and continued to flow past it. For a second, he questioned what he was supposed to do next. But then, he remembered Cadence saying she had to tighten the weave around her horn. Did he have to do something similar? Obviously, but in a different manner. Something unique to him... Since he was working with ice, maybe a layer over a frozen lake?

As the idea came to him, a cool feeling suddenly settled into the back of his mind. For the first time that night, he felt optimistic that he did things right on the first try. Still, imagining two separate scenarios at once was a little odd.

He kept the frozen lake in his mind and applied enough pressure to crack his pathways like a glow stick. Even then, he felt the coolness flow up his neck, and after twirling around his skull, it went into his horn and stayed there.

"Oh, that's a lovely shade of blue, Neil," Cadence's warm, and dare he think it, the proud voice suddenly echoed throughout the darkness of his mind. "You did it!"

Neil might have been distracted by the sensation of cool water pooling inside his horn and settling into his forehead but the temptation was too great. He cracked open a single eye and looked up. He saw the entire top half of his horn was alight, glowing with the same gentle white-blue light that illuminated most of his journey through his center.

Once he discovered that, he was surprised that his chest swelled with a calm pride at his achievement instead of being mildly repulsed by the light. It did forcefully eject him, if not nearly kill him at the end of his journey, after all. But he just couldn't find it in himself to feel that way as more cool, soothing magic filled his mind.

Unwilling to move, he glanced over to Cadence with his only open eye and asked, "What do I do n-"

Suddenly, everything he knew, imagined and real, became a giant flash of chartreuse as he was thrown forcefully onto his back. For the briefest of moments, as he was being flung through the air, Neil also caught sight of a fiery, basketball-sized projectile of the same colour as it splashed against his wall. Spreading across the surface as if it were made of Greek fire or napalm.

Neil heard, more than he saw, the crackling of flames as he slid to a halt near the dining room door. The powerful but muted thud of hooves reverberated through the room as Cadence leaped up and faced the fire immediately. He blinked away his half-dazed state and watched Cadence form a large, light-blue barrier. Large enough to fully encapsulate the chartreuse fire eating away at his wall. Unfortunately, the moment it formed a seal around the fire, the fire itself seemed to leap up and dissolve the barrier as the flames gleefully ate away at it. It even released a cacophony of perfectly timed belches once the barrier finally vanished.

Undeterred, Cadence's next move was to launch an ongoing tsunami of rainbow-coloured soap bubbles at the fire. This time, instead of belches, the room was filled with the drowning warbles of a dying fire until nothing but silence and a couch-sized chartreuse burn mark were left. Looking between his rear legs, he also noticed his carpet was covered in a layer of rainbow foam, which was quickly being blanketed by a layer of smoke that billowed out from the bottom of the burn mark.

As Cadence turned to look at him, she asked, "I'm going to guess that little mishap was an accident?"

Before Neil could fully process what the hell just happened or regain his situational awareness, he met her gaze, and the first thing that came to his distracted mind was a joke. "If I knew I could cast fireball, I would have made sure the room was bigger first."

Her smile made it clear she didn't really blame him for what happened. Not entirely, at least. But, in that moment of odd camaraderie, something else clicked in the back of Neil's mind. With the way she looked over him at that moment and his current position laying belly up, with his cloak and tail sprawled haphazardly on the floor, she could probably see everything. With that in mind and fuelled by a minor spike of panic, he quickly scrambled to roll over onto his belly.

As Neil did so, he also earned a face full of acrid black smoke that mostly covered the living room floor by that point. It smelled and tasted vaguely like an oven-baked chicken. The moment it wafted into his eyes, it caused an irritating sizzle, making them water almost immediately. By the time he was standing, he could barely see through his red and puffy eyes.

Cadence apparently missed that aspect of the smoke, however. As he rolled over, she either turned to give him some privacy or to give the scorched wall a closer look as she walked up to the damage. "With that exciting twist, I think a well-deserved break is in order. We've been at this for hours, and I wouldn't want all those pastries and baked goods to go to waste. You go and eat, and I'll follow once I figure out how to clean this up."

Neil silently accepted her invitation for snacks and retreated into the nearby dining room once he was fully upright. It was the perfect sanctuary to give himself a reprieve from the smoke he was apparently allergic to. A tiny sliver of smoke managed to follow him inside, only to dissipate almost immediately as the smell of smokey chicken was replaced with apple pie, lemon meringue, cinnamon, and a plethora of other sugary goods intertwined into a single mouth-watering scent.

He couldn't see everything clearly, but his stomach gave an approving growl as he sat down. Following his nose, Neil's wings flowed from underneath his cape and went about dishing him up a plate.

Ten minutes later, just as Neil finished off his second plate and claimed a banana cream pie for himself, the door to the living room casually slipped open. Cadence walked into the room with a calm but confident presence of a job well done. As Neil leaned over the table to look past her, he had to admit it was well-earned. There was no hint of foam or smoke covering the now clean floor of the living room. And though he couldn't see the full burn mark from his position, as far as he could tell, the wall looked normal, as if it hadn't been burnt in the first place.

"Feeling a little better now?" Cadence asked as the door closed behind her with a small click.

Resting back in his seat, Neil allowed his wing to continue cutting his pie into quarters as he gave Cadence a shrug. "A little, now that my eyes aren't burning from the smoke."

Cadence nodded, acknowledging his answer as she casually walked around the table. Once she reached the seat across from him, however, she sat down and claimed a tray of chocolate eclairs. "So long as you aren't hurt. If you don't mind me asking, do you have any idea, why that happened?"

He did mind a little, but she likely needed to know either way since she was the teacher. After that momentary mental debate, he told her his best guess so far. "I was gathering magic, just like you told me to, and then I think a spark went off? That would explain the chartreuse flash I saw. The next thing I know, I'm being thrown back by a fireball of the same colour."

Instead of responding immediately, she took time to think about his answer. During that time, half of her eclairs daintily vanished before she decided to share her thoughts. "Like I said before, we're definitely in undiscovered territory here. With everything I've read over the years, I can't think of anything like this happening before."

"Oh, yay." Neil deadpanned as he transferred a quarter section of banana cream pie onto his plate with the dessert spatula held in his wing. "Here's hoping I get home before I become the first Alicorn stallion to blow himself up."

"Now, there's no use being a jenny downer." She jokingly reprimanded, "All we have to do is take your sparks into account. We'll start small, with barely any magic, and work our way up until one of your sparks triggers a reaction."

"Do you really think that'll work?" Neil asked as he finished his pie. "I'd rather not explode every five seconds."

"You shouldn't have to worry. If you can get levitation down without these sparks interfering, we can call it a day," She told him as she finished another eclair. "Just remember, even with these sparks causing some unexpected chaos, magic is a powerful gift. And, 'with great power, comes great responsibility'."

Neil was momentarily blindsided as she said that phrase. Technically, it isn’t an impossibility for her to know a saying like that. Despite the odds, they somehow shared a language. But to say those exact words, as if she knew where that phrase came from? Still dumbfounded by the coincidence, Neil asked, "How do you know that?"

"The quote? My husband says it all the time. I think he picked it up from one of his comics or role-playing games as a foal. He was such an adorable little nerd back then..." She told him as she reminisced with a yearning smile. At the same time, she set aside her now empty platter and brought over a two-tier chocolate cake with her aura.

Comic books? Role-playing games? With hindsight, it sounded obvious that ponies would have those things. But, Spider-Man? What else did they have? The Avengers, Fantastic Four, perhaps even Batman, and the DC universe? And what about the villains? Given what he knew of pony history, he couldn't imagine mass murderers and world destroyers being a welcome concept in media designed for foals.

As they ate in silence, each lost in their thoughts, Neil wondered if ponies had stores specifically designed for gaming, comics, and other nerdy things? And, if there was, should he give into temptation and take a peek? To see if stories and concepts from his world were ponified, like some bizarre Spider-Verse crossover? Unable to decide, he opted to table that for later as he finished his pie and started rooting for his next baked victim.

A quick glance at Cadence revealed she was already on her fourth platter, judging by the silver trays next to her. He didn't know if it was a royalty thing or an Alicorn thing, but Cadence clearly inherited Celestia's ability to politely wolf down massive amounts of food. He wasn't going to question it, though, as he extended a wing and nabbed what looked to be an alluring cinnamon cheesecake that smelled heavenly.

By the time he dug in, it tasted even better.

Neil didn't know exactly how long they spent in the dining room. However, as he finished off his second cheesecake, this one topped with blueberries, Cadence politely cleared her throat to gain his attention. "Neil, would it be okay if I told you something? Something not even my Aunt or my husband knows about?"

Caught off guard by the sudden request, Neil's mind immediately swarmed over all the information he knew about her, along with the glaring gaps that invited more than a few theories. Was one of his theories about to be proven correct? Was she, too, a human, and she somehow picked up on the fact that he wasn't a pony? His muscles went stiff as he looked over to her at a glacial pace. "Uh, sure. It's not like I can stop you."

"Oh, thank you!" She all but exploded with giddiness as she continued. "I can tell you have plenty of secrets you aren't willing to share. I've been trying to tell somepony about this for weeks. But, something always comes up, or it's not the right time, or I lose my nerves, or... well, I guess I'm rambling a little now-"

She cut herself off, took a deep breath, and looked Neil straight in the eyes with the biggest smile he'd seen yet on her. "I'm going to have a foal!"

That... wasn't what he was expecting to hear at all. And, knowing she was a part of royalty, his mind immediately dove off the deep end. Was her foal a bastard, in the literal sense? Is that why she couldn't tell her husband or Celestia? Was it illegal for an Alicorn to have a- He immediately threw that half-formed idea aside. Otherwise, Celestia and Luna's dynasty would have died out long ago. Were they the only ones allowed to have children?

"Congratulations, I guess?" He offered, trying his best to sound happy for the mare he just met. "Out of literally everyone else in the world, though, why are you telling me?"

"Well, as I said before. You strike me as a good secret keeper, and I've been bursting to tell somepony, but I want to be the one to tell Shining. I've been trying to tell him for weeks. But, between our busy schedules and my nervousness, nothing seems like the right time. There's also his over-protectiveness I'll have to contend with once he finds out." She quickly admitted all of that before her eyes narrowed.

"And don't even get me started on the sex!" Neil didn't, unwilling to touch that topic. Cadence didn't seem to notice, though, as she riled herself up and plowed into the topic anyway. "Don't get me wrong, I love him whether he's bucking me senseless or making gentle love to me. But I prefer it when he takes charge and overwhelms me until I'm a drooling mess on the bed. He's the first stallion to make my legs give out during an orgasm, and-"

"Okay!" Neil raised his voice slightly, unwilling to imagine Cadence having horse sex with some unknown stallion. "You like to get your brains fucked out, I get it, so stop with the disturbing imagery! Why can't you tell Celestia you're pregnant?"

"Honestly," She said, sounding somewhat flabbergasted after his outburst, "I didn't want to tell her the good news through a letter. I wanted to do it on a day like today when we were together. But, when we were talking in private, well... I couldn't. I didn't want to make her jealous."

"Well, you managed to tell me, I guess," Neil stated, calming down though he was unwilling to delve further into the topic. "Anything else before we get back to work?" He asked as he slid off of his chair. Normally, he'd do something about the leftovers and the dishes, but as Dust Cover told him, she would take care of it. Heeding her words, he made his way towards the living room.

"There's nothing I can think of," She told him as she, too, slipped out of her chair. As she pranced alongside the table towards the door, she jokingly asked, "Unless you want to share something with me?"

As Neil grabbed hold of the doorknob with his wing, he paused, acting as if he considered her question for a whole second. "Nope," Was his answer as he opened the door and passed through to an untouched living room as if nothing had happened before. "There's no way in hell I'm telling you anything. So, what am I doing now?"

"Right; the first thing we have to learn is how much magic you can draw." She told him as she walked around him and claimed her spot on the carpet again. "We'll start with the smallest amount, just enough to make your horn glow, and work our way up until your sparks react."

Mentally and physically preparing himself, Neil sat down, closed his eyes, and drew on his magic exactly as before. Needless to say, the next couple of hours were quite... volatile.

~~~***~~~

As Twilight casually made her way toward the library, she couldn't help but compare how she felt now to how she felt earlier in the day. Just that morning, she was in a frantic flurry of stressful paperwork after learning she had accidentally over-scheduled her time. Her meeting with Mayor Mare about this month's pre-planned community activities, gatherings, and festivals, which she thought had been scheduled for tomorrow, was scheduled for today instead. Meaning, that Twilight had to speed write her first draft letter to A.K. Yearling, rush through most of her Princess paperwork (which needed to be done for that very meeting), and set aside the rest for later. Any free time she had for less-intensive side projects was also canceled.

It was a hassle, which almost became an absolute nightmare. Still, Twilight managed to finish everything necessary just in time for her eleven o'clock meeting. During that hour-long meeting, however, everything else she had pushed aside was fretting at the back of her mind. Something Rarity must have picked up on during the meeting with Mayor Mare.

After the meeting, Rarity managed to catch her in the main lobby before she could rush off to her next scheduled task. Instead of the short five-minute lunch break at the Hayburger Twilight had scratched into her busy schedule, Rarity had generously offered that she go out to lunch with the Fashionista and Fluttershy, followed by a trip to the spa. She insisted that a bit of rest and relaxation would do wonders. In the end, Twilight relented, knowing she would just have to make up the difference tomorrow.

With a proper lunch, an hour of pampering under Aloe and Lotus' skilled hooves, and some light gossip, Twilight felt primed and ready to take on the rest of her scheduled tasks as she caught sight of the library's double doors. With but an afterthought, her magic wrapped around one of the crystalline doors and gently pushed it aside. Even months after moving into her castle, it still felt odd that she was inside her home and had to open the door to her treasure trove of books. She much preferred simply walking down the stairs from her bedroom and being greeted with rows upon rows of her prized possessions...

Not to say she couldn't change the past, as she entered the library proper. She already reverse-engineered one of Starswirl's spells with minimal consequences. She could do the same with his time-travel spell. The only problem with that, however, was that even minor alterations could lead to many, many untold consequences! Instead of the library, Tirek could just as easily choose to destroy Carousel Boutique, Sugarcube Corner, or any other building that could be occupied. And, it would be entirely her fault. No, despite her ability, she wasn't desperate, selfish, or stupid enough to alter the past just to save her previous home.

As she walked by the head librarian's desk, she looked past it to the shelf full of restricted books. Giving Sunset Shimmer's journal a cursory glance was quickly becoming a habit. However, it was perfectly normal, like all the other times she passed by. It felt like weeks had passed, and her message still went unanswered. Honestly, she was starting to worry that something had happened.

Then again, she helped them defeat the sirens shortly after Tirek's attack. If not for that, she might have thought Tirek's rampage might have damaged the mirror portal, Sunset Shimmer's journal, or both. But they were both in perfect working order. Putting her worries aside, she would give it another week, at most, before she did something as drastic as an unscheduled visit.

She had an entire table laden with paperwork to focus on. Now that Mayor Mare cemented November's festivities schedule, her job was to approve the number of stalls that could reasonably fit inside the town hall plaza limits and manage the overflow into the park on the other side of the river without crowding. After that, she could finish the rest of her sparse Princess of Friendship paperwork and other light duties, then finally go over the first draft of A.K. Yearling's letter, make corrections, draft a second letter, and...

...

"Twilight."

She blinked. Was she forgetting something? Her eyes shifted to the right, where a three-foot-tall stack of paperwork used to be, only to see an empty spot. Definitely not that, as she looked to the other side of the table and confirmed the existence of a neatly piled and, most importantly, completed stack of papers ready to be sent to Canterlot.

"Twilight!"

Her ears perked. For a fraction of a second, she swore she heard something. Was someone coming into the library? It was the middle of the afternoon, so that was a distinct possibility as she looked around and settled her gaze on the unmoving doors. After a second, she was just about to give up and focus on her letter to A.K. Yearling again when...

Spike's voice came from directly underneath her chin. "Twilight!"

Looking down, she saw her brother/number one assistant, not only wearing his favorite frilly pink apron with a heart but looking up at her with an annoyed expression. "Yes, Spike? Is there something you need me to do?"

"Yes, there is. I was coming up to tell you it's almost six and that dinner should be ready soon," Spike grumbled, clearly annoyed at her since she was lost in thought again. Honestly, she really had to work on her situational awareness and do better regarding her little dragon brother.

"But," He continued, pointing at the head librarian's desk behind him, "As I walked in here, I noticed Sunset's journal was flashing. You were waiting for her to answer, weren't you?"

Sunset Shimmer's journal was flashing!? Ripping her gaze away from Spike, she pinpointed Sunset's journal immediately as the familiar pink light faded from the cover. Half a second later, it lit up again, along with a muted rumble, as the shelf vibrated against the wall and the floor.

Without a thought, she reached out with her magic and snatched the book from its place. There was no telling what Sunset Shimmer responded with. Did she know about Canada from an ancient forbidden prediction or legend similar to Nightmare Moon? Or was Celestia's former pupil just as clueless about Canada's existence as herself? The moment she set the book on the table, she flipped open the cover and started racing through the pages to Sunset's reply.

The reason she noticed Spike hopping up on the table was because he used her shoulder as a brace to prevent himself from falling. Not that she minded, as she finally reached Sunset's answer:

Dear Princess Twilight,

First and foremost, I'm really sorry about the delay. I don't know when you sent your question, but we've recently had a long weekend off from school, and I left the journal in my locker for safekeeping. Otherwise, I would have answered right away.

Things have been going well for me at Canterlot High. There have been a few minor arguments here and there between our friends, mainly Rainbow and AJ, but we always make up. Our friendship is stronger than it was before the Sirens. If you're wondering, I can't think of anything magical happening since the Sirens were defeated besides our ability to pony up.

As for your question, I never found any references relating to Canada while studying under Princess Celestia. It's strange, though. You may not have learned this during your stay on this side of the portal, but Canterlot, the city I live in, doesn't reside in Equestria. Equestria itself does not exist on this side of the mirror portal.

The country I currently reside in is called the United States of Amareica. Similarly, the Crystal Empire is not the country that borders us to the north. Instead, it's called Caneighda, which sounds similar to the country you're looking for.

I hope this was helpful to you,
Sunset Shimmer.

While it wasn't an exact match, Twilight couldn't believe her luck! If the Canada she was tasked to find was, indeed, Caneighda from the mirror world, then she just completed the task Princess Celestia personally asked her to do! It now made complete sense. She couldn't find a single trace of Canada in any of her history books. Unless Starswirl mentioned the country in one of his many lost journals or half-finished tomes?

But, there was one glaring problem. Why would Princess Celestia ask her to find a country from an alternate dimension? If it was documented by Starswirl, why wouldn't she mention that important detail, or better yet, allow her to study from the text, itself?

"Um, Twilight?" Spike suddenly spoke up. "This might be a little out there, but weren't you and Rarity talking about Neil and his new ambassador title just a few days ago?"

"We were, but I can't see how that relates to this," She told him as she reviewed everything she knew about Neil from memory. "Yes, a large coincidence exists between Neil earning an ambassador title and Princess Celestia asking me to search for a non-existent country on Equis. But, without anything to directly connect the two-"

As she said that, her memories flashed to Ponyville's shared dream. How she fought off the monstrous furniture and vampony muffins with her friends. How they created a safe area to corral the citizens of Ponyville and keep them safe from harm. And, most importantly, how Neil blasted his way through the Tantabus' creations wearing a strange suit of armor and wielding even stranger weapons.

That strange suit of armor from looks alone, and her brief feel of it, made it clear it was crafted from an oddly plastic-like material if she recalled correctly. Similar to the gadgets Sunset and her friends used on the other side of the mirror. "Unless..."

Picking up the quill she used to fill out her paperwork, she quickly wrote a response to Sunset. Hopefully, she hadn't been waiting too long for a reply.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

It's good to hear that your bonds of friendship are growing stronger with each passing day. I, too, struggle with Rainbow Dash and Applejack when their competitive sides clash and the occasional friendship problem that comes from such interactions. Even when things feel strained, we all come together as friends and help each other. Allowing our friendship to grow stronger in the end.

Regarding the main topic of our discussion, I would like to thank you very much! Princess Celestia tasked me with finding Canada's whereabouts. While not an exact match, this might be the breakthrough I need to help me in my research.

But first, I need to verify one small but significant variable. Do you know what the Halo Series is? If so, could you please describe it? This might be the one piece of information that ties everything together.

Thank you for your help,
Twilight Sparkle.

As the ink was allowed to dry, she and Spike watched the unused space at the bottom half of the page with bated breath. If Sunset was still awake or had the journal with her as she went to her classes...

Suddenly, inky black letters started to appear, slowly forming into the words:

Dear Princess Twilight...

~~~***~~~

"Then again," Squall led on secretively, as he picked up another bottle of tropical surprise and twisted off the cap with a flick of his feathers, "There was this one mare in boot camp. If given the chance, she could really suck a…"

"Please, don't finish that," Neil groaned, not wanting to think about, let alone hear, the intimate details between Squall and his mysterious mare from boot camp. "I really don't want to hear about your sex life."

Instead of the pout of mild disappointment, Neil expected to see, Squall looked at him, mildly confused... only for his expression to slowly morph into abject horror. "Oh, Celestia, no! That thestral mare could turn any fruit we gave her into a raisin. In seconds! There's no way I would let her fangs anywhere near Squall Junior."

Unbidden, an image of Sergeant Amber Sight chomping down on an orange came to mind... only for the poor, helpless fruit to turn into nothing but a shriveled peel of its former self. "Oh," Was all Neil managed to say to that. If what Squall said was true, keeping one's junk as far away from a Thestral's mouth made perfectly logical sense.

The continuation of this conversation did not as the image of Sergeant Amber was torn asunder by a pulse of pain that originated from the base of his horn. "Either way, I think I might call it early tonight. It's been a long day, and while I appreciate the drinks, they aren't doing a fucking thing for my headache."

It was a testament to his guard's abilities to adapt that Bulk didn't appear to react to his swearing anymore. Squall still twitched, but barely, as his left wing reached for the bottlecap he tossed aside.

"No problem, Neil. We all know you've had a long day," Squall offered as he resealed the bottle in his other wing. "Besides, it's rare for a pony to get a one-on-one session with the Princess of Love." He added, his mischievous tone clearly hinting at something far less innocent than what actually happened.

Neil wasn't having any of it, though, as he focused on picking up the empty bottles and caps and placing them on the coffee table for one of the maids to clean the following morning. "First of all, she's married. Second of all, no. Just no."

"I was just talking about your magic lessons, Neil," Squall gasped, feigning innocence before eagerly asking, "But, what do you think I meant?"

"We all know what you were meanin', Squall, so stop thinkin' like a stud," Bulk chided after downing the rest of his bottle. As the larger of the two Pegasi slipped out of his chair, he gently placed the now empty bottle on the coffee table and made his way to the door. "Have a good night, Neil."

Squall followed suit as he hopped out of his chair. He paused long enough to drop his bottle back into its carrying case before doing a quick, dog-like shake that ruffled his entire body. Why? Neil didn't know. But, after his feathers settled, he scooped up the case holding the rest of the unopened drinks with a wing and trotted after Bulk.

"Same to both of you." Neil offered as he, too, haphazardly slipped off of the couch. With their admittedly small mess already cleaned up, Neil kept an eye on both guests as he slowly angled himself and made his way toward the bathroom.

"Don't worry, we will," Squall reassured from right behind Bulk as the larger of the two pushed open the door and exited the room. Bulk was also kind enough to hold it open while waiting for the red Pegasus.

As Squall slipped through the door, however, he couldn't help but tease, "Hope you have some sweet and sexy dreams of your own," Before darting into the hallway.

'On the contrary, I hope I don't.' Neil internally groused as the front door closed. Now alone, he pushed into the bathroom and approached the sink. If he was entirely honest, his headache wasn't nearly as bad as he originally implied. Yes, there was a constant, uncomfortable pressure inside his skull that he wished would disappear. And yes, it was pretty painful whenever he felt a pulse from his horn. But, they weren't a constant, or as common as he let on, as he stared into his bloodshot eyes reflected in the mirror.

As was quickly becoming his routine, Neil's wings automatically moved on their own. His right extended toward the sink, and he lightly plucked a grey toothbrush (somehow, the exact same shade as his coat) from its holder. At the same time, his left grabbed a tube of toothpaste from the counter and flicked the cap open. Before he could squeeze out a dollop of paste, an odd thought came to the forefront of his mind that gave him pause.

'What the hell am I even doing?'

On its face, it was an easy enough question to answer. He was just about to begin brushing his teeth. But he could almost imagine the disappointment radiating from those mirrored eyes, his last remaining, if enlarged, trait of humanity. After all, what did it matter if he took care of his teeth as a pony? Besides basic hygiene, brushing didn't increase his chances of getting home. At all. The same could be said for all the busy work he was doing for himself.

When it came to the books he entrenched himself with, all but a few of them were useless regarding his overarching goal. Knowing about the worm roots of Minos? The unique ecology of the Teno-Whatever-The-Fuck-It-Was Basin? His only lead, tenuous as it was, came from the passage talking about the Veil of Inspiration. That unexpected discovery was a verifiable diamond in the rough, worth more than all the useless trivia he regularly read about. That alone gave him a small glimmer of hope. And even then, a disembodied voice tried to dissuade him from that path.

That, of course, brought up entirely new questions centered on his own sanity. The most obvious being, had he finally cracked? Hearing voices wasn't the mark of a sane person, clearly, though he was adamant the voice didn't originate from his own mind. If it had, the voice would be male at the very least, if not an exact copy of his own, right? Or, as an even more outlandish theory, was the body he found himself occupying originally female? And, by inadvertently taking it over...

With a petulant snort, Neil derailed that line of thought. In the grand scheme of things, the voice's origin wasn't all that important, unlike the message it sent. Was he subconsciously heeding the voice's advice? Is that why he hadn't pursued anything beyond letting Twilight verify the Veil's existence? Why hadn't he used his limited time to prepare for a trip to the frozen north?

Before he could focus too much on that particular question, another wave of pain rippled through his skull and up his horn. Reminding him once more of his newest, most pertinent ability, which he now had to worry about.

Magic. Whether or not it actually existed, he couldn't deny the vast well of cold... whatever it was inside of him. Not after almost losing his sense of self within its depths. Was it really a part of him spiritually, though? Or was it tied to the Alicorn body he was currently in? And, in the end, what did it matter? It wasn't like he could go from a complete novice to a master within the time frame of an average RPG. How long would it take if he took the time to learn anything powerful enough to help get him home? Years? Decades? Would getting home even matter at that point?

With a frustrated growl, Neil threw the implements he held into the sink and turned away from those accusing blue eyes. 'No,' He thought, focusing on bodily functions he couldn't ignore. 'I'm not going to waste my time learning some frivolous, esoteric ability that won't help in the long run.'

At most, he'd settle for learning how not to blow himself up and end whatever studies Celestia had planned from that point forward. That way, he wouldn't inadvertently destroy, kill, or turn some poor sap within a fifty-foot radius into a potted plant for the rest of their extremely short life...

With that cheery thought at the forefront of his mind, it didn't take Neil long before he finally crawled into bed. The sooner he managed to sleep, the sooner he would wake up headache-free tomorrow morning. That prospect was more than worth skipping a night's shower as he burrowed into the almost-too-soft pillows on his bed.

He just had to remember. No matter what he did, he did it to get home... and, to always...

...

Neil opened up his eyes and felt his breath momentarily pause as a spark of excitement quickened his heart. Below him was a familiar, if scarce, view he partook in only twice before in his life. A myriad patchwork of green and brown square fields, some of which were separated by greyish-brown grid roads, moved below him at a snail's pace.

He was up in the air, but how? Looking around, he saw that he wasn't sitting in a helicopter. Instead, he saw two large grey wings spread to his right and left. Wings that were connected to his back, which was also covered with matching grey fur. Was he flying all on his own? His excitement grew as his eyes took everything in. Even the lazy, wispy-looking clouds below gave him a thrill, though he didn't understand why. He was still tempted to dive down and find out.

Before he could do so or even have the chance to contemplate his current situation, a voice he never thought he'd hear again suddenly assaulted his ears. "This is Captain Christian Davidson, requesting to fly in formation with the unknown Alicorn. Do you copy?"

Neil had no idea where the voice came from. His ears flickered from side to side, but they felt constrained. Looking around frantically, it didn't take long before he spotted a slowly growing red and black dot against the clear blue sky. Was it really? Could it be?

"I repeat," Came the voice of his Dad a second time, "This is Captain Christian Davidson, requesting to fly in formation with the unknown Alicorn. Do you copy?"

Tentatively, Neil brought a hoof to the side of his head. To his amazement, he was wearing a headset, which explained how he could hear his Dad's voice. Without thought, he pressed down on the button that activated communications. "Dad? Is it really you? I copy!" Was all he could say as a mixture of happiness, excitement, and sadness welled up in him.

Without thought, he veered towards the red and black blob in the distance. Thanks to the headset, he couldn't hear the wind as he closed the distance. Even the recognizable thwap-thwap-thwap of the blades was muted, but he didn't care. His Dad was over there.

"Neil?" His Dad asked over the headset as the helicopter closed the distance inexplicably fast. "You always said you would fly with me one day. I'm so proud of you!"

Now that he was closer, it was easy to see why there was a large mixture of black on the otherwise pristine red BK117. Obviously, there was the black writing on the side. However, the cockpit was entirely blacked out, and there wasn't any clear glass. Why? Neil didn't know, but he couldn't help but feel a drop of disappointment at the fact he couldn't physically see his Dad piloting the machine. Still, he was more than willing to settle with flying next to it. So long as he could be with his family again.

"How are you doing?" Neil desperately asked, sidestepping his Dad's praise. Normally, he would feel at least a slight sense of accomplishment. But, at the moment, he was far too worried about everyone he left behind. "How about Grandma? Grandpa? My friends? I've been gone for months!"

"Everyone's been worried, but we all knew you'd come back. You've always been stubborn, like your M-" A small bout of interfering static tore through his headset, forcing his ears to press against his skull. By the time it ended, Neil just managed to catch his Dad finishing, "-copy?"

"Negative, most of it was cut off," Neil told his Dad as he flew up next to the helicopter and pressed his hoof to the lower half of the glass. He kept a fair distance from the deadly spinning blades as they hovered in place. "Don't worry about that, though. I'm back home, and that's all that matters. Copy?"

A deep, booming laugh full of relief and warmth came over the headset. "You still haven't answered my question. Permission to fly in formation, copy?"

"Permission granted," Neil snorted into his headset as he lazily scanned the helicopter up close and looked around. However, when he spotted a fluffy, sheep-like cloud far off on the other side of his Dad's helicopter, a strange, Rainbow Dash inspired idea came to him. "Race you to the nearest cloud?"

Before his Dad could acknowledge the challenge, Neil shot off, gaining a head-start of a few precious seconds before the helicopter twirled mid-air and chased him. Time seemed to blur after that. Whether it was minutes or hours, Neil showed off his newfound flight instincts with daring flight maneuvers and choreographed aerobatics. However, he was just as surprised when his Dad managed to keep up with all but the most daring tricks Rainbow taught him. He didn't think a helicopter could move like that, but then again, his Dad was an expert.

Even then, Neil couldn't help but feel deep in his chest that something was wrong. Yes, he managed to find a way home. And yes, even with his Alicorn form, his Dad accepted him without qualms. But, something about the situation he found himself in didn't feel right. He failed to regain his humanity, leaving a bittersweet tint to everything else he had accomplished, no matter how much he tried to ignore it.

Eventually, Neil had to take a break as he settled on one of the clouds. He still didn't know why he was drawn to them, but at the moment, he felt somewhat more content... only to hear a thunderous metallic snap, followed by a disorienting amount of alarms blaring all at once through his headset.

Jerking his head to the right, he saw something almost impossible, yet it clearly just happened. His Father's helicopter, which had been hovering just far enough away as to not disrupt the cloud, had already drifted more than a hundred feet to his right and fell hundreds of feet below him, spinning in an uncontrolled circle as it plummeted towards the carpet of patchwork fields thousands of feet below.

Within that moment, his father's panicking voice also came through the headset amidst the beeps and blares of the dying machine.

"This is Captain Christian Davidson reporting a sudden loss of tail rotor functionality," His voice yelled, doing his best to sound clear while straining against the centrifugal force or the machine's controls. "I repeat, this is Captain Christian Davidson reporting an LTE. Attempting emergency landing south, southwest of Swift Current. Neil, Son, I know you can hear me. Stay the hell away from this death trap until I land!"

Neil did indeed hear, but he wasn't listening. At the rate his Dad was plummeting, even if he managed to stop the spinning, the crash alone would obliterate the helicopter. No, he needed to do something, and he needed to do it now! "I'm not going to let you fucking die, Dad!" He screamed into his headset as he pulled in his wings and lept off his cloud, diving after the machine.

If he could just get underneath the bottom of the hull, he could flap his wings as hard and fast as they would allow and push against the falling machine. As an Alicorn, that had to count for something, right? Would he be able to stop it? He very much doubted that. But he could at least slow it down.

No matter how fast he fell, the machine still pulled away from him. "Neil, you get as far away from me as you can, right now!" His Dad ordered, raising his voice against his son for the first time in Neil's life as he yelled through the headset. "There's no use in both of us dying."

"Damned right, I'm making sure neither of us die!" He screamed, willing every ounce of knowledge and skill out of his body to go faster, to catch up, and save his Dad... with no success, as the helicopter remained far out of Neil's reach to do anything.

He watched in despair as the helicopter passed one thousand feet, five hundred feet, three-hundred, two, one... There wasn't so much an explosion but a bone-shattering crumpling of metal as the machine slammed down in a grain field nose first. The black glass covering the cockpit shattered. Its spinning blades dug into the ground, flinging dirt and wheat into the air as each blade shattered, adding deadly shrapnel into the mix.

All of the alarms and buzzers ringing in Neil's ears went silent. He felt nothing but dead inside in that instant as he continued his dive. Deep down, he knew for a fact that no person could survive a crash of that magnitude. Throughout the wreckage, tiny embers of orange light started to spark to life and billow black, acrid smoke.

Spreading his wings, Neil felt the air battering against them as he forced his descent to a near stop a mere fifty feet above the carnage. He was just starting to resign himself to the job of recovering his Dad's remains when-

*tap, tap.*

His languid heart, slowly burning his last remaining sparks of hope, suddenly roared back to life. He didn't know the exact source of the minute sound, but it must have come through his headset. Meaning it had to have come from his Dad. Who was, impossibly, still alive! His Dad was still alive!

Hope and terror flooded his chest as he dove down and landed, imprinting his hooves at least an inch into the ground before rushing toward the front of the crash. "I'm coming! Keep tapping so I can find you!" As if to answer his plea:

*tap, tap.*

No matter how hard he focused, he still couldn't place where the noise was coming from. As he stopped next to a relatively intact passenger side door, a wing reached up and ripped the headset off of one ear. If he was going to find his Dad, he needed to know precisely where the tapping came from. "One more time! Please!"

This time, however, his only answer was silence. Knowing that time was critical, Neil didn't wait. On instinct alone, he reached for the door and pulled. Surprising even himself, his bare hooves ripped the door off of its mostly shattered hinges. Unfortunately, this allowed the embers smoldering underneath access to more air as they burst to life. Happily burning up the partially flattened but empty back passenger seat.

*knock, knock.*

This time it was louder and more distinct as if his Dad was weakly hitting glass. But he still couldn't place its origin. Every glass panel covering the helicopter had been shattered into smithereens on impact. There was no possible source left- Unless it was the visor of his Dad's helmet!

He avoided the obvious metal shards and spikes as he crawled over the wreckage. His one free ear was kept close to the wreckage, trying desperately to hear anything as he called out, "I'm almost there Dad. Just one more tap, please!"

This time, it wasn't so much a tap or a knock but a thunderous slam-

Neil jolted up, gasping for breath, and found himself suddenly awake in bed. Frantically looking around, he saw no wreckage, no flames, just an elaborately decorated but otherwise quiet bedroom draped in shadows. 'It was a dream. Just another fucking dream,' Neil groaned as he allowed his body to limply fall back into the pillows strewn about his bed.

Silence encapsulated the room. At least the pressure causing his headache was mostly gone, allowing Neil to attempt to dredge up whatever had happened during his dream without physical pain. He knew his Dad was there, flying his work helicopter. At least, he thought it was his Dad? And suddenly there was fire and wreckage, and he was searching desperately as

*tap, tap.*

The silence of the night was broken as Neil sat up once more. He suddenly remembered the tapping from his dream, but the sound he just heard didn't originate from his mind. No, the source came from beyond the drapes covering his balcony door. Cautiously, Neil slipped out of bed. Whoever, or whatever it was, he was half-tempted to give them a face full of hoof as he made his way over to the curtain.

In his somewhat drowsy state, his right-wing automatically reached for the fabric to pull it aside. Before he followed through with that, however, he pulled his wing back harshly. He had no idea if the person knocking on his balcony door knew he was an Alicorn. Best not to reveal that aspect of himself as he angled his body sideways, behind the curtain, then caught the edge with his muzzle. He only needed to push it aside an inch or so, before...

Much to his surprise, of all the ponies that could have been standing on his balcony, Luna was there with her night-sky mane and tail billowing regally in a non-existent wind. She was flanked by two imposing Lunar guards, whose tails were not moving at all, and half a dozen more hovering around his balcony as if to cover her from all angles. 'Or, to cut off all angles of escape,' A small part of his mind supplied far too cheerily as any remaining drowsiness temporarily evaporated.

Her face barely moved, but she obviously saw him as her eyes latched onto his. What was she doing here? Was this it? Was she here to finally get rid of him? If she was, she was taking her sweet time. She also had plenty of eye-witnesses, or would they be accomplices?

Before he could decide one way or the other, her lips started to move. Neil couldn't hear what she said, likely due to the fact every single door in the castle was somehow soundproof. However, Luna must not have known that, as the guard on her right leaned in and said something after she finished speaking, causing her eyes to furrow with annoyance. A second later, her horn lit up.

Neil felt the momentary urge to dodge, but instead of an attack, Luna's light blue aura started to trace letters, then words, into the air. Eventually, she finished off with an elaborately curved question mark as her semi-translucent statement lingered in the air:

'May I have permission to enter?'

Neil found himself at a crossroads. There was a temptation to say no, just to see how she would react. However, as the more aggressive and self-important of the two princesses, he knew Luna would disregard his answer and force herself into his room anyway. On the other hand, he could avoid some of her superior-then-thou bullshit by simply opening the door. She could state her business, he would deal with her shit, and then he could go back to sleep.

'If she's here to arrest me on bogus charges, though...' Neil left that thought unfinished. He wasn't a football player, but he'd do his best to live up to the Saskatchewan moniker of a Roughrider. Keeping his eyes on Luna, his left-wing reached around the curtain and pulled the deadbolt, locking his balcony door in place.

"What do you want?" He asked after he cracked the glass door open by an inch at most. His wing remained tense, ready to slam the door closed in Luna's face and push the deadbolt if she were to try anything.

"I wish to speak with you, Neil," She told him placidly, without any of her customary authority, which confused him a little. "As the Princess of the Night, it is my duty to protect all ponies as they sleep, yourself included. Had I not woken you right now, I would have failed in my duties. Your previous dream affected you in a detrimental manner that requires intervention, lest they eventually lead to further consequences."

Detrimental dreams? Obviously, he just woke up from a nightmare not even two minutes ago. But bad dreams were a common occurrence ever since he appeared in Equestria. Even if he occasionally lost an hour of sleep, he didn't see that as much of a detriment... Unless it was related to recent events, as the image of a shadowy Alicorn diving down his throat came to the forefront of his mind. "Is this about the Tantabus?"

"This is not related to the Tantabus. Not directly, at the very least," She told him honestly as she settled down on her haunches. "If it would make you feel more at ease, I can remain here as we speak. Or, I could enter your abode to keep the topics of your dreams private. The choice is yours."

"And if I asked you to leave now so I can get back to sleep?" He asked, genuinely curious as to how she would answer his question.

"That is also an option, though I would advise against it," She told him pleadingly as her ears fell flat against her skull. "Many nightmarish creatures claim the dream realm as their hunting ground. Your dreams act like a beacon, drawing them to you on a near-nightly basis. One such manifestation of terror slipped by my vigil and began to feast tonight."

Neil barely had any idea as to what she was talking about. Hell, if not for the dream shared by the entire town of Ponyville, he would have assumed her words were nothing but insane rambling. However, if these manifestations were in any way similar to the Tantabus...

"Fine, but this better be quick," He growled as he stepped backward, dragging the door with him and allowing Luna free entry.

"Very well," She agreed immediately as she stood up. At the same time, she made quick eye contact with each of the lunar guards surrounding her before she ordered, "All of you, return to your posts as we discuss things privately."

She then trotted through the balcony door, not wasting any time as she crossed his bedroom. With a flash of her horn, Luna exited the living room through the door (which she held open for him). Begrudgingly, he closed the balcony door, locked it, and followed after her. She had already claimed the couch by the time he entered the living room, and her aura was stoking the fire, causing the light in the room to grow exponentially within a matter of seconds.

"So, why do you need to talk to me, specifically?" He asked as he sat in his reading chair. Without his cloak, he was forced to sit like a dog with his front legs close to his belly to cover everything private from Luna's view.

"To begin," She said, momentarily pausing as the light of her horn faded.

The fireplace gave off a sharp crackle as it was allowed to merrily burn on its own, "Given my lack of success through conventional means, I felt it prudent to ask about your nightmares directly."

"There isn't much to talk about," He admitted, earning an intent look and a raised eyebrow that conveyed her meaning quite clearly, 'Really?' which he ignored as he latched onto the beginning of her statement. "Besides, what do you mean by conventional means?"

She held her look for an extra second before relenting and answering, "By entering a pony's dream and helping them deal with the root of their nightmare. It would be much easier to show you and explain simultaneously if you would allow me?"

"Is this going to knock me out or put me to sleep?" Neil asked, only for Luna to shake her head in the negative. If it had been any other answer, he would have kicked her out right then and there. There was no way in hell he would allow himself to be put asleep, alone, with only Luna or Celestia in the room. He still didn't trust her, but she hadn't done anything to him tonight. Yet. "Fine."

Luna gave a soft nod as she focused on the coffee table. It was still covered with empty glass bottles, but she didn't seem to mind as her horn lit up. The image of a solid-looking, rectangular oak door still encased in its frame began to rise from the table's surface. It only took seconds, but once the door finished materializing and detached from the table's surface, it began to change. It cycled between different colors and decorative designs. Windows, mail slots, and other additions appeared and disappeared. The door itself, however, consistently kept its rectangular shape, which was odd in Neil's opinion.

"This is a normal dream as I see it. Note the overall thickness of the door's construction? This represents the dream's stability and allows me passage without collapsing the dreamscape."

The methodical shifting stopped, solidifying into a pink door with a bubble-like glass window centered in the top half. Seconds later, a small, two-foot-tall image of Luna manifested at the other end of the coffee table. As if watching a 3D image in real life, the door automatically opened for the small Luna as she flew through the threshold but did not come out the other side.

"And this," Luna muttered sadly, "Is a door leading into a nightmare."

When the pink door closed, the paint began to darken and peel away. At first, Neil thought it was decaying. However, as larger and larger patches of the paint fell off, he noted the white, black, and ashen grey of burnt wood. As the transformation neared completion, a dark, ominous-looking smoke began to billow from the bottom of the door. Flooding over the entire surface of the coffee table, only to spill over the edge and fade away before it reached the carpet.

"Finally, this is a representation of your door."

Given his frequent, unpleasant dreams, Neil expected something similar to the burnt door. It made sense, obviously. He wasn't expecting to see the door and its frame shrivel up before the door itself shattered into four misshapen pieces. After that, each section of the door began to change into something unique from the others.

The first quarter to finish its transformation barely changed from the door it originated from. It kept its original shape, but it looked freshly painted with steaming black oil, except it was thicker. Tar, perhaps? And, to finish off the look, it was sparsely covered with long, grey feathers with which he was intimately familiar. Due to their poor condition and the blood, it was clear to both him and Luna that they had been violently ripped out and stuck to the panel. His wings ruffled at the unsettling implication.

The second quarter to finish was the top left section. That part of the door appeared to melt at first, shifting into a semi-liquid state before solidifying into a solid sheet of chains and shackles that were all welded together. It was the most solid quarter compared to the rest of the door, but that was the only positive thought it managed to invoke.

The third to finish was the top right, which took the form of a very large rectangular book cover or an empty leather canvas. Then, ever so slowly, a wretched-looking, gaunt, sinewy face with empty eye sockets and no nose pushed from below the leathery surface.

Neil immediately recognized its human-like appearance and hoped that Luna didn't know or hadn't noticed that particular aspect yet. As the face settled into its role as a morbid centerpiece, its mouth opened, revealing two broken, toothless jawbones that twisted in an unending but silent wail of despair...

And finally, the last panel burned up and dissolved into a deep, thick, almost cloud-like smoke. Since each panel had a unique transformation, Neil expected something more to come of it. Such expectations never came to fruition, however, as the billowing, cloudy tuft of smoke remained... while also seeping into and filling the other gaps and cracks found throughout the rest of the door. It acted like a supernatural glue, as it somehow bound all the different pieces together and wound itself around the shaky, twig-like frame.

Many emotions boiled just below the surface as the door completed its transformation. Panic, anger, frustration, fear, and paranoia, all of which were mixed with and filtered through the tiredness Neil felt. Ending with him sounding profoundly dumbfounded as he asked, "Why the hell is it so different?"

"I can only guess," Luna told him, sounding far less concerned about it than he felt. "You are the second creature to have such an odd construct, and unlike her dream door, your dreams are uniquely frail."

When Luna mentioned a second creature, Neil peeled his eyes away from the image floating above his coffee table. He focused solely on her as he peppered her with question after question. "Second creature? What do you mean? There's another like me out there, somewhere? How is her door similar to mine?"

"She is nothing like you," Luna told him with a sudden, noticeable distaste that caught him off guard. As if she disliked this other creature even more than she disliked him. Instead of elaborating on who or what this creature was, Luna returned to the presentation she was giving. "Every attempt to enter your door, without reinforcement, ended with your dreamscape collapsing."

Another miniature image of Luna appeared for the second time as she approached his door more cautiously than the first. The door refused to swing open as she neared, and the moment the facsimile of Luna tried to push against one of the solid quarters, it shattered into dozens of pieces. The remains quickly dissolved into smoke before they all gathered together and slowly started to reform.

Except, it wasn't reforming into his door or any other type of door previously shown. The roiling sphere of smoke grew more prominent by the second, expanding beyond each end of the coffee table and reaching a foot beyond the mantle of the fireplace before its expansion finally ceased.

"Whereas her door is neigh impenetrable, not that I would ever touch such a grotesque display," Luna stated with even more distaste.

The smoke eventually coalesced into the size and shape of a massive arched portcullis, similar to the ones built into the face of grand fantasy castles. However, that was the only door-like aspect before the smoke around the edges started molding itself into the vague shape of an outer frame.

The shape initially reminded Neil of a curved banister, or perhaps cylindrical pipes, before solidifying into an absolute mishmash of materials. Woods, metals, crystals, and more, all of which should have been solid but stretched, squeezed, and undulated, like the wax inside of a lava lamp.

It was slightly mesmerizing in a way, and not at all what he would call grotesque- until he finally caught onto the reoccurring pattern of ribbed shafts, flared heads, spines, and a wide array of ball-sacks the frame consistently morphed into. Worse still, by the time he noticed that unique aspect of the door, the smoke covering the rest had already started solidifying... Or, more accurately, liquify into a viscous pool of creamy white-ish pink ooze. Dozens upon dozens of creatures, of all shapes and sizes blissfully floated to the surface without a care as they all began to participate in a grand orgy.

Neil was flabbergasted as his eyes were magnetically locked onto the hedonistic display before him. It was a kaleidoscopic sex scene of every colour imaginable, taken up by humanoid and feral creatures alike, whether they wore fur, scales, feathers, or skin. And, at the very center of it all was an unlikely pair of Alicorn sisters. Their light and dark colors contrasted like a yin-yang symbol amid the sea of pink ooze. Each sister held the other's flank in place with their wings as their necks curved down, and their muzzles vanished in between the other's hind legs for fairly obvious, if incestuous, reasons.

The door remained like that for only a moment or two before a large section of the orgy submerged, only to be replaced with a giant winged dragon that took up an entire third of the door. He was covered in grey-blue scales and had two sets of massive orange, tusk-like horns. The first set was anchored to his head and hung down like mammoth tusks. The second set of tusks were just as orange but appeared far more flexible and phallic, thrust forward when he fully emerged from the ooze.

One of the dragon's penises slipped between Luna's flanks and vanished underneath her tail. It noticeably distended her belly as she threw her head back, the perfect picture of orgasmic bliss. Thankfully, the image itself was silent. However, that didn't stop his mind from conjuring Luna's enraptured, orgasmic wail or the melody of sultry moans and bliss in the background.

The other tip somehow managed to line itself up with Celestia's mouth and rammed itself down her gullet in the same smooth motion. Expanding her throat to twice its normal size and perhaps even dislocating her jaw?

As the portrayal of hedonistic fetishism continued to play out in front of him, Neil felt a sense of pressure and revulsion join his mix of barely contained emotions. Wrenching his eyes away from the display, he looked straight up and stared adamantly at the ceiling. Without that obscene distraction, he could focus his mind on a more critical task. Sifting through all the Equestrian history he knew, he dutifully ignored the soft, somewhat spongy, and sensitive reaction pressing against his front legs.

Seconds passed, then minutes. Between the history books and Celestia's account of history, only one creature fits the bill. That door could only belong to Eris, but why? What made them both unique enough to have strange doors? As he tried to puzzle out his thoughts, he also noted the unwanted pressure that began to build in his sheath slowly came to a halt and then receded. Leaving behind a small dribble of cooling fluid intermixed with the fur on his forearm before his arousal completely vanished. Then, and only then, did he ask, "Is it gone?"

"Yes," Was all she said.

Tentatively, Neil shifted his eyes down towards the coffee table. True to her word, the orgy door was no longer on display. Instead, his dream door was back, floating ominously with the fire burning from directly behind. It was still disconcerting to see the door's mismatched panels and the meaning behind them. But, he much preferred to look at a representation of his own fears as he violently cracked his neck, then leveled a glare at Luna.

"First of all, what the absolute fuck was that!?" He half-shouted, angry at himself for having an uncontrolled reaction and Luna for being the cause of it. "And second, why the hell did you show it to me?"

"You asked to see her door and how it was different, did you not?" She asked simply as she brushed aside his anger. However, her tone softened as she continued, "I also wanted to show that you are not alone when it comes to having your fears and doubts of a sexual nature used against you. My sister and I have also borne the brunt of such attacks."

With a slight pulse of her horn, the chained and manacled aspect of his door started to grow and expand as it overtook every other aspect. After subsuming even the frame, the metal chains and shackles began to heat up and melt, dripping onto the coffee table and collecting into a large, molten puddle. Though he knew Luna had the spell under her complete control, he couldn't help but worry that the table might catch fire. It didn't, thankfully. Instead, the molten metal began to rise up at eight different points. Four points on the left end of the coffee table and four on the right.

The metal appeared to shape itself into hooves, then legs and solidified on the outside as more molten metal flowed up through each limb like a straw. The metal expanded once both sets of equine legs (too long and slim to be normal ponies) were complete. Forming into a pair of bodies that perfectly mimicked an Alicorn, along with a set of grand wings each, an elongated neck, and finally, a long, pointed horn.

By then, all the molten metal on the table had been used up, leaving two red-hot but cooling Alicorn statues on the table. Neil was just starting to wonder about the point behind such an elaborate display when the fur began to grow from each of the statues. The one closest to him was pure white, matching Celestia's exact colour, while the other matched Luna's coat perfectly. From their necks, an ethereal mane blossomed into being. Soon followed by a tail that sprouted from their haunches.

However, as both of the small Alicorns looked at him, unlike the real Celestia and Luna, these copies wore cruel and malicious smiles that promised plenty of fun for them and them alone. He also watched as familiar leather strap-on harnesses formed, hugging each of their hips alluringly. Thankfully, the hidden silver rings pressed against their bellies remained devoid of their large, phallic weaponry.

Luna lazily waved a hoof, gesturing towards the miniature rape doppelgangers before she continued. "I can only guess, but I feel as if each panel on your door represents one of your greatest fears. The chains and manacles clearly tie into your fear that my sister and I will press you into unending bondage against your will."

Staring at the two small Alicorns, he couldn't help but remember what had almost happened during that Tantabus-fueled nightmare. The chains, the panic, and the fear. All of which was promised a hundredfold within each of the sister's sinister grins. Thankfully, they didn't stay for long.

As if compelled by gravity, both evil sisters were brought together at an accelerated rate. Crashing into one another and shattering before the many pieces dissolved again into wispy black smoke... After which, it collected off to the side and reformed into his door again.

While the unobstructed light and heat of the fire felt nice, it was a poor balm against the wounds and feelings Luna had been dredging up over the last five minutes as Neil glared at her. "Yeah, like that's a real fucking surprise. Each and every Alicorn? All mares. Each and every position of power? Held by mares. It really makes you wonder what happens to an uppity stallion that rebels against the system now, doesn't it?"

"Is that why you fear my sister and me? We might see you as an uppity stallion and lock you away?" She questioned, tilting her head ever so slightly. "If that belief of yours was correct, wouldn't you already be caged due to your unorthodox speech during the Tantabus' assault? It is regrettable you feel that way, but I understand why my previous actions make you feel so."

That had been one of the most likely scenarios his brain had constructed after the Tantabus' defeat. The thought of being locked up on false charges, like insubordination, after yelling at Luna had been one of the main reasons behind his escape into the Everfree. Even then, he wouldn't confirm or deny anything she said as she continued after their brief silence.

"During my time, before Nightmare Moon came to be, your fears would have been valid," Luna confirmed as she disparaged the sins of the past before moving on to praise the progress of the present.

"Mares were overly protective of their stallions and allowed them to do little more than labor, or breed during estrus. Nowadays, they are allowed to do as they wish. A stallion may choose to stay at home and tend to their foals. Or, he may choose to serve as a Wonderbolt or a guard with little resistance. Even owning a business is not above a stallion nowadays," She all but cheered before looking at him with a small, knowing smile. "Donut Joe's is a fine example of such a success."

"Yeah, I'm sure lifting his tail and flaunting his balls at every mare that enters the building has nothing to do with it," Neil snarked, trying not to remember all the times Donut Joe did precisely that.

That seemed to catch Luna by surprise as she looked at him oddly.

"How else would a stallion attract mates?" She asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Is the span between Canada and Equestrian customs so large that it requires a bridge to cross?"

"Is this really why you're here? To learn about Canadian dating?" He countered, layering on even more snark as he pointed towards his bedroom door. "If so, you can go jump off my balcony so I can get back to sleep."

"You are correct," Luna admitted after a few seconds of awkward silence. "While I find differing customs fascinating, perhaps it is best we return to the topics of import. We know one of your fears. Now, we must discover the others. After that-"

"I already know what they are," Neil stated, uncaring that he cut her off. At least, he was pretty sure what some of them were. As painful as it was to admit, Luna had been spot on about his fears of being locked away. He was reasonably sure the tarred and feathered panel represented his fear of being discovered as a non-pony and the vast array of unwelcome scenarios that came with it. The other two, however, he didn't have much to go on. Perhaps the smoke was alluding to his recent fire?

Either way, the fact that he claimed to know what they meant seemed to elate Luna as she quickly asked, "Truly? Would you like to share your thoughts?"

"No," He told her bluntly, killing her enthusiasm as quickly as it came. He refused to give her any more information that could be used against him, as he asked, "What's the next step?"

"The next step would be to confront them and learn the roots of your fears. Only then can we dismantle and resolve them," Luna told him with a heavy heart as the blue glow enshrouding her horn died away, taking the image of his door with it. "Nevertheless, if you do not wish to discuss your fears, that is your choice. Instead, you must be ever-vigilant in your dreams. Recognize when your dream changes into a nightmare, and understand the need to wake up immediately."

'Just go and tell you I'm not a pony? Yep, sure. I'll schedule that right next to being crushed underneath a mountain, falling to my certain doom, and freezing to death on an expedition north,' Is what he wanted to say. Instead, he simply asked, "Anything else? Or is that it?"

"Going to sleep feeling happy and relaxed would also decrease your chances of having a nightmare," Luna suggested after a moment of thought.

Neil fought the urge to lean back into his chair and cross his arms. Of course that was an obvious solution and one he might even enjoy if he was left alone for an entire day or passed out drunk. But no, he was constantly being harassed by ponies instead. "After the last ten minutes, I think you've done a pretty good job destroying any chance of that happening," He added, venting some of the frustrations Luna caused back at her.

"I cannot deny that," She admitted, seemingly taking the blame. "I do have a remedy that may help if you would allow me?"

A remedy? Really? Was she audacious enough to offer another mind ward, spell, or whatever the hell they were? "Oh, fuck no. You aren't doing anything to me after your little shock treatment!"

His sudden accusation caught Luna off guard, and she took more than a few seconds to regain her composure before she finally acknowledged, "I was not offering a spell to ease your mind, though I know quite a few. In its stead, I was going to offer a relaxing flight around Canterlot to help ease your mind."

Despite the lateness of the evening, her offer was more than a little enticing to Neil, strangely enough. Just the thought of physically flying gave his wings a small rush of excitement as they ruffled in anticipation. However, if he could do so alone and without outing himself as an Alicorn to the whole damn city, her offer would have been even better. "And how are you going to pull that off? The sight of you and an unknown Alicorn flying around? I'd be plastered all over the front page of your newspapers. Again."

"That would be true if two Alicorns were spotted flying side by side in the night sky." She admitted with a knowing glint in her eyes. "The sight of two Thestrals enjoying a midnight flight on the other hoof?"

Luna's horn flickered back to life before he could ask what she meant by that. It emitted her natural blue glow, but only for a second, at most, before her horn simply vanished. In fact, the entirety of Luna disappeared along with it, only to be replaced by a Thestral mare. Her coat was a darker grey but with a tint of blue that blended into her even darker navy blue mane and tail. Her eyes appeared to be the same colour as Luna's but with slits like a Thestral.

"A form like this shan't cause too much of a stir," The Thestral said, sounding exactly like Luna, If you would care to join me this night?"

Neil was surprised to find himself feeling torn on the matter. On the one hand, it was Luna, the only pony that had physically harmed him so far. She also tried to actively silence him, or his swearing, at the very least, with the same action. When it came to her offer, there shouldn't have been any doubt about dismissing it.

Yet, she was also the pony who warned him about the Tantabus while protecting an entire town from its wrath. It was initially caused by her, of course, but it was also her will that defeated or perhaps reconciled her differences with it in the end? He still didn't know exactly what happened after Luna merged with it. The urge to get out and fly was also a strong motivator. Far stronger than he initially expected after a few days cooped up in his apartment.

In the end, if he didn't give her a second chance after saving an entire town... 'If Kris ever heard about this, he'd chew my ass out after what I did.'

Plus, with just the two of them flying without guards? Obviously, Luna was far more experienced as a flyer and would be able to keep up with him easily. However, despite her slender physique, there was a slim chance that life as a royal also made her slow and sluggish. His chance at a possible escape might have been infinitesimally small, but it clearly wasn't zero.

It might have been a flight of fancy, but the layered thoughts of freedom eventually outweighed Neil's desire to say no. "Fine," He groused as he hopped out of his chair. Once he ensured he was adequately covered by his tail, he made his way toward the bedroom.

...

The next three hours were spent flying around every nook and cranny of the mountain. And, as predicted, the only thing Luna allowed to slip away was the hours of the night.

Author's Note

Or, as this chapter was almost called, Feeling Horny (With the Princess of the Night).

For those of you who resent the fact that I originally split this chapter in half, you can blame the dream sequence. Which, of course, led to so much more afterwards.

Then there was the whole learning to connect with magic that was supposed to start as a simple 5 step plan, which invariably spiralled out of control. To the point it spawned it's own mini-scene! Which meant cutting it off there, and tacking the rest onto the start of part two.

I don't look forward to writing other essential scenes, if they're going to balloon into massive word counts like this one did. XD

In other news, Twilight learned something! Hooray! :pinkiehappy:

And although Neil didn't make it home, he did learn a thing or two about the dream realm from Luna, while also sharing a private midnight flight in disguise. He might even take her lesson to heart, if he still believes anything she said when he wakes up the next morning.

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. :trollestia:

18. The Unravelling Mask Part 1

(November 11th: 25th Day Since Neil's Discovery)

With a small groan and an unusually parched mouth, Rainbow Dash rolled onto her other side. She was in her nice and cozy cloud bed, but it was warmer than she intended as she fought against her body's need to wake up. Was the extra blanket she added for winter too much? It felt like it as her hoof breached the warmth of her bubble, and she reached out for the glass of water sitting on her nightstand. A careful few sips was all it took to cure her dry mouth before placing the glass back.

Rainbow squirmed and shifted underneath the sheets. Trying her best to reclaim her comfortable sleeping position and her vigorous dream of group training with the Wonderbolts, Twilight, and Neil. At least the parts she clearly remembered were filled with training and other, more hazy group activities. Unfortunately, the pronounced ticks of her alarm clock made it clear her mind became more alert and awake, not less, as time passed. Which was the exact opposite outcome a champion napper like her wanted.

Minutes later, Rainbow begrudgingly opened one of her scrunched eyes and looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand. Her clock would have gone off three minutes ago at 8-AM sharp if she was working a morning shift. On her day off, however, she had it set for noon. Her body didn't want that extra four hours of sleep, though, as her stomach and bladder slowly made their presence known.

With her internal pressure rising, Rainbow gave up as her wing pushed aside her winter sheets. "So much for sleeping in," She grumbled, making the bathroom her priority. Once that need was resolved, she descended towards the main floor and veered into the living room.

Once there, she trotted over to her most recent addition to her house. It was a half storage cabinet, half bookshelf with glass doors, where she displayed her awesome collection of Daring Do books. On top of the credenza, as the salesmare called it, sat a small hooked stand with Tank's magical propeller resting on top. She made sure the device was fully charged for a full day's flying, then turned to Tank's large terrarium only to find him missing.

For a split second, worry tore through her heart. Sure, Tank could leave his home anytime, but he usually waited for her to put his propeller on in the morning. It was a safety feature in case he stumbled through the softer parts of her cloud house. Worried, Rainbow was about to dive through a window when she remembered he was already on the ground, hibernating. Meaning the propeller harness in her hoof was useless and would remain so for the rest of winter.

She only had a whopping eighty-two more days to go until Winter Wrap-Up and Tank's wake-up call.

With that not-so-cheerful thought, Rainbow put the propeller harness back on its stand and meandered her way toward the kitchen. A plain bowl of cereal wasn't exactly a meal fit for winners, but with how her current morning was going, it was the quickest and simplest she could make at the very least.

That gave Rainbow more time to think and plan her day out as she crunched down on her frosted oats. The obvious choice would be to hit the day hard and fast with some early morning practice, then enjoy an afternoon nap. She hadn't had much chance lately to practice her signature tricks like the Buccaneer Blaze. She could also work on adding the reverse corkscrew she had meant to work into the routine. On the other hoof, she just had team practice with the Wonderbolts reserves yesterday, and doing strenuous training every day without rest days in between wasn't good for a pony.

What else could she do this early in the morning? She could visit the weather office and check in on Clear Skies and Thunderlane. However, Rainbow dismissed the idea with a mild snort as soon as the idea came to her. There was no doubt in her mind that those two had the weather handled easily. The only thing showing up unannounced would do is make them think she didn't trust them with a couple of days of easy weather.

Ponyville's weather schedule called for mostly clear skies for today and tomorrow (She always kept a cloud or two above the Whitetail Wood on an otherwise clear day for napping). Sunday was supposed to bring in some cloud cover for an upcoming snowstorm, but only half of those clouds were being delivered tomorrow night. The rest were scheduled to be delivered the following morning.

The only thing that could pull a pinion from the plan would be a burst of wild weather moving in from the Everfree. If that happened, she would be called in without a doubt. Then, she could have some fun breaking up a few chaos clouds... But, with Fluttershy being cuddle buddies with Eris of all ponies, the odds of that happening were slim to none.

Rainbow was about to give up on finding something to do when her mind drifted back to her book collection and the rumors spreading amongst the Daring Do community. Rumors whispered of a Hearth's Warming special edition adventure that A.K. Yearling was planning to drop in the next month or two. How Daring Do got caught up in anything Hearth's Warming related, she didn't know. But she was excited to read about her hero kicking Windigo butts! And the first pony to learn about the release date (outside of the publishing company) would probably be Twilight.

Thinking of Twilight, Rainbow knew for a fact that her egghead friend would be up this early and probably working on one of her many schedules. She had no idea how a mare could live her life scheduled to the last minute, but Twilight somehow managed to do it. But, if a good friend decided to spice up Twilight's schedule by adding a surprise visit for some Daring Do talk? Well, that was just being a good friend and ensuring Twilight's day wasn't too dull.

With her morning plans set, Rainbow haphazardly placed her empty bowl on the counter and, with a flap of her wings, zipped towards the front door as a blur- Only to stop halfway, turn around, and rush back up to the bathroom. She wasn't a proper mare like Rarity by any stretch of the imagination, but visiting a friend when you stank like old sweat wasn't right, either. She needed a shower first, then she could leave to see Twilight.

She also needed to find a thinner blanket so she wouldn't overheat while sleeping, but that was a problem for later.

One relaxing and thorough shower later, Rainbow took off from her home like a blur. Leaving her signature rainbow trail in her wake, as any amount of halfhearted brushing she did for her mane and tail was almost instantly undone and replaced by her standard windswept look when she blasted out of her front door.

With a lazy loop around her home, Rainbow quickly hit the apex, curved around the back of her house, and angled herself towards Ponyville. Even in the morning sun, the Castle of Friendship stood out like a sparkling, sore crystal hoof in the otherwise quaint village. Not that she minded since it was a declaration of how awesome the Elements of Harmony and their bearers were, herself included.

She took less than a minute to reach the castle at subsonic speeds. Slow by her standards, but after one too many unnecessary rainbow explosions above Ponyville, Mayor Mare made her pinkie promise not to travel near the town at rainboom speeds unless it was an emergency. She was also kind enough to add a few other dull legal exceptions, such as when she was officially requested to do a rainboom in Ponyville airspace, but that was neither here nor there.

As Rainbow approached the rapidly growing castle, she could have landed on the smaller front balcony above the main doors and walked inside like a normal pony. But Rainbow Daring Dash was anything but normal as she swerved expertly through the entrance. The halls inside were a little empty to be called a proper obstacle course, but it was fun as she twisted and maneuvered throughout the halls while also bleeding off some of her speed.

At this time of day, Twilight would likely be in the library, the map room, or Celestia forbid, the kitchen. Rainbow decided to check the library first since she not only entered on the same level, but the doors would be coming around any second now, anyway.

Three single doors passed underneath her in the blink of an eye before a set of green crystal double doors appeared ahead of her, as she knew they would. Immediately, Rainbow spread her wings. Creating as much drag as possible. She almost managed to touch both sides of the hallway near the arched ceiling as she came to an abrupt, near-instantaneous stop. After that, she simply angled her wings and used the last of her momentum to swoop down next to the library entrance.

Rainbow pushed aside one of the doors with her wing without knocking and entered. A glance around the library itself revealed nothing out of the ordinary. The shelves were almost overflowing with rows upon rows of neatly sorted books, most of which she had no idea what they were about. The front desk was also left unmared, as usual, unless you counted Twilight's pet owl, Owlowiscious, snoozing on his little perch set on the corner of the desk.

Seeing him there, Rainbow felt a second slight pang of emotion in her heart. Her pet was also sleeping, but unlike Owlowiscious, she wouldn't be able to see Tank until next spring. However, she shook her head before that tiny hint of jealousy could fester. It wasn't Twilight's, Fluttershy's, or anypony's fault that she couldn't stop Tank from hibernating. It was nature, and nopony could prevent that. But... since she was in a library, perhaps she could borrow a book full of bedtime stories and read them to Tank later today?

Rainbow pushed that idea to the back of her mind for later since it wasn't the main reason she was here. Finding Twilight was, and if her Egghead pal had been in the library, she would have parked herself next to the table stacked with multiple piles of books and paperwork. Nopony was there, though, meaning Twilight was in another part of the castle. Turning around, she faced the doors she just entered from. Next up on the Rainbow's list of rooms was the map room.

She only made it two steps toward the door before every facet of the crystal wall in sight lit up with a muted but reflective flash of purple light.

"Rainbow Dash?" The familiar voice of Twilight Sparkle asked before Rainbow could spin around and find the source of the light. She sounded confused but pleasantly surprised to find Rainbow in her library. "What are you doing here so early?"

Turning to face her friend, Rainbow found Twilight standing beside the cluttered table as if she had appeared out of thin air... This was likely the case since Twilight often teleported whenever she could get away with it. She looked magnificent, as usual. Her mane and tale looked prim, proper, and meticulously brushed as was expected of a Princess, without a single hair out of place. A stark contrast to Rainbow's signature messy look. She also had a stack of paperwork about three hooves tall floating beside her.

"I couldn't sleep in for some reason, which is a little weird after doing Wonderbolts drills yesterday," Rainbow admitted with a shrug as she hopped into the air and lazily flapped her way over to the table. "So, I figured I'd drop by and see how you were doing. I was also wondering if you've heard from Daring Do lately?"

"That's very kind of you, Rainbow," Twilight lauded with a smile as she pulled out a cushion and sat in the center of her cluttered mess. At the same time, she placed her newest batch of paperwork down in the nearest space. "I had a breakthrough with one of my research projects last night, and I need to verify what I've learned. Once I do, I can't wait to share it with you and the rest of the girls! As for Daring Do, I haven't seen or heard anything from her recently."

"That's, er, great to hear about your research thingy?" Rainbow encouraged, doing her best to at least try and sound interested in Twilight's bazillionth research project since coming to Ponyville. However, after hearing about the lack of news from Daring Do, her tepid smile fell into a look of mild despair. "But, you haven't heard anything from Daring Do? Not even a hint about her newest, super secret Hearth's Warming adventure?"

"No, Rainbow," Twilight stated, rolling her eyes as she moved around and repositioned multiple piles of books and paper on her work table. "No matter how often you ask, I don't get any preferential updates just because I'm a princess."

Rainbow couldn't help but groan at her answer, "Awww." What good was it to be a princess if you couldn't get a few small perks from the job? Like keeping tabs on your favorite book writer, for example?

"However, later today, I will be working on the final draft of a letter that needs to be sent to Daring Do." She mentioned, as her magic split one of the towering piles of paper in half and set the top portion in one of the few remaining empty spaces on the table's surface.

"Wait, you're sending Daring Do a letter?" Rainbow asked as she zipped next to Twilight's side, trying to spot anything that resembled a letter. Her sudden burst of speed caused a few papers to ruffle, but she was restrained enough to make sure the piles didn't topple over. This time. "If you need somepony to deliver it, I'm your mare! You and I both know where she lives, after all."

"I know, and thank you for the offer, Rainbow. Once I get all of this paperwork done," She admitted, lifting both halves of the pile she recently split with her magic and the third pile that teleported into the library with her, "I'll get to work on Daring's letter. It should be ready to send tomorrow."

When it came to Daring Do, tomorrow just wouldn't cut it. If Twilight was sending a letter, her adventurous, archaeological hero would need to see it as soon as possible! But, Twilight wouldn't let her deliver the letter until it was ready. And, the only way it would be ready, as Rainbow looked over the piles of paperwork... She audibly gulped, gesturing towards the piles with her hoof and asking, "Do you, uh, need help with that?"

"No, but thank you for the offer," Twilight giggled. After all, Rainbow's dislike for paperwork was one of the worst-kept secrets around the weather office and Ponyville. "If you still want to help, I have two other letters that need to be delivered to Princess Celestia and Neil. I was going to ask Spike to send them, but he chose today of all days to sleep in."

"At least somepony got to sleep in today, even if it wasn't me." Rainbow grumbled to herself, as she landed next to Twilight. Looking over the organized mess on the table, however, she couldn't see any sealed envelopes or official-looking, rolled-up scrolls ready and waiting to be delivered.

"After all the hard work he's done around the castle lately? He's earned it." She affirmed with a smile. "If Spike is still asleep by noon, though, I planned to stop at the post office and mail them on my lunch break."

"There's no need for that. You worry about that letter to Daring Do, and I'll get those letters to the castle before you know it!" Rainbow boasted, hopping onto the table with her front two legs and giving the table a second look from her slightly higher vantage point. "Just, uh, where are they?"

"On my bedside table, waiting to see if Spike wakes up," Twilight told her as she closed her eyes, and the tip of her horn sparkled with magic. "Here, let me get them for you."

After a moment's build-up, during which her magic grew marginally brighter, a flash forced Rainbow to blink. When her eyes opened again, two tightly rolled scrolls, each with a red ribbon and gold wax seal, were now floating roughly a foot above the table's surface between some of the taller stacks.

With her targets finally in sight, Rainbow excitedly grinned and launched into the air. Going to extreme speeds from a standstill in a fraction of a second always got her heart racing as she felt her innate magic divert the sudden influx of air pressure around her. Deftly, she scooped both scrolls out of the air with a simple wing roll, storing them safely under her wing, before instantly coming to a stop above the table in a victorious pose!

... only to see an ocean of paperwork spilled out all over the floor, and an unamused Twilight looking directly at her. "Eheh, whoops? I'm... going to go deliver those letters now. Talk to you later?"

Before Twilight could respond, Rainbow rushed out of the library. Within seconds, she burst through the crystal doors (without cracking them this time), zipped through the halls, and exited the castle through the larger, grand-looking balcony opening. She also narrowly missed the flag as it whipped and fluttered around its pole due to being caught in her wake. Now that she was outside, however, she could increase her speed to subsonic levels as she whirled around the castle, and set her sights on Canterlot.

Given the distance between Ponyville and Canterlot, and her current speed, Rainbow figured she would make it to the castle within five minutes. Ten at the most, even if she slowed down a little and enjoyed her flight. After all, nothing was more invigorating than flying through the crisp winter morning air in Rainbow's mind. Well, almost nothing. Flying at supersonic speeds was always an adrenaline rush, no matter the time of year.

For some strange reason, thinking about the morning air reminded Rainbow of a saying from way back during her flight school days. Sunrise Smile was one of, if not the only instructor Rainbow disliked during her time there. No matter how early in the morning it was, and her classes were always held an hour after dawn, she used to say in an overly cheerful voice 'The early bird gets the worm!'. This was the exact opposite of Rainbow's belief since she was still half asleep during most of her morning classes.

Still, as Rainbow closed the distance between herself and Canterlot, she felt that things were coming full circle. Today, at least, she was in Sunrise Smile's place as her mind drifted to one of the letter recipients, her newest student, Neil. Was he up at this early hour? Being an Egghead like Twilight, she assumed he was. There was also the question of whether or not he had anything planned today.

After delivering both letters to their recipients, she could see herself spending a few hours with Neil. Unfortunately, they would also have to stay in Canterlot. Any meaningful flight practice would place Neil in full view of Canterlot, putting his super secret existence as an Alicorn at risk. Which was something she promised the Princess she absolutely wouldn't do. If she wanted to squeeze a few hours of training in, they would be restricted to physical training, like wing-ups.

Rainbow was willing to admit Neil's wings were long, majestic, and very appealing to the eye as her cheeks gained a small amount of warmth. However, compared to a normal-looking pair of stallion wings, which were stronger and more muscular looking, Neil's were very feminine. They were very similar to Princess Cadence's lithe, almost dainty-looking wings, now that she thought about it.

Maybe it was an Alicorn quirk to have pretty wings, whether a mare or stallion? It could also mean Neil's wings were underdeveloped and needed more exercise to increase his muscles and flight capabilities. She tried to picture Neil with strong, masculine wings. The best she could imagine was a pair of regular stallion wings, but stretched, which looked mismatched to Neil's larger body and longer legs. Add in Neil's abrasively mare-ish attitude, and the image in her mind quickly shifted to an Alicorn mare, earning a humorous snort.

Sure, if Neil was wearing his cloak and a pony looked at his wings alone from a distance, Neil could be mistaken for a mare. But, she was one of the few ponies to see him up close, without his disguise. And, no matter how hard he tried, tails weren't designed to hide certain things.

His sack was a prime example as it came to her mind, along with the massive pair of Alicorn-sized balls they held. Not only were they Earth Pony huge like Big Mac's, but they promised to fill a smaller mare like her to near bursting. Add in Neil's increased recovery rate thanks to his Alicorn nature, and she could only imagine what he would be like during estrus. Day after day after day... Rainbow felt a full-body shiver travel down her spine, and not from the cool morning wind as her mind went straight into the gutter.

She couldn't help but remember the last time she felt a stallion's special touch, which was also during flight school. It was during the spring of her final year. Fluttershy dropped out the previous year, meaning she had to deal with her heat on her own for the first time without a good friend by her side.

She was left feeling unfulfilled, frustrated, and a little lonely for over a month. Only for a royal blue Pegasus stallion from her class to come up and offer to help with a bit of shared fun in the mix. Being the reckless young mare she was, she quickly accepted and ducked into the nearest bathroom. One thing led to another, and she eventually found herself sprawled out on her dorm room bed with seed leaking out of her sated tunnel.

That was her first and only time with a stallion during estrus, and it felt amazing. No doubt, her time in flight school was top three on her list of best sexual experiences, for sure. What wasn't so awesome from that encounter was the false positive on her pregnancy test a month later. One single test changed her life. Forcing her to drop out and find a job in the same podunk (or so she thought at the time) little town Fluttershy moved to the year before. To this day, only Fluttershy knew about her first pregnancy test. Thankfully, her second, more accurate test at the Ponyville General Hospital was negative.

After that not-so-little scare, Rainbow used coolers and only offered herself exclusively to mares during heat season. Still, as she reminisced about her only proper mating, she couldn't help but imagine Neil on her back instead of the colt that bailed on her after their heated session. With his large frame, his stamina, and larger... well, she didn't know what his penis looked like. Not entirely, at least, leaving that part of her imagination blank. But, after feeling up his massive wings, she caught a glimpse of the tip after he partially stood up.

If she were honest with herself, she liked what she saw as even more of his Pegasus heritage revealed itself. Giving him a streamlined, aerodynamic head and crest that could easily slip into any mare lucky enough to make him hot and bothered. He even had an adorable splotch of grey on the tip that matched his fur.

Even better, Rainbow may have only caught sight of his balls on occasion and the tip only once, but she was pretty sure she was the only mare alive that knew what an Alicorn's member might objectively look like. That thought alone boosted her inner smugness, knowing that most single mares (even some herding mares) looked Neil's way during their casual walks through Ponyville. They all thought he was a massive unicorn, and pictured him with the equipment to match. At least, that's what Rarity said while spilling her typical gossip.

She knew better, though, as she finally noticed a familiar dampness beginning to seep into the fur of her inner thighs.

Sadly, she couldn't keep fantasizing about her Alicorn student. Not only was it frowned upon (so long as she remained his flight instructor), but she could easily pick out the individual towers of Canterlot Castle. She would be at her destination in less than a minute, and it would be really uncool of her to show up and deliver the Princess' letter smelling like a horny two-bit whorse.

Changing direction, Rainbow pulled up and bled off some of her speed with two consecutive loop-de-loops. It helped to get her mind off Neil's stallionhood and return to her current task. However, she also threw in a few daring dives, followed by a couple of corkscrews, and finished with pinpoint, accurate turns as she neared the mountain. It wouldn't do to crash into the base of Mt. Canterhorn and injure herself. Or worse, if she lost the letters she promised to deliver. However, she spent the next ten minutes, twice the entire length of the trip, doing daring tricks until her body cooled down and felt presentable again.

Only then, with a massive burst of speed that teased the beginnings of a Sonic Rainboom, did she circle the mountain's base, looking for the familiar train tracks from Ponyville. Once she spotted them, she dove close (but not so close as to pose any danger to herself or an oncoming train) and followed them up the mountain. She could have flown straight up until she was level with the city's elevation, but that was boring compared to following the winding tracks up the side of the mountain.

Sooner than Rainbow would have liked, though, she burst out of an enclosed stone tunnel and into the outskirts of Canterlot. She immediately veered upwards, angling away from the train station and the Pegasus guard patrol watching the area. They wouldn't be able to catch her. But, if she got too close, they could recognize her signature rainbow trail and report her, something she did not want to deal with on her day off.

After gaining a small amount of altitude, she pulled an abrupt ninety-degree turn, angling herself towards the city's center and the distinct towers of Canterlot Castle. At her current speed, she was nothing but a rainbow blur to the ponies walking below, some of which she caught looking up at her. The fact that she was noticed made her smile as she neared her destination.

Before she could fly over the walls and zip into the castle courtyard, she remembered at the last second that she wasn't wearing her official Wonderbolts flight uniform. That would have made the local guard patrols angry with her for sure. Instead, she forced herself to divert around the wall and landed abruptly at the front gate as her hooves slammed into the cobblestone. A landing like that hurt her hooves a little, but the payoff was worth it as she kept her cool landing pose.

Besides, sore hooves were easier to deal with than the first time she accidentally flew over the walls without a proper uniform or permission. Not only was she subjected to a changeling test, which left her feeling tingly in all of her most sensitive places, but she also had to fill out paperwork on top of that!

"Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, Wonderbolts Trainee, yadda, yadda, yadda." She immediately briefed the guardsmare blocking the gate, waiting for her to move aside. When the guard refused to move out of the way, Rainbow narrowed her eyes and continued, clearly stating the reason for her visit. "I'm here to deliver two urgent letters from Princess Twilight Sparkle. One is for Princess Celestia, and the other is for Neil."

Of course, when she mentioned an urgent letter for Princess Celestia, the guardsmare quickly did her job. In the blink of an eye, the armored mare jolted to the side of the gate, almost as fast as Rainbow could fly, and pulled a lever. The previously closed gate started to open with a loud but well-maintained-sounding mechanical clunk. Rainbow waited only long enough for the gap to equal the size of her barrel before taking off and slipping through the gap at the bottom of the gate. After which, she quickly swerved through the open doors of the castle itself and dipped into the hallway leading to the throne room.

Even this early in the morning, before the gates officially opened to the general public, ponies were walking about. And not just the castle staff, either. Rainbow spotted a couple of groups of mares gathered inside and out. Most were dressed in fancy gowns, likely nobles and other important ponies that stayed the night in the castle.

Also, there was a group of humble-looking ponies that reminded Rainbow of AJ and her family, dressed in their country best and walking through the hall toward the throne room. Judging by the lone Earth Pony stallion in the group's center, they were also a herd. Without a doubt, they were from out of town. They probably had been given a guest room in the castle after missing their chance to meet Princess Celestia yesterday.

Still, Rainbow flew above and ahead of the group, quickly entering the reception hall, and angled herself towards the throne room door. Already, half a dozen posh-looking ponies were standing in line. But, she ignored them despite their loud, obnoxious sounding 'My word's' and 'Oh my Celestia's', as she landed at the front of the line.

Before the Unicorn guardstallion could even ask why she was there, Rainbow pulled out both letters from underneath her wing and loudly stated, "Letter from Princess Twilight Sparkle, for Princess Celestia." She caught out of the corner of her eye some of the nobility closing their mouths or silently harrumphing due to her statement. Still, she couldn't take the time to gloat as she identified which letter was Celestia's and offered it to the guard.

"Princess Celestia has yet to enter the throne room," The guardstallion told her in a dull but official-sounding tone instead of taking the letter. "As such, Day Court has yet to start. As the Element of Loyalty, it would likely be best for you to see Her Royal Highness in her private dining chambers. Lieutenant Brass!" He called out, his voice echoing throughout the room as Rainbow caught the barest hint of a grin and a minute sideways glance towards the ignored and otherwise annoyed-looking nobility.

The sight was short-lived, however, before Rainbow picked up on the sound of measured, well-trained military hooves as they broke from their position and trotted up behind her. When she turned around, a puff of bronze magic took hold of the letter to Celestia held in her wing and plucked it from her grasp.

"If you would follow me, Wonderbolt Dash?" The guardstallion's deeper, baritone voice invitingly asked as he stashed the letter inside his armor with his magic. The fact that he recognized her rank as a Wonderbolt had her swelling with pride as she quickly followed him out of the room and back down the hallway from which she came. However, she couldn't help but feel a little irked by the fact that he also took the letter from her.

It was probably some protocol, or procedure Rainbow was unaware of. Most of the time, if she delivered a letter for Twilight, she just took it during Sun Court and they allowed her to pass through the door. This was the first time in her life that she managed to show up before court began. As they walked into the grand entry hall and made their way up the main staircase towards the second floor, she also remembered the second letter she had to deliver.

Neil's room was the closest of the two and only a short detour along the way to Celestia's private dining room. It would make sense to drop that one off first, as she asked, "Hey, can we make a short stop before delivering that letter to the Princess?"

Instead of turning around or stopping, Lieutenant Brass asked, "Where would you like to stop?" As he continued to climb the staircase.

"I have a letter for Neil as well, and his room's mostly on the way." She told him, automatically gesturing her snout towards the correct route, even though he couldn't see her. "Might as well drop his off first."

"Ambassador Neil's room?" The guard seconded before he stiffly adjusted the angle of his ascent up the grand staircase towards the smaller set of stairs branching off to the right. "Very well."

After that, it was a quiet, slow journey through the castle. Without her Wonderbolts uniform, Rainbow wasn't tied into the wards. Instead of flying directly to Neil's ambassador quarters, like she usually would, she was forced to stay close to the stallion escorting her. Despite how slow he walked through the halls, she couldn't deny that he had some serious muscle for a Unicorn. She was reminded of Prince Shining Armor, with the armor enchantment turning his coat white and his shorter-than-average tail blue.

Eventually, they found themselves in the area of the castle that housed the ambassador suites. Not long after that, she spotted Neil's front door. Once more, her impulse was to fly up in the blink of an eye, but she had to restrain herself, and follow her escort instead. It was almost torturous, watching as the door and the two guards flanking it slowly grew closer with each measured disciplined step.

Once they were within ten-ish feet of Neil's front door, Rainbow skipped in front of Lieutenant Brass and landed in front of both guards. She didn't recognize either of them as Neil's overly muscular Pegasus guardstallion. However, if they were stationed at his door, they were likely a part of his guard detail.

A quick look at their helmet plumage revealed the stallion on her left had the rank of Sargent, so she turned to address him. "I've got a letter for Neil from Princess Twilight Sparkle if you want to tell him?" As she said that, Rainbow also pulled the letter out from underneath her wing and offered it to the guard.

"I'll advise Ambassador Neil of your arrival, Miss Dash, and see if he's willing to accept visitors this morning." Neil's guardstallion informed her gently as smokey magic swirled around his horn. For the second time that day, the letter she was delivering was taken from her wing and stuffed into a stallion's armor as he turned around and quickly slipped through the door without a sound.

For a split second, Rainbow could see the inside of Neil's living room through the gap in the door. She didn't spot Neil himself or see anything that was out of place, but she did pick up the warm flickering light of a well-stocked fireplace reflecting off the white walls. Odd, but this was a castle. She wouldn't be surprised if things got a little chilly, given the walls were made out of stone.

Roughly a minute passed before the door opened a second time. However, instead of holding the door open and inviting Rainbow in, the guardstallion opened it just enough to slip through and promptly closed it with his magic. "Neil would like to thank you for going out of your way to deliver that letter. Unfortunately, he also had a really bad day and night, yesterday, and would prefer to take it easy for the rest of today."

Rainbow couldn't deny that she felt her good mood deflating a little. She was hoping to chat with Neil at least, if not convince him to do more training with her. However, as she learned why he wasn't taking any visitors, she was even more worried about this supposed lousy day he had. "Neil didn't hurt himself again, did he?"

"Despite Neil's best efforts, no, he didn't seriously injure himself," the Sergeant calmly reassured her before switching the topic to something else, "In any case, would you like to schedule a training session sometime during the next week?"

"I'll think on it," Rainbow told him after a second or two of thought. She knew she had tomorrow off but after that? She would have to look at her calendar and see what was going on. "Also, the next time you go in tell him I hope he gets better. I won't go easy on him during our next session."

"I will do exactly that, Miss Dash," He stated with a nod as he slipped back into the position he started and stood at attention. "Have a good day."

"I will," Rainbow told him, as she turned to see her guard escort standing at attention across the hall, on the opposite side of Neil's door, and across from the guardsmare. If not for the stiff pose, Rainbow might have assumed they were in the middle of a tedious, if slightly dull, staring contest. However, she had things to do and at least one more letter that needed to be delivered today. With a flap of her wings, she propelled herself two feet into the air. "Okay, time to go see the Princess now. And this time, let's go faster!"

~~~***~~~

Focus, and willpower. Those were the two main aspects of casting that all Unicorns and Alicorns needed to work on to master the basics of their innate magic. Young Unicorns typically spend years slowly honing their craft. First, they started by drawing magic to their horn, which would then be released as harmless magical sparks. Once that step was achieved, they began the grueling task of shaping magic to their will. Typically, most foals struggled with the second part. But not Neil.

Being an adult helped with the focus and willpower aspect of casting magic. Unfortunately, being who and what he was also complicated things. Whether it was due to random chance or the fact that he was a human deep down, something about his magic was volatile and unpredictable. If he wanted to safely cast telekinesis or any other spell he felt inclined to learn, he had to add a third, more advanced aspect of casting to the mix.

The way Cadence described it, this technique was used in the guard and by journeymare mages to make casting more efficient and less wasteful. An average Unicorn utilizing this technique could cast more spells and focus on them for longer periods without increasing the size of their center. As a nice side benefit, it also helped hone their mental fortitude.

Neil didn't care about that second aspect. His sole reason for learning to regulate his magic was to prevent his magic from pooling at the base of his horn. That way, he could stop a second fireball detonation from happening in the first place, or worse, somehow setting himself on fire with rainbow napalm.

As he strained to mentally manipulate the thermos held in his aura and twist the lid off, he had to increase his magic flow. But he couldn't increase it by too much. Otherwise, his magic might pool and explode his god-damned morning coffee!

With a frustrated growl, Neil cut off his telekinesis when he felt the cold sensation of his magic beginning to swell at the base of his horn. Instantly, the bright, electric blue glow surrounding his horn and the thermos cut off. Severing his control of the metal container and allowing gravity to drag it down an entire inch before it hit the wooden coffee table with a dull, metallic warble as the coffee sloshed inside.

Without an ongoing spell to restrict and redirect his magic flow toward the tip of his horn, Neil felt the cool, icy chill of his magic flow away from his forehead and down his neck. It rapidly warmed until the essence of magic reached equilibrium and fully faded away inside his body. It was deceptive in a way, feeling calm, cool, and relaxing; all the while, he knew its explosive potential.

After casting a fireball yesterday, Neil had to begrudgingly admit that Celestia had been right. His magic was apparently dangerous, enough that he felt obligated to tame it as soon as possible for his safety and those around him. Which meant practice, practice, and more practice, leading to the situation he now found himself in as he stared at his coffee thermos.

He could lift the container and put it back down. That was easy enough, taking a minimum amount of time, effort, and risk. It was when he tried to increase the duration of the spell or do any amount of physical manipulation, like removing the lid or pushing it toward the other end of the table, that his control over his magic began to waver. It was surprising to learn that such little things increased the magical demands of the spell while also forcing him to alter the flow of magic to his horn. Incorrectly, most of the time.

After Neil's latest failure to lift the thermos, undo the lid, and pour himself a cup of coffee, he gave up on doing the task with magic. Instead, he reached out with a wing and manually poured himself his fourth cup of coffee. Was it technically cheating to do so in the middle of his self-imposed practice? Yes. But, he needed his morning coffee, and somehow, the ponies managed to brew it without any hint of bitterness.

Taking a sip, Neil leaned back and relaxed in the comfort of his reading chair. The fire that had been stoked by Luna the night before somehow still burned brightly into the morning. How that was possible, he didn't care enough to guess. All he knew was that he hadn't added a single log to the fire since he woke up, and it still threw off more than enough crackling light and heat to make the room feel extra cozy.

A large cup of coffee, a happily burning fire, and he hadn't opened a single stupid book the entire morning. If Neil were honest with himself, this was one of, if not the most relaxing morning he'd experienced so far during his time at the castle.

He might have even dozed off for a moment or two after finishing his cup because the next thing he knew, he heard someone next to him gently clear their throat. Eyes opened wide, Neil instinctively jolted up in his seat and looked to the source. Calm, somehow, was silently standing beside his chair with a sealed scroll hovering next to his chest.

"I'm sorry to wake you, Neil, but Rainbow Dash is here to deliver a letter from Princess Twilight Sparkle." Calm informed him as the guardstallion effortlessly placed the scroll on the coffee table with his aura.

"A letter from Twilight, already?" Neil asked without thinking. He didn't expect any progress to be made that quickly regarding their shared project, let alone enough to fill a letter. After setting his empty cup aside, which his wing still held for some reason, he scooped up the meticulously rolled scroll. Before he had the chance to open it, however, he remembered the reason it was here in the first place. "Is Rainbow still here?"

Calm gave a single, firm nod before answering his question. "Rainbow Dash is waiting patiently at the door, last I saw."

"Huh," Was all he said at first since he was slightly confused by her actions. From what he knew about her, she acted like life was one big race. Once a task was done, she'd rush off to the next one as fast as possible. "Did she say anything about training?"

"No, she only mentioned the letter," Calm confirmed before focusing on the recently delivered letter. "Should I ask Rainbow Dash to wait for a letter in response?"

'Only if you want to make her pissed off at me,' Was left unsaid as he thought over his options. If he needed to respond to Twilight's letter, he could just hop on the train to Ponyville and speak to her directly. Besides, whether he sat on a train watching the scenery go by, or sat in his apartment reading useless books, he was wasting time either way. At least the train was relaxing. "I don't think so. Tell her I said thanks, but I'm taking it easy after almost burning my apartment down."

Calm gave a silent salute and stated, "As you wish," As he almost hit his helm with his armored shoes. After that, he turned around and headed straight for the door.

With that taken care of, Neil settled into the comfort of his chair for the second time and brought the scroll still held in his wing closer. This wasn't his first letter from Twilight, and he had enough experience dealing with wax seals to remove them with his wings without making a mess.

Once the red ribbon was free, Neil quickly unrolled the letter. However, as he did so, three smaller pieces of paper fell out. Two of them fluttered down and landed on the armrest, while the third landed on his stomach.

For a split second, he was confused as to what they were. But after looking directly at the one on his stomach, he recognized all three of them as unused train tickets. Was Twilight expecting him to go to Ponyville? And when? He was tempted to look at the time on the ticket but figured everything would be explained in the letter.

Once the letter was fully unrolled, Neil narrowed his eyes as he began to read Twilight's ordered, neat, if a little too small, unified writing:

Dear Ambassador Neil,

Hello! I hope this letter finds you in good spirits. If not, then I have some great news that will help cheer you up. I believe I have found even more information that is critical to finding your home country. However, before I divert all my spare time and effort into following this lead, I would prefer a second opinion at the earliest opportunity available. Together, if possible.

To accommodate this, I've rescheduled my five o'clock appointment to later this week, giving us the rest of the evening to review all the information I have available. I've also taken the time to look over today's train schedule. Unfortunately, the soonest available train from Canterlot to Ponyville leaves at one o'clock in the afternoon. If you don't mind experiencing a slight delay in Ponyville, you'll find three round-trip tickets already paid for and attached to this letter.

If you are unavailable today or wish to reschedule to a more convenient time, please send a letter informing me of such changes. I'll try my best to accommodate your schedule. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you at five tonight!

Your Fellow Researcher,
Princess Twilight Sparkle.

The moment Neil finished reading, there was little doubt in his mind. Whatever this critical information might be, if there was even a sliver of a chance of finding his way back home, he would take it. Something was off, though. If this information was so critical, why wait to share it in person? Why not tell him immediately in this very letter? After a second or two of thought, he figured the answer lay with how she ended the letter. your fellow researcher. She did not want the information to spread accidentally, or she wanted to show the process leading up to her conclusion.

With that in mind, he quickly plucked all three tickets from where they fell with his other wing and sat upright in his chair. It wasn't quite nine in the morning yet, meaning he had a few hours to prepare. He also had to tell Calm about the sudden change in plans so his guards could get a heads-up. After placing the letter and the tickets on the coffee table, he slipped out of his chair and approached the front door.

The two-hour wait would be annoying, but apparently, he was going to Ponyville today...

~~~

Without warning, the shrill, high-pitched whistle of the Friendship Express gave its final warning as the doors leading into the passenger compartments began to close. Unlike his first trip to Ponyville by train, its sound was partially muted by the various noises being made by other nearby ponies. Whether it was the rhythmic clomping of multiple hooves along the wooden loading platform, luggage being loaded into carts of varying sizes, or the excited greetings of ponies seeing each other for the first time in ages before devolving into conversation, the train station was buzzing with activity.

Thankfully, most of it was directed away from Neil as he slowly walked through the crowd. With Bulk and Squall at his sides, the most recognition he would receive would be an odd look or two, focused on his guard's gleaming golden armor and spears, before being ignored. Whether they thought he was a dangerous pony being escorted or that he was on some sort of official duty for the crown, he didn't know. But he took full advantage of the crowd's trepidation as he slowly made his way to the platform's edge.

What he would do once he left the train station was still up for debate. He had an official meeting scheduled in two hours, but until then, he had no idea what he would do to fill the gap. The most obvious option was to walk around town and see what was happening. If he took a stroll around town hall, would he find Lyra playing her lyre? Rarity's shop was also an option, although he couldn't think of any particular reason he needed to visit. Plus, he did not want to be subject to another one of her bouts of inspiration. If worst comes to worst, he could go straight to the castle and do some light reading.

That was his least favorite option since he managed to avoid any books so far today. Still, with what little he knew of Twilight, she was very thorough, to say the least. So, it was more likely that she had a stack of books for him to review during their meeting than not.

As Neil left the train station and followed the quaint path that led into town, he again took in the idyllic, snow-covered cottages that appeared to have been ripped out of a picture-perfect postcard. He was no stranger to Ponyville, but this was his first time seeing the wintry village with a bright, clear blue sky in the background compared to the depressing grey cloud cover he usually associated with winter. He even stopped momentarily to capture the memory, even if two glaring blemishes didn't match the image of a small, northern town blanketed with snow.

The first and most glaring was the shimmering walls of Twilight's large crystalline tree castle. It was a veritable beacon of reflective light that drew the attention of anyone looking vaguely in its general direction. However, it was a Ponyville staple, so he begrudgingly ignored it.

Interestingly enough, the second thing he noticed that was out of place was both smaller and presumedly easier to deal with. A little puff ball cloud was hovering over the northwestern edge of town. It was the only splotch of white he could see marring the otherwise perfectly blue sky. Even odder, there was a short, scruffy-looking, tail-length rainbow hanging off the side, leaving little doubt in his mind about who was ruining the view.

Regaining his casual jog, Neil slipped past the first layer of cottages and veered northward. Even if he couldn't dissuade Rainbow from her cloud, at least he could distract himself for a few minutes before moving on to something else. As he closed in on the area directly below her perch, he found himself beside the large snow mound with the burnt sign and brass plaque next to it.

For a moment, he thought about putting his new telekinesis to the test and pulling on her dangling tail. But he decided against it in the end. On the off chance he lost control, he didn't want to light a fire under her ass, or worse, blow it off entirely as if he set off a claymore next to her. The best way to get her attention would be the old-fashioned, boring way, as he called up to her. "Hey, Rainbow, you alive up there?"

After five, maybe even ten seconds passed, the only indication she heard him was a minor, insignificant twitch from her otherwise limp tail. He was just about to call up a second time, only for two slow-moving hooves to reach beyond the edge of the cloud and curl down. Digging into the edge of the cloud as if it were a thick, fluffy blanket before pulling it back and forcing the physical vapor to scrunch up.

Soon enough, Rainbow's drowsy and somewhat irritated face poked over the edge, looking directly down at him. "I'whaz having a nap, Neil." Was all she managed to get out before being interrupted by a loud, obnoxious-sounding yawn. He also saw the tips of her wings and her back legs poked out over multiple edges of the cloud, suggesting a deep, flexible stretch. "Weren't you staying in Canterlot today?"

"That was the plan until I read Twilight's letter," Neil admitted, studiously ignoring the sliver of her blue-furred butt poking over the back edge of her small cloud as well. "She reworked her schedule to set up a meeting today, and it sounded urgent. So, here I am."

"Urgent? As in, the end of Equestria as we know it urgent?" Rainbow asked, blinking away the last remnants of sleep from her eyes before her cloud descended. Halfway down, she wore a determined, if slightly arrogant grin as if she was anticipating a fight, only for a look of realization to hit. "Nah, that can't be it. Today's a Friday, not a Tuesday," She admitted out loud, as her grin seemed to wilt a little.

"Whether it is or not, I'm meeting her at five," Neil informed Rainbow as her cloud became level with his back. Leaving him eye to eye with her so long as she remained prone on her cloud. "Which leaves me with a few hours to waste, if you're willing?"

That seemed to cheer her back up as her arrogant grin returned with full force. "Volunteering for a full two hours of hard training? Some stallion sure is getting a little cocky."

"That's not what I said, Rainbow," Neil rejected firmly. "I was thinking some light flying practice, only. I don't want to be a sweaty mess when I meet with Twilight later today."

"Are you sure?" Rainbow doubled down, a hint of teasing in her voice. "A sweaty stallion might be exactly what an egghead like Twilight needs," She joked, trying and failing to hold down her laughter.

"I'm sure, " Neil said, ignoring her half-smothered laughs as he began to walk around her cloud. "But if you want to joke instead of fly, I could always go and visit Rarity instead."

That seemed to do it, as her cloud veered to the side with a light flap of her wings, cutting him off. "You'd ditch me for Rarity? As if! Now, let's hurry up." Rainbow told him as she gave a second flap and spun her cloud around. "The sooner we get to the clearing, the sooner you can drop the cape and fly."

For a mare who was having a relaxing, if lazy, day off on her cloud, Rainbow was quick to take the lead as they headed into Ponyville proper. A third, almost breast-stroke-like flap had her cloud shoot forward at a brisk, jogging pace, and Neil was quick to follow. There was only one problem. With the cloud remaining at its current height, he was faced with a very sleek but prominent rainbow-tailed butt only a few feet away from his face. Forcing him to look anywhere but in the direction they were heading.

Still, it was an opportunity to look at the surrounding buildings as they passed through Ponyville's streets. Unlike his last trip, this area of town was a mix of cottages and essential shops. One of which was an odd, gingerbread-looking building he recognized as the structure that almost crushed him before Lyra and Bon Bon saved his ass. He noted the name, Sugarcube Corner before they passed it by.

Not long after they passed Sugarcube Corner, Neil's eyes settled on another strange-looking building as they approached. The front half was a large, two-toned green cottage that was two floors tall. Two large bay windows took up most of the first floor facing the street. Both displays were packed to the brim with different flowering plants, most of which were in full bloom or budding despite it being winter. Underneath the windows sat large, almost boxy-looking snow drifts. Possibly hinting at extra boxes, shelves, or planters built underneath the windows, which were covered with snow.

Above the front door, a small, antique wooden sign hung freely with blooming, vibrant flowers engraved and painted into the wood. The shop's name wasn't displayed on the sign, but the idea that this was a flower shop was easily discerned. The oddest thing about the building wasn't the cottage itself. It was the long, attached greenhouse, at least two hockey rinks in length and as tall as the cottage itself that caught his attention.

Neil could only imagine what was being grown inside, besides just flowers. As he contemplated the possibilities, an unknown female voice interrupted their relatively quiet jog through Ponyville. Even stranger, it didn't originate from his right or left, but from above as the mare called out to the pony leading their little group. "Hey, Rainbow!"

Before he or Rainbow could adequately respond, a Pegasus mare came in for a hard landing to his right. She wasn't a blur like some Pegasi he'd seen before (mainly Rainbow Dash). However, the impact was still hard enough to scatter the light powdering of snow around her and make her legs bend at the knee as she absorbed the shock, even if she tried to hide it.

Her fur was an odd, faded purple-blue colour, but her mane and tail drew most of his attention simply due to how striking they were. They were the colour of ice and snow, with plenty of volume and windswept. Giving her what Abby and Ken would describe as an anime duck-butt hairstyle. She also had a shooting star on her flank to finish her look.

Following the purple-blue mare's entrance, a second, almost identical Pegasus came in for a softer landing in the center of the street. She had the same fur colour, but her mane and tail were long, silky, and well-maintained, judging by the pink bow she wore just behind her ears. After a second, he also noticed a greenish sheen to her hair, giving it a more teal look and differentiating it from the ice blue of the first mare. She had three dragonflies pictured on her flank to further distinguish herself from the first mare.

"And, hello there, Tall, Dark, and... really, really tall." The softer of the two Pegasi followed up with an adorable, child-like voice, despite being a full-grown mare, as she angled her gaze up and looked directly at him. Neil had little doubt as to who she was addressing as she spoke.

"Smooth, Flitter," The first Pegasus added afterward, sounding more than a little sarcastic as she audibly face-hooved.

Looking between the anime mare and Flitter, Neil felt a hint of wariness deep in his chest. Something about how they landed in front of him on either side gave him a vibe that they were... corralling him. Maybe not that, exactly, but a sense of them closing in or blocking him off, even though he was at the side of an otherwise open street.

At least Rainbow seemed to recognize them as her cloud abruptly stopped the moment both mares landed. She didn't appear surprised in the slightest. As Rainbow spun her cloud around to look at the anime mare, she seemed more annoyed than anything else at their sudden appearance. "Flitter, Cloudchaser, what are you two doing here? Aren't you on cloud patrol?"

Flitter, and Cloudchaser? From what Rainbow just said, it was clear that they were part of Ponyville's weather management. Why were they here, though? Had something come up, and they needed to report to Rainbow, even though she told him it was her day off? He hoped that was the case. As he let Rainbow deal with them, he also couldn't help but mentally ask, 'Any relation to Cloud Strife?'

Unfortunately, his mental question went unanswered. Instead, Flitter began to explain, forcing Rainbow to crane her neck and look back at her. "We are. But, we were just about to take our break,"

Only for Cloudchaser to pick up seamlessly from there as she looked at him with a salacious grin. "Then, suddenly, we spotted a large, grey, and electrifyingly handsome cumulonimbus that might need our attention. It might even take our entire break to properly wrangle him to our satisfaction. If he wants us to, that is?"

Flitter picked up from there, echoing the question with big, hopeful eyes. "If you want to join us on our break?" Making it crystal clear what they were propositioning him for while also leaving no doubt that he could accept or deny their offer. But still, asking a random stallion on the side of the road for casual sex!?

The instinctual wariness in his chest spiked, along with confusion and a jumbled mixture of other emotions. Some of these were positive, like pride at the idea of being called handsome, oddly enough, which disturbed him far more than the actual situation he now found himself in.

Before he could even think of anything to say, Rainbow took over as she gave Cloudchaser a critical look. "Who's covering for you two and watching Ponyville right now?"

Cloudchaser looked past Rainbow and caught Flitter's eye. After a second of silent communication passed between them, as if they were communicating telepathically, she then turned to address Rainbow. "Well, we figured since you're right here?"

"We were wondering if you could cover for us?" Flitter finished as she trotted up to Rainbow's side, distracting her with those same hopeful eyes... as her tail twitched and shimmied off to the side. Momentarily, she revealed herself in full view of Neil as a fleeting glimmer of reflective sunlight originating from her damp but most certainly aroused flesh in the midday sun.

Neil immediately withdrew his eyes, looking away from the effect he had on Flitter while trying to find anything else to distract himself. Unfortunately, his eyes locked with Cloudchasers, who promptly waggled her eyebrows at him with a knowing, perverted smile. Which fell slightly the moment Rainbow gave her verdict.

"No," She said sternly as her eyes darted from him, and towards Flitter's tail. "One of you can take a break while the other covers like you're supposed to. It's my day off, and I plan to show my friend around town before he meets with Twilight."

That specific name drop seemed to catch the attention of both mares, and any hint of scoring a good time with him vanished as Flitter's ears perked. "The Princess?" She asked, sounding mildly surprised.

Only for Cloudchaser to follow up and ask herself, more so than anyone else, "So, this is Elements business?" At the same time, she looked over to Flitter before anyone could give her an answer. "Flits, you mind if I take the first break then?"

"Oh! Um, sure," She said, sounding slightly off-set as she worked through their sudden change of plans. "I guess I'll be in our regular spot when you're done?"

"Sure thing," Cloudchaser confirmed before flapping her wings and taking off. Before she was out of earshot, though, she called back, "I'll grab you a snack on my way back."

Which brought a small smile back to Flitter's muzzle before taking off with a single, light flap of her wings. Instead of taking off toward their regular spot, however, she spun around to face him directly as she spoke. "I guess I'm still on the clock. Hopefully, my sister and I can get to know you better at a later date. Bye, everypony!" With that said, she flew off at a far slower speed compared to Cloudchaser, towards the northern part of town.

Yet, Neil didn't particularly care to watch as she flew off. His mind was still stuck on the last tidbit of information Flitter shared with them. 'Sisters!? She was willing to fuck me with her sister?' Which spawned a slew of other thoughts, adult or not, that could explain some of the backward thinking he'd seen in Equestria. After all, if incest was allowed out in the open like that...

Before he devolved down that path too far, he reigned in his train of thought. He assumed they were asking him for a quick fuck, but were they? He didn't know for sure, which is why he immediately turned to Bulk and asked, "Just to make sure I understood what was going on, those two were asking me for sex, right?"

As if he was answering a question about the weather, Bulk gave him a slow but casual nod. "Eeyup."

"And," Squall jumped in on the conversation with a giggle that somehow betrayed his perverted thoughts on the subject, "The mare with the windswept mane was pretty hot. I wonder if she was dripping like her sister?"

"Is that normal?" Neil asked loudly, feeling just as uncomfortable now with the image of Flitter's moist lips refusing to remove itself from his mind as when the two mares were initially hitting on him. "Or, is that just a Ponyville thing? No one in Canterlot's stopped me on the side of the road and asked for sex!"

Never mind the fact that, if they were human, he might have taken them up on their offer. There was a reason a threesome with sisters was a staple for most men's bucket lists. But, as ponies? Unbidden, a matching pair of nether lips came to mind, but with Cloudchaser's tail swept aside. Doubling up the unwanted imagery in his mind, as a shiver of revulsion traveled down his spine.

"Pfft! Is that a Ponyville thing?" Rainbow interjected with a laugh. "Don't let those hoity-toity ponies in Canterlot fool you. They might not be open about romps in the hay like a normal pony, but what do you think all those boring, frou-frou parties are for? Talking?" She asked rhetorically before devolving into laughter.

While he could picture the nobility gathering together at every opportunity to party and brag about their wealth, he didn't even want to entertain the thought of Rainbow's accusation being true. Before his mind could conjure up a grand ballroom of equine anatomy, he focused on the rainbow-maned Pegasus currently laughing her ass off instead. "And that's normal? Have they asked you for a romp in the hay, as you put it?"

"That's not any of your business, but yes," Rainbow eventually admitted with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "We've helped each other beat the heat a few times since I moved here."

While beat the heat wasn't a saying he was familiar with, its meaning was clear enough, given her blush. He could only imagine how uncomfortable doing such a strenuous activity on a hot day while covered with fur could be... as the image of a twitching, moaning pile of multi-colored fur and wings on top of a white fluffy cloud started to form.

Neil groaned internally as he physically shook away the image of Rainbow, Flitter, and Cloudchaser in the sky, having a threesome from his mind.

"Anyway, we've wasted enough time talking about this," Rainbow stated, sweeping the subject aside verbally while also waving her wings to get her cloud moving once more. "The moment we reach that clearing, we're going to work on your mid-flight turns."

Neil eventually followed after her, catching up with Rainbow's cloud with a vigorous jog as he did his best to ignore the uncomfortable emotions within his chest. Once in the air, he looked forward to casting aside his thoughts and emotions tied to the last five minutes. He could focus on other, better things, like the feeling of the wind passing over his feathers.

For the moment, however, he silently suffered with the lithe, sky-blue rump floating not even five feet away from his face.

~~~

As Neil approached the green crystalline double doors leading into Twilight's library, he mentally tallied everything that needed to be done before his meeting with Twilight started.

He maneuvered a single wing underneath his cloak and nudged the clasp that sat snugly against his neck, holding it in place. 'Cloak in place and secured? Check.' Not that it mattered. Everyone involved already knew about his wings. It was in case a random pony walked into the library as they were talking... which seemed like a slight security risk, now that he thought about it.

'Shower after Rainbow's idea of light training? Check,' He confirmed without much fuss. After all, his muscles weren't nearly as sore after a long, refreshing shower, and his damp, unbrushed hair still hung limply on one side of his neck.

Which left one last task up in the air. 'Early, but not too early? Hopefully, check.' To avoid the events of his first meeting, Neil felt it best to time his arrival closer to Twilight's expectations. Leaving him a three to five-minute window where he could still be early but not so early as to catch her unaware like the last time he was here. If she had new information that could help him find a way home, he didn't want to piss her off.

Once Neil reached the door, he pushed aside with his hoof. His first thought as the door cracked open was to look toward Twilight's messy table. Unsurprisingly, Twilight was sitting there just like his previous visit. However, unlike last time, the mess was gone. Instead of piles of unsorted books and paperwork, the table was uncluttered. And, instead of being hunched over a book with her back facing the door, she was sitting upright and waiting for him.

Before he could fully open the door, she raised a hoof and called him over with a light, energetic wave.

"Neil, welcome! I'm so glad you could make it to Ponyville today. Honestly, I was a little worried about sending an official summons like that on such short notice," She admitted, trying her best to appear professional. However, as her greeting dragged on, it was clear to see just how nervous, or excited she was about the information she discovered. "But you never sent a reply asking to reschedule, and here you are! I have so much to share with you."

Midway through her greeting, Twilight also drew on her magic and lifted a book from her back with telekinesis. It wasn't an old or elaborate-looking book, either. From what he could tell at that distance, it was a brown, leather-bound book with gold accents on the spine. Oddly enough, it also had a copy of Celestia's stylized sun emblem of all things on the cover.

Confused, Neil quickly jogged inside and made his way over to Twilight's table. As usual, Bulk stuck to his side while Squall stationed himself at attention next to the doorway leading into the library. "I hope there's more than just a single book?"

"There is, but this is a very important book," Twilight informed him as she placed it on the table to her right. He spotted other things on the table before Twilight as he closed the distance. Mainly a few pieces of paper and an envelope that sat flush with the table's surface. "Before we get to that, however, I need to share some more information with you first. Please, sit."

Once he reached her table, Neil did as she asked. And, to prove that Twilight was adequately prepared for him this time, there was a large, plump, comfy-looking purple cushion that matched her fur colour next to the table for him to sit on. "So long as it helps me get home, I'm all ears."

"I'm sure you won't be disappointed," Twilight promised, momentarily dropping her princess veneer with a smile that beamed pure excitement. "I have three important topics that I can't wait to share with you today, now that I have Princess Celestia's permission. The first is an update related to the Veil of Inspiration."

That admission caught him off guard, causing his heart to skip a beat. Sure, Celestia knew some things about him after he let them slip. But had Twilight revealed to her everything about their research project? He hoped that wasn't the case, but that didn't stop his eyes from narrowing as he focused on Twilight. "Celestia knows about this?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Twilight admitted, watching him just as intently. "Weeks ago, Princess Celestia requested that I look for a mysterious, hard-to-find country called Canada. When I first started, I thought it might be an old civilization left to ruin. When that ended with zero results, I turned to myths and legends like the Crystal Empire. Unfortunately, that also turned up nothing."

Neil listened to her explanation, but he couldn't help but mentally echo, 'Weeks ago,' As he thought back to the morning after the Tantabus incident. Even then, Twilight took time away from her breakfast to sift through books. Every single time he met with her since then, she was surrounded by piles of books. Was she looking for his homeland the entire time he knew her?

"However, judging by your lack of confusion," Twilight continued before asking him in a calculated manner, "Is it safe to assume Canada is also your home country?"

"That would be safe to assume, yes," Neil eventually admitted, allowing Twilight to light up with glee at being correct. However, there was still one missing piece of the puzzle that was glaring at him. If Celestia tasked Twilight with finding Canada, why didn't she also tell Twilight about his connection? "What else did Celestia tell you?"

"Nothing, really," Twilight admitted once she calmed down. "The Princess stated in the letter that this was an extra-curricular research project I could do in my spare time, so it wouldn't detract from my regular Princess duties."

"Okay..." Was the only thing Neil thought to add to that, still feeling somewhat confused by the information game Celestia was playing. After a further second of silence between them, he momentarily brushed all of that aside, and asked, "So, did you find Canada?"

"I haven't confirmed that yet, but it's tied to the third topic we need to talk about. First, I have an update on the Veil of Inspiration that I would like to discuss with you," She told him as she lifted the envelope off the table with her magic.

Looking closely through her shimmering aura, it appeared to have an elegantly written address on the front, along with a stamp of Princess Celestia in the top right corner. Unfortunately, the format didn't make much sense to him. The only thing he could pick out was the recipient's name, Ms. Daring Do.

Which struck him as odd since he had heard that name before... from Rainbow? The more he thought about it, the more he was sure Rainbow mentioned that name. But why? And why would Twilight be writing to them about the Veil?

"When it comes to artifact recovery, we'll need an expert in the field," She told him. "Given the severity of the danger presented by the Frozen North, I can only think of one mare talented enough and willing to recover the Veil. As such, I'm sending a letter requesting Daring Do to lead the expedition into Ancient Roam."

That answered one of his questions, at least. "If you're looking for me to approve her, I have no idea which ponies are qualified to do this or not. You make her sound competent enough to get the job done at least," He admitted, wanting to get this over with and skip to the topic that involved Canada. "What's next?"

"If you're worried about her qualifications, she has a best-selling book series detailing all of her various expeditions. If you like adventure books, I promise they're a delightful read," Twilight told him before a slight pause.

After a moment or two without any response, however, she moved on to another, more exciting subject, at least for her judging by the tone of her voice. "But, back to the matter at hoof. I planned to reveal my research project on Canada and dive into the details. However, we've inadvertently covered the basics already while also confirming one of my suspicions."

A red flag shot up in Neil's mind the moment Twilight admitted to having suspicions. He didn't say anything directly, but as she continued talking, he began to pick up more than just excitement in her eyes and tone of voice. There was a hint of something else. Almost like a manic glee, as she neared the finish line for some unknown, undefined goal. A goal that looked less appealing to him with every word she spoke.

"...Now, before we delve into the details of my third topic, I have one last question I need to ask you." She stated matter of factly while watching him intently once more. It wasn't a warning, per se, but he took it as such. "Have you ever heard about, or do you know, what a human is?"

Every single thought, whether it be related to getting home, or otherwise, came to a sudden, crashing halt the moment Twilight uttered the word human. How she could know that word, he had no idea. But she knew, as a single, viscous word overwhelmed and echoed within the space of his skull, overtaking his entire thought process.

'FUCK!'

She knew. Neil couldn't even fathom the how, or the reason why she knew about humans. But the knowing, an almost smug glint in her eyes told him she knew. Otherwise, why would she be asking him that question? His reaction didn't help either, as her eyes widened with a manic glee.

His first impulse was to bolt off his cushion and tackle her. The surprise alone might have been enough for him to run out the door. However, beyond a slight twitch of his limbs, he didn't act on it. Forcing himself to remain seated as he tried to think of any other way out of the sudden mess he found himself in. After all, they were, for all intents and purposes, in the middle of a large fucking room. Even if he ran all out, she would quickly recover and grab hold of him with her telekinesis. And, if by some miracle he did manage to reach the door, she could do something else to chase after him or stop him outright, like teleporting.

Then there was Bulk to contend with, who could just as easily take to the air and tackle him into the ground.

No, running for the doors wasn't an option. But he couldn't just sit there and do nothing, either. As his silence continued, Neil could tell it was just as damning as a yes. While he forced his breathing to stay relatively calm, panic welled within his chest. What was she going to do? Was she going to lock him up somewhere in the castle and inform Celestia? Or, being the scientific pony she was, would Twilight forego informing Celestia and strap him down to an operating table right away?

Amidst his panicked thoughts, Neil could feel his heartbeat, his breath, and even his perception of time slow down as he was overcome by indecision. Every second that passed, Twilight's triumphant smile, which was beginning to remind him of a mad scientist, grew exponentially slower. Revealing to him in vivid, almost frozen detail, she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, precisely what he was.

He had to go, and yet, had no way out. No plan. Nothing. He was doomed to be a subject of experimentation as he stared at Twilight. Watching as the world itself around him began to darken and smear. He had to think! If only he could do what Luna did and teleport-

Only for a booming feminine voice to drown out his thoughts and reverberate through his skull as if he were standing next to a concert speaker. "It would seem as if you've found yourself in a bit of a pickle, Mon Capitaine!"

'Too loud!' He thought in agony as he tried and failed to look around for the source of the voice. Unfortunately, his body acted as if he, too, was stuck frozen in time like the rest of the world... as it slowly melted before his very eyes.

"I had to be." The voice pouted, although Neil didn't know how he could know it was pouting, as it continued to chastise him.

”You were so wound up with thoughts of being strapped down, used, and abused that I had to make a grand entrance. As a side note, if you want to do any of that, all you have to do is ask. But! Back to the enticingly long pickle you've found yourself pressed up against. You wanted to escape the Castle of Friendship, yes?"

Neil disregarded most of what the voice said, not wanting to even contemplate yet another offer trying to get into his pants ("You don't even wear pants, though!"). But, he desperately latched onto the question she asked as his last and only hope to escape Twilight's clutches. 'Yes! Twilight figured out that I'm a fake, so if you can get me out of here, please do it!'

"A fake? Mon Capitaine, you're just as much an Alicorn as you are a human," The voice stated clearly, revealing that It knew what he was, as well, "From the length of your horn to the size of your co- Fine, I'll stop with the dirty talk and innuendo just this once. Yes, I can get you out of the castle, but I need something in return."

'Of course, there was a fucking price,' Neil mentally groaned. There was always a price. He was desperate, but he could only imagine what kind of sick Faustian bargain he was about to say no to. Given how perverted the voice was, with its offer of bondage not that long ago, he mentally braced himself as he asked, 'What do you want?'

"As much as I would like to partake in your more depraved thoughts, I've moved on from Non-con as a fetish these days," The voice smugly informed him. "So, I'll simply ask for this. The next time you give your consent to me, I want to make things fun between us."

For the briefest flicker, before he could even contemplate the meaning behind the offer given to him, Neil thought he saw Twilight's half-melted purple eyes reform into a pair of crazed, red, and yellow orbs instead. Only for the red pupils to vanish before the yellow sclera started to rapidly undulate, and expand in all directions. Enveloping and claiming everything within sight into a singular, solid colour.

Once its conquest was complete, at least within his limited vision, Neil's entire world- gravity and all -collapsed into an implosion of gaseous mustard yellow.

Author's Note

-Excessive amounts of snow, check. ✅
-Injuring my shoulder due to shovelling said excessive amounts of snow, check. ✅
-Work calling me in on my days off, check. ✅
-Time being a cruel Mistress, and running out before I had the chance to finish this chapter by the end of December? Double check. ✅
-And for good measure, why not lose a weeks worth of writing due to a computer crash corrupting my file? That definitely helped my schedule. :derpytongue2:

Also, as an extra lore tidbit:
Rainbow was reminiscing quite a bit about various topics during her flight. Most of which revolved around her old school days (I cut a few of the topics in an attempt to not split the chapter in two. Fat lot of good that did, but after removing it, I wasn't going to rewrite all of it and add it back in). One of her major thoughts that I cut involved Derpy Hooves, and why Rainbow keeps her on as a weather reserve/helper, despite all of her accidents.

As shown here, not only was Derpy part of Rainbow's class, but she was a pretty good flyer at a young age:

Unfortunately, Derpy was forced to drop out of flight school the same year as Fluttershy did. Her reason for leaving Cloudsdale was very similar to the reason Rainbow left for Ponyville the following year. Unlike Rainbow, however, Derpy's second check-up at Ponyville General remained positive.

But, that's enough background lore that's unlikely to ever come up in the story for one reason or another. Stuff like this is why we have a Discord! So we can talk, and theorize about certain aspects of the story, or generally hate on me for being late with my writing. :trollestia:

You can find said Discord here: https://discord.gg/JhhwM89VPY

Oh, and throw my Editor Dat_Random_Fur a bone or something in appreciation. Maybe something festive, even, like a pack of cigarettes and a pistol under the tree (which is likely dead and rotting at this point) for those die hard American traditions. ;P

1. Three Week Streak

Throughout history, no matter where you were, Earth's sunrise was stated to be a sight to behold. From the first sliver of amber light smouldering against the darkness to the fully risen orb of fire and fury. Depending on the cloud cover, the time of year, or your geographical position, you could watch various colours such as pinks, blues, and violets transition across the sky over a period of hours.

Unfortunately for Neil, Equestria wasn't on Earth as far as he knew. Sunrise here was a quick and seamless transition spanning less than a minute. The sun came to a halt in a mid-morning position, allowing light to spread across the land and dissipate all but the most persistent of shadows. This included multiple beams of light spearing between the wooden slats of his current home. No matter his position, one beam always managed to bombard his eyes at just the right angle, irritating him to the point of wakefulness.

With a groan, Neil shifted his neck from side to side until his muzzle was no longer buried under his leg, and the light no longer assaulted his eyes. For a fleeting moment, thoughts of returning to sleep flickered in his mind. But then the rest of his stiff and aching body kicked in, reminding him of the effects brought about by a whole night's rest in a shipping crate. He needed to move, extra sleep be damned.

He fully uncurled from his sleeping position, not unlike a dog, and stretched as much as his crate would allow. As multiple muscles and joints popped in series, a soothing sensation spread over his body. He'd been a pony for about three weeks at this point, and not once had he ever dealt with something like this as a human. If not for his sleeping arrangement, he might have been worried about the health of his current body.

With some of the stiffness worked out of his muscles, he plopped down on his rump and lifted a hoof to a particular board. He carved a line with his hoof into the soft pine wood every morning. Today would be the 23rd line. "Almost a whole damned month in this place," He growled before clearing his throat. One month of confusion, survival, and a growing sense of paranoia while living on the streets.

He could dwell on that later. He spun around like a cat and looked over the other half of his home. Compared to his standard of living as a human, it was pathetic. A matching shipping crate was pulled against his sleeping compartment to make the enclosure slightly more weatherproof. It mainly acted as a door, keeping him hidden from the weekly garbage collector that walked by with a cart. It also doubled as his food storage.

Unfortunately, the only thing sitting at the base of his food crate was an empty garbage bag. He'd stolen that particular bag from a dumpster on Restaurant Row two days ago. It had been full of vegetable scraps and leftover salads at the time. Still, he'd unintentionally finished it off the previous night. That small oversight left him with nothing for breakfast this morning, and his stomach protested with a whimpering gurgle. On the other hand, what little there was last night had tasted... off. Either way, it wouldn't be the first time he'd gone without food since waking up here.

He pushed a single hoof into the small gap between the crates. With less strength than what would have been required as a human, the shipping crates split apart. Once there was an ample gap, he bit down on the empty garbage bag, doing his best to ignore the faint taste of spoiled salad dressing, and hopped into his back alley.

It would be easy to discreetly dump the bag in a random garbage can, take care of some personal business, then be on his way. Ponies only used the main streets in this city, with only the rare flyer passing by overhead. The main question on his mind, however, was where to scout.

Besides the two crates he used for sleeping, he managed to liberate five more from the Skyport during his stay in Canterlot. It was easy enough to watch and learn how the gold-plated ponies patrolled the poorly guarded storage yard full of empty crates. Moving the shipping crates was more challenging, but the hassle was worth it. Those five outposts had been strategically placed, allowing him to watch and, thanks to his increased hearing as a pony, eavesdrop on the public as they walked by. Ponies were surprisingly oblivious to the new additions, and not a single crate had been touched so far.

Three crates were placed near food sources, and given his lack of food, he'd be dumpster diving after dark. Despite the bag in his mouth, he grinned. Tonight would be the opposite of healthy, and his stomach growled approvingly.

~~~

The city of Canterlot held itself to a strict routine. The sun would rise at far-too-early in the morning, acting as an alarm clock for most citizens. After that, the average pony would take their sweet time freshening up, have an excellent breakfast, and prepare for another day.

It was the outliers that Neil had to watch out for when making his way toward any of his scouting positions. These were the night shift workers tiredly plodding their way home or a pony racing to open their shop early for the morning rush. On top of that were the ever-present patrols, which could be spotted from a mile away due to their gleaming golden armour. He always had to keep a wary eye when crossing a main road to avoid being spotted.

This is why Neil found himself jogging up to his outpost near Canterlot's primary market. It was the same size as the crates he used for his home, making it cozy to sit in but little more. Unlike the containers he used for his home, one of the eye-level wooden boards had been broken off about four inches from the frame. This allowed for a much clearer view when spying on the citizenry.

It also allowed him to watch his primary target for the upcoming evening. Like most of the businesses here, the front face of the building had a smooth stucco finish of pale purple with gold-trimmed windows. Neil was pretty sure each city district had to adhere to a strict colour scheme, and the market's theme was purple and gold. To differentiate itself, this building also had pink stars and diamonds evenly painted between the windows and the front entrance. There was also the giant pink donut mounted above the golden overhang. The overhang doubled as a sign, reading Donut Joe's in a formal script.

A closed sign was placed in the corner of a ground-floor window, yet there was still movement inside the building. A tan male, or stallion as they preferred, with darker brown hair and a tail was trotting from the kitchen to the main counter. This, Neil presumed, was Joe. And Joe was a pony that broke the laws of physics every time he came out of the back. Trays laden with baked goods, primarily donuts, would float alongside the stallion in a forest-green aura. The very same aura emanated from his horn.

Joe belonged to the most common pony type in Canterlot called unicorns. Unicorns, from everything Neil had gleaned from his spying, could use magic. Or the natural ability to lift objects with telekinesis, which they attributed to magic. The thought of his science and physics teacher, Mr. Blanc, learning that such an ability could exist had kept Neil entertained for an hour or so more than once.

From the information Neil overheard, every unicorn had telekinesis. Most could also make light from their horn, with varying degrees of brightness. The unicorn guards he'd spotted patrolling at night were proof of that. But he also heard each unicorn had unique tricks, or spells, that were somehow tied to the brand on their hips. So far, he hadn't seen an example of such.

Pegasus ponies, as they were called, had the second most common ability though saying they were common was a stretch. They were mostly guards flying above the city as little more than golden flecks of light. Out of all the ponies, these were the ones that kept his paranoia on high alert during the day. They could fly right over and spot him without warning if he walked through an empty back alley. They were the main reason he camped out most of the day and did most of his work at night. He'd also heard snippets about pegasi working with the weather, usually from a unicorn complaining about shoddy work. He assumed that a pegasus could fly up to a cloud and, after checking whether it was a storm, somehow gauge its severity?

Finally, the third and rarest type of pony without a horn or wings was called an earth pony. While Neil hated his current predicament, even he felt some sympathy for the magicless, most human-like of the bunch. After weeks of scouting, he only knew about four in the entire city of Canterlot. One worked at the Skydock, carrying full and empty crates on her back. The second he'd only spotted once, momentarily, as they pulled a cart with unicorn passengers. The last two were guards that patrolled during the day.

Despite that, even they had a trick or two of their own. They were the strongest and most durable type of pony on average, or so it was claimed. It was also stated multiple times that they grew food better than the other ponies. On the other side of the scale, they were looked down on by some of the upper class in the city. He'd heard them being called Dirt Ponies and Mud Shovellers on two occasions. Both times it was a unicorn that looked to have a full evergreen tree shoved up their ass, so Neil wrote them off as rich racist bastards.

Still, it painted a grim picture where earth ponies were shunted to being lower-class citizens and forced to work on farms. Experience alone could explain their increased physical fitness and exceptional agriculture skills. Would that be enough to create a cycle of confirmation bias? If they were all stuck on farms, that would also explain why earth ponies were rare in Canterlot. They were only used for jobs that required physical labour.

Neil broke from his mental review, wishing for the unknownth time he had a pen and paper to write it all down as he watched Joe trot up to the window and flip the closed sign to open. He usually opened up a few minutes before six in the morning, meaning the worker rush was about to hit... now.

Like clockwork, the morning rush swelled into the market district like every other day. Some of the herd would divert into Joe's shop while the rest passed on by. Barely any of these ponies would be window shopping or chatting to pass the time. But above the din of pounding hooves on cobblestone, Neil caught a word here and there. More fractured complaints about the weather pegasi? The weather being late today?

Between the snippets of gossip, Neil would watch Joe through the window when it wasn't obstructed by the crowd. Joe would greet every single customer with a smile, though most of his customers were women, or mares as they were called. He seemed to know all his regulars because he'd usually have their order ready by the time each mare was at the counter. A quick exchange of gold coins and most ponies would walk back out, likely to their job.

A few more casually dressed mares, or those without any clothing, tended to linger through the morning rush. Usually, they would stand by the counter and chat until the next customer walked in, or they would take up one of the nearby tables after paying for their order to enjoy their breakfast.

Despite all of the information he could gather in this spot, there was a reason why he also loathed camping out in this particular spot. And he was reminded of that fact every time Joe turned around to get something off the shelf. Mares blatantly stared at his ass, appreciating him like a savoury, high-end steak. Others tried to be slightly more sneaky, glancing up from their meals. Even mares outside of his shop would slow down to enjoy the view.

However, what confused him the most to this day was the fact that Joe enjoyed the attention. Occasionally, he would swish his tail to the side, flashing his junk to the entire store!

If that wasn't blatant enough, just three nights ago, an honest to god musical number paraded through Restaurant Row as he snuck through a nearby back ally for food. That such a spectacle could happen out of the blue shocked his system. Add random ponies popping out of windows to join with instruments or backup vocals, with little to no warning on top of that? It was pure insanity! It was also horrifying when some instinctual part of his new pony body kept urging him to join in on the song. He had to mentally focus, ignoring the compulsion in his head, and force his hooves to move away from the musical until it disappeared.

But the absolute worst of it all was the content they were singing about.

Neil assumed it was after a successful date because the group of five mares was singing about finally finding a stallion for their herd to take care of. Most of the song was about sappy, informative hardships and the perseverance of finally finding a stallion. But one of the five, an orange pegasus with fiery red hair, kept popping in with salacious innuendos about the guy's stamina, the size of his massive schlong, and how he was a stud that could last in their bed for very prolonged sessions.

All of this was brought about by one significant difference between Equestria and his home, which both disgusted and terrified Neil. It all came down to a cursed four-to-one ratio Neil kept hearing about. Birthrates, on average, consisted of four mares to every stallion in Canterlot. Despite being more robust and durable, stallions were a desired resource to be protected at all costs. To put it bluntly, stallions were seen as little more than breeding stock to be taken care of and protected by the mares of the world.

More than any other, that reason was why he even had a stay hidden at any cost policy. Hell, he was only twenty-three! He could barely picture himself in a stable relationship with one woman, let alone five of them!

The morning rush would typically last a few hours, thinning to a slow crawl near the end. This generally led to a slight lull in business, allowing Neil to properly piece together anything he heard. Today a storm was late, and it was somehow the fault of the weather ponies. Scrunching down in his crate to angle himself correctly, Neil could barely see a sliver of gray sky between Joe's roof and the top of his box. At some point between six and eight A.M., cloud cover had blown in. That still begged the question of how a storm could be late and why it was the fault of the pegasi?

The only other shred of information related to little more than celebrity gossip. Some Fluer-De-Something French mare was caught flirting with yet another mare. He would hear more about that rumour in mind-numbing detail later, as much as he didn't want to.

Neil knew it was nearly lunchtime when all the upper-class ponies, almost exclusively well-dressed unicorns, finally deigned to join the remaining working-class peasants in the market. Neil guessed that one of the perks of being a rich snob was the ability to sleep in, right? But even the elite couldn't avoid the allure of Donut Joe's as the odd pair started to trickle in.

Just as the lunchtime window shopping began, something unexpected broke his well-established schedule.

A small group of posh-sounding ladies were chatting in front of the jewellery store his crate was parked against. One of the mares was going on about how she was actually at the party Fleur-De-Lis attended because, of course, she and her husband were invited and how the Prench mare kissed some upstart unicorn model from Fillydelphia that obviously did not belong, in front of her stallion no less!...

Neil silently groaned, adding two more horse-punned locations to the ever-growing mental map of the world.

At the same time, another pair of unicorn mares, dressed in wealthy-looking gowns, were gossiping in front of Joe's. They were too far for Neil to listen in on, but he knew it wasn't essential with the way they would occasionally raise a hoof to giggle or glance at Joe's ass through the glass. He wrote them off until one of the mares stopped mid-sentence.

Her large eyes went from the glass to the ground, staring at something in absolute shock. Her companion also looked and mirrored her friend's appearance almost immediately. Within a second, without warning to any nearby ponies, they ran beyond Neil's limited view away from the market district.

The nearby group of gossipers went silent as well.

Suddenly there was a large, wet plap as a fat raindrop struck the top of his wooden crate. A few seconds later, a second hit.

The sporadic start lasted for a minute, giving most ponies just enough warning to duck into a nearby building. This included Donut Joe's, which was happy enough to accommodate more customers just as the clouds above finally relented and unleashed their payload. This left only the most stubborn of ponies galloping through the streets.

At this point, Neil learned something valuable about the crates he stole. They were very water resistant. He couldn't claim they were waterproof with the one board he broke off and an entire side open to the elements. Still, despite the odd drop splashing against his muzzle through the peephole and his drenched butt, he was surprisingly dry. He didn't even feel cold, which he attributed to his fur coat.

Thankfully the clouds above weren't a full-on thunderstorm. There was no flash of lightning or any hint of thunder beyond the downpour. This storm was a consistent but dreary shower that went on and on. To the point that Neil was bored enough to watch his tail shift and flow with the water streaming further into the back alley.

What felt like hours passed before Neil finally dozed off to the thought of freshly baked donuts...

~~~

With a suspiciously horse-like snort, Neil startled awake. The first thing he noticed, besides the fact that his crate was much darker, was the ongoing rain. The drumming of his box sounded as fast as he remembered earlier. Hinting that the same consistent downpour had lasted the entire day. The second thing he noticed, thanks to the street lamp just out of sight and the amber light above Joe's door, was the green open sign had been flipped to closed. Peering through the water-drenched windows, he saw a tan and white blur hovering over the wooden tables. That was Joe, and he was probably wiping them down for the evening.

Neil's anticipation grew by the minute as Joe finished wiping down the tables and countertops. Once he was back behind the counter, the stallion levitated a clipboard and pencil toward himself. Joe took inventory of all the various pastry leftovers after the day's sales. Then, like a well-oiled machine, he set the clipboard aside, unfolded a new trash bag, and emptied all his old stock from the shelves.

That single reason was why, out of all the ponies Neil knew by name or looks, he liked Joe the most. Compared to every other restaurant and diner in the city, Joe made rummaging through his dumpster a quick and easy task. It took less than a minute to flip the lid up, snag the bag, and be on his way without any digging required.

His stomach was at a near-constant rumble as he continued to watch. Though he was loathe to admit it, even he couldn't deny the best thing about being a pony. Whether it was skill, magic, or just his new taste buds, the food here was an almost euphoric experience.

Donuts and coffee were never his morning ritual, but he liked Tim Hortons when it was suggested. If asked, he would have been hard-pressed to name a better donut. After devouring day-old Donut Joe's out of a dumpster? Tim Hortons was a distant second at best. It wasn't even in the same league. When he managed to return home, it would be a dreadful experience getting used to regular food again.

The only reason he didn't raid Joe's dumpster every night was his paranoia. And the thought of dying from pony diabetes. But mainly paranoia.

When the trays were cleared, Joe tied off the bag and put it aside. He removed each tray, set them in a stack, and attacked each shelf with a cleaning rag. Only after everything up front was thoroughly wiped down did he go into the back with all the metal trays and the bag full of old food floating behind him in his aura.

Despite his growling hunger, Neil stayed in his crate. Joe usually took half an hour to an hour to finish cleaning the kitchen and take care of any other chores in his bakery. After that, the stallion would lock up and leave. Once that happened, then Neil could leave his spot and claim his dinner for tonight. He only hoped it wouldn't be too soggy, or better yet, the rain could quit before Joe took out the trash.

After roughly forty-five minutes, luck wasn't on Neil's side as the rain continued. He felt another jolt of excitement when Joe walked out of the kitchen wearing green boots, a matching raincoat, and holding a black umbrella with his telekinesis. Apparently, he knew about the rain ahead of time and planned accordingly. Joe opened the door with his telekinesis, then floated his umbrella out and popped it open. Only then did he exit the building, turn around, and lock the door.

When Joe stepped away from the door, Neil started counting down from two hundred under his breath. Was it overly paranoid? Yes. But stupid little policies like that kept him hidden from the ponies.

Once he reached zero, Neil slipped from his mostly dry crate into the rain. A small part of him noted that this was his first shower since he'd woken up as a pony. He would have preferred a nice, hot, relaxing one instead. But the rain was surprisingly not cold, and he could almost imagine all the grime he'd collected in his scraggly gray coat simply washing away. Unfortunately, he didn't need to imagine his tangled black hair, guided by the rain, washing down into his eyes.

It took time, but he managed to remove that annoyance with his hooves and 'not-wrists'. Without any further hindrance, he cautiously walked up to the entrance of the back alley. Once there, he poked his muzzle out. A quick look both ways revealed no errant ponies running home or the golden armour of a guard patrol despite the rain making everything hazy. And if there was a pony or a patrol? The rain gave him just as much cover. Releasing a breath, he darted across the open street. He pressed his side against Donut Joe's when he was around the corner and listened.

Neil couldn't precisely control his radar-like pony ears, but they seemed to know what to do on their own most of the time. Now was one such example as he felt them rotate, trying to pick up any cries of alarm or fright. When none were found, he audibly exhaled. He wasn't spotted. Only then did he relax, taking a deep breath to enjoy the mixed scent of Joe's bakery and fresh rain.

He did his best to ignore his own wet pony smell.

Neil trotted to the dumpster, refocused on why he was there. During his first days, dumpsters were an annoying inconvenience. Most were designed with telekinesis in mind, with only a dirty handle attached to the lid. Since he couldn't use telekinesis, he was forced to use his muzzle. He couldn't count the number of times he gagged after accidentally pressing his nose or lips against an unsanitary surface that first week. Or the times he carelessly bumped his horn against the metal lid, leaving him with a throbbing headache when he returned home.

Now he didn't spare a second thought as he used his muzzle to burrow under the handle and lift it. He took a moment to glare at the tip of his useless horn. If he could only figure out how to activate his telekinetic powers, this part of the job would be a breeze.

Once the lid was high enough for Neil to fit his entire head in, he angled his head far enough so his horn wouldn't get caught against the lip and pushed in. He shivered as the edge of the lid lightly scraped against the grooves of his horn but didn't stop until his chest was pressed against the side of the metal dumpster.

Generally, by this point, his nose would be pressed into a pile of trash, with the bag he wanted sitting at the top. This time he felt nothing but air, which was odd, but he brushed it off as a change in schedule. He made a note to keep his eyes and ears open for surprise visits near his home, but that was a later problem. His stomach growled ferociously, redirecting him back to the food he sought. He reared up on his back legs and worked his front legs over the lip to pull himself further in.

A disturbed snicker managed to escape his lips. He couldn't see anything, but he probably looked like some deranged horse mounting the poor dumpster.

He swung his muzzle back and forth around the interior, lightly brushing against metal on his left and nothing on his right. After each pass, he would push himself a little harder. Straining his neck and nose down a little further... He was just starting to think this dumpster was empty when he felt his nose brush against a trash bag. Bingo. Now if he could push just a little more and bite down on...

His back legs were stretched precariously, and his front hooves were firmly pressed against the inside of the dumpster, fighting for every single millimetre of reach. It was just enough for his teeth to bite down on the bag.

At that point, Murphy's Law caught up with him.

This was his first storm as a pony, meaning this was also his first time dealing with rain-drenched hooves trying to keep traction on rain-drenched cobblestone. In Neil's moment of victory, he'd overextended as his right back hoof slipped.

Neil lost stability, and his gut reaction was to brace his front legs. This inadvertently pulled him in further with the help of gravity, and he fell head-first into the trash bag full of pastries. His body and back limbs followed into the dumpster, as each of his hooves caused multiple metallic clangs. The heavy lid slammed down after him with a resounding bang, and he found himself lying on the damp metallic floor of the dumpster.

He groaned loudly, primarily due to his stupidity more than any pain. This was the second time he found himself in a dumpster, though this was the first time it was done unintentionally. On the bright side, his muzzle was firmly pressed into his target. His back end, however, had the distinct displeasure of laying in a layer of something slimy. Neil hoped that it was extra frosting that leaked at some point, and not something more disgusting before refocusing his thoughts. He needed to gather his meal, hop out, and return home. Easy as apple pie... or an apple fritter, in this case. Hopefully.

He just needed to straighten out his position, roll onto his stomach, and get his hooves underneath himself... but as he completed that final step, his ears locked onto a new noise. It was faint but distinct enough beyond the rain drumming against the lid. Multiple hard somethings slamming against something else, and it was getting louder. It took a few seconds for him to discern that it was hooves galloping against the stone. He froze, only allowing himself slow and silent breaths.

'It's just some poor Bastard caught in the rain and taking a shortcut,' Or so he hoped, as the hooves charged closer. He just had to wait for them to pass by, and everything would be... Was the pony slowing down? The clip-clop splash transitioned from a gallop to a trot, a walk, and finally, a standstill. Neil was starting to freak out internally when a second set of hooves landed solidly nearby on the other side of the dumpster. 'Two ponies!? Why the hell did they stop in the middle of an alley? And out of all the fucking alleys in Canterlot, why this one!?'

His answer came far quicker than he would have liked when a strict, no-nonsense female voice tore through the rain. "Private Echo! Would you kindly tell me why I had to chase your flank down this alley through the rain?"

The mare was quickly answered by another one with an unusual accent. It struck him as an even blend of Spanish and Scandinavian, which he had never heard before in Canterlot. "I apologize, Ma'am, yet there was a series of banging only a moment ago." Private Echo reported. "I fear it might have been the creature!"

Neil filed that away as important information as he held his breath. An unknown creature was on the loose, and the guards were tasked to find it. Of course, his clumsy ass went and alerted some jumpy private. Now he had to avoid both, somehow, with his food!

"I know not to underestimate your hearing Echo," The first guard conceded, "However, that doesn't give you permission to rush off and abandon your partner without saying anything beforehoof. Understood?"

There was a long pause. The longer Neil held his breath, the faster his heartbeat climbed. It was starting to become a struggle before she finally responded. He took advantage of her words to silently mask his exhale.

"I fear you are right, Corporal Hearth. I shall warn you next time before I am to rush off, yes?"

He regained only half a lungful of air when she finished her question, but that would have to do while he waited for the two mares to leave. Then he could go back home, and everything would be fine. Any moment now, he'd listen to their hooves clacking against the cobblestone, preferably going back the way they came from, and-

Suddenly there was a squeak of metal hinges, and he felt rain splattering against him from the neck up.

"'Tis a stallion?" Private Echo called out, confused, as she floated above the dumpster with the lid held in her hoof.

Neil looked straight up into the radar green eyes of a brand new pony type. He noted multiple unique traits for later evaluation in their moment of joint surprise. She had average, pony-sized wings that defied the laws of physics like a pegasus. Still, they were a bat-like membrane instead of feathered like an ordinary pegasus. Her eyes were slitted like a cat's and might have also been reflective. Last but not least, she wasn't wearing golden armour. No, what little he could see in the dark and rain was made of some purple, leather-like substance with navy blue accents.

He was the first to shake off his surprised terror as his fight or flight instincts flared, urging his body to react on its own accord. Like a wound spring, his legs kicked out, going from prone to a leap in a blink of an eye. His larger body quickly knocked aside the confused bat pony mare, causing her to wobble and slam into the wall. The dumpster lid once more came down with a loud bang!

His landing was less than graceful as he sprawled atop a normal golden guardsmare. But he was quick to his hooves and shot off before either guard regained their bearings. It was bad enough that he had to abandon his bag of pastries at the bottom of that damnable dumpster, but first, he had to get away! He couldn't be caught by the crown royals. He was an alien. They'd execute him, turn him into a breeding stud, or make him into a lawn ornament if those particularly ludicrous rumours were true!

His ears swivelled on their own as a second set of hooves slammed into the cobblestone at full gallop. A quick look back revealed the golden mare he assumed was Corporal Hearth giving chase. She was close enough to keep him on his toes, but he wasn't worried with a fifteen-ish foot gap between them. What bothered him was the distinct lack of green eyes and purple armour that had him internally freaking out.

Something about this chase smelled rotten besides his wet, garbage-drenched fur.

After the dressing down Corporal Hearth gave, he didn't think the golden-clad mare would abandon her partner so quickly. The bat mare, Private Echo, was still in play, but where? She should have been chasing him. Hell, she would have caught him by now if she flew even half as fast as a pegasus. But she wasn't there.

His next thought was aerial recon. His head twitched to look upwards, but he caught himself. He couldn't afford to take his giant pony eyes off the road or have them battered by rain. If Private Echo acted as overwatch, his only hope was for the winds to push her around and the rain to obscure her view.

The third and final option was for her to fly ahead and block the exit. That would also explain why Corporal Hearth wasn't pushing herself to gain ground. Was she herding him into her partner? That had to be it. It was the most logical plan since there were no side exits in this particular back ally. Neil narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know who you are," Corporal Hearth yelled placatingly over the rain, "Or why you're running, but if you just slow down we can help! Sir!"

'Hell fucking no, you can't!' He yelled internally as the alleyway exit emerged from the rain. Surprisingly, he couldn't see Private Echo waiting for him. But that didn't mean she wasn't there, ready and waiting to ambush him. He tensed and took the corner sharply, ready and willing to shoulder-check the mare if she pounced at him. Or buck her off if she landed on his back. Neither happened.

Instead, he found himself on a direct course for a street lamp. He managed to weave around it with some desperately quick hoof work, only losing a few black hairs to the post's decorative filigree. He was now out in the open, on one of the main roads of the market district. But he knew where he was as he caught sight of a nearby shop called Shale's Shingles. He was currently heading north, and there was another alleyway entrance only a block and a half away. An alleyway that started straight, then abruptly curved with the mountain before intersecting with another alleyway. In other words, his best shot at losing his tail.

Thinking of his tail, the noise of her hooves became clear again. Or as clear as they could be in the rain, leading him to believe she had just exited the alleyway. Without looking back, he took a moment to politely yell his formal response to her earlier plea. "Fuck off!"

Whether she took the corner too sharp, lost her footing on the slick cobblestones, or it was pure dumb luck, the rhythm of her hooves seemed to falter. Neil capitalized on that mistake, putting as much distance as possible between them. There was even a hint of smug victory as her hooves became more distant. But he couldn't get cocky. He angled himself and crossed the road. There was little chance she wouldn't see him duck into the upcoming alleyway, so increasing the gap by any means possible was his top priority.

And after he lost her? 'Take the long way home. Keep a look out for flyers. Avoid open areas. Get back home. Avoid Joe's for at least a month... That last one is going to fucking suck.'

However, he had to focus on the here and now. He timed it in his mind.

He wove around a sign advertising Marigold's Timeless Perennials, left out on the street by a lazy store owner.

Fifteen feet away, less than two full running cycles before the corner.

His muscles tensed, ready to push off like a spring in a new direction.

Neil sprung off the stone walkway, his body angled to cut into the alleyway at full speed. As he passed the corner of the flower shop, his eyes widened in shock. Standing there, less than a body length away, was a muscular white mountain of a pegasus pony covered in golden armour. The stallion's blue eyes widened in shock as Neil soared through the air mid-leap. With all four hooves off the ground, he had neither the time nor the ability to veer off course before his unprotected chest slammed into unyielding metal armour. He could almost hear the popping and cracking of his forward shoulder joints as his breath was forced from his body. Or were those ribs breaking? He couldn't quite tell as his momentum dragged the guard with him toward the ground.

The realist in him would have assumed the situation was salvageable, even if he had to scrap his current plan. The optimist in him would have hoped the stallion would stay down while he ran off into the rain. Maybe Corporal Hearth would be unfortunate enough to trip over him as well? Unfortunately, neither happened as his skull and, by extension, his horn slammed into the ground.

Agony. Pure, unfiltered agony reverberated throughout Neil's entire horn and directly into his brain. He knew little else as his mind was overwhelmed with unending waves of pain, and his brain went haywire. Limbs thrashed and spasmed, clashing uselessly against the metal-adorned guard he was tangled with.

The guard found himself in a moderately better position. Yes, he was sent tumbling when a random pony crashed into him. Yes, his wing was crushed painfully between the ground and his armour as he rolled onto his back. But it was nothing compared to the skull-splitting crack, followed by the short, wailing scream from the stallion above him. Whether the guard recognized the symptoms in a fraction of a second or did so just to protect himself, he latched onto Neil with all of his legs and a single wing. Doing his absolute best to prevent his assailant's limbs from thrashing about.

~~~******~~~

This was the chaotic scene Corporal Hearth found herself in as she turned the corner. Luckily she could bring herself to a complete halt before she collapsed on top of the pile. However, her horn erupted with an amber glow with a fellow guard in trouble. She quickly tapped her horn against the flailing stallion's back, allowing her magic to fully encase and lock him in place. Only after the runner stopped moving and she could step back did she recognize the large, muscular pegasus underneath as he slowly untangled himself. "Private Bulk Order, what happened?"

"I think he hit his horn, Ma'am." He told her with his deep, country accent as he did his best to slip around the other stallion's frozen legs. "I was patrolling this alley when I heard yelling, so I went to check it out when..." He paused, eyes wide as he just managed to pull far enough away and get a good look at his assailant. "What the fluff! Wings!?"

"Ignore that for now. You said he hit his horn?" She asked Private Bulk urgently, looking between him and the runner. She could feel his muscles sporadically straining against her containment spell. The runner's eyes were also rolled back from the pain, another clear sign of a disrupted horn. Once Bulk Order gave her a nod of confirmation, she closely examined the runner's horn. The impact area was easy to spot, with a quarter-bit-sized chunk shaved off midway down. That wasn't so bad. Unfortunately, she also spotted a hairline crack that started from the impact site and stopped two inches further down his horn. Corporal Hearth winced, just imagining what the poor stallion was going through.

Near the end of her inspection, Corporal Hearth noted the sound of another pony landing behind her. Since Private Bulk didn't react, she concluded her examination before turning around. As expected, her partner was there standing at the ready. "Private Echo, I need you to fly to the castle. Tell the infirmary staff we have a stallion suffering from a cracked horn."

Instead of taking off right away, her thestral subordinate tilted her head with a look of confusion. "Would it not be faster for me to report to the nearest district clinic?"

"Normally I would agree," Corporal Hearth conceded. Still, she didn't have time for this. The longer it took, the more pain this stallion suffered. "But, well, just look." She ordered as she stepped aside.

Private Echo's wings flared in surprise as she took a step back. "Merciful Moon... He is an alicorn?"

"It's a possibility, or he could have been transformed." Corporal Hearth admitted as her eyes lingered on his horn. "But he needs help now. After you tell the healers, inform both Princesses. Understood?"

"Understood!" Without another word, Private Echo saluted and took off with a mighty flap of her leathery wings.

That left just her and Private Bulk to take care of the runner. "Private Bulk, I'm going to release the containment spell. I need you to hold him so I can put him to sleep."

Private Bulk nodded quickly as he planted himself next to the runner's side. It wasn't perfect, but he managed to put the alicorn stallion in an awkward-looking hold with his front legs and wings. Corporal Hearth could feel him against her magic; muscles tensed in preparation for the spell to dissipate before he even said so. "Ready."

For a fleeting moment, she couldn't help but picture herself as the pony being held in the wings of... She shook away that thought and dropped the spell. The amber glow of her magic dissipated, ceding the alleyway to the dark and rain again.

Freed from their prison, the alicorn's limbs lashed out. However, Private Bulk held firm. Both of his forelegs clamped down the moment he could, locking down the alicorn's spasming front legs. As for the alicorn's wings? Despite the apparent strain, they were both held down by Bulk's uninjured wing. That, unfortunately, left the alicorn's rear legs unchecked even if they bucked uselessly against the cobblestone.

It was a second, maybe two, before Corporal Hearth's horn gathered enough magic to light up the alleyway again. This time the amber magic jumped from the tip of her horn to the alicorn's without physical contact. It quickly encapsulated the bone and followed the spiral grooves downwards like a marble. The further it went, the weaker the alicorn became until the spark finally merged into the fur of his forehead. Only then did the stallion fall limp, asleep, within Private Bulk's hold.

Once she was sure the spell took a firm hold, Corporal Hearth made eye contact with a very cautious-looking Bulk Order. He looked worried as if any slight movement or sound might wake the poor stallion. She swung her still-lit horn in the alicorn's direction. "So long as I keep the spell going, he'll stay asleep Private Bulk."

Private Bulk released his breath with a slight rumble, "Very well Ma'am. But, uh, what do we do now?"

"Private Echo should be reaching the castle shortly if she hasn't already." Corporal Hearth informed him as she looked in the direction of the castle. "After that, they'll dispatch an emergency cart. It'll be faster if we just wait here."

Private Bulk acknowledged her with a nod. "In that case Ma'am, should we get outta the rain? The flower shop next door has an awnin' that should cover us."

"We probably should," She agreed as she helped Private Bulk shift the alicorn onto his back. "Wouldn't want him to suffer a cold on top of a cracked horn. Poor colt." Once he was secured, she followed Private Bulk out of the alley and underneath the extended awning of Magnificent Marigolds.

Private Bulk turned to look at her when they were out of the rain. "So, what did this fella do?"

"Honestly? I don't know what's going on with him. Echo found him in the dumpster behind Donut Joe's, and he just... jumped out, body-checked us both, and ran off terrified."

Now that things were relatively calm, she gave the unconscious stallion a quick look over. His cloudy gray coat was soaked through, making the patches of matted fur all over his body stand out in the mixed light of her horn and the nearest street lamp. His charcoal mane was even worse, existing as a single giant, knotted and tangled mess. A glance at his rump told her his tail was in the same, if not worse, condition. She also noted his lack of a cutie mark.

"If I had to guess, I think he's been living on the streets for a long time." She offered as she gently held his wing in her hoof and extended it. Just like the rest of him, his wings weren't cared for. A quarter of his wing feathers were out of alignment, but none were broken. Nor did she notice any blood or feather rot, thankfully. "Maybe he was hiding from a perverse unicorn mare using transformation magics on him?"

"You really think a mare would do that to the poor fella?" Private Bulk asked, looking at the stallion with a noticeable amount of pity.

"It's not like an alicorn would just appear out of thin air," Corporal Hearth countered, "He also didn't use any magic, or fly off when he had the chance. You don't find that odd?"

"The fella had just enough time to run into me and crack his horn." Private Bulk offered with a careful shrug. "I can't really judge him offa that. What I can say is, he's as strong as a bull despite his build."

"He has earth pony strength, then. Makes sense he would be an Earther if he was under a transformation." She said with an air of finality.

The sound of rainfall filled the void after that. Corporal Hearth kept watch on the skies, looking for the medical cart. Private Bulk watched the unconscious stallion on his back, ensuring he was comfortable.

After waiting a minute, a pertinent thought popped into Corporal Hearth's head. "Private Bulk, why were you alone in the alley? Where's your partner?"

"I was assigned to patrol with Corporal Scarlet tonight," He informed her with a shrug. "You know how she gets on the ground. She flew off to do an aerial patrol around the district not too long ago."

"And left you alone when you needed backup," Corporal Hearth filled in with an annoyed groan. "She's going to get written up again."

And just like the ancient proverb, 'Speak of Eris, and she will speak back,' a pegasus guardsmare landed hot. Her hooves cracked audibly against the stone just outside the awning's reach. "Bulk, why are you just standing here? Also, what the buck happened to- An alicorn!?"

Corporal Hearth had a sneaking suspicion that this night, to quote Nightmare Moon, 'Was going to last forever!'

14. Mile High Club

(November 4th: 18th Day Since Capture)

With a shrill whistle, the doors leading onto the Friendship Express closed behind Neil with a firm thunk. Whatever his remaining doubts about visiting Ponyville were, it was too late to heed them. So, he shunted them to the back of his mind as he looked around. For a town that had an accidental weather malfunction go off nearby, it didn't look anything like he was expecting.

He thought he would see excessive damage, or wreckage, with large medical tents and emergency relief at the edge of town. Instead, Ponyville appeared to be an idyllic winter village. Snow had settled on every roof within sight, with snowbanks that caressed the bottoms of cottage windows and plowed dirt roads weaving between the buildings for easy travel.

As he stood there overlooking Ponyville, he heard the struggle of the steam pistons as they chugged and heaved, pulling an untold amount of weight towards an unknown destination southwest along the tracks. As the train built up speed, each cycle became a little less strained and a little more distant until the caboose finally passed by. As much as he wanted to stay and steel himself, he wasn't the only one standing on the platform. Calm and Hearth, both of whom were gleaming in the morning's winter light with their golden armor, stood on either side of him.

Neither pony indicated that they were on a schedule or that the cold air was affecting them in their armor. Both remained professionally passive now in public view, stiffly standing at attention. Unfortunately, or fortunately, if Neil looked at it a certain way, he was on a schedule. Twilight had informed him through a letter that she would be closing off her library today, from nine in the morning until noon, so he could access her Everfree collection without interruptions.

Which, of course, led to his early morning departure by train. There wasn't a clock nearby that he could check. But, if the Friendship Express reached Ponyville on schedule, he had just over thirty minutes to reach Twilight's castle before he was officially late. Plenty of time to be sure, considering from where he stood, he could see the reflective purple, blue, and yellow crystals towering over the nearby cottages to the northeast.

As if it was summoned by his thoughts, a small gust of wind impacted his side, only to uselessly blow over him. It ruffled through his hair and drew his attention back towards his immediate area. A thin layer of loose snow drifted around his hooves, and over the planks he was standing on, blowing in the same direction as the castle. However, just as quickly as it appeared, the small gust faded, leaving a light powdering of snow on the platform and a light shimmering of snow coating his fur and cloak.

"Well, let's get this over with," Neil muttered more to himself than his guards as he shook his body to throw off the loose snow. After that, he went over to the steps that led off the station's boarding platform and disembarked onto the path heading east into the town proper.

It might have been the disorganized cottages clustered around him, partially covered in snow, but he was reasonably sure he had yet to walk through this part of Ponyville before. The homes looked smaller than he remembered, but they made up for it with brighter, more boisterous colors. Behind the loud veneer, he noticed the small gaps between the old warped siding and the chipped paint. Giving him the impression that he was in the older part of town. Not that it mattered much, as the small path he was on soon merged into a well-trodden dirt road favored by Ponyville, which was going north and south.

Given his position to the castle, he turned north, though only for a short time, as the road soon curved east. He also noted multiple points of interest as he walked, which only added to the town's overall oddness. The first point of interest was what he initially thought to be a simple mound of snow. Street cleaners had to pile all that excess snow somewhere, right?

But, as he followed the road and walked around it, he noticed the half-burnt remains of a sign sticking out of the snow and a brass plaque mounted next to it. He was tempted to stop and read what it said, but he suppressed the urge and kept going.

Soon after, a line of larger, more modern-looking homes angled off to the north-west. Leading into what appeared to be a wealthy cul-de-sac, including at least one fenced-off mansion with a wrought iron gate. It felt slightly wrong for a small town like Ponyville to have something that reminded him of Canterlot. Then again, perhaps that was normal.

Even Swift Current had more affluent parts of town, though he never had much reason to visit any of them. Still, he couldn't deny the memory of seeing large, not-quite mansions built at the top of a hill overlooking the Elmwood golf course. Or, he and his Dad driving south of town, passing a pocket of multiple well-kept acreages that screamed of wealth and seclusion.

Perhaps the rich ponies living there kept themselves separate from the town at one point? Only for the town itself to eventually expand out to them? That was a possibility, as his mind kept occupied by drawing comparisons between Ponyville and his home. Lulling him into a feeling of mixed nostalgia and a hint of homesickness, to the point he hardly noticed walking past another, larger building.

He gave the sign in front just enough of his attention to read Ponyville Retirement Village before glancing up to see reflective crystal a distance away in front of him. Once he confirmed he was still on track, his eyes settled again on the road before him.

Only for his musings to be interrupted when he heard Rarity's voice calling out from his right, "Neil, Darling, I'm surprised to see you back in Ponyville so soon!" He immediately looked up, catching sight of the white and purple mare just as she passed a snow-covered tree. Despite the cold, she only wore a two-toned pink scarf while carrying a fluffy-looking quilted blanket on top of her back. "And in the cloak I made for you, no less! I must say, you look divine."

"Rarity?" He called out as she trotted over and closed the distance between them. "I wasn't expecting to see you this early."

"Early? I suppose Rainbow told you about my penchant for sleeping in, didn’t she?" She questioned, looking confused for half a second before a look of annoyance overtook her blue eyes. Before he could say no to her odd accusation, however, she brushed aside her question and expression, replacing them with a more welcoming one. "No matter. What brings you to Ponyville today?"

"Official business, I guess," He admitted, not quite sure what to say considering her odd mood. "Twilight set up an appointment, and since it gets me out of Canterlot, I figured, why the hell not?"

"An appointment?" She asked, only for her eyes to light up with excitement. "This wouldn't be related to your recent promotion to Ambassador, would it? Congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks, I think. I'm pretty sure Celestia did it just to increase my guard and keep me in the castle." He told her, voicing his thoughts on the matter.

Of course, Rarity didn't see it that way as she gave each guard escorting him a polite nod. "Given your ability to attract trouble, I don't think an extra guard or two would be out of place."

"Only in Equestria." Neil groused, "I never had any trouble back home."

Before Rarity could respond, an adorable-sounding sneeze erupted from her immediate area. It wasn't her, though, as a second, higher-pitched voice he vaguely recognized mumbled, "Are we there yet?"

Instead of looking confused or surprised, Rarity simply turned her head and addressed the now squirming blanket on her back. "Not yet, Sweetie Belle. We're almost there."

"Sweetie Belle?" Neil asked, watching as two tiny hooves broke free from the quilt and pulled aside the white cloth covering her up. A mixture of pink and purple hair rose from the blanket, followed by two bleary-looking, abnormally large green eyes that seemed too large for Sweetie Belle's foal-sized face. "Is she your daughter?" He asked, quickly recognizing the filly that managed to fire a round from his tank at the Tantabus.

"Daughter? Oh, Celestia, no!" Rarity denied with a chuckle, "Sweetie Belle is my younger sister. Unfortunately, she woke up with a cold, so I offered to take her to the hospital for a check-up. Say hello to Neil, Sweetie."

It took a moment for Sweetie Belle to blink away any traces of sleep from her eyes. But, once she did so, she eventually focused on him. However, she didn't seem to recognize him without the ODST armour as she offered a tired, if slightly congested sounding, "Hello."

"Hi," He offered, giving her a quick nod before once more focusing on Rarity. "Whatever it is, it seems to be hitting her pretty hard. It's probably best to go before it gets worse from the cold."

"She's bundled up in her blanket, but I understand what you mean." Rarity agreed as her horn lit up. Two small, blue, golf-ball-sized orbs attached themselves to the blanket and pulled the loose sides snugly together underneath Sweetie's chin. "Oh, and if you need me to adjust your cloak, please visit my boutique! I'll talk to you later, Darling."

Just as quickly as she appeared, Rarity trotted towards a large, rectangular, three-story building with pink windows. How he failed to notice such a large building when it was no more than a two-minute walk away, Neil didn't know, but he still called out to Rarity's retreating form, "Talk to you later, I guess."

Thankfully, there was little in the way of interruptions after that. Following the road, as it weaved between an orange-colored cottage and the tree Rarity originally appeared beside.

Neil finally spotted the crystalline trunk of Twilight's castle without, buildings obstructing him. It still amazed and disturbed him how such a structure could withstand its weight without collapsing. He couldn't even imagine how ponies managed to build it.

Neil picked up the pace before he fell into an internal debate about the likelihood of the larger of the two balconies collapsing under specific loads. He was absolutely positive he was still early. But, the sooner he arrived, the sooner he could go over Twilight's collection.

As he approached the staircase leading up to the main entrance, he looked through both of the... purple windows flanking the doors? Thinking back, he could have sworn they were green the last time he was here. Either way, he quickly brushed that detail aside as he tried and failed to spot any amount of movement inside. Shrugging, he made his way up to the large golden doors and easily pushed the right side open.

The entry hall was precisely as he remembered it, sparsely decorated and not a single living being in sight as he quickly walked in. As an official appointment, he half expected a guard of Twilight's, or even her lizard assistant, to be waiting to greet him. Instead, he was greeted by a gust of warmth as he crossed the threshold, which made the castle feel warmer than he remembered. Then again, that might have been due to the greater temperature difference due to winter.

As Calm and Hearth came up behind him, Neil brushed aside his cloak and reached out with a wing to gently push the door closed. It was best not to let all the hot air out and raise Twilight's heating bill (if she even received a heating bill given her royal status) if he needed to make a second appointment.

At the very least, Neil knew where the library was. Without delay, he turned right towards one of the two spiralling staircases that made their way up into the trunk towards the second floor. As he did so, however, he also gave the large window next to the door a cursory glance. Just like he remembered, the pane of crystal glass was a bright, see-through green instead of the off-purple shade displayed on the outside.

Was it some strange iridescent effect? Why would the designer even make the window different colours based on whether a person was inside or outside? As Neil slowly traversed the stairs, he eventually brushed aside the windows as an inconsequential, rich design. Soon after, his thoughts shifted towards the possible information he might unearth over the next few hours. He could only imagine all the possibilities hidden within those old Everfree books, along with the slimmest of chances that he might discover an actual way home.

As he made his way towards the library, he also took note of the lack of ponies the entire way. Not a single guard or even a maid crossed his path. Was her status as a national hero enough to ward off any malcontents? Or was she also reliant on wards to protect her home? He didn't think either option fit well with what he knew about Twilight and her reptilian assistant.

However, he only had a little time to dwell on the subject as he came upon a pair of green crystal doors encased with gold trim, which he recognized as the entrance to the castle library. He paused before the doors and gave his cloak a quick once over to ensure his wings were appropriately covered. The chances that a random pony was already inside and reading before Twilight had the time to close the library were slim but not zero. Also, he didn't want another Eve scenario cropping up.

However, his cloak laid flat on his back exactly as he expected it to be, without any hint of the wings underneath.

With that worry gone, Neil slowly exhaled and pushed through the doors.

As he walked in, Neil couldn't help but notice how different the room felt. The balloons, streamers, and copious amounts of confetti were gone without a trace, along with the overbearing celebratory banner and the jovial crowd of ponies mingling around the refreshment tables.

Now, the library looked far more regal, perhaps even a little imposing, with its large, jagged crystal structures interposed between the carved, orderly shelves that held countless books.

The main reading area was opened up more as well. During the party, there were at least twenty of the circular low tables where ponies could sit on the floor and mingle. Now, there were only eight of them, with at least fifteen feet between each table to give some amount of privacy. He also noted that two of them were covered in books.

The first table held a modest selection of texts, with three small piles evenly spaced in the center. The second table, however, was a literal hardcover mountain with the highest book peaking at about three times his height.

Twilight was sitting at the second table, with her butt firmly planted on the cold crystal floor with another, far smaller pile of books on the ground beside her. Though a noticeable creak from the door echoed around the room when he entered, she didn't even flick an ear in his direction. Her focus was on the hefty black tome held in her aura, which had golden symbols printed on the cover.

He couldn't make heads or tails of the book's title as he casually walked over to the mare. Ironically enough, he managed to pick out a stylized unicorn's head and a symbol that could be viewed as a waterfall or a tail. He also noted only one extra set of hoof steps on his right. Calm had joined him in the library, while Hearth did not. It was likely some procedure about guarding the door or some such nonsense.

When he closed the distance to about ten feet between himself and Twilight, Neil cleared his throat to alert her to his presence. When that didn't work, he did so a second time, but louder, with the same results. On his third attempt, Neil opted to take a different route. "Twilight? Hello? You there?"

This garnered a response, but not one he was expecting, as she dismissively said, "There's no need to worry, Spike. I already ate breakfast," She flipped to the next page.

Neil couldn't help but chuckle at the familiarity. If Ken bought a new manga, the group had to slap the back of his head to get his attention. Even the morning bell at school failed more often than not to break his concentration, leading to multiple detentions over the year.

"I'm sure Spike would appreciate knowing that if he were here," Neil said while poking Twilight in the shoulder with his hoof.

"Huh? What was that, Spiiii- Neil!" Twilight exclaimed, her voice jumping an octave momentarily as she turned to face him. "I wasn't expecting you for..."

Her horn pulsed, and as she kept hold of the book just above the table, an elegant, wavy script that matched the colour of her aura wove itself in front of her face. It read '8:36 In the morning', even if it was a little hard to understand flipped as it was. However, Neil managed to read it before it dissipated into the air. "... Another fourteen minutes. What brings you here so early?"

"The early morning train," Neil informed her, "It was either that or show up late this afternoon after you reopened the library."

"That would explain it," She said, smiling a little as she placed her open book on the table. "I much prefer the train, over a Pegasus chariot myself, even if it's a slower mode of transport."

'Pegasus chariot?' Neil thought for a moment before swiping the errant thought aside. That wasn't why he was here at all. "Not that I'm here to talk about Equestrian transport. You said you had some Everfree books with information about the Roaming Empire?"

"Of course!" Twilight chirped as she stood up and spun around, facing the only other table with books while also inadvertently whipping her tail in his face. Then, with a certain amount of giddy energy, she pranced to the table without acknowledging what she'd just done.

Begrudgingly, Neil followed at a slight distance after exhaling through his nose. He was here to find a way home, not start a fight with an energetic nerd princess who was excited about books.

Once they were close enough to the table, he picked out seven books within the three separate piles. The first pile held two books, each with a purple bookmark placed inside. The second pile was the largest, though that wasn't saying much with a total of three books, each of which had a green bookmark placed in them. And finally, the last pile held the final two books without any bookmarks.

"I've scoured my entire library for every book that fits your criteria. From the Everfree collection, only seven mentioned the Roaming Empire. These two," Her wing pointed at the two with purple bookmarks, "Each have small passages spanning a paragraph or less. The books in the center pile have at least one dedicated chapter each. And finally, these last two books are historical texts.

One is from the Kingdom of Unicornia, detailing the Roaming Empire's battle tactics, raids, and other interactions between the two kingdoms before the tribes unified. The second is a detailed history of major events from the Roaming Empire."

That she was willing to scour her entire library for a simple request mildly impressed him. However, he couldn't help but say, "That's it?" He voiced his thoughts while looking over the diminutive pile of books in front of him.

"I have plenty of modern texts about the Roaming Empire currently shelved in the history section. But those didn't meet your specific criteria," Twilight informed him primly before she softened her tone with an unexpected offer. "Neil, if I knew exactly what you were looking for, I might be able to help you with your research?"

His first instinct was to tell her no. He couldn't come out and say he was looking for a portal to another world or some form of dimensional rift. Not only would that out him as something not of this world, but he didn't want to imagine how Twilight would react to such news. However, before he answered her, another thought came to mind. He didn't need to tell her precisely what he was looking for. He could tell her his overall research topic without revealing the truth if he explained his reasoning the right way. All he had to do was...

"Neil?" Twilight spoke up, interrupting his thoughts.

"Uh... I could tell you," He started, unsure if he should say anything. Looking around, he settled on the table she claimed, and the pile of books nearly overwhelmed it. That should give him a moment to decide, right? "But it looks like you're already busy enough as it is."

"Oh, that?" Twilight chuckled, following his line of sight. "That's a little side project Princess Celestia asked me to do. She specifically stated I should do it in my spare time though."

Neil couldn't deny that little tidbit of information sparked a minor, if vindictive, part of him to tell her. It wouldn't be much, but delaying a project of Celestia's for a few hours was tempting. But, the most persuasive argument was Twilight's knowledge. She appeared to know every book in her library, even if it wasn't cover to cover. "Fine, just give me a second to get my thoughts in order."

He wasn't going to tell her the truth. But, if Roam and Rome somehow made contact, how would he mislead such a connection? "So, in your history, you have the Roaming Empire, right? In the history I've been taught, we have the Roman Empire. The names are similar, but from what I've gathered, the armor, weaponry, and tactics are almost identical."

"You're focusing on the Roaming Empire because you think it could be a common point in our shared histories?" Twilight asked, more to herself as she cut him off. The tempo of her words was only matched by her excitement. "Fascinating! Besides the other pony tribes and the Griffons, I don't recall the Pegasi at that time making contact with or making alliances with anypony else. But, if what you say is true, this could unearth some of the history lost during Eris' reign of chaos!"

"Easy there!" Neil called out, taking the opportunity to cut off her excited monologue. "I don't expect to find something big or obvious. What I hope to find the most is a little-known trade route or an allusion to... I don't know. Something mysterious. Something a pony could brush aside as useless without the proper context. Otherwise, it would have been mentioned in all those modern texts, right?"

Twilight seemed to pick up right where she left off the moment he stopped. "This is just like the beginning of a Daring Do adventure! I can't recall reading anything subtle like that but double-checking doesn't hurt! Do you want my help reviewing the texts I picked out for you?"

"We have a little over three hours?" He asked, only to receive a nod from Twilight. He was pretty sure he had things covered if what she said was true about the books she picked out. "I think I can handle these books on my own."

"Okay. In that case, I think I might review some modern history texts." With a noticeable hop to her trot, she turned to one of the shelves on the opposite side of the reading area and quickly made her way over. By the time she was halfway, her horn lit up, and she was already pulling books from her shelves. He didn't explicitly recognize any of them, but a few looked familiar just from the colour of their covers.

However, that wasn't his problem. He faced the table with the books he was after and finally sat down. Without wasting time, he reached out with a wing towards the top book with a purple bookmark. They would be the fastest to get through, and if they held nothing of interest, the quickest to discard before moving on to the next pile.

As Neil opened the book close to the bookmark's position, he immediately noticed that the page was written in two distinct styles. A quarter of the first page was taken up by a block of small, closely packed, almost Egyptian-like symbols but with an obvious equine theme. Directly underneath that, there was a paragraph of elegantly written unified script. On both pages, the pattern held, with interchanging blocks of symbols followed by text.

Thankfully, the written text wasn't even translated into Old Equish. As he flipped to the bookmarked section, he couldn't help but think, 'Twilight must have translated the text for modern readers. Hopefully, nothing was lost in the translation itself.'

When Neil found the correct page, he pulled out the bookmark. After that, he skipped over the block of symbols, focusing on the text underneath, which read:

Today, I woke to a mottled sky of cloud cover and blue. A blessing, indeed, to me and my fellow mares assigned to the wall. We will not be cooked inside of our armor this day.

It wasn't the most relevant passage, but Twilight marked these two pages for a reason as he skimmed the other blocks of unified script. The paragraph he was looking for was in the middle of the second page, which read:

While I stood alert on the wall, I managed to catch sight of a massive wall of cloud in the distance. At first, I thought it was merely a storm front. In time, I found its structure too uniform, too suspicious, meaning it must have been an outpost in the sky. It was skirting over our land, using the cloud cover laid out the previous night to hide. I did not see much of it, but of what I saw, 'twas both a sight beyond beauty and an intimidating imperial force as the massive walls serenely flew through the air. I was quick to raise the alarm, but nothing came of it beyond putting the entire garrison on edge once the Captain confirmed my sight. Perhaps the feathered rats were plotting to raid the filthy mud whorses beyond our border?

It seemed the mare that wrote this journal had, at the very least, an extreme dislike for the other pony tribes. Unfortunately, that was also the only mention of Pegasi in the book. He skimmed over the next two pages to make sure, but they were completely unrelated to the Pegasus outpost that floated over their Keep.

With one book already a bust, he set it aside and reached for the next one. At the same time, he noticed out of the corner of his eye a large swarm of books held in Twilight's aura as she made her way back to her table. The tower they made wasn't nearly as big as the one already sitting on her table, but it was almost half as tall in its own right. Twilight clearly had more resources than even the Canterlot Library, since he hadn't managed to find that many books related to the Roaming Empire.

Once Twilight was content with the amount of books she gathered, she quickly settled down, picked a book off the top, and flipped it open as her eyes started darting over the pages at an insane pace. Far faster than he could manage, as he flipped to the marked pages. Unfortunately, the second book was written by a noble, apparently, and was even more useless compared to the first:

As I and my underlings reached the edge of the grotesque hovels built by the dirt ponies, we were met not by quivering fools with a cartload of food that is our right, but by smouldering fields. The feathered menace must have beat us here by a day! Two at most, giving them plenty of time to steal our tithe from the common rabble before retreating.

Not that it mattered. To reach my quota, I ordered my soldiers to commandeer a cart, and go door to door. Better for the enlisted to traipse through the flee infested homes, while I waited at the edge of the pig sty, avoiding the mud. Within an hour, two at most, we only managed to collect three-fourths of our tithe. In recompense, we also claimed two pleasure stallions in their prime to pull our cart back to Slatestone Keep.

As he set aside the second book, Neil couldn't help but hope the bastard who wrote that passage got exactly what she deserved in the end. Stealing from and then enslaving two stallions from a town that had already been ransacked? That was a new fucking low Neil had never even contemplated before.

With an enraged exhale, Neil tossed the second book on top of the first. At the very least, he was done with the anecdotes. Perhaps he could now get more substantive information that wasn't from a Unicorn perspective?

~~~

Three hours later, and much to Neil's displeasure, he learned the only prolific writers of the time appeared to be Unicorns. Whether it was the journals he started with, which contained small snippets of insight into the writer's life. Or the structured manuals with dedicated chapters regulating how the average soldier should respond to a Pegasus attack. Those books even included instructions on properly binding a Pegasus' wings without impairing their ability to do certain... tasks. Clearly, each book was written by a soldier or a Unicorn of higher status, biases included.

Then, there was the smaller of the two history texts titled Barbarians of the Sky. The book was written years before Unification by a Unicorn noble, High Chancellor Platinum Plume. When Neil first skimmed through the contents, he wasn't shocked to see the writer focused almost solely on the one-sided victories earned by the Unicorns and the turbulent ceasefires in between. Extolling the pride and power of Unicorn virtues while blaming the Kingdom's problems almost solely on the Pegasi raiders.

However, not all of the information held within was useless. Much to the writer's chagrin, some of the Kingdom's losses were too large to ignore. Early on in the book, the first loss Neil read about was a major raid on a Unicorn fortress called Crystal Keep. A patrol of soldiers was sent to procure their tithe from a large Earth Pony town in the south. While collecting their tithe, they learned of a large food stockpile, half of which was reserved for a payment to the Pegasi. Instead of one cart, they returned with three, seeing it as a decisive strike against their flying foe.

Instead, it was the opening blow to an otherwise quick and dishonourable loss. One week later, when the Roaming Empire did not receive their payment, they blitzed the Keep instead of punishing the Earth Ponies. In the end, the raiders struck three significant blows to the keep. First, they took almost all of the food. Second, the inept Noble in control of the keep was permanently disabled. The most significant blow, however, was also what caught Neil's attention. An artifact known only as the Veil of Inspiration was also stolen from the fortress.

What was the artifact, and what did it do? Neil had no idea, and the history text didn't go into detail. However, from the name alone, Neil was intrigued and put a metaphorical pin in it for later research.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book wasn't as lucrative when it came to the information Neil was looking for. There was no mention of stalking Pegasi patrols to a secret location or even a hint that the floating Empire had any secret alliances with unknown creatures. The closest Neil found in that regard was the odd accusation of the Pegasi and Earth Ponies colluding against the noble Unicorns on occasion.

Once he finally finished with Platinum Plume's book, all that was left was the thickest and strangest book of the bunch. Instead of being written in sky-writing, as one would expect from a Pegasus of the time, the title of the book was written in Earth Pony runes, allowing Neil to read the title and the author, Flight and Duty by Captain Defiant Thunder, without Twilight's translation.

Inside, the structure was just as strange. From the fall of Timbucktu and the formation of the Roaming Empire, which was the start of the first era, to the Unification of the Three Tribes, the fourth era, the book was split into multiple eras. Each detailed important battles and interactions of the time, both wins and losses that had to do with monsters, Griffons, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies from the Pegasus point of view. Stranger still, after each detailed battle report or event, if a new term or tactic was mentioned, there was an added paragraph explaining things in detail afterwards. Almost as if the book was also partially written as an interview.

It was in this book that Neil learned more about the Veil.

Soon after the Southern Armada raided the Crystal Keep, the artifact was transferred to the city of Roam, formerly called Trot, the capital of the newly founded Empire. By appearances alone, it was an odd, square piece of furniture carved and shaped from the finest oak. One could almost mistake it for a four-poster bed, the Unicorn nobility's preferred way of sleeping, except it was impossible to pull aside the four veils covering each side. Each veil was painted with a different tranquil scene. As shown by the sketch inside the book, one of the veils was a painting of a slow-flowing river, while the other was a breezy meadow.

When nothing came of it, the Admiral of the Armada decreed that the Veil be treated as an art piece and placed it in the public baths for everypony to enjoy. Strange timing indeed, as soon after the Veil was placed, advancements in weaponry, armor, battle tactics, city improvements, and more came to be in rapid succession. When asked, every pony said they were struck by a sudden bout of inspiration while relaxing in the baths.

Over the next decade, Roam prospered from many great ideas. After, however, though the sudden zeal of inspiration slowed, it never wholly ceased either. And that is where the Veil of Inspiration was kept until the Unification of the Three Tribes. After that, the Roaming Empire, the Kingdom of Unicornia, and the Earthen Dominion; Defiant Thunder presumed all of it to be lost to the Frozen North after the Wendigos struck, and the snow blocking off their old homelands refused to melt.

However, Neil wasn't interested in that part. Advancements in armor and weaponry that mimicked Roman style? From a mysterious artifact that was barely understood? Neil felt excitement for the first time in what felt like quite a while. Was it his ticket home? Probably not. But, if it was somehow connected to his world in a manner that could transfer ideas... Then, theoretically, he could somehow reverse the connection, right?

First, he needed to know more about this thing. And, if ever there was a pony who already knew about something like this, it was probably Twilight.

As he turned to ask Twilight about the Veil of Inspiration, however, an Eerie sense fell upon him. Causing his body to freeze and his sight to turn the oddest shade of... unreality? He couldn't even begin to comprehend his vision before a voice whispered into his ear from apparently nowhere. "Boy Toy, you're barking up the wrong tree." The strangely familiar female voice told him with a giggle. "That tacky little trinket was destroyed over a millennium ago, Mon Capitaine!"

And then, in the blink of an eye, everything was over. His sight reverted to normal, and the sudden sensation of locking his muscles in place ceased. Which also caused him to over-exert mid-turn and topple onto the cold, hard, crystal flooring. "Fucking hell!" Neil growled under his breath, trying to comprehend what happened while lying on his side. Hopefully, Twilight didn't notice. Or, if she did and pushed the issue, perhaps she could figure out what was happening to him. He distinctly remembered hearing Mon Capitaine! before, but from where?

"Neil!" A familiar but distinctly masculine voice called out from nearby, soon followed by metallic shoes trampling on crystal. Bulk's white, helmeted visage came into view while looking down at him worriedly.

Seconds later, Twilight was standing next to Bulk with a similar look of worry. "Are you okay?"

Opting to ignore their worry for the moment, he changed the topic to something equally as important. "Bulk?" Neil asked, more to himself as he pushed himself back into a seated position. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Bulk asked, giving him an odd look as his worry deepened. "I've been here almost half an hour while you and Princess Twilight were reading. Shift change is at noon, remember?"

Of course, he knew that, but was it almost half past noon? Had he been that oblivious while reading that he missed the changing of his guard? It would seem so. "Must have lost track of time. Did anyone enter while I was reading besides you?"

"Nopony entered under my watch, Neil," Bulk told him, as the Pegasus returned to his stoic guard mode. Still, Neil could tell there was a glint of worry in the stallion's eyes.

A glint that Neil brushed aside for now. "Good. I can't afford any more ponies knowing about my wings," He said out loud while slipping his appendages underneath his cloak once more.

"The library is still closed, Neil. Until I open it up, only Spike would have entered," Twilight informed him before reverting to the previous subject. "I can also tell you're avoiding the question. How are you feeling? Your horn isn't hurting, is it?"

"No, my horn isn't hurting. I haven't felt a thing from it since I crashed into Bulk," He admitted, which was a good thing, according to the nurses. He then raised a hoof towards Bulk, cutting him off just as he was about to speak. "And no, there's no need to apologize again."

"Well, if it isn't that, are you feeling sick?" Twilight asked before throwing another suggestion out. "Maybe you have an ear infection? That could be affecting your balance."

Neil rolled his eyes at both of her suggestions. He knew he wasn't feeling sick. You don't have a sudden acid trip or hear voices out of the blue. It took a severe fever to suffer anything remotely similar from what he heard, and he wasn't feeling feverish at all. "Listen. I found something, turned to tell you, and lost my balance. That's it."

... Which must have been the right thing to say. Twilight's eyes widened as if he had flipped a switch, and her worried frown slowly morphed into an excited grin. "Did you just say you found something?"

"Yeah, something called the Veil of Inspiration," He quickly informed her, taking advantage of her sudden shift. "Have you heard of it?"

Twilight closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath. Then, as if reading directly from a textbook, she said, "I have. Its creation earned Artistic Charm a place in the Kingdom of Unicornia's court. It elevated her lineage as House Charm, a minor noble family. Little is known about the artifact's true purpose, only that it was passed down through multiple generations as a family heirloom. And then, it was stolen during the raid of Crystal Keep."

"You might want to read Flight and Duty then," Neil suggested, surprised that she hadn't read it yet. "The Pegasi figured out what it did by dumb luck and took advantage of it."

"Very interesting; I'll bump it up on my list of books to read," She told him with a questioning look. "But I still don't see how the Veil of Inspiration ties in with your home?"

"Remember how I said your armor and weapons are eerily similar to the Roman Empire?" He asked, waiting for Twilight's nod before he continued. "The Veil inspired weapon smiths and armourers, leading to multiple rapid advances in crafting techniques and technology. What took the Romans and the Greeks before them hundreds of years to create, your Pegasi did in a decade. What if, instead of a trade route, or any direct communication, this Veil somehow formed a connection to the Roman Empire and siphoned those ideas here?"

"It's definitely a plausible hypothesis," Twilight agreed before she let off an excited squee! "If what you say is true, this could be one of the biggest historical discoveries of the century, Neil! But, how do you expect to prove it without the Veil of Inspiration?"

"Honestly, I have no fu-uh, idea." He admitted, cutting himself off before breaking one of Twilight's home rules. "First, I would have to find it in the ruins of Roam. Then, I would have to somehow trace the connection. And..." He trailed off, finishing that sentence with a thought, 'Hope that the voice was lying about the Veil's destruction.'

Unfortunately, Twilight must have heard that last part. After a few seconds of silence, she parroted him, "And..?"

"Nothing," He told her immediately, "It's nothing, just a random, stupid thought."

Surprisingly, this earned a gentle laugh from Twilight. "Neil, it might sound stupid now. But when it comes to discovery, every single thought could lead-"

She never got to finish what she was saying as the double doors leading into the library burst open with a booming crack! In the following fraction of a second, a rainbow blur circled around the open reading area of the library, not-so-closely followed by a red and gold blob doing its best to keep up.

"Hey, Neil!" The rainbow blur said, turning back into Rainbow Dash half a second later when she stopped beside him. "I thought you might be here."

However, the red and gold blob did not stop as it growled, "What part of no pony is allowed in, don't you understand?"

At that moment, Neil recognized Squall, with all four of his legs and wings spread wide, in an attempt to tackle Rainbow Dash and pin her to the floor. It looked like he was about to succeed, only for Rainbow Dash to vanish as the unlucky Pegasus passed through the previously occupied space.

Squall's bad luck didn't end there as he slammed chest plate first into the crystal floor. At most, he slid three feet. The friction slowed him down a little before the metal underside of the plumage on his helmet hooked the table's edge and killed the rest of his momentum. "Owww."

"You need to work on your speed if you plan to catch a Wonderbolt," Rainbow chided with a chuckle, her voice suddenly coming from Neil's right side.

"Miss Dash, we all know you're fast," Bulk spoke up with a disgruntled sigh as he trotted over to Squall. "Just, don' make our jobs any harder than they already are, please?" After asking, he bit down on Squall's tail and pulled him away from the table.

Much to Neil's surprise, there was only a small chip in the crystal where Squall's helmet impacted against it. As for the helmet itself, Neil couldn't make out a single blemish. There wasn't even a scuff on Squall's chest plate to indicate any sort of impact had occurred as he stood up.

"Fiiiiine," Rainbow groaned petulantly as she watched Squall get back up. Once he stood up, she looked around the rest of the reading area, pausing only a moment on each pile of books. "I'll try not to bust my way into the library from now on. Looks like you were doing boring stuff, anyway."

Ignoring his flight trainer, Neil turned to Squall, looking him over for possible injuries. "You okay, Squall?"

"I've had worse landings; don't you worry about that, Neil," He said reassuringly as he rubbed an unarmoured section of his leg against his immaculate chest plate. Once that was done, he addressed Rainbow as officially as he could. "As for you, Miss Wonderbolt Trainee, I won't fine you this time. But in the future, please listen when a guard tells you to stop."

"A fine?" Twilight asked worriedly as she diverted Bulk and Squall's focus on her. "There's no need for a fine, is there? Everypony is welcome in my castle..."

Before he could listen in on their conversation further, he felt Rainbow's hoof poking him in the shoulder. Looking back around, her default cocky grin was back in place. "Anyway, I saw your two guards flying into Ponyville during my shift. Now that it's done, want to do some training?"

Neil quirked an eyebrow at such a ludicrous offer. He could only imagine how awful it would be to run circles around her training spot in the snow. "As much as I enjoy your training, I don't see myself running laps in chest-high snow right now."

"More endurance training?" She snerked loudly, unintentionally interrupting everyone else as Twilight, Bulk, and Squall turned to look at her. "Heh, you're good. We're moving onto the next step now, take-off!"

No running? That automatically made her offer viable in Neil's mind. Still, it was best to make sure... "And the snow won't affect that at all?"

"Nope. It'll be exactly what I showed you on the balcony, without the crashing bit. If you're good enough." She stated, her grin morphing slightly into a non-verbal challenge. "If not, then the snow might act as a cushion," She added with a shrug.

'If she thinks I'm going to back down,' Neil thought as Rainbow transitioned from a shrug to a hover with a single, lazy flap of her wings... "Fine. I can't read while the library's open any way."

"Good," She said with a hint of excitement as she turned a few degrees and waved at the other group. "Hey, Twilight! Want to join us? I know you've put off flight practice lately."

"No thanks, Rainbow," Twilight answered with a hint of excitement all her own. "I have some previously unknown information about a mysterious historical artifact that I have to document!"

Playing that over in his head, Neil would have thought such a statement would have sounded boring to Rainbow, given her reactions so far. Instead, it seemed to gain Rainbow's attention as her ears perked up. "Wait a second, that sounds like-"

"The opening chapter for Daring Do and the Treasure of Saddle Madre?" Twilight answered before Rainbow could even finish what she was saying. "Yes, it does! And it's all thanks to Neil's research that I have the opportunity."

"Huh," Was all Rainbow had to say, at first, as she turned and looked him in the eye. "Maybe you aren't the boring kind of Egghead after all. But that still doesn't get you out of training!"

~~~

With Rainbow's badgering, Neil didn't take long to exit the castle. Once they were outside, Neil noticed that the streets of Ponyville were just as deserted as they were that morning. Perhaps even more so, with most of the sane ponies opting to stay inside their warm cottages compared to braving the relatively mild cold. The few ponies forced to leave their homes could be seen darting from one shop to the next. Peeking through the storefront windows as they passed, he could see ponies spending more time talking with the shopkeepers and warming up than doing any actual shopping.

Not that he had much time to dawdle with Rainbow in the lead. As was becoming routine, Rainbow chose to fly in front of their little group while keeping her altitude just above eye level. Thankfully, she wasn't zipping back and forth fast enough to make her tail whip around and reveal anything. Though Neil was hard-pressed to call what she did actual flying. On average, Rainbow flapped her wings once every ten seconds to keep herself in the air. She was somehow hovering mid-air the rest of the time as if gliding forward without any descent.

It was vexing to be reminded yet again how ponies blatantly disregarded the laws of physics. As they walked through town, Neil couldn't help but think of a way to make Rainbow's flight pattern make sense. Unfortunately, by the time they passed city hall, he was forced to give up. Every single physics equation he could remember from high school failed miserably.

'Abby could figure out how Rainbow does it,' Neil mentally groused, since she took every available math class, including Physics 30 and Calculus, which he conveniently skipped.

Immediately after he thought that, Neil steeled himself as he shunted the memory of Abby to the back of his mind. As much as he focused on getting home, he did his best to avoid thoughts of what he left behind. They always brought about small waves of homesickness that swelled within his chest. And, like a vicious feedback loop, those feelings would dredge up memories of all the other people he left behind if left unguarded. Memories of his Dad, his grandparents, and his friends while imagining their reactions to his sudden disappearance. It was a depressing experience he did not want to suffer through in public, let alone in front of others.

He thought he was doing an excellent job of it, too, as they passed beyond the outskirts of Ponyville. As they crossed over the southeast bridge beyond the town's border, Squall chose to intervene.

As the group transitioned from solid stone underneath their hooves to the packed dirt road leading towards the Everfree Forest, Squall broke into formation with the group. He shifted a whole step forward and half a step closer. Close enough so that he could whisper, "Are you feeling okay, Neil?"

"I'm fine," Neil confirmed just as quietly, if a bit pointedly. "I'm just thinking about stuff," Was all he was willing to admit, hoping Squall would accept what he was given and back off.

For a few seconds, Squall appeared to do just that. He didn't respond immediately, but he didn't fall back into formation, either. Neil was just starting to think this would be the new normal for the rest of the trip when Squall continued. "Okay, but if Rainbow's training is too intimidating, just say so. We'll make her tone it down since you're still new with your wings."

'Really? He thinks I'm worried about Rainbow's training?' The thought alone was absurd. While he absolutely despised how he felt at the end of each training session, he couldn't argue with the results (the morning after, at least). Squall was so far out of the ballpark that he was forced to attempt, and fail at suppressing a snort. "That's not what I'm worried about. She can throw whatever the Hell she wants at me, and this freakish Alicorn body can take it. I'll be perfectly normal by tomorrow morning."

Thankfully, before Squall continued, Rainbow decided to chime in. "You know I can hear you, right?" She asked, looking over her back and watching the three ponies behind her as they continued walking.

Latching onto the distraction, Neil stared her in the eye as he answered with a bland, if sarcastic, "Yep."

Which earned an almost Cheshire-like grin in return. "Get ready then because we're almost there," Rainbow warned with excitement and glee. "Under my training, you'll be flying in no time flat. It'll be the most awesome thing you've ever experienced!"

Flying was great, sure, whether it was with a machine or under his own power. But, the best thing ever? Neil immediately thought of a few things that were better than flying as he challenged her with a snarky comeback, "Even better than sex?"

Given her reaction the last time anything sexual was brought up, Neil expected Rainbow to turn into an awkward, slightly blushing mess. Instead, she seemed to roll with it as she veered into the woods. "With anypony but me? Definitely!"

He had no idea whether the sudden shift of her tail was intentional or an accidental byproduct of her seemingly impossible ninety-degree turn. But Neil quickly ejected the image of her blue nether lips from his mind as his chest plowed through the cold, soft snowbank piled high along the side of the road. Beyond that, however, the unblemished snow in the forest itself was only knee height.

The final stretch to Rainbow's forest clearing took less than ten minutes to reach as most of the group plodded through the snow. Rainbow was oblivious to their plight the entire way as she lazily hovered through the air. As Neil and his guard entourage stopped at the edge of the treeline, he couldn't help but admire how serene the clearing looked. A fresh, untouched layer of snow covered the entire area. Masking all the damage he'd done previously with his training.

Along with the wall of dormant, leafless trees covered in a blanket of snow, Neil could easily see the scene on the back of a postcard or a calming desktop background.

Rainbow, however, clearly thought differently as he entered the area. As if a switch was flipped in her brain, Rainbow manifested about five feet in front of him. She took up most of his vision with not only her body but her rainbow after-image as well, as she harshly blew on a whistle that seemingly manifested from nowhere.

"Okay, recruit, this is how things are going to go. You are going to stand right here," She ordered loudly, pointing at the spot right in front of her. "Then, just like you did on the castle balcony, you are going to push off the ground as hard as you can and take off. The only difference is, instead of crashing face down and rump up like a whorse out of Los Pegasus," Without looking away, Rainbow paused her tirade for half a second as she pointed a hoof towards the opposite side of the clearing, "You are going to glide to the other side and land. Do you understand me!?"

The first time she pulled this routine, he had to admit he was caught off guard by her sudden shift in attitude. Now that he had more experience with her drill sergeant persona, Neil expected her bossy shouting. Begrudgingly, his wings shifted from underneath his cloak.

He had to remove his cloak first; otherwise, it would hamper his ability to fly and cause a crash. Once his feathers released the clasp, he quickly passed his only article of clothing to Bulk and broke off from the tree line. Afterward he made his way over to the point Rainbow designated, alone.

Bulk and Squall remained in the tree line as the larger of the two folded up his cloak and set it on his back. As was expected, they would stay out of his way as they settled down to watch over him for the next hour... or five.

As he trundled into the spot Rainbow wanted him in, she flapped her wings and drifted to his side. Just out of the reach of his full wingspan, as she repeated her previous question. "I said, do you understand me?"

"Loud and clear, Blue Leader," He responded with a smirk. He didn't know or care if she was still confused by the unofficial nickname or just accepted it at this point. He wasn't even looking at her as he focused on the other side of the clearing. By now, he knew the basics of his wings. If he desired for something to happen, like a semi-autonomous machine, his wings would do precisely that. Of course, he could also manipulate how they did the task if he put his mind to it.

The question was, what was the best way to manipulate his wings to finish his objective? He hadn't had the chance to practice on his own. His suite was too small and too dangerous to practice in private (slicing his jugular as he crashed through a window wasn't something he wanted to experience). And, the risk of exposing himself as an Alicorn was too great while he was outside of the castle. His only other option was to trust his wings and allow them to react independently. But could he trust them? He still remembered his first take-off, and his landing afterward wasn’t the greatest...

Exhaling, he lowered himself a few inches and tensed. For his first attempt, he'd just have to trust his wings as he unfolded them to their full wingspan. If things went wrong, then he'd just have to focus on not crashing with his ass up in the air.

'Three, two, one,' He counted down mentally, noting once more the odd, deep pulse of his blood as it echoed faintly in his ears, 'Jump!'

He released all the tension in his muscles, pushing off the frozen ground with all his might. His wings also gave a mighty assist, grabbing hold of the air around him as they pushed it all downward. With his eyes open and focused on his distant objective, he easily picked up on the sudden, if mildly disorientating, upward acceleration. Strangely, it felt more like a phantom sense. Like something he should be feeling, compared to the real pull of acceleration across his body.

Beyond the sudden weightlessness of his body, the only thing he could confirm feeling was the tantalizing caress of wind rushing over his feathered wings as they were bent toward the ground. In the short time given, Neil watched it all. First, with an odd sense of elation at his success, he quickly ascended into the sky. In a matter of seconds, however, his momentum began to slow down, lessening the feeling of temptation brushing against his wings. As he neared the apex of his leap with anticipation, unbridled joy soon morphed into a calm expectation as he focused his desires towards gliding.

Even after he came to a complete stop and gravity started pulling him down, he remained calm, trusting his wings to do the right thing as the wind tickled their underside. The first hint of worry came as he felt his downward momentum increasing, along with the drag against the underside of his wings. Faster than he expected, his wings blew past the optimum position for gliding as the wind pushed them toward the sky.

After that, Neil only had a second to experience full-blown panic as the white blanket of snow (and the frozen ground underneath) rapidly approached. He attempted to forcefully wrench his wings back into the proper gliding position. And he almost succeeded as he forced one wing to go nearly horizontal mere feet from the ground. Ultimately, all that managed to do was cause him to involuntarily twist mid-air. The next thing Neil knew, he was on his right side, skidding face-first through the snow until he finally came to a complete stop.

Even with one ear fully submerged in the snow, the other could still hear Rainbow's boisterous laughter. Neil slowly rolled onto his uninjured belly, doing his best to ignore her. Contrary to his expectations, the only pain he felt from the crash came from his pride. His body felt perfectly fine as his legs gathered beneath him. As he stood up, however, he spat out the half-melted snowball that had packed itself into his mouth before looking back. Somehow, his fall built enough momentum to slide ten to twelve feet through the snow.

'Congrats! You've unlocked a new personal worst.' He snarked internally as he turned around and stomped back to his starting spot. Then again, a small part of his mind couldn't help but cheer. The age-old saying, 'Any landing you can walk away from...'

At least Rainbow managed to get her laughter under control by the time he came to a stop and turned to face his objective once more.

She even went so far as to compliment him with a mischievous grin plastered on her muzzle. "Not bad for the first time," She told him with a half-suppressed snerk. "As far as crashes go, sliding to bleed off your energy is better than a head-on impact. But! We're not here to learn how to crash, are we? Back into the air, and remember to lock your wings this time!"

'If they locked in place when they should have, that wouldn't have happened.' Neil mentally countered, while in reality, he groused, "Sure thing, Blue Leader."

At the very least, he learned he couldn't rely on his hacky, desire-based auto-pilot for everything related to his wings and flight.

Once he centred himself for the second attempt, he followed the same steps. His wings were poised, ready to push against the air and soar into the sky. The muscles in his legs tensed with energy. When his mental countdown reached zero, he once more shot himself into the air. He experienced much of the same things he had before, but this time, he didn't allow his wings to flutter at the mercy of the wind. The moment he reached the apex of his downward stroke, he twisted his wings close to vertical. After that, he wrenched them back up until they were horizontal with his body before finally flattening them out.

Oddly, it felt similar to doing a breaststroke as a human. Only he had to fight against the wind's attempt to push his now flattened wings down, which also had the side effect of killing his limited acceleration. Then, after he bled all of his momentum, he had to fight against the wind trying to push his wings towards the sky from underneath. With seconds to spare, he eventually tensed the correct muscles and locked his wings into position. After that, the rest of his extended flight was a breeze, figuratively and literally, as he glided toward his designated landing spot.

'Ha! I did it! I fucking did it!' Neil mentally cheered, nearly euphoric in his success as the wind slipped between his electrified feathers. Once more, he was reminded of the feeling, the desire, and the longing to go higher and faster. To shoot through the sky like a bullet or pierce the sky itself into the very heavens beyond! Anything but the safe, lazy glide he was currently experiencing. If he knew how he might have caved into his instinctual cravings. But he didn't, so he kept his eyes locked on his designated landing point as it slowly grew closer, both in distance and height.

Given his legs were already hanging below him, all Neil had to do was brace himself for impact when the snow brushed against his hooves. After that, his landing was quick, if a little rigid for his tastes, as his legs plowed into the snow. Still, he could count that as his second successful landing, which was a far better alternative than his crash from just a minute ago. As the tension in his muscles released, he exhaled, releasing the breath he'd inadvertently held in his chest...

Only for the whistle blow to go off next to his ear and shock him into standing straight. "Not too shabby compared to your first attempt," Rainbow applauded without any hint of teasing, "But! You lost half your height before you pulled into a glide. For any self-respecting Pegasus, that's completely unacceptable! I will need you to do this a few more times until you manage a glide without falling; you get me?"

He knew his glide hadn't been perfect, but dropping halfway down before managing to lock his wings? He didn't think that was right. Then again, he had been a little preoccupied with fighting his wings. At least she thought he could manage gliding without falling with only a couple more attempts... unless... "By a few more times, you mean...?"

"About a hundred more," She stated, her grin curling upwards as she dropped that unexpected bombshell on him. "At least."

~~~

It was confirmed. There was no way in Hell, in Neil's honest opinion, that Rainbow wasn't some BDSM Bitch of a dungeon mistress. Not after the hours of training she put him through.

Despite her troubling promise initially, things went smoothly, if a little predictably. Neil would jump into the air, shift his wings into the proper position, glide to the opposite side of the clearing, and repeat. Rainbow would be hovering there each time he landed, ready to tell him how much height he lost and to do it again. Near the beginning, it was a mixed bag. Sometimes, he lost a third of his height; other times, he didn't, and rarely, he even improved.

After forty-something leaps into the air, Neil lost his exact count due to the repetition. Still, around that mark, his consistency improved significantly, losing only two feet on average for each jump. However, it was somewhere in the seventies when he finally discovered the arbitrary limit Rainbow was looking for. After transitioning into a glide, bleeding off his altitude, and landing next to his two guards (Thankfully, his landings also saw some much-needed improvement), Rainbow surprised him with a pat on the back and some good news, in her opinion. If he managed five glides in a row without losing more than a foot in altitude, they could move to the next step of his training.

From then on, she didn't call out the exact distance he fell. Only that his attempt was a pass or a fail, as she watched him like a hawk. Sometime after his one-hundredth glide, at least he thought he'd passed one hundred of them, Rainbow finally called out his fifth successful glide in a row. Instead of telling him what came next, she only told him to continue his glides. Rainbow's next step in his training became obvious after his next launch. She began following him up into the air.

When he took off, she would also give a light flap of her wings and follow along with him. Each time, she would focus her attention solely on his wings and his chest. She studied each shift and pull of his muscles, where he kept his various limbs, and every twitch of a feather along his wings. At first, it was completely unsettling to be observed so closely. It also didn't help when she called out one minor mistake after another.

She called out with lethal accuracy every muscle shift or over-exertion of his wings, which was wrong, in her opinion. His only consolation about her sudden interest was that her gaze never went below hip level or behind them as she flew alongside him.

He also couldn't deny that each call-out, once he fixed it to her satisfaction, made the transition into a glide both quicker and slightly easier for him.

Once more, after five consecutive attempts without Rainbow calling out any apparent flaws in his technique, she changed things up.

As Neil landed in the center of his well-abused landing area, Rainbow called for a break. After telling him to rest up, she paused long enough to ask Bulk and Squall if they needed anything before shooting off toward Ponyville.

Without Rainbow around to watch him and judge his every movement, Neil collapsed back first into the snow. Allowing the cold to seep into his overworked flight muscles helped ease his soreness. He also found it calming that the sky was blanketed with an unending grey snow cloud beyond the treeline. If he didn't think about where or what he was, he could almost mistake the sky for a regular Canadian skyline during winter.

His opportunity to rest and relax didn't last long, though. Not even ten minutes later, Rainbow returned, still bursting past the treeline but at a slower speed than usual while holding multiple brown bags in her hooves. This was going to be their lunch break, as Neil quickly rolled onto his belly.

It was his last nice reprieve from training before things started to get nasty.

After lunch, she told him to do precisely what he was doing before. Expectantly, he leaped into the air, only for Rainbow to follow him again. What he did not expect, however, was a blaring whistle not even six inches away from his ear as he transitioned into a glide. The distraction not only caused him to freeze but also locked his wings in a way that caused an uncontrolled downward spiral. A spiral he wasn't able to break before crashing into the dormant branches of a tree just above Squall's chosen position.

Embarrassingly, he also needed Rainbow's help getting out of said tree.

After she set him down, his next attempt wasn't any better. If she wasn't blowing her whistle unexpectedly in his ear, she randomly poked him in the back or side, or worse yet, lightly batted at his wings with her hooves. Anything to distract him at the most inopportune moment and cause him to falter, leading to more than one crash that tore up the previously tranquil clearing. That, more than any other aspect of her training, pissed him off to no end.

Still, as time passed on, he learned how to react to her abuse. Sometimes, he had to relax the muscle she was going for and absorb the attack with whatever ability prevented him from being hurt during a crash, all with minimal loss of height. Other times, he had to shift his wings to dodge her punches or dip just low enough for her to graze his fur.

Although they couldn't see the sky or the sun's position, the day must have passed into the early evening when Rainbow blew her whistle for the final time.

The clearing and some of the surrounding trees were an absolute mess, thanks to all of the impacts and trails caused by his failed attempts. But, the encroaching shadows and the dimming of visible light caused the clearing itself, along with the surrounding forest, to gain an almost subdued, eerie feeling.

"Not bad, Neil," Rainbow told him as he touched down. "You managed to take five hits without flinching. The whistle's also pretty useless at this point. And you even managed to dodge me even if I was flying at a snail's pace."

Honestly, that was the most praise she gave him all day, even if he wasn't feeling keen toward her. Still, he shifted in place, cracking his muscles and joints in preparation for her next addition to her training regime. "Yeah, well, if you play hockey, you quickly learn how to take or dodge a hit. What's next on your list of horrors? Gonna start punching me below the belt now?"

The only answer he received, at first, was an odd look. Making him think that wasn't a normal saying around here before Rainbow skipped back to his first question. "Nothing. You passed gliding with flying colors! Good job getting through it all in one day."

Neil had to replay her statement a second time before a faint smile unconsciously found its way onto his muzzle. He was done. Free from her training for another day. As part of his victory, he slowly leaned forward until his balance passed the point of no return, and he dove into the cold, soothing snow. The only thing that could have made his newfound position any better would have been some snow covering his sore back and wings, but that would have required him to roll over and expose himself, so he didn't.

After a minute of rest, his ears barely caught the sound of Rainbow landing next to him in the snow. Why she even deigned to sully her hooves for the first time that day by touching the ground, he didn't know. But he soon found out as she leaned close to his ear. "But, we still have an hour of daylight left if you want to learn how to really fly."

His first instinct was to tell her a big 'ol Hell No, only to settle for an uncommitted grunt as he considered her offer. He was tired and sore. But, not to the point where he could barely walk, unlike his first endurance session or his first day in Ponyville, where she ran him into the ground. On the other hand, wasn't he learning all of this so he could fly? Yes, Celestia pushed him into flight training for safety reasons. But the freedom he could gain with it was also tempting. He obviously couldn't fly during the day; otherwise, he would have exposed himself. But, flying over the wall at night had to be way easier than sneaking past no less than fifty guards stationed in the castle, right?

'Only if you can avoid your Thestral entourage,' The pessimistic side of his mind answered for him.

In the end, after a minute of back and forth in his head, having the option of flight in his escape toolbox won out.

As he slowly moved his hooves underneath him to stand, his eyes glanced towards the mare beside him. "You think I can learn to fly in an hour?"

"You already have most of it down. You can get the rest in an hour, easy," Rainbow told him as her familiar, challenging smirk appeared again, "If you're good enough."

"Fuck it," He grunted, pushing against the ground as he slowly stood up. He also caught Rainbow's wings flutter involuntarily at his choice of vocabulary, earning a ghost of a grin on his muzzle by the time he reached his full height. "I'm already sore as Hell. Not much more you can do to me, Blue Leader."

"I can think of a few things, but enough joking around," She chided as she hopped in front of him with a light flap of her wings. When she landed, instead of folding her wings, she extended them to their maximum length while looking back.

"You already know how to take off and go into a glide," She stated, only to start going through the motions of gliding with her wings without putting any force behind her actions. She cycled through the motions a few times before Neil caught on and started to copy her movements.

After four complete cycles, while watching his wings, she stopped with her wings resting on top of the snow at the end of a downward stroke. "Flying is almost the same. Angle your wings and raise them as if you were going into a glide," She instructed, pulling her wings in and angling them both upwards, before slowly lifting them. He copied her movement, although she didn't extend her wing or flatten it out like you should for a glide when her wings became level with her back.

"Now, instead of stopping them here," She wiggled her wings, only to raise them high into the air like his wings had been while at the mercy of the wind. "Keep lifting them until you make a V shape. At that point, extend your wings completely, grab the air, and curve your wings forward and down." She ran through the cycle six times while he followed along, doing his best to copy her new wing movements. "Pretty close to the standard take-off, right? And the best part is you can do this!"

The next thing he knew, Rainbow shot off like a bullet into the sky. The only reason he could follow her movement was the fading rainbow trail left by her tail and mane. It started inches above the ground right in front of him and angled up in a straight line, barely missing the top of the snow-covered trees before circling around.

"Awesome, right?" She asked as she came to a near-instant stop right next to him.

He couldn't deny her speed was awesome, but he wasn't going to admit it. So, he simply shrugged as he brought his wings up high. "Just keep repeating those wing movements?"

"Yep, now giddy-up!" She yelled, slapping him on his right flank without warning.

His response was more instinctual than deliberate as his wings tore through the air and threw him upwards into the sky. The angle of attack wasn't nearly as acute as Rainbows, either, being closer to fifty degrees. But, it wasn't vertical as he somewhat closed the distance to the other side of the clearing. Still, it took a second for him to regain control of his wings and get them properly moving again.

Thanks to Rainbow's unprompted slap, he lost more altitude than he should have. But he was still technically flying when his wings dug into the air a second time. He saw, more than felt, the increase in altitude and speed as the treeline grew closer. Two more flaps after that, and he was consistently staying above the treeline as the edge of the clearing quickly approached. Which brought up his first problem.

Usually, he would land about five to ten feet away from the tree line. But, at his current speed, the angle of descent would be nearly impossible to land without crashing. He also didn't know how to turn while keeping his altitude. It wasn't like he was a fixed-wing aircraft with flaps or a rudder.

Then again, with feathers... The moment the thought entered his head, he shook it out. He was not going to experiment. In the end, as he soared far over the treeline, he locked his wings into a glide and gently banked to his right. It wasn't a fast turn, but it worked as he eventually curved back towards the clearing where a waiting Rainbow was grinning from ear to ear.

"Did you have to do that?" Neil all but growled as his hooves touched the ground, his legs slightly bending, absorbing the last of his momentum.

"No," Rainbow admitted, though her smile shifted towards something more mischievous. "But a certain somepony challenged me to do worse, so..."

He felt his eyes narrow as he focused on her shit-eating grin. "I'll remember that. Now, show me how to turn mid-flight."

"Can't wait to see how you try and fail to get back at me. As for turning, there's not much to it," Rainbow admitted with a shrug as she held her wings up again. "You already figured out the newbie way. It's safe, slow, and boooring," She admitted, angling her wings as if mid-turn during a glide. "After that, speed is the main factor you need to get a feel for, as well as increasing the angle of your wings. You can also bend your feathers like this," She added, curving some of her feathers exactly like the flaps of a fixed-wing aircraft...

Once her demonstration was over, Rainbow took a minute to stretch, looking almost cat-like, before hopping into the air with a slight flutter of her wings. "Think you can catch me?"

A second of silence fell between them as Neil contemplated her ludicrous question. The answer was Hell no. Before he could tell her that, however, she was off. Flying towards the tree line at an average cruising speed he'd seen most Pegasi in Ponyville flying at. However, when she reached the tree line, she stopped and spun in place, looking at him expectantly. It must have felt dreadfully slow for her. Still, if this was another one of her training exercises, he was begrudgingly obligated to follow after all the help she gave him.

His second, proper take-off went a little smoother than his first as he flew towards her. She turned northward and flew off before he closed even a tenth of the distance. Just like that, the chase was on.

Neil already knew he was outclassed, but as he pushed himself and altered the angle of his wings for a more front-to-back motion (without losing too much altitude), he soon found himself gaining on her lackadaisical flight.

Of course, the moment he was within shouting distance from her, she would egg him on, kick her speed up a notch, and pull away again in a random direction. It was annoying as hell, but if this is how she wanted to train up his flight speed and maneuvering, then so be it. It also reassured him when he saw Bulk and Squall taking off soon after he did. He didn't have the option of looking back, lest he lose his target, but he sometimes caught a glint of gold after some of the turns Rainbow forced him to make.

He also couldn't deny the feeling of jubilation coursing through his wings as the chill wind teasingly flowed through his feathers. If nothing else, that feeling alone could fuel him to chase Rainbow to the ends of the Equestria. As he banked to the right, barely keeping Rainbow's frantically fluttering tail in his distant sight, he couldn't help but think, 'For all the bullshit I've been put through, the ability to escape the harsh pull of gravity under my power...'

As he pulled out of the turn, however, he felt a strange, emotional twinge of unknown origin centered around two of those words. And, before he could drudge up the sense to stop himself, he mentally repeated them, 'Escape gravity,' Only for the twinge to be stronger, more inviting this time. Out of the blue, he felt as if he was back home, anticipating a good friend would show up at any moment, only for there to be a familiar knock on the door. That, plus the feeling from his wings? He felt far too euphoric from his success to ignore such a little thing as he whispered, "Escaping Gravity," to himself.

A flute's distant, cheerful notes began to play through the wind rushing past his ears. Only to be joined by a folksy, pan-flute-like instrument that offered an alternative direction, if only he would take it. He knew what this was. This was similar to the musical feeling he experienced at the Brass Bells. A smaller, serious part of him wanted to ignore the feeling and stay focused on the goal.

But, the rest of him, in his flight-induced euphoria, was tempted to see where it would go. As he relinquished control, he thought, 'Perhaps this might even give me an edge against Rainbow?'

In response, his body immediately banked away from Rainbow towards a darker, thicker part of the forest canopy.

~
Walking the frozen lands, nopony’s innocent,
Hoof to mouth I've lived life homeless.
Stuck in the phantom zone, lost in a thunder dome,
Sisters rule the day.

I found the impossible, now I'm unstoppable,
Taking off, the world beneath me.
Strong under pressure, I'll make it forever,
The universe will change!
~

As he straightened out on his new course, he couldn't believe the manoeuvres he was pulling off in time with the music. After all, he might have relinquished control to the music, but the music came from inside of himself. Thus, it was him in the end, right? Not that he needed to worry about that now, and give himself a headache as he excitedly pulled off a perfect aileron roll just in time to start the next verse.

~
Freedom looking down a telescope.
Forest's never been so beautiful.
The whole world waiting for me, time to go,
Escaping gravity.
~

Suddenly, mid-chorus, he felt the need to loop-de-loop, so he did with a mighty flap of his wings. Just in time, too, as a rainbow trail cut above him. Allowing him to figuratively wrap around the after image in time with the second half of the chorus before entering a slight dive towards the closer but still distant and dark canopy.

~
We’ll be rising high above the rain.
Sunset's never going to be the same.
Thunder calling us to touch the clouds,
Escaping gravity.
~

Which transitioned nicely into a lengthy, if happy-go-lucky instrumental interlude as Rainbow slowed down for a second nearby pass. She appeared worried about his sudden change in behavior for a moment, but once she acquiesced to the music, that changed. Where once was a solo stunt flyer, now there was a duo. Flipping and twirling around one another to the whims of the instruments themselves.

Rainbow also surprised him as they neared what he now recognized as the Everfree Forest. She had a surprisingly delightful singing voice as she trilled, "Escaping gravity!"

This not only led him into the following verse of the song but signaled both of them to fly even lower.

~
Straight to the Everfree, faster than sanity,
Left behind a land forsaken.
Zebras and manticore, Skating the canopy,
Fearless like my dreams.
~

Compelled by the first half of the verse, Neil and Rainbow traced their hooves along the snow-covered leaves as if they were figure skaters performing for a crowd. But just as quickly as they started, the first half of the verse finished, and so were they as they rocketed upward, towards the clouds.

~
Reach out with newfound flight, wings of the Pegasi,
Free myself from limitations.
Fighting for liberty, raising the energy,
Bursting at the seams.
~

As they shot towards the clouds, swirling around one another, Rainbow's singing voice joined with his as they both took on the chorus.

~
Freedom looking down a telescope.
Forest's never been so beautiful.
Whole world waiting for us, time to go,
Escaping gravity.

We’ll be rising high above the rain.
Sunset's never gonna be the same.
Thunder calling us to touch the clouds,
Escaping gravity!
~

As the words gravity were sung by both of them, they reached the cloud cover at the same time.

Rainbow broke through cleanly as if the clouds were little more than air to her.

Neil, however, wasn't so lucky. To him, it felt as if he dove head-first into a pool from the highest diving platform. Killing the music and his momentum to the point that only his head, neck, and shoulders breached through to the other side of the cloud cover. Suddenly, regaining complete control of his body after an unfinished heartsong was also quite disorienting.

In contrast, however, the view was awe-inspiring. An expansive, clear evening sky unmarred by a single cloud with millions of tiny, multi-coloured stars. Not to mention the colourful nebula of pink, purple, green, and blue in the background, as if they were painted by a master. Despite his predicament, Neil could have stared into the sky for hours... If not for a swirling blue blur above him that grew larger and larger until Rainbow landed next to his head.

It took an entire two seconds before Rainbow's restraint crumbled. Much to his displeasure, she collapsed onto the cloud next to him, laughing uproariously at the situation he found himself in.

~~~

Twilight couldn't remember the last time she was this excited!... Okay, that wasn't entirely truthful. Solving the chest given to them by the Tree of Harmony, defeating Tirek, and receiving the Castle of Friendship as a gift was exciting and exhilarating, given the amount of power she was wielding at the time. But there was also the bittersweet sorrow of losing her home to contend with that day.

Thanks to Neil, however, she had the opportunity to live out one of her Daring Doo fantasies, and the best one at that! After all, the beginning of every good adventure starts with lots of important research! And to think, she was sitting on all of this undiscovered ancient history without doing her due diligence!

That would be the last time she assumed everything she collected had a copy stored in the Canterlot archives. However, that begged the question of why these books weren't copied over. After all, Celestia had over one thousand years to do so. She could have moved them over to Canterlot Castle or made copies anytime.

Summoning her checklist of Curious Inquiries for Celestia to Answer at an Unspecified Later Date, she added that question to the list. Once she dispelled the scroll back to its place of rest, Twilight took a tally of all the books she'd collected from her shelves. Of the four-hundred and seventy-six books she catalogued and copied from the Castle of the Two Sisters, thirty-seven were unavailable on the Canterlot Castle reading list. To think, she had thirty-seven new books that nopony had read in a millennium or more, minus the small collection that Neil had read.

Now that she thought about it, would it be best to start with the books Neil already looked at? She could start with the same baseline knowledge he did. Or would it be more beneficial to sort all thirty-seven books in chronological order and work her way from the oldest tome to the newest?

Before she could settle on the proper methodology for her newest side project, Spike's young but clearly masculine voice interrupted her thoughts. "Twilight?"

"Yes, Spike?" She asked, confused, as she turned to her Number One Assistant. Soon after Neil had left, she took some of her limited free time to eat lunch. She was also reasonably sure it wasn't dinner time yet. Unless there was an unexpected emergency, she had the day already booked up with her research. Something must have happened if Spike was bothering her with an unscheduled interruption!

Oddly, he wasn't acting like that was the case as he scratched the back of his flexible head spikes. She also noted the faint blush colouring his cheeks as he spoke up. "Rarity dropped by to see you," He admitted.

"But I can also see that you're extremely busy at the moment, Twilight." Rarity conceded, her voice coming from the library's entrance as Twilight turned to look her way. "If you want, I could drop by later today?"

"Oh! Don't worry about that, Rarity," She faltered apologetically, as her magic pushed aside the books closest to her and towards the pile they belonged to. "I can put off my research for a bit. What brings you here today?

"Thank you, Darling, and thank you, Spikey-Wikey, for guiding me," Rarity told both of them as she trotted closer. "To be frank with you, I've been having one of those days. Sweetie's currently in the hospital, sleeping off an illness that reared its ugly head this morning."

The fact that Rarity was here instead of the hospital immediately set off warning bells in her mind. With but a thought, her horn sparked to life as she pulled one medical text after another from the shelves. "Oh no! Is she doing alright? It isn't life-threatening, is it? Do you need access to my medical texts?"

Rarity immediately shook her head in the negative, causing her curled main to bounce (and attract Spike's focused adoration). At the same time, Twilight put a pause on collecting more texts. "Good gracious, no, Darling, but thank you for the offer. Nurse Redheart diagnosed her with a fever and gave her a proper dosage to clear the whole thing up by this evening. However, it made Sweetie a bit drowsy."

"I'm glad to hear that," She told her friend honestly while breathing a sigh of relief. As she placed the medical texts back in their rightful place, she couldn't help but ask, "If you don't mind me asking, why aren't you waiting at the hospital?"

"Well, I offered to stay with Sweetie as she slept," Rarity admitted, with the barest hint of her frazzled state of mind leaking into her voice. "But, Celestia bless her heart, she knows how busy this time of year can get. She told me to go home and get some of my orders done. The problem is, I'm so worried about Sweetie Bell, I can’t focus!"

"That's not a problem, Rarity. I can help you with your orders if you need it." Twilight offered, thinking that was why Rarity came over.

Rarity was quick to decline her offer again before explaining the real reason she came by. "Oh, no, that's not why I'm here. The truth is, I was hoping to discuss a few topics of interest with you over a cup of tea. Just an hour or two, at most, to calm my worries before I go back to the hospital and watch over Sweetie as she sleeps."

"I think I can accommodate that," Twilight told her with a gentle smile. If Rarity needed a friend to calm her nerves, she was more than willing to oblige her. "Spike, do you mind bringing some of the leftovers from lunch to the map room?"

It was always amusing to predict how long Spike would take before he eventually overcame the distraction Rarity caused him. Today, it took seven-point-six seconds before finally addressing her request. "I'll be right on it!"

It took him about the same amount of time to rush out of the library.

"Thank you, Twilight," She said, exhaling appreciatively. After that, a moment or two passed in silence before Rarity spoke up again. "If I may say so, I'm also quite curious how well your meeting with Equestria's newest Ambassador went?"

"Equestria's newest Ambassador?" Twilight asked, confused. After all, Rarity was there to see how everything turned out. "The last Ambassador I met with was Prince Rutherford, and you know how well that went."

"The Yak envoy?" She questioned before she shook her head politely. "Oh no, I meant your meeting with Neil, Darling." Neil? Her confusion must have been apparent because Rarity continued after a second. "Haven't you heard? Princess Celestia elevated him to the status of Ambassador. However, the article I read declined to share which country he's an ambassador of."

No, she hadn't heard about that. Neil and Princess Celestia declined to share the news with her, though she could somewhat understand Neil's reluctance. He appeared to be a very private sort of pony, the kind that was reluctant to share information unless they needed to. "Interesting. Neil failed to mention that during his time spent researching."

Twilight thought Princess Celestia would have shared that kind of information with her. Or, maybe the Princess felt she was overburdened as it was? After all, she was already running out of options regarding her task to find Canada... 'No. Don't make assumptions about ponies you barely know.

Just because Neil refuses to share his country of origin and the Princess asked me to find a previously unknown country doesn't mean they're related. Remember what happened with Zecora... and to some extent, Eris. Even if Neil's new title boosts the probability that both topics are intertwined to a ninety-four-point-three percent chance.'

Still, heeding her advice, she turned to Rarity and asked, "Do you mind if I teleport both of us into the map room? Or would you rather walk down?"

Author's Note

Well, this is officially the latest chapter I've posted so far. However, it's technically still within my once a month posting schedule! I've also already started on the next chapter, as well. Hopefully I post that before the 23rd of next month?

Also, I'm hoping the flight training scene isn't too decisive. It was supposed to be a solo song, but with Rainbow as a trainer, she just had to come back and check on him. Which turned it into a stunt duo, and led to the sudden, if humorous ending to his second heartsong.

Also, also, the song:

After having Neil humming to some FatRat, I found it oddly amusing to use this song even though it hasn't been released yet in his timeline. XD

Also, also, also, if for whatever reason you want to rant or rave at me, there's a Discord! :P
https://discord.gg/JhhwM89VPY